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Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - shares	Mar. 31, 2019	Apr. 25, 2019
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	DNOW
Entity Registrant Name	NOW INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001599617
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		108,720,185

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 87	$ 116
Receivables, net	513	482
Inventories, net	634	602
Prepaid and other current assets	18	19
Total current assets	1,252	1,219
Property, plant and equipment, net	110	106
Deferred income taxes	2	2
Goodwill	318	314
Intangibles, net	140	144
Other assets	74	10
Total assets	1,896	1,795
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	339	329
Accrued liabilities	130	110
Other current liabilities	6	2
Total current liabilities	475	441
Long-term debt	124	132
Long-term operating lease liabilities	40
Deferred income taxes	5	6
Other long-term liabilities	7	2
Total liabilities	651	581
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock—par value $0.01; 20 million shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding
Common stock - par value $0.01; 330 million shares authorized; 108,708,922 and 108,426,962 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively	1	1
Additional paid-in capital	2,037	2,034
Accumulated deficit	(660)	(678)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(133)	(143)
Total stockholders' equity	1,245	1,214
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 1,896	$ 1,795

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Statement Of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	20,000,000	20,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	330,000,000	330,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	108,708,922	108,426,962
Common stock, shares outstanding	108,708,922	108,426,962

Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 785	$ 764
Operating expenses:
Cost of products	627	616
Warehousing, selling and administrative	135	141
Operating profit	23	7
Other expense	(4)	(4)
Income before income taxes	19	3
Income tax provision	1	1
Net income	$ 18	$ 2
Earnings per share:
Basic earnings per common share	$ 0.17	$ 0.02
Diluted earnings per common share	$ 0.16	$ 0.02
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic	108,556,369	108,074,718
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, diluted	109,060,795	108,172,759

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Statement Of Income And Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 18	$ 2
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation adjustments	10	1
Comprehensive income	$ 28	$ 3

- Definition

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

+ References + Details

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 18	$ 2
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	10	11
Stock-based compensation	4	4
Provision for inventory	4	2
Other, net	5	1
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Receivables	(26)	(74)
Inventories	(34)	(22)
Prepaid and other current assets		(3)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(1)	48
Income taxes receivable / payable	1	1
Other assets / liabilities, net	(1)
Net cash used in operating activities	(20)	(30)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		(1)
Net cash used in investing activities		(1)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under the revolving credit facility	106	85
Repayments under the revolving credit facility	(114)	(72)
Other	(2)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(10)	13
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	1
Net change in cash and cash equivalents	(29)	(18)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	116	98
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	87	$ 80
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Accrued purchases of property, plant and equipment	$ 1

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	Total	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-In Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings (Deficit) [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 1,185		$ 2,019	$ (730)	$ (105)
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2017		108,030
Beginning balance, Common stock value at Dec. 31, 2017		$ 1
Net income	2			2
Stock-based compensation	4		4
Vesting of restricted stock, shares		158
Shares withheld for taxes, shares		(47)
Other comprehensive income	1				1
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2018	1,192		2,023	(728)	(104)
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2018		108,141
Ending balance, Common stock value at Mar. 31, 2018		$ 1
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2018	1,214		2,034	(678)	(143)
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2018		108,427
Beginning balance, Common stock value at Dec. 31, 2018	1	$ 1
Net income	18			18
Stock-based compensation	4		4
Exercise of stock options	1		1
Exercise of stock options, shares		70
Vesting of restricted stock, shares		305
Shares withheld for taxes	(2)		(2)
Shares withheld for taxes, shares		(93)
Other comprehensive income	10				10
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2019	1,245		$ 2,037	$ (660)	$ (133)
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2019		108,709
Ending balance, Common stock value at Mar. 31, 2019	$ 1	$ 1

Organization and Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Basis of Presentation

1. Organization and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Operations

NOW Inc. (“NOW” or the “Company”) is a holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas that was incorporated in Delaware on November 22, 2013. NOW operates primarily under the DistributionNOW and Wilson Export brands. NOW is a global distributor of energy products as well as products for industrial applications through its locations in the U.S., Canada and internationally which are geographically positioned to serve the energy and industrial markets in over 80 countries. NOW’s energy product offerings are used in the oil and gas industry including upstream drilling and completion, exploration and production, midstream infrastructure development and downstream petroleum refining – as well as in other industries, such as chemical processing, power generation and industrial manufacturing operations. The industrial distribution portion of NOW’s business targets a diverse range of manufacturing and other facilities across numerous industries and end markets. NOW also provides supply chain management to drilling contractors, E&P operators, midstream operators, downstream energy and industrial manufacturing companies. NOW’s supplier network consists of thousands of vendors in approximately 40 countries.

