XML 39 R25.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.20.4

GUARANTEES | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Oct. 31, 2020
Guarantees [Abstract] |
GUARANTEES | GUARANTEES Standard Warranty We accrue for standard warranty costs based on historical trends in actual warranty charges over the past 12 months. The accrual is reviewed regularly and periodically adjusted to reflect changes in warranty cost over the period. The standard warranty accrual balances are held in other accrued and other long-term liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet. Our standard warranty terms typically extend to one year from the date of delivery, depending on the product. A summary of the standard warranty accrual activity is shown in the table below.
| October 31,
| 2020 |  | 2019
| (in millions)
Standard warranty accrual, beginning balance | $ | 32 |  |  | $ | 35 |
Accruals for warranties including change in estimates | 49 |  |  | 54 |
Settlements made during the period | (49) |  |  | (57) |
Standard warranty accrual, ending balance | $ | 32 |  |  | $ | 32 |
Accruals for warranties due within one year | $ | 30 |  |  | $ | 32 |
Accruals for warranties due after one year | 2 |  |  | — |
Standard warranty accrual, ending balance | $ | 32 |  |  | $ | 32 |
Bank Guarantees Guarantees consist primarily of outstanding standby letters of credit and bank guarantees and were approximately $43 million and $40 million as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. A standby letter of credit is a guarantee of payment issued by a bank on behalf of us that is used as payment of last resort should we fail to fulfill a contractual commitment with a third party. A bank guarantee is a promise from a bank or other lending institution that if we default on a loan, the bank will cover the loss. Indemnifications in Connection with Transactions In connection with various divestitures, acquisitions, spin-offs and other transactions, we have agreed to indemnify certain parties, their affiliates and/or other related parties against certain damages and expenses that might occur in the future. These indemnifications may cover a variety of liabilities, including, but not limited to, employee, tax, environmental, intellectual property, litigation and other liabilities related to the business conducted prior to the date of the transaction. In our opinion, the fair value of these indemnification obligations was not material as of October 31, 2020. Indemnifications to Officers and Directors Our corporate bylaws require that we indemnify our officers and directors, as well as those who act as directors and officers of other entities at our request, against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any proceedings arising out of their services to Agilent and such other entities, including service with respect to employee benefit plans. In addition, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each director and each board-appointed officer of Agilent which provide for indemnification of these directors and officers under similar circumstances and under additional circumstances. The indemnification obligations are more fully described in the bylaws and the indemnification agreements. We purchase standard insurance to cover claims or a portion of the claims made against our directors and officers. Since a maximum obligation is not explicitly stated in our bylaws or in our indemnification agreements and will depend on the facts and circumstances that arise out of any future claims, the overall maximum amount of the obligations cannot be reasonably estimated. Historically, we have not made payments related to these obligations, and the fair value for these indemnification obligations was not material as of October 31, 2020. Other Indemnifications As is customary in our industry and as provided for in local law in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, many of our standard contracts provide remedies to our customers and others with whom we enter into contracts, such as defense, settlement, or payment of judgment for intellectual property claims related to the use of our products. From time to time, we indemnify customers, as well as our suppliers, contractors, lessors, lessees, companies that purchase our businesses or assets and others with whom we enter into contracts, against combinations of loss, expense, or liability arising from various triggering events related to the sale and the use of our products and services, the use of their goods and services, the use of facilities and state of our owned facilities, the state of the assets and businesses that we sell and other matters covered by such contracts, usually up to a specified maximum amount. In addition, from time to time we also provide protection to these parties against claims related to undiscovered liabilities, additional product liability or environmental obligations. In our experience, claims made under such indemnifications are rare and the associated estimated fair value of the liability was not material as of October 31, 2020. In connection with the sale of several of our businesses, we have agreed to indemnify the buyers of such business, their respective affiliates and other related parties against certain damages that they might incur in the future. The continuing indemnifications primarily cover damages relating to liabilities of the businesses that Agilent retained and did not transfer to the buyers, as well as other specified items. In our opinion, the fair value of these indemnification obligations was not material as of October 31, 2020.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_GuaranteesAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for standard and extended product warranties and other product guarantee contracts, including a tabular reconciliation of the changes in the guarantor's aggregate product warranty liability for the reporting period. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2155896 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ProductWarrantyDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration