Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries. The financial results of majority-owned joint ventures are consolidated into the Company’s operating results and financial position, with the minority ownership interest recognized in the consolidated statement of operations as net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, and as equity attributable to the noncontrolling interests within total stockholders’ equity. Investments in which the Company exercises significant influence, but which it does not control (generally a 20% to 50% ownership interest) are accounted for under the equity method of accounting, whereby ATI’s carrying value of the equity method investment on the statement of financial position is the capital investment and any undistributed profit or loss, and is classified in Other (noncurrent) assets. The profit or loss attributable to ATI from equity method investments is included in the results of operations. See Note 6 for further explanation of the Company’s joint ventures. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Unless the context requires otherwise, “Allegheny Technologies,” “ATI” and the “Company” refer to Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries.

Risks and Uncertainties and Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Management believes that the estimates are reasonable. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified in order to conform with the 2018 presentation.

The Company markets its products to a diverse customer base, principally throughout the United States. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of sales for any year presented. The major end markets for the ATI’s products are customers in the aerospace & defense, oil & gas, electrical energy, automotive, construction and mining, food equipment and appliances, and medical markets.

At December 31, 2018, ATI has approximately 8,800 full-time employees, of which approximately 15% are located outside the United States. Approximately 40% of ATI’s workforce is covered by various collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), predominantly with the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied & Industrial Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (USW). New CBAs were ratified in 2018 with approximately 900 USW-represented employees, and there are no expired CBAs as of the end of 2018. The Company’s next significant CBA expiration date is in the first quarter of 2020 involving USW-represented employees located primarily within the Flat Rolled Products segment operations and at two facilities in the High Performance Materials & Components segment.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents are highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to cash with original maturities of three months or less.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are presented net of a reserve for doubtful accounts of $6.0 million and $5.9 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Trade credit is extended based upon evaluations of each customer’s ability to perform its obligations, which are updated periodically. Accounts receivable reserves are determined based upon an aging of accounts and a review for collectability of specific accounts. Amounts are written-off against the reserve in the period it is determined that the receivable is uncollectible.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (last-in, first-out (LIFO), first-in, first-out (FIFO), and average cost methods) or market. Costs include direct material, direct labor and applicable manufacturing and engineering overhead, and other direct costs. Most of the Company’s inventory is valued utilizing the LIFO costing methodology. Inventory of the Company’s non-U.S. operations is valued using average cost or FIFO methods.

The Company evaluates product lines on a quarterly basis to identify inventory carrying values that exceed estimated net realizable value. In applying the lower of cost or market principle, market means current replacement cost, subject to a ceiling (market value shall not exceed net realizable value) and a floor (market shall not be less than net realizable value reduced by an allowance for a normal profit margin). The calculation of a resulting reserve, if any, is recognized as an expense in the period that the need for the reserve is identified. However, in cases where inventory at FIFO cost is lower than the LIFO carrying value, a write-down of the inventory to market may be required, subject to the ceiling and floor. It is the Company’s general policy to write-down to scrap value any inventory that is identified as slow-moving or aged more than twelve months, subject to sales, backlog and anticipated orders considerations. In some instances this aging criterion is up to twenty-four months.

Long-Lived Assets

Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost, including capitalized interest, and include long-lived assets acquired under capital leases. Depreciation is primarily recorded using the straight-line method. Property, plant and equipment associated with the Hot-Rolling and Processing Facility (HRPF) in the Flat Rolled Products segment, and the Company’s idled Rowley titanium sponge production facility in the High Performance Materials & Components segment (prior to its indefinite idling in August 2016 - see Note 17 for further explanation), are being depreciated utilizing the units of production method of depreciation, which the Company believes provides a better matching of costs and revenues. The Company periodically reviews estimates of useful life and production capacity assigned to new and in service assets. Significant enhancements, including major maintenance activities that extend the lives of property and equipment, are capitalized. Costs related to repairs and maintenance are charged to expense in the period incurred. The cost and related accumulated depreciation of property and equipment retired or disposed of are removed from the accounts and any related gains or losses are included in income.

