Upbound (UPBD) 10-K 1 Mar 19 2018 FY Annual report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information Document - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 19, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	RENT A CENTER INC DE
Entity Central Index Key	933,036
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 607,503,983
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		53,978,616
Trading Symbol	RCII

Consolidated Statement of Opera

Consolidated Statement of Operations - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Store [Abstract]
Rentals and fees	$ 2,244,860	$ 2,267,741	$ 2,500,053
Merchandise sales	304,455	331,402	351,198
Installment sales	69,572	71,651	74,509
Other	9,000	9,620	12,706
Total store revenues	2,627,887	2,680,414	2,938,466
Franchise [Abstract]
Franchise merchandise sales	19,087	13,157	16,358
Royalty income and fees	13,491	8,969	8,428
Total revenues	2,660,465	2,702,540	2,963,252
Store [Abstract]
Cost of rentals and fees	621,860	625,358	664,845
Cost of merchandise sold	308,912	322,628	323,727
Cost of installment sales	23,326	23,622	24,285
Total cost of store revenues	954,098	971,608	1,012,857
Franchise [Abstract]
Franchise cost of merchandise sold	18,199	12,390	15,346
Total cost of revenues	972,297	983,998	1,028,203
Gross profit	1,688,168	1,718,542	1,935,049
Operating expenses [Abstract]
Labor	683,422	732,466	789,049
Other store expenses	656,894	744,187	791,614
General and administrative expenses	163,445	171,090	168,907
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles	68,946	74,639	80,456
Goodwill impairment charge	0	0	151,320
Other charges	59,324	59,219	20,299
Total operating expenses	1,632,031	1,781,601	2,001,645
Operating profit (loss)	56,137	(63,059)	(66,596)
Write-off of debt issuance costs	475	1,936	0
Interest expense	42,968	45,996	47,181
Interest income	(1,147)	(791)	(503)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	13,841	(110,200)	(113,274)
Income tax expense (benefit)	5,349	(116,853)	(8,079)
Net earnings (loss)	$ 8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Basic earnings (loss) per common share	$ 0.16	$ 0.12	$ (1.98)
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share	0.16	0.12	(1.98)
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0	$ 0.16	$ 0.32

Consolidated Statements of Comp

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) Statement - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Abstract]
Net earnings (loss)	$ 8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax ($73), $2,822, and ($2,794) for 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively	(274)	5,241	(5,188)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	(274)	5,241	(5,188)
Comprehensive income (loss)	8,218	11,894	(110,383)
Foreign currency translation tax adjustment	$ (73)	$ 2,822	$ (2,794)

Consolidated Balance Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
ASSETS [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 155,391	$ 72,968
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4,883 and $4,167 in 2018 and 2017, respectively	69,645	69,823
Prepaid expenses and other assets	51,352	64,577
Rental merchandise, net [Abstract]
On rent	683,808	701,803
Held for rent	123,662	167,188
Merchandise held for installment sale	3,834	4,025
Property assets, net of accumulated depreciation of $551,750 and $525,673 in 2018 and 2017, respectively	226,323	282,901
Deferred tax asset	25,558	0
Goodwill	56,845	56,614
Other intangible assets, net	499	882
Total assets	1,396,917	1,420,781
LIABILITIES [Abstract]
Accounts payable - trade	113,838	90,352
Accrued liabilities	337,459	298,018
Deferred tax liability	119,061	87,081
Senior debt, net	0	134,125
Senior notes, net	540,042	538,762
Total liabilities	1,110,400	1,148,338
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY [Abstract]
Common stock, $.01 par value; 250,000,000 shares authorized; 109,909,504 and 109,681,559 shares issued in 2018 and 2017, respectively	1,099	1,097
Additional paid-in capital	838,436	831,271
Retained earnings	805,924	798,743
Treasury stock at cost, $56,369,752 shares in 2018 and 2017	1,347,677	1,347,677
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(11,265)	(10,991)
Total stockholders' equity	286,517	272,443
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 1,396,917	$ 1,420,781

Consolidated Balance Sheets Con

Consolidated Balance Sheets Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parethetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 4,883	$ 4,167
Accumulated depreciation of property assets	$ 551,750	$ 525,673
Common stock - par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock - shares authorized	250,000,000	250,000,000
Common stock - shares issued	109,909,504	109,681,559
Treasury stock - shares at cost	56,369,752	56,369,752

Consolidated Statement of Stock

Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-In Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2015		109,442,000
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2015	$ 383,590	$ 1,094	$ 818,339	$ 922,878	$ (1,347,677)	$ (11,044)
Net earnings (loss)	(105,195)			(105,195)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax ($73), $2,822, and ($2,794) for 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively	(5,188)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	(5,188)					(5,188)
Vesting of restricted share units, shares		77,000
Vesting of restricted share units	0	$ 1	(1)
Tax effect of stock awards vested and options exercised	(440)		(440)
Stock-based compensation expense	9,209		(9,209)
Dividends declared	(17,043)			(17,043)
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2016		109,519,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2016	264,933	$ 1,095	827,107	800,640	(1,347,677)	(16,232)
Net earnings (loss)	6,653			6,653
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax ($73), $2,822, and ($2,794) for 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively	5,241
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	5,241					5,241
Exercise of stock options, shares		27,000
Exercise of stock options	270		270
Vesting of restricted share units, shares		136,000
Vesting of restricted share units	0	$ 2	(2)
Stock-based compensation expense	3,896		(3,896)
Dividends declared	(8,550)			(8,550)
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2017		109,682,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2017	272,443	$ 1,097	831,271	798,743	(1,347,677)	(10,991)
Net earnings (loss)	8,492			8,492
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax ($73), $2,822, and ($2,794) for 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively	(274)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	$ (274)
Exercise of stock options, shares	137,509	138,000
Exercise of stock options	$ 1,400	$ 1	1,399
Vesting of restricted share units, shares		90,000
Vesting of restricted share units	0	$ 1	(1)
Tax effect of stock awards vested and options exercised	(194)		(194)
Stock-based compensation expense	5,961		5,961
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2018		109,910,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2018	286,517	$ 1,099	$ 838,436	805,924	$ (1,347,677)	$ (11,265)
ASC 606 adoption	$ (1,311)			$ (1,311)

Consolidated Statements of Cash

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Cash flows from operating activities [Abstract]
Net earnings (loss)	$ 8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities [Abstract]
Depreciation of rental merchandise	616,640	618,390	657,090
Bad debt expense	14,610	15,702	15,449
Stock-based compensation expense	5,961	3,896	9,209
Depreciation for property assets	68,275	73,685	77,361
Loss on sale or disposal of property assets	7,388	15,795	3,718
Goodwill impairment charge	0	0	151,320
Amortization of impairment of intangibles	671	4,908	2,176
Amortization of financing fees	5,486	4,667	2,217
Write-off of debt financing fees	475	1,936	0
Deferred income taxes	6,816	(86,063)	(32,994)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions
Rental merchandise	(569,717)	(487,130)	(523,697)
Receivables	(14,431)	(15,741)	(15,914)
Prepaid expenses and other assets	13,105	(9,622)	104,379
Accounts payable - trade	23,486	(17,886)	11,883
Accrued liabilities	40,248	(18,657)	(2,929)
Net cash provided by operating activities	227,505	110,533	354,073
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property assets	(27,962)	(65,460)	(61,143)
Proceeds from sale of stores	25,317	4,638	5,262
Acquisitions of businesses	(2,048)	(2,525)	(3,098)
Net cash used in investing activities	(4,693)	(63,347)	(58,979)
Cash flows from financing activities
Exercise of stock options	1,401	270	0
Shares withheld for payment of employee tax withholdings	(317)	(225)	(338)
Debt issuance costs	(2,098)	(5,258)	0
Proceeds from debt	27,060	347,635	52,245
Repayments of debt	(166,358)	(400,151)	(286,065)
Dividends paid	0	(12,811)	(25,554)
Net cash used in financing activities	(140,312)	(70,540)	(259,712)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	(77)	926	(349)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	82,423	(22,428)	35,033
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	72,968	95,396	60,363
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	155,391	72,968	95,396
Supplemental cash flow information [Abstract]
Interest	37,530	41,339	44,469
Income taxes (excludes $47,837, $7,321, and $84,884 of income taxes refunded in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	$ 2,227	$ 1,983	$ 18,536

Consolidated Statements of Ca_2

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income taxes refunded	$ 47,837	$ 7,321	$ 84,884

Nature of Operations and Summar

Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies [Text Block]	Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies A summary of the significant accounting policies consistently applied in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements follows: Principles of Consolidation and Nature of Operations These financial statements include the accounts of Rent-A-Center, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to “Rent-A-Center” refer only to Rent-A-Center, Inc., the parent, and references to “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the consolidated business operations of Rent-A-Center and any or all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. We report four operating segments: Core U.S., Acceptance Now, Mexico and Franchising. Our Core U.S. segment consists of company-owned rent-to-own stores in the United States and Puerto Rico that lease household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. We also offer merchandise on an installment sales basis in certain of our stores under the names “Get It Now” and “Home Choice.” At December 31, 2018 , we operated 2,158 company-owned stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, including 44 retail installment sales stores. Our Acceptance Now segment generally offers the rent-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for financing from the traditional retailer through kiosks located within such retailers' locations. At December 31, 2018 , we operated 1,106 Acceptance Now Staffed locations and 96 Acceptance Now Direct locations. Our Mexico segment consists of our company-owned rent-to-own stores in Mexico that lease household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. At December 31, 2018 , we operated 122 stores in Mexico. Rent-A-Center Franchising International, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Rent-A-Center, is a franchisor of rent-to-own stores. At December 31, 2018 , Franchising had 281 franchised stores operating in 32 states. Our Franchising segment's primary source of revenue is the sale of rental merchandise to its franchisees, who in turn offer the merchandise to the general public for rent or purchase under a rent-to-own transaction. The balance of our Franchising segment's revenue is generated primarily from royalties based on franchisees' monthly gross revenues and upfront fees charged to new franchisees. Rental Merchandise Rental merchandise is carried at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation for merchandise is generally provided using the income forecasting method, which is intended to match as closely as practicable the recognition of depreciation expense with the consumption of the rental merchandise, and assumes no salvage value. The consumption of rental merchandise occurs during periods of rental and directly coincides with the receipt of rental revenue over the rental purchase agreement period. Under the income forecasting method, merchandise held for rent is not depreciated and merchandise on rent is depreciated in the proportion of rents received to total rents provided in the rental contract, which is an activity-based method similar to the units of production method. We depreciate merchandise (including computers and tablets) that is held for rent for at least 180 consecutive days using the straight-line method over a period generally not to exceed 18 months . Beginning in 2016, smartphones are depreciated over an 18 -month straight-line basis beginning with the earlier of on rent or 90 consecutive days on held for rent. Rental merchandise which is damaged and inoperable is expensed when such impairment occurs. If a customer does not return the merchandise or make payment, the remaining book value of the rental merchandise associated with delinquent accounts is generally charged off on or before the 90 th day following the time the account became past due in the Core U.S. and Mexico segments, and on or before the 150 th day in the Acceptance Now segment. We maintain a reserve for these expected expenses. In addition, any minor repairs made to rental merchandise are expensed at the time of the repair. Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less. We maintain cash and cash equivalents at several financial institutions, which at times may not be federally insured or may exceed federally insured limits. We have not experienced any losses in such accounts and believe we are not exposed to any significant credit risks on such accounts. Revenues Merchandise is rented to customers pursuant to rental purchase agreements which provide for weekly, semi-monthly or monthly rental terms with non-refundable rental payments. Generally, the customer has the right to acquire title either through a purchase option or through payment of all required rentals. Rental revenue and fees are recognized over the rental term and merchandise sales revenue is recognized when the customer exercises the purchase option and pays the cash price due. Cash received prior to the period in which it should be recognized is deferred and recognized according to the rental term. Revenue is accrued for uncollected amounts due based on historical collection experience. However, the total amount of the rental purchase agreement is not accrued because the customer can terminate the rental agreement at any time and we cannot enforce collection for non-payment of future rents. Revenues from the sale of merchandise in our retail installment stores are recognized when the installment note is signed, the customer has taken possession of the merchandise and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues from the sale of rental merchandise are recognized upon shipment of the merchandise to the franchisee. Franchise royalty income and fee revenue is recognized upon completion of substantially all services and satisfaction of all material conditions required under the terms of the franchise agreement. Initial franchise fees charged to franchisees for new or converted franchise stores are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreement. Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts The installment notes receivable associated with the sale of merchandise at our Get It Now and Home Choice stores generally consists of the sales price of the merchandise purchased and any additional fees for services the customer has chosen, less the customer’s down payment. No interest is accrued and interest income is recognized each time a customer makes a payment, generally on a monthly basis. We have established an allowance for doubtful accounts for our installment notes receivable. Our policy for determining the allowance is based on historical loss experience, as well as the results of management’s review and analysis of the payment and collection of the installment notes receivable within the previous year. We believe our allowance is adequate to absorb any known or probable losses. Our policy is to charge off installment notes receivable that are 120 days or more past due. Charge-offs are applied as a reduction to the allowance for doubtful accounts and any recoveries of previously charged off balances are applied as an increase to the allowance for doubtful accounts. The majority of Franchising’s trade and notes receivable relate to amounts due from franchisees. Credit is extended based on an evaluation of a franchisee’s financial condition and collateral is generally not required. Trade receivables are due within 30 days and are stated at amounts due from franchisees net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts that are outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. Franchising determines its allowance by considering a number of factors, including the length of time receivables are past due, Franchising’s previous loss history, the franchisee’s current ability to pay its obligation to Franchising, and the condition of the general economy and the industry as a whole. Franchising writes off trade receivables that are 90 days or more past due and payments subsequently received on such receivables are credited to the allowance for doubtful accounts. Property Assets and Related Depreciation Furniture, equipment and vehicles are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets (generally 5 years ) by the straight-line method. Our corporate office building is depreciated over 40 years . Leasehold improvements are amortized over the useful life of the asset or the initial term of the applicable leases by the straight-line method, whichever is shorter. We have incurred costs to develop computer software for internal use. We capitalize the costs incurred during the application development stage, which includes designing the software configuration and interfaces, coding, installation, and testing. Costs incurred during the preliminary stages along with post-implementation stages of internally developed software are expensed as incurred. Internally developed software costs, once placed in service, are amortized over various periods up to 10 years . We incur repair and maintenance expenses on our vehicles and equipment. These amounts are recognized when incurred, unless such repairs significantly extend the life of the asset, in which case we amortize the cost of the repairs for the remaining useful life of the asset utilizing the straight-line method. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets We record goodwill when the consideration paid for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of the identifiable net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is not subject to amortization but must be periodically evaluated for impairment. Impairment occurs when the carrying value of goodwill is not recoverable from future cash flows. We perform an assessment of goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually as of October 1, or when events or circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Our reporting units are our reportable operating segments. Factors which could necessitate an interim impairment assessment include a sustained decline in our stock price, prolonged negative industry or economic trends and significant underperformance relative to expected historical or projected future operating results. We determine the fair value of each reporting unit using methodologies which include the present value of estimated future cash flows and comparisons of multiples of enterprise values to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The analysis is based upon available information regarding expected future cash flows and discount rates. Discount rates are based upon our cost of capital. We use a two-step approach to assess goodwill impairment. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, then the goodwill is not deemed impaired. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds fair value, we perform a second analysis to measure the fair value of all assets and liabilities within the reporting unit, and if the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, goodwill is considered impaired. The amount of the impairment is the difference between the carrying value of goodwill and the implied fair value, which is calculated as if the reporting unit had been acquired and accounted for as a business combination. As an alternative to this annual impairment testing, we may perform a qualitative assessment for impairment if it believes it is not more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit's net assets exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. Acquired customer relationships are amortized utilizing the straight-line method over a 21 -month period, non-compete agreements are amortized using the straight-line method over the contractual life of the agreements, vendor relationships are amortized using the straight-line method over a 7 or 15 year period, and other intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over the life of the asset. Accounting for Impairment of Long-Lived Assets We evaluate all long-lived assets, including intangible assets, excluding goodwill, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Impairment is recognized when the carrying amounts of such assets cannot be recovered by the undiscounted net cash flows they will generate. Self-Insurance Liabilities We have self-insured retentions with respect to losses under our workers' compensation, general liability, vehicle liability and health insurance programs. We establish reserves for our liabilities associated with these losses by obtaining forecasts for the ultimate expected losses and estimating amounts needed to pay losses within our self-insured retentions. We make assumptions on our liabilities within our self-insured retentions using actuarial loss forecasts, company-specific development factors, general industry loss development factors, and third-party claim administrator loss estimates which are based on known facts surrounding individual claims. These assumptions incorporate expected increases in health care costs. Periodically, we reevaluate our estimate of liability within our self-insured retentions. At that time, we evaluate the adequacy of our reserves by comparing amounts reserved on our balance sheet for anticipated losses to our updated actuarial loss forecasts and third-party claim administrator loss estimates, and make adjustments to our reserves as needed. Foreign Currency Translation The functional currency of our foreign operations is the applicable local currency. Assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the current rate of exchange on the last day of the reporting period. Revenues and expenses are generally translated at a daily exchange rate and equity transactions are translated using the actual rate on the day of the transaction. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised exclusively of our foreign currency translation adjustment. Income Taxes We record deferred taxes for temporary differences between the tax and financial reporting bases of assets and liabilities at the enacted tax rate expected to be in effect when those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Income tax accounting requires management to make estimates and apply judgments to events that will be recognized in one period under rules that apply to financial reporting in a different period in our tax returns. In particular, judgment is required when estimating the value of future tax deductions, tax credits and net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs), as represented by deferred tax assets. We evaluate the recoverability of these future tax deductions and credits by assessing the future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversal of taxable temporary differences, forecasted operating earnings and available tax planning strategies. These sources of income rely heavily on estimates. We use our historical experience and our short- and long-range business forecasts to provide insight and assist us in determining recoverability. When it is determined the recovery of all or a portion of a deferred tax asset is not likely, a valuation allowance is established. We include NOLs in the calculation of deferred tax assets. NOLs are utilized to the extent allowable due to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and relevant state statutes. We recognize the financial statement benefit of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more likely-than-not threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon the ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. A number of years may elapse before a particular matter, for which we have recorded a liability, is audited and effectively settled. We review our tax positions quarterly and adjust our liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the period in which we determine the issue is effectively settled with the tax authorities, the statute of limitations expires for the relevant taxing authority to examine the tax position, or when more information becomes available. We classify accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as interest expense and general & administrative expense, respectively. Sales Taxes We apply the net basis for sales taxes imposed on our goods and services in our consolidated statements of operations. We are required by the applicable governmental authorities to collect and remit sales taxes. Accordingly, such amounts are charged to the customer, collected and remitted directly to the appropriate jurisdictional entity. Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share Basic earnings (loss) per common share are based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period presented. Diluted earnings (loss) per common share are based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus, if dilutive, the assumed exercise of stock options and vesting of stock awards at the beginning of the year, or for the period outstanding during the year for current year issuances. Advertising Costs Costs incurred for producing and communicating advertising are expensed when incurred. Advertising expense was $74.6 million , $86.1 million and $90.6 million , for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Stock-Based Compensation We maintain long-term incentive plans for the benefit of certain employees and directors, which are described more fully in Note M . We recognize share-based payment awards to our employees and directors at the estimated fair value on the grant date. Determining the fair value of any share-based award requires information about several variables that include, but are not limited to, expected stock volatility over the term of the award, expected dividend yields, and the risk free interest rate. We base the expected term on historical exercise and post-vesting employment-termination experience, and expected volatility on historical realized volatility trends. In addition, all stock-based compensation expense is recorded net of an estimated forfeiture rate. The forfeiture rate is based upon historical activity and is analyzed at least annually as actual forfeitures occur. Compensation costs are recognized net of estimated forfeitures over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis. We issue new shares to settle stock awards. Stock options are valued using a Black-Scholes pricing model. Time-vesting restricted stock units are valued using the closing price on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the day before the grant date, adjusted for any provisions affecting fair value, such as the lack of dividends or dividend equivalents during the vesting period. Performance-based restricted stock units will vest in accordance with a total shareholder return formula, and are valued by a third-party valuation firm using Monte Carlo simulations. Stock-based compensation expense is reported within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications may be made to the reported amounts for prior periods to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications have no impact on net earnings or earnings per share in any period. Use of Estimates In preparing financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent losses and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. In applying accounting principles, we must often make individual estimates and assumptions regarding expected outcomes or uncertainties. Our estimates, judgments and assumptions are continually evaluated based on available information and experience. Because of the use of estimates inherent in the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates. Newly Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) , which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue. We adopted ASU 2014-09 and all related amendments beginning January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective adoption method. We recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. Under Topic 606, initial franchise fees charged to franchisees for new stores are recognized over the term of the franchise agreement, rather than when they are paid by the franchisee, upon the opening of a new location. Furthermore, franchise advertising fees are presented on a gross basis, as revenue, in the consolidated statement of operations, rather than net of operating expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. Impacts resulting from adoption were not material to the consolidated statement of operations. See descriptions of the revenues in Note B . The cumulative effect of the changes made to our condensed consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 606 were as follows: (In thousands) January 1, 2018 Adjustments due to Topic 606 December 31, 2017 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 299,683 $ (1,665 ) $ 298,018 Deferred tax liability 86,727 354 87,081 Total liabilities 1,149,649 (1,311 ) 1,148,338 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 797,432 $ 1,311 $ 798,743 Total stockholders' equity 271,132 1,311 272,443 In accordance with Topic 606, the disclosure of the impact of adoption on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and condensed consolidated balance sheets for the periods ended December 31, 2018 is as follows: Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 Royalty income and fees 13,491 (1,844 ) 11,647 Total revenues 2,660,465 (1,844 ) 2,658,621 Gross profit 1,688,168 (1,844 ) 1,686,324 Other store expenses 656,894 (3,965 ) 652,929 Total operating expenses 1,632,031 (3,965 ) 1,628,066 Operating profit 56,137 2,121 58,258 Earnings before income taxes 13,841 2,121 15,962 Income tax expense 5,349 657 6,006 Net earnings 8,492 1,464 9,956 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 337,459 $ (3,786 ) $ 333,673 Deferred tax liability 119,061 1,011 120,072 Total liabilities 1,110,400 (2,775 ) 1,107,625 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 805,924 $ 2,775 $ 808,699 Total stockholders' equity 286,517 2,775 289,292 In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments , which provides guidance on the treatment of cash receipts and cash payments for certain types of cash transactions, to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of the cash flow statement. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2016-15 beginning January 1, 2018, on a retrospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 had no impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which introduces amendments that are intended to make the guidance in ASC 805 on the definition of a business more consistent and cost-efficient. The amendments narrow the definition of a business and provide a framework that gives entities a basis for making reasonable judgments about whether a transaction involves an asset or a business. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2017-01 beginning January 1, 2018, using the prospective approach. The adoption of ASU 2017-01 had an immaterial impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018. In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting , which clarifies which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required if the fair value, vesting conditions or classification (equity or liability) of the new award are different from the original award immediately before the original award is modified. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2017-09 beginning January 1, 2018, on a prospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2017-09 had no impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018.

Revenues Revenues (Notes)

Revenues Revenues (Notes)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenues [Abstract]
Revenues [Text Block]	Revenues The following table disaggregates our revenue: Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 Core U.S. Acceptance Now Mexico Franchising Consolidated (In thousands) Unaudited Store Rentals and fees $ 1,640,839 $ 557,592 $ 46,429 $ — $ 2,244,860 Merchandise sales 136,878 164,432 3,145 — 304,455 Installment sales 69,572 — — — 69,572 Other 8,423 538 39 — 9,000 Total store revenues 1,855,712 722,562 49,613 — 2,627,887 Franchise Merchandise sales — — — 19,087 19,087 Royalty income and fees — — — 13,491 13,491 Total revenues $ 1,855,712 $ 722,562 $ 49,613 $ 32,578 $ 2,660,465 Rental-Purchase Agreements Core U.S., Acceptance Now, and Mexico Rentals and Fees. Merchandise is leased to customers pursuant to rental purchase agreements which provide for weekly, semi-monthly or monthly rental terms with non-refundable rental payments. At the expiration of each rental term customers renew the rental agreement by pre-paying for the next rental term. Generally, the customer has the right to acquire title of the merchandise either through a purchase option or through payment of all required rental terms. Customers can terminate the agreement at the end of any rental term without penalty. Therefore, rental transactions are accounted for as operating leases and rental revenue is recognized over the rental term. Cash received for rental payments, including processing fees, prior to the period in which it should be recognized is deferred and recognized according to the rental term. Revenue related to various payment, reinstatement or late fees are recognized when paid by the customer at the point service is provided. Rental merchandise is depreciated using the income forecasting method and is recognized in cost of sales over the rental term. We offer additional product plans along with our rental agreements which provide customers with liability protection against significant damage or loss of a product, and club membership benefits, including various discount programs and product service and replacement benefits in the event merchandise is damaged or lost. Customers renew product plans in conjunction with their rental term renewals, and can cancel the plans at any time. Revenue for product plans is recognized over the term of the plan. Costs incurred related to product plans are primarily recognized in cost of sales. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had $42.1 million and $41.1 million , respectively, in deferred revenue included in accrued liabilities related to our rental purchase agreements. Revenue from contracts with customers Core U.S., Acceptance Now, and Mexico Merchandise Sales. Merchandise sales include payments received for the exercise of the early purchase option offered through our rental purchase agreements or merchandise sold through point of sale transactions. Revenue for merchandise sales is recognized when payment is received and ownership of the merchandise passes to the customer. The remaining net value of merchandise sold is recorded to cost of sales at the time of the transaction. Installment Sales. Revenue from the sale of merchandise in our retail installment stores is recognized when the installment note is signed and control of the merchandise has passed to the customer. The cost of merchandise sold through installment agreements is recognized in cost of sales at the time of the transaction. We offer extended service plans with our installment agreements which are administered by third parties and provide customers with product service maintenance beyond the term of the installment agreement. Payments received for extended service plans are deferred and recognized, net of related costs, when the installment payment plan is complete and the service plan goes into effect. Customers can cancel extended service plans at any time during the installment agreement and receive a refund for payments previously made towards the plan. At both December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had $3.0 million in deferred revenue included in accrued liabilities related to other product plans. Other. Other revenue primarily consists of external maintenance and repair services provided by the Company’s service department, in addition to other miscellaneous product plans offered to our rental and installment customers. The Company’s service department is a licensed warranty service provider and performs service maintenance and merchandise repair for qualified warranty guarantees, on behalf of merchandise vendors. In addition, we provide external maintenance and repair services for our franchisees, and other external businesses and individual customers. Revenue for warranty services is recognized when service is complete and a claim has been submitted to the original vendor issuing the warranty guarantee. Revenue for external repair and maintenance services are recognized when services provided are complete and the customer has been billed. Costs incurred for repair services are recognized as incurred in labor and other store expenses. Revenue for other product plans is recognized in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan agreement. Franchising Merchandise Sales. Revenue from the sale of rental merchandise is recognized upon shipment of the merchandise to the franchisee. Royalty Income and Fees. Franchise royalties, including franchisee contributions to corporate advertising funds, represent sales-based royalties calculated as a percentage of gross rental payments and sales. Royalty revenue is recognized as rental payments and sales occur. Franchise fees are initial fees charged to franchisees for new or converted franchise stores. Franchise fee revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreement. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had $4.1 million and $1.7 million , respectively, in deferred revenue included in accrued liabilities related to franchise fees.

Receivables and Allowance for D

Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Abstract]
Loans, Notes, Trade and Other Receivables Disclosure [Text Block]	Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivables consist of the following: December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Installment sales receivable $ 54,746 $ 55,516 Trade and notes receivables 19,782 18,474 Total receivables 74,528 73,990 Less allowance for doubtful accounts (4,883 ) (4,167 ) Total receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts $ 69,645 $ 69,823 The allowance for doubtful accounts related to installment sales receivable was $3.6 million and $3.6 million , and the allowance for doubtful accounts related to trade and notes receivable was $1.3 million and $0.6 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively. Changes in our allowance for doubtful accounts are as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Beginning allowance for doubtful accounts $ 4,167 $ 3,593 $ 3,614 Bad debt expense 14,610 15,702 15,449 Accounts written off (14,475 ) (15,791 ) (16,095 ) Recoveries 581 663 625 Ending allowance for doubtful accounts $ 4,883 $ 4,167 $ 3,593

Rental Merchandise

Rental Merchandise	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Rental Merchandise [Abstract]
Rental Merchandise [Text Block]	Rental Merchandise December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 On rent Cost $ 1,110,968 $ 1,176,240 Less accumulated depreciation (427,160 ) (474,437 ) Net book value, on rent $ 683,808 $ 701,803 Held for rent Cost $ 147,300 $ 198,471 Less accumulated depreciation (23,638 ) (31,283 ) Net book value, held for rent $ 123,662 $ 167,188

Property Assets

Property Assets	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Property Assets [Abstract]
Property Assets [Text Block]	Property Assets December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Furniture and equipment $ 512,056 $ 511,527 Building and leasehold improvements 251,975 269,522 Land and land improvements 6,737 6,747 Transportation equipment 3,765 10,585 Construction in progress 3,540 10,193 Total property assets 778,073 808,574 Less accumulated depreciation (551,750 ) (525,673 ) Total property assets, net of accumulated depreciation $ 226,323 $ 282,901 We had $1.9 million and $7.3 million of capitalized software costs included in construction in progress at December 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , we placed in service internally developed software of approximately $9.7 million , $32.1 million and $84.5 million , respectively.

Intangible Assets and Acquisiti

Intangible Assets and Acquisitions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Text Block]	Intangible Assets and Acquisitions Goodwill Impairment Charge In the fourth quarter of 2018, we completed a qualitative assessment for impairment of goodwill as of October 1, 2018, concluding it was not more likely than not that the carrying value of our reporting unit's net assets exceeded the reporting unit's fair value and therefore no impairment of goodwill existed as of December 31. 2018. During 2016, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $151.3 million in our Core U.S. segment. Intangible Assets Amortizable intangible assets consist of the following: December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (Dollar amounts in thousands) Avg. Life (years) Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Customer relationships 2 $ 79,942 $ 79,695 $ 79,670 $ 79,274 Vendor relationships 11 860 860 860 860 Non-compete agreements 3 6,745 6,493 6,748 6,262 Total other intangible assets $ 87,547 $ 87,048 $ 87,278 $ 86,396 Aggregate amortization expense (in thousands): Year Ended December 31, 2018 $ 671 Year Ended December 31, 2017 (1) $ 4,908 Year Ended December 31, 2016 $ 2,176 (1) Includes impairment charge of $3.9 million to our intangible assets, related to a vendor relationship, in the ANOW segment during the first quarter of 2017. Estimated amortization expense, assuming current intangible balances and no new acquisitions, for each of the years ending December 31, is as follows: (In thousands) Estimated Amortization Expense 2019 $ 451 2020 48 Thereafter — Total amortization expense $ 499 At December 31, 2018 , the amount of goodwill attributable to the Core U.S. and Acceptance Now segments was approximately $1.5 million and $55.3 million , respectively. At December 31, 2017 , the amount of goodwill allocated to the Core U.S. and Acceptance Now segment was approximately $1.3 million and $55.3 million , respectively. A summary of the changes in recorded goodwill follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Beginning goodwill balance $ 56,614 $ 55,308 Additions from acquisitions 169 1,217 Post purchase price allocation adjustments 62 89 Ending goodwill balance $ 56,845 $ 56,614 Acquisitions The following table provides information concerning the acquisitions made during the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 . Year Ended December 31, (Dollar amounts in thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Number of stores acquired remaining open 1 — — Number of stores acquired that were merged with existing stores 6 8 3 Number of transactions 7 4 3 Total purchase price $ 2,048 $ 2,547 $ 2,302 Amounts allocated to: Goodwill $ 169 $ 1,217 $ 1,442 Non-compete agreements — — — Customer relationships 289 550 181 Rental merchandise 1,590 780 679 Purchase prices are determined by evaluating the average monthly rental income of the acquired stores and applying a multiple to the total for rent-to-own store acquisitions. Operating results of the acquired stores and accounts have been included in the financial statements since their date of acquisition. The weighted average amortization period was approximately 21 months for intangible assets added during the year ended December 31, 2018 . Additions to goodwill due to acquisitions in 2018 were tax deductible.

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued Liabilities	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]
Accrued liabilities [Text Block]	Accrued Liabilities December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Accrued insurance costs $ 109,505 $ 124,760 Accrued compensation 55,789 37,783 Deferred revenue 53,348 51,742 Taxes other than income 27,711 27,415 Income taxes payable 26,797 — Accrued legal settlement 11,000 — Deferred compensation 8,687 11,323 Accrued interest payable 5,643 5,707 Deferred rent 3,503 3,937 Accrued other 35,476 35,351 Total Accrued liabilities $ 337,459 $ 298,018

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Taxes [Abstract]
Income Taxes [Text Block]	Income Taxes On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”) was enacted which, among other things, reduced the U.S. federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% in 2018, instituted a dividends received deduction for foreign earnings with a related tax for the deemed repatriation of unremitted foreign earnings in 2017, and created a new U.S. minimum tax on earnings of foreign subsidiaries. The Tax Act also allowed for 100% bonus depreciation for assets purchased after September 27, 2017, until December 31, 2023. We recognized an income tax benefit of $76.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2017, associated with the revaluation of the net deferred tax liability at the date of enactment. Our provisional estimate of the one-time transition tax resulted in $0.7 million of additional tax expense. We also recorded a federal provisional benefit of $9.7 million based on our intent to fully expense all qualifying expenditures. In 2018, we finalized our analysis over the one-year measurement period that ended on December 22, 2018, in accordance with SAB 118, resulting in an immaterial income tax benefit recorded in our consolidated statement of operations. For financial statement purposes, income (loss) before income taxes by source was comprised of the following: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Domestic $ 11,290 $ (109,615 ) $ (110,347 ) Foreign 2,551 (585 ) (2,927 ) Income (loss) before income taxes $ 13,841 $ (110,200 ) $ (113,274 ) A reconciliation of the federal statutory rate of 21% for 2018 and 35% for 2017 and 2016 to actual follows: Year Ended December 31, 2018 2017 2016 Tax at statutory rate 21.0 % 35.0 % 35.0 % Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — % 70.3 % — % Goodwill impairment — % — % (29.3 )% State income taxes 17.6 % (1.8 )% 3.3 % Effect of foreign operations, net of foreign tax credits (1.2 )% 3.5 % (0.2 )% Effect of current and prior year credits (31.4 )% 1.7 % 2.9 % Change in unrecognized tax benefits 10.9 % — % — % Other permanent differences 14.9 % — % — % Prior year return to provision adjustments 7.3 % — % — % Adjustments to deferred taxes — % 1.6 % 0.6 % Valuation allowance (0.5 )% (1.6 )% (6.6 )% Other, net — % (2.7 )% 1.4 % Effective income tax rate 38.6 % 106.0 % 7.1 % The components of income tax expense (benefit) are as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Current expense (benefit) Federal $ (2,573 ) $ (34,445 ) $ 23,752 State 816 1,216 779 Foreign 724 (1,417 ) (582 ) Total current (1,033 ) (34,646 ) 23,949 Deferred expense (benefit) Federal 4,691 (89,820 ) (27,307 ) State 3,325 9,266 (6,586 ) Foreign (1,634 ) (1,653 ) 1,865 Total deferred 6,382 (82,207 ) (32,028 ) Total income tax expense (benefit) $ 5,349 $ (116,853 ) $ (8,079 ) Deferred tax assets (liabilities) consist of the following: December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Deferred tax assets Net operating loss carryforwards $ 56,701 $ 38,914 Accrued liabilities 50,558 49,619 Intangible assets 20,346 26,029 Other assets including credits 23,070 11,967 Foreign tax credit carryforwards 6,601 6,601 Total deferred tax assets 157,276 133,130 Valuation allowance (39,961 ) (40,074 ) Deferred tax assets, net 117,315 93,056 Deferred tax liabilities Rental merchandise (177,794 ) (139,425 ) Property assets (32,571 ) (40,712 ) Other liabilities (453 ) — Total deferred tax liabilities (210,818 ) (180,137 ) Net deferred taxes $ (93,503 ) $ (87,081 ) At December 31, 2018 , we have net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $65.6 million for federal, $453.2 million for state, and $61.2 million for foreign jurisdictions, partially offset by valuation allowance. We also had federal, state and foreign tax credit carryforwards of approximately $16.9 million of which a portion has been offset by a valuation allowance. The net operating losses and credits will expire in various years from 2019 and 2038 . The federal net operating loss will be carried forward indefinitely. We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign income taxes. Along with our U.S. subsidiaries, we file a U.S. federal consolidated income tax return. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal, state, foreign and local income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2012. We are currently under examination in the U.S. and various states. We do not anticipate that adjustments as a result of these audits, if any, will have a material impact to our consolidated statement of operations, financial condition, statement of cash flows or earnings per share. As of each reporting date, the Company’s management considers new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact management’s view with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets. In 2018, we increased the valuation allowance against net operating losses and credits in multiple state jurisdictions. The valuation allowance related to foreign deferred tax assets was decreased due to utilization of losses in the current year. However, management believes certain foreign losses and deferred tax assets will not be realized and has recorded a valuation allowance related to these assets. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Beginning unrecognized tax benefit balance $ 37,319 $ 33,723 $ 27,164 (Reductions) additions based on tax positions related to current year (206 ) (2,280 ) 773 Additions for tax positions of prior years 735 6,688 8,396 Reductions for tax positions of prior years (488 ) (368 ) (2,246 ) Settlements (996 ) (444 ) (364 ) Ending unrecognized tax benefit balance $ 36,364 $ 37,319 $ 33,723 Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2018 , is $6.2 million , net of federal benefit, which, if ultimately recognized, will affect our annual effective tax rate. During the next twelve months, we anticipate that it is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits could be reduced by approximately $19.7 million either because our tax position will be sustained upon audit or as a result of the expiration of the statute of limitations for specific jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2018 , we have accrued approximately $3.4 million for the payment of interest for uncertain tax positions and recorded interest expense of approximately $80 thousand for the year then ended, which are excluded from the reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits presented above. These amounts are net of the reversal of interest expense due to settlement of certain tax positions. The effect of the tax rate change for items originally recognized in other comprehensive income was properly recorded in tax expense from continuing operations. This results in stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income at December 31, 2018. Companies can make a policy election to reclassify from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings the stranded tax effects directly arising from the change in the federal corporate tax rate. We did not exercise the option to reclassify stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income in each period in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Act (or portion thereof) is recorded.

