Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (a) Basis of accounting The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”). (b) Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries, and the VIEs for which the Company or subsidiaries of the Company are the primary beneficiaries. All significant inter-company transactions and balances between (c) Use of Estimates The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the year. Areas where management uses subjective judgment include, but are not limited to, estimating the useful lives of long-lived assets and intangible assets, identification of performance obligations, standalone selling price for each performance obligation and estimation of variable consideration represented by sales rebates, non-current (d) Foreign Currency The functional currency of the Company, its Cayman subsidiaries and Cheerbright, is the United States dollar (“US$”), whereas the Company’s subsidiaries and VIEs with operations in the PRC, Hong Kong, and other jurisdictions generally use their respective local currencies as their functional currencies as determined based on the criteria of ASC 830 , Foreign Currency Matters re-measured re-measured Assets and liabilities of the Company and Company’s subsidiaries, other than the subsidiaries with the functional currency of RMB, are translated into RMB at fiscal year-end exchange rates. Income and expense items are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the fiscal year. (e) Convenience Translation Amounts in United States dollars (“US$”) are presented for the convenience of the reader and are translated at the noon buying rate of US$1.00 to RMB6.9618 on December 31, 2019 in the City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into US$ at such rate. (f) Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand, demand deposits, time deposits and money market funds placed with banks or other financial institutions which are unrestricted as to withdrawal and use and have original maturities of three months or less. (g) Short-term Investments Short-term investments represent bank deposits, adjustable-rate financial products with original maturities of greater than 3 months but less than 1 year and money market funds that are measured at fair value. In accordance with ASC 825 , Financial Instruments (h) Restricted Cash Restricted cash primarily represents cash deposits in a regulatory escrow account related to insurance brokerage services. The following table provides a reconciliation of the amount of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets to the total of the same such amounts shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows: December 31, 2017 2018 2019 RMB RMB RMB Amounts shown in Consolidated Balance Sheets: Cash and cash equivalents 911,588 211,970 1,988,298 Restricted cash — 5,000 5,200 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as shown in Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 911,588 216,970 1,993,498 (i) Fair Value Measurements of Financial Instruments Financial instruments of the Group primarily comprise of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, other non-current non-current ASC topic 820 (“ASC 820”), Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Level 1 – Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets Level 2 – Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace Level 3 – Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity ASC 820 describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach; (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset. (j) Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost and are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows: Category Estimated useful life Electronic equipment 3 – 5 years Office equipment 3 – 5 years Motor vehicles 4 – 5 years Software 3 – 5 years Leasehold improvements Shorter of lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets Repair and maintenance costs are charged to expense as incurred, whereas the costs of betterments that extend the useful life of property and equipment are capitalized as additions to the related assets. Retirements, sale and disposals of assets are recorded by removing the cost and accumulated depreciation with any resulting gain or loss reflected in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. (k) Intangible Assets Intangible assets are carried at cost less accumulated amortization and any recorded impairment. Intangible assets acquired in a business combination were recognized initially at fair value at the date of acquisition. Intangible assets acquired in asset acquisitions are measured based on the cost to the acquiring entity, which generally includes transaction costs. Intangible assets with finite useful lives are amortized using a straight-line method of amortization that reflects the estimated pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible asset are to be consumed. The estimated useful life for the intangible assets is as follows: Category Estimated useful life Trademark s 3-15 Customer relationship 5 years Websites 4 years Domain names 4-10 Licensing agreements 1.75 years Insurance brokerage license 4 years (l) Long-term Investments The Company’s long-term investments consist of equity method investments. Investments in entities in which the Company can exercise significant influence and holds an investment in voting common stock or in-substance Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures (m) Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the amounts assigned to the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed of an acquired business. The Group’s goodwill at December 31, 2018 and 2019 were related to its acquisition of Cheerbright, China Topside and Norstar. In accordance with ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis (December 