The Company monitors the recoverability of the carrying value of its long-lived assets. An impairment charge is recognized when an indicator of impairment occurs and the expected net undiscounted future cash flows from an asset’s use (including any proceeds from disposition) are less than the asset’s carrying value and the asset’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. Assets to be disposed of by sale are stated at the lower of their fair values or carrying amounts and depreciation is no longer recognized.

Goodwill

Goodwill is reviewed annually for impairment, or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. The review for goodwill impairment requires a comparison of the fair value of each reporting unit that has goodwill associated with its operations with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If this comparison reflects impairment, then the loss would be measured as the excess of the carrying value over the calculated fair value.

Generally accepted accounting standards provide the option to qualitatively assess goodwill for impairment before completing a quantitative assessment. Under the qualitative approach, if, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, including both macroeconomic, industry and market factors, and entity-specific factors, the Company determines it is likely (more likely than not) that the fair value of a reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, then the quantitative impairment analysis is not required. The quantitative assessment may be performed each year for a reporting unit at the Company’s option without first performing a qualitative assessment. The Company’s quantitative assessment of goodwill for possible impairment includes estimating the fair market value of a reporting unit which has goodwill associated with its operations using discounted cash flow and multiples of cash earnings valuation techniques, plus valuation comparisons to recent public sale transactions of similar businesses, if any. These impairment assessments and valuation methods require the Company to make estimates and assumptions regarding future operating results, cash flows, changes in working capital and capital expenditures, selling prices, profitability, and the cost of capital. Many of these assumptions are determined by reference to market participants identified by the Company. Although management believes that the estimates and assumptions used were reasonable, actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions.

Other events and changes in circumstances may also require goodwill to be tested for impairment between annual measurement dates. While a decline in stock price and market capitalization is not specifically cited as a goodwill impairment indicator, a company’s stock price and market capitalization should be considered in determining whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less that its carrying value. Additionally, a significant decline in a company’s stock price may suggest that an adverse change in the business climate may have caused the fair value of one or more reporting units to fall below carrying value. A sustained decline in market capitalization below book value may be determined to require an interim goodwill impairment review.

Environmental

Costs that mitigate or prevent future environmental contamination or extend the life, increase the capacity or improve the safety or efficiency of property utilized in current operations are capitalized. Other costs that relate to current operations or an existing condition caused by past operations are expensed. Environmental liabilities are recorded when the Company’s liability is probable and the costs are reasonably estimable, but generally not later than the completion of the feasibility study or the Company’s recommendation of a remedy or commitment to an appropriate plan of action. The accruals are reviewed periodically and, as investigations and remediations proceed, adjustments of the accruals are made to reflect new information as appropriate. Accruals for losses from environmental remediation obligations do not take into account the effects of inflation, and anticipated expenditures are not discounted to their present value. The accruals are not reduced by possible recoveries from insurance carriers or other third parties, but do reflect allocations among potentially responsible parties (PRPs) at Federal Superfund sites or similar state-managed sites after an assessment is made of the likelihood that such parties will fulfill their obligations at such sites and after appropriate cost-sharing or other agreements are entered. The measurement of environmental liabilities by the Company is based on currently available facts, present laws and regulations, and current technology. Such estimates take into consideration the Company’s prior experience in site investigation and remediation, the data concerning cleanup costs available from other companies and regulatory authorities, and the professional judgment of the Company’s environmental experts in consultation with outside environmental specialists, when necessary.

Foreign Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities of international operations are translated into U.S. dollars using year-end exchange rates, while revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates during the period. The resulting net translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity.

Sales Recognition

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606 (ASC 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This new guidance provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized, and requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

The following is the Company’s accounting policy as it relates to the five-step analysis for revenue recognition:

Identify the contract: The Company has determined that the contract with the customer is established when the customer purchase order is accepted or acknowledged. Long-term agreements (LTAs),which typically extend multiple years, are used by the Company and certain of its customers for its specialty materials, in the form of mill products, powders, parts and components, to reduce their supply uncertainty. While these LTAs generally define commercial terms including pricing, termination clauses and other contractual requirements, they do not represent the contract with the customer.

