Apple (AAPL) 10-Q2021 Q2 Quarterly report

UNITED STATES

(408) 996-1010

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

For the Fiscal Quarter Ended March 27, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.    Financial Statements

Apple Inc.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)

(In millions, except number of shares which are reflected in thousands and per share amounts)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited)

(In millions)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(In millions, except number of shares which are reflected in thousands and par value)

Apple Inc.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (Unaudited)

(In millions, except per share amounts)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(In millions)

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Preparation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Apple Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively “Apple” or the “Company”). Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, which are normal and recurring in nature, necessary for fair financial statement presentation. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. Certain prior period amounts in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been reclassified to conform to the current period’s presentation. These condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 26, 2020 (the “2020 Form 10-K”).

The Company’s fiscal year is the 52- or 53-week period that ends on the last Saturday of September. An additional week is included in the first fiscal quarter every five or six years to realign the Company’s fiscal quarters with calendar quarters. The Company’s fiscal years 2021 and 2020 span 52 weeks each. Unless otherwise stated, references to particular years, quarters, months and periods refer to the Company’s fiscal years ended in September and the associated quarters, months and periods of those fiscal years.

Common Stock Split

On August 28, 2020, the Company effected a 4-for-one stock split to shareholders of record as of August 24, 2020. All share, restricted stock unit (“RSU”) and per share or per RSU information has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Financial Instruments – Credit Losses

Earnings Per Share

The following table shows the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (net income in millions and shares in thousands):

Note 2 – Revenue Recognition

The Company records reductions to Products net sales related to future product returns, price protection and other customer incentive programs based on the Company’s expectations and historical experience.

For arrangements with multiple performance obligations, which represent promises within an arrangement that are distinct, the Company allocates revenue to all distinct performance obligations based on their relative stand-alone selling prices (“SSPs”). When available, the Company uses observable prices to determine SSPs. When observable prices are not available, SSPs are established that reflect the Company’s best estimates of what the selling prices of the performance obligations would be if they were sold regularly on a stand-alone basis. The Company’s process for estimating SSPs without observable prices considers multiple factors that may vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each performance obligation including, where applicable, prices charged by the Company for similar offerings, market trends in the pricing for similar offerings, product-specific business objectives and the estimated cost to provide the performance obligation.

For certain long-term service arrangements, the Company has performance obligations for services it has not yet delivered. For these arrangements, the Company does not have a right to bill for the undelivered services. The Company has determined that any unbilled consideration relates entirely to the value of the undelivered services. Accordingly, the Company has not recognized revenue, and has elected not to disclose amounts, related to these undelivered services.

The Company has elected to record revenue net of taxes collected from customers that are remitted to governmental authorities, with the collected taxes recorded within other current liabilities until remitted to the relevant government authority.

As of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the Company had total deferred revenue of $11.9 billion and $10.2 billion, respectively. As of March 27, 2021, the Company expects 64% of total deferred revenue to be realized in less than a year, 26% within one-to-two years, 8% within two-to-three years and 2% in greater than three years.

Net sales disaggregated by significant products and services for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 were as follows (in millions):

The Company’s proportion of net sales by disaggregated revenue source was generally consistent for each reportable segment in Note 11, “Segment Information and Geographic Data” for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020.

Note 3 – Financial Instruments

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities

The following tables show the Company’s cash and marketable securities by significant investment category as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 (in millions):

The Company may sell certain of its marketable debt securities prior to their stated maturities for reasons including, but not limited to, managing liquidity, credit risk, duration and asset allocation. The following table shows the fair value of the Company’s non-current marketable debt securities, by contractual maturity, as of March 27, 2021 (in millions):

The Company typically invests in highly rated securities, with the primary objective of minimizing the potential risk of principal loss. The Company’s investment policy generally requires securities to be investment grade and limits the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer. Fair values were determined for each individual security in the investment portfolio.

Non-Marketable Securities

The Company holds non-marketable equity securities of certain privately held companies without readily determinable fair values. As of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the Company’s non-marketable equity securities had a carrying value of $2.7 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively.

