Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Basis of Presentation

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Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Basis of Presentation [Abstract]  
Basis of presentation
Basis of Presentation
QVC, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries ("QVC" or the "Company") is a retailer of a wide range of consumer products, which are marketed and sold primarily by merchandise-focused televised shopping programs, the Internet and mobile applications.
In the United States ("U.S."), QVC's televised shopping programs, including live and recorded content, are broadcast across multiple channels nationally on a full-time basis, including QVC, QVC2 (f/k/a QVC Plus) and Beauty iQ. The Company's U.S. programming is also available on QVC.com, QVC's U.S. website; mobile applications via streaming video; over-the-air broadcasters; and over-the-top content platforms (Roku, Apple TV, etc.).
QVC believes that the Company's digital platforms complement the Company's televised shopping programs by allowing consumers to purchase a wide assortment of goods offered on QVC's televised programs, as well as other products that are available only on the Company's digital platforms. The Company views e-commerce as a natural extension of the Company's business, allowing the Company to stream live video and offer on-demand video segments of items recently presented live on QVC's televised programs. The Company's digital platforms allow shoppers to browse, research, compare and perform targeted searches for products, control the order-entry process and conveniently access their QVC account.
QVC's international televised shopping programs, including live and recorded content, are distributed to households outside of the U.S., primarily in Germany, Austria, Japan, the United Kingdom ("U.K."), the Republic of Ireland, Italy and France. In some of the countries where QVC operates, QVC's televised shopping programs are broadcast across multiple QVC channels: QVC Beauty & Style and QVC Plus in Germany and QVC Beauty, QVC Extra, QVC Style and QVC +1 in the U.K. The programming created for most of these markets is also available via streaming video on QVC's digital platforms. QVC's international business employs product sourcing teams who select products tailored to the interests of each local market.
The Company's Japanese operations ("QVC-Japan") are conducted through a joint venture with Mitsui & Co., LTD ("Mitsui") for a television and multimedia retailing service in Japan. QVC-Japan is owned 60% by the Company and 40% by Mitsui. The Company and Mitsui share in all profits and losses based on their respective ownership interests. During the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, QVC-Japan paid dividends to Mitsui of $22 million and $21 million, respectively.
The Company also has a joint venture with CNR Media Group, formerly known as China Broadcasting Corporation, a limited liability company owned by China National Radio (''CNR''). The Company owns a 49% interest in a CNR subsidiary, CNR Home Shopping Co., Ltd. (''CNRS''). CNRS operates a retail business in China through a shopping television channel with an associated website. This joint venture is accounted for as an equity method investment recorded as equity in losses of investee in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
The Company is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation ("Liberty"), which owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses, and is attributed to Liberty's QVC Group. The QVC Group common stock (Nasdaq: QVCA and QVCB) tracks the assets and liabilities of the QVC Group. The QVC Group tracks the Company, zulily, llc ("zulily") and Liberty's 38% equity interest in HSN, Inc. ("HSN"), one of the Company's two closest televised shopping competitors, cash and certain liabilities. On July 6, 2017, Liberty announced plans to acquire the remaining interest in HSN, which would make it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty following the closing. On April 4, 2017, Liberty entered into an agreement with General Communication, Inc. ("GCI"), an Alaska corporation, and Liberty Interactive LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty, whereby Liberty will acquire GCI through a reorganization in which certain assets and liabilities attributed to Liberty’s Ventures Group will be contributed to GCI in exchange for a controlling interest in GCI. Liberty will then effect a tax-free separation of its controlling interest in the combined company, leaving QVC Group common stock as the only outstanding common stock of Liberty. Neither the proposed transactions involving GCI nor the acquisition of HSN is conditioned on the completion of the other, and no assurance can be given as to which of these transactions will be completed first. The QVC Group does not represent a separate legal entity; rather, it represents those businesses, assets and liabilities that are attributed to that group.
On October 1, 2015, Liberty acquired all of the outstanding shares of zulily, inc. (now known as zulily, llc). zulily is an online retailer offering customers a fun and entertaining shopping experience with a fresh selection of new product styles launched each day for a limited time period. zulily is attributed to the QVC Group and the Company believes that its business is complementary to the Company. zulily is not part of the results of operations or financial position of QVC presented in these condensed consolidated financial statements. During each of the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, QVC and zulily engaged in multiple transactions relating to sales, sourcing of merchandise, marketing initiatives, business advisory services and software development. The gross value of these transactions totaled approximately $7 million and $11 million, respectively, which did not have a material impact on QVC's financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.
