AJG · Read the filing

10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 1-09761

ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (630) 773-3800

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class TradingSymbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share AJG New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b‐2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 726(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report Yes ☒ No ☐.

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒.

The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the last reported price at which the registrant’s common equity was sold on June 30, 2024 (the last day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter) was $49,339.2 million.

The number of outstanding shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, $1.00 par value, as of January 31, 2025 was 254.7 million.

Documents incorporated by reference: Portions of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s definitive 2025 Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference into this Form 10‐K in response to Part III to the extent described herein.

Information Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains certain statements related to future results, or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the future of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and its subsidiaries, collectively referred to herein as we, our, us, Gallagher or the Company, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward‐looking statements relate to expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “contemplate,” “forecast,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” and other similar terms, and future or conditional tense verbs like “could,” “may,” “might,” “see,” “should,” “will” and “would.” You can also identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. For example, we may use forward-looking statements when addressing topics such as: the impact of general economic conditions, including inflation, interest rates and market uncertainty; the effects of geopolitical volatility, including repercussions from the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; market and industry conditions, including competitive and pricing trends and the impact of large natural events; acquisition strategy including the expected size of our acquisition program; the expected impact of acquisitions and dispositions and integrating recent acquisitions, including comments regarding the expected benefits of our acquisition of BCHR Holdings, L.P., and its subsidiaries, dba Buck (which we refer to as Buck), Cadence Insurance, Inc. (which we refer to as Cadence Insurance), Eastern Insurance Group, LLC (which we refer to as Eastern Insurance), My Plan Manager Group Pty Ltd (which we refer to as My Plan Manager), and the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding stock of Dolphin TopCo, Inc., the holding company of AssuredPartners, Inc. (which we refer to as AssuredPartners, and such acquisition, which we refer to as the Transaction), and other acquisitions larger than our typical tuck-in acquisitions and the expected duration and costs of integrating such large acquisitions; the development and performance of our services and products; changes in the composition or level of our revenues or earnings; our cost structure and the size and outcome of cost-saving or restructuring initiatives; future capital expenditures; future debt levels and anticipated actions to be taken in connection with maturing debt; future debt to earnings ratios; the outcome of contingencies; dividend policy; pension obligations; cash flow and liquidity; capital structure and financial losses; future actions by regulators; the outcome of existing regulatory actions, audits, reviews or litigation; the impact of changes in accounting rules; financial markets; interest rates; foreign exchange rates; matters relating to our operations; income taxes; expectations regarding our investments; human capital management, including diversity and inclusion initiatives, and sustainability, including climate-resilience and climate-advisory products and services and our carbon emissions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated results depending on a variety of factors.

Potential factors from the acquisition of AssuredPartners that could impact results include impact results include:

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Our ability to complete the Transaction on a timely basis or at all, which may be negatively impacted by issues with regulatory approvals in the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Ireland;

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The Transaction will not be accretive to earnings per share because our assumptions about our business, AssuredPartners and preliminary estimates are materially inaccurate causing dilution to our earnings per share; decreasing or delaying the expected accretive effect of the Transaction or causing a decrease in the market price of our common stock;

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Risks related to the integration of AssuredPartners into the Company, including achieving the expected cost savings or revenue synergies from such integration, that AssuredPartners will perform as expected or that we will incur unforeseen obligations or liabilities; and

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Diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities.

Potential factors that could impact results include:

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Global economic and geopolitical events, such as fluctuations in interest and inflation rates; geo-economic fragmentation and protectionism such as tariffs, trade wars or similar governmental actions affecting the flows of goods, services or currency; a recession or economic downturn; a potential U.S. government shutdown or gridlock over increasing the U.S. debt ceiling; political violence, and instability, including as a result of the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East;

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Economic conditions that result in financial difficulties for underwriting enterprises or lead to reduced risk-taking capital capacity, for example, as a result of large payouts related to extreme weather events, or to the failure of such enterprises, including the increased risk of errors and omissions (which we refer to as E&O) claims against us;

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Risks that could negatively affect the success of our acquisition strategy, including the impact of economic uncertainty on our ability to source, review and price acquisitions, continuing consolidation in our industry and interest in acquiring insurance brokers on the part of private equity firms and newly public insurance brokers, which makes it more difficult to identify targets and in some cases makes them more expensive, inaccurate assumptions and failure to realize expected benefits; the risk that we may not receive timely regulatory approval of pending transactions, closing risks; execution risks, integration risks, poor cultural fit, the risk of post-acquisition deterioration leading to intangible asset impairment

charges, and the risk we could incur or assume unanticipated liabilities such as cybersecurity issues or violations of anti‐corruption and sanctions laws;

•

Risks related to Buck, Cadence Insurance, Eastern Insurance, My Plan Manager, the pending acquisition of AssuredPartners and other acquisitions larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions, including risks related to our ability to successfully integrate operations, the possibility that our assumptions may be inaccurate resulting in unforeseen obligations or liabilities and failure to realize the expected benefits of these acquisitions;

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Damage to our reputation, including as a result of failing to uphold our culture and the potential for the Internet and social media to magnify the effects of such reputational issues;

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Failure to meet our sustainability aspirations, goals and initiatives or to comply with increasingly complex climate-related and other sustainability regulations, including heightened scrutiny, including a growing backlash against sustainability initiatives, and increased risks related to “greenwashing” and “greenhushing;”

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Failure to apply technology, data analytics and artificial intelligence (which we refer to as AI) effectively in driving value for our clients through technology-based solutions, or failure to gain internal efficiencies and effective internal controls through the application of technology and related tools;

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Risks associated with the use of AI in our business operations, including regulatory, data privacy, cybersecurity, E&O, intellectual property and competition risks;

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Failure to attract and retain experienced and qualified talent, including our senior management team, or adequately plan and execute for the succession of such leaders; increased costs resulting from increased compensation and benefits packages as a result of a tighter labor market, and negative effects from restrictions on non-compete agreements at the state level;

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A disaster or other significant disruption to business continuity for our own operations or those of third-parties on which we rely, including cybersecurity incidents; natural disasters; political violence and unrest in the U.S. or elsewhere around the world; for example, our substantial operations in India could be negatively impacted as a result of the dispute between India and Pakistan involving the Kashmir region, rising tensions between India and China, or incidents of terrorism in India, civil unrest or other reasons;

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Sustained increases in the cost of employee benefits and compensation expense;

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Risks arising from our international operations and changes in international conditions, including the risks posed by political and economic uncertainty in certain countries (including repercussions from the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East), maintaining regulatory and legal compliance across multiple jurisdictions (such as those relating to violations of anti‐corruption, sanctions, and privacy laws, increasingly complex regulatory requirements related to climate change and sustainability issues); increased protectionism, tariffs, and trade wars, climate change and other long-term sustainability matters, increased scrutiny of the use of off-shore centers of excellence such as those we operate and global health risks;

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Risks related to changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws, including a U.S. or foreign tax rate change, potential changes in guidance related to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) global minimum corporate tax regime, and other local policy changes;

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Competitive pressures, including as a result of innovation, in each of our businesses;

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Volatility or declines in premiums or other adverse trends in the insurance industry;

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The higher level of variability inherent in contingent and supplemental revenues versus standard commission revenues;

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Risks particular to our benefit consulting operations, including risks related to the acquisition of Buck and Redington Ltd. (which we refer to as Redington), an FCA-regulated investment consulting firm;

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Risks particular to our third-party claims administrations operations, including risks related to the availability of RISX‐FACS®, our proprietary risk management information system, wage inflation, staffing shortages, any slowing of the trend toward outsourcing claims administration, and the concentration of large amounts of revenue with certain clients;

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Climate risks, including the risk of a systemic economic crisis and disruptions to our business caused by the transition to a low-carbon economy;

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Cyber-attacks or other cybersecurity incidents and the heightened risk of such attacks as a result of the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, improper disclosure of confidential, personal or proprietary data and changes to laws and regulations governing cybersecurity and data privacy;

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Unfavorable determinations related to contingencies and legal proceedings, including; violations or alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (which we refer to as FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 or other anti-corruption laws and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance provisions of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, and the outcome of any existing or future investigation, review, regulatory action or litigation;

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Failure to comply with regulatory requirements, including those related to governance and control requirements in particular jurisdictions, international sanctions, including new sanctions laws as a result of the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; laws relating to the disclosure of sustainability matters; laws relating to the use of AI, or a change in regulations or enforcement policies that adversely affects our operations (for example, relating to insurance broker compensation methods or restrictions on non-compete agreements);

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Changes to our financial presentation from new accounting estimates and assumptions;

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Intellectual property risks;

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Risks related to our legacy clean energy investments, including intellectual property claims, environmental and product liability claims, environmental compliance costs and the risk of disallowance by the Internal Revenue Service of previously claimed tax credits;

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The risk that our outstanding debt adversely affects our financial flexibility and restrictions and limitations in the agreements and instruments governing our debt;

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The risk of credit rating downgrades;

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The risk that we may not be able to receive dividends or other distributions from our subsidiaries, including the effects of significant changes in foreign exchange rates;

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The risk of share ownership dilution when we issue common stock; and

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Volatility of the price of our common stock.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risk factors referred to above. Our future performance and actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of, and are based on information available to us on, the date of the applicable document. Many of the factors that will determine these results are beyond our ability to control or predict. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date that they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any such statements or release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect new information, future or unexpected events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation. In addition, historical, current and forward-looking sustainability-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future.

A detailed discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our published expectations is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including this report and any other reports we file with the SEC in the future.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Annual Report on Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024

Index

Page No.

Part I.

Item 1. Business 5-10

Item 1A. Risk Factors 11-31

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 31

Item 1C. Cybersecurity 31

Item 2. Properties 32

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 32

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures. 32

Information About Our Executive Officers 32

Part II.

Item 6. [Reserved] 35

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk 67-69

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 70-126

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 123

Item 9B. Other Information 123

Part III.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 124

Item 11. Executive Compensation 124

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 124

Part IV.

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 124-126

Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts 128

Part I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and its subsidiaries, collectively referred to herein as we, our, us or Gallagher, are engaged in providing insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals around the world. We believe that our major strength is our ability to deliver comprehensively structured insurance, reinsurance and risk management solutions, superior claim outcomes and comprehensive consulting services to our clients.

Our brokerage segment operations provide brokerage and consulting services to entities of all types, including commercial, nonprofit, public sector entities, insurance companies and insurance capital providers, and to a lesser extent, individuals, in the areas of insurance and reinsurance placements, risk of loss management, and management of employer sponsored benefit programs. Our risk management segment operations provide contract claim settlement, claim administration, loss control services and risk management consulting for commercial, nonprofit, captive and public sector entities, and various other organizations that choose to self-insure property/casualty coverages or choose to use a third-party claims management organization rather than the claim services provided by an underwriting enterprise.

We do not assume underwriting risk on a net basis, other than with respect to de minimis amounts necessary to provide minimum or regulatory capital to organize captives, pools, specialized underwriters or risk-retention groups. Rather, capital necessary for covering events of loss is provided by “underwriting enterprises,” which we define as insurance companies, reinsurance companies and various other risk-taking entities, including intermediaries of underwriting enterprises, that we do not own or control.

Since our founding in 1927, we have grown from a one-person insurance agency to the world’s third largest insurance broker/risk manager based on revenues according to Business Insurance magazine’s July/August 2024 edition, and one of the world’s largest property/casualty third party claims administrators, according to Business Insurance magazine’s May 2024 edition.

We report our results in three segments: brokerage, risk management and corporate. The brokerage and risk management segments contributed approximately 86% and 14%, respectively, to 2024 revenues. We generate approximately 64% of our revenues from the combined brokerage and risk management segments in the U.S., with the remaining 36% generated internationally, primarily in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. The corporate segment did not generate any significant revenues in 2024.

