Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE C – GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The gross carrying amount of goodwill and other intangible assets and the related accumulated amortization for intangible assets subject to amortization and accumulated write-offs of goodwill are as follows:


	As of June 30, 2021				As of December 31, 2020
(in millions)	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization/ Write-offs(1)		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization/ Write-offs
Technology-related	$	11,284	$	(6,475)	$	11,059	$	(6,179)
Patents	497		(397)		511		(407)
Other intangible assets	1,826		(1,278)		1,775		(1,220)
Amortizable intangible assets	$	13,607	$	(8,150)	$	13,345	$	(7,806)

Goodwill	$	20,774	$	(9,900)	$	19,924	$	(9,973)

IPR&D	$	210			$	257
Technology-related	120				120
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	$	330			$	377

(1) In the fourth quarter of 2020, we recorded goodwill impairment charges of $73 million related to the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business and classified the remaining assets and liabilities as held for sale as of December 31, 2020. On March 1, 2021, we completed the divestiture of the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business. The goodwill impairment charges of $73 million related to the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business are no longer presented within accumulated write-offs above as of June 30, 2021.

The increase in our balance of goodwill and intangible assets is primarily related to our acquisition of Preventice in the first quarter of 2021.

Our technology-related intangible assets consist of technical processes, intellectual property and institutional understanding with respect to products and processes that we intend to leverage in future products or processes and will carry forward from one product generation to the next. We used the multi-period excess earnings method, a form of the income approach, to derive the fair value of the technology-related intangible assets and are amortizing them on a straight-line basis over their assigned estimated useful lives. Our IPR&D represents intangible assets that are used in research and development activities but have not yet reached technological feasibility, regardless of whether they have alternative future use. The primary basis for determining the technological feasibility or completion of these projects is obtaining regulatory approval to market the underlying products in an applicable geographic region.

The following represents our goodwill balance by global reportable segment:


(in millions)	MedSurg		Rhythm and Neuro		Cardiovascular		Total
As of December 31, 2020	$	2,059	$	2,194	$	5,697	$	9,951


Impact of foreign currency fluctuations and other changes in carrying amount	(2)		—		1		(2)
Goodwill acquired	—		926		—		926

As of June 30, 2021	$	2,057	$	3,120	$	5,698	$	10,874

Prior to the divestiture on March 1, 2021, we presented the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business as a standalone operating segment alongside our reportable segments.

Goodwill and Intangible Asset Impairments

We did not record any goodwill impairment charges in the second quarter or first six months of 2021 or 2020. We test our goodwill balances in the second quarter of each year as of April 1 for impairment, or more frequently if impairment indicators are present or changes in circumstances suggest an impairment may exist. We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment, referred to as a component.

In the second quarter of 2021, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test for all of our reporting units using the quantitative approach described in FASB ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (FASB ASC Topic 350). We identified the following reporting units in our 2021 annual goodwill impairment test: Interventional Cardiology, Peripheral Interventions, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Electrophysiology, Endoscopy, Urology and Pelvic Health and Neuromodulation. We aggregated the Cardiac Rhythm Management and Electrophysiology reporting units, components of the Rhythm Management operating segment, based on the criteria prescribed in FASB ASC Topic 350. We determined that the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded its carrying value and concluded that goodwill was not impaired or at risk of impairment.

We recorded Intangible asset impairment charges of $45 million in the second quarter and first six months of 2021, $34 million in the second quarter of 2020 and $233 million in the first six months of 2020. We review intangible assets subject to amortization quarterly to determine if any adverse conditions exist or a change in circumstances has occurred that would indicate impairment or a change in the remaining useful life. We test our indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually during the third quarter for impairment and reassess their classification as indefinite-lived assets. In addition, we review our indefinite-lived intangible assets for classification and impairment more frequently if impairment indicators exist. During the second quarter of 2021, we determined it was more likely than not that one of our indefinite-lived intangible assets was impaired based on our qualitative assessment of impairment indicators. We tested the intangible asset for recoverability and recorded an impairment charge associated with incremental time and cost to complete the associated in-process research and development (IPR&D) project.

The impairment charges recorded in the first six months of 2020 were primarily associated with amortizable technology-related intangible assets that were initially established following our acquisition of nVision. These charges were recorded as a result of management’s decision to change commercial launch plans or discontinue certain R&D programs based on cost to complete, time to market, overall economic viability or, specific to nVision, our understanding of the clinical evidence necessary to commercialize the technology.

Refer to Note A – Significant Accounting Policies to our audited financial statements contained in Item 8 of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of our annual goodwill and intangible asset impairment testing.