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Guarantees, Indemnifications and Warranties | 12 Months Ended
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Oct. 31, 2016
Guarantees [Abstract] |
Guarantees, Indemnifications and Warranties | Guarantees, Indemnifications and Warranties Guarantees In the ordinary course of business, the Company may issue performance guarantees to certain of its clients, customers and other parties pursuant to which the Company has guaranteed the performance obligations of third parties. Some of those guarantees may be backed by standby letters of credit or surety bonds. In general, the Company would be obligated to perform over the term of the guarantee in the event a specified triggering event occurs as defined by the guarantee. The Company believes the likelihood of having to perform under a material guarantee is remote. The Company has entered into service contracts with certain of its clients that are supported by financing arrangements. If a service contract is terminated as a result of the Company's non-performance under the contract or failure to comply with the terms of the financing arrangement, the Company could, under certain circumstances, be required to acquire certain assets related to the service contract. The Company believes the likelihood of having to acquire a material amount of assets under these arrangements is remote. Indemnifications In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into contractual arrangements under which the Company may agree to indemnify a third party to such arrangement from any losses incurred relating to the services they perform on behalf of the Company or for losses arising from certain events as defined within the particular contract, which may include, for example, litigation or claims relating to past performance. The Company also provides indemnifications to certain vendors and customers against claims of IP infringement made by third parties arising from the use by such vendors and customers of the Company's software products and services and certain other matters. Some indemnifications may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, payments made related to these indemnifications have been immaterial. General Cross-indemnification In connection with the Separation, the Company entered into a Separation and Distribution Agreement with HP Inc. effective November 1, 2015 where the Company agreed to indemnify HP Inc., each of its subsidiaries and each of their respective directors, officers and employees from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from, among other matters, the liabilities allocated to the Company as part of the Separation. HP Inc. similarly agreed to indemnify the Company, each of its subsidiaries and each of their respective directors, officers and employees from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from, among other matters, the liabilities allocated to HP Inc. as part of the Separation. As a result, as of October 31, 2016 and October 31, 2015 the Company recorded both a receivable from HP Inc. of $56 million and $232 million and a payable to HP Inc. of $41 million and $38 million related to litigation matters and other contingencies, respectively. Shared Litigation with HP Inc. As part of the Separation and Distribution Agreement, the Company and HP Inc. agreed to cooperate with each other in managing certain existing litigation related to both parties' businesses. The Separation and Distribution Agreement also included provisions that assign to the parties responsibility for managing pending and future litigation related to general corporate matters of HP Inc. arising prior to the Separation. Tax Matters Agreement and Other Income Tax Matters In connection with the Separation, the Company entered into a Tax Matters Agreement (the "Tax Matters Agreement") with HP Inc. effective November 1, 2015 that governs the rights and obligations of the Company and HP Inc. for certain pre-Separation tax liabilities. The Tax Matters Agreement provides that the Company and HP Inc. will share certain pre-Separation income tax liabilities that arise from adjustments made by tax authorities to the Company and HP Inc.'s U.S. and certain non-U.S. income tax returns. In certain jurisdictions, the Company and HP Inc. have joint and several liability for past income tax liabilities and accordingly, the Company could be legally liable under applicable tax law for such liabilities and required to make additional tax payments. In these cases, the Company records the entire liability, which is partially offset by the indemnification receivable from HP Inc., thereby reflecting the Company's net exposure in its Consolidated Balance Sheets. In addition, if the Distribution of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's common shares to the HP Inc. shareholders are determined to be taxable, the Company and HP Inc. would share the tax liability equally, unless the taxability of the Distribution is the direct result of action taken by either the Company or HP Inc. subsequent to the Distribution in which case the party causing the Distribution to be taxable would be responsible for any taxes imposed on the Distribution. As of October 31, 2016, the Company recorded a net long-term receivable of $1.3 billion from HP Inc. for certain tax liabilities that the Company is joint and severally liable for, but for which it is indemnified by HP Inc. under the Tax Matters Agreement. The actual amount that the Company may receive could vary depending upon the outcome of certain unresolved tax matters, which may not be resolved for several years. Warranties The Company accrues the estimated cost of product warranties at the time it recognizes revenue. The Company engages in extensive product quality programs and processes, including actively monitoring and evaluating the quality of its component suppliers; however, contractual warranty terms, repair costs, product call rates, average cost per call, current period product shipments and ongoing product failure rates, as well as specific product class failures outside of the Company's baseline experience, affect the estimated warranty obligation. The Company's aggregate product warranty liabilities and changes therein were as follows:
| Fiscal years ended October 31,
| 2016 |  | 2015
| In millions
Balance at beginning of year | $ | 523 |  |  | $ | 571 |
Accruals for warranties issued | 376 |  |  | 373 |
Adjustments related to pre-existing warranties (including changes in estimates) | 1 |  |  | (16 | )
Divested as part of the H3C transaction | (23 | ) |  | — |
Settlements made (in cash or in kind) | (380 | ) |  | (405 | )
Balance at end of year | $ | 497 |  |  | $ | 523 |

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- Definition The entire disclosure for each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties. + References No definition available. + Details
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