Identify the performance obligation in the contract: When the Company accepts or acknowledges the customer purchase order, the type of good or service is defined on a line by line basis. Individual performance obligations are established by virtue of the individual line items identified on the sales order acknowledgment at the time of issuance. Generally, the Company’s revenue relates to the sale of goods and contains a single performance obligation for each distinct good. Conversion services that transform customer-owned inventory to a different dimension, product form, and/or changed mechanical properties are classified as “goods”.

Determine the transaction price: Pricing is also defined on a sales order acknowledgment on a line item basis and includes an estimate of variable consideration when required by the terms of the individual customer contract. Variable consideration is when the selling price of the good is not known, or is subject to adjustment under certain conditions. Types of variable consideration may include volume discounts, customer rebates and surcharges. ATI also provides assurances that goods or services will meet the product specifications contained within the acknowledged customer contract. As such, returns and refunds reserves are estimated based upon past product line history or, at certain locations, on a claim by claim basis.


4.	Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligation: Since a customer contract generally contains only one performance obligation, this step of the analysis is generally not applicable to the Company.

Recognize revenue when or as the performance obligation is satisfied: Performance obligations generally occur at a point in time and are satisfied when control passes to the customer. For most transactions, control passes at the time of shipment in accordance with agreed upon delivery terms. On occasion, shipping and handling charges occur after the customer obtains control of the good. When this occurs, the shipping and handling services are considered activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the good. This approach is consistent with our revenue recognition approach in prior years.

The Company has several customer agreements involving production of parts and components in the High Performance Materials and Components segment that require revenue to be recognized over time due to there being no alternative use for the product without significant economic loss and an enforceable right to payment including a normal profit margin from the customer in the event of contract termination. The Company uses an input method for determining the amount of revenue, and associated standard cost, to recognize over-time revenue, cost and gross margin for these customer agreements. The input methods used for these agreements include costs incurred and labor hours expended, both of which give an accurate representation of the progress made toward complete satisfaction of that particular performance obligation.

Contract assets are recognized when ATI’s conditional right to consideration for goods or services have transferred to the customer. A conditional right indicates that additional performance obligations associated with the contract are yet to be satisfied. Contract assets are assessed separately for impairment purposes. If ATI’s right to consideration from the customer is unconditional, this asset is accounted for as a receivable and presented separately from other contract assets. A right is unconditional if nothing other than the passage of time is required before payment of that consideration is due. Performance obligations that are recognized as revenue at a point-in-time and are billed to the customer are recognized as accounts receivable. Payment terms vary from customer to customer depending upon credit worthiness, prior payment history and other credit considerations.

Contract costs are the incremental costs of obtaining and fulfilling a contract (i.e., costs that would not have been incurred if the contract had not been obtained) to provide goods and services to customers. Contract costs for ATI largely consist of design and development costs for molds, dies and other tools that ATI will own and that will be used in producing the products under the supply arrangement. Contract costs are classified as non-current assets and amortized to expense on a systematic and rational basis over a period consistent with the transfer to the customer of the goods or services to which the asset relates.

Contract liabilities are recognized when ATI has received consideration from a customer to transfer goods or services at a future point in time when the Company performs under the contract. Elements of variable consideration discussed above may be recorded as contract liabilities. In addition, progress billings and advance payments from customers for costs incurred to date are also reported as contract liabilities.

Research and Development

Our research, development and technical service activities are closely interrelated and are directed toward development of new products, improvement of existing products, cost reduction, process improvement and control, quality assurance and control, development of new manufacturing methods, and improvement of existing manufacturing methods. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Company funded research and development costs were $22.7 million in 2018, $13.3 million in 2017, and $14.7 million in 2016. Customer funded research and development costs were $2.2 million in 2018, $1.4 million in 2017, and $2.2 million in 2016.

