ITEM 1A. Risk Factors
The following is a cautionary discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that we believe are material to our business. In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following are the material factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we believe could make our actual results differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
We participate in markets that are competitive, and our competitors’ actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business operates in competitive markets. We compete against other existing or new global manufacturers of transmissions and propulsion solutions for commercial vehicles on the basis of product performance, quality, price, distribution capability, service and fuel efficiency in addition to other factors. In addition, we compete with manufacturers developing alternative technologies, including fully electric propulsion solutions, that may or may not require a transmission. A focus on climate change and environmental sustainability, including through regulations enacted and subsidies offered by governmental entities, continues to drive the development and adoption of various alternative technologies, including electric propulsion solutions, in the commercial vehicle industry. If the pace of adoption of electric vehicles proceeds faster than we are anticipating, we may not be in a position to meet customer demand or our competitors may be better positioned to meet customer demand, which may result in a decline in our market share or negatively impact our ability to execute our growth initiatives. Actions by our competitors or accelerated adoption of electric vehicles, in particular if our competitors are able to develop, validate and release new technologies more quickly than we do, could also lead to downward pressure on prices and/or a decline in our market share, either or both of which could adversely affect our results.
In addition, some of our customers or future customers are OEMs that manufacture or could in the future manufacture transmissions, propulsion solutions or alternate technologies, including electric propulsion solutions, for their own products. Despite their manufacturing capabilities, our existing OEM customers have chosen to purchase certain transmissions and propulsion solutions from us due to end user demand. However, we cannot be certain these customers will continue to purchase our products in the future. Increased levels of production insourcing by these customers could result from a number of factors, such as shifts in our customers’ business strategies, acquisition by a customer of another transmission or propulsion solution manufacturer, the inability of third-party suppliers to meet specifications and the emergence of low-cost production opportunities in foreign countries. As a result, these OEMs may use products produced internally or by another manufacturer and no longer choose to purchase products from us. A significant reduction in the level of external sourcing by our OEM customers could significantly impact our net sales and cash flows and, accordingly, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in cost, disruption of supply or shortage of raw materials or components used in our products could harm our business and profitability.
Our products contain various raw materials, including corrosion-resistant steel, non-ferrous metals such as aluminum and nickel, and precious metals such as platinum and palladium. We use raw materials directly in manufacturing and in components that we purchase from our suppliers. We generally purchase components with significant raw material content on the open market. The prices for and availability of these raw materials fluctuate depending on market conditions. Volatility in the prices of raw materials such as steel, aluminum and nickel could increase the cost of manufacturing our products. Additionally, our suppliers are also subject to fluctuations in the prices of raw materials and may attempt to pass all or a portion of such increases on to us. In the event they are successful in doing so, our margins would decline. We may not be able to pass on these costs to our customers,
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and this could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Even in the event that increased costs can be passed through to customers, our gross margin percentages would decline as the recovery of these costs from customers generally lags six to twelve months.
In 2024, approximately 75% of our total spending on components was sourced from approximately 40 suppliers, many of which are the single source for such components. All of the suppliers from which we purchase materials and components used in our business are fully validated suppliers, meaning the suppliers’ manufacturing processes and inputs have been validated under a production part approval process (“PPAP”). Furthermore, there are only a limited number of suppliers for certain of the materials used in our business, such as corrosion-resistant steel. As a result, our business is subject to the risk of additional price fluctuations and periodic delays in the delivery of our materials or components if supplies from a validated supplier are interrupted and a new supplier, if one is available, must be validated or materials and components must be purchased from a supplier without a completed PPAP, which could increase our risk of purchasing non-conforming components. Any such price fluctuations or delays, if significant, could harm our profitability or operations. In addition, the loss of a supplier could result in significant material cost increases or reduce our production capacity.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, delays in the availability and receipt of component parts as a result of shortages of available labor in North America and global economic uncertainty, some of which have materially impacted, and may continue to materially impact, our ability to meet customer demand. We also cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain favorable arrangements and relationships with these suppliers. An increase in the cost or a sustained interruption in the supply or shortage of some of these raw materials or components that may be caused by a deterioration of our relationships with suppliers, adverse geopolitical events such as the crisis in the Red Sea, events such as natural disasters and extreme weather events which may increase in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change, power outages, labor strikes and public health crisis such as pandemics and epidemics or the like could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. Although we have agreements with many of our customers that we will pass such price increases through to them, such contracts may be canceled by our customers and/or we may not be able to recoup the costs of such price increases. Additionally, if we are unable to continue to purchase our required quantities of raw materials on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, if we are unable to maintain or enter into purchasing contracts for commodities, or if delivery of materials or component parts from suppliers is delayed or non-conforming, our operations could be disrupted, we may not be able to meet customer demand, and our profitability and our financial results may be materially impacted. While we may experience the supply chain constraints mentioned above across all our products lines, the impacts to our customers are likely to be more pronounced in our lower volume product lines, including those supplied to the Defense and Off-Highway end markets.
Labor cost inflation and employee attraction and retention could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our success depends on our ability to identify, recruit and retain highly skilled, qualified personnel, and there is currently increased competition for talent. We have experienced labor shortages and wage inflation amid low levels of unemployment and workforce availability. As a result, we may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel, which may impact our ability to manufacture, design and develop our propulsion solutions, satisfy customer demand in a timeframe that meets their desired production schedules and compete effectively. In addition, we continue to experience increased labor costs, including significant labor cost increases under our new collective bargaining agreement with the UAW, which will continue to impact our results of operations.
Our business would be adversely affected if we fail to retain key executives, or to adequately plan for the succession of members of our executive management team. While we have succession plans in place for members of our executive management team, and continue to review and update those plans, and certain key executive
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officers are party to or participants in severance and change in control arrangements, these arrangements do not guarantee that the services of our executive officers will continue to be available to us or that we will be able to find suitable management personnel to replace departing executives on a timely basis.
Prolonged inflation could result in higher costs and decreased margins and earnings.
Recent inflationary pressures have resulted in increased raw material, labor, energy, freight and logistics expenses and other costs, which may adversely affect our results of operations. If our costs are subject to continuing significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability to do so could harm our results of operations.
Volatility in and disruption to the global economic environment, including the impact of an economic recession, trade protectionism and tariffs, and changes in the regulatory and business environments in which we operate may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Geopolitical risks, supply chain, labor and energy constraints and inflation have caused and may continue to cause volatility in and disruption to the global economic environment. Historically, the commercial vehicle industry as a whole has been more adversely affected by volatile economic conditions, such as a recession, than many other industries, as the purchase or replacement of commercial vehicles, which are durable items, can be deferred for many reasons, including reduced spending by end users. Future changes in the regulatory and business environments in which we operate, including increased geopolitical risks, trade protectionism and tariffs, may adversely affect our ability to sell our products or source materials needed to manufacture our products.
Furthermore, financial instability or bankruptcy at any of our suppliers or customers could disrupt our ability to manufacture our products and impair our ability to collect receivables, any or all of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, some of our customers and suppliers may experience serious cash flow problems and, thus, may find it difficult to obtain financing, if financing is available at all. As a result, our customers’ need for and ability to purchase our products or services may decrease, and our suppliers may increase their prices, reduce their output or change their terms of sale. Any inability of customers to pay us for our products and services, or any demands by suppliers for different payment terms, may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, our suppliers may not be successful in generating sufficient sales or securing alternate financing arrangements, and therefore may no longer be able to supply goods and services to us. In that event, we would need to find alternate sources for these goods and services, and there is no assurance we would be able to find such alternate sources on favorable terms, if at all. Any such disruption in our supply chain could adversely affect our ability to manufacture and deliver our products on a timely basis, and thereby affect our results of operations.
Certain of our end users operate in highly cyclical industries, which can result in uncertainty and significantly impact the demand for our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Some of the markets in which we operate, including energy, mining, construction, distribution and motorhomes, exhibit a high degree of cyclicality. Decisions to purchase our products are largely a result of the performance of these and other industries we serve. If demand for output in these industries decreases, the demand for our products will likely decrease. Demand in these industries is impacted by numerous factors, including prices of commodities, rates of infrastructure spending, housing starts, real estate equity values, interest rates, consumer spending, fuel costs, energy demands, municipal spending, commercial construction and global pandemics, among others. Increases or decreases in these variables globally may significantly impact the demand for our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial
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condition. If we are unable to accurately predict demand, we may be unable to meet our customers’ needs, resulting in the loss of potential sales, or we may manufacture excess products, resulting in increased inventories and overcapacity in our production facilities, increasing our unit production cost and decreasing our operating margins.
