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Revenue Recognition Revenue Recognition
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue Recognition   REVENUE RECOGNITION

Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted the New Revenue Standard using the modified retrospective method for all contracts not completed as of the date of adoption. We recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the New Revenue Standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods presented.

Our revenue is recognized when, or as, performance obligations under the terms of a contract are satisfied, which occurs when control of the promised products or services is transferred to a customer. We exclude sales, use, value-added, and other taxes we collect on behalf of third parties from revenue. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring products or services to a customer. To accurately present the consideration received in exchange for promised products or services, we apply the five-step model outlined below:

1.
Identification of a contract or agreement with a customer
2.
Identification of our performance obligations in the contract or agreement
3.
Determination of the transaction price
4.
Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations
5.
Recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy a performance obligation

We enter into contracts that include various combinations of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. The timing of revenue recognition, billings, and cash collections results in accounts receivable, contract assets, and lease receivables as a result of revenue recognized in advance of billings (included within other assets), and contract liabilities or deferred revenue as a result of receiving consideration in advance of revenue recognition within our consolidated balance sheet. Our general payment terms range from 30 to 60 days, with exceptions in certain geographies. Below is a listing of our major categories of revenue for our products and services:

Diagnostic Products and Accessories.  Diagnostic products and accessories revenues, including IDEXX VetLab® consumables and accessories, rapid assay, LPD, Water, and OPTI testing products, are predominantly recognized and invoiced at the time of shipment, which is when the customer obtains control of the product based on legal title transfer and we have the right to payment. Shipping costs reimbursed by the customer are included in revenue and cost of sales. As a practical expedient, we do not account for shipping activities as a separate performance obligation.

Reference Laboratory Diagnostic and Consulting Services. Reference laboratory revenues are recognized and invoiced when the laboratory diagnostic service is performed.

Instruments, Software and Systems. CAG Diagnostics capital instruments, veterinary software and diagnostic imaging systems revenues are generally recognized and invoiced when the customer obtains control of the products based on legal title transfer and we have the right to payment, which generally occurs at the time of installation and customer acceptance. Our instruments, software, and systems are often included in one of our significant customer programs, as further described below. For veterinary software systems that include multiple performance obligations, such as perpetual software licenses and computer hardware, we allocate revenue to each performance obligation based on estimates of the price that we would charge the customer for each promised product or service if it were sold on a standalone basis.

Lease Revenue. Revenues from instrument rental agreements and reagent rental programs are recognized either as operating leases on a ratable basis over the term of the agreement or as sales-type leases at the time of installation and customer acceptance. Customers typically pay for the right to use instruments under rental agreements in equal monthly amounts over the term of the rental agreement. Our reagent rental programs provide our customers the right to use our instruments upon entering into agreements to purchase specified amounts of consumables, which are considered embedded leases. For some agreements, the customers are provided with the right to purchase the instrument at the end of the lease term. Lease revenues from these agreements are presented in product revenue on our consolidated income statement. Lease revenue was approximately $20.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $12.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, including both operating leases and sales-type leases under ASC 842, Leases, during 2019, and ASC 840, Leases, prior to 2019. See below for revenue recognition under our reagent rental programs.

Extended Warranties and Post-Contract Support.  CAG Diagnostics capital instruments and diagnostic imaging systems extended warranties typically provide customers with continued coverage for a period of one to five years beyond the first-year standard warranty. Customers can either pay in full for the extended warranty at the time of instrument or system purchase or can be billed on a quarterly basis over the term of the contract. We recognize revenue associated with extended warranties over time on a ratable basis using a time elapsed measure of performance over the contract term, which approximates the expected timing in which applicable services are performed.

Veterinary software post-contract support provides customers with access to technical support when and as needed through access to call centers and online customer assistance. Post-contract support contracts typically have a term of 12 months and customers are billed for post-contract support in equal quarterly amounts over the term. We recognize revenue for post-contract support services over time on a ratable basis using a time-elapsed measure of performance over the contract term, which approximates the expected timing in which applicable services are performed.

