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Investments
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Investments [Line Items]  
Investments
Investments
(in millions)
June 30,
2018
 
December 31,
2017
Equity method
$
4,007

 
$
3,546

Marketable equity securities
451

 
433

Nonmarketable equity securities
1,279

 
1,186

Other investments
1,783

 
1,785

Total investments
7,520

 
6,950

Less: Current investments
82

 
19

Noncurrent investments
$
7,438

 
$
6,931


Investment and Other Income (Loss), Net
 
Three Months Ended
June 30
 
Six Months Ended
June 30
(in millions)
2018
 
2017
 
2018
 
2017
Equity in net income (losses) of investees, net
$
69

 
$
15

 
$
20

 
$
51

Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net
(40
)
 
(2
)
 
(12
)
 
(7
)
Other income (loss), net
48

 
86

 
195

 
185

Investment and other income (loss), net
$
77

 
$
99

 
$
203

 
$
229


Beginning January 1, 2018, in connection with our adoption of the updated accounting guidance related to the recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities (see Note 7), we updated the presentation and accounting policies for our investments previously classified as fair value and cost method investments. The investment categories presented in the table above are based on the new guidance and updated policies, where applicable, are presented below.
Equity Method
Atairos
In February 2018, we amended our agreement with Atairos, which primarily increases our commitment to fund Atairos from up to $4 billion to up to $5 billion in the aggregate at any one time, subject to certain offsets.
As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in Atairos of $2.7 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, we made cash capital contributions to Atairos totaling $112 million and $994 million, respectively. Atairos follows investment company accounting and records its investments at their fair values each reporting period with the net gains or losses reflected in its statement of income. We recognize our share of Atairos’ income and losses in equity in net income (losses) of investees, net. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, our share of Atairos income was $151 million and $186 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, our share of Atairos income was $42 million and $99 million, respectively.
In April 2018, we sold a controlling interest in our arena management-related businesses to Atairos and received as consideration additional equity interests in Atairos. We account for our retained ownership in the businesses as an equity method investment. In connection with the sale of the businesses, we recognized a pretax gain of $200 million in other operating gains for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018.
Hulu
As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in Hulu of $238 million and $249 million, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, we made cash capital contributions to Hulu totaling $227 million and $99 million, respectively. We recognize our proportionate share of Hulu’s income and losses in equity in net income (losses) of investees, net. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we recognized our proportionate share of Hulu’s losses of $107 million and $238 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, we recognized our proportionate share of Hulu’s losses of $52 million and $106 million, respectively.
The Weather Channel
In March 2018, we sold our investment in The Weather Channel cable network and recognized a pretax gain of $64 million in other income (loss), net.
Marketable Equity Securities
We classify publicly traded investments with readily determinable fair values that are not accounted for under the equity method as marketable equity securities. Marketable equity securities are recorded at cost and adjusted to fair value at each reporting period. The changes in fair value between measurement dates are recorded in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net. The fair values of our marketable equity securities are based on Level 1 inputs that use quoted market prices.
Snap
In March 2017, we acquired an interest in Snap Inc. for $500 million as part of its initial public offering, which we have classified as a marketable equity security. Snap is a camera company whose primary product is Snapchat, a camera app that was created to help people communicate through short videos and images. As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in Snap of $385 million and $430 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we recognized unrealized losses of $82 million and $45 million, respectively, in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net related to our investment in Snap.
Nonmarketable Equity Securities
We classify investments without readily determinable fair values that are not accounted for under the equity method as nonmarketable equity securities. The accounting guidance requires nonmarketable equity securities to be recorded at cost and adjusted to fair value at each reporting period. However, the guidance allows for a measurement alternative, which is to record the investments at cost, less impairment, if any, and subsequently adjust for observable price changes of identical or similar investments of the same issuer. We apply this measurement alternative to a majority of our nonmarketable equity securities. When an observable event occurs, we estimate the fair values of our nonmarketable equity securities based on Level 2 inputs that are derived from observable price changes of similar securities adjusted for insignificant differences in rights and obligations. The changes in value are recorded in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net.
Other Investments
AirTouch
We hold two series of preferred stock of Verizon Americas, Inc., formerly known as AirTouch Communications, Inc. (“AirTouch”), a subsidiary of Verizon Communications Inc., which are redeemable in April 2020. As of both June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in AirTouch of $1.6 billion. We account for our investment in AirTouch as a held to maturity investment using the cost method. As of June 30, 2018, the estimated fair value of the AirTouch preferred stock and the estimated fair value of the associated liability related to the redeemable subsidiary preferred shares issued by one of our consolidated subsidiaries were each $1.7 billion. The estimated fair values are based on Level 2 inputs that use pricing models whose inputs are derived primarily from or corroborated by observable market data through correlation or other means for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.
NBCUniversal Media LLC [Member]  
Investments [Line Items]  
Investments
Investments
(in millions)
June 30,
2018
 