Shares of our common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AJG”, and we had a market capitalization at December 31, 2024 of approximately $71 billion. Information in this report is as of December 31, 2024 unless otherwise noted. We were reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1972. Our executive offices are located at 2850 Golf Road, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008-4050, and our telephone number is (630) 773‐3800.

Operating Segments

We report our results in three segments: brokerage, risk management and corporate. The major sources of our operating revenues are commissions, fees, supplemental and contingent revenues and interest income, premium finance and other income from our brokerage operation, and fees, including performance‐based fees, from our risk management operations. The corporate segment does not generate any significant revenues.

Our business, particularly our brokerage business, is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Commissions, fees, supplemental revenues and contingent revenues, and our costs to obtain and fulfill the service obligations to our clients, can vary from quarter to quarter as a result of the timing of contract-effective dates. On the other hand, salaries and employee benefits, rent, depreciation and amortization expenses generally tend to be more uniform throughout the year. The timing of acquisitions, recognition of books of business gains and losses also impact the trends in our quarterly operating results.

Brokerage Segment

The brokerage segment accounted for 86% of our revenues in 2024. Our brokerage segment operates through a network of more than 580 sales and service offices located throughout the U.S. and approximately 350 sales and service offices in approximately

60 countries, most of which are in the Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. Most of these offices are fully staffed with sales and service personnel. We offer client service capabilities in approximately 130 countries around the world through our direct operations as well as through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Domestic Retail Insurance Brokerage Operations

Our retail insurance brokerage operations accounted for 73% of our brokerage segment revenues in 2024. Our retail brokerage operations place nearly all lines of commercial property/casualty and health and welfare insurance coverage. Significant lines of insurance coverage and consultant capabilities are as follows:

Aviation Disability General Liability Products Liability

Casualty Earthquake Health & Welfare Professional Liability

Claims Advocacy Errors & Omissions Healthcare Analytics Property

Commercial Auto Exchange Solutions Human Resources Retirement

Compensation Executive Benefits Institutional Investment Surety Bond

Cyber Liability Fiduciary Services Loss Control Voluntary Benefits

Dental Fine Arts Marine Wind

Directors & Officers Liability Fire Medical Workers’ Compensation

Our retail brokerage operations are organized and operate within certain key niche/practice groups, which account for approximately 79% of our retail brokerage revenues. These specialized teams target areas of business and/or industries in which we have developed a depth of expertise and a large client base. Significant niche/practice groups we serve are as follows:

Affinity Equity Advisors Life Sciences Real Estate/Hospitality

Automotive Financial Institutions Manufacturing Religious

Aviation Food/Agribusiness Marine Restaurant

Construction Global Risks Nonprofit Retail and Services

Energy Healthcare Personal Technology & Communications

Entertainment Higher/K12 Education Private Client Trade Credit/Political Risk

Environmental Law Firms Public Sector Transportation

Our specialized focus on these niche/practice groups allows for highly-focused marketing efforts and facilitates the development of value-added products and services specific to those industries. We believe that our detailed understanding and broad client contacts within these niche/practice groups provide us with a competitive advantage.

We anticipate that our retail brokerage operations’ greatest revenue growth over the next several years will continue to come from:

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Our niche/practice groups and middle-market accounts;

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Cross-selling other brokerage products to existing clients;

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Mergers and acquisitions; and

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Developing and managing alternative market mechanisms such as captives, rent-a-captives and deductible plans/self‐insurance.

International and Other Brokerage Related Operations

We operate as a retail commercial property and casualty broker throughout 45 locations in Australia, 42 locations in Canada and 37 locations in New Zealand. In the U.K., we operate as a retail broker from approximately 100 locations. We also have specialty, wholesale, underwriting and reinsurance intermediary operations in London for clients to access Lloyd’s of London and other international underwriting enterprises, and a program operation offering customized risk management products and services to U.K. public entities. See the discussion below regarding our “Global Reinsurance Brokerage Operations.”

In Bermuda, we act principally as a wholesale broker for clients looking to access Bermuda-based underwriting enterprises and we also provide management and administrative services for captive insurance entities.

We also have strategic brokerage alliances with a variety of independent brokers in countries where we do not have a local office presence. Between our direct operations and this global network of correspondent insurance brokers and consultants, we are able to serve our clients’ coverage and service needs in approximately 130 countries around the world.

Global Reinsurance Brokerage Operations

Our reinsurance brokerage operations (which we refer to as Gallagher Re) accounted for 13% of our brokerage segment revenues in 2024. Gallagher Re operates from more than 60 offices across 26 countries, with specialist expertise, underpinned by a portfolio of analytics capabilities including catastrophe modeling, dynamic financial analysis, rating agency analysis and capital modeling. Our reinsurance brokers assist underwriting enterprises, such as insurance companies and managing general underwriters, to secure protection or reinsurance from another insurance company for a specific risk or class of risks, including negotiating rates and terms and while sourcing the best-suited contracts available on the market. Additionally, through Gallagher Securities, Gallagher Re provides capital markets services, including acting as underwriter, with respect to insurance‐linked securities, weather derivatives, capital raising and selected merger and acquisition advisory activities. We anticipate growing Gallagher Re by increasing the number of underwriting enterprise clients, deepening our relationships with current underwriting enterprise clients, developing new products, further building out our facultative capabilities, and through mergers and acquisitions.

Wholesale Insurance Brokerage Operations

Our wholesale insurance brokerage operations accounted for 14% of our brokerage segment revenues in 2024. Our wholesale brokers assist our retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance. These brokers operate through approximately 162 offices primarily located across the U.S., Bermuda and through our approved Lloyd’s of London brokerage operation. More than 75% of our wholesale brokerage revenues comes from non-affiliated brokerage clients.

In certain cases we act as a brokerage wholesaler, and in other cases we act as a managing general agent or managing general underwriter, distributing specialized insurance coverages for underwriting enterprises. Managing general agents and managing general underwriters are agents authorized by an underwriting enterprise to manage all or a part of its business in a specific geographic territory. Activities they perform on behalf of the underwriting enterprise may include marketing, underwriting (although we do not assume any underwriting risk), issuing policies, collecting premiums, appointing and supervising other agents, paying claims and negotiating reinsurance.

We believe our growth prospects for our wholesale brokerage operations depend on increasing the number of broker-clients, developing new managing general agency and underwriter programs, and through mergers and acquisitions.

Captive Underwriting Enterprises

We have ownership interests in several underwriting enterprises based in the U.S., Bermuda, Gibraltar, Guernsey and Isle of Man that primarily operate segregated account “rent-a-captive” facilities. These “rent-a-captive” facilities enable our clients to receive the benefits of participating in a captive underwriting enterprise without incurring certain disadvantages of ownership. In Malta and Ireland, we act as managers of underwriting enterprises.

We also have a wholly owned underwriting enterprise subsidiary based in the U.S. that cedes all of its insurance risk of loss to reinsurers or captives under facultative and quota-share treaty reinsurance agreements.

Risk Management Segment

Our risk management segment accounted for 14% of our revenues in 2024. Approximately 61% of our risk management segment’s revenues are from workers’ compensation-related claims, 34% are from general and commercial auto liability-related claims and 5% are from property-related claims in 2024.

Risk management services are primarily marketed on an independent basis from our brokerage operations, to Fortune 1000 companies, larger middle-market companies, nonprofit organizations, public sector entities, and underwriting enterprises, such as insurance carriers and captives. We manage our third party claims adjusting operations through a network of more than 40 offices located throughout Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. Most of these offices are fully staffed with claims adjusters and other service personnel. Our adjusters and service personnel act solely on behalf and under the instruction of our clients.

While this segment complements our brokerage offerings, approximately 94% of our risk management segment’s revenues come from clients not affiliated with our brokerage operations, such as underwriting enterprises and clients of other insurance brokers.

We expect that the risk management segment’s most significant growth prospects through the next several years will come from:

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Program business and the outsourcing of portions of underwriting enterprise claims departments;

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Increased levels of business with Fortune 1000 companies;

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Larger middle-market companies and captives; and

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Mergers and acquisitions.

Corporate Segment

The corporate segment reports the financial information related to our debt, external acquisition-related expenses, other corporate costs and the impact of foreign currency remeasurement. As a result, the timing of acquisitions impact the trends in our quarterly operating results.

Competition

Brokerage Segment

The insurance and reinsurance brokerage and consulting businesses are highly competitive and there are many organizations and individuals throughout the world who actively compete with us in every area of our business. Additionally, we also face competition from insurance and reinsurance carriers that market, distribute and service a portion of their products directly, and in some cases from banks, consulting and accounting firms, and technology companies that can provide alternative risk management products or services.

We believe that the primary factors determining our competitive advantage are the quality of the services we render, the personalized attention we provide, the individual and corporate expertise providing the actual service to the client, the data analytics and technology capabilities we have built and the overall cost efficiencies we create for our clients. We provide sophisticated data analysis and other data and benchmarking insights through a product offering we refer to as Gallagher Drive to help our clients make insurance decisions. Through our SmartMarket platform, we also provide insurance carriers with individualized preference setting and risk identification capabilities, as well as performance data and metrics. We believe these capabilities provide a growing competitive advantage with respect to many of the smaller organizations with which we compete.

Risk Management Segment

Our risk management business competes with a number of companies varying in size and scope, including global independent third party claims administrators, regional third party claims administrators, insurance owned claims administrators and legal firms in certain jurisdictions. We believe that the primary factors determining our competitive position are our ability to deliver better outcomes, reputation for outstanding service, cost-efficient service, our data analytics capabilities and financial strength.

Business Combinations

We completed approximately 750 acquisitions from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2024. The majority of these acquisitions have been smaller regional or local brokerages, agencies, or employee benefit consulting operations with a middle or small client focus and/or significant expertise in one of our niche/practice groups. The total purchase price for individual acquisitions has typically ranged from $1.0 million to $100.0 million. During 2024, we also completed several acquisitions that were larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions, namely the acquisitions of RIBV Holdings, LLC and Redington, within our brokerage segment.

Through these acquisitions, we seek to expand our talent pool, enhance our geographic presence and service capabilities, or further diversify our business mix. We also focus on identifying:

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A corporate culture that matches our sales-oriented and ethics-based culture;

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A profitable, growing business whose ability to compete would be enhanced by gaining access to our greater resources; and

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Clearly defined financial criteria.

See Note 3 to our 2024 consolidated financial statements for a summary of our 2024 acquisitions, the amount and form of the consideration paid and the dates of acquisitions.

Clients

Our client base is highly diversified and includes commercial, industrial, public sector, religious and nonprofit entities, as well as underwriting enterprises in our reinsurance operations and risk management segment. In 2024, our largest single client represented approximately 1% and our ten largest clients together represented approximately 3%, respectively, of our combined brokerage and risk management segment revenues.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 56,000 employees, with approximately 43% in the U.S. and 57% outside of the U.S. Approximately 75% of our employees work in our brokerage segment and 18% in our risk management segment. Our remaining employees work in our corporate segment, primarily at our headquarters and at Gallagher Centers of Excellence in India. In 2024, our total compensation expense was $5,501.4 million for the brokerage segment and $882.4 million for the risk management segment, representing 55% and 61%, respectively, of brokerage and risk management segment revenues. Additional information regarding compensation expense, both on a reported and an adjusted basis can be found elsewhere in this report under Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Talent Development and Retention

While many of our new employees come to us through mergers and acquisitions and traditional hiring, “growing our own” has long been a key part of our human capital strategy. The Gallagher North American Sales Internship Program has been a key part of our talent development strategy for nearly 60 years. During that time, our program has grown globally and we employed approximately 500 interns in the summer of 2024. We provide our interns with professional development and on‐the‐job sales training that gives them the opportunity to cultivate expertise and accelerate their full-time sales career growth.

We invest in our employees and aim to offer competitive compensation and benefits packages. We acknowledge the changing work landscape and promote hybrid work arrangements, aiming to provide our employees with flexibility and work-life balance. Further, we conduct periodic global engagement surveys that have had increasingly strong participation and positive results.