Restricted Cash

A reconciliation of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets to cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 is as follows (in millions):

The Company’s restricted cash primarily consisted of cash to support the Company’s iPhone Upgrade Program. Substantially all of the Company’s restricted cash was included in other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company may use derivatives to partially offset its business exposure to foreign currency and interest rate risk on expected future cash flows, net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries, and certain existing assets and liabilities. However, the Company may choose not to hedge certain exposures for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, accounting considerations or the prohibitive economic cost of hedging particular exposures. There can be no assurance the hedges will offset more than a portion of the financial impact resulting from movements in foreign currency exchange or interest rates.

To protect gross margins from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, certain of the Company’s subsidiaries whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar may hedge a portion of forecasted foreign currency revenue, and subsidiaries whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar may hedge a portion of forecasted inventory purchases not denominated in the subsidiaries’ functional currencies. The Company may enter into forward contracts, option contracts or other instruments to manage this risk and may designate these instruments as cash flow hedges. The Company generally hedges portions of its forecasted foreign currency exposure associated with revenue and inventory purchases, typically for up to 12 months.

To protect the net investment in a foreign operation from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the Company may enter into foreign currency forward and option contracts to offset a portion of the changes in the carrying amounts of these investments due to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. In addition, the Company may use non-derivative financial instruments, such as its foreign currency–denominated debt, as hedges of its net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries. In both of these cases, the Company designates these instruments as net investment hedges.

To protect the Company’s foreign currency–denominated term debt or marketable securities from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the Company may enter into forward contracts, cross-currency swaps or other instruments. These instruments may offset a portion of the foreign currency remeasurement gains or losses, or changes in fair value. The Company may designate these instruments as either cash flow or fair value hedges. As of March 27, 2021, the Company’s hedged term debt– and marketable securities–related foreign currency transactions are expected to be recognized within 21 years.

The Company may also enter into non-designated foreign currency contracts to offset a portion of the foreign currency exchange gains and losses generated by the remeasurement of certain assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies.

To protect the Company’s foreign currency–denominated term debt or marketable securities from fluctuations in interest rates, the Company may enter into interest rate swaps, options or other instruments. These instruments may offset a portion of the changes in interest income or expense, or changes in fair value. The Company designates these instruments as either cash flow or fair value hedges. As of March 27, 2021, the Company’s hedged interest rate transactions are expected to be recognized within seven years.

Cash flow hedge amounts that are included in the assessment of hedge effectiveness are deferred in accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss) (“AOCI”) until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. Deferred gains and losses associated with cash flow hedges of foreign currency revenue are recognized as a component of net sales in the same period as the related revenue is recognized, and deferred gains and losses related to cash flow hedges of inventory purchases are recognized as a component of cost of sales in the same period as the related costs are recognized. Deferred gains and losses associated with cash flow hedges of interest income or expense are recognized in other income/(expense), net (“OI&E”) in the same period as the related income or expense is recognized. For options designated as cash flow hedges, the time value is excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and recognized in the financial statement line item to which the hedge relates on a straight-line basis over the life of the hedge. Changes in the fair value of amounts excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness are recognized in other comprehensive income/(loss) (“OCI”).

Derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges must be de-designated as hedges when it is probable the forecasted hedged transaction will not occur in the initially identified time period or within a subsequent two-month time period. Deferred gains and losses in AOCI associated with such derivative instruments are reclassified into OI&E in the period of de-designation. Any subsequent changes in fair value of such derivative instruments are reflected in OI&E unless they are re-designated as hedges of other transactions.

Net investment hedge amounts that are included in the assessment of hedge effectiveness are recorded in OCI as a part of the cumulative translation adjustment. For foreign exchange forward contracts designated as net investment hedges, the forward carry component is excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and recognized in OCI on a straight-line basis over the life of the hedge. Changes in the fair value of amounts excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness are recognized in OCI.