On December 31, 2018, our deferred revenue related to extended warranties and post-contract support was $40.7 million, of which approximately $21.0 million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019. Furthermore, as a result of new agreements, our deferred revenue related to extended warranties and post-contract support was $38.0 million at December 31, 2019. We do not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that are part of contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less and do not adjust for the effect of the financing components when the period between customer payment and revenue recognition is one year or less. Deferred revenue related to extended warranties and post-contract support with an original duration of more than one year was $24.4 million at December 31, 2019, of which approximately 37%31%20%, 9%, and 3% are expected to be recognized during 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and thereafter, respectively. Additionally, we have determined these agreements do not include a significant financing component.

SaaS Subscriptions. We offer a variety of veterinary software and diagnostic imaging SaaS subscriptions including IDEXX Neo®, Animana®, Pet Health Network® Pro, Petly® Plans, Web PACS, rVetLink®, and Smart Flow. We recognize revenue for our SaaS subscriptions over time on a ratable basis over the contract term, beginning on the date our service is made available to the customer. Our subscription contracts vary in term from monthly to two years. Customers typically pay for our subscription contracts in equal monthly amounts over the term of the agreement. Deferred revenue related to our SaaS subscriptions is not material.

Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations.  We enter into contracts with multiple performance obligations where customers purchase a combination of IDEXX products and services. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately requires significant judgment. We determine the transaction price for a contract based on the total consideration we expect to receive in exchange for the transferred goods or services. To the extent the transaction price includes variable consideration, such as volume rebates or expected price adjustments, we apply judgment in constraining the estimated variable consideration due to factors that may cause reversal of revenue recognized. We evaluate constraints based on our historical and projected experience with similar customer contracts.

We allocate revenue to each performance obligation in proportion to the relative standalone selling prices and recognize revenue when control of the related goods or services is transferred for each obligation. We utilize the observable standalone selling price when available, which represents the price charged for the performance obligation when sold separately. When standalone selling prices for our products or services are not directly observable we determine the standalone selling prices using relevant information available and apply suitable estimation methods including, but not limited to, the cost plus a margin approach. We recognize revenue as each performance obligation is satisfied, either at a point in time or over time, as described in the revenue categories above. We do not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that are part of contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less.

The following customer programs represent our most significant customer contracts which contain multiple performance obligations:

Customer Commitment Programs. We offer customer incentives upon entering into multi-year agreements to purchase annual minimum amounts of products and services.

Up-Front Customer Loyalty Programs. Our up-front loyalty programs provide customers with incentives in the form of cash payments or IDEXX Points upon entering into multi-year agreements to purchase annual minimum amounts of future products or services. If a customer breaches its agreement, they are required to refund all or a portion of the up-front cash or IDEXX Points, or make other repayments,
remedial actions, or both. Up-front incentives to customers in the form of cash or IDEXX Points are not made in exchange for distinct goods or services and are capitalized as customer acquisition costs within other current and long-term assets, which are subsequently recognized as a reduction to revenue over the term of the customer agreement. If these up-front incentives are subsequently utilized to purchase instruments, we allocate total consideration, including future committed purchases less up-front incentives and estimates of expected price adjustments, based on relative standalone selling prices to identified performance obligations and recognize instrument revenue and cost at the time of installation and customer acceptance. We have determined these agreements do not include a significant financing component. Differences between estimated and actual customer purchases may impact the amount and timing of revenue recognition.

On December 31, 2018, our capitalized customer acquisition costs were $124.4 million, of which approximately $34.6 million were recognized as a reduction of revenue during the year ended December 31, 2019. Furthermore, as a result of new up-front customer loyalty payments, net of subsequent recognition, our capitalized customer acquisition costs were $137.4 million at December 31, 2019. We monitor customer purchases over the term of their agreement to assess the realizability of our capitalized customer acquisition costs and review estimates of variable consideration. Impairments, revenue adjustments that relate to performance obligations satisfied in prior periods, and contract modifications during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, were not material.

