REVENUE

Revenue from contracts with customers is recognized using the following five steps:

a) Identify the contract(s) with a customer;

b) Identify the performance obligations in the contract;

c) Determine the transaction price;

d) Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and

e) Recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation.

A contract contains a promise (or promises) to transfer goods or services to a customer. A performance obligation is a promise (or a group of promises) that is distinct. The transaction price is the amount of consideration a Company expects to be entitled from a customer in exchange for providing the goods or services.

The unit of account for revenue recognition is a performance obligation. A contract may contain one or more performance obligations, including hardware, software, professional services and support and maintenance. Performance obligations are accounted for separately if they are distinct. A good or service is distinct if the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer, and the good or service is distinct in the context of the contract. Otherwise performance obligations will be combined with other promised goods or services until the Company identifies a bundle of goods or services that is distinct.

The transaction price is allocated to all the separate performance obligations in an arrangement. It reflects the amount of consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring goods or services, which may include an estimate of variable consideration to the extent that it is probable of not being subject to significant reversals in the future based on the Company’s experience with similar arrangements. The transaction price also reflects the impact of the time value of money if there is a significant financing component present in an arrangement. The transaction price excludes amounts collected on behalf of third parties, such as sales taxes.

Revenue is recognized when the Company satisfies each performance obligation by transferring control of the promised goods or services to the customer. Goods or services can transfer at a point in time or over time depending on the nature of the arrangement.

Contract Balances. Deferred revenue represents the Company’s obligation to transfer goods or services to a customer for which the Company has received consideration (or an amount of consideration is due) from the customer. The Company’s payment terms vary by the type and location of its customer and the products or services offered. The term between invoicing and when payment is due is not significant. For certain products or services and customer types, the Company requires payment before the products or services are delivered to the customer.

Revenue recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019 that was included within the deferred revenue balance at January 1, 2019 was $41.1 million. Revenue recognized during the year ended December 31, 2018 that was included within the deferred revenue balance at January 1, 2018 was $46.9 million.

Contract assets exist when the Company has satisfied a performance obligation but does not have an unconditional right to consideration (e.g., because the entity first must satisfy another performance obligation in the contract before it is entitled to invoice the customer).

Contract assets and deferred revenue consisted of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Contract assets	$	13,969	$	3,834
Deferred revenue	43,450		46,922

Contract assets and Deferred revenue (long-term) are reported as components of “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Other non-current liabilities,” respectively, on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 10, “Certain Balance Sheet Components” for additional information.

Shipping and handling costs are accounted for as a fulfillment cost and are recorded in cost of revenue in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Sales tax and other amounts collected on behalf of third parties are excluded from the transaction price.

Hardware and Software. Revenue from the sale of hardware and software products is recognized when the control is transferred. For most of the Company’s product sales (including sales to distributors and system integrators), the control is transferred at the time the product is shipped or delivery has occurred because the customer has significant risks and rewards of ownership of the asset and the Company has a present right to payment at that time. The Company’s agreements with the distributors and system integrators have terms which are generally consistent with the standard terms and conditions for the sale of the Company’s equipment to end users, and do not provide for product rotation or pricing allowances, as are typically found in agreements with stocking distributors. The Company offers return rights which are specifically identified and accrued for as sales returns at the end of the period.

Arrangements with Multiple Performance Obligations. The Company has revenue arrangements that include multiple performance obligations. The Company allocates transaction price to all separate performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices (“SSP”). See “Significant Judgments” for additional information.

Solution Sales. Solution sales for the design, manufacture, test, integration and installation of products, including equipment acquired from third parties to be integrated with Harmonic’s products, that are customized to meet the customer’s specifications are accounted for based on the percentage-of-completion basis, using the input method. Some of our arrangements may include acceptance provisions that require testing of the solution against specific performance criteria. The Company performs a detailed evaluation to determine whether the arrangement involves performance criteria based on our standard performance criteria. The Company has a long-standing history of entering into contractual arrangements to deliver the solution sales based on standard performance criteria. For this type of arrangement, we consider the customer acceptance clause not substantive and recognize product revenue when the customer takes possession on the product and recognize service on a percentage-of-completion basis using the input method. However, if the solution results in significant production, modification or customization, we consider the arrangement as a single performance obligation and recognize the revenue at a point in time, depending on the complexity of the solution and nature of acceptance.