Fair value hedge gains and losses related to amounts that are included in the assessment of hedge effectiveness are recognized in earnings along with a corresponding loss or gain related to the change in value of the hedged item in the same line in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. For foreign exchange forward contracts designated as fair value hedges, the forward carry component is excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and recognized in OI&E on a straight-line basis over the life of the hedge. Amounts excluded from the effectiveness assessment of fair value hedges and recognized in OI&E were gains of $60 million and $142 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021, respectively, and were gains of $126 million and $254 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2020, respectively. Changes in the fair value of amounts excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness are recognized in OCI.

Derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments are adjusted to fair value through earnings in the financial statement line item to which the derivative relates.

The Company records all derivatives in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value. The Company’s accounting treatment for these derivative instruments is based on its hedge designation. The following tables show the Company’s derivative instruments at gross fair value as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 (in millions):

The Company classifies cash flows related to derivative financial instruments as operating activities in its Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The following table shows the pre-tax gains and losses of the Company’s derivative and non-derivative instruments designated as cash flow and net investment hedges in OCI and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

Amounts excluded from the effectiveness assessment of the Company’s hedges and recognized in OCI were a gain of $41 million and a loss of $97 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021, respectively, and were gains of $258 million and $169 million for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2020, respectively.

The following tables show information about the Company’s derivative instruments designated as fair value hedges and the related hedged items for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 and as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 (in millions):

The following table shows the notional amounts of the Company’s outstanding derivative instruments and credit risk amounts associated with outstanding or unsettled derivative instruments as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 (in millions):

The notional amounts for outstanding derivative instruments provide one measure of the transaction volume outstanding and do not represent the amount of the Company’s exposure to credit or market loss. The credit risk amounts represent the Company’s gross exposure to potential accounting loss on derivative instruments that are outstanding or unsettled if all counterparties failed to perform according to the terms of the contract, based on then-current currency or interest rates at each respective date. The Company’s exposure to credit loss and market risk will vary over time as currency and interest rates change. Although the table above reflects the notional and credit risk amounts of the Company’s derivative instruments, it does not reflect the gains or losses associated with the exposures and transactions that the instruments are intended to hedge. The amounts ultimately realized upon settlement of these financial instruments, together with the gains and losses on the underlying exposures, will depend on actual market conditions during the remaining life of the instruments.

The Company generally enters into master netting arrangements, which are designed to reduce credit risk by permitting net settlement of transactions with the same counterparty. To further limit credit risk, the Company generally enters into collateral security arrangements that provide for collateral to be received or posted when the net fair value of certain financial instruments fluctuates from contractually established thresholds. The Company presents its derivative assets and derivative liabilities at their gross fair values in its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the net cash collateral received by the Company related to derivative instruments under its collateral security arrangements was $935 million and $875 million, respectively. The Company includes gross collateral posted and received in other current assets and other current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively.

Under master netting arrangements with the respective counterparties to the Company’s derivative contracts, the Company is allowed to net settle transactions with a single net amount payable by one party to the other. As of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the potential effects of these rights of set-off associated with the Company’s derivative contracts, including the effects of collateral, would be a reduction to both derivative assets and derivative liabilities of $2.4 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively, resulting in net derivative liabilities of $233 million and $312 million, respectively.

Accounts Receivable

Trade Receivables

The Company has considerable trade receivables outstanding with its third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, resellers, small and mid-sized businesses and education, enterprise and government customers. The Company generally does not require collateral from its customers; however, the Company will require collateral or third-party credit support in certain instances to limit credit risk. In addition, when possible, the Company attempts to limit credit risk on trade receivables with credit insurance for certain customers or by requiring third-party financing, loans or leases to support credit exposure. These credit-financing arrangements are directly between the third-party financing company and the end customer. As such, the Company generally does not assume any recourse or credit risk sharing related to any of these arrangements.

As of March 27, 2021, the Company had 1 customer that represented 10% or more of total trade receivables, which accounted for 13%. As of September 26, 2020, the Company had 0 customers that individually represented 10% or more of total trade receivables. The Company’s cellular network carriers accounted for 35% of total trade receivables as of March 27, 2021.