Basis of Presentation

All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. The unaudited consolidated financial information included in this report has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X. The principles for interim financial information do not require the inclusion of all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, all of which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported and contingent amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassification

Certain amounts in the prior periods presented have been reclassified to conform to the current period financial statement presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on previously reported results of operations.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and payables approximated fair value because of the relatively short maturity of these instruments. Cash equivalents include only those investments having a maturity date of three months or less at the time of purchase. See Note 12 “Derivative Financial Instruments” for the fair value of derivative financial instruments.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326), which replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to determine credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Entities will now use forward-looking information to better form their credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted as of December 15, 2018, and requires the modified retrospective transition method. The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2016-13 on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), which modified the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements. ASU 2018-13 is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for removed or modified disclosures. The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2018-13 on its consolidated financial statements.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than twelve months in its balance sheets. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Targeted Improvements, which provided entities with an additional (and optional) transition method, allowing an entity to apply the new lease standard at the adoption date and to recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective method allowed under ASU 2018-11. The Company has utilized the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within ASC 842 which, among other things, allow an entity to carry forward its historical lease classifications. The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recognition of $66 million of ROU assets, net of $1 million deferred rent, and $67 million of lease liabilities related to leases that were previously not required to be presented in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 13 “Leases” for additional information.

Revenue

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Revenue From Contract With Customer [Abstract]

Revenue

2. Revenue

The Company’s primary source of revenue is the sale of energy products and an extensive selection of products for industrial applications based upon purchase orders or contracts with customers. The majority of revenue is recognized at a point in time once the Company has determined that the customer has obtained control over the product. Control is typically deemed to have been transferred to the customer when the product is shipped, delivered, or picked up by the customer. The Company does not grant extended payment terms. Revenue is recognized net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to government authorities. Shipping and handling costs for product shipments occur prior to the customer obtaining control of the goods and are recorded in cost of products.

The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for products sold. Revenue is recorded at the transaction price net of estimates of variable consideration, which may include product returns, trade discounts and allowances. The Company accrues for variable consideration using the expected value method. Estimates of variable consideration are included in revenue to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur.

See Note 7 “Business Segments” for disaggregation of revenue by reporting segments. The Company believes this disaggregation best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.

Remaining Performance Obligations

Remaining performance obligations represent the transaction price of firm orders for which work has not been performed on contracts with an original expected duration of more than one year. The Company’s contracts are predominantly short-term in nature with a contract term of one year or less. For those contracts, the Company has utilized the practical expedient in ASC Topic 606 exempting the Company from disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations when the performance obligation is part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less.

Receivables

Receivables are recorded when the Company has an unconditional right to consideration.

Contract Assets and Liabilities

Contract assets primarily consist of retainage amounts held as a form of security by customers until the Company satisfies its remaining performance obligations. As of March 31, 2019, contract assets were approximately $2 million and were included in receivables, net in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company generally accounts for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that the entity otherwise would have been recognized is one year or less. These expenses were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Contract liabilities primarily consist of deferred revenues recorded when customer payments are received or due in advance of satisfying performance obligations, including amounts which are refundable, and other accrued customer liabilities. Revenue recognition is deferred to a future period until the Company completes its obligations contractually agreed with customers. The increase in contract liabilities for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 was primarily related to customer deposits of approximately $14 million, partially offset by approximately $9 million of revenue that was deferred at December 31, 2018.

Property, Plant and Equipment, net

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment, net

3. Property, Plant and Equipment, net

Property, plant and equipment consist of (in millions):

	Estimated Useful Lives	March 31, 2019			December 31, 2018
Information technology assets	1-7 Years	$	45		$	45
Operating equipment⁽¹⁾	2-15 Years		100			92
Buildings and land⁽²⁾	5-35 Years		99			99
Construction in progress			1			—
Total property, plant and equipment			245			236
Less: accumulated depreciation			(135	)		(130	)
Property, plant and equipment, net		$	110		$	106

(1)

Includes finance lease ROU assets.

(2)

Land has an indefinite life.

Accrued Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Accrued Liabilities

4. Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consist of (in millions):

	March 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Compensation and other related expenses	$	33	$	38
Contract liabilities		33		29
Taxes (non-income)		12		14
Current portion of operating lease liabilities		22		—
Other		30		29
Total	$	130	$	110

Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt

5. Debt

On April 30, 2018, the Company replaced its existing senior secured revolving credit facility and entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with a syndicate of lenders with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association serving as the administrative agent. The five-year Credit Facility provides for a $750 million global revolving credit facility (with a letter of credit subfacility of $60 million and a swing line subfacility of 10% of the facility amount), of which up to $100 million is available for the Company’s Canadian subsidiaries and $40 million for the Company’s UK subsidiaries. The Company has the right, subject to certain conditions, to increase the aggregate principal amount of commitments under the credit facility by $250 million. The obligations under the Credit Facility are secured by substantially all the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Credit Facility contains customary covenants, representations and warranties and events of default. The Company will be required to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.00:1.00 as of the end of each fiscal quarter if excess availability under the Credit Facility falls below the greater of 12.5% of the borrowing base or $60 million.

