View Filing Data

Print Document View Excel Document

Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	Dec. 31, 2019	Feb. 13, 2020	Jun. 28, 2019
Cover page.
Document type	10-K
Document Annual Report	true
Document period end date	Dec. 31, 2019
Document Transition Report	false
Entity registrant name	BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	001-35780
Entity Tax Identification Number	80-0188269
Entity Address, Address Line One	200 Talcott Avenue
Entity Address, City or Town	Watertown,
Entity Address, State or Province	MA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	02472
City Area Code	617
Local Phone Number	673-8000
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share
Trading Symbol	BFAM
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity well-known seasoned issuer	Yes
Entity voluntary filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity public float			$ 8.7
Entity common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)		58,199,813
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Central Index Key	0001437578
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 27,872	$ 15,450
Accounts receivable—net	148,855	131,178
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	52,161	47,263
Total current assets	228,888	193,891
Fixed assets—net	636,153	597,141
Goodwill	1,412,873	1,347,611
Other intangible assets—net	304,673	323,035
Operating lease right-of-use assets	700,956	0
Other assets	46,877	62,628
Total assets	3,330,420	2,524,306
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	10,750	10,750
Borrowings under revolving credit facility	0	118,200
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	167,059	154,195
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	83,123	0
Deferred revenue	191,117	170,416
Other current liabilities	31,241	30,224
Total current liabilities	483,290	483,785
Long-term debt—net	1,028,049	1,036,870
Operating lease liabilities	685,910	71,817
Other long-term liabilities	92,865	75,368
Deferred revenue	10,098	5,683
Deferred income taxes	58,940	71,306
Total liabilities	2,359,152	1,744,829
Commitments and contingencies (Note 18)
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 25,000,000 shares authorized and no shares issued or outstanding at December 31, 2019 and 2018	0	0
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 475,000,000 shares authorized; 57,884,020 and 57,494,468 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively	58	57
Additional paid-in capital	648,031	648,651
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(50,331)	(62,355)
Retained earnings	373,510	193,124
Total stockholders’ equity	971,268	779,477
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$ 3,330,420	$ 2,524,306

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per shares)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Preferred stock, authorized (in shares)	25,000,000	25,000,000
Preferred stock, issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per shares)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	475,000,000	475,000,000
Common stock, issued (in shares)	57,884,020	57,494,468
Common stock, outstanding (in shares)	57,884,020	57,494,468

Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 2,062,017	$ 1,903,182	$ 1,740,905
Cost of services	1,539,081	1,429,927	1,310,295
Gross profit	522,936	473,255	430,610
Selling, general and administrative expenses	221,496	201,591	188,939
Amortization of intangible assets	33,621	32,569	32,561
Income from operations	0	0	3,671
Income from operations	267,819	239,095	205,439
Interest expense—net	(45,154)	(47,508)	(44,039)
Income before income tax	222,665	191,587	161,400
Income tax expense	(42,279)	(33,606)	(4,437)
Net income	180,386	157,981	156,963
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: Common stock-basic	179,520	157,096	155,995
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: Common stock-diluted	$ 179,536	$ 157,114	$ 156,016
Earnings per common share:
Common stock-basic (in dollars per share)	$ 3.10	$ 2.72	$ 2.65
Common stock-diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 3.05	$ 2.66	$ 2.59
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Common stock-basic (in shares)	57,838,245	57,812,602	58,873,196
Common stock-diluted (in shares)	58,947,240	59,000,669	60,253,691

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 180,386	$ 157,981	$ 156,963
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustments	19,813	(32,092)	53,892
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps and investments, net of tax	(7,789)	3,033	2,260
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	12,024	(29,059)	56,152
Comprehensive income	$ 192,410	$ 128,922	$ 213,115

- Definition

The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118930883&loc=SL7669619-108580

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 810
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109239629&loc=SL4573702-111684

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1B
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118930883&loc=SL7669625-108580

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 810
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109239629&loc=SL4573702-111684

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115929826&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 810
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 4J
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116874947&loc=SL4591551-111686

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3000-108585

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 810
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 19
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=108774443&loc=SL4569616-111683

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 32
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115929826&loc=d3e8933-108599

Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 810
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 4K
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116874947&loc=SL4591552-111686

+ Details

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Treasury Stock, at Cost	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Retained Earnings
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2016		58,910,282
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 687,867	$ 59	$ 899,076	$ 0	$ (89,448)	$ (121,820)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Stock-based compensation expense	12,072		12,072
Exercise of stock options (in shares)		1,481,785
Issuance of common stock under the Equity Incentive Plan	27,999	$ 1	27,998
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock (in shares)		(410,508)
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock	(29,798)		(29,798)
Purchase of treasury stock	(162,195)			(162,195)
Retirement of treasury stock (in shares)		(1,968,415)
Retirement of treasury stock	0	$ 2	162,193	162,195
Other comprehensive income	56,152				56,152
Net income	156,963					156,963
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017		58,013,144
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2017	749,060	$ 58	747,155	0	(33,296)	35,143
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Stock-based compensation expense	13,811		13,811
Exercise of stock options (in shares)		771,480
Issuance of common stock under the Equity Incentive Plan	21,963	$ 1	21,962
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock (in shares)		(77,720)
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock	(7,540)		(7,540)
Purchase of treasury stock	(126,739)			(126,739)
Retirement of treasury stock (in shares)		(1,212,436)
Retirement of treasury stock	0	$ 2	126,737	126,739
Other comprehensive income	(29,059)				(29,059)
Net income	157,981					157,981
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018		57,494,468
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2018	779,477	$ 57	648,651	0	(62,355)	193,124
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 17,283		17,283
Exercise of stock options (in shares)	563,031	684,974
Issuance of common stock under the Equity Incentive Plan	$ 25,368	$ 1	25,367
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock (in shares)		(84,021)
Shares received in net share settlement of stock option exercises and vesting of restricted stock	(11,326)		(11,326)
Purchase of treasury stock	(31,944)			(31,944)
Retirement of treasury stock (in shares)		(211,401)
Retirement of treasury stock	0		31,944	31,944
Other comprehensive income	12,024				12,024
Net income	180,386					180,386
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2019		57,884,020
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2019	$ 971,268	$ 58	$ 648,031	$ 0	$ (50,331)	$ 373,510

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income	$ 180,386	$ 157,981	$ 156,963
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	108,269	100,943	94,776
Amortization of original issue discount and deferred financing costs	1,929	1,901	1,776
Loss on foreign currency transactions and other	219	116	1,781
(Gain) Loss on disposal of fixed assets	(2,261)	488	2,760
Stock-based compensation expense	17,283	13,811	12,072
Deferred income taxes	(11,344)	(5,469)	(37,562)
Deferred rent	0	1,317	4,345
Non-cash revenue and other	(442)	0	0
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(15,718)	(14,498)	(18,689)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,818	2,795	(3,450)
Income taxes	4,999	(3,320)	11,156
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	9,032	15,912	5,912
Deferred revenue	23,038	12,073	9,316
Leases	11,762	4,543	1,726
Other assets	(904)	100	(387)
Other current and long-term liabilities	2,287	6,054	5,698
Net cash provided by operating activities	330,353	294,747	248,193
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of fixed assets	(111,845)	(92,491)	(88,122)
Proceeds from the disposal of fixed assets	7,080	1,826	4,285
Purchases of debt securities and other investments	(28,015)	(767)	0
Proceeds from the maturity of debt securities	3,000	0	0
Payments and settlements for acquisitions—net of cash acquired	(53,425)	(67,111)	(21,484)
Purchase of equity method investment	(5,865)	0	0
Net cash used in investing activities	(189,070)	(158,543)	(105,321)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Payments of deferred and contingent consideration for acquisitions	(4,200)	(2,965)	(185)
Payments of debt issuance costs	0	(292)	(1,711)
Borrowings under revolving credit facility	288,674	679,900	643,201
Payments under revolving credit facility	(406,532)	(688,800)	(592,101)
Principal payments of long-term debt	(10,750)	(10,750)	(8,063)
Taxes paid related to the net share settlement of stock options and restricted stock	(11,326)	(7,540)	(29,798)
Purchase of treasury stock	(31,553)	(126,679)	(162,195)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of options and restricted stock upon purchase	26,559	22,933	26,988
Net cash used in financing activities	(149,128)	(134,193)	(123,864)
Effect of exchange rates on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	559	(103)	1,507
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(7,286)	1,908	20,515
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of year	38,478	36,570	16,055
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of year	31,192	38,478	36,570
RECONCILIATION OF CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH TO THE CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS:
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of year	38,478	38,478	36,570
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Cash payments of interest	43,051	46,122	44,464
Cash payments of income taxes	50,553	41,936	31,290
Fixed asset purchases recorded in accounts payable and accrued expenses	$ 4,549	$ 6,359	$ 1,500

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

1. ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Organization — Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (“Bright Horizons” or the “Company”) provides center-based child care and early education, back-up child and adult/elder dependent care, tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, educational advisory services, and other support services for employers and families in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Canada, and India. The Company provides services designed to help families, employers and their employees better integrate work and family life, primarily under multi-year contracts with employers who offer child care, dependent care, and workforce education services, as part of their employee benefits packages in an effort to support employees across life and career stages and improve employee engagement.

The Company’s full service center-based child care includes traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education. The Company provides its center-based child care services under two principal business models: (1) a cost-plus model, where the Company is paid a fee by an employer client for managing a child care center on a cost-plus basis, and (2) a profit and loss (“P&L”) model, where the Company assumes the financial risk of operating a child care center and provides care on either an exclusive or priority enrollment basis to the employees of an employer sponsor, as well as to families in the surrounding community. In both the cost-plus and sponsor P&L models, the development of a new child care center, as well as ongoing maintenance and repair, is typically funded by an employer sponsor with whom the Company enters into a multi-year contractual relationship. In addition, employer sponsors typically provide subsidies for the ongoing provision of child care services for their employees. Under all model types, the Company retains responsibility for all aspects of operating the child care and early education center, including the hiring and paying of employees, contracting with vendors, purchasing supplies, and collecting tuition and related accounts receivable.

The Company’s back-up care services consist of center-based back-up child care, and in-home child and adult/elder dependent care. The Company provides back-up care services through the Company’s full-service and dedicated back-up centers, as well as through the back-up care network. Bright Horizons back-up care offers access to a contracted network of in-home care agencies and center-based providers in locations where the Company does not otherwise have in-home care providers or centers with available capacity.

The Company’s educational advisory services consist of tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, workforce education, and related educational consulting services (“EdAssist Solutions”), and college admissions advisory services (“College Coach”).

Basis of Presentation — The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP” or “U.S. GAAP”). The Company’s significant accounting policies are described below. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year amounts within the consolidated statements of cash flows to conform to the current year presentation.

Principles of Consolidation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates — The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. The Company’s significant accounting estimates in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements relate to the valuation of goodwill and other intangibles, and income taxes. Actual results may differ from management’s estimates.

Foreign Operations — The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is their local currency. The assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The cumulative translation effect for subsidiaries using a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar is included in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.

The Company’s intercompany accounts are denominated in the functional currency of the foreign subsidiary. Gains and losses resulting from the remeasurement of intercompany receivables that the Company considers to be of a long-term investment nature are recorded as a cumulative translation adjustment in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss as a separate component of stockholders’ equity, while gains and losses resulting from the remeasurement of intercompany receivables from those foreign subsidiaries for which the Company anticipates settlement in the foreseeable future are recorded in the consolidated statement of income. The net currency gains and losses recorded in the consolidated statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were not significant. In 2017, the Company incurred foreign currency translation losses of $1.7 million associated with the disposition of the remaining assets in Ireland, which was included in other expenses in the consolidated statement of income.

Concentrations of Credit Risk — Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist mainly of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company mitigates its exposure by maintaining its cash and cash equivalents in financial institutions of high credit standing. The Company’s accounts receivable, which are derived primarily from the services it provides, are dispersed across many clients in various industries with no single client accounting for more than 10% of the Company’s net revenue or accounts receivable. The Company believes that no significant credit concentration risk existed at December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash — The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities, when purchased, of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

The Company’s cash management system provides for the funding of the main bank disbursement accounts on a daily basis as checks are presented for payment. Under this system, outstanding checks may be in excess of the cash balances at certain banks, creating book overdrafts. There were $12.4 million and $17.8 million in book overdrafts at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, included in accounts payable on the consolidated balance sheet.

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents that are restricted in nature as to withdrawal or usage are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets. Restricted cash is primarily comprised of cash deposits that guarantee letters of credit, cash and cash equivalents associated with the Company’s wholly-owned captive insurance company, and cash deposits held for acquisitions.

Accounts Receivable — The Company generates accounts receivable from fees charged to parents and employer sponsors. The Company monitors collections and payments and maintains a provision for estimated losses based on historical trends, in addition to provisions established for specific collection issues that have been identified. Accounts receivable are stated net of the allowance for doubtful accounts.

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance	$	2,514		$	2,429		$	1,054
Provision	840			1,148			2,537
Write offs and recoveries	(2,128		)	(1,063		)	(1,162		)
Ending balance	$	1,226		$	2,514		$	2,429

Fixed Assets — Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation or amortization. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term or their estimated useful lives. The cost and accumulated depreciation of assets sold or otherwise disposed of are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in the consolidated statement of income. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred, whereas expenditures for improvements and replacements are capitalized. Depreciation is included in cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses depending on the nature of the expenditure.

Business Combinations — Business combinations are accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Amounts paid for an acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. The accounting for business combinations requires estimates and judgment in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, regarding expectations of future cash flows of the acquired business, and the allocation of those cash flows to the identifiable intangible assets. The determination of fair value is based on management’s estimates and assumptions, as well as other information compiled by management, including valuations that utilize customary valuation procedures and techniques. If actual results differ from these estimates, the amounts recorded in the financial statements could be impaired.

Acquisition costs are expensed as incurred and recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses; integration costs associated with a business combination are expensed subsequent to the acquisition date; and changes in deferred tax asset valuation allowances and income tax uncertainties after the acquisition date affect income tax expense.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets — Goodwill is recorded when the consideration paid for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. The Company’s intangible assets principally consist of various customer relationships (including both client and parent relationships) and trade names. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization, but are tested annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indicators of impairment. Indefinite lived intangible assets are also subject to an annual evaluation to determine whether events and circumstances continue to support an indefinite useful life.

Goodwill impairment assessments are performed at the reporting unit level, which for Bright Horizons is at the operating segment level. In performing the goodwill impairment test, the Company may first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying value. Qualitative factors may include, but are not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for the Company’s services, regulatory developments, cost factors, and entity specific factors such as overall financial performance and projected results. If an initial qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying value exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit, an additional quantitative evaluation is performed. Alternatively, the Company may elect to proceed directly to the quantitative impairment test. In performing the quantitative analysis, the Company compares the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. Fair value for each reporting unit is determined by estimating the present value of expected future cash flows, which are forecasted for each of the next ten years, applying a long-term growth rate to the final year, discounted using the Company’s estimated discount rate. If the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, the goodwill of the reporting unit is considered not impaired. If the carrying amount of the Company’s reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the Company would recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, up to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The Company performed a qualitative assessment during the annual impairment review as of October 1, 2019 and concluded that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the Company’s reporting units are less than their carrying amount. No goodwill impairment charges were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, or 2017.

We test certain trademarks that are determined to be indefinite-lived intangible assets by comparing the fair value of the trademarks with their carrying value. We estimate the fair value first by estimating the total revenue attributable to the trademarks and then applying a royalty rate determined by an analysis of empirical, market-derived royalty rates for guideline intangible assets, consistent with the initial valuation of the intangibles. No impairment losses were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 or 2017 in relation to intangible assets.

Intangible assets that are separable from goodwill and have determinable useful lives are valued separately and are amortized over the estimated period benefited, ranging from two to seventeen years. Intangible assets related to parent relationships are amortized using an accelerated method over their useful lives. All other intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets — The Company reviews long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Impairment is assessed by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows over the asset’s remaining life. If the estimated cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognized to reduce the carrying amount of the asset to its estimated fair value less any disposal costs.

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue — The Company generates revenue from services based on the consideration specified in contracts with customers, which primarily consist of employer sponsors and parents. The Company recognizes revenue when a performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of the promised services to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct service to the customer. At contract inception, the Company assesses the services promised in the contract and identifies each distinct performance obligation. To identify the performance obligations, the Company considers the services promised in the contract regardless of whether they are explicitly stated or are implied by customary business practices. The transaction price of a contract is allocated to each distinct performance obligation using the relative stand-alone selling price and recognized as revenue when, or as, control of the service is passed to the customer. Revenue is recognized over time as control of the service is transferred to our customers.

The Company’s payment terms vary by the type of services offered. Tuition collected from parents is typically billed and collected monthly in advance. Fees collected from employer sponsors may be billed annually or quarterly in advance or may be billed monthly in arrears. The Company’s standard payment terms generally align with the timing of the services performed and do not include a financing component. The Company has the unconditional right to consideration as it satisfies the performance obligations, therefore no contractual assets are recognized.