The Company has non-trade receivables from certain of its manufacturing vendors resulting from the sale of components to these vendors who manufacture sub-assemblies or assemble final products for the Company. The Company purchases these components directly from suppliers. As of March 27, 2021, the Company had 1 vendor that represented 10% or more of total vendor non-trade receivables, which accounted for 65%. As of September 26, 2020, the Company had 2 vendors that individually represented 10% or more of total vendor non-trade receivables, which accounted for 57%, and 11%.

Note 4 – Condensed Consolidated Financial Statement Details

The following tables show the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statement details as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020 (in millions):

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net

Other Non-Current Liabilities

Other Income/(Expense), Net

The following table shows the detail of OI&E for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

Note 5 – Income Taxes

As of March 27, 2021, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits was $16.9 billion, of which $8.3 billion, if recognized, would impact the Company’s effective tax rate. The Company had accrued $1.6 billion of gross interest and penalties related to income tax matters as of March 27, 2021.

On August 30, 2016, the European Commission announced its decision that Ireland granted state aid to the Company by providing tax opinions in 1991 and 2007 concerning the tax allocation of profits of the Irish branches of 2 subsidiaries of the Company (the “State Aid Decision”). The State Aid Decision ordered Ireland to calculate and recover additional taxes from the Company for the period June 2003 through December 2014. Irish legislative changes, effective as of January 2015, eliminated the application of the tax opinions from that date forward. The recovery amount was calculated to be €13.1 billion, plus interest of €1.2 billion. The Company and Ireland appealed the State Aid Decision to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “General Court”). On July 15, 2020, the General Court annulled the State Aid Decision. On September 25, 2020, the European Commission appealed the General Court’s decision to the European Court of Justice. The Company believes that any incremental Irish corporate income taxes potentially due related to the State Aid Decision would be creditable against U.S. taxes, subject to any foreign tax credit limitations in the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

On an annual basis, the Company may request approval from the Irish Minister for Finance to reduce the recovery amount for certain taxes paid to other countries. As of March 27, 2021, the adjusted recovery amount was €12.9 billion, excluding interest. The adjusted recovery amount plus interest is funded into escrow, where it will remain restricted from general use pending the conclusion of all legal proceedings. Refer to the Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities section of Note 3, “Financial Instruments” for more information.

Note 6 – Debt

Commercial Paper and Repurchase Agreement

The Company issues unsecured short-term promissory notes (“Commercial Paper”) pursuant to a commercial paper program. The Company uses net proceeds from the commercial paper program for general corporate purposes, including dividends and share repurchases. As of both March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the Company had $5.0 billion of Commercial Paper outstanding, with maturities generally less than nine months. The weighted-average interest rate of the Company’s Commercial Paper was 0.06% and 0.62% as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, respectively. The following table provides a summary of cash flows associated with the issuance and maturities of Commercial Paper for the six months ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

In the second quarter of 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to sell certain of its marketable securities with a promise to repurchase the securities at a specified time and amount (“Repo”). Due to the Company’s continuing involvement with the marketable securities, the Company accounted for the Repo as a collateralized borrowing. As of September 26, 2020, the Repo had been settled.

Term Debt

As of March 27, 2021, the Company had outstanding floating- and fixed-rate notes with varying maturities for an aggregate principal amount of $116.0 billion (collectively the “Notes”). The Notes are senior unsecured obligations and interest is payable in arrears. The following table provides a summary of the Company’s term debt as of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020:

To manage interest rate risk on certain of its U.S. dollar–denominated fixed- or floating-rate notes, the Company has entered into interest rate swaps to effectively convert the fixed interest rates to floating interest rates or the floating interest rates to fixed interest rates on a portion of these notes. Additionally, to manage foreign currency risk on certain of its foreign currency–denominated notes, the Company has entered into foreign currency swaps to effectively convert these notes to U.S. dollar–denominated notes.

The effective interest rates for the Notes include the interest on the Notes, amortization of the discount or premium and, if applicable, adjustments related to hedging. The Company recognized $657 million and $1.3 billion of interest cost on its term debt for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021, respectively. The Company recognized $725 million and $1.5 billion of interest cost on its term debt for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2020, respectively.

As of March 27, 2021 and September 26, 2020, the fair value of the Company’s Notes, based on Level 2 inputs, was $121.2 billion and $117.1 billion, respectively.