Borrowings under the Credit Facility will bear an interest rate at the Company’s option, at (i) the base rate plus an applicable margin based on the Company’s fixed charge coverage ratio (and if applicable, the Company’s leverage ratio); or (ii) the greater of LIBOR for the applicable interest period and zero, plus an applicable margin based on the Company’s fixed charge coverage ratio (and if applicable, the Company’s leverage ratio). The Credit Facility includes a commitment fee on the unused portion of commitments that ranges from 25 to 37.5 basis points. Commitment fees incurred during the period were included in other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Availability under the Credit Facility is determined by a borrowing base comprised of eligible receivables and eligible inventory in the U.S and Canada. As of March 31, 2019, the Company borrowed $124 million against the Credit Facility and had approximately $444 million in availability (as defined in the Credit Facility) resulting in the excess availability (as defined in the Credit Facility) of 77% subject to certain limitations. The Company was not obligated to pay back the borrowing against the Credit Facility until the expiration date, as such the outstanding borrowing is classified as long-term debt in the consolidated balance sheets.

The Company issued $7 million in letters of credit under the Credit Facility primarily for casualty insurance expiring in July 2019.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

6. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are as follows (in millions):

	Foreign
	Currency
	Translation
	Adjustments
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	(143	)
Other comprehensive income		10
Balance at March 31, 2019	$	(133	)

The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. A majority of the Company’s international entities in which there is a substantial investment have the local currency as their functional currency. As a result, foreign currency translation adjustments resulting from the process of translating the entities’ financial statements into the reporting currency are reported in other comprehensive income or loss in accordance with ASC Topic 830, “Foreign Currency Matters.”

Business Segments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business Segments

7. Business Segments

Operating results by reportable segment are as follows (in millions):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019			2018
Revenue:
United States	$	600		$	562
Canada		86			102
International		99			100
Total revenue	$	785		$	764
Operating profit:
United States	$	19		$	3
Canada		2			4
International		2			—
Total operating profit	$	23		$	7
Operating profit % of revenue:
United States		3.2	%		0.5	%
Canada		2.3	%		3.9	%
International		2.0	%		0.0	%
Total operating profit %		2.9	%		0.9	%

Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

8. Income Taxes

The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was 6.5% compared to 24.1% for the same period in 2018. Compared to the U.S. statutory rate, the effective tax rate was impacted by recurring items, such as differing tax rates on income earned in foreign jurisdictions that is permanently reinvested, nondeductible expenses, state income taxes and the change in valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax assets. Due to the continuing uncertainty in the Company’s industry, the Company continues to utilize the method of recording income taxes on a year-to-date effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The Company will evaluate its use of this method each quarter until such time as a return to the annualized estimated effective tax rate method is deemed appropriate.

The Company is subject to taxation in the United States, various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company has significant operations in the United States and Canada and to a lesser extent in various other international jurisdictions. Tax years that remain subject to examination by major tax jurisdictions vary by legal entity, but are generally open in the U.S. for the tax years ending after 2014 and outside the U.S. for the tax years ending after 2012.

Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

9. Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, approximately 3 million and 6 million, respectively, of potentially dilutive shares were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share due to their antidilutive effect.

Basic and diluted earnings per share follows (in millions, except share data):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019		2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to the Company	$	18	$	2
Less: net income attributable to participating securities		—		—
Net income attributable to the Company's stockholders	$	18	$	2
Denominator:
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		108,556,369		108,074,718
Effect of dilutive securities		504,426		98,041
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		109,060,795		108,172,759
Earnings per share attributable to the Company's stockholders:
Basic	$	0.17	$	0.02
Diluted	$	0.16	$	0.02

Under ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”, the two-class method requires a portion of net income attributable to the Company to be allocated to participating securities, which are unvested awards of share-based payments with non-forfeitable rights to receive dividends or dividend equivalents, if declared. For the periods that the Company recognized net income, net income attributable to these participating securities was excluded from net income attributable to the Company’s stockholders in the numerator of the earnings per share computation.

Stock-based Compensation and Outstanding Awards

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]

Stock-based Compensation and Outstanding Awards

10. Stock-based Compensation and Outstanding Awards

The Company has a stock-based compensation plan known as the NOW Inc. Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). Under the Plan, the Company’s employees are eligible to be granted stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and performance stock awards (“PSAs”).

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company granted 521,157 stock options with a weighted average fair value of $6.02 per share and 191,995 shares of RSAs and RSUs with a weighted average fair value of $15.30 per share. In addition, the Company granted PSAs to senior management employees with potential payouts varying from zero to 331,372 shares. These options vest over a three-year period from the grant date on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award as if the award was, in-substance, multiple awards. The RSAs and RSUs vest on the third anniversary of the date of grant. The PSAs can be earned based on performance against established metrics over a three-year performance period. The PSAs are divided into three independent parts that are subject to separate performance metrics: (i) one-half of the PSAs have a Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) metric, (ii) one-quarter of the PSAs have an EBITDA metric, and (iii) one-quarter of the PSAs have a Return on Capital Employed (“ROCE”) metric.