Equity Method Investment — The Company accounts for its investments in entities over which the Company has significant influence, but not control, using the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method of accounting, the investment is adjusted to reflect Bright Horizons’ proportionate share of the investee net earnings or losses, and is reduced by the amortization of embedded intangible assets. The Company reviews the equity method investment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company invested $5.9 million for a 20% interest in a provider of full service center-based child care and back-up care services in Germany, which is accounted for using the equity method. The equity method investment is included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet and, as of December 31, 2019, the investment balance was $6.2 million. The impact on the results of operations were immaterial for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Marketable Debt Securities — During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased and sold marketable debt securities, which were classified as available-for-sale. These securities are held in escrow by the Company’s wholly-owned captive insurance company and were purchased with restricted cash. As such, these securities are not available to fund the Company’s operations. The Company’s investments in debt securities consist primarily of U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agency securities, and are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the available-for-sale debt securities was $24.9 million and was classified based on the instruments’ maturity dates, with $17.0 million included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and $7.9 million in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet. At December 31, 2019, the amortized cost was $24.9 million. The debt securities held at December 31, 2019 had remaining maturities ranging from less than one year to approximately 1.75 years. Unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, on available-for-sale debt securities were immaterial for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company did not realize any gains or losses on its debt securities during the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company reviews the available-for-sale investments for impairment and would recognize an impairment charge for certain unrealized losses that are determined to be other-than-temporary.

Other Investments — The Company’s investments in equity securities are primarily in a private company and a limited partnership. The equity investments without readily determinable fair value are measured at cost, less impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions. The Company reviews such equity investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such asset may not be recoverable. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the equity investments were $3.2 million and $2.9 million, respectively, which were recorded in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Discount on Long-Term Debt and Deferred Financing Costs — Original issue discounts on the Company’s debt and deferred financing costs are recorded as a reduction of long-term debt and are amortized over the life of the related debt instrument in accordance with the effective interest method. Amortization expense is included in interest expense in the consolidated statement of income.

Income Taxes — The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and for tax carryforwards, such as net operating losses. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the provision for income taxes in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying amount of deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that such asset will not be realized. Additional income tax expense is recognized as a result of recording valuation allowances. The Company does not recognize a tax benefit on losses in foreign operations where it does not have a history of profitability. The Company records penalties and interest on income tax related items as a component of tax expense.

Obligations for uncertain tax positions are recorded based on an assessment of whether the position is more likely than not to be sustained by the taxing authorities. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position should be measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.

Stock-Based Compensation — The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using a fair value method. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized in the consolidated financial statements based on the grant-date fair value of the awards that are expected to vest. This expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which generally represents the vesting period of each separately vesting tranche. The Company calculates the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock units is based on their intrinsic value on the date of grant.

Excess tax benefits (deficiencies) associated with stock-based compensation are recognized as a component of income tax expense.

Comprehensive Income or Loss — Comprehensive income or loss is comprised of net income or loss, foreign currency translation adjustments, and unrealized gains or losses on interest rate swaps and investments, net of tax. The Company has not recorded a deferred tax liability related to state income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on the undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries that are intended to be indefinitely reinvested. Therefore, taxes are not provided for the related currency translation adjustments.

Earnings Per Share — Earnings per share is calculated using the two-class method, which requires the allocation of earnings to each class of common stock outstanding and to unvested participating shares. Unvested participating shares are unvested stock-based payment awards of restricted stock that participate equally in dividends with common stock. Net income available to stockholders is allocated on a pro rata basis to each class of common stock outstanding and to unvested participating shares as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the allocated net income by the weighted-average common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average common shares and potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period using the more dilutive of the treasury stock method or the two-class method.

Recently Adopted Pronouncements — On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (“ASC 842”), which requires lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by lease arrangements. The Company adopted the new lease guidance using the modified retrospective approach and the transition method available in accordance with ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which provides the option to use the effective date as the date of initial application of the guidance. As a result, the comparative information for prior periods has not been adjusted and continues to be reported in accordance with the accounting standards in effect for those periods under the previously applicable guidance.

The Company evaluated its identified leases and applied the new lease guidance as further discussed in Note 3, Leases. The Company elected the package of practical expedients available under the transition guidance within ASC 842, which eliminates the requirements to reassess prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs.

The adoption of ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019 resulted in the recognition of lease liabilities of $705.7 million, which consisted of current operating lease liabilities of $81.1 million and long-term operating lease liabilities of $624.6 million, and operating lease right-of-use assets (“ROUA” or “lease assets”) of $644.3 million. Upon adoption of ASC 842, lease obligations associated with deferred rent and lease incentives recorded under previous guidance were reclassified from other current liabilities and operating lease liabilities to the lease assets. The new lease guidance did not impact the consolidated statement of income or cash flows, or earnings per common share.

In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (Topic 815), which expands and refines hedge accounting for both non-financial and financial risk components and aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. The guidance also makes certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of hedge accounting guidance and ease the administrative burden of hedge documentation requirements and assessing hedge effectiveness. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2019. The new guidance with respect to cash flow and net investment hedge relationships existing on the date of adoption is applied on a modified retrospective basis, and the new presentation and disclosure requirements are applied on a prospective basis. There was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures from the adoption of this guidance.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement- Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which allows the option to reclassify stranded income tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings. Effective as of January 1, 2019, the Company did not elect to reclassify the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings as these were not material.

Recently Issued Pronouncements — In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which amends the existing guidance on the accounting for credit losses of certain financial instruments. This guidance requires entities to recognize the expected credit loss over the lifetime of certain financial instruments and modifies the impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. This standard is applied by recording a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings upon adoption. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Revenue Recognition

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue Recognition

2. REVENUE RECOGNITION

Nature of Services

The Company’s services are comprised of full service center-based child care, back-up care, and educational advisory services, which also represent the Company’s operating and reportable segments.

Full Service Center-Based Child Care

Full service center-based child care includes traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education. Revenue generated from full service center-based child care services is primarily comprised of tuition paid by parents and fees from contractual arrangements with employer sponsors. Tuition is determined based on the age of the child, the child’s attendance schedule, and geographic location of the facility. Tuition is typically billed on a monthly basis, which is consistent with the timing of the delivery of services. The Company enters into contracts with employer sponsors to manage and operate their child care and early education centers for a management fee. These arrangements generally have a contractual term of three to ten years with varying terms and renewal options, and may also include operating subsidies paid either in lieu of or to supplement parent tuition. Management fees and subsidies are typically billed on a monthly basis, which is consistent with the timing of the delivery of services. Revenue from fixed and variable fees for full service center-based child care is recognized over time as services are rendered.

Back-Up Care Services

Back-up care services consist of center-based back-up child care, and in-home child and adult/elder dependent care. The Company provides back-up care services through the Company’s full-service and dedicated back-up centers, and in-home care providers, as well as through the back-up care network. Bright Horizons back-up care offers access to a contracted network of in-home service agencies and center-based providers in locations where the Company does not otherwise have in-home care providers or centers with available capacity. Back-up care revenue is primarily comprised of fixed and variable fees or subsidies paid by employer sponsors and co-payments collected from users at the point of service. These arrangements generally have contractual terms of three years with varying terms and renewal options. Fees for back-up care services are typically determined based on the number of back-up uses and are generally billed monthly as services are rendered or in advance. Revenue for back-up care is recognized over time as services are rendered.

Educational Advisory Services

The Company’s educational advisory services consist of tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration and related educational consulting services (“EdAssist Solutions”), and college admissions advisory services (“College Coach”). Educational advisory services revenue is primarily comprised of fixed and variable fees paid by employer clients, as well as retail fees collected from users at the point of service. These arrangements generally have contractual terms of one to three years with varying terms and renewal options. Fees for educational advisory services are determined based on the expected number of program participants and the services selected, and are generally billed in advance. Revenue for educational advisory services is recognized over time as services are rendered.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The Company disaggregates revenue from contracts with customers into segments and geographical regions. Revenue disaggregated by segment and geographical region was as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care		Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Year ended December 31, 2019
North America	$	1,223,365	$	280,222	$	81,681	$	1,585,268
Europe	460,641		16,108		—		476,749
	$	1,684,006	$	296,330	$	81,681	$	2,062,017
Year ended December 31, 2018
North America	$	1,144,932	$	239,056	$	71,361	$	1,455,349
Europe	441,391		6,442		—		447,833
	$	1,586,323	$	245,498	$	71,361	$	1,903,182
Year ended December 31, 2017
North America	$	1,074,270	$	219,875	$	58,887	$	1,353,032
Europe	383,484		4,389		—		387,873
	$	1,457,754	$	224,264	$	58,887	$	1,740,905

The classification “North America” is comprised of the Company’s United States, Canada and Puerto Rico operations and the classification “Europe” includes the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and India operations. Revenues in the United States were $1.6 billion in 2019, $1.5 billion in 2018, and $1.3 billion in 2017. Revenues in the United Kingdom were $382.1 million in 2019, $371.5 million in 2018, and $328.0 million in 2017. Revenue associated with other countries were not material.

Deferred Revenues

The Company records deferred revenue when payments are received in advance of the Company’s performance under the contract, which are recognized as revenue as the performance obligation is satisfied. In 2019, $169.0 million was recognized as revenue related to the deferred revenue balance recorded at December 31, 2018. In 2018, $154.9 million was recognized as revenue related to the deferred revenue balance recorded at December 31, 2017. There were no significant changes in deferred revenue during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 related to business combinations, impairments, cumulative catch-up or other adjustments.

Remaining Performance Obligations

The transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations relates to services that are paid or invoiced in advance. The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original contract term of one year or less, or for variable consideration allocated to the unsatisfied performance obligation of a series of services. The Company’s remaining performance obligations not subject to the practical expedients were not material at December 31, 2019.

Leases

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Leases

3. LEASES

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842, Leases, which requires lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by lease arrangements. The Company adopted the new guidance using the modified retrospective transition method. Results for periods beginning on January 1, 2019, the effective date, are presented under the updated guidance, while comparative information for prior periods has not been adjusted and continues to be reported in accordance with the previous guidance under ASC 840, Leases.

The Company has operating leases for certain of its full service and back-up child care and early education centers, corporate offices, call centers, and to a lesser extent, various office equipment, in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. Most of the leases expire within 10 to 15 years and many contain renewal options and/or termination provisions. The Company does not have any finance leases as of December 31, 2019.

At contract inception, the Company reviews the terms to determine if an arrangement is a lease. At lease commencement, the Company determines whether those lease obligations are operating or finance leases and lease liabilities are recognized on the consolidated balance sheet based on the present value of the unpaid lease payments. The present value of the unpaid lease payments is calculated using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. Lease commencement occurs on the date the Company takes possession or control of the property or equipment. Leases may contain fixed and variable payment arrangements. Variable lease payments may be based on an index or rate, such as consumer price indices, and include rent escalations or market adjustment provisions. Lease payments used to measure lease liabilities include fixed lease payments as well as variable payments that depend on an index or rate based on the applicable index or rate at the lease commencement date. Lease assets are initially measured as the amount of the initial lease liability, adjusted for initial direct costs, lease payments made at or before the commencement date, and reduced by lease incentives received, such as tenant improvement allowances. The Company does not include options to renew or terminate the lease in the determination of lease assets and lease liabilities until it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised based on management’s assessment of various relevant factors including economic, entity-specific, and market-based factors, among others. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Variable lease payments, including those related to changes in the commencement date index or rate, are expensed as incurred. Lease expense is recognized to cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of income.

The Company’s leases generally do not provide an implicit interest rate. Therefore, the Company uses an estimate of its incremental borrowing rate, based on the lease terms and economic environment at commencement date, in determining the present value of future payments.

The Company has real estate leases that contain lease and non-lease components and has elected to account for lease and non-lease components in a contract as a single lease component. The non-lease components typically consist of common-area maintenance and utility costs. Fixed payments for non-lease components are considered part of the single lease component and included in the determination of the lease assets and lease liabilities, and variable payments are expensed as incurred. Additionally, lease contracts typically include other costs that do not transfer a separate good or service, such as reimbursement for real estate taxes and insurance, which are expensed as incurred as variable lease costs.

For leases with a term of one year or less (“short-term leases”), the Company elected to not recognize the arrangements on the balance sheet and the lease payments are recognized in the consolidated statement of income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company subleases certain properties that are not used in its operations. Sublease income was not significant for any of the periods presented. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain material restrictive covenants.

Lease Expense

The components of lease expense were as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Operating lease expense ⁽¹⁾	$	126,796
Variable lease expense ⁽¹⁾	34,845
Total lease expense	$	161,641

(1) Excludes short-term lease expense and sublease income, which were immaterial for the periods presented.

Other Information

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Operating Cash Flows:
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities	$	126,071
Non-cash Transactions:
Operating right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities — net	$	133,043

The weighted average remaining lease term and the weighted average discount rate as of December 31, 2019 were as follows:



	Operating Leases
Weighted average remaining lease term (in years)	10
Weighted average discount rate	6.2%

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

The following table summarizes the maturity of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2020	$	119,010
2021	119,904
2022	114,270
2023	105,763
2024	94,565
Thereafter	505,580
Total lease payments	1,059,092
Less imputed interest	(290,059		)
Present value of lease liabilities	769,033
Less current portion of operating lease liabilities	(83,123		)
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$	685,910

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had entered into additional operating leases that have not yet commenced with total fixed payment obligations of $105.0 million, inclusive of a new corporate headquarters office lease. The leases are expected to commence between the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, with the new corporate headquarters office lease expected to commence in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, and have initial lease terms of generally 10 to 15 years.

Prior Year Disclosures

As of December 31, 2018, future payments under operating leases were as follows as determined in accordance with the previous guidance under ASC 840 (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2019	$	120,352
2020	114,628
2021	101,710
2022	95,529
2023	87,530
Thereafter	476,861
Total future minimum lease payments	$	996,610

Rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $127.4 million and $116.7 million, respectively, as determined under ASC 840.

Acquisitions and Dispositions	12 Months Ended
Acquisitions and Dispositions	Dec. 31, 2019
Business Combinations [Abstract]
Acquisitions and Dispositions	4. ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS The Company’s growth strategy includes expansion through strategic and synergistic acquisitions. The goodwill resulting from these acquisitions arises largely from synergies expected from combining the operations of the businesses acquired with our existing operations, as well as from benefits derived from gaining the related assembled workforce. 2019 Acquisitions During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company acquired three centers and the tuition program management division of another company in the United States, four centers in the Netherlands, and one back-up care provider in the United Kingdom, in eight separate business acquisitions, which were each accounted for as business combinations. These businesses were acquired for cash consideration of $53.3 million, net of cash acquired of $1.2 million, and consideration payable of $0.7 million. Additionally, contingent consideration of up to $20.0 million may be payable over the next three years if certain future performance targets are met. The Company recorded a fair value estimate of the contingent consideration of $13.9 million, as disclosed in Note 12, Fair Value Measurements. The Company recorded goodwill of $25.4 million related to the back-up care segment, which will not be deductible for tax purposes, $14.0 million related to the educational advisory services segment, which will be deductible for tax purposes, and $15.2 million related to the full service center-based child care segment, of which $3.9 million will be deductible for tax purposes. In addition, the Company recorded intangible assets of $14.6 million, primarily consisting of customer relationships that will be amortized over five years, as well as fixed assets and technology of $3.1 million, and deferred tax liabilities of $1.9 million in relation to these acquisitions. The allocation of purchase price consideration is based on preliminary estimates of fair value; such estimates and assumptions are subject to change within the measurement period (up to one year from the acquisition date). As of December 31, 2019, the purchase price allocations for these acquisitions remain open as the Company gathers additional information regarding the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The operating results for the acquired businesses are included in the consolidated results of operations from the date of acquisition. The acquisitions completed in 2019 contributed revenue of $18.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company paid $4.2 million for deferred and contingent consideration, which were accrued at the date of acquisition. Of this settlement, $3.5 million was for deferred consideration payable related to an acquisition completed in 2018, and $0.7 million was the final installment for contingent consideration related to an acquisition completed in 2016. 2018 Acquisitions During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company acquired ten centers in the Netherlands, six centers in the United States, and 20 centers in the United Kingdom in seven separate business acquisitions, which were each accounted for as business combinations. The centers were acquired for cash consideration of $66.8 million, net of cash acquired of $4.2 million, and consideration payable of $5.4 million. The Company recorded goodwill of $60.3 million related to the full service center-based child care segment, of which $13.9 million will be deductible for tax purposes. In addition, the Company recorded intangible assets of $8.6 million, consisting of trademarks and customer relationships that will be amortized over two to five years, as well as fixed assets of $8.3 million, working capital of $1.1 million, and deferred tax liabilities of $1.9 million in relation to these acquisitions. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company paid $3.1 million for the settlement of a portion of the contingent consideration related to an acquisition completed in 2016, of which $3.0 million was accrued contingent consideration at acquisition with the remaining balance recorded to the income statement. 2017 Acquisitions During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company acquired ten centers in the Netherlands, three centers in the United States, and one center in the United Kingdom in seven separate business acquisitions, which were each accounted for as business combinations. The centers were acquired for cash consideration of $21.5 million, net of cash acquired of $0.3 million, and consideration payable of $0.2 million. The Company recorded goodwill of $14.3 million related to the full service center-based child care segment, a portion of which will be deductible for tax purposes. In addition, the Company recorded intangible assets of $2.3 million, consisting of customer relationships that will be amortized over three to five years, as well as fixed assets of $7.3 million, deferred tax liabilities of $0.6 million, and a working capital deficit of $1.3 million in relation to these acquisitions. 2017 Dispositions During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company disposed of its remaining three centers in Ireland for a loss of $3.7 million, which was included in other expenses in the consolidated statement of income, offset by a tax benefit of approximately $7.0 million that was recorded from the loss on investment of a subsidiary.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

5. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care			Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Balance at January 1, 2018	$	1,114,886		$	168,105	$	23,801	$	1,306,792
Additions from acquisitions	60,266			—		—		60,266
Effect of foreign currency translation	(19,447		)	—		—		(19,447		)
Balance at December 31, 2018	1,155,705			168,105		23,801		1,347,611
Additions from acquisitions	15,228			25,350		14,000		54,578
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	(83		)	—		—		(83		)
Effect of foreign currency translation	10,380			387		—		10,767
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	1,181,230		$	193,842	$	37,801	$	1,412,873

The Company also has intangible assets, which consist of the following at December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):



December 31, 2019:	Weighted average amortization period	Cost		Accumulated amortization			Net carrying amount
Definite-lived intangibles:
Customer relationships	14 years	$	404,667	$	(283,597	)	$	121,070
Trade names	6 years	10,656		(8,144		)	2,512
		415,323		(291,741		)	123,582
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Trade names	N/A	181,091		—			181,091
		$	596,414	$	(291,741	)	$	304,673



December 31, 2018:	Weighted average amortization period	Cost		Accumulated amortization			Net carrying amount
Definite-lived intangibles:
Customer relationships	15 years	$	391,220	$	(253,588	)	$	137,632
Trade names	7 years	10,183		(5,609		)	4,574
		401,403		(259,197		)	142,206
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Trade names	N/A	180,829		—			180,829
		$	582,232	$	(259,197	)	$	323,035

The Company recorded amortization expense of $33.6 million, $32.6 million and $32.6 million in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The Company estimates that it will record amortization expense related to intangible assets existing as of December 31, 2019 as follows over the next five years (in thousands):



	Estimated amortization expense
2020	$	31,506
2021	$	28,292
2022	$	25,929
2023	$	25,054
2024	$	11,080

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

6. PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Investments in available-for-sale debt securities	$	17,053	$	—
Reimbursable costs	8,470		8,043
Prepaid software and licenses	5,381		4,967
Prepaid rent and other occupancy costs	4,474		16,982
Prepaid workers’ compensation claims	4,150		4,465
Restricted cash	3,320		3,028
Other prepaid expenses and current assets	9,313		9,778
	$	52,161	$	47,263

Upon adoption of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019, prepaid rent is recorded as a reduction to the operating lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

Fixed Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Fixed Assets

7. FIXED ASSETS

Fixed assets consist of the following (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated useful lives	December 31,
	(Years)	2019			2018
Buildings	20 – 40	$	199,113		$	187,406
Furniture, equipment and software	3 – 10	273,295			236,503
Leasehold improvements	Shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life	523,504			467,243
Land	—	102,581			101,707
Total fixed assets		1,098,493			992,859
Accumulated depreciation		(462,340		)	(395,718		)
Fixed assets, net		$	636,153		$	597,141

Fixed assets include construction in progress of $29.5 million and $34.7 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, which was primarily comprised of leasehold improvements. The Company recorded depreciation expense of $74.6 million, $68.4 million and $62.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

8. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND ACCRUED EXPENSES

Accounts payable and accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Accrued payroll and employee benefits	$	76,606	$	67,609
Accounts payable	31,600		35,937
Accrued insurance	10,091		9,020
Accrued fixed asset purchases	4,554		6,359
Other accrued expenses	44,208		35,270
	$	167,059	$	154,195

Accrued insurance primarily consists of reserves for claims associated with the workers’ compensation and general liability plans.

Other Current Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

Other Current Liabilities

9. OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Customer amounts on deposit	$	15,922	$	15,651
Income taxes payable	6,671		835
Liability for unvested restricted stock	4,424		3,636
Contingent consideration payable for business combinations	1,377		1,930
Deferred rent and other occupancy costs	—		6,879
Other current liabilities	2,847		1,293
	$	31,241	$	30,224

Upon adoption of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019, the current portion of operating lease liabilities is separately presented on the consolidated balance sheet.

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations

10. CREDIT ARRANGEMENTS AND DEBT OBLIGATIONS

Senior Secured Credit Facilities

The Company’s $1.3 billion senior secured credit facilities consist of a $1.1 billion secured term loan facility (“term loan facility”) and a $225 million multi-currency revolving credit facility (“revolving credit facility”). The term loans mature on November 7, 2023 and require quarterly principal payments of $2.7 million, with the remaining principal balance due on November 7, 2023.

Outstanding term loan borrowings were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Term loans	$	1,045,438		$	1,056,188
Deferred financing costs and original issue discount	(6,639		)	(8,568		)
Total debt	1,038,799			1,047,620
Less current maturities	10,750			10,750
Long-term debt	$	1,028,049		$	1,036,870

The revolving credit facility matures on July 31, 2022. There were no borrowings outstanding on the revolving credit facility at December 31, 2019. Borrowings outstanding on the revolving credit facility were $118.2 million at December 31, 2018.

All borrowings under the credit agreement are subject to variable interest. Effective as of May 31, 2018, borrowings under the term loan facility bear interest at a rate per annum of 0.75% over the base rate, or 1.75% over the eurocurrency rate, which is the one, two, three or six month LIBOR rate or, with applicable lender approval, the twelve month or less than one month LIBOR rate. With respect to the term loan facility, the base rate is subject to an interest rate floor of 1.75% and the eurocurrency rate is subject to an interest rate floor of 0.75%. Borrowings under the revolving credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum ranging from 0.50% to 0.75% over the base rate, or 1.50% to 1.75% over the eurocurrency rate.

The effective interest rate for the term loans was 3.55%, 4.27%, and 3.57% at December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and the weighted average interest rate was 4.07%, 3.89%, and 3.53% for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, prior to the effects of any interest rate swap arrangements. The effective interest rate for the revolving credit facility was 4.76%, and 3.70% at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The weighted average interest rate for the revolving credit facility was 4.20%, 4.12%, and 4.10% for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Certain financing fees and original issue discount costs are capitalized and are being amortized over the terms of the related debt instruments and amortization expense is included in interest expense. Amortization expense of deferred financing costs was $1.5 million, $1.5 million and $1.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. Amortization expense of original issue discount costs was $0.4 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

All obligations under the senior secured credit facilities are secured by substantially all the assets of the Company’s U.S. subsidiaries. The senior secured credit facilities contain a number of covenants that, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, may restrict the ability of Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary, and its restricted subsidiaries, to: incur certain liens; make investments, loans, advances and acquisitions; incur additional indebtedness or guarantees; pay dividends on capital stock or redeem, repurchase or retire capital stock or subordinated indebtedness; engage in transactions with affiliates; sell assets, including capital stock of our subsidiaries; alter the business conducted; enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; and consolidate or merge.

In addition, the credit agreement governing the senior secured credit facilities requires Bright Horizons Capital Corp., our direct subsidiary, to be a passive holding company, subject to certain exceptions. The revolving credit facility requires Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC, the borrower, and its restricted subsidiaries, to comply with a maximum consolidated first lien net leverage ratio that is a quarterly maintenance based financial covenant. A breach of this covenant is subject to certain equity cure rights.

Future principal payments of long-term debt are as follows for the years ending December 31 (in thousands):



2020	$	10,750
2021	10,750
2022	10,750
2023	1,013,188
Total future principal payments	$	1,045,438

Credit Amendments

In May 2017, November 2017, and May 2018, the Company amended its existing senior credit facilities to, among other changes, reduce the applicable interest rates of the term loan facility and the revolving credit facility. In connection with the May 2017 amendment, the Company also extended the maturity date on the revolving credit facility from July 31, 2019 to July 31, 2022. The maturity date of the amended term loan facility of November 7, 2023 was not modified with these amendments. The Company incurred $1.0 million and $2.8 million in fees associated with these amendments in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, which were included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

The Company is subject to interest rate risk as all borrowings under the senior secured credit facilities are subject to variable interest rates. In October 2017, the Company entered into variable-to-fixed interest rate swap agreements to mitigate the exposure to variable interest arrangements on a $500 million notional amount of the outstanding term loan borrowings. These swap agreements, designated and accounted for as cash flow hedges from inception, are scheduled to mature on October 31, 2021. The Company is required to make monthly payments on the notional amount at a fixed average interest rate plus the applicable rate for eurocurrency loans. Effective as of May 31, 2018, the notional amount has been subject to a total interest rate of approximately 3.65%. In exchange, the Company receives interest on the notional amount at a variable rate based on the one-month LIBOR rate, subject to a 0.75% floor.

The interest rate swaps are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at fair value and classified based on the instruments’ maturity dates. The Company records gains or losses resulting from changes in the fair value of the interest rate swaps to other comprehensive income or loss. These gains or losses are subsequently reclassified into earnings and recognized to interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statement of income in the period that the hedged interest expense on the term loan facility is recognized.

As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the interest rate swap agreements was a liability of $2.9 million, which was recorded in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2018, the fair value of the interest rate swap agreements was an asset of $7.9 million, which was recorded in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	(8,903	)	Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	(10,751	)
Income tax effect	2,395			Income tax expense	(497		)	2,892
Net of income taxes	$	(6,508	)		$	1,351		$	(7,859	)

For the year ended December 31, 2018, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	4,549		Interest expense—net	$	415		$	4,134
Income tax effect	(1,224		)	Income tax expense	(123		)	(1,101		)
Net of income taxes	$	3,325			$	292		$	3,033

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	3,258		Interest expense—net	$	(509	)	$	3,767
Income tax effect	(1,303		)	Income tax expense	204			(1,507		)
Net of income taxes	$	1,955			$	(305	)	$	2,260

During the next twelve months, the Company estimates that a net loss of $1.4 million, pre-tax, will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss and recorded to interest expense, related to these interest rate swap agreements.

Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

11. INCOME TAXES

Income before income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
United States	$	187,511	$	157,533	$	116,225
Foreign	35,154		34,054		45,175
	$	222,665	$	191,587	$	161,400

The allocation of income before income taxes may fluctuate year to year due to activity within the Bright Horizons consolidated group. In 2017, due to the disposition of our remaining assets in Ireland and the related disposition of our investment in the foreign subsidiary, the foreign income before income taxes includes a gain of approximately $11.9 million, with a corresponding loss of approximately $15.6 million within the U.S. income before income tax. This transaction resulted in a consolidated net loss of $3.7 million which is included in other expenses on the consolidated statement of income.

Income tax expense consists of the following (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Current income tax expense:
Federal	$	32,922		$	25,225		$	29,733
State	13,379			9,915			4,531
Foreign	7,321			3,935			7,735
	53,622			39,075			41,999
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:
Federal	(4,727		)	(188		)	(36,794		)
State	(2,739		)	(2,550		)	612
Foreign	(3,877		)	(2,731		)	(1,380		)
	(11,343		)	(5,469		)	(37,562		)
Income tax expense	$	42,279		$	33,606		$	4,437

The following is a reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory rate to the effective rate on pretax income (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Federal income tax expense computed at statutory rate	$	46,760		$	40,233		$	56,490
State income tax expense—net of federal income tax	8,522			6,466			2,881
Valuation allowance—net	—			—			(1,028		)
Intercompany interest	(5,213		)	(8,367		)	(5,074		)
Permanent differences and other—net	1,940			(1,417		)	1,041
Stock-based compensation	(10,990		)	(9,446		)	(22,757		)
Change in income tax rate	—			(548		)	(32,844		)
Transition Tax	—			—			11,027
Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income	1,277			2,893			—
Change to uncertain tax positions—net	(1,931		)	1,657			614
Foreign rate differential	1,914			2,135			(5,913		)
Income tax expense	$	42,279		$	33,606		$	4,437

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. federal government enacted comprehensive tax legislation with the Tax Act that made changes to the U.S. tax code impacting the year ended December 31, 2017 and future years. Effective January 1, 2018, the Tax Act reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

The effective income tax rate for 2019 was 19.0%. The Tax Act introduced the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) regime which resulted in additional federal income tax expense of $1.3 million during the year. The taxes on GILTI are accounted for as period costs when incurred. Income tax expense was reduced by $13.9 million in 2019 for the excess tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock.

The effective income tax rate for 2018 was 17.5%. The GILTI regime resulted in additional federal income tax expense of $2.9 million during the year. Additionally, income tax expense was reduced by $12.1 million in 2018 for the excess tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock. Included in permanent differences and other, net in the rate reconciliation is a $3.7 million benefit related to finalizing intercompany interest deductions for prior year foreign tax returns.

The effective income tax rate for 2017 was 2.7%, which included a net tax benefit of $22.3 million due to the enactment of the Tax Act, primarily due to the decrease in the net deferred tax liability from the change in tax rate, and a tax benefit of approximately $7.0 million related to the disposition of our remaining assets in Ireland, which resulted in the disposition of our investment in a subsidiary for tax purposes. Additionally, income tax expense was reduced by $26.5 million in 2017 for the excess tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Tax Act required a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries. The Deemed Repatriation Transition Tax (“Transition Tax”) is a tax on previously untaxed accumulated and current earnings and profits (“E&P”) of certain foreign subsidiaries, and is payable over eight years. The Company determined the amount of post-1986 E&P of its relevant foreign subsidiaries, as well as the amount of non-U.S. income tax paid on such earnings, to calculate the Transition Tax. The Company recorded a Transition Tax obligation of $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The provisional estimate was finalized in the year ended December 31, 2018, with no significant adjustment to tax expense.

Significant components of the Company’s net deferred tax liability were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Deferred tax assets:
Reserve on assets	$	259		$	554
Net operating loss carryforwards	338			424
Liabilities not yet deductible	10,949			31,641
Deferred revenue	3,415			2,403
Stock-based compensation	9,906			8,502
Operating lease liabilities	190,537			—
Other	4,693			3,591
Total deferred tax assets	220,097			47,115
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease right-of-use assets	(169,117		)	—
Intangible assets	(86,064		)	(93,180		)
Depreciation	(23,764		)	(25,128		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(278,945		)	(118,308		)
Net deferred tax liability	$	(58,848	)	$	(71,193	)

At both December 31, 2019 and 2018, the net deferred tax liability of $58.8 million and $71.2 million, respectively, includes deferred tax assets of $0.1 million which are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheet.

The Company has foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $1.6 million and has recorded an associated deferred tax asset totaling $0.3 million. The net operating losses in certain foreign jurisdictions will begin to expire in the year 2024, while others can be carried forward indefinitely.

The Company considers the earnings of certain non-U.S. subsidiaries to be indefinitely invested outside the United States on the basis of estimates that future domestic cash generation will be sufficient to meet future domestic cash needs and our specific plans for reinvestment of those subsidiary earnings. The Company has not recorded a deferred tax liability of approximately $1.5 million related to the state taxes and foreign withholding taxes on approximately $143.8 million of cumulative undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries indefinitely invested outside the United States.

Uncertain Tax Positions

The changes in the unrecognized tax benefits were as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance	$	5,444		$	1,903		$	1,096
Additions for tax positions of prior years	755			2,937			—
Additions for tax positions of current year	—			684			650
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(2,507		)	—			—
Effect of foreign currency adjustments	33			(80		)	157
Ending balance	$	3,725		$	5,444		$	1,903

The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense, which were immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017. In 2019, the Company reduced unrecognized tax benefits by $2.5 million for prior year tax positions of foreign subsidiaries. During 2018, the Company recorded unrecognized tax benefits for the U.S. and a foreign subsidiary’s prior year tax positions.

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that if recognized would affect the Company’s effective tax rate is $4.3 million, inclusive of interest. The unrecognized tax benefits could change over the next 12 months if certain tax matters ultimately settle with the applicable taxing jurisdiction during this time frame, or if applicable statutes of limitations lapse. The impact of the amount of such changes to previously recorded uncertain tax positions could range from zero to $0.9 million.

The Company and its domestic subsidiaries are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as multiple state jurisdictions. U.S. federal income tax returns are typically subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the statute of limitations for federal income tax returns is three years. The Company’s filings for the tax years 2016 through 2018 are subject to audit based upon the federal statute of limitations.

State income tax returns are generally subject to examination for a period of three to four years after filing of the respective return. The state impact of any federal changes remains subject to examination by various states for a period of up to one year after formal notification to the states. As of December 31, 2019, there were no income tax audits in process and the tax years from 2015 to 2018 are subject to audit.

The Company is also subject to corporate income tax at its subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, India, Canada, Ireland and Puerto Rico. The tax returns for the Company’s subsidiaries located in foreign jurisdictions are subject to examination for periods ranging from one to five years.

Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

12. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are classified using a three-level hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy upon the lowest level of input that is available and significant to the fair value measurement. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to observable inputs such as unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs. The Company uses observable inputs where relevant and whenever possible. The three levels of the hierarchy are defined as follows:

Level 1 — Fair value is derived using quoted prices from active markets for identical investments.

Level 2 — Fair value is derived using quoted prices for similar instruments from active markets or for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; or, fair value is based on model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable from active markets.

Level 3 — Fair value is derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses, and borrowings under the revolving credit facility approximates their fair value because of their short-term nature.