Our sales are concentrated among our top five OEM customers and the loss or consolidation of any one of these customers or the discontinuation of particular vehicle models for which we are a significant supplier could reduce our net sales and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We have in the past and may in the future derive a significant portion of our net sales from a relatively limited number of OEM customers. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, our top five OEM customers accounted for approximately 55%, 52% and 51% of our net sales, respectively. Our top three customers, Daimler AG, PACCAR Inc. and Traton SE, accounted for approximately 20%, 13% and 11%, respectively, of our net sales during 2024. The loss of, or consolidation of, any one of these customers, or a significant decrease in business from, one or more of these customers could harm our business. In addition, the discontinuation of particular vehicle models for which we are a significant supplier could reduce our net sales and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Labor unrest could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As of December 31, 2024, approximately 50% of our U.S. employees, representing approximately 44% of our total employees, were represented by the UAW and are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Our current collective bargaining agreement with UAW Local 933 is effective through November 2027. Any new collective bargaining agreement we negotiate with the UAW to replace the existing collective bargaining agreement upon its expiration may result in increased costs to us, in particular labor costs, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition to our unionized work force, many of our direct and indirect customers and vendors have unionized work forces. Strikes, work stoppages or slowdowns experienced by these customers or vendors or their other suppliers could result in slowdowns or closings of assembly plants that use our products or supply materials for use in the production of our products. Organizations responsible for shipping our products may also be impacted by strikes. Any interruption in the delivery of our products could reduce demand for our products and could have a material adverse effect on us.
In general, we consider our labor relations with all of our employees to be good. However, in the future we may be subject to labor unrest. If strikes, work stoppages or lock-outs at our facilities or at the facilities of our vendors or customers occur or continue for a long period of time, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks to operational systems, security systems, or infrastructure owned by Allison or third-party vendors or suppliers.
We are at risk for interruptions, outages, and compromises to the confidentiality, integrity or availability of: (i) operational systems, including information technology, business, financial, accounting, product development, data processing, or manufacturing processes, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (ii) facility security systems, owned by us or our third-party vendors, customers or suppliers; and/or (iii) vehicle propulsion control modules or other in-product technology, owned by us, our customers or our third-party vendors or suppliers. Such cyber incidents could materially disrupt operational systems (for example, through the deployment of ransomware); result in loss of intellectual property, trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise personally identifiable information of employees, customers, suppliers, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; and/or affect the performance of vehicle propulsion control modules or other in-product technology. A cyber incident could be caused by malicious insiders or by third parties using sophisticated, targeted
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methods to circumvent firewalls, encryption, and other security defenses, including hacking, fraud, trickery, or other forms of deception, such as social engineering and phishing, or due to human or technological error, such as misconfigurations, “bugs,” or vulnerabilities in software or hardware used by us or others.
The techniques used by threat actors change frequently and may be difficult to detect for long periods of time. Cyberattacks are expected to accelerate on a global basis in frequency and magnitude as threat actors are increasingly using tools – including artificial intelligence – to evade detection and even remove forensic evidence. As a result, we may be unable to detect, investigate, remediate or recover from future cyberattacks or other incidents, or to avoid a materially adverse impact to our systems, information or business. In addition, remote or hybrid working arrangements at our Company, our customers and many third-party providers increase cybersecurity risks due to the challenges associated with managing remote computing assets and the nature of security vulnerabilities that are present in many non-corporate and home networks.
We and certain of our customers and third-party providers have experienced cyberattacks and other incidents in the past and will continue to experience varying degrees of cyberattacks and incidents in the future. While to date no cybersecurity incidents have had a material impact on our operations or financial results, we cannot guarantee that material incidents will not occur in the future. In addition, as a provider of defense products and services to the U.S. government and foreign governments, we are subject to a heightened risk of cyberattacks, including by foreign governments, violent extremist organizations, and transnational criminal organizations. A significant cyber incident could impact our production capability, harm our reputation and business relationships, impact our competitive position (including compromising our intellectual property assets), and subject us to regulatory actions or litigation and fines and/or penalties, including pursuant to evolving global privacy and security regulations and laws, as well as significant investigative, restoration or remediation costs and/or increased compliance costs. Any of the foregoing could materially affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. There is no guarantee that our measures to prevent, detect and mitigate these threats, including employee and key third-party partner education, monitoring of networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, will be successful in preventing or mitigating a cyber incident.
In addition, in many jurisdictions, we are subject to privacy and data protection laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are changing rapidly and becoming increasingly complex. The interpretation and application of data protection laws in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere are uncertain, evolving and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in legal liability, significant regulator penalties and fines, or impair our reputation in the marketplace.
Geopolitical risks may have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, including on the availability of raw materials for our products or component parts, our supply chain, our customers and our long-term sales opportunities.
Political, economic and other conditions in foreign countries and regions, including geopolitical risks such as escalating tensions between China and western countries and the current wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, may have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. The duration of any such conflict, its impact on the applicable regional and global economy, and the breadth, severity and duration of any applicable sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other governments is uncertain. Extended or expanded conflicts could impact our ability or those of our suppliers or customers to obtain certain raw materials or component parts and could limit the availability and cost of energy throughout Europe, which could increase our costs, impact our ability to deliver our products or reduce customer demand. In addition, while we have suspended indefinitely all sales and exports of our products to customers in Russia and Belarus and Russian and Belarusian affiliate owned or controlled entities, certain of our competitors have continued to sell products in Russia during this time, which may have a negative impact on our long-term sales opportunities in Russia.
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Our brand and reputation are dependent on the continued participation and level of service of our numerous independent distributors and dealers.
We work with a network of approximately 1,600 independent distributors and dealers that provide post-sale service, service parts and support equipment. Because we depend on the pull-through demand generated by end users for our products, any actions by the independent distributors or dealers, which are not in our control, may harm our reputation and damage the brand loyalty among our customer base. In the event that we are not able to maintain our brand reputation because of the actions of our independent distributors and dealers, we may face difficulty in maintaining our pricing positions with respect to some of our products or have reduced demand for our products, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if a significant number of independent dealers were to terminate their contracts, it could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In the event of a catastrophic loss of one of our key manufacturing facilities, our business would be adversely affected.
While we manufacture our products in several facilities and maintain insurance covering our facilities, including business interruption insurance, a catastrophic loss of the use of all or a portion of one of our manufacturing facilities due to accident, labor issues, weather conditions, acts of war, political unrest, terrorist activity, natural disaster or extreme weather events, which may increase in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change, public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics or otherwise, whether short- or long-term, would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our most significant concentration of manufacturing is around our corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we produce approximately 90% of our transmissions. In addition to our Indianapolis manufacturing facilities, we currently operate manufacturing facilities for our fully electric propulsion solutions in Auburn Hills, Michigan, for our transmissions in both Szentgotthard, Hungary and Chennai, India and for our aluminum die cast components in Lewisburg, Tennessee. In the event of a disruption at the Indianapolis facilities, our other facilities may not be adequately equipped to operate at a level sufficient to compensate for the volume of production at the Indianapolis facility due to their size and the fact that they have not yet been tested for such significant increases in production volume.
Strategic Risks
Our success depends on research and development efforts, and we may not be successful in developing or introducing new products and technologies and responding to customer needs.
