Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2023 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023

or

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _________to__________

Commission file number: 001-11001

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (203) 614-5600

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes __ No _X_

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes __ No _X_

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes _X_ No __

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes _X_ No __

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨

Smaller reporting company ¨ Emerging growth company ¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes __ No _X_

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of May 3, 2023 was 245,354,000.

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.Financial Statements

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

($ in millions and shares in thousands, except for per-share amounts)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

‎

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Continued)

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

($ in millions and shares in thousands, except for per-share amounts)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Continued)

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

($ in millions)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

‎

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Continued)

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

($ in millions and shares in thousands)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.
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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Continued)

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS PARENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

($ in millions)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

(1) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:

a) Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates:

Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. and its subsidiaries are referred to as “we,” “us,” “our,” “Frontier,” or the “Company” in this report. Our interim unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These interim unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary, in the opinion of Frontier’s management, to present fairly the results for the interim periods shown. Revenues, net income, and cash flows for any interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the full year.

We operate in one reportable segment. Frontier provides both regulated and unregulated voice, data and video services to consumer, business, and wholesale customers and is typically the incumbent voice services provider in its service areas. Certain reclassifications of prior period balances have been made to conform to the current period presentation. For our interim financial statements as of and for the period ended March 31, 2023, we evaluated subsequent events and transactions for potential recognition or disclosure through the date that we filed this Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

The preparation of our interim financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect (i) the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, (ii) the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and (iii) the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates. Estimates and judgments are used when accounting for the application of allowance for credit losses, asset impairments, indefinite-lived intangibles, depreciation and amortization, income taxes, and pension and other postretirement benefits, among others.

b) Revenue Recognition:

Revenue for data and Internet services, voice services, video services, and switched and non-switched access services is recognized as services are provided to customers. Services that are billed in advance include monthly recurring network access services (including data services), special access services, and monthly recurring voice, video, and related charges. Revenue is recognized by measuring progress toward the complete satisfaction of our performance obligations. The unearned portion of these fees is deferred as a component of “Advanced billings” on our consolidated balance sheet and recognized as revenue over the period that the services are provided. Services that are billed in arrears include non-recurring network access services (including data services), switched access services, and non-recurring voice and video services. The earned but unbilled portion of these fees is recognized as revenue in our consolidated statements of operations and accrued in “Accounts receivable” on our consolidated balance sheet in the period that services are provided. Excise taxes are recognized as a liability when billed.

Satisfaction of Performance Obligations

We satisfy our obligations to customers by transferring goods and services in exchange for consideration received from the customer. The timing of our satisfaction of the performance obligation may differ from the timing of the customer’s payment.

Bundled Service and Allocation of Discounts

When customers purchase more than one service, revenue for each is determined by allocating the total transaction price based upon the relative stand-alone selling price of each service. We frequently offer service discounts as an incentive to customers, which reduce the total transaction price. Any incentives which are considered cash equivalents (e.g. gift cards) that are granted will similarly result in a reduction of the total transaction price. Cash equivalent incentives are accounted for on a portfolio basis and are recognized in the month they are awarded to customers.

Customer Incentives

In the process of acquiring and/or retaining customers, we may issue a variety of incentives aside from service discounts or cash equivalent incentives. Those incentives that have stand-alone value (e.g. gift cards not considered cash equivalents or free goods/services) are considered separate performance obligations. While these incentives are free to the customer, a portion of the consideration received from the customer is ascribed to them based upon their relative stand-alone selling price. These types of incentives are accounted for on a portfolio basis with both revenue and expense recognized in the month they are awarded to the customer. The earned revenue associated with these incentives is reflected in “Other” revenue while the associated costs are reflected in “Cost of Services”.

Upfront Fees

All non-refundable upfront fees assessed to our customers provide them with a material right to renew; therefore, they are deferred by creating a contract liability and amortized into “Data and Internet service revenue” for fees charged to our wholesale customers and “Other revenue” for fees charged to all other customers over the average customer life using a portfolio approach.