Long-term Debt — The Company’s long-term debt is recorded at adjusted cost, net of original issue discounts and deferred financing costs. The fair value of the Company’s long-term debt is based on current bid prices, which approximates carrying value. As such, the Company’s long-term debt was classified as Level 1, as defined under U.S. GAAP. As of December 31, 2019, the carrying value and estimated fair value of long-term debt was $1.05 billion. As of December 31, 2018, the carrying value and estimated fair value of long-term debt was $1.06 billion and $1.01 billion, respectively.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements — The Company’s interest rate swap agreements are recorded at fair value, which were estimated using market-standard valuation models. Such models project future cash flows and discount the future amounts to a present value using market-based observable inputs. Additionally, the fair value of the interest rate swaps included consideration of credit risk. The Company used a potential future exposure model to estimate this credit valuation adjustment (“CVA”). The inputs to the CVA were largely based on observable market data, with the exception of certain assumptions regarding credit worthiness. As the magnitude of the CVA was not a significant component of the fair value of the interest rate swaps, it was not considered a significant input. The fair value of the interest rate swaps is classified as Level 2, as defined under U.S. GAAP. As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the interest rate swap agreements was a liability of $2.9 million, which was recorded in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2018, the fair value of the interest rate swap agreements was an asset of $7.9 million, which was recorded in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Debt Securities — During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased and sold marketable debt securities, which were classified as available-for-sale. The Company’s investment in debt securities consist primarily of U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agency securities, and are recorded at fair value. These securities are valued using quoted prices available in active markets. As such, the Company’s debt securities are classified as Level 1, as defined under U.S. GAAP. As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the available-for-sale debt securities was $24.9 million and was classified based on the instruments’ maturity dates, with $17.0 million included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and $7.9 million in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Liabilities for Contingent Consideration — The Company is subject to contingent consideration arrangements in connection with certain business combinations as disclosed in Note 4, Acquisitions and Dispositions. Liabilities for contingent consideration are measured at fair value each reporting period, with the acquisition-date fair value included as part of the consideration payable for the related business combination and subsequent changes in fair value recorded to selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of income. The fair value of the contingent consideration recorded in the year ended December 31, 2019 was calculated using a real options model based on probability-weighted outcomes of meeting certain future performance targets. The key inputs to the valuation are the projections of future financial results in relation to the business. The Company classified the contingent consideration liability as a Level 3 fair value measurement due to the lack of observable inputs used in the model.

The following table provides a roll forward of the fair value of recurring Level 3 fair value measurements (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Balance at January 1, 2019	$	1,930
Issuance of contingent consideration in connection with acquisitions	13,870
Settlements of contingent consideration liabilities	(650		)
Changes in fair value	557
Foreign currency translation	280
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	15,987

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation

13. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Preferred Stock

The Company authorized 25 million shares of undesignated preferred stock in 2013 for issuance, of which none have been issued. The Company’s board of directors has the authority, without further action by stockholders, to issue up to 25 million shares of preferred stock in one or more series. The Company’s board of directors may designate the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions of the preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preference, and number of shares constituting any series or the designation of any series. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of restricting dividends on the Company’s common stock, diluting the voting power of its common stock, impairing the liquidation rights of its common stock, or delaying or preventing a change in control. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, no shares of preferred stock were outstanding.

Treasury Stock

The board of directors of the Company authorized a share repurchase program of up to $300 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock, effective June 12, 2018. The share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, replaced the prior August 2016 $300 million authorization, of which $34.9 million remained available at the time the program was replaced and cancelled. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, under Rule 10b5-1 plans, or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company repurchased 0.2 million shares for $31.9 million. At December 31, 2019, $227.1 million remained available under the repurchase program.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company repurchased 1.2 million shares for $126.7 million, including a total of 0.8 million shares that were purchased from investment funds affiliated with Bain Capital Partners LLC and other selling stockholders in a secondary offering at the same price per share paid by the underwriter to the selling stockholders.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company repurchased 2.0 million shares for $162.2 million, including a total of 1.7 million shares that were purchased from investment funds affiliated with Bain Capital Partners LLC and other selling stockholders in secondary offerings at the same price per share paid by the underwriter to the selling stockholders.

Equity Incentive Plan

The Company’s 2012 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan, as Amended and Restated (the “Plan”), allows for the issuance of equity awards of up to 7.4 million shares of common stock. The Plan’s original authorization of 5.0 million shares was increased in 2019 by 2.4 million shares as approved by the Company’s stockholders on May 29, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 2.9 million shares of common stock available for grant. The equity awards that have been granted under the Plan consist of time-based stock options, restricted stock, and restricted stock units, which are described below.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognized the impact of stock-based compensation in its consolidated statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 and did not capitalize any amounts on the consolidated balance sheets. In the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $17.3 million, $13.8 million, and $12.1 million, respectively. Stock-based compensation expense of $15.8 million, $13.1 million, and $11.6 million was recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and $1.5 million, $0.7 million, and $0.5 million was recorded in cost of services, respectively, in the consolidated statements of income in relation to all awards granted under the equity incentive plans. Stock-based compensation expense generated a deferred income tax benefit of $4.5 million, $3.6 million, and $3.2 million in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Income tax benefits realized from the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 were $16.7 million, $14.7 million, and $32.3 million, respectively, inclusive of the excess tax benefits realized of $13.9 million, $12.1 million, and $26.5 million in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

As of December 31, 2019, there was $27.5 million of total unrecognized compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, related to unvested share-based compensation arrangements granted under the Plan. That expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted average remaining requisite service period of approximately two years. Estimated forfeitures are based on the Company’s historical forfeitures and is adjusted periodically based on actual results. There were no share-based liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2019.

Stock Options

Stock options granted under the Plan are subject to a service condition and expire in seven years from date of grant or upon termination of the holder’s employment with the Company, unless such termination was due to death, disability or retirement, or unless otherwise determined by the administrator of the Plan. Stock options are granted with an exercise price equal to the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, generally have a requisite service period of five years, and are subject to graded vesting throughout the service term.

Stock-based compensation expense for stock options is based on the fair value of the award on the date of grant. The fair value of stock options granted was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following weighted average assumptions:



	Years ended December 31,
	2019	2018	2017
Expected dividend yield	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Expected stock price volatility	20.0%	26.0%	30.0%
Risk free interest rate	2.4%	2.6%	1.9%
Expected life of options (years)	5.1	5.3	5.3
Weighted average fair value per share of options granted during the period	$29.16	$28.62	$22.08

The expected dividend yield was based on the Company’s expectation of not paying dividends in the foreseeable future. The expected stock price volatility assumption was determined using the historical volatility of the Company’s stock price over the expected life of the options. The risk free interest rate was based on the U.S. Treasury rates for U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with maturities similar to those of the expected term of the awards being valued. For grants issued during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, the expected life of the options was calculated using the simplified method. The simplified method defines the life as the average of the contractual term of the options and the weighted average vesting period for all option tranches. We utilized the simplified method because the Company did not have sufficient historical exercise data over the life of awards to provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate expected term.

The following table summarizes the stock option activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years
	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years	Number of Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Outstanding at January 1, 2019	4.1	2,416,205		$	58.22
Granted		818,587		125.61
Exercised		(563,031	)	38.70
Forfeited/Expired		(149,087	)	88.23
Outstanding at December 31, 2019	4.3	2,522,674		$	82.65	$	170.9
Exercisable at December 31, 2019	2.1	695,396		$	37.45	$	78.5
Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2019	4.2	2,370,813		$	80.80	$	165.0

The fair value (pre-tax) of options that vested during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 was $7.8 million, $5.5 million, and $6.8 million, respectively. The intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 was $54.4 million, $46.3 million, and $66.6 million, respectively. Cash proceeds from the exercise of stock options for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 were $21.8 million, $18.5 million, and $22.6 million, respectively.

Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units

Restricted stock awards are granted to certain senior managers at the discretion of the board of directors as allowed under the Plan. Restricted stock awards generally vest on the earliest of the third anniversary of the grant date, a change in control of the Company, or the termination of employment by reason of death or disability, and are accounted for as non-vested stock. Restricted stock is sold for a price equal to 50% of the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. Proceeds from the issuance of restricted stock are recorded as other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet until the earlier of vesting or forfeiture of the awards. The unvested shares of restricted stock participate equally in dividends with common stock. Restricted stock is considered legally issued at the date of grant, but is not considered common stock issued and outstanding in accordance with accounting guidance until the requisite service period is fulfilled. All outstanding shares of restricted stock are expected to vest. Cash proceeds from the issuance of restricted stock for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 were $4.8 million, $4.5 million, and $4.4 million, respectively.

Stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock awards is based on the intrinsic value of the award on the date of grant. The Company’s stock-based compensation expense recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 included $4.2 million, $4.1 million, and $3.7 million, respectively, for restricted stock awards. As of December 31, 2019, total unrecognized compensation expense included $5.4 million related to unvested restricted stock, which is expected to be recognized over the weighted average remaining requisite service period of approximately two years.

The following table summarizes the restricted stock activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Non-vested restricted stock shares at January 1, 2019	330,089		$	37.84
Granted	74,911		63.65
Vested	(111,670	)	32.03
Forfeited	—		—
Non-vested restricted stock shares at December 31, 2019	293,330		$	46.64	$	30.7

The fair value of restricted shares vested during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 was $3.6 million, $3.5 million, and $5.4 million, respectively. The weighted average grant date fair value of restricted shares granted during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 was $63.65, $47.85, and $35.75, respectively.

Restricted stock units are awarded to members of the board of directors as allowed under the Plan and are vested upon award. The awards allow for the issuance of a share of the Company’s common stock for each unit upon the earliest of termination of service as a member of the board of directors or five years after the date of the award. The fair value of restricted stock unit awards is the closing market price of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant.

The following table summarizes the restricted stock unit activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Restricted stock units at January 1, 2019	47,593		$	72.97
Granted	8,327		135.14
Converted	(10,273	)	54.41
Forfeited	—		—
Restricted stock units at December 31, 2019	45,647		$	88.48	$	6.9

The weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 was $135.14, $107.39, and $77.99, respectively.

Earnings Per Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share

14. EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table sets forth the computation of earnings per share using the two-class method (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$	180,386	$	157,981	$	156,963
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock	$	179,520	$	157,096	$	155,995
Unvested participating shares	866		885		968
	$	180,386	$	157,981	$	156,963

Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock	57,838,245		57,812,602		58,873,196
Unvested participating shares	278,808		325,289		366,029
Earnings per common share:
Common stock	$	3.10	$	2.72	$	2.65

The Company calculates diluted earnings per share for common stock using the more dilutive of the treasury stock method, or the two-class method. The following table sets forth the computation of diluted earnings per share using the two-class method (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Diluted earnings per share:
Earnings allocated to common stock	$	179,520		$	157,096		$	155,995
Plus: earnings allocated to unvested participating shares	866			885			968
Less: adjusted earnings allocated to unvested participating shares	(850		)	(867		)	(947		)
Earnings allocated to common stock	$	179,536		$	157,114		$	156,016

Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock	57,838,245			57,812,602			58,873,196
Effect of dilutive securities	1,108,995			1,188,067			1,380,495
	58,947,240			59,000,669			60,253,691
Earnings per common share:
Common stock	$	3.05		$	2.66		$	2.59

Options outstanding to purchase 0.4 million, 0.5 million, and 0.6 million shares of common stock were excluded from diluted earnings per share for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, since their effect was anti-dilutive.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

15. ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), which is included as a component of stockholders’ equity, is comprised of foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized gains or losses from interest rate swaps and investments, net of tax.

The changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by component were as follows (in thousands):



	Foreign currency translation adjustments			Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps			Unrealized gain (loss) on investments		Total
Balance at January 1, 2018	$	(35,556	)	$	2,260		$	—	$	(33,296	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	(32,092		)	3,325			—		(28,767		)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	—			(292		)	—		(292		)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	(32,092		)	3,033			—		(29,059		)
Balance at December 31, 2018	(67,648		)	5,293			—		(62,355		)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	19,813			(6,508		)	70		13,375
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	—			(1,351		)	—		(1,351		)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	19,813			(7,859		)	70		12,024
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	(47,835	)	$	(2,566	)	$	70	$	(50,331	)

The gain (loss) on interest rate swaps were reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
Consolidated statement of income classification	2019			2018			2017
Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	415		$	(509	)
Income tax expense	(497		)	(123		)	204
Net income	$	1,351		$	292		$	(305	)

Segment and Geographic Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment and Geographic Information

16. SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The Company’s services are comprised of full service center-based child care, back-up care, and educational advisory services, which also represent the Company’s three operating and reportable segments. The full service center-based child care segment includes the traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education. The Company’s back-up care segment consists of center-based back-up child care, and in-home child and adult/elder dependent care. The Company’s educational advisory services segment consists of tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, educational consulting services, and college admissions advisory services. The Company and its chief operating decision maker evaluate performance based on revenues and income from operations. The assets and liabilities of the Company are managed centrally and are reported internally in the same manner as the consolidated financial statements; therefore, no segment asset information is produced or included herein.

Revenue and income from operations by reportable segment was as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care		Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Year ended December 31, 2019
Revenue	$	1,684,006	$	296,330	$	81,681	$	2,062,017
Income from operations ⁽¹⁾	166,011		80,394		21,414		267,819
Year ended December 31, 2018
Revenue	$	1,586,323	$	245,498	$	71,361	$	1,903,182
Income from operations ⁽²⁾	152,006		68,462		18,627		239,095
Year ended December 31, 2017
Revenue	$	1,457,754	$	224,264	$	58,887	$	1,740,905
Income from operations ⁽³⁾	130,289		60,373		14,777		205,439


(1)	For the year ended December 31, 2019, income from operations includes $0.6 million of transaction costs related to completed acquisitions, of which $0.2 million was allocated to the full service center-based child care segment and $0.4 million to the back-up care segment.


(2)	For the year ended December 31, 2018, income from operations includes $1.9 million of transaction costs related to an amendment to the credit agreement, a secondary offering, and completed acquisitions, all of which were allocated to the full service center-based child care segment.


(3)	For the year ended December 31, 2017, income from operations includes transaction costs of $3.7 million associated with the disposition of our remaining assets in Ireland, and $3.3 million related to amendments to the credit agreement and secondary offerings, all of which were allocated to the full service center-based child care segment.

Refer to Note 2, Revenue Recognition, for revenue by geographic region. Long-lived assets by geographic region were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
Long-lived assets	2019		2018		2017
North America	$	369,851	$	347,715	$	333,526
Europe	266,302		249,426		241,659
Total long-lived assets	$	636,153	$	597,141	$	575,185

The classification “North America” is comprised of the Company’s United States, Canada and Puerto Rico operations and the classification “Europe” includes the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and India operations. Long-lived assets were $368.5 million, $346.3 million, and $331.8 million at December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, in the United States, and $240.5 million, $231.8 million, and $226.5 million at December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Long-lived assets associated with other countries were not material.

Employee Benefit Plans	12 Months Ended
Employee Benefit Plans	Dec. 31, 2019
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
Employee Benefit Plans	17. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS The Company maintains a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”) for all eligible employees in the United States. To be eligible for the 401(k) Plan, an employee must be at least 20 years of age and have completed their eligibility period of 60 days of service from date of hire. The 401(k) Plan is funded by elective employee contributions of up to 75% of their compensation, subject to certain limitations. Under the 401(k) Plan, the Company matches 25% of employee contributions for each participant up to 8% of the employee’s compensation after one year of service. Expense under the plan, consisting of Company contributions and plan administrative expenses paid by the Company, totaled approximately $3.4 million, $3.4 million and $3.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company maintains other defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans that cover eligible employees in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. These plans are generally funded by employee and employer contributions. Expense under these plans, including employer contributions, totaled approximately $9.2 million, $6.4 million and $4.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company maintains a Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (the “NQDC Plan”) for eligible employees. Eligible employees are employees who have capped contribution levels in the existing 401(k) Plan due to the thresholds dictated by the IRS definition of “highly compensated” employees, as well as other employees at the Company’s discretion. The NQDC Plan is funded by elective employee contributions of up to 50% of their base compensation and up to 100% of other forms of compensation, as defined. Under the NQDC Plan, the Company matches 25% of employee contributions for each participant up to $2,500. The Company holds investments in company-owned life insurance policies to offset the Company’s liabilities under the NQDC Plan. Total investments, included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheet, and NQDC Plan liabilities, included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet, were $9.4 million and $10.0 million at December 31, 2019, respectively. Total investments and plan liabilities were $6.4 million and $6.7 million at December 31, 2018, respectively.

Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies	Dec. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	18. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Letters of Credit The Company has 54 letters of credit outstanding used to guarantee certain rent payments for up to $2.1 million. These letters of credit are secured by cash deposits included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheet. No amounts have been drawn against these letters of credit. Litigation The Company is a defendant in certain legal matters in the ordinary course of business. Management believes the resolution of such pending legal matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, although we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of any such actions. Insurance and Regulatory The Company self-insures a portion of its medical insurance plans and has a high deductible workers’ compensation plan. Additionally, a portion of the general liability coverage is provided by the Company’s wholly-owned captive insurance entity. Management believes that the amounts accrued for these obligations are sufficient and that ultimate settlement of such claims or costs associated with claims made under these plans will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The net assets of the captive insurance subsidiary, which are restricted for potential claims, were not material as of December 31, 2019. The Company’s child care and early education centers are subject to numerous federal, state and local regulations and licensing requirements. Failure of a center to comply with applicable regulations can subject it to governmental sanctions, which could require expenditures by the Company to bring its child care and early education centers into compliance.