Our success depends on our ability to develop or introduce new products and technologies and improve the efficiency and performance of our current products, and we invest significant resources in research and development in order to do so. We currently have enhancements to our existing products and technologies and new products and technologies under development, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion solutions, for planned introduction into certain end markets. The development of new products and technologies is difficult, time-consuming and costly and the timetable for commercial release is uncertain. Not all of our new product launches have been successful, and we may not be successful in the future in introducing other new products and responding to customer needs. In addition, it often takes significant time, in some cases multiple fleet buy cycles, before customers gain experience with new products and technologies and those new products and technologies become widely-accepted by the market, if at all. Given the early stages of development of some of these new products and technologies, there can be no guarantee of future market acceptance and investment returns with respect to these products. In addition, the increased adoption of electric propulsion solutions could result in lower demand for our fully automatic transmissions and, over time, the demand for related service parts and support equipment, which would impact our margins. If we do not adequately anticipate the changing needs of our
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customers by keeping pace with improvements and changes in vehicle propulsion technology and developing and introducing new and effective products and technologies on a timely basis, or if the products and technologies we develop do not become market-leading, our competitive position and prospects could be harmed. If our competitors are able to respond to changing market demands and adopt new technologies more quickly than we do, demand for our products could decline, our competitive position could be harmed, our future research and development activities may be constrained due to intellectual property rights of others, licenses for technologies that would enable us to keep pace with our competitors may not be available on commercially reasonable terms if at all and we may not be able to recoup a return on our development investments. Moreover, changing customer demands as well as evolving regulatory, safety and environmental standards could require us to adapt our products and technologies to address such changes. As a result, in the future we may experience delays in the introduction of some or all of our new products or modifications or enhancements of existing products. Furthermore, there may be production delays due to unanticipated technological setbacks, which may, in turn, delay the release of new products to our end users. If the rate of adoption of new technologies, including electric vehicles for the medium- and heavy-duty commercial market, occurs at a pace that is faster than we are anticipating, we may not have products available to meet that accelerated timeframe. If we experience significant delays or increased costs in the production, launch or acceptance of our products and technologies, our net sales and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Our long-term growth prospects and results of operations may be impaired if the rate of adoption of fully automatic transmissions in commercial vehicles outside North America does not increase.
Our long-term growth strategy depends in part on an increased rate of automaticity outside North America. As part of that strategy, we have established manufacturing facilities in India and Hungary. We have also dedicated significant human resources to serve markets where we anticipate increased adoption of automaticity. However, manual transmissions remain the market leader outside North America, and there can be no assurance that adoption of automatic transmissions will increase. Factors potentially impacting adoption of automatic transmissions outside of North America include the large existing installed base of manual transmissions, customer preferences for manual transmissions, commercial vehicle OEM vertical integration into manual transmission and AMT manufacturing, increased competition from AMTs, electric propulsion solutions, and other alternative transmission and propulsion solution technologies and failure to further develop the Allison brand. If the rate of adoption of our propulsion solutions, including fully automatic transmissions, does not increase as we have anticipated, our long-term growth prospects and results of operations may be impaired.
Our international operations, in particular our emerging markets, are subject to various risks which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is subject to certain risks associated with doing business internationally, particularly in emerging markets. Outside-North America net sales represented approximately 23% of our net sales for 2024. Most of our operations are in the U.S., but we also have manufacturing and customization facilities in India and Hungary with a services agreement with Stellantis NV and customization capability in Brazil, the Netherlands, China and Japan. Further, we intend to continue to pursue growth opportunities for our business in a variety of business environments outside the U.S., which could exacerbate the risks set forth below. Our international operations are subject to, without limitation, the following risks:
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the burden of complying with multiple and possibly conflicting laws and any unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
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foreign currency exchange controls, sanctions, import and export restrictions and tariffs, including restrictions promulgated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other trade protection regulations and measures;
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political risks, including increased trade protectionism and risks of loss due to civil disturbances, acts of terrorism, acts of war, guerilla activities and insurrection;
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unstable economic, financial and market conditions and increased expenses as a result of inflation, higher energy costs or higher interest rates;
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difficulties in enforcement of third-party contractual obligations and intellectual property rights and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems;
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difficulty in staffing and managing international operations and the application of foreign labor regulations;
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differing local product preferences and product requirements;
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fluctuations in currency exchange rates to the extent that our assets or liabilities are denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the country where we operate;
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potentially adverse tax consequences from changes in tax laws, requirements relating to withholding taxes on remittances and other payments by subsidiaries and restrictions on our ability to repatriate dividends from our subsidiaries; and
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exposure to liabilities under anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and similar laws and regulations in other jurisdictions.
Any one of these factors could materially adversely affect our sales of products or services to international customers or harm our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to identify or consummate acquisitions or partnerships or achieve expected benefits from or effectively integrate acquisitions or partnerships, which could harm our growth.
From time to time, we evaluate selective acquisitions, partnerships and strategic investments. Potential and completed acquisitions and partnerships involve many risks that could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, including:
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our ability to identify suitable acquisition or partnership candidates, prevail against competing potential acquirers or partners and negotiate and consummate acquisitions or partnerships on terms attractive to us;
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difficulties in integrating personnel and sales forces, operations, manufacturing, logistics, research and development, information technology, communications, purchasing, accounting, marketing, administration and other systems and processes and otherwise assimilating the operations of the acquired company;
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the diversion of resources, including diverting management’s attention from our current operations;
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risks of entering new geographic or product markets in which we have limited or no direct prior experience;
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the potential loss of key customers, employees or suppliers of the acquired company or adverse effects on our existing business relationships with our suppliers and customers;
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the potential incurrence of indebtedness to fund the acquisition or partnerships;
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the acquired business or partnership not achieving anticipated revenues, earnings, cash flow or market share;
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excess capacity;
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failure to achieve the expected synergies or cost savings;
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the need for additional investments post-investment or post-acquisition that could be greater than anticipated;
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the impact of U.S. and foreign competition laws and regulations on our ability to make certain acquisitions, to enter into certain partnerships or to make certain strategic investments;
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inaccurate assessment of undisclosed, contingent or other liabilities or problems and unanticipated costs associated with the acquisition or partnership;
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incorrect estimates made in accounting for acquisitions, incurrence of non-recurring charges and write-off of significant amounts of goodwill that could adversely affect our financial results; and
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dilution of earnings.
We may also face liability with respect to acquired businesses for violations of environmental or other laws occurring prior to the date of our acquisition, and some or all of these liabilities may not be covered by environmental or other insurance secured to mitigate the risk or by indemnification from the sellers from which we acquired these businesses. We could also incur significant costs, including, but not limited to, remediation costs, natural resources damages, civil or criminal fines and sanctions and third-party claims, as a result of past or future violations of, or liabilities associated with, environmental or other laws.
We cannot offer any assurance that we will be able to consummate any future acquisitions, strategic investments, partnerships or other business combinations. If we are unable to identify suitable acquisition candidates or to consummate and successfully integrate any future acquisitions, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected as a result.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Any events that impact our brand name, including if the products we manufacture or distribute are found to be defective, could have an adverse effect on our reputation, cause us to incur significant costs and negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products has, or is alleged to have, resulted in injury, death or other adverse effects. We currently maintain product liability insurance coverage, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms in the future, if at all, or that any such insurance will provide adequate coverage against potential claims. Product liability claims can be expensive to defend and can divert the attention of management and other personnel for long periods of time, regardless of the ultimate outcome. An unsuccessful product liability defense could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects. If one of our products is determined to be defective, we may face substantial warranty costs and may be responsible for significant costs associated with a product recall or a redesign. We have had defect and warranty issues associated with certain of our products in the past, and similar product defects may occur in the future. See "Note 10. Product Warranty Liabilities” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding these warranty issues.
Furthermore, our business depends on the strong brand reputation we believe we have developed. In addition to the risk of defective products, we also face significant risks in our efforts to penetrate new markets, where we have limited brand recognition. We also rely on our reputation with end users of our products to specify our products when purchasing new vehicles from our OEM customers. In the event we are not able to maintain or enhance our brand in these new markets or our reputation is damaged in our existing markets as a result of product defects or recalls, we may face difficulty in maintaining our pricing positions with respect to some of our products or experience reduced demand for our products, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, we license the “Allison Transmission” name and certain related trademarks to third parties. If any third party uses the trade name “Allison Transmission” in ways that adversely affect such trade name or trademark, our reputation could suffer damage, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Many of the key patents and unpatented technology we use in our business are licensed to us, not owned by us, and our ability to use and enforce such patents and technology is restricted by the terms of the license.
Protecting our intellectual property rights is critical to our ability to compete and succeed as a company. General Motors Company (“GM”) has granted us an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license under a large number of U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications, as well as certain unpatented technology and know-how, to design, develop, manufacture, use and sell fully automatic transmissions and electric hybrid propulsion solutions for use in certain vocational vehicles, defense vehicles and off-road products. For the bulk of the intellectual property licensed to us, our license is exclusive with respect to the design, development, manufacture, use and sale of fully automatic transmissions and electric hybrid propulsion solutions in vocational vehicles above certain weight rating thresholds, certain defense vehicles and certain off-road products. It is non-exclusive with respect to certain other products that are within the scope of the licensed patents or to which the licensed technology can be applied. GM continues to own such patents and technology, and GM has the right, in the first instance, to control the maintenance, enforcement and defense of such patents and the prosecution of the licensed patent applications. In addition, our ability to sublicense our rights is limited.