Volume Commitment Programs. Our volume commitment programs, such as our IDEXX 360 program, provide customers with free or discounted instruments or systems upon entering into multi-year agreements to purchase annual minimum amounts of future products and services. We allocate total consideration, including future committed purchases and expected price adjustments, based on relative standalone selling prices to identified performance obligations and recognize instrument revenue and cost at the time of installation and customer acceptance in advance of billing the customer, which is also when the customer obtains control of the instrument based on legal title transfer. Our right to future consideration related to instrument revenue is recorded as a contract asset within other current and long-term assets. The contract asset is transferred to accounts receivable when customers are billed for future products and services over the term of the contract. We have determined that these agreements do not include a significant financing component. Differences between estimated and actual customer purchases may impact the amount and timing of revenue recognition.

On December 31, 2018, our volume commitment contract assets were $40.9 million, of which approximately $8.9 million were reclassified to accounts receivable when customers were billed for related products and services during the year ended December 31, 2019. Furthermore, as a result of new placements under volume commitment programs, net of subsequent amounts reclassified to accounts receivable,
our contract assets were $83.9 million at December 31, 2019. We monitor customer purchases over the term of their agreement to assess the realizability of our contract assets and review estimates of variable consideration. Impairments, revenue adjustments that relate to performance obligations satisfied in prior periods, and contract modifications during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, were not material.

For our up-front customer loyalty and volume commitment programs, we estimate future revenues related to multi-year agreements to be approximately $1.9 billion, of which approximately 25%22%20%, 17%, and 16% are expected to be recognized during 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and thereafter, respectively. These future revenues relate to performance obligations not yet satisfied, for which customers have committed to purchase goods and services, net of the expected revenue reductions from customer acquisition costs and expected price adjustments, and as a result, are lower than stated contractual commitments by our customers.

Instrument Rebate Programs. Our instrument rebate programs, previously referred to as IDEXX Instrument Marketing Programs, require an instrument purchase and provide customers the opportunity to earn future rebates based on the volume of products and services they purchase over the term of the program. We account for the customer’s right to earn rebates on future purchases as a separate performance obligation and determine the standalone selling price based on an estimate of rebates the customer will earn over the term of the program. Total consideration allocated to identified performance obligations is limited to goods and services that the customer is presently obligated to purchase and does not include estimates of future purchases that are optional. We allocate total consideration to identified performance obligations, including the customer’s right to earn rebates on future purchases, which is deferred and recognized upon the purchase of future products and services, offsetting future rebates as they are earned.

On December 31, 2018, our deferred revenue related to instrument rebate programs was $57.4 million, of which approximately $18.1 million were recognized when customers purchased eligible products and services and earned rebates during the year ended December 31, 2019. Furthermore, as a result of new instrument purchases under rebate programs, net of subsequent recognition, our deferred revenue was $49.1 million at December 31, 2019, of which approximately 33%27%19%, 12%, and 9% are expected to be recognized during 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and thereafter, respectively.

Reagent Rental Programs. Our reagent rental programs provide our customers the right to use our instruments upon entering into multi-year agreements to purchase annual minimum amounts of consumables. These types of agreements include an embedded lease for the right to use our instrument and we determine the amount of lease revenue allocated to the instrument based on relative standalone selling prices. We evaluate the terms of these embedded leases to determine classification as either a sales-type lease or an operating lease, as defined within the New Leasing Standard. We elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the New Leasing Standard, which among other things, allowed us to carryforward our historical lease classification and therefore all reagent rental program placements prior to January 1, 2019 will continue to be classified as operating leases. We have not elected the practical expedient within the New Leasing Standard to combine lease and non-lease components.