Performance against the TSR metric is determined by comparing the performance of the Company’s TSR with the TSR performance of designated peer companies for the three-year performance period. Performance against the EBITDA metric is determined by comparing the performance of the Company’s actual EBITDA average for each of the three-years of the performance period against the EBITDA metrics set by the Company’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Performance against the ROCE metric is determined by comparing the performance of the Company’s actual ROCE average for each of the three-years of the performance period against the ROCE metrics set by the Company’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

Stock-based compensation expense totaled $4 million for the three months ended March 31 in both 2019 and 2018.

Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

11. Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is involved in various claims, regulatory agency audits and pending or threatened legal actions involving a variety of matters. The Company has also assessed the potential for additional losses above the amounts accrued as well as potential losses for matters that are not probable, but are reasonably possible. The total potential loss on these matters cannot be determined; however, in the Company’s opinion, any ultimate liability, to the extent not otherwise recorded or accrued for, will not materially affect the Company’s financial position, cash flow or results of operations. These estimated liabilities are based on the Company’s assessment of the nature of these matters, their progress toward resolution, the advice of legal counsel and outside experts as well as management’s intention and experience.

The Company’s business is affected both directly and indirectly by governmental laws and regulations relating to the oilfield service industry in general, as well as by environmental and safety regulations that specifically apply to the Company’s business. Although the Company has not incurred material costs in connection with its compliance with such laws, there can be no assurance that other developments, such as new environmental laws, regulations and enforcement policies hereunder may not result in additional, presently unquantifiable, costs or liabilities to the Company. The Company does not accrue for contingent losses that, in its judgment, are considered to be reasonably possible, but not probable. Estimating reasonably possible losses also requires the analysis of multiple possible outcomes that often depend on judgments about potential actions by third parties.

The Company maintains credit arrangements with several banks providing for short-term borrowing capacity, overdraft protection and other bonding requirements. As of March 31, 2019, the Company was contingently liable for approximately $10 million of outstanding standby letters of credit and surety bonds. The Company does not believe, based on historical experience and information currently available, that it is probable that any amounts will be required to be paid.

Derivative Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Financial Instruments

12. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations. The primary risk managed by using derivative instruments is foreign currency exchange rate risk. The Company has entered into certain financial derivative instruments to manage this risk.

The derivative financial instruments the Company has entered into are forward exchange contracts which have terms of less than one year to economically hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk on recognized non-functional currency monetary accounts. The purpose of the Company’s foreign currency economic hedging activities is to economically hedge the Company’s risk from changes in the fair value of non-functional currency denominated monetary accounts.

The Company records all derivative financial instruments at their fair value in its consolidated balance sheets. None of the derivative financial instruments that the Company holds are designated as either a fair value hedge or cash flow hedge and the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is recorded in earnings. The Company has determined that the fair value of its derivative financial instruments are computed using level 2 inputs (inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability) in the fair value hierarchy as the fair value is based on publicly available foreign exchange rates at each financial reporting date. As of March 31, 2019, and December 31,

2018, the fair value of the Company’s foreign currency forward contracts totaled an asset of less than $1 million, respectively, and is included in prepaid and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets; a liability of less than $1 million, respectively, and is included in other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded a loss of less than $1 million and a gain of less than $1 million, respectively, related to changes in fair value. All gains and losses are included in other expense in the consolidated statements of operations. The notional principal associated with those contracts was $21 million and $20 million as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.

As of March 31, 2019, the Company’s financial instruments do not contain any credit-risk-related or other contingent features that could cause accelerated payments when the Company’s financial instruments are in net liability positions. The Company does not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Leases

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Leases

13. Leases

The Company leases certain facilities, vehicles and equipment. The Company determines if an arrangement contains a lease at contract inception and recognizes ROU assets and lease liabilities for leases with terms greater than twelve months. Leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are accounted for as short-term leases and are not recognized in the balance sheet. Operating fixed lease expenses and finance lease depreciation expense are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Variable lease payments which cannot be determined at the lease commencement date, such as reimbursement of lessor expenses, are not included in the ROU assets or lease liabilities.

Many leases include both lease and non-lease components which are primarily related to management services provided by lessors for the underlying assets. The Company elected the practical expedient to account for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component for all leases as well as the practical expedient that allows to carry forward the historical lease classifications. For all new and modified leases entered into after the adoption of ASC 842, the Company reassesses the lease classification and lease term on the effective date of modification. Lease term includes renewal periods if the Company is reasonably certain to exercise any renewal options per the lease contract. The Company’s leases do not contain any material residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants. The Company subleases certain real estate to third parties, however, this activity is not material.

As most leases do not have readily determinable implicit rates, the Company estimates the incremental borrowing rates based on prevailing financial market conditions, comparable companies and credit analysis and management judgments to determine the present values of its lease payments. The Company also applies the portfolio approach to account for leases with similar terms. As of March 31, 2019, the weighted-average remaining lease terms were approximately 4 years for operating leases and 7 years for finance leases. The weighted-average discount rates were 6.1% for operating leases and 5.8% for finance leases.