We rely on unpatented technology, which exposes us to certain risks.
We currently do, and may continue in the future to, rely on unpatented proprietary technology. In such regard, we cannot be assured that any of our applications for protection of our intellectual property rights will be approved or that others will not infringe or challenge our intellectual property rights. It is possible our competitors will independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise obtain access to our unpatented technology.
Although we believe the loss or expiration of any single patent would not have a material effect on our business, results of operations or financial position, there can be no assurance that any one, or more, of the patents or any other intellectual property owned by or licensed to us will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by third parties. In fact, a number of the patents licensed to us are set to expire in the next few years. When a patent expires, the inventions it discloses can be used freely by others. Thus, the competitive advantage that we gain from the patents licensed to us will decrease over time, and a greater burden will be placed on our own research and development and licensing efforts to develop and otherwise acquire technologies to keep pace with improvements of transmission-related technology in the marketplace. We enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with employees, and into non-disclosure agreements with suppliers and appropriate customers so as to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. We cannot be assured that these measures will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies, our ability to sustain margins on some or all of our products may be affected, which could reduce our sales and profitability. Moreover, the protection provided for our intellectual property by the laws and courts of foreign nations may not be as advantageous to us as the protection available under U.S. law.
Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations may impose significant compliance costs and liabilities on us.
Our manufacturing operations are subject to many environmental, health and safety laws and regulations governing emissions to air, discharges to water, the generation, handling and disposal of waste and the cleanup of contaminated properties. Compliance with these laws and regulations is costly. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs to maintain or achieve compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Moreover, regulatory bodies are increasingly adopting regulations that target limiting greenhouse gases and combating climate change, which may impact our ability to sell our current products or require us to develop new products or technologies. If these environmental, health and safety laws and regulations
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that impact our operations or products become more stringent or expand to include a larger portion of our products or our customers’ products in the future, we could incur additional costs in order to ensure that our business and products comply with such regulations. In addition, we may not be successful in developing products or technologies that comply with, or the vehicle or customer OEMs to which we sell our products may choose not to comply with, such laws and regulations, which could impact our ability to sell our products in certain locations, negatively impact our business and result in a loss of market share. Furthermore, if our products that are already placed in service are found to be non-compliant with certain laws, regulations and certifications, we may incur additional costs and fines. We cannot assure that we are in full compliance with all environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and permit requirements could result in civil or criminal fines, penalties or enforcement actions, third-party claims for property damage and personal injury, requirements to clean up property or to pay for the costs of cleanup or regulatory or judicial orders enjoining or curtailing operations or requiring corrective measures, including the installation of pollution control equipment or remedial actions. Our failure to comply could also result in our failure to secure adequate insurance for our business, resulting in significant exposure, diminished ability to hedge our risks and material modifications of our business operations.
Concern over climate change continues to result in new legal and regulatory requirements designed to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment, such as actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several states to address greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union’s CSRD, California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, and the SEC's final climate disclosure rules, which are currently stayed. We are experiencing increased compliance burdens and costs in addressing our obligations under these new legal and regulatory obligations, and these new legal and regulatory obligations may adversely affect raw material sourcing, manufacturing operations and the distribution of our products.
We may be subject to liability as a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and similar state or foreign laws for contaminated properties that we currently own, lease or operate or that we or our predecessors have previously owned, leased or operated, and sites to which we or our predecessors sent hazardous substances. Such liability may be joint and several so that we may be liable for more than our share of any contamination, and any such liability may be determined without regard to causation or knowledge of contamination. We or our predecessors have been named potentially responsible parties at contaminated sites from time to time.
There can be no assurances that future environmental remediation obligations will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we occasionally evaluate alternatives with respect to our facilities, including possible dispositions or closings. Investigations undertaken in connection with these activities may lead to discoveries of contamination that must be remediated, and closings of facilities may trigger remediation requirements that are not applicable to operating facilities. We may also face lawsuits brought by third parties that either allege property damage or personal injury as a result of, or seek reimbursement for costs associated with, such contamination.
Our business and financial results may be adversely affected by U.S. government contracting risks.
We are subject to various laws and regulations applicable to parties doing business with the U.S. government, including laws and regulations governing performance of U.S. government contracts, the use and treatment of U.S. government furnished property and the nature of materials used in our products. We may be unilaterally suspended or barred from conducting business with the U.S. government, or become subject to fines or other sanctions if we are found to have violated such laws or regulations. As a result of the need to comply with these laws and regulations, we are subject to increased risks of governmental investigations, civil fraud actions, criminal prosecutions, whistleblower lawsuits and other enforcement actions. The laws and regulations to which we are
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subject include, but are not limited to, Export Administration Regulations, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, International Traffic in Arms Regulations and regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FCPA.
U.S. government contracts are subject to modification, curtailment or termination by the U.S. government without prior written notice, either for convenience or for default as a result of our failure to perform under the applicable contract. If terminated by the U.S. government as a result of our default, we could be liable for additional costs the U.S. government incurs in acquiring undelivered goods or services from another source and any other damages it suffers. Additionally, we cannot assign prime U.S. government contracts without the prior consent of the U.S. government contracting officer, and we are required to register with the Central Contractor Registration Database. Furthermore, the U.S. government periodically audits our governmental contract costs, which could result in fines, penalties or adjustment of costs and prices under the contracts. The result of, or expiration of the statute of limitations for, such audits could have an impact on reported liabilities, net income and cash flow from operations.
Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, as a result, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law contain provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:
•
authorize the issuance of blank check preferred stock that our Board of Directors could issue to increase the number of outstanding shares and to discourage a takeover attempt;
•
prohibit our stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders;
•
prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
•
provide that the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to adopt, or to alter or repeal, our bylaws;
•
establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board of Directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings; and
•
require the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of common stock to amend the bylaws and certain provisions of the certificate of incorporation.
These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company that our stockholders may believe to be in their best interests. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and cause us to take corporate actions other than those they desire.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Financial Risks
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health, restrict our activities and affect our ability to meet our obligations.
As of December 31, 2024, we had total indebtedness of $2,414 million, and we would have been able to borrow an additional $744 million, net of $6 million of outstanding letters of credit, under Allison Transmission Inc.’s (“ATI”), our wholly-owned subsidiary, revolving credit facility with commitments in the amount of $750 million due March 2029 (“Revolving Credit Facility”). As of December 31, 2024, we had no outstanding borrowings against the Revolving Credit Facility. At December 31, 2024, $514 million of our total indebtedness was associated with ATI’s
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term loan facility due March 2031 (“Term Loan”, and together with the Revolving Credit Facility, the “Senior Secured Credit Facility”), $400 million of our total indebtedness was associated with ATI’s 4.75% Senior Notes due October 2027 (“4.75% Senior Notes”), $500 million of our total indebtedness was associated with ATI’s 5.875% Senior Notes due June 2029 (“5.875% Senior Notes”) and $1,000 million of our total indebtedness was associated with ATI’s 3.75% Senior Notes due January 2031 (“3.75% Senior Notes”, and together with the 4.75% Senior Notes and 5.875% Senior Notes, the “Senior Notes”). For a complete description of the terms of the Senior Secured Credit Facility and the Senior Notes, please see "Note 8. Debt” in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our indebtedness could have important consequences. For example, it could:
•
make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness;
•
require us to further dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund acquisitions, working capital, capital expenditures, research and development efforts and other general corporate purposes;
•
increase our vulnerability to and limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, downturns or changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
•
restrict us from making strategic acquisitions or cause us to make non-strategic divestitures;
•
expose us to the risk of increased interest rates as borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility are subject to variable rates of interest;
•
place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt; and
•
limit our ability to borrow additional funds.
In addition, the Revolving Credit Facility contains a maximum total senior secured leverage ratio. The Senior Secured Credit Facility and the indentures governing the Senior Notes also contain other negative and affirmative covenants that will limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. Our failure to comply with any of the covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all of our indebtedness.