Transactions with Related Parties	12 Months Ended
Transactions with Related Parties	Dec. 31, 2019
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Transactions with Related Parties	19. TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES Since the IPO in 2013, certain of the Company’s stockholders have sold a total of 52.3 million shares of the Company’s common stock in secondary offerings, including 4.6 million and 8.2 million shares in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company has not received proceeds from the sale of shares in any of the secondary offerings. The Company purchased 0.8 million and 1.7 million of the shares sold in the secondary offerings in 2018 and 2017, respectively, from the selling stockholders at the same price per share paid by the underwriter to the selling stockholders. In the secondary offering completed March 2018, investment funds affiliated with Bain Capital Partners LLC sold their remaining holdings of the Company’s common stock.

Quarterly Results (Unaudited)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Quarterly Results (Unaudited)

20. QUARTERLY RESULTS (UNAUDITED)

In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments which are necessary for a fair presentation of the quarters presented. The operating results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results of any future quarter.

Selected quarterly financial information follows for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	March 31, 2019		June 30, 2019		September 30, 2019		December 31, 2019
Revenue	$	501,758	$	528,060	$	511,584	$	520,615
Gross profit	$	126,947	$	139,621	$	125,220	$	131,148
Income from operations	$	62,910	$	74,833	$	62,629	$	67,447
Net income	$	42,042	$	49,327	$	41,254	$	47,763
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock—basic	$	41,845	$	49,088	$	41,055	$	47,532
Common stock—diluted	$	41,849	$	49,093	$	41,059	$	47,535
Earnings per common share:
Common stock—basic ⁽¹⁾	$	0.73	$	0.85	$	0.71	$	0.82
Common stock—diluted ⁽¹⁾	$	0.71	$	0.83	$	0.69	$	0.81



	March 31, 2018		June 30, 2018		September 30, 2018		December 31, 2018
Revenue	$	463,657	$	489,699	$	471,585	$	478,241
Gross profit	$	113,544	$	126,037	$	113,040	$	120,634
Income from operations	$	55,284	$	64,624	$	55,460	$	63,727
Net income	$	37,298	$	40,426	$	33,600	$	46,657
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock—basic	$	37,100	$	40,196	$	33,409	$	46,391
Common stock—diluted	$	37,104	$	40,200	$	33,413	$	46,397
Earnings per common share:
Common stock—basic ⁽¹⁾	$	0.64	$	0.70	$	0.58	$	0.80
Common stock—diluted ⁽¹⁾	$	0.62	$	0.68	$	0.57	$	0.79

(1) Due to rounding, the sum of the quarterly earnings per common share amounts may not agree to the total for the year.

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Organization	Organization — Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (“Bright Horizons” or the “Company”) provides center-based child care and early education, back-up child and adult/elder dependent care, tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, educational advisory services, and other support services for employers and families in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Canada, and India. The Company provides services designed to help families, employers and their employees better integrate work and family life, primarily under multi-year contracts with employers who offer child care, dependent care, and workforce education services, as part of their employee benefits packages in an effort to support employees across life and career stages and improve employee engagement. The Company’s full service center-based child care includes traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education. The Company provides its center-based child care services under two principal business models: (1) a cost-plus model, where the Company is paid a fee by an employer client for managing a child care center on a cost-plus basis, and (2) a profit and loss (“P&L”) model, where the Company assumes the financial risk of operating a child care center and provides care on either an exclusive or priority enrollment basis to the employees of an employer sponsor, as well as to families in the surrounding community. In both the cost-plus and sponsor P&L models, the development of a new child care center, as well as ongoing maintenance and repair, is typically funded by an employer sponsor with whom the Company enters into a multi-year contractual relationship. In addition, employer sponsors typically provide subsidies for the ongoing provision of child care services for their employees. Under all model types, the Company retains responsibility for all aspects of operating the child care and early education center, including the hiring and paying of employees, contracting with vendors, purchasing supplies, and collecting tuition and related accounts receivable. The Company’s back-up care services consist of center-based back-up child care, and in-home child and adult/elder dependent care. The Company provides back-up care services through the Company’s full-service and dedicated back-up centers, as well as through the back-up care network. Bright Horizons back-up care offers access to a contracted network of in-home care agencies and center-based providers in locations where the Company does not otherwise have in-home care providers or centers with available capacity. The Company’s educational advisory services consist of tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, workforce education, and related educational consulting services (“EdAssist Solutions”), and college admissions advisory services (“College Coach”).
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation — The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP” or “U.S. GAAP”). The Company’s significant accounting policies are described below. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year amounts within the consolidated statements of cash flows to conform to the current year presentation.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates — The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. The Company’s significant accounting estimates in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements relate to the valuation of goodwill and other intangibles, and income taxes. Actual results may differ from management’s estimates.
Foreign Operations	Foreign Operations — The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is their local currency. The assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The cumulative translation effect for subsidiaries using a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar is included in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The Company’s intercompany accounts are denominated in the functional currency of the foreign subsidiary. Gains and losses resulting from the remeasurement of intercompany receivables that the Company considers to be of a long-term investment nature are recorded as a cumulative translation adjustment in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss as a separate component of stockholders’ equity, while gains and losses resulting from the remeasurement of intercompany receivables from those foreign subsidiaries for which the Company anticipates settlement in the foreseeable future are recorded in the consolidated statement of income.
Concentrations of Credit Risk	Concentrations of Credit Risk — Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist mainly of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company mitigates its exposure by maintaining its cash and cash equivalents in financial institutions of high credit standing. The Company’s accounts receivable, which are derived primarily from the services it provides, are dispersed across many clients in various industries with no single client accounting for more than 10% of the Company’s net revenue or accounts receivable. The Company believes that no significant credit concentration risk existed at December 31, 2019 and 2018.
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash	Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash — The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities, when purchased, of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company’s cash management system provides for the funding of the main bank disbursement accounts on a daily basis as checks are presented for payment. Under this system, outstanding checks may be in excess of the cash balances at certain banks, creating book overdrafts. There were $12.4 million and $17.8 million in book overdrafts at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, included in accounts payable on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents that are restricted in nature as to withdrawal or usage are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets. Restricted cash is primarily comprised of cash deposits that guarantee letters of credit, cash and cash equivalents associated with the Company’s wholly-owned captive insurance company, and cash deposits
Accounts Receivable	Accounts Receivable — The Company generates accounts receivable from fees charged to parents and employer sponsors. The Company monitors collections and payments and maintains a provision for estimated losses based on historical trends, in addition to provisions established for specific collection issues that have been identified. Accounts receivable are stated net of the allowance for doubtful accounts.
Fixed Assets	Fixed Assets — Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation or amortization. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term or their estimated useful lives. The cost and accumulated depreciation of assets sold or otherwise disposed of are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in the consolidated statement of income. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred, whereas expenditures for improvements and replacements are capitalized. Depreciation is included in cost of services and selling, general and administrative expenses depending on the nature of the expenditure.
Business Combinations	Business Combinations — Business combinations are accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Amounts paid for an acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. The accounting for business combinations requires estimates and judgment in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, regarding expectations of future cash flows of the acquired business, and the allocation of those cash flows to the identifiable intangible assets. The determination of fair value is based on management’s estimates and assumptions, as well as other information compiled by management, including valuations that utilize customary valuation procedures and techniques. If actual results differ from these estimates, the amounts recorded in the financial statements could be impaired. Acquisition costs are expensed as incurred and recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses; integration costs associated with a business combination are expensed subsequent to the acquisition date; and changes in deferred tax asset valuation allowances and income tax uncertainties after the acquisition date affect income tax expense.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets	Goodwill and Intangible Assets — Goodwill is recorded when the consideration paid for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. The Company’s intangible assets principally consist of various customer relationships (including both client and parent relationships) and trade names. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization, but are tested annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indicators of impairment. Indefinite lived intangible assets are also subject to an annual evaluation to determine whether events and circumstances continue to support an indefinite useful life. Goodwill impairment assessments are performed at the reporting unit level, which for Bright Horizons is at the operating segment level. In performing the goodwill impairment test, the Company may first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying value. Qualitative factors may include, but are not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for the Company’s services, regulatory developments, cost factors, and entity specific factors such as overall financial performance and projected results. If an initial qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying value exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit, an additional quantitative evaluation is performed. Alternatively, the Company may elect to proceed directly to the quantitative impairment test. In performing the quantitative analysis, the Company compares the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. Fair value for each reporting unit is determined by estimating the present value of expected future cash flows, which are forecasted for each of the next ten years, applying a long-term growth rate to the final year, discounted using the Company’s estimated discount rate. If the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, the goodwill of the reporting unit is considered not impaired. If the carrying amount of the Company’s reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the Company would recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, up to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The Company performed a qualitative assessment during the annual impairment review as of October 1, 2019 and concluded that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the Company’s reporting units are less than their carrying amount. No goodwill impairment charges were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, or 2017. We test certain trademarks that are determined to be indefinite-lived intangible assets by comparing the fair value of the trademarks with their carrying value. We estimate the fair value first by estimating the total revenue attributable to the trademarks and then applying a royalty rate determined by an analysis of empirical, market-derived royalty rates for guideline intangible assets, consistent with the initial valuation of the intangibles. No impairment losses were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 or 2017 in relation to intangible assets. Intangible assets that are separable from goodwill and have determinable useful lives are valued separately and are amortized over the estimated period benefited, ranging from two to seventeen years. Intangible assets related to parent relationships are amortized using an accelerated method over their useful lives. All other intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets	Impairment of Long-Lived Assets — The Company reviews long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Impairment is assessed by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows over the asset’s remaining life. If the estimated cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognized to reduce the carrying amount of the asset to its estimated fair value less any disposal costs.
Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue	Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue — The Company generates revenue from services based on the consideration specified in contracts with customers, which primarily consist of employer sponsors and parents. The Company recognizes revenue when a performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of the promised services to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct service to the customer. At contract inception, the Company assesses the services promised in the contract and identifies each distinct performance obligation. To identify the performance obligations, the Company considers the services promised in the contract regardless of whether they are explicitly stated or are implied by customary business practices. The transaction price of a contract is allocated to each distinct performance obligation using the relative stand-alone selling price and recognized as revenue when, or as, control of the service is passed to the customer. Revenue is recognized over time as control of the service is transferred to our customers. The Company’s payment terms vary by the type of services offered. Tuition collected from parents is typically billed and collected monthly in advance. Fees collected from employer sponsors may be billed annually or quarterly in advance or may be billed monthly in arrears. The Company’s standard payment terms generally align with the timing of the services performed and do not include a financing component. The Company has the unconditional right to consideration as it satisfies the performance obligations, therefore no contractual assets are recognized.
Equity Method Investment	Equity Method Investment — The Company accounts for its investments in entities over which the Company has significant influence, but not control, using the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method of accounting, the investment is adjusted to reflect Bright Horizons’ proportionate share of the investee net earnings or losses, and is reduced by the amortization of embedded intangible assets. The Company reviews the equity method investment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company invested $5.9 million for a 20% interest in a provider of full service center-based child care and back-up care services in Germany, which is accounted for using the equity method. The equity method investment is included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet and, as of December 31, 2019, the investment balance was $6.2 million. The impact on the results of operations were immaterial for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Marketable Debt Securities	Marketable Debt Securities — During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company purchased and sold marketable debt securities, which were classified as available-for-sale. These securities are held in escrow by the Company’s wholly-owned captive insurance company and were purchased with restricted cash. As such, these securities are not available to fund the Company’s operations. The Company’s investments in debt securities consist primarily of U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agency securities, and are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the available-for-sale debt securities was $24.9 million and was classified based on the instruments’ maturity dates, with $17.0 million included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and $7.9 million in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet. At December 31, 2019, the amortized cost was $24.9 million. The debt securities held at December 31, 2019 had remaining maturities ranging from less than one year to approximately 1.75 years. Unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, on available-for-sale debt securities were immaterial for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company did not realize any gains or losses on its debt securities during the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company reviews the available-for-sale investments for impairment and would recognize an impairment charge for certain unrealized losses that are determined to be other-than-temporary.
Other Investments	Other Investments — The Company’s investments in equity securities are primarily in a private company and a limited partnership. The equity investments without readily determinable fair value are measured at cost, less impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions. The Company reviews such equity investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such asset may not be recoverable.
Discount on Long-Term Debt	Discount on Long-Term Debt and Deferred Financing Costs — Original issue discounts on the Company’s debt and deferred financing costs are recorded as a reduction of long-term debt and are amortized over the life of the related debt instrument in accordance with the effective interest method. Amortization expense is included in interest expense in the consolidated statement of income.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes — The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and for tax carryforwards, such as net operating losses. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the provision for income taxes in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce the carrying amount of deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that such asset will not be realized. Additional income tax expense is recognized as a result of recording valuation allowances. The Company does not recognize a tax benefit on losses in foreign operations where it does not have a history of profitability. The Company records penalties and interest on income tax related items as a component of tax expense. Obligations for uncertain tax positions are recorded based on an assessment of whether the position is more likely than not to be sustained by the taxing authorities. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position should be measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.
Stock-based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation — The Company accounts for stock-based compensation using a fair value method. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized in the consolidated financial statements based on the grant-date fair value of the awards that are expected to vest. This expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which generally represents the vesting period of each separately vesting tranche. The Company calculates the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock units is based on their intrinsic value on the date of grant. Excess tax benefits (deficiencies) associated with stock-based compensation are recognized as a component of income tax expense.
Comprehensive Income or Loss	Comprehensive Income or Loss — Comprehensive income or loss is comprised of net income or loss, foreign currency translation adjustments, and unrealized gains or losses on interest rate swaps and investments, net of tax. The Company has not recorded a deferred tax liability related to state income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on the undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries that are intended to be indefinitely reinvested. Therefore, taxes are not provided for the related currency translation adjustments.
Earnings Per Share	Earnings Per Share — Earnings per share is calculated using the two-class method, which requires the allocation of earnings to each class of common stock outstanding and to unvested participating shares. Unvested participating shares are unvested stock-based payment awards of restricted stock that participate equally in dividends with common stock. Net income available to stockholders is allocated on a pro rata basis to each class of common stock outstanding and to unvested participating shares as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the allocated net income by the weighted-average common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average common shares and potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period using the more dilutive of the treasury stock method or the two-class method.
New Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Adopted Pronouncements — On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (“ASC 842”), which requires lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by lease arrangements. The Company adopted the new lease guidance using the modified retrospective approach and the transition method available in accordance with ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which provides the option to use the effective date as the date of initial application of the guidance. As a result, the comparative information for prior periods has not been adjusted and continues to be reported in accordance with the accounting standards in effect for those periods under the previously applicable guidance. The Company evaluated its identified leases and applied the new lease guidance as further discussed in Note 3, Leases. The Company elected the package of practical expedients available under the transition guidance within ASC 842, which eliminates the requirements to reassess prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The adoption of ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019 resulted in the recognition of lease liabilities of $705.7 million, which consisted of current operating lease liabilities of $81.1 million and long-term operating lease liabilities of $624.6 million, and operating lease right-of-use assets (“ROUA” or “lease assets”) of $644.3 million. Upon adoption of ASC 842, lease obligations associated with deferred rent and lease incentives recorded under previous guidance were reclassified from other current liabilities and operating lease liabilities to the lease assets. The new lease guidance did not impact the consolidated statement of income or cash flows, or earnings per common share. In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (Topic 815), which expands and refines hedge accounting for both non-financial and financial risk components and aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. The guidance also makes certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of hedge accounting guidance and ease the administrative burden of hedge documentation requirements and assessing hedge effectiveness. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2019. The new guidance with respect to cash flow and net investment hedge relationships existing on the date of adoption is applied on a modified retrospective basis, and the new presentation and disclosure requirements are applied on a prospective basis. There was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures from the adoption of this guidance. In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement- Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which allows the option to reclassify stranded income tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings. Effective as of January 1, 2019, the Company did not elect to reclassify the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings as these were not material. Recently Issued Pronouncements — In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which amends the existing guidance on the accounting for credit losses of certain financial instruments. This guidance requires entities to recognize the expected credit loss over the lifetime of certain financial instruments and modifies the impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. This standard is applied by recording a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings upon adoption. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are classified using a three-level hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy upon the lowest level of input that is available and significant to the fair value measurement. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to observable inputs such as unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs. The Company uses observable inputs where relevant and whenever possible. The three levels of the hierarchy are defined as follows: Level 1 — Fair value is derived using quoted prices from active markets for identical investments. Level 2 — Fair value is derived using quoted prices for similar instruments from active markets or for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; or, fair value is based on model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable from active markets. Level 3 — Fair value is derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Activity in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance	$	2,514		$	2,429		$	1,054
Provision	840			1,148			2,537
Write offs and recoveries	(2,128		)	(1,063		)	(1,162		)
Ending balance	$	1,226		$	2,514		$	2,429

Revenue Recognition (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Disaggregation of Revenue

Revenue disaggregated by segment and geographical region was as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care		Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Year ended December 31, 2019
North America	$	1,223,365	$	280,222	$	81,681	$	1,585,268
Europe	460,641		16,108		—		476,749
	$	1,684,006	$	296,330	$	81,681	$	2,062,017
Year ended December 31, 2018
North America	$	1,144,932	$	239,056	$	71,361	$	1,455,349
Europe	441,391		6,442		—		447,833
	$	1,586,323	$	245,498	$	71,361	$	1,903,182
Year ended December 31, 2017
North America	$	1,074,270	$	219,875	$	58,887	$	1,353,032
Europe	383,484		4,389		—		387,873
	$	1,457,754	$	224,264	$	58,887	$	1,740,905