Supplemental balance sheet information (in millions):

	Classification	March 31, 2019
Assets
Operating	Other assets	$	63
Finance	Property, plant and equipment, net		7
Total ROU assets		$	70
Liabilities
Current
Operating	Accrued liabilities	$	22
Finance	Other current liabilities		3
Long-term
Operating	Long-term operating lease liabilities		40
Finance	Other long-term liabilities		5
Total lease liabilities		$	70

Components of lease expense (in millions):

	Classification	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Operating lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative	$	8
Finance lease ROU asset depreciation ⁽¹⁾	Warehousing, selling and administrative		1
Short-term lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative		2
Variable lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative		1

(1)

Included in depreciation and amortization in the consolidated statement of cash flows. Interest on finance lease liabilities is less than $1 million.

Supplemental cash flow information (in millions):

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	8
Financing cash flows from finance leases ⁽¹⁾		1
ROU assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities
Operating		4
Finance		8

(1)

Interest payments from finance lease liabilities is less than $1 million.

Maturity of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

	Operating Lease			Finance Lease
2019	$	19		$	2
2020		20			3
2021		12			2
2022		8			1
2023		6			—
Thereafter		4			2
Total future lease payments		69			10
Less: interest		(7	)		(2	)
Present value of lease liabilities	$	62		$	8

Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Operations	Nature of Operations NOW Inc. (“NOW” or the “Company”) is a holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas that was incorporated in Delaware on November 22, 2013. NOW operates primarily under the DistributionNOW and Wilson Export brands. NOW is a global distributor of energy products as well as products for industrial applications through its locations in the U.S., Canada and internationally which are geographically positioned to serve the energy and industrial markets in over 80 countries. NOW’s energy product offerings are used in the oil and gas industry including upstream drilling and completion, exploration and production, midstream infrastructure development and downstream petroleum refining – as well as in other industries, such as chemical processing, power generation and industrial manufacturing operations. The industrial distribution portion of NOW’s business targets a diverse range of manufacturing and other facilities across numerous industries and end markets. NOW also provides supply chain management to drilling contractors, E&P operators, midstream operators, downstream energy and industrial manufacturing companies. NOW’s supplier network consists of thousands of vendors in approximately 40 countries.
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. The unaudited consolidated financial information included in this report has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X. The principles for interim financial information do not require the inclusion of all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, all of which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported and contingent amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Reclassification	Reclassification Certain amounts in the prior periods presented have been reclassified to conform to the current period financial statement presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on previously reported results of operations.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair Value of Financial Instruments The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and payables approximated fair value because of the relatively short maturity of these instruments. Cash equivalents include only those investments having a maturity date of three months or less at the time of purchase. See Note 12 “Derivative Financial Instruments” for the fair value of derivative financial instruments.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards	Recently Issued Accounting Standards In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326), which replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to determine credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Entities will now use forward-looking information to better form their credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted as of December 15, 2018, and requires the modified retrospective transition method. The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2016-13 on its consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), which modified the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements. ASU 2018-13 is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for removed or modified disclosures. The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2018-13 on its consolidated financial statements.
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards	Recently Adopted Accounting Standards In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than twelve months in its balance sheets. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Targeted Improvements, which provided entities with an additional (and optional) transition method, allowing an entity to apply the new lease standard at the adoption date and to recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective method allowed under ASU 2018-11. The Company has utilized the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within ASC 842 which, among other things, allow an entity to carry forward its historical lease classifications. The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recognition of $66 million of ROU assets, net of $1 million deferred rent, and $67 million of lease liabilities related to leases that were previously not required to be presented in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 13 “Leases” for additional information.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. A majority of the Company’s international entities in which there is a substantial investment have the local currency as their functional currency. As a result, foreign currency translation adjustments resulting from the process of translating the entities’ financial statements into the reporting currency are reported in other comprehensive income or loss in accordance with ASC Topic 830, “Foreign Currency Matters.”
Leases	The Company leases certain facilities, vehicles and equipment. The Company determines if an arrangement contains a lease at contract inception and recognizes ROU assets and lease liabilities for leases with terms greater than twelve months. Leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are accounted for as short-term leases and are not recognized in the balance sheet. Operating fixed lease expenses and finance lease depreciation expense are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Variable lease payments which cannot be determined at the lease commencement date, such as reimbursement of lessor expenses, are not included in the ROU assets or lease liabilities. Many leases include both lease and non-lease components which are primarily related to management services provided by lessors for the underlying assets. The Company elected the practical expedient to account for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component for all leases as well as the practical expedient that allows to carry forward the historical lease classifications. For all new and modified leases entered into after the adoption of ASC 842, the Company reassesses the lease classification and lease term on the effective date of modification. Lease term includes renewal periods if the Company is reasonably certain to exercise any renewal options per the lease contract. The Company’s leases do not contain any material residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants. The Company subleases certain real estate to third parties, however, this activity is not material. As most leases do not have readily determinable implicit rates, the Company estimates the incremental borrowing rates based on prevailing financial market conditions, comparable companies and credit analysis and management judgments to determine the present values of its lease payments. The Company also applies the portfolio approach to account for leases with similar terms.
Revenue Recognition	The Company’s primary source of revenue is the sale of energy products and an extensive selection of products for industrial applications based upon purchase orders or contracts with customers. The majority of revenue is recognized at a point in time once the Company has determined that the customer has obtained control over the product. Control is typically deemed to have been transferred to the customer when the product is shipped, delivered, or picked up by the customer. The Company does not grant extended payment terms. Revenue is recognized net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to government authorities. Shipping and handling costs for product shipments occur prior to the customer obtaining control of the goods and are recorded in cost of products. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for products sold. Revenue is recorded at the transaction price net of estimates of variable consideration, which may include product returns, trade discounts and allowances. The Company accrues for variable consideration using the expected value method. Estimates of variable consideration are included in revenue to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur. See Note 7 “Business Segments” for disaggregation of revenue by reporting segments. The Company believes this disaggregation best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.
Remaining Performance Obligations	Remaining Performance Obligations Remaining performance obligations represent the transaction price of firm orders for which work has not been performed on contracts with an original expected duration of more than one year. The Company’s contracts are predominantly short-term in nature with a contract term of one year or less. For those contracts, the Company has utilized the practical expedient in ASC Topic 606 exempting the Company from disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations when the performance obligation is part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less.
Receivables	Receivables Receivables are recorded when the Company has an unconditional right to consideration.
Contract Assets and Liabilities	Contract Assets and Liabilities Contract assets primarily consist of retainage amounts held as a form of security by customers until the Company satisfies its remaining performance obligations. As of March 31, 2019, contract assets were approximately $2 million and were included in receivables, net in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company generally accounts for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that the entity otherwise would have been recognized is one year or less. These expenses were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Contract liabilities primarily consist of deferred revenues recorded when customer payments are received or due in advance of satisfying performance obligations, including amounts which are refundable, and other accrued customer liabilities. Revenue recognition is deferred to a future period until the Company completes its obligations contractually agreed with customers. The increase in contract liabilities for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 was primarily related to customer deposits of approximately $14 million, partially offset by approximately $9 million of revenue that was deferred at December 31, 2018.

Property, Plant and Equipment, net (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

Summary of Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consist of (in millions):

	Estimated Useful Lives	March 31, 2019			December 31, 2018
Information technology assets	1-7 Years	$	45		$	45
Operating equipment⁽¹⁾	2-15 Years		100			92
Buildings and land⁽²⁾	5-35 Years		99			99
Construction in progress			1			—
Total property, plant and equipment			245			236
Less: accumulated depreciation			(135	)		(130	)
Property, plant and equipment, net		$	110		$	106

(1)

Includes finance lease ROU assets.

(2)

Land has an indefinite life.

Accrued Liabilities (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Summary of Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consist of (in millions):

	March 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Compensation and other related expenses	$	33	$	38
Contract liabilities		33		29
Taxes (non-income)		12		14
Current portion of operating lease liabilities		22		—
Other		30		29
Total	$	130	$	110

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Equity [Abstract]

Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are as follows (in millions):

	Foreign
	Currency
	Translation
	Adjustments
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	(143	)
Other comprehensive income		10
Balance at March 31, 2019	$	(133	)

Business Segments (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Summary of Operating Results by Reportable Segment

Operating results by reportable segment are as follows (in millions):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019			2018
Revenue:
United States	$	600		$	562
Canada		86			102
International		99			100
Total revenue	$	785		$	764
Operating profit:
United States	$	19		$	3
Canada		2			4
International		2			—
Total operating profit	$	23		$	7
Operating profit % of revenue:
United States		3.2	%		0.5	%
Canada		2.3	%		3.9	%
International		2.0	%		0.0	%
Total operating profit %		2.9	%		0.9	%

Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share follows (in millions, except share data):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019		2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to the Company	$	18	$	2
Less: net income attributable to participating securities		—		—
Net income attributable to the Company's stockholders	$	18	$	2
Denominator:
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding		108,556,369		108,074,718
Effect of dilutive securities		504,426		98,041
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding		109,060,795		108,172,759
Earnings per share attributable to the Company's stockholders:
Basic	$	0.17	$	0.02
Diluted	$	0.16	$	0.02

Leases (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Supplemental Balance Sheet Information

Supplemental balance sheet information (in millions):

	Classification	March 31, 2019
Assets
Operating	Other assets	$	63
Finance	Property, plant and equipment, net		7
Total ROU assets		$	70
Liabilities
Current
Operating	Accrued liabilities	$	22
Finance	Other current liabilities		3
Long-term
Operating	Long-term operating lease liabilities		40
Finance	Other long-term liabilities		5
Total lease liabilities		$	70

Components of Lease Expense

Components of lease expense (in millions):

	Classification	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Operating lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative	$	8
Finance lease ROU asset depreciation ⁽¹⁾	Warehousing, selling and administrative		1
Short-term lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative		2
Variable lease cost	Warehousing, selling and administrative		1

(1)

Included in depreciation and amortization in the consolidated statement of cash flows. Interest on finance lease liabilities is less than $1 million.