Note 7 – Shareholders’ Equity

Share Repurchase Program

As of March 27, 2021, the Company was authorized to purchase up to $225 billion of the Company’s common stock under a share repurchase program (the “Program”). During the six months ended March 27, 2021, the Company repurchased 347 million shares of its common stock for $43.0 billion, bringing the total utilization under the Program to $211.6 billion. On April 28, 2021, the Company announced the Board of Directors increased the Program authorization by $90 billion. The Program does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares. Under the Program, shares may be repurchased in privately negotiated and/or open market transactions, including under plans complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Note 8 – Comprehensive Income

The Company’s OCI consists of foreign currency translation adjustments from those subsidiaries not using the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, net deferred gains and losses on certain derivative instruments accounted for as hedges, and unrealized gains and losses on marketable debt securities classified as available-for-sale.

The following table shows the pre-tax amounts reclassified from AOCI into the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, and the associated financial statement line items, for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

The following table shows the changes in AOCI by component for the six months ended March 27, 2021 (in millions):

Note 9 – Benefit Plans

Stock Plans

The Company had 718 million shares reserved for future issuance under its stock plans as of March 27, 2021. RSUs granted under the Company’s stock plans generally vest over four years, based on continued employment, and are settled upon vesting in shares of the Company’s common stock on a 1-for-one basis. RSUs granted under the Company’s stock plans reduce the number of shares available for grant under the plans by a factor of 2 times the number of RSUs granted. RSUs canceled and shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations increase the number of shares available for grant under the plans utilizing a factor of 2 times the number of RSUs canceled or shares withheld.

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

During the three months ended March 27, 2021, Section 16 officers Katherine L. Adams, Timothy D. Cook, Chris Kondo, Luca Maestri, Deirdre O’Brien and Jeffrey Williams had equity trading plans in place in accordance with Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) under the Exchange Act. An equity trading plan is a written document that pre-establishes the amounts, prices and dates (or formula for determining the amounts, prices and dates) of future purchases or sales of the Company’s stock, including shares acquired under the Company’s employee and director equity plans.

Restricted Stock Units

The fair value as of the respective vesting dates of RSUs was $867 million and $9.4 billion for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021, respectively, and was $558 million and $4.8 billion for the three- and six-month periods ended March 28, 2020, respectively.

Share-Based Compensation

The following table shows share-based compensation expense and the related income tax benefit included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

As of March 27, 2021, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding RSUs and stock options was $16.7 billion, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of 2.8 years.

Note 10 – Commitments and Contingencies

Accrued Warranty and Guarantees

The following table shows changes in the Company’s accrued warranties and related costs for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):

Concentrations in the Available Sources of Supply of Materials and Product

Although most components essential to the Company’s business are generally available from multiple sources, certain components are currently obtained from single or limited sources. The Company also competes for various components with other participants in the markets for smartphones, personal computers, tablets and other electronic devices. Therefore, many components used by the Company, including those that are available from multiple sources, are at times subject to industry-wide shortage and significant commodity pricing fluctuations.

The Company uses some custom components that are not commonly used by its competitors, and new products introduced by the Company often utilize custom components available from only one source. When a component or product uses new technologies, initial capacity constraints may exist until the suppliers’ yields have matured or their manufacturing capacities have increased. The continued availability of these components at acceptable prices, or at all, may be affected if suppliers decide to concentrate on the production of common components instead of components customized to meet the Company’s requirements.

The Company has entered into agreements for the supply of many components; however, there can be no guarantee that the Company will be able to extend or renew these agreements on similar terms, or at all.

Substantially all of the Company’s hardware products are manufactured by outsourcing partners that are located primarily in Asia, with some Mac computers manufactured in the U.S. and Ireland.

Unconditional Purchase Obligations

The Company has entered into certain off–balance sheet commitments that require the future purchase of goods or services (“unconditional purchase obligations”). The Company’s unconditional purchase obligations primarily consist of payments for content creation, Internet and telecommunications services and supplier arrangements. As of March 27, 2021, the Company’s total future payments under noncancelable unconditional purchase obligations having a remaining term in excess of one year were $8.2 billion.