Customer Acquisition Costs

Sales commission expenses are recognized as incurred. According to ASC 606, incremental costs in obtaining a contract with a customer are deferred and recorded as a contract asset if the period of benefit is expected to be greater than one year. For our retail customers, this period of benefit has been determined to be less than one year. As such, we applied the practical expedient that allows such costs to be expensed as incurred.

Taxes, Surcharges and Subsidies

We collect various taxes, Universal Service Funds (“USF”) surcharges (primarily federal USF), and certain other surcharges from our customers and subsequently remits these taxes to governmental authorities.

In June 2015, we accepted the FCC offer of support to price cap carriers under the Connect America Fund (“CAF”) Phase II program, which was intended to provide long-term support for broadband build commitments in high cost unserved or underserved areas. We recognized FCC’s CAF Phase II subsidies into revenue on a straight-line basis over the seven-year funding term which ended on December 31, 2021. The FCC is reviewing carriers’ CAF II program completion data, and if the FCC determines that we did not satisfy certain applicable CAF Phase II requirements, we could be required to return a portion of the funds previously received and may be subject to certain other requirements and obligations. We have accrued an amount for any potential shortfall in the household build commitment that we deem to be

probable and reasonably estimated, and we do not expect that any amounts of funds that may need to be returned will be material.

In May 2022, we accepted the FCC offer under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) Phase I program, which provides funding over a ten-year period to support the construction of broadband networks in rural communities across the country. We accepted $37 million in annual support through 2032 in return for our commitment to make broadband available to households within the RDOF eligible areas. We will recognize the FCC’s RDOF Phase I subsidies into revenue on a straight-line basis over the ten-year funding term which will end March 31, 2032. We are required to complete the RDOF deployment by December 31, 2028. Thereafter, the FCC will review carriers’ RDOF program completion data, and if the FCC determines that we did not satisfy applicable FCC RDOF requirements, we could be required to return a portion of the funds previously received and may be subject to certain other requirements and obligations.

c)Cash Equivalents:

We consider all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. These amounts represent cash collateral required for certain Letter of Credit obligations and utility vendors. We did not have any restricted cash as of March 31, 2023 or December 31, 2022.

d) Short-Term Investments:

Given the long-term nature of our fiber build, we have invested cash into short-term investments to improve interest income while preserving funding flexibility.

As of March 31, 2023, short-term investments of $900 million are comprised of term deposits earning interest in excess of traditional bank deposit rates, maturing between April 26, 2023, and July 10, 2023, and placed with banks with A-1/P-1 or equivalent credit quality. These short-term investments are in scope of ASC 320, Investments - Debt Securities. The short-term investments’ original maturity is greater than 90 days but less than one year, and they are classified as held to maturity, recorded as current assets, and are accounted for at amortized cost.

e)Definite and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets:

Intangible assets are initially recorded at estimated fair value. Customer relationship intangibles have been established for business and wholesale customers. These intangibles are amortized on a straight-line basis over their assigned useful lives of between 11 and 16 years. Additionally, trademark and tradename assets established upon emergence are amortized on a straight-line basis over 5 years. We review such intangible assets annually, or more often if indicators of impairment arise, to determine whether there is evidence that indicates an impairment condition may exist that would necessitate a change in useful life and a different amortization period.

f)Lease Accounting:

We determine if an arrangement contains a lease at inception. Right-of-use (ROU) assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating and Finance lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The operating and finance lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. Our lease terms used in accounting for leases may reflect options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. ROU assets for operating leases are recorded to “Other Assets”, and the related liabilities recorded to “Other current liabilities”, and “Other liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets. Assets subject to finance leases are included in “Property, Plant &

Equipment”, with corresponding liabilities recorded to “Other current liabilities”, and “Other liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets.