Senior Debt

Senior Debt	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Senior Debt [Abstract]
Debt Disclosure [Text Block]	Senior Debt We are party to a Credit Agreement with BBVA Compass Bank, HSBC, and SunTrust Bank, as syndication agents, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent (the "Agent"), and the several lenders from time to time parties thereto, dated March 19, 2014, as amended on February 1, 2016, September 30, 2016, March 31, 2017, June 6, 2017, and December 12, 2018 (the “Fifth Amendment”) and as so amended, (the "Credit Agreement"). The Credit Agreement currently provides a senior credit facility consisting of a $200.0 million revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Facility"). There were no outstanding borrowings under the Term Loans or Revolving Facility at December 31, 2018 and $48.6 million and $85.0 million at December 31, 2017 , respectively. Total unamortized debt issuance costs reported in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018 and 2017 were $2.6 million and $5.2 million , respectively. The Revolving Facility has a scheduled maturity of December 31, 2019 . The debt facilities as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 are as follows: December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (In thousands) Facility Maturity Maximum Facility Amount Outstanding Amount Available Maximum Facility Amount Outstanding Amount Available Senior Debt: Term Loan (1) $ — $ — $ — $ 225,000 $ 48,563 $ — Revolving Facility December 31, 2019 200,000 — 95,900 350,000 85,000 109,700 Total 200,000 — 95,900 575,000 133,563 109,700 Other indebtedness: Line of credit August 20, 2019 12,500 — 12,500 12,500 5,735 6,765 Total $ 212,500 — $ 108,400 $ 587,500 139,298 $ 116,465 Unamortized debt issuance costs — (2) (5,173 ) Total senior debt, net $ — $ 134,125 (1) During the third quarter of 2018 the outstanding Term Loans were repaid in full. (2) At December 31, 2018 there was $2.6 million in unamortized debt issuance costs included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet. The full amount of the revolving credit facility may be used for the issuance of letters of credit. At December 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amounts available under the revolving credit facility were reduced by approximately $92.0 million and $94.0 million , respectively, for our outstanding letters of credit, resulting in availability of $95.9 million in our revolving credit facility, net of Reserves, as defined in the Credit Agreement. Borrowings under the Revolving Facility bear interest at varying rates equal to either the Eurodollar rate plus 1.50% to 3.00% , or the prime rate plus 0.50% to 2.00% (ABR), at our election. The margins on the Eurodollar loans and on the ABR loans for borrowings under the Revolving Facility, which were 2.00% and 1.00% , respectively, at December 31, 2018 , may fluctuate based upon an increase or decrease in our Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio as defined by a pricing grid included in the Credit Agreement. A commitment fee equal to 0.30% to 0.50% of the unused portion of the Revolving Facility is payable quarterly, and fluctuates dependent upon an increase or decrease in our Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio. The commitment fee for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $1.0 million and was equal to 0.50% of the unused portion of the Revolving Facility. The aggregate outstanding amounts (including after any draw request) under the Revolving Facility may not exceed the Borrowing Base. The Borrowing Base is tied to the Eligible Installment Sales Accounts, Inventory and Eligible Rental Contracts, reduced by Reserves, as defined in the Credit Agreement. We provide to the Agent information necessary to calculate the Borrowing Base within 30 days of the end of each calendar month, unless liquidity is less than 20% of the maximum borrowing capacity of the Revolving Facility or $60 million, in which case we must provide weekly information. Our borrowings under the Credit Agreement are, subject to certain exceptions, secured by a security interest in substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets, including intellectual property, and are also secured by a pledge of the capital stock of our U.S. subsidiaries. Subject to a number of exceptions, the Credit Agreement contains, without limitation, covenants that generally limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to: • incur additional debt; • pay cash dividends in excess of $15 million annually when the Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio is greater than 3.75:1; • incur liens or other encumbrances; • merge, consolidate or sell substantially all property or business; • sell, lease or otherwise transfer assets (if not in the ordinary course of business, limited in any fiscal year to an amount equal to 5% of Consolidated Total Assets as of the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year); • make investments or acquisitions (unless they meet financial tests and other requirements); or • enter into an unrelated line of business; • guarantee obligations of Foreign Subsidiaries in excess of $10 million at any time; and • exceed an aggregate outstanding amount of $10 million in indebtedness, including Capital Lease Obligations, mortgage financings and purchase money obligations that are secured by Liens permitted under the Credit Agreement. In addition, we are prohibited from repurchasing our common stock or 6.625% and 4.75% Senior Notes for the remaining term of the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement permits us to increase the amount of the Revolving Facility from time to time on up to three occasions, in an aggregate amount of no more than $100 million . We may request an Incremental Revolving Loan, provided that at the time of such request, we are not in default, have obtained the consent of the administrative agent and the lenders providing such increase, and after giving effect thereto, (i) the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio on a pro forma basis is no less than 1.10:1, (ii) the Total Revolving Extensions of Credit do not exceed the Borrowing Base, and (iii) if the request occurs during a Minimum Availability Period, the Availability must be more than the Availability Threshold Amount. The Credit Agreement permits the Agent, in its sole discretion, to make loans to us that it deems necessary or desirable (i) to preserve or protect the Collateral, (ii) to enhance the likelihood of, or maximize the amount of, repayment of the Loans and other Obligations, or (iii) to pay any other amount chargeable to or required to be paid by us pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement. The aggregate amount of such Protective Advances outstanding at any time may not exceed $35 million. In connection with entering into the Fifth Amendment to the Credit Agreement, we recorded a write-down of previously unamortized debt issuance costs of approximately $0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition, we paid arrangement and amendment fees to the Agent and the lenders that provided their consent to the Amendment of approximately $2.1 million , which were capitalized in the fourth quarter of 2018, and will be amortized to interest expense over the remaining term of the agreement. The Credit Agreement requires us to comply with a Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage ratio of no less than 1.10:1. Breach of this covenant shall result in a Minimum Availability Period, which requires us to maintain $50.0 million of excess availability on the Revolving Facility. The table below shows the required and actual ratios under the Credit Agreement calculated as of December 31, 2018 : Required Ratio Actual Ratio Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio No less than 1.10:1 3.64:1 The actual Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage ratio was calculated pursuant to the Credit Agreement by dividing the sum of consolidated EBITDA minus Unfinanced Capital Expenditures minus the excess (to the extent positive) of (i) expenses for income taxes paid in cash minus (ii) cash income tax refunds received for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018 ( $156.4 million ), by consolidated fixed charges for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018 ( $42.9 million ). For purposes of the calculation, “consolidated fixed charges” is defined as the sum of consolidated interest expense and scheduled principal payments on indebtedness actually made during such period. The actual Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 3.64 :1 as of December 31, 2018 was above the minimum requirement of 1.10 :1 under the Credit Agreement. Availability under our Revolving Facility was $95.9 million at December 31, 2018 . Events of default under the Credit Agreement include customary events, such as a cross-acceleration provision in the event that we default on other debt. In addition, an event of default under the Credit Agreement would occur if a change of control occurs. This is defined to include the case where a third party becomes the beneficial owner of 35% or more of our voting stock or a majority of Rent-A-Center’s Board of Directors are not Continuing Directors (all of the current members of our Board of Directors are Continuing Directors under the terms of the Credit Agreement). An event of default would also occur if one or more judgments were entered against us of $50.0 million or more and such judgments were not satisfied or bonded pending appeal within 30 days after entry. In addition to the Revolving Facility discussed above, we maintain a $12.5 million unsecured, revolving line of credit with INTRUST Bank, N.A. to facilitate cash management. As of December 31, 2018 , we had no outstanding borrowings against this line of credit and $5.7 million outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2017 . Liquidity As described above, our Revolving Facility is scheduled to mature in December 2019. Our primary liquidity requirements are for rental merchandise purchases. Other capital requirements include expenditures for property assets and debt service. Our primary sources of liquidity have been cash provided by operations. We utilize our Revolving Facility for the issuance of letters of credit, as well as to manage normal fluctuations in operational cash flow caused by the timing of cash receipts. In that regard, we may from time to time draw funds under the Revolving Facility for general corporate purposes. Amounts are drawn as needed due to the timing of cash flows and are generally paid down as cash is generated by our operating activities. We believe cash flow generated from operations, together with availability under our Credit Agreement for the remainder of its term, will be sufficient to fund our operations during the next 12 months.

Subsidiary Guarantors - Senior

Subsidiary Guarantors - Senior Notes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Subsidiary Guarantors - Senior Notes [Abstract]
Subsidiary Guarantors Senior Notes [Text Block]	Senior Notes On November 2, 2010, we issued $300.0 million in senior unsecured notes due November 2020, bearing interest at 6.625%, pursuant to an indenture dated November 2, 2010, among Rent-A-Center, Inc., its subsidiary guarantors and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, as trustee. A portion of the proceeds of this offering were used to repay approximately $200.0 million of outstanding term debt under our Prior Credit Agreement. The remaining net proceeds were used to repurchase shares of our common stock. The principal amount of the 6.625% notes outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 , was $292.7 million , reduced by $1.2 million and $1.8 million of unamortized issuance costs, respectively. On May 2, 2013, we issued $250.0 million in senior unsecured notes due May 2021, bearing interest at 4.75%, pursuant to an indenture dated May 2, 2013, among Rent-A-Center, Inc., its subsidiary guarantors and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, as trustee. A portion of the proceeds of this offering were used to repurchase shares of our common stock under a $200.0 million accelerated stock buyback program. The remaining net proceeds were used to repay outstanding revolving debt under our Prior Credit Agreement. The principal amount of the 4.75% notes outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 , was $250.0 million , reduced by $1.5 million and $2.1 million of unamortized issuance costs, respectively. The indentures governing the 6.625% notes and the 4.75% notes are substantially similar. Each indenture contains covenants that limit our ability to: • incur additional debt; • sell assets or our subsidiaries; • grant liens to third parties; • pay cash dividends or repurchase stock when total leverage is greater than 2.50:1 (subject to an exception for cash dividends in an amount not to exceed $20 million annually); and • engage in a merger or sell substantially all of our assets. Events of default under each indenture include customary events, such as a cross-acceleration provision in the event that we default in the payment of other debt due at maturity or upon acceleration for default in an amount exceeding $50.0 million , as well as in the event a judgment is entered against us in excess of $50.0 million that is not discharged, bonded or insured. The 6.625% notes may be redeemed on or after November 15, 2015, at our option, in whole or in part, at a premium declining from 103.313% (the current premium is 100% ). The 6.625% notes may be redeemed on or after November 15, 2018, at our option, in whole or in part, at par. The 6.625% notes also require that upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the 2010 indenture), the holders of the notes have the right to require us to repurchase the notes at a price equal to 101% of the original aggregate principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of repurchase. The 4.75% notes may be redeemed on or after May 1, 2016, at our option, in whole or in part, at a premium declining from 103.563% (the current premium is 101.188% ). The 4.75% notes may be redeemed on or after May 1, 2019, at our option, in whole or in part, at par. The 4.75% notes also require that upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in the 2013 indenture), the holders of the notes have the right to require us to repurchase the notes at a price equal to 101% of the original aggregate principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of repurchase. Any mandatory repurchase of the 6.625% notes and/or the 4.75% notes would trigger an event of default under our Credit Agreement. We are not required to maintain any financial ratios under either of the indentures. Rent-A-Center and its subsidiary guarantors have fully, jointly and severally, and unconditionally guaranteed the obligations of Rent-A-Center with respect to the 6.625% notes and the 4.75% notes. Rent-A-Center has no independent assets or operations, and each subsidiary guarantor is 100% owned directly or indirectly by Rent-A-Center. The only direct or indirect subsidiaries of Rent-A-Center that are not guarantors are minor subsidiaries. There are no restrictions on the ability of any of the subsidiary guarantors to transfer funds to Rent-A-Center in the form of loans, advances or dividends, except as provided by applicable law.

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]
Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]	Commitments and Contingencies Leases We lease space for all of our Core U.S. and Mexico stores, certain support facilities and the majority of our delivery vehicles under operating leases expiring at various times through 2024 . Certain of the store leases contain escalation clauses for increased taxes and operating expenses. Rental expense was $206.3 million , $209.7 million and $231.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Future minimum rental payments under operating leases with remaining lease terms in excess of one year at December 31, 2018 are as follows: (In thousands) Operating Leases 2019 $ 145,345 2020 116,785 2021 80,362 2022 47,417 2023 16,460 Thereafter 2,280 Total future minimum rental payments $ 408,649 Contingencies From time to time, the Company, along with our subsidiaries, is party to various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We reserve for loss contingencies that are both probable and reasonably estimable. We regularly monitor developments related to these legal proceedings, and review the adequacy of our legal reserves on a quarterly basis. We do not expect these losses to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements if and when such losses are incurred. We are subject to unclaimed property audits by states in the ordinary course of business. The property subject to review in this audit process included unclaimed wages, vendor payments and customer refunds. State escheat laws generally require entities to report and remit abandoned and unclaimed property to the state. Failure to timely report and remit the property can result in assessments that could include interest and penalties, in addition to the payment of the escheat liability itself. We routinely remit escheat payments to states in compliance with applicable escheat laws. The negotiated settlements did not have a material impact to our financial statements. Alan Hall, et. al. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., et. al.; James DePalma, et. al. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., et. al. On December 23, 2016, a putative class action was filed against us and certain of our former officers by Alan Hall in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman, Texas. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated Section 10(b) and/or Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by issuing false and misleading statements and omitting material facts regarding our business, including implementation of our point-of-sale system, operations and prospects during the period covered by the complaint. A complaint filed by James DePalma also in Sherman, Texas alleging similar claims was consolidated by the court into the Hall matter. On October 8, 2018, the parties agreed to settle this matter for $11 million. The court granted preliminary approval of the settlement on December 13, 2018. Under the terms of the settlement our insurance carrier paid an aggregate of $11 million in cash, subsequent to December 31, 2018, which will be distributed to an agreed upon class of claimants who purchased our common stock from July 27, 2015 through October 10, 2016, as well as used to pay costs of notice and settlement administration, and plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and expenses. A hearing to finally approve the settlement is scheduled for May 3, 2019. Blair v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. This matter is a state-wide class action complaint originally filed on March 13, 2017 in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint alleges various claims, including that our cash sales and total rent to own prices exceed the pricing permitted under the Karnette Rental-Purchase Act. In addition, the plaintiffs allege that we fail to give customers a fully executed rental agreement and that all such rental agreements that were issued to customers unsigned are void under the law. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages under the Karnette Rental-Purchase Act which range from $100 - $1,000 per violation, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. We believe that these claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves. However, we cannot assure you that we will be found to have no liability in this matter. Vintage Rodeo Parent, LLC, Vintage Rodeo Acquisition, Inc. and Vintage Capital Management, LLC, and B. Riley Financial, Inc. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. On December 18, 2018, after the Company did not receive an extension notice from Vintage Rodeo Parent, LLC (“Vintage”) that was required by December 17, 2018 to extend the Merger Agreement’s stated End Date, we terminated the Merger Agreement. Our Board of Directors determined that terminating the Merger Agreement was in the best interests of our stockholders, and instructed Rent-A-Center’s management to exercise the Company’s right to terminate the Merger Agreement and make a demand on Vintage for the $126.5 million reverse breakup fee owed to us following the termination of the Merger Agreement. On December 21, 2018, Vintage and its affiliates filed a lawsuit in Delaware Court of Chancery against Rent-A-Center, asserting that the Merger Agreement remained in effect, and that Vintage did not owe Rent-A-Center the $126.5 million reverse breakup fee associated with out termination of the Merger Agreement. B. Riley, a guarantor of the payment of the reverse breakup fee, later joined the lawsuit brought by Vintage in Delaware Court of Chancery. In addition, we brought a counterclaim against Vintage and B. Riley asserting our right to payment of the reverse breakup fee. On February 11th and 12th of 2019, a trial was held in Delaware Court of Chancery in the lawsuit arising from Rent-A-Center's termination of the Merger Agreement. While it is difficult to predict the outcome of litigation, we believe Rent-A-Center, under the express and unambiguous language of that agreement, had a clear right to terminate the Merger Agreement and that it is entitled to the $126.5 million reverse breakup fee. Oral argument on the parties' post-trial briefs is scheduled for Monday, March 11th. In the event that the Merger Agreement is reinstated by the court and the transaction is completed, we expect to pay estimated financial advisory fees of approximately $15 million .