Employee Learning and Development

We have programs around the world that offer learning and development opportunities to our employees. For example, the Achieve and Gallagher Career Associate Programs are career development programs available in North America that combine formal training, with experiential learning to provide participants the knowledge needed to be successful as client service and sales professionals, respectively. Similarly, we offer development programs outside the U.S., for example in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the U.K. In addition, we provide on‐demand access to over 35,000 globally accessible business skills training modules across 18 languages.

Inclusion and Diversity

We aim to foster an environment that values and leverages the diverse talents, perspectives and ideas of all employees so they can reach their fullest potential. As of December 31, 2024, approximately 58% of our employees were women, including 48% of managers and 40% of producers. In the U.S., approximately 27% of our employees were racially/ethnically diverse, including 18% of managers and 21% of producers.

Regulation

Many of our activities throughout the world, such as our insurance brokerage, securities broker‐dealer and investment advisory services, are subject to supervision and regulations promulgated by regulatory or self‐regulatory bodies such as the SEC, the NYSE, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the IRS, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the U.S., the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K., the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in Australia and insurance regulators in nearly every jurisdiction in which we operate. Our retirement-related consulting and investment advisory services are subject to pension law and financial regulation in many countries. Our activities are also subject to a variety of other laws, rules and regulations addressing, among others, licensing, cybersecurity, data privacy, AI, wage-and-hour standards, employment and labor relations, competition, anti-corruption, currency, the conduct of business, reserves and the amount of local investment with respect to our operations in certain countries. As we continue to implement new technology and AI initiatives across our business we also expect to be subject to additional regulations related to the use of such new technologies.

jurisdictions with less developed legal systems, local laws and regulations may not be established with sufficiently clear and reliable guidance to provide us with adequate assurance that we are aware of all necessary licenses to operate our business, that we are operating our business in a compliant manner, or that our rights are otherwise protected. In addition, major political and legal developments in jurisdictions in which we do business may lead to new regulatory costs and challenges. For example, China adopted a “blocking” statute similar to that of the European Union (EU) requiring compliance with certain Chinese laws if they conflict with U.S. laws. Rising global tensions and protectionism may also lead other countries to adopt similar blocking statutes, which could make it more difficult and costly for us to expand our operations globally.

In addition, as regulators and investors continue to focus on climate change and other sustainability issues, we are exposed to the risk of frameworks and regulations being adopted that require significant effort to comply with and which are ill-adapted to our operations, particularly with respect to our larger-than usual acquisitions that may have their own sustainability programs and may have complied with sustainability regulations in the past in a way that may differ substantially from our sustainability program and strategy. For example, in 2023, pursuant to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, which we expect will result in disclosure obligations in future years for us and some of our EU subsidiaries, the first set of EU sustainability reporting standards (which we refer to as ESRS) was developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (which we refer to as EFRAG) and adopted by the EU. EFRAG will continue to issue sector-specific and non-EU applicable ESRS in the coming years, with such standards to be tailored to EU policy positions which may be different or contradictory with those applicable in other jurisdictions such as the International Sustainability Standards Board standards (which we refer to as ISSB) and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (which we refer to as TCFD) framework. In the U.K., our business is subject to a number of disclosure obligations under different sustainability frameworks, such as the TCFD. Australia enacted mandatory disclosures based on the ISSB standards in 2024, and other jurisdictions, such as Canada and New Zealand, have announced that they plan to implement ISSB-based disclosures. There is further uncertainty in this space as the SEC’s new climate change disclosure requirements enacted in 2024 are currently being challenged in legal proceedings and are expected to be struck down, while, the State of California has enacted disclosure rules, which we expect will require us, among other things, to publish our consolidated carbon emissions. Compliance with such differing and uncertain rules and frameworks requires, significant effort and could divert management’s attention and resources.

Regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department pursuant to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (which we refer to as FATCA) require us to take various measures relating to non‐U.S. funds, transactions and accounts.

Available Information

Our executive offices are located at 2850 Golf Road, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008-4050, and our telephone number is (630) 773‐3800. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10‐Q, current reports on Form 8‐K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on our website at http://investor.ajg.com/sec-filings as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing or furnishing such material to the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that includes our reports, proxy statements and other information. Unless expressly noted, the information on our website, including our investor relations website, or any other website is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this Form 10-K or any other filing we make with the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Risk Factor Summary

Risks Relating to the Acquisition of AssuredPartners

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There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed or that we will realize the expected benefits of the Transaction.

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We may encounter integration challenges and AssuredPartners may not perform as expected.

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We have made certain assumptions relating to the Transaction and AssuredPartners which may prove to be materially inaccurate.

Risks Relating to our Business Generally

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Global economic and geopolitical events, such as fluctuations in interest and inflation rates; geo-economic fragmentation and protectionism; a recession or economic downturn; a potential U.S. government shutdown or gridlock over increasing the debt ceiling and political violence, and instability, including as a result of armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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Economic conditions that result in financial difficulties for underwriting enterprises or lead to reduced risk-taking capital capacity could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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We have historically acquired large numbers of insurance brokers, benefit consulting firms and, to a lesser extent, third party claims administration and risk management firms. We may not be able to continue such an acquisition strategy in the future and there are risks associated with such acquisitions, which could adversely affect our growth and results of operations.

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We face additional risks relating to acquisitions that are larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions, including that these acquisitions will not perform as expected and that we cannot successfully integrate complex operations.

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Damage to our reputation and culture could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Our sustainability aspirations, goals and initiatives, and our public statements and disclosures regarding them, expose us to numerous risks.

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If we are unable to apply technology, data analytics and AI effectively in driving value for our clients through technology-based solutions or gain internal efficiencies and effective internal controls through the application of technology and related tools, our operating results, client relationships, organic and inorganic growth and compliance programs could be adversely affected.

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We are subject to risks associated with AI.

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Our success depends, in part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified talent, including our senior management team.

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Business disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our operations, damage our reputation and impact client relationships.

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Sustained increases in compensation expense and the cost of employee benefits could reduce our profitability.

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Our substantial operations outside the U.S. expose us to risks different than those we face in the U.S.

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Changes in tax laws could adversely affect us.

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We face significant competitive pressures in each of our businesses.

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Volatility or declines in premiums or other adverse trends in the insurance industry may seriously undermine our profitability.

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Contingent and supplemental revenues we receive from underwriting enterprises are less predictable than standard commission revenues, and any decrease in the amount of these forms of revenue could adversely affect our results of operations.

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We face a variety of risks in our benefit consulting operations distinct from those we face in our insurance brokerage operations.

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We face a variety of risks in our third-party claims administration operations that are distinct from those we face in our brokerage and benefit consulting operations.

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Climate risks, including the risk of an economic crisis, risks associated with the physical effects of climate change and disruptions caused by the transition to a low-carbon economy, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Regulatory, Legal and Accounting Risks

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Improper disclosure of confidential, personal or proprietary information and cybersecurity attacks or other security breach of our information systems, or those of third-party vendors we rely on, could result in regulatory scrutiny, legal liability or reputational harm, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and reputation.

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We are subject to a number of contingencies and legal proceedings which, if determined unfavorably to us, would adversely affect our financial results.

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Changes in data privacy and protection laws and regulations, or any failure to comply with such laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business and financial results.

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We could be adversely affected by violations or alleged violations of laws that impose requirements for the conduct of our overseas operations, including the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act or other anti-corruption laws, sanctions laws, and FATCA.

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We are subject to regulation worldwide. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if regulations change in a way that adversely affects our operations, we may not be able to conduct our business, or we may be less profitable.

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Changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions could negatively affect our financial position and operating results.

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Limited protection of our intellectual property could harm our business and our ability to compete effectively, and we face the risk that our services or products may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.

Risks Relating to our Investments, Debt and Common Stock

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Our clean energy investments are subject to various risks and uncertainties.

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The IRC Section 45 operations in which we have invested and the by-products from such operations may result in environmental and product liability claims and environmental compliance costs.

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We have debt outstanding that could adversely affect our financial flexibility and subjects us to restrictions and limitations that could significantly impact our ability to operate our business.

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Credit rating downgrades would increase our financing costs and could subject us to operational risk.

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We are a holding company and, therefore, may not be able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.

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Future sales or other dilution of our equity could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Risks Relating to the Acquisition of AssuredPartners

There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed or that we will realize the expected benefits of the Transaction.

As discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on December 7, 2024, we signed a definitive agreement to acquire AssuredPartners. Our ability to complete the Transaction may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, issues with regulatory approval in the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland and the other risks described herein. Although we currently anticipate that the Transaction, should it occur, will be accretive to earnings per share from and after its closing, this expectation is based on assumptions about our business, the operations to be acquired and preliminary estimates, which may change materially. As a result, should the Transaction occur, certain other amounts to be paid in connection with the Transaction may cause dilution to our earnings per share or decrease or delay the expected accretive effect of the Transaction and cause a decrease in the market

price of our common stock. In addition, a change in one or more of these assumptions may result in a change in future earnings, which could be material.

We may encounter integration challenges and AssuredPartners may not perform as expected.

We can provide no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate AssuredPartners or achieve the expected cost savings or revenue synergies from such integration, that AssuredPartners will perform as expected or that we will not incur unforeseen obligations or liabilities. It is possible that our experience in running AssuredPartners will require us to adjust our expectations regarding the impact of the acquisition on our operating results. In addition, integration efforts are anticipated to be complex and may divert management attention and resources, which could adversely affect our operating results.

We have made certain assumptions relating to the Transaction and AssuredPartners which may prove to be materially inaccurate.

We have made certain assumptions relating to the Transaction and AssuredPartners, which assumptions involve significant judgment and may not reflect the full range of uncertainties and unpredictable outcomes inherent in the Transaction and may be materially inaccurate. These assumptions relate to numerous matters, including:

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our ability to realize the expected benefits of the Transaction;

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projections of future revenue, EBITDAC and our earnings per share;

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our ability to maintain, develop and deepen relationships with employees, including key brokers, and customers associated with AssuredPartners;

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projections of future expenses and expense allocation relating to the Transaction and AssuredPartners;

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unknown or contingent liabilities associated with the Transaction or AssuredPartners;

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the amount of goodwill and intangibles that will result from the Transaction;

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other purchase accounting adjustments that we may record in our financial statements in connection with the Transaction;

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acquisition and integration costs, including restructuring charges and transaction costs; and

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other financial and strategic risks of the Transaction.

Risks Relating to our Business Generally

Global economic conditions and geopolitical events may impact the countries, regions or industries in which we operate and adversely affect our business results of operations and financial condition.

Global economic and geopolitical events, including fluctuations in interest, inflation and exchange rates, geo-economic fragmentation and protectionism resulting in greater restrictions on international trade and market uncertainty, tariffs, trade wars and other governmental actions affecting the flow of goods, services or currency, the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, political crises like potential U.S. governmental shutdowns or gridlock over increasing the U.S. debt ceiling, and political violence and instability worldwide could also weigh negatively on the economy.

A recession or decline in economic activity, for these and any other reasons, could adversely impact us in future periods. For example, our clients might reduce the amount of insurance coverage, reinsurance coverage, consulting services or claims administration services they purchase due to reductions in headcount, payroll, or replacement and asset values, among other factors. Whether these reductions are caused by an overall economic downturn or declines in certain countries, regions and industries in which we operate, our commission and fee revenues, consulting revenues, or revenues from managing third-party insurance claims could be adversely impacted. Some of our clients may also experience liquidity problems or other financial difficulties due to tightening credit markets or lower levels of economic activity. If our clients file for bankruptcy, liquidate their operations, consolidate or are generally unable to meet their obligations, our revenues, ability to collect receivables and liquidity could be adversely impacted, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

While lower interest rates benefit us by reducing our cost of borrowing, they also reduce investment earnings on our cash, revenue from our premium financing operations and short-term investments of fiduciary and operating funds. In addition, lower levels of inflation may reduce our revenue growth by slowing the increase in insurable asset values.