To service our indebtedness, we will require a significant amount of cash, and our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.
Our ability to make cash payments on our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate significant operating cash flow in the future. This, to a significant extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
We cannot ensure that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the Revolving Credit Facility in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. In such circumstances, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. We cannot ensure that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we cannot service our indebtedness, we may have to take actions such as selling assets, seeking additional equity or reducing or delaying capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions, investments and alliances. We cannot ensure that any such actions, if necessary, could be effected on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Despite current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still be able to incur additional indebtedness, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial financial leverage.
We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future because the terms of our indebtedness do not fully prohibit us or our subsidiaries from doing so. Subject to covenant compliance and certain
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conditions, our indebtedness permits additional borrowing, including total borrowing up to $744 million under the Revolving Credit Facility, net of $6 million in letters of credit. If new debt is added to our current debt levels and our subsidiaries’ current debt levels, the related risks that we and they now face could intensify.
Our pension and other post-retirement benefits funding obligations could increase as a result of a variety of factors.
Our earnings may be positively or negatively impacted by the amount of income or expense recorded for our defined benefit pension plans and other post-retirement benefits (“OPEB”). Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) require that income or expense for defined benefit pension plans be calculated at the annual measurement date, or more frequently if certain events occur, using actuarial assumptions and calculations. These calculations reflect certain assumptions, the most significant of which relate to the capital markets, interest rates, health care inflation rates and other economic conditions. Changes in key economic indicators can change these assumptions. These assumptions, along with the actual value of assets at the measurement date, will impact the calculation of pension expense for the year. Although GAAP pension expense and pension contributions are not directly related, the key economic indicators that affect GAAP pension expense also affect the amount of cash that we would contribute to our defined benefit pension plans. Because the values of these defined benefit pension plans’ assets have fluctuated and will fluctuate in response to changing market conditions, the amount of gains or losses that will be recognized in subsequent periods, the impact on the funded status of the defined benefit pension plans and the future minimum required contributions, if any, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The magnitude of such impact cannot be determined with certainty at this time. However, the effect of a one percentage point decrease in the assumed discount rate would result in an increase in the December 31, 2024 defined benefit pension plans obligation of approximately $13 million. Likewise, a one percentage point decrease in the effective interest rate for determining defined benefit pension plans contributions would result in an increase in the minimum required contributions for 2025 of approximately $2 million. Similarly, a one percentage point decrease in the assumed discount rate would result in an increase in the December 31, 2024 OPEB obligation of approximately $6 million. As of December 31, 2024, the net overfunded status of our defined benefit pension plans was $2 million, while the unfunded status of our OPEB plan was $59 million.
An impairment in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets or long-lived assets could negatively affect our consolidated results of operations and net worth.
Pursuant to GAAP, we are required to assess our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets to determine if they are impaired on an annual basis, or more often if events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over the useful life and are reviewed for impairment on triggering events such as events or changes in circumstances indicating that an impairment may have occurred. If the testing performed indicates that impairment has occurred, we are required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value of the goodwill and the implied fair value of the goodwill or the carrying value of the intangible assets and the fair value of the intangible assets in the period the determination is made. Disruptions to our business, end market conditions, protracted economic weakness, the unsuccessful development of a product and unexpected significant declines in operating results may result in charges for goodwill and other asset impairments. See "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and "Note 6. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
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The carrying value of long-lived assets is evaluated whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Events or circumstances that would result in an impairment review primarily include a significant change in the use of an asset, a significant change in the projected future cash flows generated by an asset or the planned sale or disposal of an asset. The asset would be considered impaired when there is no future use planned for the asset or the future net undiscounted cash flows generated by the asset or asset group are less than its carrying value. An impairment loss would be recognized based on the amount by which the carrying value exceeds fair value and could have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations. See "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and "Note 5. Property, Plant and Equipment” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our critical systems and information.
Our cybersecurity risk management program is guided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (“NIST CSF”). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, only that we use the NIST CSF as a framework to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.
Key aspects of our cybersecurity risk management program include:
•
Risk assessments designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems and information;
•
A security team principally responsible for managing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security controls, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;
•
The use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security controls;
•
Cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, key third-party partners, incident response personnel, and senior management;
•
A cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents; and
•
A third-party risk management process for key third-party vendors and suppliers.
We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Risk Factors – We are subject to cybersecurity risks to operational systems, security systems, or infrastructure owned by Allison or third-party vendors or suppliers" in Part I, Item 1A. of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Cybersecurity Governance
Our Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to its Audit Committee oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks. Our Audit Committee oversees management’s implementation of our cybersecurity risk management program.
Our Audit Committee receives quarterly reports from management on our cybersecurity risks. In addition, management updates the Audit Committee, as necessary, regarding significant cybersecurity incidents.
The Committee reports to the full Board regarding its activities, including those related to cybersecurity. The full Board also receives briefings from management on our cybersecurity risk management program. Board members receive presentations on cybersecurity topics from our Chief Information Security Officer ("CISO"), internal security staff or external experts as part of the Board’s continuing education on topics that impact public companies.
Our management team, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Information Officer ("CIO") and CISO, has overall responsibility for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our management team has primary responsibility for implementing our cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both our internal cybersecurity personnel and our retained external cybersecurity consultants.
Our management team, led by our CISO, is informed about and monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of key cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings with internal cybersecurity team members and external consultants, threat intelligence and other information obtained from public or private sources, and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in our information technology environment.Our CISO has over 25 years and our CIO has over 10 years of experience in designing and implementing corporate information technology security systems and strategies. In addition, our CISO leads the operational cybersecurity team, which has an average of over 10 years of experience. Collectively, the members of the operational cybersecurity team have various certifications, including, but not limited to, CISSP, GSOM, GCIA, GCIH, CISA, CCSK, SSCP, GPEN, CEH, and CISM.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our world headquarters, which we own, is located at One Allison Way, Indianapolis, Indiana 46222. As of December 31, 2024, we have 17 manufacturing and certain other facilities in eight countries. The following table sets forth certain information regarding our significant facilities.
Plant Location ApproximateSize (ft2) Owned /Leased Description
Plant #3 Indianapolis 927,000 Own Engineering, Operational Support
Plant #4 Indianapolis 425,900 Own Manufacturing
Plant #6 Indianapolis 431,500 Own Manufacturing
Plant #12 Indianapolis 534,900 Own Manufacturing
Plant #14 Indianapolis 481,100 Own Manufacturing
Plant #15 Indianapolis 391,700 Own Manufacturing
Plant #17 Indianapolis 389,000 Own Parts Distribution Center
Innovation Center Indianapolis 96,000 Own Engineering, Research and Development
Walker Die Casting Lewisburg, Tennessee, USA 774,100 Own Manufacturing
Chennai India 331,700 Own Manufacturing
Szentgotthard Hungary 149,000 Own Manufacturing & Customization
We believe all our facilities are suitable for their intended purpose, are being efficiently utilized and provide adequate capacity to meet demand for the next several years. The table above does not include sales offices located in various countries.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are subject to various contingencies, including routine legal proceedings and claims arising out of the normal course of business. These proceedings primarily involve commercial claims, product liability claims, personal injury claims and workers’ compensation claims. The outcome of these lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty. Nevertheless, we believe the outcome of any of these currently existing proceedings, even if determined adversely, would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. See also "Note 18. Commitments and Contingencies” in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II.
ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “ALSN.”
Holders
As of January 30, 2025, there were approximately 201,925 stockholders of record of our common stock, which includes the actual number of holders registered on our books and holders of shares in “street name” or persons, partnerships, associations, corporations or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depositories.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
During the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we did not offer or sell any equity securities that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our current stock repurchase program (the "Repurchase Program") was authorized by the Board of Directors in 2016, with increases approved by the Board of Directors on each of November 8, 2017, July 30, 2018, May 9, 2019 and February 24, 2022, which in the aggregate authorized total repurchases of up to $4,000 million in shares of our common stock. The Repurchase Program has no termination date, and the timing and amount of stock purchases are subject to market conditions and corporate needs. The Repurchase Program may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time at our discretion.
The following table sets forth information related to our repurchase of our common stock on a monthly basis during the three months ended December 31, 2024:
(1)
These values reflect repurchases made under the Repurchase Program.