Professional services. Revenue from professional services is recognized over time, on the percentage-of-completion basis using the input method.

Input method. The use of the input method requires the Company to make reasonably dependable estimates. We use the input method based on labor hours, where revenue is calculated based on the percentage of total hours incurred in relation to total estimated hours at completion of the contract. The input method is reasonable because the hours best reflect the Company’s efforts toward satisfying the performance obligation over time. As circumstances change over time, the Company updates its measure of progress to reflect any changes in the outcome of the performance obligation. Such changes to an entity’s measure of progress are accounted for as a change in accounting estimates.

Support and maintenance. Support and maintenance services are satisfied ratably over time as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of the services.

Contract costs. The incremental costs of obtaining a contract are capitalized if the costs are expected to be recovered. Costs that are recognized as assets are amortized straight-line over the period as the related goods or services transfer to the customer. Costs incurred to fulfill a contract are capitalized if they are not covered by other relevant guidance, relate directly to a contract, will be used to satisfy future performance obligations, and are expected to be recovered.

The net capitalized contract costs as of December 31, 2019 were $2.0 million, of which $1.3 million and $0.7 million were reported as components of “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Other long-term assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively. The amortization of the capitalized contract costs for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1.5 million.

Significant Judgments. The Company has revenue arrangements that include promises to transfer multiple products and services to a customer. The Company may exercise significant judgment when determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together.

The Company allocates transaction price to all separate performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices (“SSP”). The Company’s best evidence for SSP is the price the Company charges for that good or service when the Company sells it separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. If goods or services are not always sold separately, the Company uses the best estimate of SSP in the allocation of transaction price. The objective of determining the best estimate of SSP is to estimate the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a standalone basis. The Company’s process for determining best estimate of SSP involves management’s judgment, and considers multiple factors including, but not limited to, major product groupings, geographies, gross margin objectives and pricing practices. Pricing practices taken into consideration include contractually stated prices, discounts offered and applicable price lists. These factors may vary over time, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. If the facts and circumstances underlying the factors considered change or should future facts and circumstances lead the Company to consider additional factors, the Company’s best estimate of SSP may also change.

If the Company has not yet established a price because the good or service has not previously been sold on a standalone basis, SSP for such good and service in a contract with multiple performance obligations is determined by applying a residual approach whereby all other performance obligations within a contract are first allocated a portion of the transaction price based upon their respective SSP, using observable prices, with any residual amount of the transaction price allocated to the good or service for which the price has not yet been established.

Practical Expedients and Exemptions. Under Topic 606, incremental costs of obtaining a contract such as sales commissions are capitalized if they are expected to be recovered, and amortized on a straight-line basis. Expensing these costs as incurred is not permitted unless they qualify for a practical expedient. Other than capitalized costs of obtaining subscription contracts which are amortized regardless of the life of expected amortization period, the Company elected the practical expedient to expense the costs to obtain all other contracts as incurred, when the life of the expected amortization period is one year or less by using a portfolio approach.

The Company elected the practical expedient under Topic 606 to not disclose the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations, since the majority of the Company’s arrangements have original expected durations of one year or less, or the invoicing corresponds to the value of the Company’s performance completed to date. These performance obligations primarily relate to the Company’s support and maintenance contracts which have a duration of one year or less and subscriptions services for which invoicing corresponds to the value of the Company’s performance completed to date.

The Company elected the practical expedient that allows the Company to not assess a contract for a significant financing component if the period between the customer’s payment and the transfer of the goods or services is one year or less.

In July 2019, Comcast elected enterprise license pricing for the Company’s CableOS software as contemplated under certain existing commercial agreements between the Company and Comcast (the “CableOS software license agreement”), which also includes maintenance and support services, and material rights. As of December 31, 2019, the aggregate amount of the transaction price under this agreement allocated to the remaining performance obligations is $102.5 million, and the Company will recognize this revenue as the related performance obligations are delivered over the next three years to four years.

See Note 18, “Segment Information” for disaggregated revenue information.