Uncertain economic conditions have created volatility in the U.S. and other markets where we operate. A rise in the cost of labor or cost of capital, among other things, could negatively impact our operating and general and administrative expenses. We have no or limited control over such developments. If our costs grow significantly, our margins and results of operations may be

materially and adversely impacted and we may not be able to achieve our strategic and financial objectives. Further, a tightening of credit or capital markets could negatively impact our business, financial condition and liquidity, including our ability to continue to access preferred sources of liquidity when needed and under similar terms, which may increase our capital costs. We could also experience losses on holdings of cash and investments due to failures of financial institutions and other counterparties. Thus, a deterioration in macroeconomic conditions could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We have a significant amount of receivables from certain of the underwriting enterprises with which we place insurance and reinsurance. If those companies experience liquidity problems or other financial difficulties, we could encounter delays or defaults in payments owed to us, which could have a significant adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. The failure of an underwriting enterprise with which we place business could result in E&O claims against us by our clients. Further, the failure of E&O underwriting enterprises could make the E&O insurance we rely upon cost prohibitive or unavailable. Underwriting enterprises are also clients of our reinsurance and third-party claims administration operations and, as such, any of the negative developments for underwriting enterprises referred to above could also reduce our commission and fee revenues from such clients. Any of these developments could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if underwriting enterprises merge, fail, or withdraw from offering certain lines of coverage, for example, because of large payouts related to climate or weather events or other emerging risk areas, overall risk-taking capital capacity could be negatively affected, which could reduce our ability to place certain lines of coverage, reduce demand from the insurance company clients of our reinsurance and third-party claims administration operations and, as a result, reduce our revenues and profitability.

We have historically acquired large numbers of insurance brokers, benefit consulting firms and, to a lesser extent, third party claims administration and risk management firms. We may not be able to continue such acquisition strategy in the future and there are risks associated with such acquisitions, which could adversely affect our growth and results of operations.

Our ordinary-course acquisition program has been an important part of our historical growth, particularly in our brokerage segment, and we believe that similar acquisition activity will be important to maintaining comparable growth in the future. Failure to successfully identify and complete acquisitions would likely result in slower growth. Continuing consolidation in our industry and a high level of interest in acquiring insurance brokers on the part of private equity firms, private equity-backed consolidators and newly public insurance brokers has, in some cases, made, and could in the future make, appropriate acquisition targets more difficult to identify and more expensive. Even if we are able to identify appropriate acquisition targets, we may not have sufficient capital to fund acquisitions, be able to execute transactions on favorable terms or integrate targets in a manner that allows us to realize the benefits we have historically experienced from acquisitions. When regulatory approval of acquisitions is required, our ability to complete acquisitions may be limited by an ongoing regulatory review or other issues with the relevant regulator. Our ability to finance and integrate acquisitions may also decrease if we complete a greater number of larger acquisitions than we have historically. See the risk factor below regarding larger acquisitions. See also Note 3 to our 2024 consolidated financial statements for information regarding the size of transactions in the reporting period.

Post-acquisition risks apply both to our normal-course and larger acquisitions described in the risk factor below and include poor cultural fit and risks relating to retention of personnel, retention of clients, entry into unfamiliar or complex markets or lines of business, contingencies or liabilities not covered by or in excess of escrowed or indemnified amounts (such as those arising from violations of sanctions laws or anti-corruption laws including the FCPA and U.K. Bribery Act) risks relating to ensuring compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements, tax and accounting issues, the risk that an acquisition distracts management and personnel from our existing business, and integration difficulties relating to accounting, information technology (which we refer to as IT), pay equity, or human resources, some or all of which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and growth. The failure of acquisition targets to achieve anticipated revenue and earnings levels could result in goodwill impairment charges. Additionally, through our acquisitions, we may enter new lines of business or offer new services within existing lines of business. For example, our acquisition of Redington and My Plan Manager added U.K.‐regulated investment consulting services and Australia-regulated disability plan management services to our operations. These new businesses may pose additional risks or increased regulatory burden.

We face additional risks relating to acquisitions that are larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions described above.

We can provide no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate the operations of acquisitions that are larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions, such as AssuredPartners, Buck, Eastern Insurance, Cadence Insurance and My Plan Manager, that they will perform as expected, or that we will not incur unforeseen obligations or liabilities. Integration efforts relating to larger acquisitions are more complex, including with respect to technology systems, which may divert management’s attention and resources and could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we have made certain assumptions relating to these

acquisitions that may be inaccurate, including as a result of the failure to realize expected benefits, higher than expected integration costs and unknown liabilities as well as general economic and business conditions. These assumptions relate to various matters, including projections of future revenues, non-GAAP measures, expenses and expense allocation; our ability to maintain, develop and deepen relationships with employees, including key brokers, and clients; the amount of goodwill and intangibles; and other unforeseen compliance, financial and strategic risks. See also “We may encounter integration challenges and AssuredPartners may not perform as expected.”

Damage to our reputation or culture could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our reputation is one of our key assets. We advise our clients on and provide services related to a wide range of subjects and our ability to attract acquisition partners and attract and retain clients and employees is highly dependent upon perceptions of our expertise, level of service, ability to protect client information, trustworthiness, business practices, financial condition and other subjective qualities such as ethics, culture and values. We believe that our culture has been a critical component of our growth and success since our founding nearly 100 years ago and the failure to uphold our culture as we grow could negatively impact our reputation. Negative perceptions or publicity, including our association with clients or business partners with damaged reputations, as a result of actions taken by companies we acquire before the acquisition, as a result of marketing partnerships (for example, with a sports team or league), or from actual or alleged conduct by us or our employees, including corruption or bribery allegations or cybersecurity incidents, could damage our reputation. Negative publicity may be posted on social media or other Internet forums, whether or not true, and the speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify the risks noted above. Our success is also dependent on maintaining a good reputation with investors, regulators and the communities in which we operate. As we enter new jurisdictions and markets globally, negative reputational events (whether arising from regulatory matters or otherwise) may have a disproportionate impact in locations or markets where our employee and client presence is limited. Any negative publicity could potentially hinder our growth prospects in such locations or markets. Any of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See below for additional risk factors regarding sustainability initiatives and disclosures.

Our sustainability-related aspirations, goals and initiatives, and our statements and disclosures regarding sustainability expose us to numerous risks.

The increased focus on sustainability has made compliance with regulations, frameworks and stakeholder expectations increasingly complex. Our business faces increased scrutiny from the investment community, clients, employees, potential acquisition targets, regulators and other stakeholders related to sustainability. This includes scrutiny regarding our goal to reach operational net zero carbon emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 2050 and our interim goal of a 50% reduction in such emissions, on a per employee basis, by 2030. We anticipate the same level of scrutiny with respect to any other goals, targets and objectives we may announce in the future, and our methodologies and timelines for pursuing them. We may also face scrutiny, including private litigation or government enforcement actions, relating to our long-standing inclusion and diversity initiatives. Heightened scrutiny, including a growing backlash against sustainability initiatives, has increased the risk that we could be perceived as, or accused of, making inaccurate or misleading statements, commonly referred to as “greenwashing” and “greenhushing,” and could harm our reputation. Similarly, our failure or perceived failure to pursue or fulfill our goals, targets and objectives, to comply with ethical, social environmental or other standards, regulations or expectations, which are continuously evolving, or to satisfy various reporting standards with respect to these matters, could have the same negative impacts, as well as expose us to government enforcement actions and private litigation. Any resulting erosion of trust and confidence or the perception among some stakeholders that we are overly focused on sustainability could make it difficult for us to attract acquisition targets or attract and retain clients, employees or investors; result in lower sustainability ratings, exclusion of our stock from sustainability-oriented indices, and reduced demand for our stock from sustainability-focused or anti-ESG investment funds; increase our cost of borrowing; or harm our relationships with regulators and the communities in which we operate. See also “We are subject to regulation worldwide. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if regulations change in a way that adversely affects our operations, we may not be able to conduct our business, or we may be less profitable.”

If we are unable to apply technology and data analytics effectively in driving value for our clients through technology-based solutions or gain internal efficiencies and effective internal controls through the application of technology and related tools, our operating results, client relationships, ability to attract acquisition targets, growth and compliance programs could be adversely affected.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to collect and leverage data relating to our business and otherwise anticipate and respond effectively to the risks and opportunities presented by digital disruption, “big data” and data analytics, AI and other developments in technology. These may include new applications or insurance-related services based on AI (e.g., generative AI, machine learning), robotics, blockchain, or new approaches to data mining that impact the nature of how we generate revenue. We may be exposed to competitive risks related to the adoption and application of new technologies by established market participants (for example, through disintermediation) or new entrants such as technology companies, “Insurtech” start-up companies, and others. These new entrants are focused on using technology and innovation in an attempt to simplify and

improve the client experience, increase efficiencies, alter business models and effect other potentially disruptive changes in the industries in which we operate. We must also develop and implement technology solutions and technical expertise among our employees that anticipate and keep pace with rapid and continuing changes in technology, industry standards, client preferences and internal control standards. We may not be successful in anticipating or responding to these developments on a timely and cost-effective basis and our ideas may not be accepted in the marketplace. Additionally, the effort to gain technological expertise, make use of data analytics, and develop new technologies in our business requires us to incur significant expenses. Investments in technology systems and data analytics capabilities may not deliver the benefits or perform as expected, or may be replaced or become obsolete more quickly than expected, which could result in operational difficulties or additional costs. If we cannot offer new technologies or data analytics solutions as quickly as our competitors, or if our competitors develop more cost-effective technologies, data analytics solutions or other product offerings, we could experience a material adverse effect on our operating results, client relationships, ability to attract acquisition targets, growth, and compliance programs.

In some cases, we depend on key third-party vendors and partners to provide technology and other support for our strategic initiatives. If these third parties fail to perform their obligations or cease to work with us, our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives could be adversely affected. See also “We are subject to risks associated with AI.”

We are subject to risks associated with AI.

We use AI in our business, including with respect to services provided to our clients. We have internal policies and controls governing the development, procurement, deployment and use of AI by our employees designed to align with globally recognized AI principles, maintain trust with clients and protect the company from cybersecurity threats, breaches of data privacy and intellectual property, E&O liability and regulatory enforcement risk; however, our employees could violate these policies and they or external threat actors could circumvent our controls and expose us to such risks. Furthermore, our exposure to these risks may increase if our vendors, suppliers, or other third-party providers employ AI in relation to the products or services they provide to us, as we have limited control over such use in third-party products or services. These risks include, among others, the input of confidential information, including material non-public information, in contravention of our policies or contractual restrictions to which any of the foregoing are subject, or in violation of applicable laws or regulations, including those relating to data protection and AI. This could result in such information becoming part of a dataset that is accessible by other third-party AI applications and users.

Additionally, AI heavily relies on the collection and analysis of extensive data sets. Due to the impracticality of incorporating all relevant data into the models used by AI, it is inevitable that data sets within these models will contain inaccuracies and errors, and potential biases. This could potentially render such models inadequate or flawed, negatively impacting the effectiveness of the technology or our services. We are exposed to the risks associated with these inaccuracies, errors and biases, along with the adverse impacts that such flawed models could have on our business and operations. Furthermore, governance and ethical issues relating to the use of AI may also result in reputational harm and liability.

AI and its applications are developing rapidly. The use of this technology by clients or underwriting enterprises may impact the way our business operates, and its use by our competitors and new market entrants with competing services derived from their AI capabilities may give them a competitive advantage. We cannot predict the effect of these changes at this time, for example, they may decrease the demand for our services or negatively affect our assumptions regarding the competitive landscape of our business. Further, the rapid development of these technologies may require significant efforts to upskill or reskill existing employees. Consequently, it is difficult to predict all risks associated with this new technology, which may eventually impact our business, results of operations, or financial condition. See also “Changes in data privacy and protection laws and regulations, or any failure to comply with such laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business and financial results.”