Leases (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Components of lease expense and weighted average

The components of lease expense were as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Operating lease expense ⁽¹⁾	$	126,796
Variable lease expense ⁽¹⁾	34,845
Total lease expense	$	161,641

(1) Excludes short-term lease expense and sublease income, which were immaterial for the periods presented.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Operating Cash Flows:
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities	$	126,071
Non-cash Transactions:
Operating right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities — net	$	133,043

Weighted average remaining lease term and weighted average discount rate

The weighted average remaining lease term and the weighted average discount rate as of December 31, 2019 were as follows:



	Operating Leases
Weighted average remaining lease term (in years)	10
Weighted average discount rate	6.2%

Maturities of lease liabilities

The following table summarizes the maturity of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2020	$	119,010
2021	119,904
2022	114,270
2023	105,763
2024	94,565
Thereafter	505,580
Total lease payments	1,059,092
Less imputed interest	(290,059		)
Present value of lease liabilities	769,033
Less current portion of operating lease liabilities	(83,123		)
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$	685,910

Maturities of lease liabilities under ASC 840

As of December 31, 2018, future payments under operating leases were as follows as determined in accordance with the previous guidance under ASC 840 (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2019	$	120,352
2020	114,628
2021	101,710
2022	95,529
2023	87,530
Thereafter	476,861
Total future minimum lease payments	$	996,610

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

The following table summarizes the maturity of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 (in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2020	$	119,010
2021	119,904
2022	114,270
2023	105,763
2024	94,565
Thereafter	505,580
Total lease payments	1,059,092
Less imputed interest	(290,059		)
Present value of lease liabilities	769,033
Less current portion of operating lease liabilities	(83,123		)
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$	685,910

Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care			Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Balance at January 1, 2018	$	1,114,886		$	168,105	$	23,801	$	1,306,792
Additions from acquisitions	60,266			—		—		60,266
Effect of foreign currency translation	(19,447		)	—		—		(19,447		)
Balance at December 31, 2018	1,155,705			168,105		23,801		1,347,611
Additions from acquisitions	15,228			25,350		14,000		54,578
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	(83		)	—		—		(83		)
Effect of foreign currency translation	10,380			387		—		10,767
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	1,181,230		$	193,842	$	37,801	$	1,412,873

Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization

The Company also has intangible assets, which consist of the following at December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):



December 31, 2019:	Weighted average amortization period	Cost		Accumulated amortization			Net carrying amount
Definite-lived intangibles:
Customer relationships	14 years	$	404,667	$	(283,597	)	$	121,070
Trade names	6 years	10,656		(8,144		)	2,512
		415,323		(291,741		)	123,582
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Trade names	N/A	181,091		—			181,091
		$	596,414	$	(291,741	)	$	304,673



December 31, 2018:	Weighted average amortization period	Cost		Accumulated amortization			Net carrying amount
Definite-lived intangibles:
Customer relationships	15 years	$	391,220	$	(253,588	)	$	137,632
Trade names	7 years	10,183		(5,609		)	4,574
		401,403		(259,197		)	142,206
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Trade names	N/A	180,829		—			180,829
		$	582,232	$	(259,197	)	$	323,035

Estimated Future Amortization Expense

The Company estimates that it will record amortization expense related to intangible assets existing as of December 31, 2019 as follows over the next five years (in thousands):



	Estimated amortization expense
2020	$	31,506
2021	$	28,292
2022	$	25,929
2023	$	25,054
2024	$	11,080

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Investments in available-for-sale debt securities	$	17,053	$	—
Reimbursable costs	8,470		8,043
Prepaid software and licenses	5,381		4,967
Prepaid rent and other occupancy costs	4,474		16,982
Prepaid workers’ compensation claims	4,150		4,465
Restricted cash	3,320		3,028
Other prepaid expenses and current assets	9,313		9,778
	$	52,161	$	47,263

Fixed Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Summary of Fixed Assets

Fixed assets consist of the following (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated useful lives	December 31,
	(Years)	2019			2018
Buildings	20 – 40	$	199,113		$	187,406
Furniture, equipment and software	3 – 10	273,295			236,503
Leasehold improvements	Shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life	523,504			467,243
Land	—	102,581			101,707
Total fixed assets		1,098,493			992,859
Accumulated depreciation		(462,340		)	(395,718		)
Fixed assets, net		$	636,153		$	597,141

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

Summary of Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

Accounts payable and accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Accrued payroll and employee benefits	$	76,606	$	67,609
Accounts payable	31,600		35,937
Accrued insurance	10,091		9,020
Accrued fixed asset purchases	4,554		6,359
Other accrued expenses	44,208		35,270
	$	167,059	$	154,195

Other Current Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

Summary of Other Current Liabilities

Other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Customer amounts on deposit	$	15,922	$	15,651
Income taxes payable	6,671		835
Liability for unvested restricted stock	4,424		3,636
Contingent consideration payable for business combinations	1,377		1,930
Deferred rent and other occupancy costs	—		6,879
Other current liabilities	2,847		1,293
	$	31,241	$	30,224

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Long-Term Debt

Outstanding term loan borrowings were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Term loans	$	1,045,438		$	1,056,188
Deferred financing costs and original issue discount	(6,639		)	(8,568		)
Total debt	1,038,799			1,047,620
Less current maturities	10,750			10,750
Long-term debt	$	1,028,049		$	1,036,870

Future Minimum Payments of Long-Term Debt

Future principal payments of long-term debt are as follows for the years ending December 31 (in thousands):



2020	$	10,750
2021	10,750
2022	10,750
2023	1,013,188
Total future principal payments	$	1,045,438

Schedule of Derivative Instruments, Effect on Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	(8,903	)	Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	(10,751	)
Income tax effect	2,395			Income tax expense	(497		)	2,892
Net of income taxes	$	(6,508	)		$	1,351		$	(7,859	)

For the year ended December 31, 2018, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	4,549		Interest expense—net	$	415		$	4,134
Income tax effect	(1,224		)	Income tax expense	(123		)	(1,101		)
Net of income taxes	$	3,325			$	292		$	3,033

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	3,258		Interest expense—net	$	(509	)	$	3,767
Income tax effect	(1,303		)	Income tax expense	204			(1,507		)
Net of income taxes	$	1,955			$	(305	)	$	2,260

The gain (loss) on interest rate swaps were reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
Consolidated statement of income classification	2019			2018			2017
Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	415		$	(509	)
Income tax expense	(497		)	(123		)	204
Net income	$	1,351		$	292		$	(305	)

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of long-debt instruments or arrangements, including identification, terms, features, collateral requirements and other information necessary to a fair presentation. These are debt arrangements that originally required repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the entity, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1A
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28541-108399

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21506-112644

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(e),(f))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690

Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 6: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21521-112644

Reference 7: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21538-112644

Reference 8: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 470
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=75038535&loc=d3e64711-112823

Reference 9: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775985&loc=d3e28878-108400

Reference 10: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21475-112644

+ Details

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income (Loss) before Income Taxes

Income before income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
United States	$	187,511	$	157,533	$	116,225
Foreign	35,154		34,054		45,175
	$	222,665	$	191,587	$	161,400

Components of Income Tax (Benefit) Expense

Income tax expense consists of the following (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Current income tax expense:
Federal	$	32,922		$	25,225		$	29,733
State	13,379			9,915			4,531
Foreign	7,321			3,935			7,735
	53,622			39,075			41,999
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:
Federal	(4,727		)	(188		)	(36,794		)
State	(2,739		)	(2,550		)	612
Foreign	(3,877		)	(2,731		)	(1,380		)
	(11,343		)	(5,469		)	(37,562		)
Income tax expense	$	42,279		$	33,606		$	4,437

Reconciliation of Federal Statutory Rate to Effective Rate

The following is a reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory rate to the effective rate on pretax income (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Federal income tax expense computed at statutory rate	$	46,760		$	40,233		$	56,490
State income tax expense—net of federal income tax	8,522			6,466			2,881
Valuation allowance—net	—			—			(1,028		)
Intercompany interest	(5,213		)	(8,367		)	(5,074		)
Permanent differences and other—net	1,940			(1,417		)	1,041
Stock-based compensation	(10,990		)	(9,446		)	(22,757		)
Change in income tax rate	—			(548		)	(32,844		)
Transition Tax	—			—			11,027
Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income	1,277			2,893			—
Change to uncertain tax positions—net	(1,931		)	1,657			614
Foreign rate differential	1,914			2,135			(5,913		)
Income tax expense	$	42,279		$	33,606		$	4,437

Components of Net Deferred Tax Liability

Significant components of the Company’s net deferred tax liability were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Deferred tax assets:
Reserve on assets	$	259		$	554
Net operating loss carryforwards	338			424
Liabilities not yet deductible	10,949			31,641
Deferred revenue	3,415			2,403
Stock-based compensation	9,906			8,502
Operating lease liabilities	190,537			—
Other	4,693			3,591
Total deferred tax assets	220,097			47,115
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease right-of-use assets	(169,117		)	—
Intangible assets	(86,064		)	(93,180		)
Depreciation	(23,764		)	(25,128		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(278,945		)	(118,308		)
Net deferred tax liability	$	(58,848	)	$	(71,193	)

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The changes in the unrecognized tax benefits were as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance	$	5,444		$	1,903		$	1,096
Additions for tax positions of prior years	755			2,937			—
Additions for tax positions of current year	—			684			650
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(2,507		)	—			—
Effect of foreign currency adjustments	33			(80		)	157
Ending balance	$	3,725		$	5,444		$	1,903

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Roll Forward of the Fair Value of Recurring Level 3 Fair Value Measurements

The following table provides a roll forward of the fair value of recurring Level 3 fair value measurements (in thousands):



	Year ended December 31, 2019
Balance at January 1, 2019	$	1,930
Issuance of contingent consideration in connection with acquisitions	13,870
Settlements of contingent consideration liabilities	(650		)
Changes in fair value	557
Foreign currency translation	280
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	15,987

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Class of Stock [Line Items]

Weighted Average Assumptions for Fair Value of Stock Option

The fair value of stock options granted was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following weighted average assumptions:



	Years ended December 31,
	2019	2018	2017
Expected dividend yield	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Expected stock price volatility	20.0%	26.0%	30.0%
Risk free interest rate	2.4%	2.6%	1.9%
Expected life of options (years)	5.1	5.3	5.3
Weighted average fair value per share of options granted during the period	$29.16	$28.62	$22.08

Nonvested Restricted Stock Shares Activity

The following table summarizes the restricted stock activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Non-vested restricted stock shares at January 1, 2019	330,089		$	37.84
Granted	74,911		63.65
Vested	(111,670	)	32.03
Forfeited	—		—
Non-vested restricted stock shares at December 31, 2019	293,330		$	46.64	$	30.7

Restricted Stock Unit Activity

The following table summarizes the restricted stock unit activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Restricted stock units at January 1, 2019	47,593		$	72.97
Granted	8,327		135.14
Converted	(10,273	)	54.41
Forfeited	—		—
Restricted stock units at December 31, 2019	45,647		$	88.48	$	6.9

Common Stock

Class of Stock [Line Items]

Stock Option Activity

The following table summarizes the stock option activity under the Company’s equity plan for the year ended December 31, 2019.



	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years
	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years	Number of Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Outstanding at January 1, 2019	4.1	2,416,205		$	58.22
Granted		818,587		125.61
Exercised		(563,031	)	38.70
Forfeited/Expired		(149,087	)	88.23
Outstanding at December 31, 2019	4.3	2,522,674		$	82.65	$	170.9
Exercisable at December 31, 2019	2.1	695,396		$	37.45	$	78.5
Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2019	4.2	2,370,813		$	80.80	$	165.0

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share, Basic

The following table sets forth the computation of earnings per share using the two-class method (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):



	Years ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Basic earnings per share:
Net income	$	180,386	$	157,981	$	156,963
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock	$	179,520	$	157,096	$	155,995
Unvested participating shares	866		885		968
	$	180,386	$	157,981	$	156,963

Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock	57,838,245		57,812,602		58,873,196
Unvested participating shares	278,808		325,289		366,029
Earnings per common share:
Common stock	$	3.10	$	2.72	$	2.65

Earnings Per Share, Diluted



	Years ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
Diluted earnings per share:
Earnings allocated to common stock	$	179,520		$	157,096		$	155,995
Plus: earnings allocated to unvested participating shares	866			885			968
Less: adjusted earnings allocated to unvested participating shares	(850		)	(867		)	(947		)
Earnings allocated to common stock	$	179,536		$	157,114		$	156,016

Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock	57,838,245			57,812,602			58,873,196
Effect of dilutive securities	1,108,995			1,188,067			1,380,495
	58,947,240			59,000,669			60,253,691
Earnings per common share:
Common stock	$	3.05		$	2.66		$	2.59

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Schedule of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by component were as follows (in thousands):



	Foreign currency translation adjustments			Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps			Unrealized gain (loss) on investments		Total
Balance at January 1, 2018	$	(35,556	)	$	2,260		$	—	$	(33,296	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	(32,092		)	3,325			—		(28,767		)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	—			(292		)	—		(292		)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	(32,092		)	3,033			—		(29,059		)
Balance at December 31, 2018	(67,648		)	5,293			—		(62,355		)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	19,813			(6,508		)	70		13,375
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	—			(1,351		)	—		(1,351		)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	19,813			(7,859		)	70		12,024
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	(47,835	)	$	(2,566	)	$	70	$	(50,331	)

Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	(8,903	)	Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	(10,751	)
Income tax effect	2,395			Income tax expense	(497		)	2,892
Net of income taxes	$	(6,508	)		$	1,351		$	(7,859	)

For the year ended December 31, 2018, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	4,549		Interest expense—net	$	415		$	4,134
Income tax effect	(1,224		)	Income tax expense	(123		)	(1,101		)
Net of income taxes	$	3,325			$	292		$	3,033

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the effect of the interest rate swap agreements on other comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):



Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income			Consolidated statement of income classification	Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings			Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Interest rate swaps	$	3,258		Interest expense—net	$	(509	)	$	3,767
Income tax effect	(1,303		)	Income tax expense	204			(1,507		)
Net of income taxes	$	1,955			$	(305	)	$	2,260

The gain (loss) on interest rate swaps were reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as follows (in thousands):



	Years ended December 31,
Consolidated statement of income classification	2019			2018			2017
Interest expense—net	$	1,848		$	415		$	(509	)
Income tax expense	(497		)	(123		)	204
Net income	$	1,351		$	292		$	(305	)

Segment and Geographic Information (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Income from Operations by Segment

Revenue and income from operations by reportable segment was as follows (in thousands):



	Full service center-based child care		Back-up care		Educational advisory services		Total
Year ended December 31, 2019
Revenue	$	1,684,006	$	296,330	$	81,681	$	2,062,017
Income from operations ⁽¹⁾	166,011		80,394		21,414		267,819
Year ended December 31, 2018
Revenue	$	1,586,323	$	245,498	$	71,361	$	1,903,182
Income from operations ⁽²⁾	152,006		68,462		18,627		239,095
Year ended December 31, 2017
Revenue	$	1,457,754	$	224,264	$	58,887	$	1,740,905
Income from operations ⁽³⁾	130,289		60,373		14,777		205,439


(1)	For the year ended December 31, 2019, income from operations includes $0.6 million of transaction costs related to completed acquisitions, of which $0.2 million was allocated to the full service center-based child care segment and $0.4 million to the back-up care segment.


(2)	For the year ended December 31, 2018, income from operations includes $1.9 million of transaction costs related to an amendment to the credit agreement, a secondary offering, and completed acquisitions, all of which were allocated to the full service center-based child care segment.

(3)

For the year ended December 31, 2017, income from operations includes transaction costs of $3.7 million associated with the disposition of our remaining assets in Ireland, and $3.3 million related to amendments to the credit agreement and secondary offerings, all of which were allocated to the full service center-based child care segment.

Revenue and Long-Lived Assets by Geographic Region

Refer to Note 2, Revenue Recognition, for revenue by geographic region. Long-lived assets by geographic region were as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
Long-lived assets	2019		2018		2017
North America	$	369,851	$	347,715	$	333,526
Europe	266,302		249,426		241,659
Total long-lived assets	$	636,153	$	597,141	$	575,185

Quarterly Results (Unaudited) (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information

Selected quarterly financial information follows for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	March 31, 2019		June 30, 2019		September 30, 2019		December 31, 2019
Revenue	$	501,758	$	528,060	$	511,584	$	520,615
Gross profit	$	126,947	$	139,621	$	125,220	$	131,148
Income from operations	$	62,910	$	74,833	$	62,629	$	67,447
Net income	$	42,042	$	49,327	$	41,254	$	47,763
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock—basic	$	41,845	$	49,088	$	41,055	$	47,532
Common stock—diluted	$	41,849	$	49,093	$	41,059	$	47,535
Earnings per common share:
Common stock—basic ⁽¹⁾	$	0.73	$	0.85	$	0.71	$	0.82
Common stock—diluted ⁽¹⁾	$	0.71	$	0.83	$	0.69	$	0.81



	March 31, 2018		June 30, 2018		September 30, 2018		December 31, 2018
Revenue	$	463,657	$	489,699	$	471,585	$	478,241
Gross profit	$	113,544	$	126,037	$	113,040	$	120,634
Income from operations	$	55,284	$	64,624	$	55,460	$	63,727
Net income	$	37,298	$	40,426	$	33,600	$	46,657
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Common stock—basic	$	37,100	$	40,196	$	33,409	$	46,391
Common stock—diluted	$	37,104	$	40,200	$	33,413	$	46,397
Earnings per common share:
Common stock—basic ⁽¹⁾	$	0.64	$	0.70	$	0.58	$	0.80
Common stock—diluted ⁽¹⁾	$	0.62	$	0.68	$	0.57	$	0.79

(1) Due to rounding, the sum of the quarterly earnings per common share amounts may not agree to the total for the year.