31 for the Company) and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more-likely-than-not Management has determined that the Group represents the lowest level within the entity at which goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes. Management evaluated the recoverability of goodwill by performing a qualitative assessment before using a two-step more-likely-than-not two-step If the Group reorganizes its reporting structure in a manner that changes the composition of one or more of its reporting units, goodwill is reassigned based on the relative fair value of each of the affected reporting units. (n) Other non-current assets Other non-current A convertible bond that is not within the scope of ASC 320 “ Investments - debt and equity securities Receivables Derivatives and Hedging According to ASC 310-10-35, (o) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Intangibles The Group evaluates its long-lived assets or asset group, including intangible assets with finite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or a group of long-lived assets may not be recoverable. When these events occur, the Group evaluates impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the assets, the Group would recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the asset group over its fair value. No impairment charge was recorded for any of the years presented. (p) Revenue Recognition In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2014-09, “ Revenue from Contracts with Customers The following table illustrates the effect of the adoption of ASC 606 by presenting a comparison of selected line items from the Group’s consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year ended December 31, 2018: For the year ended December 31, 2018 Under Previous revenue guidance Effects of new revenue guidance Under New revenue guidance Net revenues Media services 3,718,748 (210,494 ) 3,508,254 Leads generation services 3,274,619 (403,623 ) 2,870,996 Online marketplace and others 919,368 (65,467 ) 853,901 Total net revenues 7,912,735 (679,584 ) 7,233,151 Cost of revenues (1,210,545 ) 390,257 (820,288 ) Gross profit 6,702,190 (289,327 ) 6,412,863 Other income, net 52,064 289,327 341,391 Operating profit 2,868,925 — 2,868,925 Net income attributable to Autohome Inc. 2,871,015 — 2,871,015 The Group’s revenues are derived from media services, leads generation services and online marketplace and others. Under Topic 606, revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to the Group’s customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Group expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The recognition of revenue involves certain management judgments including identification of performance obligations, standalone selling price for each performance obligation, estimation of variable consideration represented by sales rebates, etc. The Group provides rebates to agency companies based on their cumulative annual advertising and service volume, and the timeliness of their payment s s The Group determines revenue recognition through the following steps • identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; • identification of the performance obligations in the contract; • determination of the transaction price; • allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and • recognition of revenue when, or as, the Group satisfies a performance obligation Media services Media services revenues mainly include revenues from automaker advertising services and regional marketing campaigns conducted by certain automobile brands’ regional offices. The majority of online advertising service contracts involve multiple deliverables or performance obligations presented on PC and mobile platforms and under different formats such as banner advertisements, links and logos, other media insertions and promotional activities that are delivered over different periods of time. Revenue is allocated among these different deliverables based on their relative standalone selling prices. The Group generally determines the standalone selling price as the observable price of a product or service charged to customers when sold on a standalone basis. Advertising services are primarily delivered based on cost per day (“CPD”) pricing model. For CPD advertising arrangements, revenue is recognized when the corresponding advertisements are published over the stated display period. For cost per thousand impressions (“CPM”) model, revenue is recognized when the advertisements are displayed and based on the number of times that the advertisement has been displayed. For cost-per-click (“CPC”) model, revenue is recognized when the user clicks on the customer-sponsored links and based on the number of clicks. For certain marketing campaigns and promotional activities services, revenue is recognized when the corresponding services have been rendered. Leads generation services Leads generation services primarily include revenues from (i) dealer subscription services, (ii) advertising services sold to individual dealer advertisers, and (iii) used car listing services. Under the dealer subscription services, the Group makes available throughout the subscription period a webpage linked to its websites and mobile applications where the dealers can publish information such as the pricing of their products, locations and addresses and other related information. Usually, advanced payment is made for the dealer subscription services and revenue is recognized over time on a straight line basis as services are constantly provided over the subscription period. For the advertising services sold to individual dealers, revenue is recognized when the advertising is published over the stated display period. The used car listing services primarily include etc Online marketplace and others Online marketplace and others revenue