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified talent, including our senior management team.

We depend upon members of our senior management team, who possess extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of our business and strategy. We could be adversely affected if we fail to successfully execute our succession plans for these leaders, including our chief executive officer, and if our succession plans are not well-received by our employees, trading partners, investors and other stakeholders. We could also be adversely affected if we fail to attract and retain talent and foster a diverse and inclusive workplace throughout our organization. Competition for talent is intense in many areas of our business, particularly in our claims management business, IT and in rapidly developing fields such as AI and data engineering. Furthermore, the increased availability of remote working arrangements has expanded the pool of companies that compete with us for talent. As competition for skilled professionals remains intense, employers are implementing new offerings to attract talent, including but not limited to increasing compensation, enhancing health and wellness solutions, and providing remote work options. We may have to devote significant resources to attract and retain talent, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

In addition, our industry has experienced competition for brokers and in the past we have lost key brokers and groups of brokers, along with their clients, business relationships and intellectual property directly to our competition. We enter into agreements with many of our brokers and significant client-facing employees and all of our executive officers, which prohibit them from

disclosing confidential information and/or soliciting our clients, prospects and employees upon their termination of employment. The confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions of such agreements terminate in the event of a hostile change in control, as defined in the agreements. Although we pursue legal actions for alleged breaches of such agreements, theft of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duties, intellectual property infringement and related causes of action, such legal actions may not be effective in preventing such breaches, theft or infringement. In certain cases, our competitors have solicited employees in violation of their employment agreements as a matter of standard business practice, apparently determining that the cost of defending litigation is outweighed by the benefits of acquiring our employees in this manner. Certain states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma have implemented rules that would prevent employers from entering into non-competes with employees, while California has broadened the scope of its longstanding restrictions on non-competes and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has continued defending its non-compete ban in federal courts. Even though the FTC ban is unlikely to take effect, if more states adopt similar rules or if we fail to adequately address any of the issues referred to above, we could experience a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Business disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our operations, damage our reputation and impact client relationships.

Our ability to conduct business may be adversely affected by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our business. This includes infrastructure controlled by third-party vendors and suppliers. Such disruptions could be caused by various factors, such as cybersecurity incidents, security breaches, human error, capacity constraints, hardware failures or defects, natural disasters, climate and weather events, pandemics, fires, power outages, telecommunication failures, break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism, acts of terrorism, civil disruption, political violence and unrest, military actions or war. While we have disaster recovery procedures in place, they may not be effective. Additionally, insurance covering such disruptions may not continue to be available at reasonable prices and may not address all potential losses or compensate us for the possible loss of clients or increase in claims and lawsuits directed against us. Further, because we do not control infrastructure owned by third parties, we cannot guarantee that such parties have effective recovery procedures, or sufficient funds or insurance to recover any damages, losses or other liabilities that we may incur due to business interruptions caused by disruptions to their infrastructure.

The risk of business disruption is more pronounced in certain geographic areas where a significant portion of our business is concentrated. For example, we have substantial operations in India that provide important client support and other services for our global organization. To date, the dispute between India and Pakistan involving the Kashmir region, rising tensions between India and China, incidents of terrorism in India, the potential for civil unrest and general geopolitical uncertainties have not adversely affected our operations in India. However, such factors could potentially affect our operations there in the future. If our access to these services is disrupted, our client relationships could be harmed, our liability for E&O could increase, and our reputation could be damaged, causing our business, operating results and financial condition to be adversely affected.

Sustained increases in compensation expense and the cost of employee benefits could reduce our profitability.

Compensation expense and the cost of employees’ medical and other benefits, substantially affects our profitability. In the past, we have occasionally experienced significant increases in these costs as a result of macro-economic factors beyond our control, including wage inflation and increases in health care costs. Our compensation expense ratio in 2024 as a percent of total revenue remained the same as in 2023 at 56.4%. Although we have actively sought to control increases in compensation expense and the cost of employee benefits, we can make no assurance that we will succeed in limiting future cost increases, and continued upward pressure in these costs could reduce our profitability.

Our substantial operations outside the U.S. expose us to risks different than those we face in the U.S.

In 2024, we generated approximately 36% of our combined brokerage and risk management revenues outside the U.S. Our business outside the U.S. presents operational, regulatory, economic and other risks that are different from, or greater than, the risks we face doing comparable business in the U.S. These include, among others, risks relating to:

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Maintaining awareness of and complying with a wide variety of labor practices and foreign laws, including those relating to labor and employment, data privacy requirements, AI regulations, prohibitions on corrupt payments to government officials, export and import duties, environmental policies, sustainability disclosures, as well as laws and regulations applicable to U.S. business operations abroad;

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Our employees, our agents, or our affiliated entities, or their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, may take actions in violation of any local laws, regulations or policies, for which we might be held responsible. Actual or alleged violations could result in substantial fines, sanctions, civil or criminal penalties, debarment from government contracts, curtailment of operations in certain jurisdictions, competitive or reputational harm, litigation

or regulatory action and other consequences that might adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition or strategic objectives;

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We expect relations with work councils and trade unions in these countries will continue to be satisfactory, however, work stoppages could occur and we may not be successful in negotiating new collective bargaining agreements. In addition, collective bargaining negotiations may (1) result in significant increases in the cost of labor, (2) divert management’s attention away from operating the business or (3) break down and result in the disruption of operations. See also “Regulatory, Legal and Accounting Risks”;

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We own interests in firms where we do not exercise management control (such as Casanueva Perez S.A.P.I. de C.V. in Mexico and Renomia, A.S. in the Czech Republic) and are therefore unable to direct or manage the business to realize the anticipated benefits, including mitigation of risks, that could be achieved through full ownership;

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The potential costs, difficulties and risks associated with local regulations across the globe, including the risk of personal liability for directors and officers (for example, in the U.K.) and “piercing the corporate veil” risks under the corporate law regimes of certain countries;

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Difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations. For example, we are growing our Latin America operations through acquisitions of local family-owned insurance brokerage firms. If we lose a local key employee, hiring and retaining talent locally or finding an internal candidate qualified to transfer to such location could be difficult;

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Less flexible employee relationships, which in certain circumstances have limited our ability to prohibit employees from competing with us after they are no longer employed with us or recover damages, and made it more difficult and expensive to terminate their employment;

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Certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries receive revenues or incur obligations in currencies that differ from their functional currencies. We must also translate the financial results of our non-U.S. subsidiaries into U.S. dollars. Although we have used foreign currency hedging strategies in the past and currently have some in place, such risks cannot be eliminated entirely, and significant changes in exchange rates may adversely affect our results of operations;

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Conflicting regulations in the countries in which we do business;

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Political and economic instability (including risks relating to undeveloped or evolving legal systems, unstable governments, acts of terrorism, military actions and armed conflicts, including between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East). See also “Global economic conditions and geopolitical events may impact the countries, regions or industries in which we operate and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition”;

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Coordinating our communications, policies and logistics across geographic distances, multiple time zones and in different languages, including during times of crisis management;

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Risks relating to our post-Brexit plan to address the loss of passporting rights between the U.K. and the European Economic Area (which we refer to as EEA) with respect to insurance brokerage services. The plan we implemented in 2020 involved transferring the EEA clients of our U.K.-based regulated entities to a Swedish subsidiary authorized in the EEA, and providing some services through a U.K. branch of such subsidiary. Although this “reverse branch” model is typical of other brokers of a similar size, EEA regulators continue to assess their approach to this model, including as a result of, among other developments, the supervisory statement issued by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in February 2023. While we are continuously assessing the impact of these developments, it is difficult to predict such impact on our current plan;

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Unfavorable audits and exposure to additional liabilities relating to various non-income taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes) in non-U.S. jurisdictions. In addition, our future effective tax rates could be unfavorably affected by changes in tax rates, discriminatory or confiscatory taxation, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, changes in tax laws or their interpretation and the financial results of our non-U.S. subsidiaries. See also “Changes in tax laws could adversely affect us”;

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Legal or political constraints on our ability to maintain or increase prices;

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Cash balances held in foreign banks and institutions where governments have not specifically enacted formal guarantee programs;

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Epidemics or pandemics at a regional or global level;

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Lost business or other financial harm due to protectionism in the U.S. and in countries around the world, including adverse trade policies, tariffs, trade wars and other governmental actions affecting the flow of goods, services or

currency, and governmental restrictions on the transfer of funds to us from our operations outside the U.S.; for example, the practice of using off-shore labor has come under increased scrutiny in the U.S. and governmental authorities or insurance carriers could seek to impose financial costs or restrictions on the use of off-shore centers of excellence such as the ones we operate in India and other international jurisdictions (see also “Business disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our operations, damage our reputation and impact client relationships”); and

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Increased tensions between countries such as the U.S., China and Russia and related trade and military policies of the U.S. government that may cause retaliation or countermeasures from other countries or regions, could further develop in ways that exacerbate the risks described above, or introduce new risks for our non-U.S. operations, such as increasing the potential that sanctions, tariffs, global mobility restrictions or other related measures may impact our business.

If any of these risks materialize, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Changes in tax laws could adversely affect us.

We operate in various jurisdictions and are subject to changes in applicable tax laws, treaties, or regulations in those jurisdictions. A material change in the tax laws, treaties, or regulations, or their interpretation, of any jurisdiction with which we do business, or in which we have significant operations, could adversely affect us. For example, the OECD continues to issue reports and recommendations as part of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (which we refer to as BEPS) and in 2021, it announced that 136 countries and tax jurisdictions agreed to implement a new Pillar 2 approach to international taxation. Pillar 1 exempts regulated financial institutions and we believe we qualify for such exemption. Pillar 2 will establish a global minimum tax rate of 15%, such that multinational enterprises with an effective tax rate in a jurisdiction below this minimum rate will need to pay additional tax, which could be collected by the parent company’s tax authorities if that parent country adopts Pillar 2 or by those in other countries, depending on whether and how each country implements the OECD’s approach in its tax treaties and domestic tax legislation. The first detailed draft rules under that approach were published in December 2021. The new approach came into effect in 2023 in certain jurisdictions, and different countries have implemented the necessary rules in different ways, through their individual agreement to tax treaty changes and through changes to their own domestic tax laws. Many countries in which we do business have adopted, or are expected to adopt, these rules which will change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined. For example, the U.K., the majority of the EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have now adopted nearly all aspects of these rules with limited variation from the OECD model rules. Other jurisdictions in which we do business are also reacting to these efforts; for example, Bermuda enacted a corporate tax regime for the first time in 2023, which has become effective starting 2025. We anticipate further significant developments across several jurisdictions in which we operate in 2025 and 2026. Depending on how the jurisdictions in which we operate, and those in which we and our subsidiaries are based, choose to implement the OECD’s approach in their tax treaties and domestic tax laws, particularly if the U.S. does not adopt Pillar 2, we could be adversely affected due to our income being taxed at higher effective rates, once these new rules come into force.

We face significant competitive pressures in each of our businesses.

The insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage and employee benefit consulting businesses are highly competitive and many insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage and employee benefit consulting organizations actively compete with us in one or more areas of our business around the world. Two of the firms we compete with in the global brokerage and risk management markets have larger revenues than ours. In addition, many other smaller firms that operate nationally or that are strong in a particular country, region or locality may have, in that country, region or locality, an office with revenues as large as or larger than those of our corresponding local office. Our third party claims administration operation also faces significant competition from stand-alone firms as well as divisions of larger firms. Over the past decade or more, private equity sponsors have invested heavily in the insurance brokerage and third party claims administration industries, creating new competitors and strengthening existing ones. Across all of our operations, Insurtech and technology-based start-ups are entering the business. In most cases, these businesses complement or enhance our offerings, but in some cases, they compete with us.