Issuances Under Equity Compensation Plans
For information regarding the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans, see Part III, Item 12. of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Comparative Stock Performance Graph
The information included under the heading “Comparative Stock Performance Graph” in this Item 5. of Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Set forth below is a graph comparing the total cumulative returns of ALSN, the S&P 500 Index and an index of peer companies selected by us. Our peer group includes Donaldson Company, Inc., Graco Inc., Roper Technologies, Inc., Gentex Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Inc. and Sensata Technologies Holding PLC. The graph assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2019 in our common stock and each of the indices and that all dividends, if any, are reinvested.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
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ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements regarding industry trends, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, without limitation, those set forth under Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors,” and other matters included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K generally discusses 2024 and 2023 items and year-over-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023. A detailed discussion of 2022 items and year-over-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 14, 2024.
Overview
We are a leading designer and manufacturer of propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles and the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions. The business was founded in 1915 and has been headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana since inception. Allison is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol, “ALSN”.
We have a global presence by serving customers in North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa, with approximately 77% of our revenues being generated in North America in 2024. We serve customers through an independent network of approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide.
Trends Impacting Our Business
In January 2024, the UAW Local 933 ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with us that expires in November 2027. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, a significant increase in labor costs under the terms of this new agreement.
In 2025, we expect higher net sales driven by price increases on certain products, increased demand for Tracked vehicle applications in our Defense end market and robust North American vocational demand.
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Full Year 2024 and 2023 Net Sales by End Market (in millions)
End Market 2024Net Sales 2023Net Sales % Variance
North America Off-Highway 8 63 (87 )%
Outside North America On-Highway 493 477 3 %
Outside North America Off-Highway 97 104 (7 )%
Service Parts, Support Equipment and Other 663 696 (5 )%
North America On-Highway end market net sales were up 15% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, principally driven by strength in demand for Class 8 vocational and medium-duty trucks and price increases on certain products.
Global Off-Highway net sales were down 37% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, principally driven by lower demand from the energy sector in North America and the mining and construction sectors outside of North America, partially offset by strength in demand from the energy sector outside of North America.
Defense end market net sales were up 28% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, principally driven by increased demand for Tracked vehicle applications.
Outside North America On-Highway end market net sales were up 3% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, principally driven by higher demand in Asia and price increases on certain products, partially offset by lower demand in Europe.
Service Parts, Support Equipment and Other end market net sales were down 5% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, principally driven by lower demand for North America service parts and aluminum die cast components, partially offset by price increases on certain products.
Key Components of our Results of Operations
Net sales
We generate our net sales primarily from the sale of vehicle propulsion solutions, service and component parts, support equipment, defense kits, engineering services, royalties and extended transmission coverage to a wide array of OEMs, distributors and the U.S. government. Sales are recorded in accordance with the terms of the contract, net of provisions for customer incentives and other rebates. Engineering services are recorded as net sales in accordance with the terms of the contract. The associated costs are recorded in cost of sales. We also have royalty agreements with third parties that provide net sales as a result of joint efforts in developing marketable products.
Cost of sales
Our primary components of cost of sales are purchased parts, the overhead expense related to our manufacturing operations and direct labor associated with the manufacture and assembly of vehicle propulsion solutions and parts. For the year ended December 31, 2024, direct material costs were approximately 65%, overhead costs were approximately 27% and direct labor costs were approximately 8% of total cost of sales. We are subject to changes in our cost of sales caused by movements in underlying commodity prices. We seek to hedge against this risk by using LTAs. See Part II, Item 7A., “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk—Commodity Price Risk” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Selling, general and administrative
The principal components of our selling, general and administrative expenses are salaries and benefits for our office personnel, advertising and promotional expenses, product warranty expense, expenses relating to certain information technology systems and amortization of our intangible assets.
Engineering — research and development
We incur costs in connection with research and development programs that are expected to contribute to future earnings. Such costs are expensed as incurred.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We use Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (“EBITDA”) and Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales to measure our operating profitability. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales provide management, investors and creditors with useful measures of the operational results of our business and increase the period-to-period comparability of our operating profitability and comparability with other companies. Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales is also used in the calculation of management’s incentive compensation program. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales is Net income and Net income as a percent of net sales, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before interest expense, net, income tax expense, amortization of intangible assets, depreciation of property, plant and equipment and other adjustments as defined by the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of March 29, 2019 as amended (the “Credit Agreement”), governing ATI's Term Loan facility in the amount of $514 million due March 2031 (“Term Loan”) and ATI’s revolving credit facility with commitments in the amount of $750 million due March 2029 ("Revolving Credit Facility" and, together with the Term Loan, the "Senior Secured Credit Facility"). Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales.
We use Adjusted free cash flow to evaluate the amount of cash generated by our business that, after the capital investment needed to maintain and grow our business and certain mandatory debt service requirements, can be used for repayment of debt, stockholder distributions and strategic opportunities, including investing in our business. We believe that Adjusted free cash flow enhances the understanding of the cash flows of our business for management, investors and creditors. Adjusted free cash flow is also used in the calculation of management’s incentive compensation program. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted free cash flow is Net cash provided by operating activities. Adjusted free cash flow is calculated as Net cash provided by operating activities after additions of long-lived assets.
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The following is a reconciliation of Net income and Net income as a percent of net sales to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales and a reconciliation of Net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted free cash flow:
For the years ended December 31,
plus:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 111 109 109
Amortization of intangible assets 10 45 46
Stock-based compensation expense (a) 26 22 18
UAW Local 933 contract signing incentives (b) 14 — —
Unrealized loss on marketable securities (c) 9 1 22
Pension plan settlement loss (d) 4 — —
Technology-related investments loss (gain) (e) 2 (3 ) (6 )
Unrealized loss on foreign exchange (f) 1 — 6
Other (g) 2 — 3
Net income as a percent of Net sales (GAAP) 22.7 % 22.2 % 19.2 %
Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of Net sales (Non-GAAP) 36.1 % 36.5 % 34.7 %
Net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) $ 801 $ 784 $ 657
Deductions to reconcile to Adjusted free cash flow:
Additions of long-lived assets (143 ) (125 ) (167 )
Adjusted free cash flow (Non-GAAP) $ 658 $ 659 $ 490
(a)
Represents stock-based compensation expense (recorded in Cost of sales, Selling, general and administrative, and Engineering — research and development).
(b)
Represents non-recurring incentives (recorded in Cost of sales, Selling, general and administrative, and Engineering - research and development) to eligible employees as a result of UAW Local 933 represented employees ratifying a four-year collective bargaining agreement effective through November 2027.
(c)
Represents losses (recorded in Other (expense) income, net) related to an investment in the common stock of Jing-Jin Electric Technologies Co. Ltd.
(d)
Represents a non-cash settlement charge (recorded in Other (expense) income, net) for a pro rata portion of previously unrecognized pension plan actuarial net losses associated with the pension risk transfer of a portion of our salaried defined benefit pension plan obligations to a third-party insurance company.
(e)
Represents losses (gains) (recorded in Other (expense) income, net) related to investments in co-development agreements to expand our position in propulsion solution technologies.
(f)
Represents losses (recorded in Other (expense) income, net) on intercompany financing transactions for our India facility.
(g)
Represents other adjustments as defined by the Credit Agreement.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth certain financial information for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The following table and discussion should be read in conjunction with the information contained in our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Comparison of years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
Years ended December 31,
(dollars in millions) 2024 %of net sales 2023 %of net sales
Operating expenses:
Engineering — research and development 200 6 194 6
Other expense, net:
Interest expense, net (89 ) (3 ) (107 ) (3 )
Other (expense) income, net (6 ) — 15 —
Total other expense, net (95 ) (3 ) (92 ) (3 )
Income tax expense (166 ) (5 ) (154 ) (5 )
Net sales
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $3,225 million compared to $3,035 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 6%. The increase was principally driven by a $223 million, or 15%, increase in net sales in the North America On-Highway end market principally driven by strength in demand for Class 8 vocational and medium-duty trucks and price increases on certain products, a $46 million, or 28%, increase in net sales in the Defense end market principally driven by increased demand for Tracked vehicle applications and a $16 million, or 3%, increase in net sales in the Outside North America On-Highway end market principally driven by higher demand in Asia and price increases on certain products, partially offset by lower demand in Europe, partially offset by a $62 million, or 37%, decrease in Global Off-Highway net sales principally driven by lower demand from the energy sector in North America and the mining and construction sectors outside of North America, partially offset by strength in demand from the energy sector outside of North America and a $33 million, or 5%, decrease in net sales in the Service Parts, Support Equipment and Other end market principally driven by lower demand for North America service parts and aluminum die cast components, partially offset by price increases on certain products.