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

Supplemental cash flow information (in millions):

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	8
Financing cash flows from finance leases ⁽¹⁾		1
ROU assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities
Operating		4
Finance		8

(1)

Interest payments from finance lease liabilities is less than $1 million.

Maturity of Lease Liabilities

Maturity of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

	Operating Lease			Finance Lease
2019	$	19		$	2
2020		20			3
2021		12			2
2022		8			1
2023		6			—
Thereafter		4			2
Total future lease payments		69			10
Less: interest		(7	)		(2	)
Present value of lease liabilities	$	62		$	8

Organization and Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	Nov. 22, 2013 GeographicMarket Country	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)
Basis Of Presentation And Organization [Line Items]
Number of geographical area covered \| GeographicMarket	80
Number of countries distribution occur through vendors \| Country	40
Right-of-use assets net		$ 70
Lease liabilites		$ 70
ASC Topic 842
Basis Of Presentation And Organization [Line Items]
Right-of-use assets net			$ 66
Deferred rent			1
Lease liabilites			$ 67

Revenue - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Deferred revenue		$ 9
Increase in contract liabilities for customer deposits	$ 14
Receivables, Net [Member]
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Contract assets	$ 2
Maximum [Member]
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Amortization period of revenue recognized	1 year

Property, Plant and Equipment, net - Summary of Property, Plant and Equipment (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 245	$ 236
Less: accumulated depreciation	(135)	(130)
Property, plant and equipment, net	110	106
Information Technology Assets [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	45	45
Operating Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	100	92
Buildings and Land [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	99	$ 99
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 1
Minimum [Member] \| Information Technology Assets [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	1 year
Minimum [Member] \| Operating Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	2 years
Minimum [Member] \| Buildings [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	5 years
Maximum [Member] \| Information Technology Assets [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	7 years
Maximum [Member] \| Operating Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	15 years
Maximum [Member] \| Buildings [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property plant and equipment estimated useful lives	35 years

Property, Plant and Equipment, net - Summary of Property, Plant and Equipment (Parenthetical) (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019
Land [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	indefinite life

Accrued Liabilities - Summary of Accrued Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Payables And Accruals [Abstract]
Compensation and other related expenses	$ 33	$ 38
Contract liabilities	33	29
Taxes (non-income)	12	14
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	22
Other	30	29
Total	$ 130	$ 110

Debt - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended
Debt - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term of loan	5 years
Agreement date		Apr. 30, 2018
Senior secured revolving credit facility commitment	$ 750,000,000
Sub-facility for letter of credit	$ 60,000,000
Percentage of swing line sub facility	10.00%
Increase in aggregate principal amount	$ 250,000,000
Description of line of credit		The Company will be required to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.00:1.00 as of the end of each fiscal quarter if excess availability under the Credit Facility falls below the greater of 12.5% of the borrowing base or $60 million.
Minimum amount of credit facility required to maintain coverage ratio percentage	12.50%
Minimum amount of credit facility required to maintain coverage ratio	$ 60,000,000
Fixed charge coverage ratio	100.00%
Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility borrowings		$ 124,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Available Borrowing Capacity		$ 444,000,000
Line Of credit Unused Capacity Percentage		77.00%
Letters of credit		$ 7,000,000
Casualty insurance, expiration month and year		2019-07
Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unused portion of commitment fee range		0.25%
Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unused portion of commitment fee range		0.375%
Canadian Subsidiaries [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured revolving credit facility commitment	$ 100,000,000
UK Subsidiaries [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured revolving credit facility commitment	$ 40,000,000

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) - Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning balance	$ (143)
Other comprehensive income	10	$ 1
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending balance	(133)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning balance	(143)
Other comprehensive income	10	$ 1
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending balance	$ (133)

Business Segments - Summary of Operating Results by Reportable Segment (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 785	$ 764
Operating profit:
Total operating loss	$ 23	$ 7
Operating profit % of revenue:
Total operating profit %	2.90%	0.90%
United States [Member]
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 600	$ 562
Operating profit:
Total operating loss	$ 19	$ 3
Operating profit % of revenue:
Total operating profit %	3.20%	0.50%
Canada [Member]
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 86	$ 102
Operating profit:
Total operating loss	$ 2	$ 4
Operating profit % of revenue:
Total operating profit %	2.30%	3.90%
International [Member]
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 99	$ 100
Operating profit:
Total operating loss	$ 2
Operating profit % of revenue:
Total operating profit %	2.00%	0.00%