Sales-type Reagent Rental Programs. Our reagent rental programs that effectively transfer control of instruments to our customers are classified as sales-type leases and we recognize instrument revenue and cost in advance of billing the customer, at the time of installation and customer acceptance. Our right to future consideration related to instrument revenue is recorded as a lease receivable within other current and long-term assets, and is transferred to accounts receivable when customers are billed for future products and services over the term of the contract. As a result of new placements under reagent rental programs, our lease receivable assets were $7.2 million at December 31, 2019. The impacts of discounting and unearned income at December 31, 2019, were not material. Profit and loss recognized at the commencement date and interest income during the year ended December 31, 2019, were not material. We monitor customer purchases over the term of their agreement to assess the realizability of our lease receivable assets. Impairments during the year ended December 31, 2019, were not material.

Operating-type Reagent Rental Programs. Our reagent rental programs that do not effectively transfer control of instruments to our customers are classified as operating leases and we recognize instrument revenue and costs ratably over the term of the agreement. The cost of the instrument is capitalized within property and equipment. See "Note 8. Property and Equipment, Net," for amounts transferred from inventory to property and equipment.

We estimate future revenue to be recognized related to our reagent rental programs of approximately $31.6 million, of which approximately 39%29%18%, 8%, and 6% are expected to be recognized during 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and thereafter, respectively. These future revenues relate to performance obligations not yet satisfied for which customers have committed to future purchases, net of any expected price adjustments, and as a result, may be lower than stated contractual commitments by our customers.

Other Customer Incentive Programs. Certain agreements with customers include discounts or rebates on the sale of products and services applied retrospectively, such as volume rebates achieved by purchasing a specified purchase threshold of goods and services. We account for these discounts as variable consideration and estimate the likelihood of a customer meeting the threshold in order to determine the transaction price using the most predictive approach. We typically use the most-likely-amount method, for incentives that are offered to individual customers, and the expected-value method, for programs that are offered to a broad group of customers. Revenue adjustments that relate to performance obligations satisfied in prior periods during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, were not material. Refund obligations related to customer incentive programs are recorded in accrued liabilities for the actual issuance of incentives, incentives earned but not yet issued and estimates of incentives to be earned in the future.

Program Combinations. At times, we combine elements of our significant customer programs within a single customer contract. We separate each significant program element and include the contract assets, customer acquisition costs, deferred revenues and estimated future revenues within the most relevant program disclosures above. Each customer contract is presented as a net contract asset or net contract liability on our consolidated balance sheet.

Future market conditions and changes in product offerings may cause us to change marketing strategies to increase or decrease customer incentive offerings, possibly resulting in incremental reductions of revenue in future periods as compared to reductions in the current or prior periods. Additionally, certain customer programs require us to estimate, based on historical experience, and apply judgment to predict the amounts of future customer purchases, customer rebates and other incentive payments, and price adjustments related to multi-year agreements. Differences between estimated and actual customer purchases may impact the amount and timing of revenue recognition.

IDEXX Points. IDEXX Points may be applied to trade receivables due to us, converted to cash, or applied against the purchase price of IDEXX products and services. We consider IDEXX Points equivalent to cash. IDEXX Points that have not yet been used by customers are included in accrued liabilities until utilized or expired. Breakage is not material because customers can apply IDEXX Points to trade receivables at any time.

Accounts Receivable. We recognize revenue when it is probable that we will collect substantially all of the consideration to which we will be entitled, based on the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration. We apply judgment in determining the customer’s ability and intention to pay, which is based on a variety of factors including the customer’s historical payment experience or, in the case of a new customer, published credit and financial information pertaining to the customer. We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for potentially uncollectible receivables. We base our estimates on a detailed analysis of specific customer situations and a percentage of our accounts receivable by aging category. Additional allowances may be required if either the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, or a strengthening U.S. dollar impacts the ability of foreign customers to make payments to us on their U.S. dollar-denominated purchases. Account balances are charged off against the allowance when we believe it is probable the receivable will not be recovered. We do not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to our customers. We have no significant customers that accounted for greater than 10% of our consolidated revenues and we have no concentration of credit risk as of December 31, 2019.