December 31,
2017
Equity method
$
719

 
$
690

Marketable equity securities
385

 
430

Nonmarketable equity securities
712

 
696

Total investments
$
1,816

 
$
1,816


Investment and Other Income (Loss), Net
 
Three Months Ended
June 30
 
Six Months Ended
June 30
(in millions)
2018
 
2017
 
2018
 
2017
Equity in net income (losses) of investees, net
$
(87
)
 
$
(29
)
 
$
(187
)
 
$
(55
)
Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net
(74
)
 
—

 
(37
)
 
2

Other income (loss), net
(7
)
 
14

 
52

 
37

Investment and other income (loss), net
$
(168
)
 
$
(15
)
 
$
(172
)
 
$
(16
)

Beginning January 1, 2018, in connection with our adoption of the updated accounting guidance related to the recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities (see Note 6), we updated the presentation and accounting policies for our investments previously classified as fair value and cost method investments. The investment categories presented in the table above are based on the new guidance and updated policies, where applicable, are presented below.
Equity Method
Hulu
As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in Hulu of $238 million and $249 million, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, we made cash capital contributions to Hulu totaling $227 million and $99 million, respectively. We recognize our proportionate share of Hulu’s income and losses in equity in net income (losses) of investees, net. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we recognized our proportionate share of Hulu’s losses of $107 million and $238 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, we recognized our proportionate share of Hulu’s losses of $52 million and $106 million, respectively.
The Weather Channel
In March 2018, we sold our investment in The Weather Channel cable network and recognized a pretax gain of $64 million in other income (loss), net.
Marketable Equity Securities
We classify publicly traded investments with readily determinable fair values that are not accounted for under the equity method as marketable equity securities. Marketable equity securities are recorded at cost and adjusted to fair value at each reporting period. The changes in fair value between measurement dates are recorded in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net. The fair values of our marketable equity securities are based on Level 1 inputs that use quoted market prices.
Snap
In March 2017, Comcast acquired an interest in Snap Inc. as part of its initial public offering. On March 31, 2017, Comcast contributed its investment in Snap to us as an equity contribution of $662 million, which was recorded in our condensed consolidated statement of equity based on the fair value of the investment as of March 31, 2017. We have classified our investment as a marketable equity security. Snap is a camera company whose primary product is Snapchat, a camera app that was created to help people communicate through short videos and images. As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had an investment in Snap of $385 million and $430 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we recognized unrealized losses of $82 million and $45 million, respectively, in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net related to our investment in Snap.
Nonmarketable Equity Securities
We classify investments without readily determinable fair values that are not accounted for under the equity method as nonmarketable equity securities. The accounting guidance requires nonmarketable equity securities to be recorded at cost and adjusted to fair value at each reporting period. However, the guidance allows for a measurement alternative, which is to record the investments at cost, less impairment, if any, and subsequently adjust for observable price changes of identical or similar investments of the same issuer. We apply this measurement alternative to our nonmarketable equity securities. When an observable event occurs, we estimate the fair values of our nonmarketable equity securities based on Level 2 inputs that are derived from observable price changes of similar securities adjusted for insignificant differences in rights and obligations. The changes in value are recorded in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities, net.