We believe that the primary factors determining our competitive position with other organizations in our industry are the quality of the services we render, our data analytics capabilities, the personalized attention we provide, the individual and corporate expertise of the brokers and consultants providing the actual service to the client, and our ability to help our clients manage their

overall risk exposure and insurance or reinsurance costs. Losing business to competitors offering similar services or products at a lower cost or having other competitive advantages would adversely affect our business.

Consolidation among our existing competitors could create additional competitive pressure on us as such firms grow their market share, take advantage of strategic and operational synergies and develop lower cost structures. In addition, any increase in competition due to new legislative or industry developments could adversely affect us.

These developments include:

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Increased capital-raising by underwriting enterprises, which could result in new risk-taking capital in the industry, which in turn may lead to lower insurance premiums and commissions;

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Underwriting enterprises selling insurance directly to insureds without the involvement of a broker or other intermediary;

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Changes in our business compensation model as a result of regulatory developments;

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Federal and state governments establishing programs to provide health insurance (such as a single-payer system) or, in certain cases, property insurance in catastrophe-prone areas or other alternative market types of coverage, that compete with, or completely replace, insurance products currently offered by underwriting enterprises;

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Sustainability regulations in the U.S. and around the world, particularly those promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy, which could create new competitive pressures around climate resilience consulting services and innovative insurance solutions;

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Continued consolidation in the financial services industry, leading to large financial services institutions offering a wider variety of services including insurance brokerage and risk management services;

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Increased competition from new market participants such as banks, accounting firms, consulting firms and Internet or other technology firms offering risk management or insurance brokerage services, or new distribution channels for insurance such as payroll firms and professional employer organizations; and

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Third party capital providers entering the insurance and reinsurance risk transfer market offering products and capital directly to our clients. Their presence in the market has increased the competitive pressures that we face.

New competition as a result of these or other legislative or industry developments could cause the demand for our products and services to decrease, which could in turn adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Volatility or declines in premiums or other adverse trends in the insurance industry may seriously undermine our profitability.

We derive much of our revenue from commissions and fees for our brokerage services. We do not determine the premiums on which our commissions are generally based. Moreover, premiums are cyclical in nature and may vary widely based on market conditions. Because of market cycles for insurance and reinsurance product pricing, which we cannot predict or control, our brokerage revenues and profitability can be volatile or remain depressed for significant periods of time.

Underwriting enterprises may seek to minimize their expenses by reducing the commission rates payable to agents or brokers such as us. The reduction of these commission rates, along with general volatility and/or declines in premiums, may significantly affect our profitability. Because we do not determine the timing or extent of premium pricing changes, it is difficult to forecast our commission revenues precisely, including whether they will significantly decline. As a result, we may have to adjust our budgets for future acquisitions, capital expenditures, dividend payments, debt repayments and other expenditures to account for unexpected changes in revenues, and any decreases in premium rates may adversely affect the results of our operations.

In addition, there have been and may continue to be various trends in the insurance and reinsurance markets toward alternative insurance markets including, among other things, greater levels of self-insurance, captives, rent-a-captives, risk retention groups and non-insurance capital markets-based solutions to traditional insurance. While historically we have been able to participate in certain of these activities on behalf of our clients and obtain fee revenue for such services, there can be no assurance that we will realize revenues and profitability as favorable as those realized from our traditional brokerage activities. Our ability to generate premium based commission revenue may also be challenged by the growing desire of some clients to compensate brokers based

upon flat fees rather than a percentage of premium. This could negatively impact us because fees are generally not indexed for inflation and might not increase with premiums as commissions do or with the level of service provided.

A meaningful portion of our revenues consists of contingent and supplemental revenues from underwriting enterprises. Contingent revenues are paid after the insurance contract period, generally in the first or second quarter, based on the growth and/or profitability of business we placed with an underwriting enterprise during the prior year. On the other hand, supplemental revenues are paid up front, on an annual or quarterly basis, generally based on our historical premium volumes with the underwriting enterprise and additional capabilities or services we bring to the engagement. While underwriting enterprises generally maintain supplemental revenues in the current year at a pre-determined rate, that rate can change in future years as described above. If, due to the current economic environment or for any other reason, we are unable to meet an underwriting enterprise’s particular profitability, volume or growth thresholds, as the case may be, or such companies increase their estimate of loss reserves (over which we have no control), actual contingent revenues or supplemental revenues could be less than anticipated, which could adversely affect our results of operations. In the case of contingent revenues, under revenue recognition accounting standards, this could lead to the reversal of revenues in future periods that were recognized in prior periods.

We face a variety of risks in our benefit consulting operations distinct from those we face in our insurance brokerage operations.

Our benefit consulting operations face a variety of risks distinct from those faced by our brokerage operations. The portion of our revenue derived from consulting engagements and special project work is more vulnerable to reduction, postponement, cancellation or non-renewal during an economic downturn than traditional insurance brokerage commissions. For instance, we experienced a decline in such revenue during the economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the event of a future recession or economic downturn, we could again experience deterioration in these sources of revenue. A portion of our benefit consulting operation revenue is tied to assets invested by our clients, and when investment returns are adversely affected that portion of our revenue is negatively impacted. Certain areas within our retirement consulting practice may attract a higher level of regulatory scrutiny due to regulators’ historical interest in such matters, including pension-related products and investment advisory and broker-dealer services. In addition, we have made significant investments in product and knowledge development to assist clients as they navigate the complex regulatory requirements relating to employer-sponsored healthcare. New laws or regulations reducing employer-sponsored health insurance, by limiting or eliminating tax-advantaged employer-sponsored benefits or otherwise, could impact clients’ demand for our services. If we are unable to adapt our services to changes in the legal and regulatory landscape around employer-sponsored benefits, our results of operations could be adversely impacted.

We closed the acquisition of Buck in second quarter 2023 and Redington in fourth quarter 2024. Buck is the largest acquisition in the history of our benefit consulting operations and represents a material portion of its revenue. As such, the integration of Buck into our existing operations requires a more significant effort and involves additional risks compared to our typical acquisitions. Redington is an FCA-regulated investment consulting firm focused on pension funds, wealth managers and institutional investors with a large footprint in the U.K., which may expose us to greater liability than our typical acquisitions. See also “We face additional risks relating to acquisitions that are larger than our usual tuck-in acquisitions” described above.

We face a variety of risks in our third-party claims administration operations that are distinct from those we face in our brokerage and benefit consulting operations.

Our third party claims administration operations face a variety of risks distinct from those faced by the rest of our business, including the risks that:

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Epidemics and pandemics that reduce in-person business activity have a greater negative impact because they result in a reduction in the number of claims processed, as experienced during the years 2020, 2021, and the beginning of 2022. If a new epidemic or pandemic were to emerge, these operations could face similar negative impacts in the future;

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RISX-FACS®, our proprietary risk management information system, on which our ability to provide clients with insurance claim settlement and administration services is highly dependent, becomes inoperable for some reason. In addition, we are increasing our use of cloud storage and cloud computing application services supported, upgraded and maintained by third-party vendors. A disruption affecting RISX-FACS®, third-party cloud services or any other

infrastructure supporting our business, including key client relationship management software, could have a material adverse effect on our operations, cause reputational harm and damage our employee and client relationships;

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The favorable trend among both underwriting enterprises and self-insured entities toward outsourcing various types of claims administration and risk management services will reverse or slow causing our revenues or revenue growth to decline;

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Concentration of large amounts of revenue with certain clients results in greater exposure to the potential negative effects of lost business due to changes in management at such clients or changes in state government policies, in the case of our government-entity clients, or for other reasons;

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Contracting terms will become less favorable or the margins on our services will decrease due to increased competition, regulatory constraints or other developments;

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We do not satisfy regulatory requirements related to third party administrators or that regulatory developments impose additional burdens, costs or business restrictions that make our business less profitable; for example, regulations relating to security, cybersecurity, AI and data privacy as we manage a large amount of highly sensitive and confidential information including personally identifiable information, protected health information and financial information;

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Volatility in our case volumes, which are dependent upon a number of factors and difficult to forecast accurately, could impact our revenues;

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Wage inflation, difficulty attracting and retaining talent, and rising technology costs, may impact our ability to remain competitive in the marketplace and profitably fulfill our existing contracts (other than those that provide cost-plus or other margin protection);

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We may be unable to develop further efficiencies in our claims-handling business and may be unable to obtain or retain certain clients if we fail to make adequate improvements in technology or operations; and

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Underwriting enterprises or certain large self-insured entities may create in-house servicing capabilities, including as a result of the adoption of AI, that compete with our third party administration and other administration, servicing and risk management products, and we could face additional competition from potential new entrants into the global claims management services market. See also “We are subject to risks associated with AI.”

If any of these risks materialize, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Climate change has been widely identified by investors and regulators as a systemic risk to the global economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve has warned that a gradual change in investor sentiment regarding climate risk introduces the possibility of abrupt tipping points or significant swings in sentiment, which could create unpredictable follow-on effects in financial markets. If this occurred, not only would our business be negatively impacted by the general economic decline, but a drop in the stock market affecting our stock price could negatively impact our ability to grow through mergers and acquisitions financed using our common stock.

The transition to a low-carbon economy could harm specific industries or sectors central to the traditional energy economy in ways that could impact our business. Our clients in such industries could go out of business or have reduced needs for insurance-related or consulting services, which could adversely impact our commission revenues, consulting revenues or revenues from managing third-party insurance claims. Negative publicity arising from our association with clients in disfavored businesses or industries, or the perception that we are not sufficiently focused on climate risks or on reducing our own carbon emissions, as well as resulting from the potential conflict with anti-ESG initiatives from the U.S. federal or state governments and other stakeholders, could damage our reputation with investors, clients, employees and regulators. In addition, the transition to a low-carbon economy is giving rise to the need for innovative insurance, reinsurance and risk management solutions for entirely new industries and companies, as well as advice and services to bolster climate resilience for existing companies. If we fail to innovate and provide valuable services to our clients in response to these changes, we could lose market share to our competitors or new market entrants that do.

We do not generally assume net underwriting risk, other than with respect to de minimis amounts necessary to provide minimum or regulatory capital, and briefly, in connection with our catastrophe bond business, and thus do not generally experience direct

material financial implications related to extreme weather events. In addition, we are a professional services firm with people as our most important asset and limited physical operations. However, in cases where underwriting enterprises fail or face significant payouts related to extreme natural, climate or weather events leading them to withdraw from offering certain lines of coverage, as observed in places such as California, Louisiana, and Florida, such withdrawal negatively impacts the overall capacity for risk-taking capital. If this reduction is substantial, it could limit our ability to secure certain lines of coverage for our clients, ultimately reducing our revenues and profitability. Underwriting enterprises are also clients of Gallagher Re, so any of the negative developments for underwriting enterprises referred to above could also reduce our commission revenues from such clients.

Regulatory, Legal and Accounting Risks

We collect, use, store, transmit and otherwise process, confidential, personal and proprietary information relating to our Company, acquisition targets, our employees and our clients. This information includes personally identifiable information, protected health information, financial information, mergers and acquisitions information and intellectual property.

We maintain policies, procedures and technical safeguards designed to protect the security and privacy of confidential, personal and proprietary information. Nonetheless, we cannot eliminate the risk of human error, malfeasance or highly sophisticated cyber-attacks, which are heightened as a result of the armed conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East or other cybersecurity incidents. In addition, our increased reliance on technologies that support remote and hybrid work and our employees’ more frequent use of personal devices and non-standard business processing as well as the increasing prevalence of sophisticated cyber-attacks using AI, such as “deep fakes,” may increase the risk of cybersecurity or data breaches from circumvention of security systems, denial-of-service attacks or other cyber-attacks, hacking, “phishing” attacks (including digital or telephonic impersonation), computer viruses, ransomware, malware, malicious or destructive code, employee or insider error, malfeasance, social engineering, physical breaches or other actions. It is possible that our preventive, detective, containment or remedial security controls, employee training and other aspects of our cybersecurity safeguards are not effective.

