Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets. Goodwill represents costs in excess of fair values assigned to the underlying net assets of acquired businesses. Intangible assets consist of service portfolios, patents, trademarks/trade names, customer relationships and other intangible assets. Acquired intangible assets are recognized at fair value during acquisition accounting and then amortized to Cost of products and services sold and Selling, general and administrative over the applicable useful lives.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets. Goodwill and intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are subject to impairment testing annually or when a triggering event occurs using the guidance and criteria described in FASB ASC Topic 350: Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. This testing compares carrying values to fair values and, when appropriate, the carrying value of these assets is reduced to fair value.
We test goodwill for impairment at a level within the Company referred to as the reporting unit, which is one level below the operating segment level. When testing goodwill for impairment, the Company may first assess qualitative factors. If an initial qualitative assessment identified that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, additional quantitative testing is performed. The Company may also elect to skip the qualitative testing and proceed directly to the quantitative testing. If the quantitative testing indicates that goodwill is impaired, an impairment charge is recognized based on the difference between the reporting unit's carrying value and its fair value. When it is determined that a quantitative analysis is required, the Company primarily utilizes a discounted cash flow methodology to calculate the fair value of its reporting units. The Company completed its most recent annual impairment testing as of July 1, 2024, and determined in the qualitative assessment that quantitative testing is not necessary. There were no triggering events since the annual impairment test.
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets. Useful lives of finite-lived intangible assets are estimated based upon the nature of the intangible asset. These intangible assets are amortized based on the pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible assets are consumed or if straight-line amortization approximates the pattern of economic benefit, a straight-line amortization method may be used. The range of estimated useful lives is as follows:
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Purchased service portfolios | | 5 to 25 years |
Patents, trademarks/trade names | | 4 to 40 years |
Customer relationships and other | | 1 to 20 years |
The Company evaluates the potential impairment of long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the related carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the carrying value of other long-lived assets held and used exceeds the sum of the undiscounted expected future cash flows, the carrying value is written down to fair value. See Note 7, "Fixed Assets" and Note 8, "Business Acquisitions, Dispositions, Goodwill and Intangible Assets" for additional information regarding intangible assets and other long-lived assets.