Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Note 1 Basis of Presentation

United States Cellular Corporation (U.S. Cellular), a Delaware Corporation, is an 82%-owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS).

The accounting policies of U.S. Cellular conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). Unless otherwise specified, references to accounting provisions and GAAP in these notes refer to the requirements of the FASB ASC. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of U.S. Cellular, subsidiaries in which it has a controlling financial interest, general partnerships in which U.S. Cellular has a majority partnership interest and certain entities in which U.S. Cellular has a variable interest that require consolidation under GAAP. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by U.S. Cellular pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information and disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, U.S. Cellular believes that the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. Certain numbers included herein are rounded to millions for ease of presentation; however, certain calculated amounts and percentages are determined using the unrounded numbers. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in U.S. Cellular’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring items, unless otherwise disclosed) necessary for the fair statement of U.S. Cellular’s financial position as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, its results of operations and changes in equity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, and its cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018. The Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income was not included because comprehensive income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, equaled net income. These results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. U.S. Cellular has not changed its significant accounting and reporting policies from those disclosed in its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, except as disclosed in Note 8 — Leases.

Restricted Cash

U.S. Cellular presents restricted cash with cash and cash equivalents in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. The following table provides a reconciliation of Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheet to the total of the amounts in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018.



	June 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
(Dollars in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	528	$	580
Restricted cash included in Other current assets	4		3
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the statement of cash flows	$	532	$	583

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13). ASU 2016-13 requires entities to use a new forward-looking, expected loss model to estimate credit losses. It also requires additional disclosure relating to the credit quality of trade and other receivables, including information relating to management’s estimate of credit allowances. U.S. Cellular is required to adopt ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, using the modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted; however, U.S. Cellular does not intend to adopt early. U.S. Cellular is evaluating the effects that adoption of ASU 2016-13 will have on its financial position, results of operations and disclosures.