Stock-based Compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation transactions, such as nonvested stock and performance equity awards, using fair value. Compensation expense for an award is estimated at the date of grant and is recognized over the requisite service period. Compensation expense is adjusted for equity awards that do not vest because service or performance conditions are not satisfied. However, compensation expense already recognized on plans which vest based solely on the attainment of market conditions, such as total shareholder return measures, is not adjusted based on the award attainment status at the end of the measurement period. Compensation expense is adjusted for estimated forfeitures over the award measurement period.

Income Taxes

The provision for, or benefit from, income taxes includes deferred taxes resulting from temporary differences in income for financial and tax purposes using the liability method. Such temporary differences result primarily from differences in the carrying value of assets and liabilities. Future realization of deferred income tax assets requires sufficient taxable income within the carryback and/or carryforward period available under tax law.

The Company evaluates on a quarterly basis whether, based on all available evidence, it is probable that the deferred income tax assets are realizable. Valuation allowances are established when it is estimated that it is more likely than not that the tax benefit of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. The evaluation includes the consideration of all available evidence, both positive and negative, regarding the estimated future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, estimated future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards, historical taxable income in prior carryback periods if carryback is permitted, and potential tax planning strategies which may be employed to prevent an operating loss or tax credit carryforward from expiring unused. The verifiable evidence such as future reversals of existing temporary differences and the ability to carryback are considered before the subjective sources such as estimate future taxable income exclusive of temporary differences and tax planning strategies.

It is the Company’s policy to classify interest and penalties recognized on underpayment of income taxes as income tax expense. It is also the Company’s policy to recognize deferred tax amounts stranded in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI), which result from tax rate differences on changes in AOCI balances, as an element of income tax expense in the period that the related balance sheet item associated with the AOCI balance ceases to exist. In the case of derivative financial instruments accounted for as hedges, or marketable securities, ATI uses the portfolio method where the stranded deferred tax amount is recognized when all items of a particular category, such as cash flow hedges of a particular risk such as a foreign currency hedge, are settled. In the case of defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans, the stranded deferred tax balance is recognized as an element of income tax expense in the period the benefit plan is extinguished.

Net Income Per Common Share

Basic and diluted net income per share are calculated by dividing the net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted amounts assume the issuance of common stock for all potentially dilutive share equivalents outstanding. The calculations of all diluted income/loss per share figures for a period exclude the potentially dilutive effect of dilutive share equivalents if there is a net loss since the inclusion in the calculation of additional shares in the net loss per share would result in a lower per share loss and therefore be anti-dilutive.

New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In January 2018, the Company adopted changes issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) related to revenue recognition with customers. See Note 2 for further explanation related to this adoption, including all newly expanded disclosure requirements.

In January 2018, the Company adopted changes issued by the FASB related to changes to the accounting for defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit expenses. This new guidance requires the disaggregation of the service cost component from the other components of net benefit cost. The service cost component of net benefit cost is now reported in the same line item on the consolidated statement of operations as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the pertinent employees, while the other components of net benefit cost are now presented in the consolidated statement of operations separately, outside a subtotal of operating income. The amendments also provide explicit guidance to allow only the service cost component of net benefit cost to be eligible for capitalization. With this adoption, the change in presentation of net benefit cost in the consolidated statement of operations was applied retrospectively, and the change in capitalization for only service cost was applied prospectively. The Company adopted this new guidance using the practical expedient that permits the use of the amounts disclosed in the retirement benefits footnote for the prior comparative periods as the estimation basis for applying the retrospective presentation requirements. This required accounting change did have a material impact to previously-reported operating income (loss) in the consolidated statement of operations due to the change in presentation of non-service cost expense components. For the fiscal years of 2017 and 2016, applying the practical expedient, operating results were higher by $54.3 million and $70.6 million, respectively, with the reclassification of this amount representing the other components of net benefit cost to a newly-created nonoperating retirement benefit expense category. There was no net impact to the reported results before income taxes as a result of this accounting change. This change in presentation of net benefit cost did not affect ATI’s measure of segment operating profit; all defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit expense attributable to business segment operations remains a component of business segment financial performance. The Company did have a one-time, unfavorable impact of $5.4 million to pre-tax reported results in 2018 upon adoption, primarily affecting the Flat Rolled Products business segment, due to the change limiting only the service cost component of net benefit cost to be capitalizable into inventory.