Cost of sales
Cost of sales for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,696 million compared to $1,565 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 8%. The increase was principally driven by higher direct material and manufacturing expense commensurate with increased net sales and higher manufacturing expense, including $13 million of non-recurring UAW contract signing incentives.
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Gross profit
Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,529 million compared to $1,470 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 4%. The increase was principally driven by $80 million of price increases on certain products and $62 million related to increased net sales, partially offset by $75 million of higher manufacturing expense, including $13 million of non-recurring UAW contract signing incentives, and $8 million of higher direct material costs. Gross profit as a percent of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased 100 basis points compared to the same period in 2023, principally driven by increased cost of sales, including $13 million of non-recurring UAW contract signing incentives, partially offset by increased net sales and price increases on certain products.
Selling, general and administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $337 million compared to $357 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of 6%. The decrease was principally driven by lower intangible amortization expense, partially offset by increased commercial activities spending and higher product warranty expense.
Engineering — research and development
Engineering expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $200 million compared to $194 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 3%. The increase was principally driven by increased product initiatives spending.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $89 million compared to $107 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of 17%. The decrease was principally driven by higher interest income on cash and cash equivalents and lower interest expense on ATI's Term Loan due primarily to the repayment of $101 million of principal in the first quarter of 2024.
Other (expense) income, net
Other (expense) income, net for the year ended December 31, 2024 was ($6) million compared to $15 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The change was principally driven by an $8 million change in unrealized mark-to-market adjustments for marketable securities, a $5 million change in technology-related investments gains and losses, a $4 million non-cash defined benefit pension plan settlement charge and $4 million of unfavorable foreign exchange.
Income tax expense
Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $166 million resulting in an effective tax rate of 19%, compared to $154 million of income tax expense and an effective tax rate of 19% for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in income tax expense was principally driven by higher taxable income.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
We generate cash primarily from operations to fund our operating, investing and financing activities. Our principal uses of cash are operating expenses, capital expenditures, working capital needs, debt service, dividends on common stock, stock repurchases, and strategic growth initiatives, including investments, acquisitions and collaborations. Our ability to generate cash in the future and our future uses of cash are subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that may be beyond our control. We had total available cash and cash equivalents of $781 million and $555 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Of the available cash and cash equivalents, $117 million was deposited in operating accounts and $664 million was invested in U.S. government backed securities as of December 31, 2024, compared to $134 million deposited in operating accounts and $421 million invested in U.S. government backed securities as of December 31, 2023.
As of December 31, 2024, the total of cash held by foreign subsidiaries was $61 million, the majority of which was at our subsidiaries located in China, Japan, the Netherlands and India. We manage our worldwide cash requirements considering available funds among the subsidiaries through which we conduct our business and the cost effectiveness with which those funds can be accessed. As a result, we do not currently anticipate that local liquidity restrictions will preclude us from funding our targeted expectations or operating needs with local resources.
We have not recognized any deferred tax liabilities associated with earnings in foreign subsidiaries, except for our subsidiary located in China, as they are intended to be permanently reinvested and used to support foreign operations or have no associated tax requirements. We have recorded a deferred tax liability of $3 million for the tax liability associated with the remittance of previously taxed income and unremitted earnings for our subsidiary located in China. The remaining deferred tax liabilities, if recorded, related to unremitted earnings that are indefinitely reinvested are not material.
Our liquidity requirements are significant, primarily due to our debt service requirements. As of December 31, 2024, we had $514 million of indebtedness associated with ATI’s Term Loan, $400 million of indebtedness associated with ATI’s 4.75% Senior Notes due October 2027 (“4.75% Senior Notes”), $500 million of indebtedness associated with ATI’s 5.875% Senior Notes due June 2029 (“5.875% Senior Notes”) and $1,000 million of indebtedness associated with ATI’s 3.75% Senior Notes due January 2031 (“3.75% Senior Notes” and, together with the 4.75% Senior Notes and 5.875% Senior Notes, the “Senior Notes”). Short-term and long-term debt service liquidity requirements consist of $1 million of minimum required quarterly principal payments on ATI’s Term Loan through its maturity date of March 2031 and periodic interest payments on ATI’s Term Loan and the Senior Notes. There are no required quarterly principal payments on the Senior Notes. Long-term debt service liquidity requirements also consist of the payment in full of any remaining principal balance of ATI’s Term Loan and the Senior Notes upon their respective maturity dates.
We made $104 million and $7 million of principal payments on the Term Loan during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our ability to make payments on and refinance our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures and growth initiatives will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future.
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The Senior Secured Credit Facility provides for a $750 million Revolving Credit Facility, net of an allowance for up to $75 million in outstanding letter of credit commitments. As of December 31, 2024, we had $744 million available under the Revolving Credit Facility, net of $6 million in letters of credit. As of December 31, 2024, we had no amounts outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. If we have commitments outstanding on the Revolving Credit Facility at the end of a fiscal quarter, the Senior Secured Credit Facility requires us to maintain a specified maximum first lien net leverage ratio of 5.50x. Additionally, within the terms of the Senior Secured Credit Facility, a first lien net leverage ratio at or below 4.00x results in the elimination of excess cash flow payments on the Senior Secured Credit Facility for the applicable year. As of December 31, 2024, our first lien net leverage ratio was (0.23x). The Senior Secured Credit Facility also provides certain financial incentives based on our first lien net leverage ratio. A first lien net leverage ratio at or below 4.00x and above 3.50x results in a 25 basis point reduction to the applicable margin on the Revolving Credit Facility. A first lien net leverage ratio at or below 3.50x results in an additional 25 basis point reduction to the applicable margin on the Revolving Credit Facility. These reductions remain in effect as long as we achieve a first lien net leverage ratio at or below the related threshold.
In addition, the Credit Agreement includes, among other things, customary restrictions (subject to certain exceptions) on our ability to incur certain indebtedness, grant certain liens, make certain investments, engage in acquisitions, consolidations and mergers, declare or pay certain dividends, and repurchase shares of our common stock. The indentures governing the Senior Notes contain negative covenants restricting or limiting our ability to, among other things, incur or guarantee additional indebtedness, incur liens, pay dividends on, redeem or repurchase our capital stock, make certain investments, permit payment or dividend restrictions on certain of our subsidiaries, sell assets, engage in certain transactions with affiliates, and consolidate or merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets. As of December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility and indentures governing the Senior Notes.
Our credit ratings and outlook are reviewed periodically by Moody’s Ratings (“Moody’s”) and Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”). As of December 31, 2024, our credit ratings from both Moody's and Fitch are shown in the table below:
Credit Ratings Moody's Fitch
Corporate Credit Ba1 BB+
Term Loan Baa2 BBB-
4.75% Senior Notes Ba2 BB+
5.875% Senior Notes Ba2 BB+
3.75% Senior Notes Ba2 BB+
We anticipate increased capital expenditures and cash income taxes in 2025 compared to 2024.
Our Board of Directors has authorized us to repurchase up to $4,000 million of our common stock pursuant to the Repurchase Program. During 2024, we repurchased approximately $254 million of our common stock under the Repurchase Program. All of the repurchase transactions during 2024 were settled in cash during the same period. As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately $519 million available under the Repurchase Program.
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The following table shows our sources and uses of funds for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in millions):
Years ended December 31,
Cash flows provided by operating activities $ 801 $ 784 $ 657
Cash flows used for investing activities (147 ) (129 ) (183 )
Cash flows used for financing activities (427 ) (332 ) (367 )
Generally, cash provided by operating activities has been adequate to fund our operations. We have significant liquidity, including $781 million of cash and cash equivalents and $744 million available under the Revolving Credit Facility, net of $6 million in letters of credit, as of December 31, 2024. At this time, we believe cash provided by operating activities, cash and cash equivalents and borrowing capacity under the Revolving Credit Facility will be sufficient to meet our known and anticipated cash requirements for the next twelve months and thereafter.
