Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Basis of Presentation

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Basis of Presentation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Basis of Presentation  
Basis of Presentation

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Qurate Retail, Inc. and its controlled subsidiaries (collectively, "Qurate Retail," the "Company," “we,” “us,” and “our”) unless the context otherwise requires). All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Qurate Retail is made up of wholly-owned subsidiaries QVC, Inc. (“QVC”), Cornerstone Brands, Inc. (“CBI”), and other cost method investments, and is primarily engaged in the video and online commerce industries in North America, Europe and Asia.

Qurate Retail and GCI Liberty, Inc. (“GCI Liberty”) entered into a tax sharing agreement in connection with a split-off transaction that occurred in the first quarter of 2018 (the “GCI Liberty Split-Off”). Pursuant to that tax sharing agreement, GCI Liberty agreed to indemnify Qurate Retail for taxes and tax-related losses resulting from the GCI Liberty Split-Off to the extent such taxes or tax-related losses (i) result primarily from, individually or in the aggregate, the breach of certain restrictive covenants made by GCI Liberty (applicable to actions or failures to act by GCI Liberty and its subsidiaries following the completion of the GCI Liberty Split-Off), or (ii) result from Section 355(e) of the Internal Revenue Code applying to the GCI Liberty Split-Off as a result of the GCI Liberty Split-Off being part of a plan (or series of related transactions) pursuant to which one or more persons acquire, directly or indirectly, a 50-percent or greater interest (measured by vote or value) in the stock of GCI Liberty (or any successor corporation). Following a merger between Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband”) and GCI Liberty, Liberty Broadband has assumed the tax sharing agreement. Qurate Retail had a tax sharing payable of approximately $16 million and $18 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, included in Other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.  

Qurate Retail and Liberty Media Corporation (“LMC”) entered into certain agreements in order to govern certain of the ongoing relationships between the two companies. These agreements include a reorganization agreement, a services agreement (the “Services Agreement”) and a facilities sharing agreement (the “Facilities Sharing Agreement”).  Pursuant to the Services Agreement, LMC provides Qurate Retail with general and administrative services including legal, tax, accounting, treasury, information technology, cybersecurity, and investor relations support. See below for a description of an amendment to the Services Agreement entered into in December 2019. Qurate Retail reimburses LMC for direct, out-of-pocket expenses incurred by LMC in providing these services and for Qurate Retail's allocable portion of costs associated with any shared services or personnel based on an estimated percentage of time spent providing services to Qurate Retail. Under the Facilities Sharing Agreement, Qurate Retail shares office space with LMC and related amenities at LMC's corporate headquarters.  Under these various agreements approximately $7 million, $7 million and $10 million of these allocated expenses were reimbursable from Qurate Retail to LMC for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

In December 2019, the Company entered into an amended services agreement. Under the amended services agreement components of LMC’s Chief Executive’s Officer’s (“CEO”) compensation is either paid directly to him or reimbursed to LMC, in each case, based on allocations set forth in the amended services agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the allocation percentage for the Company was 11%, 13% and 17%, respectively.  See note 10 for additional information.

On November 4, 2021, Qurate Retail announced the Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend (the “November Special Dividend”) in the amount of $1.25 per common share for an aggregate cash dividend of approximately $488 million based on shares outstanding as of October 31, 2021. The November Special Dividend was payable on November 22, 2021 to stockholders of record of Qurate Retail’s Series A and Series B common stock as of the close of business on November 15, 2021.

Zulily, LLC (“Zulily”) was a wholly owned subsidiary of Qurate Retail until its divestiture on May 24, 2023. Qurate Retail recognized a loss on the divestiture of $64 million in the second quarter of 2023.  Zulily is included in Corporate and other through May 23, 2023 and is not presented as a discontinued operation as the disposition did not represent a strategic shift that had a major effect on Qurate Retail’s operations and financial results.

Included in revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations is $301 million, $906 million and $1,453 million, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to Zulily. Included in net earnings (loss) in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations is a loss of $44 million, $470 million, and $412 million, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, related to Zulily. Included in total assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 is $257 million, related to Zulily.