Other Charges - Operating Expen

Other Charges - Operating Expenses	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Other Charges - Operating Expenses [Abstract]
Other Charges [Text Block]	Other Charges 2018 Cost Savings Initiatives. During the year ended December 31, 2018 , we began execution of multiple cost savings initiatives, including reductions in overhead and supply chain, resulting in pre-tax charges of $13.1 million in severance and other payroll-related costs, $6.8 million in contract termination fees, $2.3 million in other miscellaneous shutdown costs, $3.4 million in lease obligation costs, $1.9 million in legal and advisory fees, $1.9 million related to the write-down of capitalized software, and $1.0 million in disposal of fixed assets. Store Consolidation Plan. During the year ended December 31, 2018 , we closed 138 Core U.S. stores and 9 locations in Mexico, resulting in pre-tax charges of $11.2 million , consisting of $8.1 million in lease obligation costs, $1.6 million in disposal of fixed assets, $1.3 million in other miscellaneous shutdown costs, and $0.2 million in severance and other payroll-related cost. Write-down of Capitalized Software. During 2018 and 2017, we discontinued certain IT software projects and as a result incurred pre-tax charges of $1.2 million and $18.2 million , respectively, related to the write-down of capitalized assets and termination of associated license agreements. Effects of Hurricanes. During the second half of 2018, Hurricane Florence and Michael caused damage in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida resulting in pre-tax expenses of approximately $0.6 million for inventory losses, store repair costs, fixed asset write-offs, and employee assistance. During the third quarter of 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused significant damage in the continental United States and surrounding areas, including Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, resulting in pre-tax expenses of approximately $4.5 million for inventory losses, store repair costs, fixed asset write-offs, and employee assistance. Approximately $2.1 million of these pre-tax expenses related to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, while the remaining $2.4 million related to Hurricane Maria. Acceptance Now Store Closures. During the first six months of 2017, we closed 319 Acceptance Now manned locations and 9 Acceptance Now direct locations, related to the hhgregg bankruptcy and liquidation plan and the Conn's referral contract termination. These closures resulted in pre-tax charges of $19.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, consisting primarily of rental merchandise losses, disposal of fixed assets, and other miscellaneous labor and shutdown costs. In addition, we recorded a pre-tax impairment charge of $3.9 million to our intangible assets for our discontinued vendor relationship. Corporate Cost Rationalization. During the first nine months of 2017, we executed a head count reduction that impacted approximately 10% of our field support center workforce. This resulted in pre-tax charges for severance and other payroll-related costs of approximately $3.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Core U.S. Store and Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan. During the second quarter of 2016, we closed 167 Core U.S. stores and 96 Acceptance Now locations, resulting in pre-tax charges of $20.1 million consisting of lease obligation costs, disposal of fixed assets, and other miscellaneous shutdown costs. Mexico Store Consolidation Plan. During the first quarter of 2016, we closed 14 stores in Mexico, resulting in pre-tax charges of $2.3 million in the Mexico segment for disposal of rental merchandise, disposal of fixed assets and leasehold improvements, and other miscellaneous shutdown costs. Claims Settlement. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we recognized a gain of $2.2 million related to a legal claims settlement. Activity with respect to other charges for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 is summarized in the below table: (In thousands) Accrued Charges at December 31, 2016 Charges & Adjustments Payments Accrued Charges at December 31, 2017 Charges & Adjustments Payments Accrued Charges at December 31, 2018 Cash charges: Labor reduction costs $ 1,393 $ 3,765 $ (3,484 ) $ 1,674 $ 13,321 $ (7,372 ) $ 7,623 Lease obligation costs 6,628 457 (4,980 ) 2,105 11,952 (9,175 ) 4,882 Contract termination costs — — — — 6,750 (6,750 ) — Other miscellaneous — 723 (723 ) — 2,696 (2,696 ) — Total cash charges $ 8,021 4,945 $ (9,187 ) $ 3,779 34,719 $ (25,993 ) $ 12,505 Non-cash charges: Rental merchandise losses 18,417 620 Asset impairments, including capitalized software 19,237 6,825 Impairment of intangible asset 3,896 — Other (1) 12,724 17,160 Total other charges $ 59,219 $ 59,324 (1) Other primarily includes incremental legal and advisory fees associated with our strategic review and merger related activities, partially offset by insurance claims recoveries related to 2017 hurricanes for the year ended December 31, 2018 and primarily includes incremental legal and advisory fees, effects of hurricanes, and legal settlements for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Stock-Based Compensation [Abstract]
Stock-Based Compensation [Text Block]	Stock-Based Compensation We maintain long-term incentive plans for the benefit of certain employees and directors. Our plans consist of the Rent-A-Center, Inc. 2006 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2006 Plan”), the Rent-A-Center, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Equity Incentive Plan”), and the Rent-A-Center 2016 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "2016 Plan") which are collectively known as the “Plans.” On March 9, 2016, upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, the Board adopted, subject to stockholder approval, the 2016 Plan and directed that it be submitted for the approval of the stockholders. On June 2, 2016, the stockholders approved the 2016 Plan. The 2016 Plan authorizes the issuance of a total of 6,500,000 shares of common stock. Any shares of common stock granted in connection with an award of stock options or stock appreciation rights will be counted against this limit as one share and any shares of common stock granted in connection with awards of restricted stock, restricted stock units, deferred stock or similar forms of stock awards other than stock options and stock appreciation rights will be counted against this limit as two shares of common stock for every one share of common stock granted in connection with such awards. No shares of common stock will be deemed to have been issued if (1) such shares covered by the unexercised portion of an option that terminates, expires, or is cancelled or settled in cash or (2) such shares are forfeited or subject to awards that are forfeited, canceled, terminated or settled in cash. In any calendar year, (1) no employee will be granted options and/or stock appreciation rights for more than 800,000 shares of common stock; (2) no employee will be granted performance-based equity awards under the 2016 Plan (other than options and stock appreciation rights), covering more than 800,000 shares of common stock; and (3) no employee will be granted performance-based cash awards for more than $5,000,000. At December 31, 2018 and 2017 , there were 2,625,206 and 1,705,660 shares, respectively, allocated to equity awards outstanding in the 2016 Plan. The 2006 Plan authorizes the issuance of 7,000,000 shares of Rent-A-Center’s common stock that may be issued pursuant to awards granted under the 2006 Plan, of which no more than 3,500,000 shares may be issued in the form of restricted stock, deferred stock or similar forms of stock awards which have value without regard to future appreciation in value of or dividends declared on the underlying shares of common stock. In applying these limitations, the following shares will be deemed not to have been issued: (1) shares covered by the unexercised portion of an option that terminates, expires, or is canceled or settled in cash, and (2) shares that are forfeited or subject to awards that are forfeited, canceled, terminated or settled in cash. At December 31, 2018 and 2017 , there were 1,022,482 and 1,554,931 shares, respectively, allocated to equity awards outstanding in the 2006 Plan. The 2006 Plan expired in accordance with its terms on March 24, 2016, and all shares remaining available for grant under the 2006 Plan were canceled. We acquired the Equity Incentive Plan (formerly known as the Rent-Way, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan) in conjunction with our acquisition of Rent-Way in 2006. There were 2,468,461 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the Equity Incentive Plan. There were 677,074 and 1,037,514 shares allocated to equity awards outstanding in the Equity Incentive Plan at December 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively. The Equity Incentive Plan expired in accordance with its terms on January 13, 2016, and all shares remaining available for grant under the Equity Incentive Plan were canceled. Options granted to our employees generally become exercisable over a period of 1 to 4 years from the date of grant and may be exercised up to a maximum of 10 years from the date of grant. Options granted to directors were immediately exercisable. We grant restricted stock units to certain employees that vest after a three-year service requirement has been met. We recognize expense for these awards using the straight-line method over the requisite service period based on the number of awards expected to vest. We also grant performance-based restricted stock units that vest between 0% and 200% depending on our stock performance against an index using a total shareholder return formula established at the date of grant for the subsequent three-year period. We record expense for these awards over the requisite service period, net of the expected forfeiture rate, since the employee must maintain employment to vest in the award. Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 is as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Stock options $ 1,388 $ 2,023 $ 2,954 Restricted share units 4,573 1,873 6,255 Total stock-based compensation expense 5,961 3,896 9,209 Tax benefit recognized in the statements of earnings 1,739 1,442 658 Stock-based compensation expense, net of tax $ 4,222 $ 2,454 $ 8,551 We issue new shares of stock to satisfy option exercises and the vesting of restricted stock units. The fair value of unvested options that we expect to result in compensation expense was approximately $2.4 million with a weighted average number of years to vesting of 2.52 at December 31, 2018 . Information with respect to stock option activity related to the Plans for the year ended December 31, 2018 follows: Equity Awards Outstanding Weighted Average Exercise Price Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In thousands) Balance outstanding at January 1, 2018 2,953,694 $ 21.34 Granted 522,731 8.73 Exercised (137,509 ) 10.19 Forfeited (373,690 ) 12.79 Expired (496,326 ) 27.40 Balance outstanding at December 31, 2018 2,468,900 $ 19.37 6.06 $ 2,090 Exercisable at December 31, 2018 1,424,800 $ 25.81 4.38 $ 2,090 The intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $418.9 thousand and $53.3 thousand , respectively, resulting in tax benefits of $146.6 thousand and $18.7 thousand , respectively, which are reflected as an outflow from operating activities and an inflow from financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. There were no options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2016 . The weighted average fair values of the options granted under the Plans were calculated using the Black-Scholes method. The weighted average grant date fair value and weighted average assumptions used in the option pricing models are as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2018 2017 2016 Weighted average grant date fair value $ 3.80 $ 2.92 $ 3.06 Weighted average risk free interest rate 2.51 % 1.78 % 1.31 % Weighted average expected dividend yield — % 3.03 % 3.16 % Weighted average expected volatility 49.58 % 45.44 % 39.64 % Weighted average expected life (in years) 4.63 4.50 4.63 Information with respect to non-vested restricted stock unit activity follows: Restricted Awards Outstanding Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Balance outstanding at January 1, 2018 1,344,411 $ 10.87 Granted 1,188,565 8.73 Vested (188,029 ) 23.34 Forfeited (489,085 ) 8.66 Balance outstanding at December 31, 2018 1,855,862 $ 8.82 Restricted stock units are valued using the closing price reported by the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the trading day immediately preceding the day of the grant. Unrecognized compensation expense for unvested restricted stock units at December 31, 2018 , was approximately $7.3 million expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.84 years.

Deferred Compensation Plan

Deferred Compensation Plan	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Deferred Compensation Plan [Abstract]
Deferred Compensation Plan [Text Block]	Deferred Compensation Plan The Rent-A-Center, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”) is an unfunded, nonqualified deferred compensation plan for a select group of our key management personnel and highly compensated employees. The Deferred Compensation Plan first became available to eligible employees in July 2007, with deferral elections taking effect as of August 3, 2007. The Deferred Compensation Plan allows participants to defer up to 50% of their base compensation and up to 100% of any bonus compensation. Participants may invest the amounts deferred in measurement funds that are the same funds offered as the investment options in the Rent-A-Center, Inc. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan. We may make discretionary contributions to the Deferred Compensation Plan, which are subject to a three-year graded vesting schedule based on the participant’s years of service with us. We are obligated to pay the deferred compensation amounts in the future in accordance with the terms of the Deferred Compensation Plan. Assets and associated liabilities of the Deferred Compensation Plan are included in prepaid and other assets and accrued liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. For the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , we made matching cash contributions of approximately $50 thousand , $100 thousand and $300 thousand , respectively, which represents 50% of the employees’ contributions to the Deferred Compensation Plan up to an amount not to exceed 6% of each employee's respective compensation. No other discretionary contributions were made for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 . The deferred compensation plan assets and liabilities were approximately $8.7 million and $11.3 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively.

401(k) Plan

401(k) Plan	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
401(k) Plan [Abstract]
Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]	401(k) Plan We sponsor a defined contribution plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code for certain employees who have completed at least three months of service. Employees may elect to contribute up to 50% of their eligible compensation on a pre-tax basis, subject to limitations. We may make discretionary contributions to the 401(k) plan. Employer matching contributions are subject to a three-year graded vesting schedule based on the participant's years of service with us. For the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , we made matching cash contributions of $6.3 million , $7.0 million and $7.6 million , respectively, which represents 50% of the employees’ contributions to the 401(k) plan up to an amount not to exceed 6% of each employee's respective compensation. Employees are permitted to elect to purchase our common stock as part of their 401(k) plan. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017 , 6.2% and 6.0% , respectively, of the total plan assets consisted of our common stock.

Fair Value

Fair Value	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value [Abstract]
Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]	Fair Value We follow a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which classifies the inputs used in measuring fair values, in determining the fair value of our non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, which consist primarily of goodwill. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions. There were no changes in the methods and assumptions used in measuring fair value during the period. At December 31, 2018 , our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, receivables, payables, senior debt and senior notes. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and payables approximates fair value at December 31, 2018 and 2017 , because of the short maturities of these instruments. Our senior debt is variable rate debt that re-prices frequently and entails no significant change in credit risk and, as a result, fair value approximates carrying value. The fair value of our senior notes is based on Level 1 inputs and was as follows at December 31, 2018 and 2017 : December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (In thousands) Carrying Value Fair Value Difference Carrying Value Fair Value Difference 6.625% senior notes $ 292,740 $ 285,509 $ (7,231 ) $ 292,740 $ 278,835 $ (13,905 ) 4.75% senior notes 250,000 239,050 (10,950 ) 250,000 237,500 (12,500 ) Total senior notes $ 542,740 $ 524,559 $ (18,181 ) $ 542,740 $ 516,335 $ (26,405 )

Stock Repurchase Plan

Stock Repurchase Plan	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Stock Repurchase Plan [Abstract]
Stock repurchase plan [Text Block]	Stock Repurchase Plan Under our current common stock repurchase program, our Board of Directors has authorized the purchase, from time to time, in the open market and privately negotiated transactions, of up to an aggregate of $1.25 billion of Rent-A-Center common stock. We have repurchased a total of 36,994,653 shares of Rent-A-Center common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $994.8 million as of December 31, 2018 . No shares were repurchased during 2018 and 2017 . Common stock repurchases are currently prohibited under the Fifth Amendment to our Credit Agreement. Please see Note I for further discussion of this restriction.

Segment Information

Segment Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Segment Information [Abstract]
Segment Information [Text Block]	Segment Information The operating segments reported below are the segments for which separate financial information is available and for which segment results are evaluated by the chief operating decision makers. Our operating segments are organized based on factors including, but not limited to, type of business transactions, geographic location and store ownership. All operating segments offer merchandise from four basic product categories: consumer electronics, appliances, computers (including tablets), and furniture (including accessories), and our Core U.S., Mexico and franchising segments also offer smartphones. Reportable segments and their respective operations are defined as follows. Our Core U.S. segment primarily operates rent-to-own stores in the United States and Puerto Rico whose customers enter into weekly, semi-monthly or monthly rental purchase agreements, which renew automatically upon receipt of each payment. We retain the title to the merchandise during the term of the rental purchase agreement and ownership passes to the customer if the customer has continuously renewed the rental purchase agreement through the end of the term or exercises a specified early purchase option. This segment also includes the 44 stores operating in two states that utilize a retail model which generates installment credit sales through a retail sale transaction. Segment assets include cash, receivables, rental merchandise, property assets and other intangible assets. Our Acceptance Now segment operates kiosks within various traditional retailers’ locations where we generally offer the rent-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for financing from the traditional retailer. The transaction offered is generally similar to that of the Core U.S. segment; however, the majority of the customers in this segment enter into monthly rather than weekly agreements. Segment assets include cash, rental merchandise, property assets, goodwill and other intangible assets. Our Mexico segment currently consists of our company-owned rent-to-own stores in Mexico. The nature of this segment's operations and assets are the same as our Core U.S. segment. The stores in our Franchising segment use Rent-A-Center’s, ColorTyme’s or RimTyme’s trade names, service marks, trademarks and logos, and operate under distinctive operating procedures and standards. Franchising’s primary source of revenue is the sale of rental merchandise to its franchisees who, in turn, offer the merchandise to the general public for rent or purchase under a rent-to-own program. As franchisor, Franchising receives royalties of 2.0% to 6.0% of the franchisees' monthly gross revenue and initial fees for new locations. Segment assets include cash, franchise fee receivables, property assets and intangible assets. Segment information as of and for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 is as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Revenues Core U.S. $ 1,855,712 $ 1,835,422 $ 2,069,725 Acceptance Now 722,562 797,987 817,814 Mexico 49,613 47,005 50,927 Franchising 32,578 22,126 24,786 Total revenues $ 2,660,465 $ 2,702,540 $ 2,963,252 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Gross profit Core U.S. $ 1,299,809 $ 1,276,212 $ 1,467,679 Acceptance Now 339,616 400,002 422,381 Mexico 34,364 32,592 35,549 Franchising 14,379 9,736 9,440 Total gross profit $ 1,688,168 $ 1,718,542 $ 1,935,049 Beginning in 2018, we implemented an intercompany book value adjustment charge for all rental merchandise transfers from Acceptance Now locations to Core U.S. stores. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, book value adjustments on intercompany rental merchandise transfers were $12.0 million , resulting in a corresponding increase in gross profit for the Core U.S. and decrease in gross profit for Acceptance Now. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Operating profit (loss) Core U.S. $ 147,787 $ 86,196 $ (1,020 ) Acceptance Now 93,951 48,618 105,925 Mexico 2,605 (260 ) (2,449 ) Franchising 4,385 5,081 5,650 Total segments 248,728 139,635 108,106 Corporate (192,591 ) (202,694 ) (174,702 ) Total operating profit (loss) $ 56,137 $ (63,059 ) $ (66,596 ) Beginning in 2018, we implemented an intercompany book value adjustment charge for all rental merchandise transfers from Acceptance Now locations to Core U.S. stores. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, book value adjustments for inventory charge-offs related to intercompany rental merchandise transfers were $2.2 million , resulting in a corresponding increase in operating profit for the Core U.S. and decrease in operating profit for Acceptance Now. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles Core U.S. (1) $ 25,566 $ 31,070 $ 39,734 Acceptance Now (2) 1,677 2,498 3,309 Mexico 1,006 1,973 3,179 Franchising 172 177 177 Total segments 28,421 35,718 46,399 Corporate 40,525 38,921 34,057 Total depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles $ 68,946 $ 74,639 $ 80,456 (1) We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $151.3 million in the Core U.S. segment during the fourth quarter of 2016 , not included in the table above. (2) We recorded an impairment of intangibles of $3.9 million in the Acceptance Now segment during the first quarter of 2017 that is not included in the table above. The impairment charge was recorded to Other Charges in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Capital expenditures Core U.S. $ 17,173 $ 26,506 $ 20,802 Acceptance Now 203 2,723 2,330 Mexico 295 124 283 Total segments 17,671 29,353 23,415 Corporate 10,291 36,107 37,728 Total capital expenditures $ 27,962 $ 65,460 $ 61,143 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 On rent rental merchandise, net Core U.S. $ 424,829 $ 408,993 $ 426,845 Acceptance Now 242,978 278,443 354,486 Mexico 16,001 14,367 13,787 Total on rent rental merchandise, net $ 683,808 $ 701,803 $ 795,118 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Held for rent rental merchandise, net Core U.S. $ 117,294 $ 156,039 $ 192,718 Acceptance Now 1,207 4,940 7,489 Mexico 5,161 6,209 6,629 Total held for rent rental merchandise, net $ 123,662 $ 167,188 $ 206,836 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Assets by segment Core U.S. $ 714,914 $ 776,296 $ 860,717 Acceptance Now 312,151 350,970 432,383 Mexico 29,321 33,529 31,415 Franchising 4,287 3,802 2,197 Total segments 1,060,673 1,164,597 1,326,712 Corporate 336,244 256,184 276,029 Total assets $ 1,396,917 $ 1,420,781 $ 1,602,741 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Assets by country United States $ 1,366,405 $ 1,383,004 $ 1,567,933 Mexico 29,321 33,529 31,415 Canada 1,191 4,248 3,393 Total assets $ 1,396,917 $ 1,420,781 $ 1,602,741 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Rentals and fees by inventory category Furniture and accessories $ 962,241 $ 921,159 $ 927,537 Consumer electronics 410,184 459,942 553,976 Appliances 344,548 351,893 391,539 Computers 120,756 124,158 148,889 Smartphones 62,592 57,927 93,449 Other products and services 344,539 352,662 384,663 Total rentals and fees $ 2,244,860 $ 2,267,741 $ 2,500,053 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Revenue by country United States $ 2,610,432 $ 2,654,819 $ 2,911,613 Mexico 49,612 47,005 50,927 Canada 421 716 712 Total revenues $ 2,660,465 $ 2,702,540 $ 2,963,252

Earnings Per Common Share

Earnings Per Common Share	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Common Share [Abstract]
Earnings Per Share [Text Block]	Earnings Per Common Share Summarized basic and diluted earnings per common share were calculated as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands, except per share data) 2018 2017 2016 Numerator: Net earnings (loss) $ 8,492 $ 6,653 $ (105,195 ) Denominator: Weighted-average shares outstanding 53,471 53,282 53,121 Effect of dilutive stock awards (1) 1,071 562 — Weighted-average dilutive shares 54,542 53,844 53,121 Basic earnings (loss) per share $ 0.16 $ 0.12 $ (1.98 ) Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ 0.16 $ 0.12 $ (1.98 ) Anti-dilutive securities excluded from diluted earnings (loss) per common share: Anti-dilutive restricted share units — — 482 Anti-dilutive performance share units 200 329 880 Anti-dilutive stock options 1,498 2,554 3,072 (1) There was no dilutive effect to the loss per common share for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to the net loss incurred for the period.