Contingencies

The Company is subject to various legal proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of business and that have not been fully resolved. The outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain. When a loss related to a legal proceeding or claim is probable and reasonably estimable, the Company accrues its best estimate for the ultimate resolution of the matter. If one or more legal matters were resolved against the Company in a reporting period for amounts above management’s expectations, the Company’s financial condition and operating results for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected. In the opinion of management, there was not at least a reasonable possibility the Company may have incurred a material loss, or a material loss greater than a recorded accrual, concerning loss contingencies for asserted legal and other claims, except for the following matters:

VirnetX, Inc. (“VirnetX”) filed a lawsuit against the Company alleging that certain of the Company’s products infringe on patents owned by VirnetX. On April 11, 2018, a jury returned a verdict against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “Eastern Texas District Court”). The Company appealed the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which remanded the case back to the Eastern Texas District Court, where a re-trial was held in October 2020. The jury returned a verdict against the Company and awarded damages of $503 million, which the Company has appealed. The Company has challenged the validity of the patents at issue in the re-trial at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”), and the PTO has declared the patents invalid, subject to further appeal by VirnetX.

On April 5, 2018, several U.S. federal actions alleging violation of consumer protection laws, fraud, computer intrusion and other causes of action related to the Company’s performance management feature used in its iPhone operating systems, introduced to certain iPhones in iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2, were consolidated through a Multidistrict Litigation process into a single action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Northern California District Court”). On February 28, 2020, the parties in the Multidistrict Litigation reached a settlement to resolve the U.S. federal and California state class actions. On March 18, 2021, the Northern California District Court granted final approval of the Multidistrict Litigation settlement, which will result in an aggregate payment of $310 million to settle all claims. The Company continues to believe that its iPhones were not defective, that the performance management feature introduced with iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2 was intended to, and did, improve customers’ user experience, and that the Company did not make any misleading statements or fail to disclose any material information.

On March 16, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) announced its decision that aspects of the Company’s sales and distribution practices in France violate French competition law and issued a fine of €1.1 billion. The Company strongly disagrees with the FCA’s decision and has appealed.

Optis Wireless Technology, LLC and related entities (“Optis”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against the Company alleging that certain of the Company’s products infringe on patents owned by Optis. On August 11, 2020, a jury returned a verdict against the Company and awarded damages of $506 million. In post-trial proceedings, the damages portion of the verdict was set aside, and the case remains pending further proceedings.

Note 11 – Segment Information and Geographic Data

The Company reports segment information based on the “management” approach. The management approach designates the internal reporting used by management for making decisions and assessing performance as the source of the Company’s reportable segments.

The Company manages its business primarily on a geographic basis. The Company’s reportable segments consist of the Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan and Rest of Asia Pacific. Americas includes both North and South America. Europe includes European countries, as well as India, the Middle East and Africa. Greater China includes China mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Rest of Asia Pacific includes Australia and those Asian countries not included in the Company’s other reportable segments. Although the reportable segments provide similar hardware and software products and similar services, each one is managed separately to better align with the location of the Company’s customers and distribution partners and the unique market dynamics of each geographic region. The accounting policies of the various segments are the same as those described in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of the 2020 Form 10-K.

The Company evaluates the performance of its reportable segments based on net sales and operating income. Net sales for geographic segments are generally based on the location of customers and sales through the Company’s retail stores located in those geographic locations. Operating income for each segment includes net sales to third parties, related cost of sales and operating expenses directly attributable to the segment. Advertising expenses are generally included in the geographic segment in which the expenditures are incurred. Operating income for each segment excludes other income and expense and certain expenses managed outside the reportable segments. Costs excluded from segment operating income include various corporate expenses such as research and development, corporate marketing expenses, certain share-based compensation expenses, income taxes, various nonrecurring charges and other separately managed general and administrative costs. The Company does not include intercompany transfers between segments for management reporting purposes.

The following table shows information by reportable segment for the three- and six-month periods ended March 27, 2021 and March 28, 2020 (in millions):