Other (income) expense, net, for 2019, 2018 and 2017 includes approximately $225 million, $160 million and $160 million of income, respectively, related to the non-service cost components of the net periodic benefit costs associated with the pension and post-retirement medical plans. Other (income) expense, net, for 2017 includes a pre-tax gain of $1.163 billion related to the sale of AMO to Johnson & Johnson. In 2017, Abbott recorded a $45 million pre-tax gain related to the sale of the Mylan N.V. ordinary shares. See Note 4 — Discontinued Operations and Business Dispositions for further discussion of these 2017 sales.

Abbott’s equity securities as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, include $346 million and $307 million, respectively, of investments in mutual funds that are held in a rabbi trust acquired as part of the St. Jude Medical, Inc. (St. Jude Medical) business acquisition. These investments, which are specifically designated as available for the purpose of paying benefits under a deferred compensation plan, are not available for general corporate purposes and are subject to creditor claims in the event of insolvency.

Abbott also holds certain investments as of December 31, 2019 with a carrying value of $321 million that are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and other equity investments with a carrying value of $158 million that do not have a readily determinable fair value. The $158 million carrying value includes an unrealized gain of approximately $50 million on an investment. The gain was recorded in the second quarter of 2018 and relates to an observable price change for a similar investment of the same issuer.

In the first quarter of 2019, in conjunction with the acquisition of Cephea Valve Technologies, Inc., Abbott acquired a research & development (R&D) asset valued at $102 million, which was immediately expensed. The $102 million of expense was recorded in the R&D line of Abbott's Consolidated Statement of Earnings.

(a)

Accrued wholesaler chargeback rebates of $175 million and $197 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, are netted in trade receivables because Abbott’s customers are invoiced at a higher catalog price but only remit to Abbott their contract price for the products.


	December 31,		December 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018
Post-employment Obligations and Other Long-term Liabilities:
Defined benefit pension plans and post-employment medical and dental plans for significant plans	$	2,817	$	2,040
Deferred income taxes		1,546		2,056
Operating lease liabilities		755		—
All other (b)		3,944		3,984
Total	$	9,062	$	8,080

(b)

2019 includes approximately $580 million of net unrecognized tax benefits, as well as approximately $68 million of acquisition consideration payable. 2018 includes approximately $465 million of net unrecognized tax benefits, as well as approximately $65 million of acquisition consideration payable.