Unaudited Quarterly Data

Unaudited Quarterly Data	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Unaudited Quarterly Data [Abstract]
Unaudited Quarterly Data [Text Block]	Unaudited Quarterly Data Summarized quarterly financial data for the years ended December 31, 2018 , and 2017 is as follows: (In thousands, except per share data) 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Year Ended December 31, 2018 Revenues $ 698,043 $ 655,730 $ 644,942 $ 661,750 Gross profit 436,978 423,886 407,740 419,564 Operating profit (loss) (10,270 ) 27,151 25,632 13,624 Net (loss) earnings (19,843 ) 13,753 12,918 1,664 Basic (loss) earnings per common share $ (0.37 ) $ 0.26 $ 0.24 $ 0.03 Diluted (loss) earnings per common share $ (0.37 ) $ 0.25 $ 0.24 $ 0.03 (In thousands, except per share data) 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Year Ended December 31, 2017 Revenues $ 741,986 $ 677,635 $ 643,965 $ 638,954 Gross profit 462,663 432,533 412,465 410,881 Operating profit (loss) 1,152 (873 ) (8,445 ) (54,893 ) Net earnings (loss) (6,679 ) (8,893 ) (12,599 ) 34,824 Basic earnings (loss) per common share $ (0.13 ) $ (0.17 ) $ (0.24 ) $ 0.65 Diluted earnings (loss) per common share $ (0.13 ) $ (0.17 ) $ (0.24 ) $ 0.65 Cash dividends declared per common share $ 0.08 $ 0.08 $ — $ —

Nature of Operations and Summ_2

Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation and Nature of Operations [Policy Text Block]	Principles of Consolidation and Nature of Operations These financial statements include the accounts of Rent-A-Center, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to “Rent-A-Center” refer only to Rent-A-Center, Inc., the parent, and references to “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the consolidated business operations of Rent-A-Center and any or all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. We report four operating segments: Core U.S., Acceptance Now, Mexico and Franchising. Our Core U.S. segment consists of company-owned rent-to-own stores in the United States and Puerto Rico that lease household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. We also offer merchandise on an installment sales basis in certain of our stores under the names “Get It Now” and “Home Choice.” At December 31, 2018 , we operated 2,158 company-owned stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, including 44 retail installment sales stores. Our Acceptance Now segment generally offers the rent-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for financing from the traditional retailer through kiosks located within such retailers' locations. At December 31, 2018 , we operated 1,106 Acceptance Now Staffed locations and 96 Acceptance Now Direct locations. Our Mexico segment consists of our company-owned rent-to-own stores in Mexico that lease household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. At December 31, 2018 , we operated 122 stores in Mexico. Rent-A-Center Franchising International, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Rent-A-Center, is a franchisor of rent-to-own stores. At December 31, 2018 , Franchising had 281 franchised stores operating in 32 states. Our Franchising segment's primary source of revenue is the sale of rental merchandise to its franchisees, who in turn offer the merchandise to the general public for rent or purchase under a rent-to-own transaction. The balance of our Franchising segment's revenue is generated primarily from royalties based on franchisees' monthly gross revenues and upfront fees charged to new franchisees.
Rental Merchandise [Policy Text Block]	Rental Merchandise Rental merchandise is carried at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation for merchandise is generally provided using the income forecasting method, which is intended to match as closely as practicable the recognition of depreciation expense with the consumption of the rental merchandise, and assumes no salvage value. The consumption of rental merchandise occurs during periods of rental and directly coincides with the receipt of rental revenue over the rental purchase agreement period. Under the income forecasting method, merchandise held for rent is not depreciated and merchandise on rent is depreciated in the proportion of rents received to total rents provided in the rental contract, which is an activity-based method similar to the units of production method. We depreciate merchandise (including computers and tablets) that is held for rent for at least 180 consecutive days using the straight-line method over a period generally not to exceed 18 months . Beginning in 2016, smartphones are depreciated over an 18 -month straight-line basis beginning with the earlier of on rent or 90 consecutive days on held for rent. Rental merchandise which is damaged and inoperable is expensed when such impairment occurs. If a customer does not return the merchandise or make payment, the remaining book value of the rental merchandise associated with delinquent accounts is generally charged off on or before the 90 th day following the time the account became past due in the Core U.S. and Mexico segments, and on or before the 150 th day in the Acceptance Now segment. We maintain a reserve for these expected expenses. In addition, any minor repairs made to rental merchandise are expensed at the time of the repair.
Cash Equivalents [Policy Text Block]	Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less. We maintain cash and cash equivalents at several financial institutions, which at times may not be federally insured or may exceed federally insured limits. We have not experienced any losses in such accounts and believe we are not exposed to any significant credit risks on such accounts.
Revenues [Policy Text Block]	Revenues Merchandise is rented to customers pursuant to rental purchase agreements which provide for weekly, semi-monthly or monthly rental terms with non-refundable rental payments. Generally, the customer has the right to acquire title either through a purchase option or through payment of all required rentals. Rental revenue and fees are recognized over the rental term and merchandise sales revenue is recognized when the customer exercises the purchase option and pays the cash price due. Cash received prior to the period in which it should be recognized is deferred and recognized according to the rental term. Revenue is accrued for uncollected amounts due based on historical collection experience. However, the total amount of the rental purchase agreement is not accrued because the customer can terminate the rental agreement at any time and we cannot enforce collection for non-payment of future rents. Revenues from the sale of merchandise in our retail installment stores are recognized when the installment note is signed, the customer has taken possession of the merchandise and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues from the sale of rental merchandise are recognized upon shipment of the merchandise to the franchisee. Franchise royalty income and fee revenue is recognized upon completion of substantially all services and satisfaction of all material conditions required under the terms of the franchise agreement.
Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Policy Text Block]	Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts The installment notes receivable associated with the sale of merchandise at our Get It Now and Home Choice stores generally consists of the sales price of the merchandise purchased and any additional fees for services the customer has chosen, less the customer’s down payment. No interest is accrued and interest income is recognized each time a customer makes a payment, generally on a monthly basis. We have established an allowance for doubtful accounts for our installment notes receivable. Our policy for determining the allowance is based on historical loss experience, as well as the results of management’s review and analysis of the payment and collection of the installment notes receivable within the previous year. We believe our allowance is adequate to absorb any known or probable losses. Our policy is to charge off installment notes receivable that are 120 days or more past due. Charge-offs are applied as a reduction to the allowance for doubtful accounts and any recoveries of previously charged off balances are applied as an increase to the allowance for doubtful accounts. The majority of Franchising’s trade and notes receivable relate to amounts due from franchisees. Credit is extended based on an evaluation of a franchisee’s financial condition and collateral is generally not required. Trade receivables are due within 30 days and are stated at amounts due from franchisees net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts that are outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. Franchising determines its allowance by considering a number of factors, including the length of time receivables are past due, Franchising’s previous loss history, the franchisee’s current ability to pay its obligation to Franchising, and the condition of the general economy and the industry as a whole. Franchising writes off trade receivables that are 90 days or more past due and payments subsequently received on such receivables are credited to the allowance for doubtful accounts.
Property Assets and Related Depreciation [Policy Text Block]	Property Assets and Related Depreciation Furniture, equipment and vehicles are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets (generally 5 years ) by the straight-line method. Our corporate office building is depreciated over 40 years . Leasehold improvements are amortized over the useful life of the asset or the initial term of the applicable leases by the straight-line method, whichever is shorter. We have incurred costs to develop computer software for internal use. We capitalize the costs incurred during the application development stage, which includes designing the software configuration and interfaces, coding, installation, and testing. Costs incurred during the preliminary stages along with post-implementation stages of internally developed software are expensed as incurred. Internally developed software costs, once placed in service, are amortized over various periods up to 10 years . We incur repair and maintenance expenses on our vehicles and equipment. These amounts are recognized when incurred, unless such repairs significantly extend the life of the asset, in which case we amortize the cost of the repairs for the remaining useful life of the asset utilizing the straight-line method.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets [Policy Text Block]	Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets We record goodwill when the consideration paid for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of the identifiable net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is not subject to amortization but must be periodically evaluated for impairment. Impairment occurs when the carrying value of goodwill is not recoverable from future cash flows. We perform an assessment of goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually as of October 1, or when events or circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Our reporting units are our reportable operating segments. Factors which could necessitate an interim impairment assessment include a sustained decline in our stock price, prolonged negative industry or economic trends and significant underperformance relative to expected historical or projected future operating results. We determine the fair value of each reporting unit using methodologies which include the present value of estimated future cash flows and comparisons of multiples of enterprise values to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The analysis is based upon available information regarding expected future cash flows and discount rates. Discount rates are based upon our cost of capital. We use a two-step approach to assess goodwill impairment. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, then the goodwill is not deemed impaired. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds fair value, we perform a second analysis to measure the fair value of all assets and liabilities within the reporting unit, and if the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, goodwill is considered impaired. The amount of the impairment is the difference between the carrying value of goodwill and the implied fair value, which is calculated as if the reporting unit had been acquired and accounted for as a business combination. As an alternative to this annual impairment testing, we may perform a qualitative assessment for impairment if it believes it is not more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit's net assets exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. Acquired customer relationships are amortized utilizing the straight-line method over a 21 -month period, non-compete agreements are amortized using the straight-line method over the contractual life of the agreements, vendor relationships are amortized using the straight-line method over a 7 or 15 year period, and other intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over the life of the asset.
Accounting for Impairment of Long-Lived Assets [Policy Text Block]	Accounting for Impairment of Long-Lived Assets We evaluate all long-lived assets, including intangible assets, excluding goodwill, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Impairment is recognized when the carrying amounts of such assets cannot be recovered by the undiscounted net cash flows they will generate.
Self-Insurance Liabilities [Policy Text Block]	Self-Insurance Liabilities We have self-insured retentions with respect to losses under our workers' compensation, general liability, vehicle liability and health insurance programs. We establish reserves for our liabilities associated with these losses by obtaining forecasts for the ultimate expected losses and estimating amounts needed to pay losses within our self-insured retentions. We make assumptions on our liabilities within our self-insured retentions using actuarial loss forecasts, company-specific development factors, general industry loss development factors, and third-party claim administrator loss estimates which are based on known facts surrounding individual claims. These assumptions incorporate expected increases in health care costs. Periodically, we reevaluate our estimate of liability within our self-insured retentions. At that time, we evaluate the adequacy of our reserves by comparing amounts reserved on our balance sheet for anticipated losses to our updated actuarial loss forecasts and third-party claim administrator loss estimates, and make adjustments to our reserves as needed.
Foreign Currency Translation [Policy Text Block]	Foreign Currency Translation The functional currency of our foreign operations is the applicable local currency. Assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the current rate of exchange on the last day of the reporting period. Revenues and expenses are generally translated at a daily exchange rate and equity transactions are translated using the actual rate on the day of the transaction.
Other Comprehensive income (Loss) [Policy Text Block]	Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised exclusively of our foreign currency translation adjustment.
Income Taxes [Policy Text Block]	Income Taxes We record deferred taxes for temporary differences between the tax and financial reporting bases of assets and liabilities at the enacted tax rate expected to be in effect when those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Income tax accounting requires management to make estimates and apply judgments to events that will be recognized in one period under rules that apply to financial reporting in a different period in our tax returns. In particular, judgment is required when estimating the value of future tax deductions, tax credits and net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs), as represented by deferred tax assets. We evaluate the recoverability of these future tax deductions and credits by assessing the future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversal of taxable temporary differences, forecasted operating earnings and available tax planning strategies. These sources of income rely heavily on estimates. We use our historical experience and our short- and long-range business forecasts to provide insight and assist us in determining recoverability. When it is determined the recovery of all or a portion of a deferred tax asset is not likely, a valuation allowance is established. We include NOLs in the calculation of deferred tax assets. NOLs are utilized to the extent allowable due to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and relevant state statutes. We recognize the financial statement benefit of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more likely-than-not threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon the ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. A number of years may elapse before a particular matter, for which we have recorded a liability, is audited and effectively settled. We review our tax positions quarterly and adjust our liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the period in which we determine the issue is effectively settled with the tax authorities, the statute of limitations expires for the relevant taxing authority to examine the tax position, or when more information becomes available. We classify accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as interest expense and general & administrative expense, respectively.
Sales Tax [Policy Text Block]	Sales Taxes We apply the net basis for sales taxes imposed on our goods and services in our consolidated statements of operations. We are required by the applicable governmental authorities to collect and remit sales taxes. Accordingly, such amounts are charged to the customer, collected and remitted directly to the appropriate jurisdictional entity.
Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share [Policy Text Block]	Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share Basic earnings (loss) per common share are based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period presented. Diluted earnings (loss) per common share are based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus, if dilutive, the assumed exercise of stock options and vesting of stock awards at the beginning of the year, or for the period outstanding during the year for current year issuances.
Advertising Costs [Policy Text Block]	Advertising Costs Costs incurred for producing and communicating advertising are expensed when incurred. Advertising expense was $74.6 million , $86.1 million and $90.6 million , for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively.
Share-based Compensation [Policy Text Block]	Stock-Based Compensation We maintain long-term incentive plans for the benefit of certain employees and directors, which are described more fully in Note M . We recognize share-based payment awards to our employees and directors at the estimated fair value on the grant date. Determining the fair value of any share-based award requires information about several variables that include, but are not limited to, expected stock volatility over the term of the award, expected dividend yields, and the risk free interest rate. We base the expected term on historical exercise and post-vesting employment-termination experience, and expected volatility on historical realized volatility trends. In addition, all stock-based compensation expense is recorded net of an estimated forfeiture rate. The forfeiture rate is based upon historical activity and is analyzed at least annually as actual forfeitures occur. Compensation costs are recognized net of estimated forfeitures over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis. We issue new shares to settle stock awards. Stock options are valued using a Black-Scholes pricing model. Time-vesting restricted stock units are valued using the closing price on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the day before the grant date, adjusted for any provisions affecting fair value, such as the lack of dividends or dividend equivalents during the vesting period. Performance-based restricted stock units will vest in accordance with a total shareholder return formula, and are valued by a third-party valuation firm using Monte Carlo simulations. Stock-based compensation expense is reported within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.
Reclassifications [Policy Text Block]	Reclassifications Certain reclassifications may be made to the reported amounts for prior periods to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications have no impact on net earnings or earnings per share in any period.
Use of Estimates [Policy Text Block]	Use of Estimates In preparing financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent losses and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. In applying accounting principles, we must often make individual estimates and assumptions regarding expected outcomes or uncertainties. Our estimates, judgments and assumptions are continually evaluated based on available information and experience. Because of the use of estimates inherent in the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates.
Newly Adopted Accounting Pronouncements [Text Block]	Newly Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) , which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue. We adopted ASU 2014-09 and all related amendments beginning January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective adoption method. We recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. Under Topic 606, initial franchise fees charged to franchisees for new stores are recognized over the term of the franchise agreement, rather than when they are paid by the franchisee, upon the opening of a new location. Furthermore, franchise advertising fees are presented on a gross basis, as revenue, in the consolidated statement of operations, rather than net of operating expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. Impacts resulting from adoption were not material to the consolidated statement of operations. See descriptions of the revenues in Note B . The cumulative effect of the changes made to our condensed consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 606 were as follows: (In thousands) January 1, 2018 Adjustments due to Topic 606 December 31, 2017 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 299,683 $ (1,665 ) $ 298,018 Deferred tax liability 86,727 354 87,081 Total liabilities 1,149,649 (1,311 ) 1,148,338 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 797,432 $ 1,311 $ 798,743 Total stockholders' equity 271,132 1,311 272,443 In accordance with Topic 606, the disclosure of the impact of adoption on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and condensed consolidated balance sheets for the periods ended December 31, 2018 is as follows: Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 Royalty income and fees 13,491 (1,844 ) 11,647 Total revenues 2,660,465 (1,844 ) 2,658,621 Gross profit 1,688,168 (1,844 ) 1,686,324 Other store expenses 656,894 (3,965 ) 652,929 Total operating expenses 1,632,031 (3,965 ) 1,628,066 Operating profit 56,137 2,121 58,258 Earnings before income taxes 13,841 2,121 15,962 Income tax expense 5,349 657 6,006 Net earnings 8,492 1,464 9,956 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 337,459 $ (3,786 ) $ 333,673 Deferred tax liability 119,061 1,011 120,072 Total liabilities 1,110,400 (2,775 ) 1,107,625 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 805,924 $ 2,775 $ 808,699 Total stockholders' equity 286,517 2,775 289,292 In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments , which provides guidance on the treatment of cash receipts and cash payments for certain types of cash transactions, to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of the cash flow statement. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2016-15 beginning January 1, 2018, on a retrospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 had no impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which introduces amendments that are intended to make the guidance in ASC 805 on the definition of a business more consistent and cost-efficient. The amendments narrow the definition of a business and provide a framework that gives entities a basis for making reasonable judgments about whether a transaction involves an asset or a business. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2017-01 beginning January 1, 2018, using the prospective approach. The adoption of ASU 2017-01 had an immaterial impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018. In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting , which clarifies which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required if the fair value, vesting conditions or classification (equity or liability) of the new award are different from the original award immediately before the original award is modified. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2017-09 beginning January 1, 2018, on a prospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2017-09 had no impact to the financial statements as of December 31, 2018.

Nature of Operations and Summ_3

Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Table Text Block]	The cumulative effect of the changes made to our condensed consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 606 were as follows: (In thousands) January 1, 2018 Adjustments due to Topic 606 December 31, 2017 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 299,683 $ (1,665 ) $ 298,018 Deferred tax liability 86,727 354 87,081 Total liabilities 1,149,649 (1,311 ) 1,148,338 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 797,432 $ 1,311 $ 798,743 Total stockholders' equity 271,132 1,311 272,443 In accordance with Topic 606, the disclosure of the impact of adoption on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and condensed consolidated balance sheets for the periods ended December 31, 2018 is as follows: Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 Royalty income and fees 13,491 (1,844 ) 11,647 Total revenues 2,660,465 (1,844 ) 2,658,621 Gross profit 1,688,168 (1,844 ) 1,686,324 Other store expenses 656,894 (3,965 ) 652,929 Total operating expenses 1,632,031 (3,965 ) 1,628,066 Operating profit 56,137 2,121 58,258 Earnings before income taxes 13,841 2,121 15,962 Income tax expense 5,349 657 6,006 Net earnings 8,492 1,464 9,956 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets December 31, 2018 (In thousands) As Reported Adjustments due to Topic 606 Balances without Adoption of Topic 606 LIABILITIES Accrued liabilities $ 337,459 $ (3,786 ) $ 333,673 Deferred tax liability 119,061 1,011 120,072 Total liabilities 1,110,400 (2,775 ) 1,107,625 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Retained earnings $ 805,924 $ 2,775 $ 808,699 Total stockholders' equity 286,517 2,775 289,292

Revenues Revenues (Tables)

Revenues Revenues (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenues [Abstract]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Table Text Block]	The following table disaggregates our revenue: Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 Core U.S. Acceptance Now Mexico Franchising Consolidated (In thousands) Unaudited Store Rentals and fees $ 1,640,839 $ 557,592 $ 46,429 $ — $ 2,244,860 Merchandise sales 136,878 164,432 3,145 — 304,455 Installment sales 69,572 — — — 69,572 Other 8,423 538 39 — 9,000 Total store revenues 1,855,712 722,562 49,613 — 2,627,887 Franchise Merchandise sales — — — 19,087 19,087 Royalty income and fees — — — 13,491 13,491 Total revenues $ 1,855,712 $ 722,562 $ 49,613 $ 32,578 $ 2,660,465

Receivables and Allowance for_2

Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Abstract]
Receivables [Table Text Block]	Receivables consist of the following: December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Installment sales receivable $ 54,746 $ 55,516 Trade and notes receivables 19,782 18,474 Total receivables 74,528 73,990 Less allowance for doubtful accounts (4,883 ) (4,167 ) Total receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts $ 69,645 $ 69,823
Changes in allowance for doubtful accounts [Table Text Block]	Changes in our allowance for doubtful accounts are as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Beginning allowance for doubtful accounts $ 4,167 $ 3,593 $ 3,614 Bad debt expense 14,610 15,702 15,449 Accounts written off (14,475 ) (15,791 ) (16,095 ) Recoveries 581 663 625 Ending allowance for doubtful accounts $ 4,883 $ 4,167 $ 3,593

Rental Merchandise Rental Merch

Rental Merchandise Rental Merchandise (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Rental Merchandise [Abstract]
Rental Merchandise [Table Text Block]	Rental Merchandise December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 On rent Cost $ 1,110,968 $ 1,176,240 Less accumulated depreciation (427,160 ) (474,437 ) Net book value, on rent $ 683,808 $ 701,803 Held for rent Cost $ 147,300 $ 198,471 Less accumulated depreciation (23,638 ) (31,283 ) Net book value, held for rent $ 123,662 $ 167,188

Property Assets Property Assets

Property Assets Property Assets (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Property Assets [Abstract]
Property Assets [Table Text Block]	Property Assets December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Furniture and equipment $ 512,056 $ 511,527 Building and leasehold improvements 251,975 269,522 Land and land improvements 6,737 6,747 Transportation equipment 3,765 10,585 Construction in progress 3,540 10,193 Total property assets 778,073 808,574 Less accumulated depreciation (551,750 ) (525,673 ) Total property assets, net of accumulated depreciation $ 226,323 $ 282,901

Intangible Assets and Acquisi_2

Intangible Assets and Acquisitions Intangible Assets and Acquisitions (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Table Text Block]	Amortizable intangible assets consist of the following: December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (Dollar amounts in thousands) Avg. Life (years) Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Customer relationships 2 $ 79,942 $ 79,695 $ 79,670 $ 79,274 Vendor relationships 11 860 860 860 860 Non-compete agreements 3 6,745 6,493 6,748 6,262 Total other intangible assets $ 87,547 $ 87,048 $ 87,278 $ 86,396
Aggregate Amortization Expense [Table Text Block]	Aggregate amortization expense (in thousands): Year Ended December 31, 2018 $ 671 Year Ended December 31, 2017 (1) $ 4,908 Year Ended December 31, 2016 $ 2,176 (1) Includes impairment charge of $3.9 million to our intangible assets, related to a vendor relationship, in the ANOW segment during the first quarter of 2017.
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense [Table Text Block]	Estimated amortization expense, assuming current intangible balances and no new acquisitions, for each of the years ending December 31, is as follows: (In thousands) Estimated Amortization Expense 2019 $ 451 2020 48 Thereafter — Total amortization expense $ 499
Schedule of Goodwill [Table Text Block]	A summary of the changes in recorded goodwill follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Beginning goodwill balance $ 56,614 $ 55,308 Additions from acquisitions 169 1,217 Post purchase price allocation adjustments 62 89 Ending goodwill balance $ 56,845 $ 56,614
Acquisitions [Table Text Block]	The following table provides information concerning the acquisitions made during the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 . Year Ended December 31, (Dollar amounts in thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Number of stores acquired remaining open 1 — — Number of stores acquired that were merged with existing stores 6 8 3 Number of transactions 7 4 3 Total purchase price $ 2,048 $ 2,547 $ 2,302 Amounts allocated to: Goodwill $ 169 $ 1,217 $ 1,442 Non-compete agreements — — — Customer relationships 289 550 181 Rental merchandise 1,590 780 679

Accrued Liabilities Accrued Lia

Accrued Liabilities Accrued Liabilities (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]
Accrued liabilities [Table Text Block]	Accrued Liabilities December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Accrued insurance costs $ 109,505 $ 124,760 Accrued compensation 55,789 37,783 Deferred revenue 53,348 51,742 Taxes other than income 27,711 27,415 Income taxes payable 26,797 — Accrued legal settlement 11,000 — Deferred compensation 8,687 11,323 Accrued interest payable 5,643 5,707 Deferred rent 3,503 3,937 Accrued other 35,476 35,351 Total Accrued liabilities $ 337,459 $ 298,018

Income Taxes Income Taxes (Tabl

Income Taxes Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Taxes [Abstract]
Loss Before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Table Text Block]	For financial statement purposes, income (loss) before income taxes by source was comprised of the following: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Domestic $ 11,290 $ (109,615 ) $ (110,347 ) Foreign 2,551 (585 ) (2,927 ) Income (loss) before income taxes $ 13,841 $ (110,200 ) $ (113,274 )
Reconciliation of Income Tax Expense [Table Text Block]	A reconciliation of the federal statutory rate of 21% for 2018 and 35% for 2017 and 2016 to actual follows: Year Ended December 31, 2018 2017 2016 Tax at statutory rate 21.0 % 35.0 % 35.0 % Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — % 70.3 % — % Goodwill impairment — % — % (29.3 )% State income taxes 17.6 % (1.8 )% 3.3 % Effect of foreign operations, net of foreign tax credits (1.2 )% 3.5 % (0.2 )% Effect of current and prior year credits (31.4 )% 1.7 % 2.9 % Change in unrecognized tax benefits 10.9 % — % — % Other permanent differences 14.9 % — % — % Prior year return to provision adjustments 7.3 % — % — % Adjustments to deferred taxes — % 1.6 % 0.6 % Valuation allowance (0.5 )% (1.6 )% (6.6 )% Other, net — % (2.7 )% 1.4 % Effective income tax rate 38.6 % 106.0 % 7.1 %
Components of Income Tax Expense [Table Text Block]	The components of income tax expense (benefit) are as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Current expense (benefit) Federal $ (2,573 ) $ (34,445 ) $ 23,752 State 816 1,216 779 Foreign 724 (1,417 ) (582 ) Total current (1,033 ) (34,646 ) 23,949 Deferred expense (benefit) Federal 4,691 (89,820 ) (27,307 ) State 3,325 9,266 (6,586 ) Foreign (1,634 ) (1,653 ) 1,865 Total deferred 6,382 (82,207 ) (32,028 ) Total income tax expense (benefit) $ 5,349 $ (116,853 ) $ (8,079 )
Deferred Tax Assets [Table Text Block]	Deferred tax assets (liabilities) consist of the following: December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 Deferred tax assets Net operating loss carryforwards $ 56,701 $ 38,914 Accrued liabilities 50,558 49,619 Intangible assets 20,346 26,029 Other assets including credits 23,070 11,967 Foreign tax credit carryforwards 6,601 6,601 Total deferred tax assets 157,276 133,130 Valuation allowance (39,961 ) (40,074 ) Deferred tax assets, net 117,315 93,056 Deferred tax liabilities Rental merchandise (177,794 ) (139,425 ) Property assets (32,571 ) (40,712 ) Other liabilities (453 ) — Total deferred tax liabilities (210,818 ) (180,137 ) Net deferred taxes $ (93,503 ) $ (87,081 )
Unrecognized Tax Benefits [Table Text Block]	A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Beginning unrecognized tax benefit balance $ 37,319 $ 33,723 $ 27,164 (Reductions) additions based on tax positions related to current year (206 ) (2,280 ) 773 Additions for tax positions of prior years 735 6,688 8,396 Reductions for tax positions of prior years (488 ) (368 ) (2,246 ) Settlements (996 ) (444 ) (364 ) Ending unrecognized tax benefit balance $ 36,364 $ 37,319 $ 33,723

Senior Debt Senior Debt (Tables

Senior Debt Senior Debt (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Senior Debt [Abstract]
Debt facilities [Table Text Block]	The debt facilities as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 are as follows: December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (In thousands) Facility Maturity Maximum Facility Amount Outstanding Amount Available Maximum Facility Amount Outstanding Amount Available Senior Debt: Term Loan (1) $ — $ — $ — $ 225,000 $ 48,563 $ — Revolving Facility December 31, 2019 200,000 — 95,900 350,000 85,000 109,700 Total 200,000 — 95,900 575,000 133,563 109,700 Other indebtedness: Line of credit August 20, 2019 12,500 — 12,500 12,500 5,735 6,765 Total $ 212,500 — $ 108,400 $ 587,500 139,298 $ 116,465 Unamortized debt issuance costs — (2) (5,173 ) Total senior debt, net $ — $ 134,125 (1) During the third quarter of 2018 the outstanding Term Loans were repaid in full. (2) At December 31, 2018 there was $2.6 million in unamortized debt issuance costs included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.
Financial covenants ratios [Table Text Block]	The table below shows the required and actual ratios under the Credit Agreement calculated as of December 31, 2018 : Required Ratio Actual Ratio Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio No less than 1.10:1 3.64:1

Commitments and Contingencies C

Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]
Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block]	Future minimum rental payments under operating leases with remaining lease terms in excess of one year at December 31, 2018 are as follows: (In thousands) Operating Leases 2019 $ 145,345 2020 116,785 2021 80,362 2022 47,417 2023 16,460 Thereafter 2,280 Total future minimum rental payments $ 408,649

Other Charges - Operating Exp_2

Other Charges - Operating Expenses Other Charges - Operating Expenses (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Other Charges - Operating Expenses [Abstract]
Other Charges [Table Text Block]	Activity with respect to other charges for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 is summarized in the below table: (In thousands) Accrued Charges at December 31, 2016 Charges & Adjustments Payments Accrued Charges at December 31, 2017 Charges & Adjustments Payments Accrued Charges at December 31, 2018 Cash charges: Labor reduction costs $ 1,393 $ 3,765 $ (3,484 ) $ 1,674 $ 13,321 $ (7,372 ) $ 7,623 Lease obligation costs 6,628 457 (4,980 ) 2,105 11,952 (9,175 ) 4,882 Contract termination costs — — — — 6,750 (6,750 ) — Other miscellaneous — 723 (723 ) — 2,696 (2,696 ) — Total cash charges $ 8,021 4,945 $ (9,187 ) $ 3,779 34,719 $ (25,993 ) $ 12,505 Non-cash charges: Rental merchandise losses 18,417 620 Asset impairments, including capitalized software 19,237 6,825 Impairment of intangible asset 3,896 — Other (1) 12,724 17,160 Total other charges $ 59,219 $ 59,324 (1) Other primarily includes incremental legal and advisory fees associated with our strategic review and merger related activities, partially offset by insurance claims recoveries related to 2017 hurricanes for the year ended December 31, 2018 and primarily includes incremental legal and advisory fees, effects of hurricanes, and legal settlements for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Stock-Based Compensation Stock-

Stock-Based Compensation Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Stock-Based Compensation [Abstract]
Stock-based compensation expense [Table Text Block]	Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 is as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Stock options $ 1,388 $ 2,023 $ 2,954 Restricted share units 4,573 1,873 6,255 Total stock-based compensation expense 5,961 3,896 9,209 Tax benefit recognized in the statements of earnings 1,739 1,442 658 Stock-based compensation expense, net of tax $ 4,222 $ 2,454 $ 8,551
Stock option activity [Table Text Block]	Information with respect to stock option activity related to the Plans for the year ended December 31, 2018 follows: Equity Awards Outstanding Weighted Average Exercise Price Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In thousands) Balance outstanding at January 1, 2018 2,953,694 $ 21.34 Granted 522,731 8.73 Exercised (137,509 ) 10.19 Forfeited (373,690 ) 12.79 Expired (496,326 ) 27.40 Balance outstanding at December 31, 2018 2,468,900 $ 19.37 6.06 $ 2,090 Exercisable at December 31, 2018 1,424,800 $ 25.81 4.38 $ 2,090
Weighted average fair values of options granted [Table Text Block]	The weighted average fair values of the options granted under the Plans were calculated using the Black-Scholes method. The weighted average grant date fair value and weighted average assumptions used in the option pricing models are as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2018 2017 2016 Weighted average grant date fair value $ 3.80 $ 2.92 $ 3.06 Weighted average risk free interest rate 2.51 % 1.78 % 1.31 % Weighted average expected dividend yield — % 3.03 % 3.16 % Weighted average expected volatility 49.58 % 45.44 % 39.64 % Weighted average expected life (in years) 4.63 4.50 4.63
Nonvested restricted stock units activity [Table Text Block]	Information with respect to non-vested restricted stock unit activity follows: Restricted Awards Outstanding Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Balance outstanding at January 1, 2018 1,344,411 $ 10.87 Granted 1,188,565 8.73 Vested (188,029 ) 23.34 Forfeited (489,085 ) 8.66 Balance outstanding at December 31, 2018 1,855,862 $ 8.82

Fair Value Fair Value (Tables)

Fair Value Fair Value (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value [Abstract]
Fair Value Measurements, Nonrecurring [Table Text Block]	The fair value of our senior notes is based on Level 1 inputs and was as follows at December 31, 2018 and 2017 : December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (In thousands) Carrying Value Fair Value Difference Carrying Value Fair Value Difference 6.625% senior notes $ 292,740 $ 285,509 $ (7,231 ) $ 292,740 $ 278,835 $ (13,905 ) 4.75% senior notes 250,000 239,050 (10,950 ) 250,000 237,500 (12,500 ) Total senior notes $ 542,740 $ 524,559 $ (18,181 ) $ 542,740 $ 516,335 $ (26,405 )

Segment Information Segment Inf

Segment Information Segment Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Segment Information [Abstract]
Segment Information [Table Text Block]	Segment information as of and for the years ended December 31, 2018 , 2017 and 2016 is as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Revenues Core U.S. $ 1,855,712 $ 1,835,422 $ 2,069,725 Acceptance Now 722,562 797,987 817,814 Mexico 49,613 47,005 50,927 Franchising 32,578 22,126 24,786 Total revenues $ 2,660,465 $ 2,702,540 $ 2,963,252 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Gross profit Core U.S. $ 1,299,809 $ 1,276,212 $ 1,467,679 Acceptance Now 339,616 400,002 422,381 Mexico 34,364 32,592 35,549 Franchising 14,379 9,736 9,440 Total gross profit $ 1,688,168 $ 1,718,542 $ 1,935,049 Beginning in 2018, we implemented an intercompany book value adjustment charge for all rental merchandise transfers from Acceptance Now locations to Core U.S. stores. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, book value adjustments on intercompany rental merchandise transfers were $12.0 million , resulting in a corresponding increase in gross profit for the Core U.S. and decrease in gross profit for Acceptance Now. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Operating profit (loss) Core U.S. $ 147,787 $ 86,196 $ (1,020 ) Acceptance Now 93,951 48,618 105,925 Mexico 2,605 (260 ) (2,449 ) Franchising 4,385 5,081 5,650 Total segments 248,728 139,635 108,106 Corporate (192,591 ) (202,694 ) (174,702 ) Total operating profit (loss) $ 56,137 $ (63,059 ) $ (66,596 ) Beginning in 2018, we implemented an intercompany book value adjustment charge for all rental merchandise transfers from Acceptance Now locations to Core U.S. stores. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, book value adjustments for inventory charge-offs related to intercompany rental merchandise transfers were $2.2 million , resulting in a corresponding increase in operating profit for the Core U.S. and decrease in operating profit for Acceptance Now. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles Core U.S. (1) $ 25,566 $ 31,070 $ 39,734 Acceptance Now (2) 1,677 2,498 3,309 Mexico 1,006 1,973 3,179 Franchising 172 177 177 Total segments 28,421 35,718 46,399 Corporate 40,525 38,921 34,057 Total depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles $ 68,946 $ 74,639 $ 80,456 (1) We recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $151.3 million in the Core U.S. segment during the fourth quarter of 2016 , not included in the table above. (2) We recorded an impairment of intangibles of $3.9 million in the Acceptance Now segment during the first quarter of 2017 that is not included in the table above. The impairment charge was recorded to Other Charges in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Capital expenditures Core U.S. $ 17,173 $ 26,506 $ 20,802 Acceptance Now 203 2,723 2,330 Mexico 295 124 283 Total segments 17,671 29,353 23,415 Corporate 10,291 36,107 37,728 Total capital expenditures $ 27,962 $ 65,460 $ 61,143 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 On rent rental merchandise, net Core U.S. $ 424,829 $ 408,993 $ 426,845 Acceptance Now 242,978 278,443 354,486 Mexico 16,001 14,367 13,787 Total on rent rental merchandise, net $ 683,808 $ 701,803 $ 795,118 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Held for rent rental merchandise, net Core U.S. $ 117,294 $ 156,039 $ 192,718 Acceptance Now 1,207 4,940 7,489 Mexico 5,161 6,209 6,629 Total held for rent rental merchandise, net $ 123,662 $ 167,188 $ 206,836 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Assets by segment Core U.S. $ 714,914 $ 776,296 $ 860,717 Acceptance Now 312,151 350,970 432,383 Mexico 29,321 33,529 31,415 Franchising 4,287 3,802 2,197 Total segments 1,060,673 1,164,597 1,326,712 Corporate 336,244 256,184 276,029 Total assets $ 1,396,917 $ 1,420,781 $ 1,602,741 December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Assets by country United States $ 1,366,405 $ 1,383,004 $ 1,567,933 Mexico 29,321 33,529 31,415 Canada 1,191 4,248 3,393 Total assets $ 1,396,917 $ 1,420,781 $ 1,602,741 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Rentals and fees by inventory category Furniture and accessories $ 962,241 $ 921,159 $ 927,537 Consumer electronics 410,184 459,942 553,976 Appliances 344,548 351,893 391,539 Computers 120,756 124,158 148,889 Smartphones 62,592 57,927 93,449 Other products and services 344,539 352,662 384,663 Total rentals and fees $ 2,244,860 $ 2,267,741 $ 2,500,053 Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2018 2017 2016 Revenue by country United States $ 2,610,432 $ 2,654,819 $ 2,911,613 Mexico 49,612 47,005 50,927 Canada 421 716 712 Total revenues $ 2,660,465 $ 2,702,540 $ 2,963,252