Disaggregated Revenues. We present disaggregated revenue for our CAG segment based on major product and service categories. Our Water segment is comprised of a single major product category. Although our LPD segment does not meet the quantitative thresholds to be reported as a separate segment, we believe it is important to disaggregate these revenues as a major product and service category within our Other reportable segment given its distinct markets, and therefore we have elected to report LPD as a reportable segment.

The following table presents disaggregated revenue by major product and service categories:
(in thousands)
 
For the Years Ended December 31,

 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
CAG segment revenue:
 
 

 
 

 
 

CAG Diagnostics recurring revenue:
 
$
1,828,329

 
$
1,654,530

 
$
1,451,701

IDEXX VetLab consumables
 
693,360

 
617,237

 
518,774

Rapid assay products
 
232,149

 
217,541

 
205,309

Reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services
 
822,497

 
746,794

 
660,142

CAG Diagnostics services and accessories
 
80,323

 
72,958

 
67,476

CAG Diagnostics capital - instruments
 
132,685

 
134,264

 
119,963

Veterinary software, services and diagnostic imaging systems
 
158,169

 
146,634

 
131,713

CAG segment revenue
 
2,119,183

 
1,935,428

 
1,703,377


 
 
 
 
 
 
Water segment revenue
 
132,850

 
125,198

 
114,395

LPD segment revenue
 
132,635

 
130,581

 
128,481

Other segment revenue
 
22,240

 
22,035

 
22,805


 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
 
$
2,406,908

 
$
2,213,242

 
$
1,969,058


Revenue by principal geographic area, based on customers’ domiciles, was as follows:
(in thousands)
 
For the Years Ended December 31,

 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Americas
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States
 
$
1,495,516

 
$
1,357,909

 
$
1,203,547

Canada
 
99,550

 
94,206

 
83,818

Latin America
 
56,515

 
50,969

 
46,893


 
1,651,581

 
1,503,084

 
1,334,258


 
 
 
 
 
 
Europe, the Middle East and Africa
 
 
 
 
 
 
Germany
 
104,081

 
100,459

 
88,328

United Kingdom
 
90,969

 
87,807

 
80,149

France
 
64,767

 
60,319

 
55,993

Italy
 
39,725

 
36,956

 
31,889

Spain
 
36,439

 
33,687

 
28,866

Switzerland
 
20,855

 
19,875

 
17,913

Netherlands
 
19,397

 
18,090

 
15,877

Other
 
122,206

 
114,877

 
100,409


 
498,439

 
472,070

 
419,424

Asia Pacific Region
 
 
 
 
 
 
Australia
 
71,069

 
63,386

 
56,994

Japan
 
67,246

 
60,213

 
53,344

China
 
57,518

 
57,621

 
55,810

Other
 
61,055

 
56,868

 
49,228


 
256,888

 
238,088

 
215,376

Total
 
$
2,406,908

 
$
2,213,242

 
$
1,969,058



Costs to Obtain a Contract. We capitalize sales commissions and the related fringe benefits earned by our sales force when considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a contract. Our contracts include performance obligations related to various goods and services, some of which are satisfied at a point in time and others over time. Commission costs related to performance obligations satisfied at a point in time are expensed at the time of sale, which is when revenue is recognized. Commission costs related to long-term service contracts and performance obligations satisfied over time, including extended warranties and SaaS subscriptions, are deferred and recognized on a systematic basis that is consistent with the transfer of the goods or services to which the asset relates. We apply judgment in estimating the amortization period, which ranges from 3 to 7 years, by taking into consideration our customer contract terms, history of renewals, expected length of customer relationship, as well as the useful life of the underlying technology and products. Amortization expense is included in sales and marketing expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Deferred commission costs are periodically reviewed for impairment.

On December 31, 2018, our deferred commission costs, included within other assets, were $13.9 million, of which approximately $4.5 million of commission expense were recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019. Furthermore, as a result of commissions related to new extended warranties and SaaS subscriptions, net of subsequent recognition, our deferred commission costs were $15.6 million at December 31, 2019. Impairments of deferred commission costs during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, were not material.