We have and continue to invest in technology security initiatives, policies, resources and employee training. The cost and operational consequences of implementing, maintaining and enhancing appropriate technical measures is high. Given the continuously evolving cyber threat landscape, it will become increasingly difficult to detect, defend against and remediate cybersecurity incidents and data breaches. If we are unable to effectively maintain and enhance our system safeguards in line with evolving cyber threats, including in connection with the integration of acquisitions, we may incur unexpected costs, including litigation costs, regulatory enforcement action, loss of clients, reputational damage, and certain of our systems may become more vulnerable to unauthorized access.

We rely on IT and third party vendors some of which have direct access to our systems, to support our business activities, including our secure processing of personal, confidential, sensitive, proprietary and other types of information. Despite ongoing efforts to improve our and our vendors’ ability to protect and defend against cyber-attacks, we may not be able to protect all of our data. From time to time, cybersecurity incidents and data breaches of certain systems on which we rely have occurred, such as computer viruses, unauthorized parties gaining access to our information technology systems, and privacy incidents, such as loss or inadvertent transmission of data, although to date we have not been materially impacted by such events. In the future, breaches of any third-party or internal systems may result from circumvention of security systems, denial-of-service, hacking, “phishing”, computer viruses, ransomware, malware, or other cyber-attacks, employee or insider error, malfeasance, social engineering, physical breaches or other actions. Furthermore, the risk from threat actors has increased due to the rapid development of AI capabilities.

We are an acquisitive organization. The process of integrating information systems of businesses we acquire is complex and exposes us to additional risk as we might not adequately identify weaknesses in the targets’ information systems or information handling, privacy and security policies and protocols, which could expose us to unexpected liabilities or make our own systems and data more vulnerable to employee or insider error, malfeasance or cybersecurity incidents. These risks may be exacerbated in connection with the integration of AssuredPartners. Any future, material cybersecurity or data incident, may cause us to experience unauthorized access, exfiltration, manipulation, corruption, loss or disclosure of our proprietary, client, employee, or other data, reputational harm, the inability to render services due to system outages or other business disruptions, loss of clients and revenue, regulatory action and scrutiny, sanctions or other statutory penalties, litigation, liability for failure to safeguard clients’ information, increases in cybersecurity costs or financial losses. Any of the foregoing may be exacerbated by a delay or failure to detect a cybersecurity incident or the full extent of such incident. In addition, disclosure or media reports of actual or

perceived security vulnerabilities to our systems or those of our third-party service providers, even if no breach has been attempted or occurred, could lead to reputational harm, loss of customers and revenue, or increased regulatory actions oversight and scrutiny.

Such incidents could result in confidential, personal or proprietary information being lost or stolen, used to perpetuate fraud, maliciously made public, surreptitiously modified, or rendered inaccessible for a period of time. We cannot ensure that any limitations of liability provisions in our agreements with clients, vendors and other third parties with which we do business would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any liability with respect to claims arising from a cybersecurity, data or similar incident.

During a cybersecurity incident, we might have to take our systems offline, which could interfere with services to our clients or damage our reputation. While we endeavor to design and implement technologies, policies and procedures to identify such incidents as quickly as possible, any response would take substantial time, and there may be extensive delays before we obtain full and reliable information. During such time we would not necessarily know the extent of the harm or how best to remediate it, and certain errors or actions could be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and remediated, all of which may further increase the costs and consequences of such incident. Any of these losses may not be insured against or be fully covered by insurance we maintain. Further, we cannot ensure that our and our third-party vendors’ existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or at all. Certain regulations and contractual obligations require us to inform regulators or affected persons in the event of a breach of confidential, personal or proprietary information on our or our third-party vendors’ systems, which we may need to deliver before we fully understand the impact of such breach resulting in damage to our reputation and our relationship with regulators and clients.

In addition, the competition for talent is high in the cybersecurity and privacy space, and we may not be able to hire, develop or retain suitable talent that we need to be capable of minimizing, identifying, mitigating or remediating these risks.

With respect to our commercial arrangements with third party vendors, we have processes designed to require third party IT outsourcing, offsite storage and other vendors to agree to maintain certain standards with respect to their storage, protection and transfer of confidential, personal and proprietary information. However, we have limited control over their security, privacy and data governance practices so there can be no assurance that we can prevent, mitigate, or remediate a potential failure of those standards and we remain at risk of a cyber or data incident due to the intentional or unintentional non-compliance by a vendor’s employee or agent, the breakdown of a vendor’s processes, or a cybersecurity incident involving vendor’s information systems. We cannot ensure that any provisions in our agreements with these vendors would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any liability in connection with these incidents.

Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and reputation.

We are subject to a number of contingencies and legal proceedings which, if determined unfavorably to us, would adversely affect our financial results.

We are or have been subject to numerous claims, tax assessments, lawsuits and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Such claims, lawsuits and other proceedings include claims for damages based on allegations that our employees or sub-agents improperly failed to procure coverage, report claims on behalf of clients, provide underwriting enterprises with complete and accurate information relating to the risks being insured, or provide clients with appropriate consulting, advisory, pension and claims handling services. There is the risk that our employees or sub-agents may fail to appropriately apply funds that we hold for our clients on a fiduciary basis. Certain of our benefits and retirement consultants provide investment advisory or decision-making services to clients. Additionally, Gallagher Re operates a securities business. If our clients experience investment losses, our reputation could be damaged and our financial results could be negatively affected as a result of claims asserted against us and lost business. Where appropriate, we have established provisions against these matters that we believe are adequate in light of current information and legal advice, and we adjust such provisions from time to time based on current material developments. The damages claimed in such matters are or may be substantial, including, in many instances, claims for punitive, treble or other extraordinary damages. It is possible that, if the outcomes of these contingencies and legal proceedings were not favorable to us, it could materially adversely affect our future financial results. In addition, our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity may be adversely affected if, in the future, our insurance coverage proves to be inadequate or unavailable or we experience an increase in liabilities for which we self-insure. We have purchased E&O insurance and other insurance to provide protection against losses that arise in such matters. Accruals for these items, net of insurance receivables,

when applicable, have been provided to the extent that losses are deemed probable and are reasonably estimable. These accruals and receivables are adjusted from time to time as current developments warrant.

As more fully described in Note 15 to our 2024 consolidated financial statements, we are a defendant in various legal actions incidental to our business, including but not limited to matters related to employment practices, alleged breaches of non-compete or other restrictive covenants, theft of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duties, and related causes of action. We are also periodically the subject of inquiries and investigations by regulatory and taxing authorities into various matters related to our business. For example, our micro-captive advisory services business has been under investigation by the IRS since 2013. We currently believe that the ultimate outcome of these proceedings, individually and in the aggregate, will not materially harm our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, legal proceedings and government investigations are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings or other adverse events could occur, including the payment of substantial monetary damages or an injunction or other order prohibiting us from selling one or more products at all or in particular ways, precluding particular business practices or requiring other remedies, which may result in a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations or financial position. In addition, regardless of any unfavorable ruling, any such matter could expose us to negative publicity, reputational damage, harm to our client or employee relationships, or diversion of personnel and management resources, which could adversely affect our ability to recruit quality brokers and other significant employees to our business, and otherwise adversely affect our results of operations.

Changes in data privacy and protection laws and regulations, or any failure to comply with such laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business and financial results.

We are subject to a variety of continuously evolving and developing laws and regulations globally regarding privacy, data protection, and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, cross-border transfer, destruction, and security of personal data. These laws apply to transfers of personal information among our affiliates, as well as to transactions we enter into with third party vendors and clients. Significant uncertainty exists as privacy and data protection laws evolve. Such laws are complex and may be interpreted and applied differently from country to country and state to state, and may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. Some of these laws provide rights to individuals to access, correct, and delete their personal information and to obtain copies at the expense of the business entities that process their data. Some of these laws carry heavy penalties for violations, e.g., fines of up to 4% of worldwide revenue under the U.K. Data Protection Act and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and up to $7,500 per intentional violation under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In the U.S., there is pending federal legislation and a number of states have proposed and some have implemented their own comprehensive data privacy bills similar to the GDPR and CCPA, with some of those laws already in effect, and others coming into effect through 2026. Despite recent privacy frameworks developed between the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, there remains a high level of uncertainty concerning the flow of personal information between these jurisdictions, which may impair our ability to offer existing and new services and increase our costs and compliance burden.

India and other countries where we have operations outside the U.S. have proposed or have enacted sweeping data protection laws, and in some cases we are subject to sector and personal data localization laws that may require that data or personal data stay within their borders, such as India's IRDIA (Maintenance of Insurance Records) Regulation, 2015.

In addition, in the U.S., legislators are continuing to enact comprehensive cybersecurity laws. For example, we are subject to the New York State Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Regulation for Financial Services Companies, which were substantively amended in 2023. We also expect to be subject to a variety of laws and regulations governing AI, such as the EU AI Act that was enacted in 2024 and will gradually enter into force during the next three years. These laws and regulations are still evolving, and while we are assessing how regulators may apply existing consumer protection, data protection and other similar laws to AI, there is uncertainty regarding the scope of new laws and how existing laws will apply. Due to this uncertainty, we may face challenges complying with existing and new laws, and our policies and governance frameworks may not be successful in mitigating these risks. See also “We are subject to risks associated with AI.”

Adhering to the increased obligations imposed by various new and emerging laws as well as the terms of our privacy notices and contractual obligations to third parties causes us to incur substantial expense in connection with developing, implementing, and securing our systems and effectively implementing data privacy governance policies for the lawful processing of personal data. Such increased obligations also result in the allocation of additional resources towards new privacy compliance processes and enhanced technologies, further contributing to our IT and compliance costs. We have implemented privacy policies detailing how we collect, use, disclose, transfer across borders, retain, and otherwise process personal information but our employees, third-party vendors or other third parties we work with may not fully adhere to such policies. Such non-compliance could lead to enforcement actions or investigations if our practices are deemed deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices. In addition, enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory authorities related to data security incidents and privacy violations generally continue to increase. The enactment of more restrictive laws, rules, regulations, or future enforcement

actions or investigations could impact us through increased costs or restrictions on our business and could result in regulatory penalties and significant legal liability.

In countries outside the U.S., a risk exists that our employees or third parties acting on our behalf, including correspondent brokers, consultants, introducers, partners or agents, could engage in business practices prohibited by applicable laws and regulations, including anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, and sanctions laws such as those administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the UK HM Treasury or promulgated by the European Commission. Anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, such as the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, generally prohibit companies from making improper payments to foreign officials and require companies to keep accurate books and records and maintain appropriate internal controls. Trade and financial sanctions laws generally restrict the ability to engage in trade with, or provide goods or services, to designated governments or other parties, or may require freezing of such parties’ assets. We operate in some parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption. In such parts of the world, in certain circumstances, local customs and practice might not be consistent with the requirements of anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. Similarly, some of these countries do not implement sanctions laws and may not restrict trade with parties designated as sanctions targets under U.S., U.K. or EU laws.

Our policies mandate strict compliance with such laws and we devote substantial resources to programs designed to ensure compliance, including investigating business practices and taking steps to address the risk that our employees, third party representatives, partners or agents will engage in business practices that are prohibited by our policies and/or such laws and regulations.

We offer client service capabilities in many countries around the world through a network of third-party representatives acting on our behalf such as correspondent brokers and consultants. In certain limited instances, we also work with third-party introducers that provide services for certain clients. There is a risk that our third party representatives engage in business practices that are prohibited by our internal policies or violate applicable laws and regulations, such as the FCPA and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act.