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) business_model	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Investments	$ 5,865,000	$ 0	$ 0
Number of business models \| business_model	2
Foreign Operations [Abstract]
Cumulative translation adjustment, net of tax, period increase (decrease)			1,700,000
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
Book overdrafts	$ 12,400,000	17,800,000
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Estimated fair value for each reporting unit, forecast period	10 years
Goodwill impairment loss	$ 0	0	0
Impairment losses	0	0	$ 0
Equity method investment	6,200,000
Available-for-sale debt securities	24,900,000
Debt securities, available-for-sale, amortized cost	24,900,000
Other long term assets, investment	3,200,000	2,900,000
New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]
Operating lease liability	769,033,000
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	83,123,000	0
Long-term operating lease liabilities	685,910,000	71,817,000
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$ 700,956,000	$ 0
Minimum
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Finite lived intangible assets, estimated useful life	2 years
Debt securities, available-for-sale, weighted average remaining maturity term	1 year
Maximum
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Finite lived intangible assets, estimated useful life	17 years
Debt securities, available-for-sale, weighted average remaining maturity term	1 year 9 months
Accounting Standards Update 2014-09
New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]
Operating lease liability				$ 705,700,000
Current portion of operating lease liabilities				81,100,000
Long-term operating lease liabilities				624,600,000
Operating lease right-of-use assets				$ 644,300,000
Provider Of Full Service Child Care And Back-Up Care Service
Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Investments	$ 5,900,000
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Equity method ownership (as a percentage)	20.00%
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Available-for-sale debt securities	$ 17,000,000.0
Other Assets
Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Available-for-sale debt securities	$ 7,900,000

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies - Activity in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounts Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 2,514	$ 2,429	$ 1,054
Provision	840	1,148	2,537
Write offs and recoveries	(2,128)	(1,063)	(1,162)
Ending balance	$ 1,226	$ 2,514	$ 2,429

Revenue Recognition (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
Revenue Recognition (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 520,615	$ 511,584	$ 528,060	$ 501,758	$ 478,241	$ 471,585	$ 489,699	$ 463,657	$ 2,062,017	$ 1,903,182	$ 1,740,905
Deferred revenue, revenue recognized									169,000	154,900
United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									1,600,000	1,500,000	1,300,000
United Kingdom
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									382,100	371,500	328,000
Full service center-based child care
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 1,684,006	1,586,323	1,457,754
Full service center-based child care \| Minimum
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract term									3 years
Full service center-based child care \| Maximum
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract term									10 years
Back-up dependent care
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract term									3 years
Revenue									$ 296,330	245,498	224,264
Educational advisory services
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 81,681	$ 71,361	$ 58,887
Educational advisory services \| Minimum
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract term									1 year
Educational advisory services \| Maximum
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract term									3 years

Revenue Recognition Disaggregation Of Revenue (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 520,615	$ 511,584	$ 528,060	$ 501,758	$ 478,241	$ 471,585	$ 489,699	$ 463,657	$ 2,062,017	$ 1,903,182	$ 1,740,905
North America
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									1,585,268	1,455,349	1,353,032
Europe And Other
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									476,749	447,833	387,873
Full service center-based child care
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									1,684,006	1,586,323	1,457,754
Full service center-based child care \| North America
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									1,223,365	1,144,932	1,074,270
Full service center-based child care \| Europe And Other
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									460,641	441,391	383,484
Back-up dependent care
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									296,330	245,498	224,264
Back-up dependent care \| North America
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									280,222	239,056	219,875
Back-up dependent care \| Europe And Other
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									16,108	6,442	4,389
Educational advisory services
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									81,681	71,361	58,887
Educational advisory services \| North America
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									81,681	71,361	58,887
Educational advisory services \| Europe And Other
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Leases - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2019
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Operating lease not yet commenced			$ 105.0
Rent expense	$ 127.4	$ 116.7
Minimum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Operating lease term			10 years
Operating lease not yet commenced term			10 years
Maximum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Operating lease term			15 years
Operating lease not yet commenced term			15 years

Leases - Expense (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Leases - Expense (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Leases [Abstract]
Operating lease expense	$ 126,796
Variable lease expense	34,845
Total lease expense	$ 161,641

Leases - Additional Cash Flow Disclosures (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Leases [Abstract]
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities	$ 126,071
Operating right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities — net	$ 133,043

Leases - Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term and Discount Rate (Details)	Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Weighted average remaining lease term (in years)	10 years
Weighted average discount rate (percentage)	6.20%

Leases - Maturities of Lease Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Leases [Abstract]
2020	$ 119,010
2021	119,904
2022	114,270
2023	105,763
2024	94,565
Thereafter	505,580
Total lease payments	1,059,092
Less imputed interest	(290,059)
Present value of lease liabilities	769,033
Less current portion of operating lease liabilities	(83,123)	$ 0
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$ 685,910	$ 71,817

Leases - Maturities of Lease Liabilities under ASC 840 (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Leases [Abstract]
2019	$ 120,352
2020	114,628
2021	101,710
2022	95,529
2023	87,530
Thereafter	476,861
Total future minimum lease payments	$ 996,610

Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) Center Business	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) Center Business	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) Center Business
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business combination, contingent consideration, liability		$ 13,870	$ 0	$ 0
Contingent consideration payment term		3 years
Goodwill		$ 1,412,873	1,347,611	1,306,792
Payment for contingent consideration		4,200	2,965	185
Payments and settlements for acquisitions—net of cash acquired		$ 53,425	$ 67,111	$ 21,484
IRELAND
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of properties disposed \| Center				3
Loss on disposal				$ 3,700
Income (loss) from subsidiaries, tax expense (benefit)				$ 7,000
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of businesses acquired \| Business		8	7	7
Cash consideration to acquire business, gross		$ 53,300		$ 21,500
Cash acquired		1,200	$ 4,200	300
Business combination, contingent consideration, liability		700		200
Contingent consideration, maximum value		20,000
Fair value of contingent consideration		13,900
Goodwill			60,300	14,300
Goodwill, expected tax deductible amount			13,900
Intangible assets consisting of customer relationships and trade names		14,600		2,300
Fixed assets and technology acquired		3,100
Deferred tax liabilities		(1,900)	(1,900)
Revenue contributed by acquiree		18,100
Payment for contingent consideration		$ 4,200
Payments and settlements for acquisitions—net of cash acquired			66,800
Contingent consideration			5,400
Fixed assets acquired			8,300
Net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed			$ 1,100	(1,300)
Buildings acquired				7,300
Deferred tax liabilities				$ (600)
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| UNITED STATES
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of centers acquired \| Center		3	6	3
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| NETHERLANDS
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of centers acquired \| Center		4	10	10
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| United Kingdom
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of centers acquired \| Center		1	20	1
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible asset useful life				5 years
Conchord Limited Asquith
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payment for contingent consideration			$ 3,000
Payments contingent consideration			3,100
Customer Relationships \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets consisting of customer relationships and trade names			$ 8,600
Intangible asset useful life		5 years
Customer Relationships \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible asset useful life			2 years	3 years
Customer Relationships \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible asset useful life			5 years
Prior Year Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payment for contingent consideration		$ 3,500
Prior Periods Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payment for contingent consideration	$ 700
Back-Up Care Services \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill		25,400
Educational advisory services \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill		14,000
Full service center-based child care \| IRELAND
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Loss on disposal				$ (3,700)
Full service center-based child care \| Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill		15,200
Goodwill, expected tax deductible amount		$ 3,900

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 1,347,611	$ 1,306,792
Additions from acquisitions	54,578	60,266
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	(83)
Effect of foreign currency translation	10,767	(19,447)
Ending Balance	1,412,873	1,347,611
Full service center-based child care
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	1,155,705	1,114,886
Additions from acquisitions	15,228	60,266
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	(83)
Effect of foreign currency translation	10,380	(19,447)
Ending Balance	1,181,230	1,155,705
Back-up care
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	168,105	168,105
Additions from acquisitions	25,350	0
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	0
Effect of foreign currency translation	387	0
Ending Balance	193,842	168,105
Educational advisory services
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	23,801	23,801
Additions from acquisitions	14,000	0
Adjustments to prior year acquisitions	0
Effect of foreign currency translation	0	0
Ending Balance	$ 37,801	$ 23,801

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net [Abstract]
Cost	$ 415,323	$ 401,403
Accumulated amortization	(291,741)	(259,197)
Net carrying amount	123,582	142,206
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill) [Abstract]
Cost	596,414	582,232
Net carrying amount	304,673	323,035
Trade names
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill) [Abstract]
Indefinite-lived intangibles:	$ 181,091	$ 180,829
Customer relationships
Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization period	14 years	15 years
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net [Abstract]
Cost	$ 404,667	$ 391,220
Accumulated amortization	(283,597)	(253,588)
Net carrying amount	$ 121,070	$ 137,632
Trade names
Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization period	6 years	7 years
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net [Abstract]
Cost	$ 10,656	$ 10,183
Accumulated amortization	(8,144)	(5,609)
Net carrying amount	$ 2,512	$ 4,574

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Amortization expense	$ 33,621	$ 32,569	$ 32,561

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Estimated Amortization Expense Related to Intangible Assets (Detail) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
2020	$ 31,506
2021	28,292
2022	25,929
2023	25,054
2024	$ 11,080

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets - Schedule of Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Investments in available-for-sale debt securities	$ 17,053	$ 0
Prepaid rent and other occupancy costs	4,474	16,982
Reimbursable costs	8,470	8,043
Prepaid software and licenses	5,381	4,967
Prepaid workers’ compensation claims	4,150	4,465
Restricted cash	3,320	3,028	$ 5,343
Other prepaid expenses and current assets	9,313	9,778
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	$ 52,161	$ 47,263

Fixed Assets - Summary of Fixed Assets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total fixed assets	$ 1,098,493	$ 992,859
Accumulated depreciation	(462,340)	(395,718)
Fixed assets, net	636,153	597,141
Buildings
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total fixed assets	$ 199,113	187,406
Buildings \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Fixed assets, useful life	20 years
Buildings \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Fixed assets, useful life	40 years
Furniture, equipment and software
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total fixed assets	$ 273,295	236,503
Furniture, equipment and software \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Fixed assets, useful life	3 years
Furniture, equipment and software \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Fixed assets, useful life	10 years
Leasehold improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total fixed assets	$ 523,504	467,243
Land
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total fixed assets	$ 102,581	$ 101,707

Fixed Assets - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Construction in progress	$ 29.5	$ 34.7
Depreciation expense	$ 74.6	$ 68.4	$ 62.2

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses - Summary of Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]
Accrued payroll and employee benefits	$ 76,606	$ 67,609
Accounts payable	31,600	35,937
Accrued insurance	10,091	9,020
Accrued fixed asset purchases	4,554	6,359
Other accrued expenses	44,208	35,270
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	$ 167,059	$ 154,195

Other Current Liabilities - Summary of Other Current Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]
Customer amounts on deposit	$ 15,922	$ 15,651
Income taxes payable	6,671	835
Liability for unvested restricted stock	4,424	3,636
Contingent consideration payable for business combinations	1,377	1,930
Deferred rent and other occupancy costs	0	6,879
Other current liabilities	2,847	1,293
Other current liabilities	$ 31,241	$ 30,224

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations - Schedule of Long-Term Debt (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Schedule Of Borrowings [Line Items]
Less current maturities	$ 10,750	$ 10,750
Long-term debt	1,028,049	1,036,870
Term Loan
Schedule Of Borrowings [Line Items]
Term loans	1,045,438	1,056,188
Deferred financing costs and original issue discount	(6,639)	(8,568)
Total debt	1,038,799	1,047,620
Less current maturities	10,750	10,750
Long-term debt	$ 1,028,049	$ 1,036,870

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	May 31, 2018	Oct. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Borrowings under revolving credit facility	$ 0	$ 118,200,000
Amortization of deferred financing costs	1,500,000	1,500,000	$ 1,400,000
Amortization of original debt issuance costs	400,000
Derivative, average fixed interest rate				3.65%
Loss that will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to interest expense	$ 1,400,000
Bank Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	0.75%
Senior Credit Facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,300,000,000
Corporate Debt Securities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fees associated with credit amendment		$ 1,000,000.0	$ 2,800,000
Secured Term Loan \| Senior Credit Facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance, quarterly principal payments	2,700,000
Term Loan \| Senior Credit Facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,100,000,000
Effective interest rate for the term loans (percentage)	3.55%	4.27%	3.57%
Debt issuance, weighted average interest rate (percentage)	4.07%	3.89%	3.53%
Term Loan \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Bank Base Rate \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	1.75%
Term Loan \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Eurocurrency \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	0.75%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Senior Credit Facilities
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance, principal amount	$ 225,000,000
Effective interest rate for the term loans (percentage)		4.76%	3.70%
Debt issuance, weighted average interest rate (percentage)	4.20%	4.12%	4.10%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Bank Base Rate \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	0.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Bank Base Rate \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	0.75%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Eurocurrency \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	1.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Senior Credit Facilities \| Eurocurrency \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issuance interest rate, percentage added to base (percentage)	1.75%
Interest Rate Swap
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative, notional amount					$ 500,000,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 \| Estimate of Fair Value Measurement \| Interest Rate Swap
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative liability	$ 2,900,000
Derivative asset		$ 7,900,000

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations - Maturity Schedule (Details) - Term Loan $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
2020	$ 10,750
2021	10,750
2022	10,750
2023	1,013,188
Total debt	$ 1,045,438

Credit Arrangements and Debt Obligations - Effect of Derivatives on Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income: Interest rate swaps	$ (8,903)	$ 4,549	$ 3,258
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income: Income tax effect	2,395	(1,224)	(1,303)
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income: Net of income taxes	(6,508)	3,325	1,955
Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings
Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings: Interest expense-net	1,848	415	(509)
Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings: Income tax effect	(497)	(123)	204
Amount of net gain (loss) reclassified into earnings: Net of income taxes	1,351	292	(305)
Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss)
Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss): Interest rate swaps	(10,751)	4,134	3,767
Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss): Income tax effect	2,892	(1,101)	(1,507)
Total effect on other comprehensive income (loss): Net of income taxes	$ (7,859)	$ 3,033	$ 2,260

Income Taxes - Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
United States	$ 187,511	$ 157,533	$ 116,225
Foreign	35,154	34,054	45,175
Income before income tax	$ 222,665	$ 191,587	$ 161,400

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) tax_audit	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Effective income tax rate (percentage)	19.00%	17.50%	2.70%
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, income tax expense (benefit)	$ 1,300,000
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, expense (benefit)		$ 2,900,000	$ (22,300,000)
Excess tax benefits from stock option exercises	13,900,000	12,100,000	$ 26,500,000
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Other Adjustments, Amount		(3,700,000)
Fiscal period duration			8 years
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, deferred tax liability, provision income tax benefit			$ 11,000,000.0
Deferred tax liability	58,848,000	71,193,000
Net deferred tax asset	100,000	$ 100,000
Deferred tax asset, net operating losses, foreign	300,000
Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries	143,800,000
Unrecognized tax benefits that would impact the effective tax rate	4,300,000
Minimum
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Change in uncertain tax positions	0
Maximum
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Change in uncertain tax positions	900,000
Foreign
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Net operating loss	1,600,000
Federal State And Foreign
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Deferred tax liability	$ 1,500,000
State
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of income tax audits pending \| tax_audit	0
IRELAND
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal			(3,700,000)
Income (loss) from subsidiaries, tax expense (benefit)			7,000,000.0
IRELAND \| Europe
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal			11,900,000
IRELAND \| UNITED STATES
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal			$ (15,600,000)

Income Taxes - Income Tax (Benefit) Expense (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current income tax expense:
Federal	$ 32,922	$ 25,225	$ 29,733
State	13,379	9,915	4,531
Foreign	7,321	3,935	7,735
Current income tax expense:	53,622	39,075	41,999
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:
Federal	(4,727)	(188)	(36,794)
State	(2,739)	(2,550)	612
Foreign	(3,877)	(2,731)	(1,380)
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:	(11,343)	(5,469)	(37,562)
Income tax expense	$ 42,279	$ 33,606	$ 4,437

Income Taxes - Reconciliation of Federal Statutory Rate to Effective Rate (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Other Reconciling Items, Amount		$ (3,700)
Federal income tax expense computed at statutory rate	$ 46,760	40,233	$ 56,490
State income tax expense—net of federal income tax	8,522	6,466	2,881
Valuation allowance—net	0	0	(1,028)
Intercompany interest	(5,213)	(8,367)	(5,074)
Permanent differences and other—net	1,940	(1,417)	1,041
Stock-based compensation	(10,990)	(9,446)	(22,757)
Change in income tax rate	0	(548)	(32,844)
Transition Tax	0	0	11,027
Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income	1,277	2,893	0
Change to uncertain tax positions—net	(1,931)	1,657	614
Foreign rate differential	1,914	2,135	(5,913)
Income tax expense	$ 42,279	$ 33,606	$ 4,437