We assess potential impairments to our leases annually, or as indicators exist, if indicators of impairment arise to determine whether there is evidence that indicate an impairment condition may exist. We continue to review our real estate portfolio and, during the first quarter of 2022, determined to either terminate or market for sublease certain facilities leases, which triggered an impairment of $44 million for our finance and operating lease assets recorded as restructuring charges and other costs. See Note 9 for further details.

g) Going Concern:

In accordance with the requirements of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Presentation of Financial Statements Going Concern (ASU 2014-15)”, and ASC 205, “Presentation of Financial Statements”, we have the responsibility to evaluate at each reporting period, including interim periods, whether conditions and/or events raise substantial doubt about our ability to meet our future financial obligations. In its evaluation for this report, management considered our current financial condition and liquidity sources, including current funds available, forecasted future cash flows and our conditional and unconditional obligations due within one year following the date of issuance of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

We believe we have the ability to meet our obligations for at least one year from the date of issuance of this Form 10-Q. Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern and contemplate the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course business.

h)Property, Plant and Equipment:

Property, plant, and equipment are stated at original cost, including capitalized interest, or fair market value as of the date of acquisition for acquired properties. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operating expenses as incurred. The gross book value of routine property, plant and equipment retirements is charged against accumulated depreciation.

i) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of:

We review long-lived assets to be held and used, including customer lists and property, plant and equipment, and long-lived assets to be disposed of for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. Recoverability of assets held for sale is measured by comparing the carrying amount of the assets to their estimated fair market value. If any assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the estimated fair value. Also, we periodically reassess the useful lives of our long-lived assets to determine whether any changes are required.

j) Income Taxes and Deferred Income Taxes:

We file a consolidated federal income tax return. We utilize the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under the asset and liability method, deferred income taxes are recorded for the tax effect of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using tax rates expected to be in effect when the temporary differences are expected to reverse.

We recognize deferred tax assets to the extent that we believe that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If we determine that we are not able to realize a portion of our net deferred tax assets

in the future, we would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would increase the provision for income taxes.

The tax effect of a change in tax law or rates included in income tax expense from continuing operations includes effect of changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities initially recognized through a charge or credit to other comprehensive income (loss). The residual tax effects typically are released when the item giving rise to the tax effect is disposed of, liquidated, or terminated.

k) Stock Plans:

We have various stock-based compensation plans. Awards under these plans are granted to eligible employees and directors. Awards may be made in the form of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other stock-based awards, including awards with performance, market, and time-vesting conditions.

The compensation cost recognized is based on awards ultimately expected to vest. GAAP requires forfeitures to be estimated and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

(2) Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

There have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the three months ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, that are of significance or potential significance to the Company.

(3) Revenue Recognition:

We categorize our products, services and other revenues into the following categories:

Data and Internet services include broadband services for consumer and business customers. We provide data transmission services to high volume business customers and other carriers with dedicated high capacity circuits (“nonswitched access”) including services to wireless providers (wireless backhaul);

Voice services include traditional local and long-distance wireline services, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, as well as a number of unified messaging services offered to our consumer and business customers. Voice services also include the long-distance voice origination and termination services that we provide to our business customers and other carriers;

Video services include revenues generated from services provided directly to consumer customers as linear terrestrial television services, through various satellite providers, and through partnerships with over-the-top (OTT) video providers. Video services also includes pay-per-view revenues, video on demand, equipment rentals, and video advertising. We have made the strategic decision to limit sales of new traditional TV services, focusing on our broadband products and OTT video options;

Other customer revenue includes switched access revenue, rents collected for colocation services, and revenue from other services and fees. Switched access revenue includes revenues derived from allowing other carriers to use our network to originate and/or terminate their local and long-distance voice traffic (switched access). These services are primarily billed on a minutes-of-use basis applying tariffed rates filed with the FCC or state agencies; and

Subsidy and other regulatory revenue includes revenues generated from cost subsidies from state and federal authorities, including the CAF II and RDOF.

The following tables provide a summary of revenues, by category:

⁽¹⁾Includes lease revenue of $15 million and $16 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

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The following is a summary of the changes in the contract liabilities:

The unsatisfied obligations for retail customers consist of amounts in advance billings, which are expected to be earned within the following monthly billing cycle. Unsatisfied obligations for wholesale customers are based on a point-in-time calculation and determined by the number of circuits provided and the contractual price. These wholesale customer obligations change from period to period based on new circuits added as well as circuits that are terminated.

The following table includes estimated revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) at the end of the reporting period: