Amazon, Alphabet, and TripAdvisor rely on various intangible assets to operate their businesses. These companies amortize the cost of these assets using the straight-line method over the following average estimated useful lives (in years), as reported in their 2015 annual reports.

Required:

Based on these estimates, identify the company that uses the longest periods for amortizing most of its classes of intangible assets. Will these estimates increase or decrease that company’s net income relative to its competitors? Explain.

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Type of Intangible Asset Developed Technology Trade Names TripAdvisor, Inc. Alphabet, Inc. Amazon.com 3.9 4.1 2.0 8.6 4.4 10.0 Customer Relationships 3.6 6.0 4.0