Income Taxes - Components of Net Deferred Tax Liability (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Deferred tax assets:
Reserve on assets	$ 259	$ 554
Net operating loss carryforwards	338	424
Liabilities not yet deductible	10,949	31,641
Deferred revenue	3,415	2,403
Stock-based compensation	9,906	8,502
Operating lease liabilities	190,537	0
Other	4,693	3,591
Total deferred tax assets	220,097	47,115
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease right-of-use assets	(169,117)	0
Intangible assets	(86,064)	(93,180)
Depreciation	(23,764)	(25,128)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(278,945)	(118,308)
Net deferred tax liability	$ (58,848)	$ (71,193)

Income Taxes - Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 5,444	$ 1,903	$ 1,096
Additions for tax positions of prior years	755	2,937	0
Additions for tax positions of current year	0	684	650
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(2,507)	0	0
Effect of foreign currency adjustments		(80)
Effect of foreign currency adjustments	33		157
Ending balance	$ 3,725	$ 5,444	$ 1,903

Fair Value Measurements - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available-for-sale debt securities	$ 24,900
Term Loan
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Long-term debt, carrying value	1,045,438	$ 1,056,188
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available-for-sale debt securities	17,000
Other Assets
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available-for-sale debt securities	7,900
Estimate of Fair Value Measurement \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Long-term debt, fair value	1,050,000	1,010,000
Interest Rate Swap \| Estimate of Fair Value Measurement \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Derivative liability	$ 2,900
Derivative asset		$ 7,900

Fair Value Measurements - Schedule of Level 3 Fair Value Measurements (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 0
Ending balance	13,870
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	1,930
Issuance of contingent consideration in connection with acquisitions	13,870
Settlements of contingent consideration liabilities	(650)
Changes in fair value	557
Ending balance	15,987
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 \| Foreign Currency Gain (Loss)
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration, Liability [Roll Forward]
Foreign currency translation	$ 280

Stockholder's Equity and Stock-Based Compensation - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	May 29, 2019	Jun. 12, 2018	Aug. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2012
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Preferred stock, issued (in shares)	0	0
Number of preferred stock issuable by BOD (in shares)	25,000,000	25,000,000
Preferred stock, outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Shares authorized to be repurchased by BOD						$ 300,000,000	$ 300,000,000
Remaining authorized repurchase amount	$ 227,100,000					$ 34,900,000
Retirement of treasury stock	0	$ 0	$ 0
Stock-based compensation expense	17,300,000	13,800,000	12,100,000
Income tax benefit related to share based compensation	4,500,000	3,600,000	3,200,000
Fair value of options that vested	7,800,000	5,500,000	6,800,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of options and restricted stock upon purchase	21,800,000	18,500,000	22,600,000
Tax benefit realized from exercise of stock options	16,700,000	14,700,000	32,300,000
Excess tax benefits from stock option exercises	13,900,000	12,100,000	26,500,000
Proceeds from issuance of restricted stock	$ 4,800,000	4,500,000	4,400,000
2012 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Shares available for issuance (in shares)	7,400,000				2,400,000			5,000,000.0
Shares available for grant (in shares)	2,900,000
Option expiration	7 years
Requisite service period	5 years
2008 Equity Incentive Plan
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Stock options, unrecognized compensation cost	$ 27,500,000
Requisite service period	2 years
Board of Directors Chairman
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Number of preferred stock issuable by BOD (in shares)				25,000,000
Undesignated Preferred Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Shares authorized (in shares)				25,000,000
Restricted Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Requisite service period	2 years
Award vesting period	3 years
Percentage of price of Common Stock that preferred shares sold for (percentage)	50.00%
Unrecognized compensation expense	$ 5,400,000
Fair value of restricted stock vested in period	$ 3,600,000	$ 3,500,000	$ 5,400,000
Shares granted (in dollars per share)	$ 63.65
Restricted Stock \| Common Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Shares granted (in dollars per share)	$ 63.65	$ 47.85	$ 35.75
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Award vesting period	5 years
Shares granted (in dollars per share)	$ 135.14
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) \| Common Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Shares granted (in dollars per share)	$ 135.14	$ 107.39	$ 77.99
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 15,800,000	$ 13,100,000	$ 11,600,000
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses \| Restricted Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	4,200,000	4,100,000	3,700,000
Cost of Sales
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 1,500,000	$ 700,000	$ 500,000
Common Stock
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Retirement of treasury stock (in shares)	(211,401)	(1,212,436)	(1,968,415)
Retirement of treasury stock		$ (2,000)	$ (2,000)
Options, exercises in period, intrinsic value	$ 54,400,000	46,300,000	66,600,000
Treasury Stock, at Cost
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Retirement of treasury stock	$ (31,944,000)	$ (126,739,000)	$ (162,195,000)
Sponsor \| Secondary Offering
Shareholders Equity And Share Based Payments [Line Items]
Shares repurchased (in shares)		800,000	1,700,000

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation - Weighted Average Assumptions for Fair Value of Stock Option (Detail) - Common Stock - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expected dividend yield (percentage)	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Expected stock price volatility (percentage)	20.00%	26.00%	30.00%
Risk free interest rate (percentage)	2.40%	2.60%	1.90%
Expected life of options (years)	5 years 1 month 6 days	5 years 3 months 18 days	5 years 3 months 18 days
Weighted average fair value per share of options granted during the period (in dollars per share)	$ 29.16	$ 28.62	$ 22.08

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation - Stock Option Activity Under Equity Plan (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Number of Options
Outstanding at beginning of period (in shares)	2,416,205
Granted (in shares)	818,587
Exercised (in shares)	(563,031)
Forfeited (in shares)	(149,087)
Outstanding at end of period (in shares)	2,522,674	2,416,205
Exercisable at end of period (in shares)	695,396
Vested and expected to vest (in shares)	2,370,813
Common Stock
Equity [Line Items]
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years, stock options outstanding	4 years 3 months 18 days	4 years 1 month 6 days
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years, exercisable stock options outstanding	2 years 1 month 6 days
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years, stock options vested and expected to vest	4 years 2 months 12 days
Number of Options
Exercised (in shares)	(684,974)	(771,480)	(1,481,785)
Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of period (in dollars per share)	$ 58.22
Granted (in dollars per share)	125.61
Exercised (in dollars per share)	38.70
Forfeited (in dollars per share)	88.23
Outstanding at end of period (in dollars per share)	82.65	$ 58.22
Exercisable at end of period (in dollars per share)	37.45
Vested and expected to vest at end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 80.80
Aggregate Intrinsic Value (In millions)
Outstanding at end of period	$ 170.9
Exercisable at end of period	78.5
Vested and expected to vest at end of period	$ 165.0

Stockholder's Equity and Stock-Based Compensation - Restricted Stock Activity (Details) - Restricted Stock - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Number of Shares
Nonvested restricted stock shares, beginning balance (in shares)	330,089
Granted (in shares)	74,911
Vested (in shares)	(111,670)
Forfeited (in shares)	0
Nonvested restricted stock shares, ending balance (in shares)	293,330	330,089
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested restricted stock shares, beginning of period (in dollars per share)	$ 37.84
Granted (in dollars per share)	63.65
Vested (in dollars per share)	32.03
Forfeited (in dollars per share)	0
Nonvested restricted stock shares, end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 46.64	$ 37.84
Aggregate intrinsic value of nonvested restricted stock shares, end of period	$ 30.7
Common Stock
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Granted (in dollars per share)	$ 63.65	$ 47.85	$ 35.75

Stockholders' Equity and Stock-Based Compensation - Restricted Stock Unit Activity (Details) - Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Non-Option Equity Instruments, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Restricted stock units, beginning of period (in shares)	47,593
Granted (in shares)	8,327
Exercised (in shares)	(10,273)
Forfeited (in shares)	0
Restricted stock units, period end (in shares)	45,647	47,593
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value [Roll Forward]
Restricted stock units, beginning of period (in dollars per share)	$ 72.97
Vested (in dollars per share)	54.41
Granted (in dollars per share)	135.14
Forfeited (in dollars per share)	0
Restricted stock units, period end (in dollars per share)	$ 88.48	$ 72.97
Fair value of restricted stock units	$ 6.9
Common Stock
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value [Roll Forward]
Granted (in dollars per share)	$ 135.14	$ 107.39	$ 77.99

Earnings Per Share - Computation of Basic Earnings Per Common Share (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Calculation Of Numerator And Denominator In Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net income									$ 180,386	$ 157,981	$ 156,963
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic [Abstract]
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: common stock	$ 47,532	$ 41,055	$ 49,088	$ 41,845	$ 46,391	$ 33,409	$ 40,196	$ 37,100	179,520	157,096	155,995
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: Unvested participating shares									866	885	968
Net income (loss) available to common shareholders									$ 180,386	$ 157,981	$ 156,963
Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock-basic (in shares)									57,838,245	57,812,602	58,873,196
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Common stock-basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.82	$ 0.71	$ 0.85	$ 0.73	$ 0.80	$ 0.58	$ 0.70	$ 0.64	$ 3.10	$ 2.72	$ 2.65
Common Stock
Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock-basic (in shares)									57,838,245	57,812,602	58,873,196
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Common stock-basic (in dollars per share)									$ 3.10	$ 2.72	$ 2.65
Common Stock \| Unvested Participating Shares
Weighted average number of common shares:
Common stock-basic (in shares)									278,808	325,289	366,029

Earnings Per Share - Computation of Diluted Earnings Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Diluted earnings per share:
Earnings allocated to common stock	$ 47,532	$ 41,055	$ 49,088	$ 41,845	$ 46,391	$ 33,409	$ 40,196	$ 37,100	$ 179,520	$ 157,096	$ 155,995
Plus: earnings allocated to unvested participating shares									866	885	968
Less: adjusted earnings allocated to unvested participating shares									(850)	(867)	(947)
Earnings allocated to common stock									$ 179,536	$ 157,114	$ 156,016
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Common stock (in shares)									57,838,245	57,812,602	58,873,196
Total weighted average number of common shares for diluted earnings per share (in shares)									58,947,240	59,000,669	60,253,691
Common stock-diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.81	$ 0.69	$ 0.83	$ 0.71	$ 0.79	$ 0.57	$ 0.68	$ 0.62	$ 3.05	$ 2.66	$ 2.59
Common Stock
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Common stock (in shares)									57,838,245	57,812,602	58,873,196
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)									1,108,995	1,188,067	1,380,495
Total weighted average number of common shares for diluted earnings per share (in shares)									58,947,240	59,000,669	60,253,691
Common stock-diluted (in dollars per share)									$ 3.05	$ 2.66	$ 2.59

Earnings Per Share - Additional Information (Detail) - shares shares in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Common Stock \| Employee Stock Option
Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Options outstanding to purchase (in shares)	0.4	0.5	0.6

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) - Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 779,477	$ 749,060
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	13,375	(28,767)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	(1,351)	(292)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	12,024	(29,059)
Ending balance	971,268	779,477
Foreign currency translation adjustments
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	(67,648)	(35,556)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	19,813	(32,092)
Ending balance	(47,835)	(67,648)
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	5,293	2,260
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income—net of tax	(1,351)	(292)
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	(7,859)	3,033
Ending balance	(2,566)	5,293
Unrealized gain (loss) on investments
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	0	0
Net current period other comprehensive income (loss)	70	0
Ending balance	70	0
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	(62,355)	(33,296)
Ending balance	(50,331)	(62,355)
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income \| Foreign currency translation adjustments
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	19,813	(32,092)
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income \| Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	(6,508)	3,325
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income \| Unrealized gain (loss) on investments
AOCI Attributable to Parent, Net of Tax [Roll Forward]
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications—net of tax	$ 70	$ 0

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) - Consolidated Statement Of Income Classification (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Interest expense—net	$ (45,154)	$ (47,508)	$ (44,039)
Income tax expense	(42,279)	(33,606)	(4,437)
Net income	180,386	157,981	156,963
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps \| Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]
Interest expense—net	1,848	415	(509)
Income tax expense	(497)	(123)	204
Net income	$ 1,351	$ 292	$ (305)

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Segment and Geographic Information - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) OperatingSegment	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments \| OperatingSegment	3
Long-lived assets	$ 636,153	$ 597,141	$ 575,185
United States
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	368,500	346,300	331,800
United Kingdom
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	$ 240,500	$ 231,800	$ 226,500

Segment and Geographic Information - Income from Operations by Segment (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 520,615	$ 511,584	$ 528,060	$ 501,758	$ 478,241	$ 471,585	$ 489,699	$ 463,657	$ 2,062,017	$ 1,903,182	$ 1,740,905
Income from operations	$ 67,447	$ 62,629	$ 74,833	$ 62,910	$ 63,727	$ 55,460	$ 64,624	$ 55,284	267,819	239,095	205,439
Other expenses, debt Instrument amendment and acquisition related costs									600
Full service center-based child care
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									1,684,006	1,586,323	1,457,754
Other expenses, debt Instrument amendment and acquisition related costs									200	1,900	3,300
Back-Up Care Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Other expenses, debt Instrument amendment and acquisition related costs									400
Operating Segments \| Full service center-based child care
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									1,684,006	1,586,323	1,457,754
Income from operations									166,011	152,006	130,289
Operating Segments \| Back-up care
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									296,330	245,498	224,264
Income from operations									80,394	68,462	60,373
Operating Segments \| Educational advisory services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									81,681	71,361	58,887
Income from operations									$ 21,414	$ 18,627	14,777
IRELAND
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal											(3,700)
IRELAND \| Full service center-based child care
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on disposal											$ 3,700

Segment and Geographic Information - Revenue and Long-Lived Assets by Geographic Region (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	$ 636,153	$ 597,141	$ 575,185
North America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	369,851	347,715	333,526
Europe and other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets	$ 266,302	$ 249,426	$ 241,659

Employee Benefit Plans - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 17,300,000	$ 13,800,000	$ 12,100,000
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Retirement savings plan, age to be eligible	20 years
Retirement plan funding (percentage)	75.00%
Retirement plan employer matching contribution (percentage)	25.00%
Retirement plan maximum annual contribution per employee (percentage)	8.00%
Retirement plan Company contributions and administrative expenses	$ 3,400,000	3,400,000	3,000,000.0
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Retirement plan funding (percentage)	50.00%
Retirement plan employer matching contribution (percentage)	25.00%
Retirement plan Company contributions and administrative expenses	$ 2,500
Maximum annual contribution percent, other forms of compensation (percentage)	100.00%
Minimum \| 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Retirement savings plan, eligibility period	60 days
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Life Insurance \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Financial instruments, owned, at fair value	$ 9,400,000	6,400,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Deferred Compensation, Share-based Payments \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Financial liabilities fair value disclosure	10,000,000.0	6,700,000
United Kingdom and Netherlands
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 9,200,000	$ 6,400,000	$ 4,100,000

Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) LetterOfCredit
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Number of letters of credit outstanding \| LetterOfCredit	54
Letters of credit to guarantee certain rent payments \| $	$ 2.1

Transactions with Related Parties - Additional Information (Detail) - Secondary Offering - shares shares in Millions	12 Months Ended		83 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2019
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Issuance of Class L common stock (in shares)	4.6	8.2	52.3
Sponsor
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Shares repurchased (in shares)	0.8	1.7

Quarterly Results (Unaudited) - Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 520,615	$ 511,584	$ 528,060	$ 501,758	$ 478,241	$ 471,585	$ 489,699	$ 463,657	$ 2,062,017	$ 1,903,182	$ 1,740,905
Gross profit	131,148	125,220	139,621	126,947	120,634	113,040	126,037	113,544	522,936	473,255	430,610
Income from operations	67,447	62,629	74,833	62,910	63,727	55,460	64,624	55,284	267,819	239,095	205,439
Net income	47,763	41,254	49,327	42,042	46,657	33,600	40,426	37,298	180,386	157,981	156,963
Allocation of net income to common stockholders:
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: Common stock-basic	47,532	41,055	49,088	41,845	46,391	33,409	40,196	37,100	179,520	157,096	155,995
Allocation of net income to common stockholders: Common stock-diluted	$ 47,535	$ 41,059	$ 49,093	$ 41,849	$ 46,397	$ 33,413	$ 40,200	$ 37,104	$ 179,536	$ 157,114	$ 156,016
Earnings per common share:
Earnings per common share: Common stock-basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.82	$ 0.71	$ 0.85	$ 0.73	$ 0.80	$ 0.58	$ 0.70	$ 0.64	$ 3.10	$ 2.72	$ 2.65
Earnings per common share: Common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.81	$ 0.69	$ 0.83	$ 0.71	$ 0.79	$ 0.57	$ 0.68	$ 0.62	$ 3.05	$ 2.66	$ 2.59

Label	Element	Value
Restricted Cash and Investments, Noncurrent	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndInvestmentsNoncurrent	$ 0
Restricted Cash and Investments, Noncurrent	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndInvestmentsNoncurrent	20,000,000
Restricted Cash and Investments, Noncurrent	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndInvestmentsNoncurrent	$ 8,000,000