In January 2018, the Company early adopted changes issued by the FASB related to changes to its accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging, which changes both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. Some changes resulting from this new guidance include the elimination of the concept of recognizing periodic hedge ineffectiveness for cash flow hedges, changes to the recognition and presentation of changes in the fair value of the hedging instrument, enhancement of the ability to use the critical-terms-match method for the cash flow hedge of groups of forecasted transactions when the timing of the hedged transactions does not perfectly match the hedging instrument’s maturity date, and the addition of new disclosure requirements and amendments to existing ones. The Company applied this new guidance to hedging relationships existing on January 1, 2018, the date of adoption. The adoption of these changes did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements, and disclosures in Note 10 reflect the requirements of this adoption.

In February 2018, the FASB issued limited changes to accounting standards to address the income tax accounting for certain provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). Accounting standards require the effect of a change in tax laws or rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities to be included in income from continuing operations in the reporting period that the change was enacted, including tax effects that were initially recognized directly in other comprehensive income at the previous rate. This results in stranded amounts in AOCI related to the income tax rate differential, as the net-of-tax AOCI balance is not adjusted for the tax rate change. This new accounting guidance provides the option to make a one-time reclassification from AOCI to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the newly enacted U.S. federal tax rate under the Tax Act, calculated on the basis of the difference between the historical and newly enacted U.S. federal tax rate on deferred tax assets and liabilities related to items within AOCI. ATI adopted this new accounting guidance in 2018, electing not to make the one-time reclassification.

In August 2018, the FASB issued new accounting guidance for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. This guidance specifies which implementation costs can be capitalized in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract. The guidance aligns the accounting for implementation costs for hosting arrangements, regardless of whether they convey a license to the hosted software. This guidance is required to be adopted either retrospectively or prospectively by the Company beginning in fiscal year 2020 with early adoption permitted, including adoption in any interim period. The Company early adopted this guidance in 2018 on a retrospective basis, which did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued new disclosure guidance for defined benefit plans, which modified certain required disclosures. This guidance is required to be adopted retrospectively by the Company beginning in fiscal year 2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company early adopted this guidance in 2018, which did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements other than disclosures.

Pending Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance for leases. This new guidance will require that a lessee recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases with a lease term of more than twelve months, with the result being the recognition of a right of use asset and a lease liability. The new lease accounting requirements are effective for ATI’s 2019 fiscal year, and management has adopted the standard effective January 1, 2019, electing the alternative transition method, which does not require the restatement of prior years. Management has elected the package of practical expedients, which allows entities to not reassess (1) whether contracts are or contain leases, (2) lease classification and (3) initial direct costs. Management has also elected the practical expedient to not separate lease components from non-lease components, and will not be electing the hindsight practical expedient to determine the lease term. Management has made an accounting policy election to apply the short-term lease exception, which does not require the capitalization of leases with terms of 12 months or less.

The Company has completed the process of evaluating its existing lease portfolio, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for the leases under the new standard. In addition, ATI has implemented a company-wide lease management system to assist in the accounting and has implemented additional changes to its processes and internal controls to ensure the standard’s reporting and disclosure requirements are met. The Company will recognize approximately $52 million of right of use assets and approximately $56 million of lease liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet on January 1, 2019 for operating leases as a result of this adoption. The adoption will not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows, but will result in increased financial statement footnote disclosures in 2019 regarding leases.

In August 2018, the FASB issued new disclosure guidance on fair value measurement. This new guidance modifies the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements, including removal and modifications of various current disclosures as well as some additional disclosure requirements for Level 3 fair value measurements. Some of these disclosure changes must be applied prospectively while others retrospectively depending on requirement. This guidance is required to be adopted by the Company beginning in fiscal year 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not plan to early adopt this guidance. The adoption of these changes is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements other than disclosures.