Earnings Per Common Share Earni

Earnings Per Common Share Earnings Per Common Share (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Common Share [Abstract]
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block]	Summarized basic and diluted earnings per common share were calculated as follows: Year Ended December 31, (In thousands, except per share data) 2018 2017 2016 Numerator: Net earnings (loss) $ 8,492 $ 6,653 $ (105,195 ) Denominator: Weighted-average shares outstanding 53,471 53,282 53,121 Effect of dilutive stock awards (1) 1,071 562 — Weighted-average dilutive shares 54,542 53,844 53,121 Basic earnings (loss) per share $ 0.16 $ 0.12 $ (1.98 ) Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ 0.16 $ 0.12 $ (1.98 ) Anti-dilutive securities excluded from diluted earnings (loss) per common share: Anti-dilutive restricted share units — — 482 Anti-dilutive performance share units 200 329 880 Anti-dilutive stock options 1,498 2,554 3,072 (1) There was no dilutive effect to the loss per common share for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to the net loss incurred for the period.

Unaudited Quarterly Data Unaudi

Unaudited Quarterly Data Unaudited Quarterly Data (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Unaudited Quarterly Data [Abstract]
Unaudited Quarterly Data [Table Text Block]	Summarized quarterly financial data for the years ended December 31, 2018 , and 2017 is as follows: (In thousands, except per share data) 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Year Ended December 31, 2018 Revenues $ 698,043 $ 655,730 $ 644,942 $ 661,750 Gross profit 436,978 423,886 407,740 419,564 Operating profit (loss) (10,270 ) 27,151 25,632 13,624 Net (loss) earnings (19,843 ) 13,753 12,918 1,664 Basic (loss) earnings per common share $ (0.37 ) $ 0.26 $ 0.24 $ 0.03 Diluted (loss) earnings per common share $ (0.37 ) $ 0.25 $ 0.24 $ 0.03 (In thousands, except per share data) 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Year Ended December 31, 2017 Revenues $ 741,986 $ 677,635 $ 643,965 $ 638,954 Gross profit 462,663 432,533 412,465 410,881 Operating profit (loss) 1,152 (873 ) (8,445 ) (54,893 ) Net earnings (loss) (6,679 ) (8,893 ) (12,599 ) 34,824 Basic earnings (loss) per common share $ (0.13 ) $ (0.17 ) $ (0.24 ) $ 0.65 Diluted earnings (loss) per common share $ (0.13 ) $ (0.17 ) $ (0.24 ) $ 0.65 Cash dividends declared per common share $ 0.08 $ 0.08 $ — $ —

Nature of Operations and Summ_4

Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies Nature of Operations and Summary of Accounting Policies (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Sep. 30, 2018USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2018USD ($)
Nature of Operations [Abstract]
Number of company-owned stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico | store	2,158								2,158
Number of retail installment sales stores | store	44								44
Number of Acceptance Now Staffed locations | store	1,106								1,106
Number of Acceptance Now Direct locations | store	96								96
Number of stores in Mexico | store	122								122
Number of Franchised stores | store	281								281
Number of states with Franchised stores	32								32
Rental merchandise, net [Abstract]
Minimum Period in Held for Rent status needed for depreciation of merchandise									180 days
Maximum Period used for depreciation of Merchandise Held for Rent									18 months
Maximum Period used for depreciation of smartphones Held for Rent									18 months
Minimum Period in Held for Rent status needed for depreciation of smartphones									90 days
Maximum period of past due required to charge off remaining book value of rental merchandise for Core U.S. segment									90 days
Maximum period of past due required to charge off remaining book value of rental merchandise for Acceptance Now segment									150 days
Maximum period of past due required to charge off remaining book value of rental merchandise for Mexico segment									90 days
Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Abstract]
Minimum Period of Past Due Required to Charge Off installment Notes									120 days
Maximum period in current status allowed to Franchisees for payment of receivables									30 days
Minimum period of past due required to write off receivables from Franchisees									90 days
Goodwill and Other Intangibles [Abstract]
Amortization period for acquired customer relationships									21 months
Amortization period for vendor relationships minimum									7 years
Amortization period for vendor relationships maximum									15 years
Advertising Costs [Abstract]
Advertising Costs									$ 74,600	$ 86,100	$ 90,600
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Accrued liabilities	$ (337,459)				$ (298,018)				(337,459)	(298,018)		$ (299,683)
Deferred tax liability	119,061				87,081				119,061	87,081		86,727
Total liabilities	1,110,400				1,148,338				1,110,400	1,148,338		1,149,649
Retained earnings	805,924				798,743				805,924	798,743		797,432
Total stockholders' equity	286,517				272,443				286,517	272,443		271,132
Royalty income and fees									13,491	8,969	8,428
Total revenues	661,750	$ 644,942	$ 655,730	$ 698,043	638,954	$ 643,965	$ 677,635	$ 741,986	2,660,465	2,702,540	2,963,252
Gross profit	419,564	407,740	423,886	436,978	410,881	412,465	432,533	462,663	1,688,168	1,718,542	1,935,049
Other store expenses									656,894	744,187	791,614
Total operating expenses									1,632,031	1,781,601	2,001,645
Operating profit (loss)	13,624	25,632	27,151	(10,270)	(54,893)	(8,445)	(873)	1,152	56,137	(63,059)	(66,596)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes									13,841	(110,200)	(113,274)
Income tax expense (benefit)									5,349	(116,853)	(8,079)
Net earnings (loss)	1,664	$ 12,918	$ 13,753	$ (19,843)	$ 34,824	$ (12,599)	$ (8,893)	$ (6,679)	8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 [Member]
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Accrued liabilities	(3,786)								(3,786)			(1,665)
Deferred tax liability	1,011								1,011			354
Total liabilities	2,775								2,775			1,311
Retained earnings	2,775								2,775			1,311
Total stockholders' equity	2,775								2,775			$ 1,311
Royalty income and fees									(1,844)
Total revenues									(1,844)
Gross profit									(1,844)
Other store expenses									(3,965)
Total operating expenses									(3,965)
Operating profit (loss)									2,121
Earnings (loss) before income taxes									2,121
Income tax expense (benefit)									657
Net earnings (loss)									1,464
Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606 [Member]
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Accrued liabilities	(333,673)								(333,673)
Deferred tax liability	120,072								120,072
Total liabilities	1,107,625								1,107,625
Retained earnings	808,699								808,699
Total stockholders' equity	$ 289,292								289,292
Royalty income and fees									11,647
Total revenues									2,658,621
Gross profit									1,686,324
Other store expenses									652,929
Total operating expenses									1,628,066
Operating profit (loss)									58,258
Earnings (loss) before income taxes									15,962
Income tax expense (benefit)									6,006
Net earnings (loss)									$ 9,956
Furniture, equipment and vehicle [Member]
Major Property Class Useful Life [Line Items]
Depreciation period									5 years
Building [Member]
Major Property Class Useful Life [Line Items]
Depreciation period									40 years
Internally Developed Software [Member]
Major Property Class Useful Life [Line Items]
Depreciation period									10 years

Revenues Revenues (Details)

Revenues Revenues (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									$ 2,244,860	$ 2,267,741	$ 2,500,053
Merchandise sales									304,455	331,402	351,198
Installment sales									69,572	71,651	74,509
Other									9,000	9,620	12,706
Total store revenues									2,627,887	2,680,414	2,938,466
Franchise merchandise sales									19,087	13,157	16,358
Royalty income and fees									13,491	8,969	8,428
Total revenues	$ 661,750	$ 644,942	$ 655,730	$ 698,043	$ 638,954	$ 643,965	$ 677,635	$ 741,986	2,660,465	2,702,540	2,963,252
Deferred revenue	53,348				51,742				53,348	51,742
Rental purchase agreements [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue	42,100				41,100				42,100	41,100
Other product plans [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue	3,000				3,000				3,000	3,000
Franchise fees [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue	$ 4,100				$ 1,700				4,100	1,700
Core Us [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									1,640,839
Merchandise sales									136,878
Installment sales									69,572
Other									8,423
Total store revenues									1,855,712
Franchise merchandise sales									0
Royalty income and fees									0
Total revenues									1,855,712	1,835,422	2,069,725
Acceptance Now [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									557,592
Merchandise sales									164,432
Installment sales									0
Other									538
Total store revenues									722,562
Franchise merchandise sales									0
Royalty income and fees									0
Total revenues									722,562	797,987	817,814
Mexico [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									46,429
Merchandise sales									3,145
Installment sales									0
Other									39
Total store revenues									49,613
Franchise merchandise sales									0
Royalty income and fees									0
Total revenues									49,613	47,005	50,927
Franchising [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									0
Merchandise sales									0
Installment sales									0
Other									0
Total store revenues									0
Franchise merchandise sales									19,087
Royalty income and fees									13,491
Total revenues									$ 32,578	$ 22,126	$ 24,786

Receivables and Allowance for_3

Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Receivables [Line Items]
Accounts Receivable, Gross	$ 74,528	$ 73,990
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4,883 and $4,167 in 2018 and 2017, respectively	69,645	69,823
Changes in allowance for doubtful accounts [Roll Forward]
Bad debt expense	14,610	15,702	$ 15,449
Accounts written off	(14,475)	(15,791)	(16,095)
Recoveries	581	663	625
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(4,883)	(4,167)	$ (3,593)	$ (3,614)
Installment sales receivable [Member]
Receivables [Line Items]
Accounts Receivable, Gross	54,746	55,516
Changes in allowance for doubtful accounts [Roll Forward]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(3,600)	(3,600)
Trade and notes receivables [Member]
Receivables [Line Items]
Accounts Receivable, Gross	19,782	18,474
Changes in allowance for doubtful accounts [Roll Forward]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ (1,300)	$ (600)

Rental Merchandise Rental Mer_2

Rental Merchandise Rental Merchandise (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Rental Merchandise [Abstract]
On rent cost	$ 1,110,968	$ 1,176,240
On rent accumulated depreciation	(427,160)	(474,437)
On rent	683,808	701,803	$ 795,118
Held for rent cost	147,300	198,471
Held for rent accumulated depreciation	(23,638)	(31,283)
Held for rent	$ 123,662	$ 167,188	$ 206,836

Property Assets Property Asse_2

Property Assets Property Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Property Assets [Abstract]
Furniture and equipment	$ 512,056	$ 511,527
Building and leasehold improvements	251,975	269,522
Land and land improvements	6,737	6,747
Transportation equipment	3,765	10,585
Construction in progress	3,540	10,193
Total property assets	778,073	808,574
Accumulated depreciation of property assets	(551,750)	(525,673)
Property assets, net of accumulated depreciation of $551,750 and $525,673 in 2018 and 2017, respectively	226,323	282,901
Capitalized software costs included in construction in progress	1,900	7,300
Cost of internally developed software placed in service	$ 9,700	$ 32,100	$ 84,500

Intangible Assets and Acquisi_3

Intangible Assets and Acquisitions Intangible Assets and Acquisitions (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)store
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of stores acquired remaining open | store	1	0	0
Number of stores acquired that were merged with existing stores | store	6	8	3
Number of transactions	7	4	3
Total purchase price	$ 2,048	$ 2,547	$ 2,302
Acquisition amounts allocated to goodwill	169	1,217	1,442
Acquisition amounts allocated to rental merchandise	$ 1,590	780	679
Acquired intangible assets weighted average useful life	21 months
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment charge	$ 0	0	151,320
Acquisition amounts allocated to goodwill	169	1,217	1,442
Post purchase price allocation adjustments	62	89
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Gross carrying amount	87,547	87,278
Accumulated amortization	87,048	86,396
Amortization of impairment of intangibles	671	4,908	2,176
Goodwill	56,845	56,614	55,308
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net, Amortization Expense, Rolling Maturity [Abstract]
2019 Estimated amortization expense	451
2020 Estimated amortization expense	48
Thereafter Estimated amortization expense	0
Other intangible assets, net	499	882
Core Us [Member]
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Goodwill	1,500	1,300
Acceptance Now [Member]
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Goodwill	55,300	55,300
2017 Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Acceptance Now [Member]
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Impairment of intangible asset		3,900
Customer relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition amounts allocated to finite-lived intangible assets	$ 289	550	181
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Average life	2 years
Gross carrying amount	$ 79,942	79,670
Accumulated amortization	$ 79,695	79,274
Vendor relationships [Member]
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Average life	11 years
Gross carrying amount	$ 860	860
Accumulated amortization	860	860
Non-compete agreements [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition amounts allocated to finite-lived intangible assets	$ 0	0	$ 0
Intangible Assets and Acquisitions [Line Items]
Average life	3 years
Gross carrying amount	$ 6,745	6,748
Accumulated amortization	$ 6,493	$ 6,262

Accrued Liabilities Accrued L_2

Accrued Liabilities Accrued Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]
Accrued insurance costs	$ 109,505		$ 124,760
Accrued compensation	55,789		37,783
Deferred revenue	53,348		51,742
Taxes other than income	27,711		27,415
Income taxes payable	26,797		0
Accrued legal settlement	11,000		0
Deferred compensation	8,687		11,323
Accrued interest payable	5,643		5,707
Deferred rent	3,503		3,937
Accrued other	35,476		35,351
Accrued liabilities	$ 337,459	$ 299,683	$ 298,018

Income Taxes Income Taxes (Deta

Income Taxes Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Taxes [Abstract]
Revaluation income tax benefit		$ 76,500
Tax Act transition tax obligation		700
Tax Act provisional benefit		9,700
Domestic loss before income taxes	$ 11,290	(109,615)	$ (110,347)
Foreign loss before income taxes	2,551	(585)	(2,927)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	13,841	(110,200)	(113,274)
Federal current expense (benefit)	(2,573)	(34,445)	23,752
State current expense (benefit)	816	1,216	779
Foreign current expense (benefit)	724	(1,417)	(582)
Total current expense (benefit)	(1,033)	(34,646)	23,949
Federal deferred expense (benefit)	4,691	(89,820)	(27,307)
State deferred expense (benefit)	3,325	9,266	(6,586)
Foreign deferred expense (benefit)	(1,634)	(1,653)	1,865
Total deferred expense (benefit)	6,382	(82,207)	(32,028)
Income tax expense (benefit)	5,349	(116,853)	$ (8,079)
State net operating loss carryforwards	56,701	38,914
Accrued liabilities	50,558	49,619
Intangible assets	20,346	26,029
Other assets including credits	23,070	11,967
Foreign tax credit carryfowards	6,601	6,601
Total deferred tax assets	157,276	133,130
Valuation allowance	(39,961)	(40,074)
Deferred tax asset	117,315	93,056
Rental merchandise	(177,794)	(139,425)
Property assets	(32,571)	(40,712)
Other liabilities	(453)	0
Deferred income taxes	(210,818)	(180,137)
Deferred tax liability	$ (93,503)	$ (87,081)
Tax at statutory rate	21.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017	0.00%	70.30%	0.00%
Goodwill impairment	0.00%	0.00%	(29.30%)
State income taxes	17.60%	(1.80%)	3.30%
Effect of foreign operations, net of foreign tax credits	(1.20%)	(3.50%)	0.20%
Effect of current and prior year credits	(31.40%)	(1.70%)	(2.90%)
Change in unrecognized tax benefits	10.90%	0.00%	0.00%
Other permanent differences	14.90%	0.00%	0.00%
Prior year return to provision adjustments	7.30%	0.00%	0.00%
Adjustments to deferred taxes	0.00%	1.60%	0.60%
Valuation allowance	(0.50%)	(1.60%)	(6.60%)
Other, net	0.00%	(2.70%)	1.40%
Effective income tax rate	38.60%	106.00%	7.10%
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Tax credit carryforward	$ 16,900
Federal [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards	65,600
State [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards	453,200
Foreign [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards	$ 61,200

Income Taxes Unrecognized tax b

Income Taxes Unrecognized tax benefit (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Income Taxes [Abstract]
(Reductions) additions based on tax positions related to current year	$ (206)	$ (2,280)
(Reductions) additions based on tax positions related to current year			$ 773
Additions for tax positions of prior years	735	6,688	8,396
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(488)	(368)	(2,246)
Settlements	(996)	(444)	(364)
Unrecognized tax benefit balance	36,364	$ 37,319	$ 33,723	$ 27,164
Tax benefits, if recognized, affect annual effective tax rate	6,200
Unrecognized tax benefits, potential reduction	19,700
Accrued for payment of interest related to unrecognized tax benefits	3,400
Interest expense related to unrecognized tax benefits	$ 80