On June 23, 2016, QVC amended and restated its senior secured credit facility (the "Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement") increasing the revolving credit facility from $2.25 billion to $2.65 billion as explained further in note 6. The Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement includes a $400 million tranche that may be borrowed by QVC or zulily. Under the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, QVC and zulily are jointly and severally liable for all amounts borrowed on the $400 million tranche. In accordance with the accounting guidance for obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements, QVC will record a liability for amounts it has borrowed under the credit facility plus any additional amount it expects to repay on behalf of zulily. As of September 30, 2017, there was $300 million borrowed by zulily on the $400 million tranche of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, none of which the Company expects to repay on behalf of zulily.
The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of QVC, Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions were eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying (a) condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and (b) the interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results for such periods have been included. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in QVC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates include, but are not limited to, sales returns, uncollectible receivables, inventory obsolescence, depreciable lives of fixed assets, internally-developed software, valuation of acquired intangible assets and goodwill, income taxes and stock‑based compensation.
On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. This new guidance also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments, changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08, Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which clarifies principal versus agent considerations, in April 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-10, Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, which clarifies the identification of performance obligations and the implementation guidance for licensing, and in May 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-12, Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, which clarifies assessing collectibility, presentation of sales taxes, noncash consideration, and completed contracts and contract modifications at transition. The updated guidance will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective and permits the use of either a full retrospective or modified retrospective transition method. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted only for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company has reviewed the applicable ASU and has selected the modified retrospective transition method. In addition, the Company expects to elect the practical expedient to not adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component when its payment terms are less than one year, as well as the practical expedient to exclude from the measurement of the transaction price sales and similar taxes collected from customers. To date, the Company has concluded it will recognize revenue at the time of shipment to its customers consistent with when title passes. This is a change from the current practice whereby the Company recognizes revenue at the time of delivery to the customers and deferred revenue is recorded to account for the shipments in-transit. At the current time, the Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of the standard including its determination of whether the Company acts as principal or agent in certain vendor arrangements. The Company is also evaluating the impact of the standard on the presentation and timing of credit card income for its QVC-branded credit card and its financial statement disclosures, among other areas. The Company has not quantified the effects of this pronouncement, but it is working through the relevant aspects to evaluate the quantitative effects of the new guidance. The Company plans to be able to quantify the effects of these ASU's no later than the fourth quarter of 2017 in its annual report for the year ending December 31, 2017.
In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory, which changes the measurement principle for inventory from the lower of cost or market to lower of cost and net realizable value. The new principle is part of the FASB’s simplification initiative and applies to entities that measure inventory using a method other than last-in, first-out (LIFO) or the retail inventory method. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2017, and there was no significant effect of the standard on its financial reporting.
In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Statements - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which requires equity investments with readily determinable fair values (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income and simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment. The new standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s ongoing financial reporting.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which revises the accounting treatment related to lessee accounting. Under the new guidance, lessees will be required to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use asset for all leases. The new lease guidance also simplifies the accounting for sale and leaseback transactions primarily because lessees must recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. The amendments in this ASU are effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2019 and should be applied through a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the updated standard will have on its ongoing financial reporting.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted this guidance in the third quarter of 2016. In accordance with the new guidance, excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies are recognized as income tax benefit or expense rather than as additional paid-in capital. The Company has elected to recognize forfeitures as they occur rather than continue to estimate expected forfeitures. In addition, pursuant to the new guidance, excess tax benefits are classified as an operating activity on the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The recognition of excess tax benefits and deficiencies are applied prospectively from January 1, 2016.
In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which addresses eight specific cash flow issues to reduce the diversity in practice for appropriate classification on the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption will have a material effect on its condensed consolidated financial statements.
In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory, which requires an entity to recognize at the transaction date the income tax consequences of intercompany asset transfers other than inventory. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the updated standard will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash, which requires entities to show the changes in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption will have a material effect on its condensed consolidated financial statements.
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the measurement for impairment by calculating the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the reporting unit. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption will have a material effect on its condensed consolidated financial statements.
In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting, to provide clarity to which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Topic 718. The amendments in this update are effective for all entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption will have a material effect on its condensed consolidated financial statements.