Violations by us or our third party representatives could result in significant internal investigation costs and legal fees, civil and criminal penalties, including prohibitions on the conduct of our business, and reputational damage if we violate sanctions laws of the U.S., the EU, the U.K. or other jurisdictions in which we operate. In addition, FATCA requires certain of our subsidiaries, affiliates and other entities to obtain valid FATCA documentation from payees prior to remitting certain payments to such payees and our failure to do so properly could result in penalties.

Many of our activities throughout the world, especially regulated businesses such as our insurance brokerage, securities broker-dealer and investment advisory services, are subject to supervision and regulations promulgated by regulatory or self-regulatory bodies such as the SEC, the NYSE, the DOJ, the IRS, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the FTC and FINRA in the U.S., the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K., the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in Australia and insurance regulators in nearly every jurisdiction in which we operate. Our retirement-related consulting and investment advisory services are subject to pension law and financial regulation in many countries. Our activities are also subject to a variety of other laws, rules and regulations addressing licensing, cybersecurity, data privacy, AI, wage-and-hour standards, employment and labor relations, competition, anti-corruption, currency, the conduct of business, reserves and the amount of local investment with respect to our operations in certain countries. For example, the DOJ revised its Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies and Practices to include a section on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications, indicating that their use poses significant risk to companies and suggesting that it intends to investigate seriously whether companies have ensured that data from these sources is preserved for investigations. The DOJ also updated its guidance on corporate compliance programs to include AI risk management. These and other forms of regulatory action could reduce our profitability or growth by increasing the costs of compliance, increasing the risk of costly enforcement actions, restricting the products or services we sell, the markets we enter, the methods by which we sell our products and services, or the prices we can charge for our services and the form of compensation we can accept from our clients, underwriting enterprises and third parties. As our operations grow around the world, it is increasingly difficult to monitor and enforce regulatory compliance across the organization. A compliance failure by even one of our smallest branches could lead to a loss of reputation in the local market, and litigation and/or disciplinary actions

that may include compensating clients for loss, the imposition of penalties, and/or the loss of our authorization to operate. In all such cases, we would also likely incur significant internal investigation costs and legal fees.

The global nature of our operations increases the complexity and cost of compliance with laws and regulations, including increased staffing needs, the development of new policies, procedures and internal controls and providing training to employees in multiple locations, adding to our cost of doing business. Many of these laws and regulations may have differing or conflicting legal standards across jurisdictions, increasing further the complexity and cost of compliance. In emerging markets and other jurisdictions with less developed legal systems, local laws and regulations may not be established with sufficiently clear and reliable guidance to provide us with adequate assurance that we are aware of all necessary licenses to operate our business, that we are operating our business in a compliant manner, or that our rights are otherwise protected. In addition, major political and legal developments in jurisdictions in which we do business may lead to new regulatory costs and challenges. For example, China adopted a “blocking” statute similar to that of the EU requiring compliance with certain Chinese laws if they conflict with U.S. laws. Rising global tensions and protectionism may also lead other countries to adopt similar blocking statutes, which could make it more difficult and costly for us to expand our operations globally.

Changes in legislation or regulations and actions by regulators, including changes in administration and enforcement policies, or the failure of state and local governments to follow through on agreed-upon state and local tax credits or other tax related incentives, could adversely affect our results of operations or require operational changes that could result in lost revenues or higher costs or hinder our ability to operate our business.

For example, the method by which insurance brokers are compensated has received substantial scrutiny in the past because of the potential for conflicts of interest. The potential for conflicts of interest arises when a broker is compensated by two parties in connection with the same or similar transactions. The vast majority of the compensation we receive for our work as insurance and reinsurance brokers is in the form of retail commissions and fees. We receive additional revenue from underwriting enterprises, separate from retail commissions and fees, including, among other things, contingent and supplemental revenues and payments for consulting and analytics services we provide them. Future changes in the regulatory environment may impact our ability to collect these revenues. Adverse regulatory, legal or other developments regarding these revenues could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition, expose us to negative publicity and reputational damage and harm our relationships with clients, underwriting enterprises or other business partners.

In addition, as regulators and investors increasingly focus on climate change and other sustainability issues, we are exposed to the risk of frameworks and regulations being adopted that require significant effort to comply with, and re ill-adapted to our operations, particularly with respect to our larger-than usual acquisitions that may have their own sustainability programs and may have complied with sustainability regulations in the past in a way that may differ substantially from our sustainability program and strategy. For example, in 2023, pursuant to the CSRD, which we expect will result in disclosure obligations in future years for us and some of our EU subsidiaries, the first set of ESRS was developed by the EFRAG and adopted by the EU. EFRAG will continue to issue sector-specific and non-EU applicable ESRS in the coming years, with such standards to be tailored to EU policy positions which may be different or contradictory with those applicable in other jurisdictions such as the ISSB) and the TCFD framework. In the U.K., our business is subject to a number of disclosure obligations under different sustainability frameworks, such as the TCFD. Australia enacted mandatory disclosures based on the ISSB standards in 2024, and other jurisdictions, such as Canada and New Zealand, have announced that they plan to implement ISSB-based disclosures. There is further uncertainty in this space as the SEC’s new climate change disclosure requirements enacted in 2024 are currently being challenged in legal proceedings and are expected to be struck down, while the state of California has enacted disclosure rules, which we expect will require us, among other things, to publish our consolidated carbon emissions. Compliance with such differing and uncertain rules and frameworks requires significant effort and could divert management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions could negatively affect our financial position and operating results.

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (which we refer to as GAAP). These accounting principles require us 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 our consolidated financial statements. We are also required to make certain judgments and estimates that affect the disclosed and recorded amounts of revenues and expenses related to revenue recognition and deferred costs - see Note 4 to our 2024 consolidated financial statements. We periodically evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those relating to the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets, investments, income taxes, revenue recognition, deferred costs, stock-based compensation, claims handling obligations, retirement plans, litigation and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable based on specific circumstances. Such estimates and assumptions could change in the future as more information becomes known, which could impact the amounts reported and disclosed in our consolidated financial statements.

Further, in 2022, the U.S. enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (which we refer to as the IRA) which, among other things, implements a corporate book minimum tax and an excise tax on stock buy backs. While guidance is still being issued and the new administration may enact significant amendments to the IRA, our current understanding of the IRA suggests that we will not face significant impacts. As additional guidance relating to the IRA and upcoming amendments are released, our estimates related to the IRA may change. Additionally, changes in accounting standards (see Note 2 to our 2024 consolidated financial statements) could increase costs to the organization and could have an adverse impact on our future financial position and results of operations.

We cannot guarantee that trade secret, trademark and copyright law protections, or our internal policies and procedures regarding our management of intellectual property, are adequate to deter misappropriation of our intellectual property. Existing laws of some countries in which we provide services or products may offer only limited protection of our intellectual property rights. Also, we may be unable to detect the unauthorized use of our intellectual property and take the necessary steps to enforce our rights, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot be sure that our services and products, or the products of others that we offer to our clients, do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties, and we may have infringement claims asserted against us or our clients. These claims may harm our reputation, result in financial liability, consume financial resources to pursue or defend, and prevent us from offering some services or products. In addition, these claims, whether with or without merit, could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s focus and resources from business operations. Successful challenges against us could require us to modify or discontinue our use of technology or business processes where such use is found to infringe or violate the rights of others, or require us to purchase licenses from third parties, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Risks Relating to our Investments, Debt and Common Stock

Our clean energy investments are subject to various risks and uncertainties.

We generated tax credits under IRC Section 45 from 2009 to 2021. As of December 31, 2024, we had generated a total of $1,706.1 million in IRC Section 45 tax credits, of which approximately $1,003.9 million have been used to offset U.S. federal tax liabilities and $702.2 million remain unused and available to offset future U.S. federal tax liabilities.

Our ability to use tax credits under IRC Section 45 depends upon the operations in which we invested having satisfied the conditions set forth in IRC Section 45. These include, among others, the “placed-in-service” condition and requirements relating to qualified emissions reductions, coal sales to unrelated parties and at least one of the operations’ owners qualifying as a “producer” of refined coal. While we have received some degree of confirmation from the IRS relating to our ability to claim these tax credits, the IRS could ultimately determine that the operations did not satisfy the conditions set forth in IRC Section 45. The IRS audited a number of these operations. Such audits were either closed with no adjustments or, in one instance, the relevant partnership defended its position in court and prevailed. The ongoing implementation of Pillar 2 in the U.S. and around the world could also negatively impact our ability to use these tax credits in the timeframe and manner that would be beneficial to us. Similarly, the law permitting us to claim IRC Section 29 tax credits (related to our prior synthetic coal operations) expired on December 31, 2007. At December 31, 2024, we had exposure with respect to $108.0 million of previously earned tax credits under IRC Section 29. We believe our claim for IRC Section 29 tax credits in 2007 and prior years was in accordance with IRC Section 29 and four private letter rulings previously obtained by IRC Section 29 related limited liability companies in which we had an interest. We understand these private letter rulings were consistent with those issued to other taxpayers and we have received no indication from the IRS that it will seek to revoke or modify them. In addition, the IRS audited certain of the IRC Section 29 facilities without requiring any changes.

There is a risk that foreign laws will not protect the intellectual property associated with The Chem-ModTM Solution to the same extent as U.S. laws, leaving us vulnerable to companies outside the U.S. who may attempt to copy such intellectual property. In addition, other companies may make claims of intellectual property infringement with respect to The Chem-ModTM Solution.

Litigation is inherently uncertain and it is not possible for us to predict the ultimate outcome of any future claims against us by other parties.

The IRC Section 45 operations in which we have invested and the by-products from such operations may result in environmental and product liability claims and environmental compliance costs.

The construction and operation of the IRC Section 45 operations were subject to federal, state and local laws, regulations and potential liabilities arising under or relating to the protection or preservation of the environment, natural resources and human health and safety. Some environmental laws, without regard to fault or the legality of a party’s conduct, impose liability on certain entities that are considered to have contributed to, or are otherwise responsible for, the release or threatened release of hazardous substances into the environment. One party may, under certain circumstances, be required to bear more than its share or the entire share of investigation and cleanup costs at a site if payments or participation cannot be obtained from other responsible parties. By having used The Chem‐ModTM Solution at locations owned and operated by others, we and our partners may be exposed to the risk of being held liable for environmental damage from releases of hazardous substances we may have had little, if any, involvement in creating. Such risk remains even after production ceases at an operation to the extent the environmental damage can be traced to the types of chemicals or compounds used or operations conducted in connection with The Chem-ModTM Solution. Increasing attention to global climate change has resulted in an increased possibility of regulatory attention and private litigation. For example, claims have been made against certain energy companies alleging that greenhouse gas emissions constitute a public nuisance. In addition to the possibility of being named in such actions, we and our partners could face the risk of environmental and product liability claims related to concrete incorporating fly ash produced using The Chem-ModTM Solution. No assurances can be given that contractual arrangements and precautions taken to provide for assumption of these risks by facility owners or operators, or other end users, will result in that facility owner or operator, or other end user, accepting full responsibility for any environmental or product liability claim. Nor can we or our partners be certain that facility owners or operators, or other end users, fully complied with all applicable laws and regulations, and this could result in environmental or product liability claims. It is also common for private claims by third parties alleging contamination to also include claims for personal injury, property damage, nuisance, diminution of property value, or similar claims. Furthermore, many environmental, health and safety laws authorize citizen suits, permitting third parties to make claims for violations of laws or permits. Our insurance may not cover all environmental risk and costs or may not provide sufficient coverage in the event of an environmental or product liability claim, and defense of such claims can be costly, even when such defense prevails. If significant uninsured losses arise from environmental or product liability claims, or if the costs of environmental compliance increase for any reason, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We have debt outstanding that could adversely affect our financial flexibility and subjects us to restrictions and limitations that could significantly impact our ability to operate our business.

AJG US Equity

AJG · 10-K · period ended 2024-12-31

Item 1. Business.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

AJG US Equity☆

AJG · 10-K · period ended 2024-12-31

Item 1. Business.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

AJG US Equity