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective tax rate	6.50%	24.10%

Earnings Per Share ("EPS") - Additional Information (Detail) - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive Securities excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share	3,000,000	6,000,000

Earnings Per Share ("EPS") - Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to the Company	$ 18	$ 2
Net income attributable to the Company's stockholders	$ 18	$ 2
Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic	108,556,369	108,074,718
Effect of dilutive securities	504,426	98,041
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding	109,060,795	108,172,759
Basic	$ 0.17	$ 0.02
Diluted	$ 0.16	$ 0.02

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03(21))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115205541&loc=SL114868664-224227

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 260
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 60B
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109260490&loc=SL5780133-109256

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(19))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114873790&loc=SL114874131-224263

+ Details

- Definition

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

+ References + Details

Stock-based Compensation and Outstanding Awards - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock option granted	521,157
Weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted	$ 6.02
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 4	$ 4
Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock based awards, shares granted	191,995
Weighted average grant date fair value, Granted	$ 15.30
Performance-base restricted stock [Member] \| Minimum [Member] \| Senior Management Employees [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock based awards, shares granted	0
Performance-base restricted stock [Member] \| Maximum [Member] \| Senior Management Employees [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock based awards, shares granted	331,372
Stock Options [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock based awards, vested, number of years	3 years
TSR metric [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance based restricted stock awards granted in percent	50.00%
Performance based restricted stock awards goals over performance period	3 years
EBITDA metric [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance based restricted stock awards granted in percent	25.00%
Performance based restricted stock awards goals over performance period	3 years
Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) metric [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance based restricted stock awards granted in percent	25.00%
Performance based restricted stock awards goals over performance period	3 years

Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Contingent liability	$ 10

Derivative Financial Instruments - Additional Information (Detail) - Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] - Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Derivatives Fair Value [Line Items]
Foreign currency forward contracts, notional amount	$ 21,000,000		$ 20,000,000
Other Expense [Member]
Derivatives Fair Value [Line Items]
Foreign currency forward contracts, gain (loss) related to changes in fair value	(1,000,000)	$ 1,000,000
Prepaid and Other Current Assets [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Derivatives Fair Value [Line Items]
Foreign currency forward contracts, assets	1,000,000		1,000,000
Other Current Liabilities [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Derivatives Fair Value [Line Items]
Foreign currency forward contracts, liability	$ 1,000,000		$ 1,000,000

Leases - Additional Information (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Operating lease weighted average remaining term	4 years
Finance lease weighted average remaining term	7 years
Operating lease weighted-average discount rates	6.10%
Finance lease weighted-average discount rates	5.80%

Leases - Supplemental Balance Sheet Information (Detail) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Assets And Liabilities Lessee [Abstract]
Operating lease, right-of-use assets	$ 63
Operating Lease, Right-of-Use Asset, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:OtherAssetsMember
Finance lease, right-of-use assets	$ 7
Finance Lease, Right-of-Use Asset, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:PropertyPlantAndEquipmentMember
Total ROU assets	$ 70
Current operating lease liability	$ 22
Operating Lease, Liability, Current, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:AccruedLiabilitiesMember
Current finance lease liability	$ 3
Finance Lease, Liability, Current, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:OtherCurrentLiabilitiesMember
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$ 40
Operating Lease, Liability, Noncurrent, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	dnow:LongTermOperatingLeaseLiabilitiesMember
Long-term finance lease liability	$ 5
Finance Lease, Liability, Noncurrent, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:OtherNoncurrentLiabilitiesMember
Total lease liabilities	$ 70

Leases - Components of Lease Expense (Detail) - Warehousing, Selling and Administrative [Member] $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Lessee Lease Description [Line Items]
Operating lease cost	$ 8
Finance lease ROU asset depreciation	1
Short-term lease cost	2
Variable lease cost	$ 1

Leases - Components of Lease Expense (Parenthetical) (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Maximum [Member]
Lessee Lease Description [Line Items]
Interest on finance lease liabilities	$ 1

Leases - Supplemental Cash Flow Information (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$ 8
Financing cash flows from finance leases	1
ROU assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities
Operating	4
Finance	$ 8

Leases - Supplemental Cash Flow Information (Parenthetical) (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Maximum [Member]
Lessee Lease Description [Line Items]
Interest payments from finance lease liabilities	$ 1

Leases - Maturity of Lease Liabilities (Detail) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Operating Lease Liabilities, Payments Due [Abstract]
2019	$ 19
2020	20
2021	12
2022	8
2023	6
Thereafter	4
Total future lease payments	69
Less: interest	(7)
Present value of lease liabilities	62
Finance Lease Liabilities, Payments, Due [Abstract]
2019	2
2020	3
2021	2
2022	1
Thereafter	2
Total future lease payments	10
Less: interest	(2)
Present value of lease liabilities	$ 8