primarily consist of revenues related to new car and used car marketplace, auto-financing business, data products and others. For the new car and used car marketplace, and auto-financing business, the Group provides platform-based services including facilitation of transactions, transaction-oriented marketing solutions, generation of sales leads and facilitation of transactions as an insurance brokerage service provider. For the new car marketplace, the Group also acts as the platform for users to review automotive-related information, purchase coupons offered by automakers for discounts and make purchases to complete the transaction. For the used car platform, the Group acts as a used car consumer-to-business-to-consumer, or C2B2C, transaction system that facilitates the used car transaction between the sellers and buyers and charge the service fee per each sale. For the auto-financing business, the Group provides a platform which serves as a bridge to match users and automobile sellers that have auto financing needs with the Group’s cooperative financial institutions that offer a variety of products covering merchant loans, consumer loans, leases and insurance services. The auto-financing service fee is charged on a per sale or lead basis. The service fee is recognized at a point in time when the relevant information is displayed, marketing solution package is delivered, when the sales leads are delivered or upon the successful facilitation of transaction. For the data products, the Group provides data analysis reports and data-driven intelligent sales and marketing tools for the automakers and dealers and recognizes revenue at a point in time upon the delivery of reports or over the period of the consumption or utilization of marketing tools by the automakers and dealers. Contract Balances Payment terms and conditions vary by contract and service types. However, generally speaking, excluding dealer subscription and used car listing, the rest of service contracts usually require payment within several months of service delivery. The term between billings and when payment is due is not significant and the Group Non-refundable ( US$ ) Accounts receivable are carried at net realizable value. An allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded in the period when a loss is probable based on an assessment of specific evidence indicating troubled collection, historical experience, accounts aging and other factors. An accounts receivable balance is written off after all collection effort has ceased. Practical Expedients and Exemptions The Company has elected to use the practical expedient to not disclose the remaining performance obligations for contracts that have durations of one year or less. The Company does not have significant remaining performance obligations in excess of one year. For the remaining performance obligations as of December 31, 2019, most of them are to be recognized within a year. The revenue standard requires the G roup (q) Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues primarily consist of bandwidth and internet data center fees, depreciation of the Group’s long-lived assets, amortization of acquired intangible assets, tax surcharges, content-related costs, cost of sales and write-downs of inventories and prepayment for vehicle purchase cost. Content-related costs primarily comprise of salaries and benefits for employees directly involved in revenue generation activities, cost related to content generation and acquisition and execution cost and other overhead expenses directly attributable to the provision of the media services, leads generation services and online marketplace and others. Cost of sales include (r) Advertising Expenditures Advertising expenditures which amounted to RMB767,528, RMB1,047,160 and RMB 1,649,660 (s) Product Development Expenses Product development expenses consist primarily of employee costs related to personnel involved in the development and enhancement of the Group’s service offerings on its websites and mobile applications, and expenditure for research and development activities. The Group recognizes these costs as expenses when incurred, unless they qualify for capitalization (t) Leases Adoption of the New Lease Accounting Standard In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases 2016-02”). The Group has elected to utilize the package of practical expedients at the time of adoption, which allows the Group to (1) not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases, (2) not reassess the lease classification right-of-use Upon the adoption of the new guidance on January 1, 2019, the Group non-current New Lease Accounting Policies The Group determines if an arrangement is a lease and determines the classification of the lease, as either operating or finance, at commencement. The Group has operating leases for office buildings and data centers and has no finance leases as of December 31, 2019. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. As the Group’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, an incremental borrowing rate is used based on the information available at the commencement date, to determine the present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate approximates the rate the Group would pay to borrow in the currency of the lease payments for the weighted-average life of the lease. The operating lease ROU assets also include any lease payments made prior to lease commencement and exclude lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred if any. Lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Group will exercise that option. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Group’s lease agreements contain both lease and non-lease As of December 31, 2019, the Group recognized the following items related to operating a As of December 31, 2019 RMB US$ Classification in C B S Operating lease ROU assets Other non-current 81,055 11,643 Operating lease liabilities, current portion Accrued expenses and other payables 52,781 7,582 Operating lease liabilities, non-current Other liabilities 23,067 3,313 Lease cost recognized in the Group’s consolidated statements of comprehensive income is summarized as follows: For the Year e RMB US$ Classification in C Operating lease cost Cost of revenues and operating expenses 128,507 18,459 Cost of other leases with terms less than one year Cost of revenues and operating expenses 38,229 5,491 Maturities of operating lease liabilities are as follows: For the year ended December 31, RMB US$ 2020 54,091 7,770 2021 19,963 2,867 2022 4,719 678 Total lease payments 78,773 11,315 Less imputed interest (2,925 ) (420 ) Total 75,848 10,895 As of December 31, 2019, the Group’s weighted-average remaining lease term was 0.67 As of December 31, 2019, the Group does not have any significant operating or finance leases that have not yet commenced. The Group’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants The Group leased office space and data centers from its related party, Ping An Group for a total amount of RMB72,185 (US$10,369) for the year ended December 31, 2019. Supplemental cash flow information related to operating leases is For the year ended December 31, 2019 RMB US$ Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities 132,096 18,974 Operating lease ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities 54,315 7,802 (u) Income Taxes The Group accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates that will be in effect in the period in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Group records a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not The Group applies ASC 740, Accounting for Income Taxes The Group’s estimated liability for unrecognized tax benefits and the related interest and penalties are periodically assessed for adequacy and may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits, and expiration of the statute of limitations. The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from the Group’s estimates. As each audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts and circumstances, and new information may require the Group to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which they occur. (v) Earnings Per Share Earnings per share are calculated in accordance with ASC 260-10, Earnings per Share: Overall. two-class Diluted earnings per ordinary share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities to issue ordinary shares were exercised. The dilutive effect of outstanding share-based awards is reflected in the diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method. (w) Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income is defined to include all changes in shareholders’ equity except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. Among other disclosures, ASC 220-10, Comprehensive Income: Overall (x) Noncontrolling interests Noncontrolling interests are recognized to reflect the portion of the equity of majority-owned subsidiary which is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the controlling shareholder. Noncontrolling (y) Segment Reporting In accordance with ASC 280-10, Segment Reporting: Overall (z) Employee Benefits The full-time employees of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are entitled to staff welfare benefits including medical care, housing fund, pension benefits and unemployment insurance, which are governmental mandated defined contribution plans. These entities are required to accrue for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees’ respective salaries, subject to certain ceilings, in accordance with the relevant PRC regulations, and make cash contributions to the state-sponsored plans out of the amounts accrued. The total expenses for the employee benefits plans were RMB270,794, RMB319,491 and RMB344,829 (US$49,532) for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. (aa) Share-based Compensation Share-based awards granted to employees are accounted for under ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation Under ASC 718, an entity can make an accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures when they occur. The Company has elected to estimate the forfeiture rate at the time of grant and revise, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from initial estimates. The Company recognizes compensation cost for awards with performance conditions if and when the Company concludes that it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. The Company reassesses the probability of vesting at each reporting period for awards with performance conditions and adjusts compensation cost based on its probability assessment. Forfeiture rates are estimated based on historical and future expectations of employee turnover rates and are adjusted to reflect future changes in circumstances and facts, if any. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures such that expense is recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to vest. To the extent the Company revises these estimates in the future, the share-based payments could be materially impacted in the period of revision, as well as in following periods. The Company, with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm, determined the fair value of the stock options granted to employees. The binomial option pricing model was applied in determining the estimated fair value of the options granted to employees. Subsequent to the IPO, fair value of the ordinary shares is the price of the Company’s publicly traded shares. The Company accounts for a change in any of the terms or conditions of share-based awards as a modification in accordance with ASC subtopic 718-20, Compensation-Stock Compensation: Awards Classified as Equity (bb) Other income, net Commencing in 2018 with the adoption of the new revenue accounting standard, VAT refunds are presented as a component of other income, net. For Beijing Prbrownies Software Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Prbrownies Software Co., Ltd., they are subject to 13% VAT (or 16% VAT before April 1, 2019 and for the dealer subscription services and other services, which were sold in the form of software products. Since and , respectively, Beijing Software Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Software Co., Ltd. are entitled to an immediate % VAT (or % before April 1, 2019 and 14% before May 1, 2018) refund, which is a refund in excess of % VAT on the total VAT payable, after their registration of software products with relevant authorit ie s a the l Other income, net also includes government grants, which primarily represent subsidies and tax refunds for operating a business in certain jurisdictions and fulfilment of specified tax payment obligations. These grants are not subject to any specific requirements and are recorded when received. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, RMB25,657, RMB45,190 and RMB147,694 ( US$ ) of government grants were recorded as other income, net. ( Commitment and contingencies From time to time, the Group is subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. Liabilities for such contingencies are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. (dd) Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13 Financial Instruments—Credit Losses 2016-13”). 2016-13 2016-13 In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairmen 2017-04”). 2017-04 2017-04 (ee) Concentration of Risk Credit risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Group to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments and accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2018 and 2019, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments altogether amounting to RMB and RMB (US$ , respectively, were deposited with various major reputable financial institutions located in the PRC and international financial institutions outside of the PRC. Management believes that these financial institutions are of high credit quality and continually monitors the creditworthiness of these financial institutions. Historically, deposits in Chinese banks are secure due to the state policy on protecting depositors’ interests. However, China promulgated a new Bankruptcy Law in August 2006 that came into effect on June 1, 2007, which contains a separate article expressly stating that the State Council may promulgate implementation measures for the bankruptcy of Chinese banks based on the Bankruptcy Law. Under the new Bankruptcy Law, a Chinese bank may go into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of one of the banks which holds the Group’s deposits, it is unlikely to claim its deposits back in full since it is unlikely to be classified as a secured creditor based on PRC laws. The Group continues to monitor the financial strength of these financial institutions. Accounts receivable are typically unsecured and derived from revenue earned from customers, which are exposed to credit risk. The risk is mitigated by the Group’s assessment of its customers’ creditworthiness and its ongoing monitoring process of outstanding balances. The Group maintains reserves for allowance of doubtful accounts and these allowances have generally been within expectations. There were three customers and no customer that individually represented greater than 10% of the total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2018 and 2019. Business, customer, political, social and economic risks The Group participates in a dynamic high technology industry and believes that changes in any of the following areas could have a material adverse effect on the Group’s future financial position, results of operations or cash flows; changes in the overall demand for services and products; changes in business offerings; epidemic outbreak that may cause disruption to business operation of the Group, its customers and suppliers; competitive pressures due to new entrants; acceptance of the Internet as an effective marketing platform by China’s automotive industry; changes in certain strategic relationships or customer relationships; growth in China’s automotive industry, regulatory considerations; and risks associated with the Group’s ability to attract and retain employees necessary to support its growth. There were no customers that individually represented greater than 10% of the total net revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Currency convertibility risk The Group transacts majority of its business in RMB Most of the cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held by PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are denominated in RMB, while a portion of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held by PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are denominated in US$. Cash distributed outside of the PRC by PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are subject to PRC dividend withholding tax. Foreign Currency exchange rate risk Since July 21, 2005, the RMB was permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. There was appreciation of 6.7%, depreciation of 5.4%, and depreciation of 1.2% for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect the Group’s earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, the Company’s ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that the Group need to convert U.S. dollars it received from its initial public offering into RMB to pay its operating expenses, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount it would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. do |