Senior Debt Senior Debt (Detail

Senior Debt Senior Debt (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Senior Debt [Abstract]
Required minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio	1.10
Actual consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio	3.64
Adjusted consolidated ebitda	$ 156,400
Consolidated fixed charges	42,900
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unamortized debt issuance expense	2,600	$ 5,173
Senior debt, net	0	134,125
Letters of credit, amount outstanding	$ 92,000	94,000
Commitment fee percentage	0.50%
Commitment fee amount	$ 1,000
Senior credit facilities, additional amount allowed	100,000
Write-off of debt issuance costs	475	1,936	$ 0
Debt arrangement and amendment fees	$ 2,100
Event of default - 3rd party ownership % of our voting stock	35.00%
Event of default-not satisfied or bonded judgment in excess of	$ 50,000
Maximum period allowed for pending judgment to satisfy	30
Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee percentage	0.30%
Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee percentage	0.50%
Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 0	225,000
Term Loan Amount Outstanding	0	48,563
Amount available	0	0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	200,000	350,000
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 0	85,000
Maturity date	Dec. 31, 2019
Revolving credit facility availability	$ 95,900	109,700
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Eurodollar [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Margin on Eurodollar rate	2.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Eurodollar [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis margin on variable rate	1.50%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Eurodollar [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis margin on variable rate	3.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Prime Rate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Margin on prime rate	1.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Prime Rate [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis margin on variable rate	0.50%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Prime Rate [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis margin on variable rate	2.00%
Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 200,000	575,000
Amount outstanding	0	133,563
Amount available	$ 95,900	109,700
Line of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maturity date	Aug. 20, 2019
Unsecured line of credit, maximum facility	$ 12,500	12,500
Unsecured line of credit, amount outstanding	0	5,735
Amount available	12,500	6,765
Senior Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	212,500	587,500
Amount outstanding	0	139,298
Amount available	108,400	$ 116,465
Dividend annual limit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Equity restrictions	$ 15,000

Subsidiary Guarantors - Senio_2

Subsidiary Guarantors - Senior Notes Subsidiary Guarantors - Senior Notes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Senior Notes [Line Items]
Carrying value of senior notes	$ 542,740	$ 542,740
Unamortized debt issuance expense	2,600	5,173
Covenant for debt basket available under senior notes	20,000
Event of default for senior notes - failure of other debt payment at maturity in excess of this amount	50,000
Event of default for senior notes - not discharged, bonded or insured judgment in excess of this amount	$ 50,000
Our ownership percentage of subsidiary guarantors of senior notes	100.00%
Senior Notes Due 2020 [Member]
Senior Notes [Line Items]
Initial Borrowing in Senior Notes	$ 300,000
Portion of proceeds from senior notes used to repay outstanding term debt	200,000
Carrying value of senior notes	292,740	292,740
Unamortized debt issuance expense	$ 1,200	1,800
Senior notes, redemption price, percentage	100.00%
Percentage of original aggreate principle amount of senior notes included in repurchase price at change of control	101.00%
Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member]
Senior Notes [Line Items]
Initial Borrowing in Senior Notes	$ 250,000
Portion of proceeds from senior notes used to repay outstanding term debt	200,000
Carrying value of senior notes	250,000	250,000
Unamortized debt issuance expense	$ 1,500	$ 2,100
Senior notes, redemption price, percentage	101.188%
Percentage of original aggreate principle amount of senior notes included in repurchase price at change of control	101.00%
Senior Notes, Redemption, Period One [Member] | Senior Notes Due 2020 [Member]
Senior Notes [Line Items]
Senior notes, redemption price, percentage	103.313%
Senior Notes, Redemption, Period One [Member] | Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member]
Senior Notes [Line Items]
Senior notes, redemption price, percentage	103.563%

Commitments and Contingencies_2

Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]
Rental expense	$ 206,300	$ 209,700	$ 231,300
2019 future minimum rental payments	145,345
2020 future minimum rental payments	116,785
2021 future minimum rental payments	80,362
2022 future minimum rental payments	47,417
2023 future minimum rental payments	16,460
Thereafter future minimum rental payments	2,280
Total future minimum rental payments	408,649
Litigation settlement	11,000
Reverse breakup fee	126,500
Financial advisory fees	$ 15,000

Other Charges - Operating Exp_3

Other Charges - Operating Expenses Other Charges - Operating Expenses (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)store
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Write-down of capitalized assets	$ 1,200	$ 18,200
Other			$ 2,200
Restructuring Reserve	12,505	3,779	8,021
Other charges	59,324	59,219	20,299
Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	7,623	1,674	1,393
Lease obligation costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	4,882	2,105	6,628
Contract Termination [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	0	0	0
Other miscellaneous [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	0	0	0
2018 Cost Savings Initiatives [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Write-down of capitalized assets	1,900
Other	(2,300)
Legal Fees	1,900
Asset impairments, including capitalized software	1,000
2018 Cost Savings Initiatives [Member] | Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	13,100
2018 Cost Savings Initiatives [Member] | Lease obligation costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	3,400
2018 Cost Savings Initiatives [Member] | Contract Termination [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	6,800
2018 Store Consolidation Plan [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other	(1,300)
Asset impairments, including capitalized software	1,600
Pretax other charges	11,200
2018 Store Consolidation Plan [Member] | Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	200
2018 Store Consolidation Plan [Member] | Lease obligation costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	$ 8,100
2018 Store Consolidation Plan [Member] | Core Us [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store	138
2018 Store Consolidation Plan [Member] | Mexico [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store	9
2017 Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Acceptance Now [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Pretax other charges		19,200
Impairment of intangible asset		$ 3,900
2017 Field Support Center Restructuring Plan [Member] | Corporate, Non-Segment [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Head count reduction as percent of total workforce		10.00%
2017 Field Support Center Restructuring Plan [Member] | Corporate, Non-Segment [Member] | Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges		$ 3,400
2016 US Core Store and Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Pretax other charges			$ 20,100
2016 US Core Store and Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Acceptance Now [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store			96
2016 US Core Store and Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Core Us [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store			167
2016 Mexico Store Consolidation Plan [Member] | Mexico [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store			14
Pretax other charges			$ 2,300
Payments [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring payments	$ (25,993)	(9,187)
Payments [Member] | Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring payments	(7,372)	(3,484)
Payments [Member] | Lease obligation costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring payments	(9,175)	(4,980)
Payments [Member] | Contract Termination [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring payments	(6,750)	0
Payments [Member] | Other miscellaneous [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring payments	(2,696)	(723)
Restructuring charges [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	34,719	4,945
Restructuring charges [Member] | Labor reduction costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	13,321	3,765
Restructuring charges [Member] | Lease obligation costs [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	11,952	457
Restructuring charges [Member] | Contract Termination [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	6,750	0
Restructuring charges [Member] | Other miscellaneous [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cash charges	2,696	723
Non-Cash Charges [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other	(17,160)	(12,724)
Asset impairments, including capitalized software	6,825	19,237
Impairment of intangible asset	0	3,896
Rental merchandise losses	620	18,417
Non-Cash Charges [Member] | 2018 Hurricanes [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other	$ (600)
Non-Cash Charges [Member] | 2017 Hurricanes [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other		(4,500)
Non-Cash Charges [Member] | 2017 Hurricanes [Member] | Hurricane Harvey and Irma [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other		(2,100)
Non-Cash Charges [Member] | 2017 Hurricanes [Member] | Hurricane Maria [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Other		$ (2,400)
Manned Location [Member] | 2017 Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Acceptance Now [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store		319
Direct Location [Member] | 2017 Acceptance Now Consolidation Plan [Member] | Acceptance Now [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Number of stores closed | store		9

Stock-Based Compensation Stoc_2

Stock-Based Compensation Stock-Based Compensation (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options outstanding	2,468,900	2,953,694
Exercise period of options once vested	10 years
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 5,961,000	$ 3,896,000	$ 9,209,000
Tax benefit recognized in the statements of earnings	1,739,000	1,442,000	658,000
Share-based compensation expense, net of tax	$ 4,222,000	$ 2,454,000	8,551,000
Stock options granted	522,731
Exercise of stock options, shares	(137,509)
Stock options forfeited	(373,690)
Stock options expired	(496,326)
Stock options outstanding, weighted average exercise price	$ 19.37	$ 21.34
Stock options granted, weighted average exercise price	8.73
Stock options exercised, weighted average exercise price	10.19
Stock options forfeited, weighted average exercise price	12.79
Stock options expired, weighted average exercise price	$ 27.40
Stock options outstanding, weighted average remaining contractual life	6 years 23 days
Stock options outstanding, aggregate intrinsic value	$ 2,090,000
Stock options exercisable	1,424,800
Stock options exercisable, weighted average exercise price	$ 25.81
Stock options exercisable, weighted average remaining contractual life	4 years 4 months 18 days
Stock options exercisable, aggregate intrinsic value	$ 2,090,000
Stock options exercised, intrinsic value	418,900	$ 53,300	$ 0
Tax benefits from exercise of stock options	$ 146,600	$ 18,700
Weighted average grant date fair value	$ 3.80	$ 2.92	$ 3.06
Weighted average risk free interest rate	2.51%	1.78%	1.31%
Weighted average expected dividend yield	0.00%	3.03%	3.16%
Weighted average expected volatility	49.58%	45.44%	39.64%
Weighted average expected life (in years)	4 years 7 months 18 days	4 years 6 months	4 years 7 months 17 days
Restricted share units outstanding	1,855,862	1,344,411
Restricted share units granted	1,188,565
Restricted share units vested	(188,029)
Restricted share units forfeited	(489,085)
Restricted share units outstanding, weighted average exercise price	$ 8.82	$ 10.87
Restricted share units granted, weighted average exercise price	8.73
Restricted share units vested, weighted average exercise price	23.34
Restricted share units forfeited, weighted average exercise price	$ 8.66
2006 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized to issue	7,000,000
Stock options outstanding	1,022,482	1,554,931
2016 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized to issue	6,500,000
Stock options outstanding	2,625,206	1,705,660
Equity Incentive Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock options outstanding	677,074	1,037,514
Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period of options granted	1 year
Vesting % of performance based restricted stock units	0.00%
Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period of options granted	4 years
Vesting % of performance based restricted stock units	200.00%
Stock options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 1,388,000	$ 2,023,000	$ 2,954,000
Unvested awards - to result in compensation expense	$ 2,400,000
Weighted average number of years to vesting	2 years 6 months 8 days
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 4,573,000	$ 1,873,000	$ 6,255,000
Unvested awards - to result in compensation expense	$ 7,300,000
Weighted average number of years to vesting	1 year 10 months 1 day
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member] | 2006 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized to issue	3,500,000

Deferred Compensation Plan Defe

Deferred Compensation Plan Deferred Compensation Plan (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Deferred Compensation Plan [Abstract]
Maximum Deferral Percentage of Base Compensation under Deferred Compensation Plan	50.00%
Maximum Deferral Percentage of Bonus Compensation under Deferred Compensation Plan	100.00%
Contributions by Employer under Deferred Compensation Plan	$ 50	$ 100	$ 300
Employer match under Deferred Compensation Plan, Percent	50.00%
Employee Contribution Maximum Percent of Compensation under Deferred Compensation Plan	6.00%
Discretionary Contribution under Deferred Compensation Plan	$ 0
Deferred compensation	$ 8,687	$ 11,323

401(k) Plan 401(k) Plan (Detail

401(k) Plan 401(k) Plan (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
401(k) Plan [Abstract]
Maximum contribution % of eligible pre-tax compensation allowed to participants of defined contribution plan	50.00%
Employer match	$ 6.3	$ 7	$ 7.6
Employer match, percent	50.00%
Employer match, percent of employees' compensation	6.00%
Percent of company stock purchased	6.20%	6.00%

Fair Value Fair Value (Details)

Fair Value Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Carrying value of senior notes	$ 542,740	$ 542,740
Amount of difference between fair value and carrying value	(18,181)	(26,405)
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of senior notes	524,559	516,335
Senior Notes Due 2020 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Carrying value of senior notes	292,740	292,740
Amount of difference between fair value and carrying value	(7,231)	(13,905)
Senior Notes Due 2020 [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of senior notes	285,509	278,835
Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Carrying value of senior notes	250,000	250,000
Amount of difference between fair value and carrying value	(10,950)	(12,500)
Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of senior notes	$ 239,050	$ 237,500

Stock Repurchase Plan Stock Rep

Stock Repurchase Plan Stock Repurchase Plan (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Stock Repurchase Plan [Abstract]
Authorized common stock repurchase amount			$ 1,250
Common stock repurchased, shares	0	0	36,994,653
Common stock repurchased, purchase price			$ 994.8

Segment Information Segment I_2

Segment Information Segment Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Sep. 30, 2018USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)store	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues	$ 661,750	$ 644,942	$ 655,730	$ 698,043	$ 638,954	$ 643,965	$ 677,635	$ 741,986	$ 2,660,465	$ 2,702,540	$ 2,963,252
Gross profit	419,564	407,740	423,886	436,978	410,881	412,465	432,533	462,663	1,688,168	1,718,542	1,935,049
Product transfer fee									12,000
Product transfer charge-off									2,200
Operating profit (loss)	13,624	$ 25,632	$ 27,151	$ (10,270)	(54,893)	$ (8,445)	$ (873)	$ 1,152	56,137	(63,059)	(66,596)
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									68,946	74,639	80,456
Goodwill impairment charge									0	0	151,320
Capital expenditures									27,962	65,460	61,143
On rent	683,808				701,803				683,808	701,803	795,118
Held for rent	123,662				167,188				123,662	167,188	206,836
Assets	$ 1,396,917				1,420,781				1,396,917	1,420,781	1,602,741
Rentals and fees									$ 2,244,860	2,267,741	2,500,053
Number of retail installment sales stores | store	44								44
Royalty Fee Percentage Minimum									2.00%
Royalty Fee Percentage Maximum									6.00%
Furniture and accessories [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									$ 962,241	921,159	927,537
Consumer electronics [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									410,184	459,942	553,976
Appliances [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									344,548	351,893	391,539
Computers [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									120,756	124,158	148,889
Smartphones [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									62,592	57,927	93,449
Other products and services [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Rentals and fees									344,539	352,662	384,663
Core Us [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,855,712	1,835,422	2,069,725
Gross profit									1,299,809	1,276,212	1,467,679
Operating profit (loss)									147,787	86,196	(1,020)
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									25,566	31,070	39,734
Capital expenditures									17,173	26,506	20,802
On rent	$ 424,829				408,993				424,829	408,993	426,845
Held for rent	117,294				156,039				117,294	156,039	192,718
Assets	714,914				776,296				714,914	776,296	860,717
Rentals and fees									1,640,839
Acceptance Now [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									722,562	797,987	817,814
Gross profit									339,616	400,002	422,381
Operating profit (loss)									93,951	48,618	105,925
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									1,677	2,498	3,309
Capital expenditures									203	2,723	2,330
On rent	242,978				278,443				242,978	278,443	354,486
Held for rent	1,207				4,940				1,207	4,940	7,489
Assets	312,151				350,970				312,151	350,970	432,383
Rentals and fees									557,592
Mexico [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									49,613	47,005	50,927
Gross profit									34,364	32,592	35,549
Operating profit (loss)									2,605	(260)	(2,449)
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									1,006	1,973	3,179
Capital expenditures									295	124	283
On rent	16,001				14,367				16,001	14,367	13,787
Held for rent	5,161				6,209				5,161	6,209	6,629
Assets	29,321				33,529				29,321	33,529	31,415
Rentals and fees									46,429
Franchising [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									32,578	22,126	24,786
Gross profit									14,379	9,736	9,440
Operating profit (loss)									4,385	5,081	5,650
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									172	177	177
Assets	4,287				3,802				4,287	3,802	2,197
Rentals and fees									0
Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating profit (loss)									248,728	139,635	108,106
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									28,421	35,718	46,399
Capital expenditures									17,671	29,353	23,415
Assets	1,060,673				1,164,597				1,060,673	1,164,597	1,326,712
Corporate, Non-Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating profit (loss)									(192,591)	(202,694)	(174,702)
Depreciation, amortization and write-down of intangibles									40,525	38,921	34,057
Capital expenditures									10,291	36,107	37,728
Assets	336,244				256,184				336,244	256,184	276,029
United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,610,432	2,654,819	2,911,613
Assets	1,366,405				1,383,004				1,366,405	1,383,004	1,567,933
Mexico [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									49,612	47,005	50,927
Assets	29,321				33,529				29,321	33,529	31,415
Canada [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									421	716	712
Assets	$ 1,191				$ 4,248				$ 1,191	$ 4,248	$ 3,393

Earnings Per Common Share Ear_2

Earnings Per Common Share Earnings Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net earnings (loss)	$ 1,664	$ 12,918	$ 13,753	$ (19,843)	$ 34,824	$ (12,599)	$ (8,893)	$ (6,679)	$ 8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Weighted-average shares outstanding									53,471	53,282	53,121
Effect of dilutive stock awards									1,071	562	0
Weighted-average dilutive shares									54,542	53,844	53,121
Basic earnings (loss) per common share	$ 0.03	$ 0.24	$ 0.26	$ (0.37)	$ 0.65	$ (0.24)	$ (0.17)	$ (0.13)	$ 0.16	$ 0.12	$ (1.98)
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share	$ 0.03	$ 0.24	$ 0.25	$ (0.37)	$ 0.65	$ (0.24)	$ (0.17)	$ (0.13)	$ 0.16	$ 0.12	$ (1.98)
Restricted share units [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from diluted earnings (loss per common share									0	0	482
Performance share units [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from diluted earnings (loss per common share									200	329	880
Stock options [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from diluted earnings (loss per common share									1,498	2,554	3,072

Unaudited Quarterly Data Unau_2

Unaudited Quarterly Data Unaudited Quarterly Data (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Unaudited Quarterly Data [Abstract]
Total revenues	$ 661,750	$ 644,942	$ 655,730	$ 698,043	$ 638,954	$ 643,965	$ 677,635	$ 741,986	$ 2,660,465	$ 2,702,540	$ 2,963,252
Gross profit	419,564	407,740	423,886	436,978	410,881	412,465	432,533	462,663	1,688,168	1,718,542	1,935,049
Operating profit (loss)	13,624	25,632	27,151	(10,270)	(54,893)	(8,445)	(873)	1,152	56,137	(63,059)	(66,596)
Net earnings (loss)	$ 1,664	$ 12,918	$ 13,753	$ (19,843)	$ 34,824	$ (12,599)	$ (8,893)	$ (6,679)	$ 8,492	$ 6,653	$ (105,195)
Basic earnings (loss) per common share	$ 0.03	$ 0.24	$ 0.26	$ (0.37)	$ 0.65	$ (0.24)	$ (0.17)	$ (0.13)	$ 0.16	$ 0.12	$ (1.98)
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share	$ 0.03	$ 0.24	$ 0.25	$ (0.37)	0.65	(0.24)	(0.17)	(0.13)	0.16	0.12	(1.98)
Cash dividends declared per common share					$ 0	$ 0	$ 0.08	$ 0.08	$ 0	$ 0.16	$ 0.32