Cash provided by operating activities
Operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 generated $801 million of cash compared to $784 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was principally driven by higher gross profit, lower cash interest payments and lower cash income taxes, partially offset by higher operating working capital funding requirements, higher cash incentive compensation payments and non-recurring UAW contract signing incentive payments.
Cash used for investing activities
Investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 used $147 million of cash compared to $129 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was principally driven by an $18 million increase in capital expenditures and a $5 million increase in equity method investments, partially offset by $4 million of proceeds from the sale of assets.
Cash used for financing activities
Financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 used $427 million of cash compared to $332 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was principally driven by $97 million of increased payments on our long-term debt, $4 million of debt financing fees associated with the amendment of the Credit Agreement governing our Senior Secured Credit Facility and $4 million of increased dividend payments, partially offset by $9 million of lower stock repurchases under the Repurchase Program and a $4 million increase in proceeds from the exercise of stock options.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of some assets and liabilities and, in some instances, the reported amounts of net sales and expenses during the applicable reporting period. Differences between actual amounts and estimates are recorded in the period identified. Estimates can require a significant amount of judgment, and a different set of judgments could result in changes to our reported results. A summary of our critical accounting estimates is included below.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue recognition contains uncertainties because it requires management to make assumptions and to apply judgment to estimate the amount of sales incentives and provision for government price reductions. Distributor and customer sales incentives, consisting of allowances and other rebates, are estimated at the time of sale based upon history and experience and are recorded as a reduction to net sales. Incentive programs are generally product specific or region specific. Some factors used in estimating the cost of incentives include the number of transmissions that will be affected by the incentive program and the rate of acceptance of any incentive program. If the actual number of affected transmissions differs from this estimate, or if a different mix of incentives is actually paid, the impact on net sales would be recorded in the period that the change was identified. Assuming our current mix of sales incentives, a 10% change in sales incentives would correspondingly change our earnings by approximately $8 million.
Under the terms of certain previous U.S. government contracts, there were price reduction clauses and provisions for potential price reductions which were estimated at the time of sale based upon history and experience, and finalized after completion of U.S. government audits. Given our current price reduction reserve for government contracts, a 10% adjustment in our price reduction reserve would correspondingly change our earnings by approximately $5 million. Since 2014, Allison contracts with the U.S. Government have generally been firm, fixed price contracts and therefore have not required re-calculation of pricing based on cost principles.
Further information is provided in "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
We have elected to perform our annual impairment tests for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets on October 31 of every year using a multi-step impairment test. In Step 0, we have the option to evaluate various qualitative factors to determine the likelihood of impairment. If we determine that the fair value is more likely than not less than the carrying value, then we are required to perform Step 1. If we do not elect to perform Step 0, we can voluntarily proceed directly to Step 1. In Step 1, we perform a quantitative analysis to compare the fair value to our carrying value. If the fair value exceeds the carrying value, no impairment is recorded, and we are not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value exceeds fair value, we would record an impairment loss equal to the difference.
A qualitative assessment contains uncertainties because it requires management to make assumptions and to apply judgment to assess business changes, economic outlook, financial trends and forecasts, growth rates, credit ratings, equity ratings, discount rates, industry data and other relevant qualitative factors.
A quantitative analysis contains uncertainties because it is performed utilizing a discounted cash flow model which includes key assumptions, such as financial forecasts; net sales growth derived from market information, industry reports, marketing programs and future new product introductions; operating margin improvements derived
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from cost reduction programs and fixed cost leverage driven by higher sales volumes; and a risk-adjusted discount rate.
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price paid over the fair value of net assets acquired. In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) authoritative accounting guidance on goodwill, we do not amortize goodwill but rather evaluate it for impairment on an annual basis, or more often if events or circumstances change that could cause goodwill to become impaired. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is the same as our one operating and reportable segment. We do not aggregate any components into our reporting unit.
Goodwill impairment testing for 2024 was performed using the Step 0 analysis by assessing certain qualitative trends and factors. These trends and factors were compared to, and based on, the assumptions used in prior years. After reviewing the various qualitative factors mentioned above, our 2024 annual goodwill impairment test indicated that the fair value for the reporting unit more likely than not exceeded its carrying value, indicating no impairment.
Other intangible assets have both indefinite and finite useful lives. Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested annually for impairment, or more often if events or circumstances change that could cause intangible assets with indefinite useful lives to become impaired. After reviewing the various qualitative factors mentioned above, our annual 2024 indefinite-lived intangible assets impairment tests, as of October 31, 2024, indicated that the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets more likely than not exceeded their respective carrying values, indicating no impairment.
Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives and reviewed for impairment when circumstances change that would create a triggering event. Customer relationships are amortized over the life in which expected benefits are to be consumed. The other remaining finite life intangibles are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives. We evaluate the remaining useful life of the other intangible assets on a periodic basis to determine whether events or circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining useful life. Assumptions and estimates about future values and remaining useful lives of our intangible and other long-lived assets are complex and subjective. Such assumptions and estimates can be affected by a variety of factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors, such as changes in our business strategy and internal forecasts. Although management believes the historical assumptions and estimates are reasonable and appropriate, different assumptions and estimates could materially impact our reported financial results. Further information is provided in "Note 6. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The carrying value of long-lived assets is evaluated whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Events or circumstances that would result in an impairment review primarily include a significant change in the use of an asset, or the planned sale or disposal of an asset. The asset would be considered impaired when there is no future use planned for the asset or the future net undiscounted cash flows generated by the asset or asset group are less than its carrying value. An impairment loss would be recognized based on the amount by which the carrying value exceeds fair value.
Assumptions and estimates used to determine cash flows in the evaluation of impairment and the fair values used to determine the impairment are subject to a degree of judgment and complexity. Any changes to the assumptions and estimates resulting from changes in actual results or market conditions from those anticipated may affect the carrying value of long-lived assets and could result in an impairment charge.
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Warranty
Provisions for estimated expenses related to product warranties are made at the time products are sold. Warranty claims arise when a transmission fails while in service during the relevant warranty period. The warranty reserve is adjusted in Selling, general and administrative expense based on our current and historical warranty claims paid and associated repair costs. These estimates are established using historical information including the nature, frequency, and average cost of warranty claims and are adjusted as actual information becomes available. From time to time, we may initiate a specific field action program. As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the nature and frequency of specific field action programs, the liability for such programs is recorded when we commit to an action. We review and assess the liability for these programs on a quarterly basis. We also assess our ability to recover certain costs from our suppliers and record a receivable from the supplier when we believe a recovery is realizable. Warranty costs may differ from those estimated if actual claim rates are higher or lower than our historical rates. Further information is provided in "Note 10. Product Warranty Liabilities” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which contains a summary of the activity in our warranty liability account for 2024, 2023 and 2022, including adjustments to pre-existing warranties.
Pension and Post-retirement Benefit Plans
Pension and OPEB costs are based upon various actuarial assumptions and methodologies as prescribed by authoritative accounting guidance. These assumptions include discount rates, expected return on plan assets, health care cost trend rates, inflation, rate of compensation increases, population demographics, mortality rates and other factors. We review all actuarial assumptions on an annual basis.
A change in the discount rate can have a significant impact on determining our benefit obligations. Our current discount rate is determined by matching the plans’ projected cash flows to a yield curve based on long-term, fixed income debt instruments available as of the measurement date of December 31, 2024. The effect of a one percentage point decrease in the assumed discount rate would result in an increase in the December 31, 2024 defined benefit pension plans obligation of approximately $13 million. Similarly, a one percentage point decrease in the assumed discount rate would result in an increase in the December 31, 2024 OPEB obligation of approximately $6 million.
Further information is provided in "Note 15. Employee Benefit Plans” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which contains our review on various actuarial assumptions.
Income Taxes
Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. The future tax benefits associated with operating loss and tax credit carryforwards are recognized as deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. When releasing income tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive loss, we utilize the portfolio securities approach.
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The need to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets is assessed at least quarterly based on a more-likely-than-not realization threshold, in accordance with the FASB authoritative accounting guidance on income taxes. Appropriate consideration is given to all positive and negative evidence related to that realization. This assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of recent losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carryforward periods, and experience with tax attributes expiring unused and tax planning alternatives. The weight given to these considerations depends upon the degree to which they can be objectively verified.
Further information on income taxes is provided in "Note 16. Income Taxes” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Business Combinations
We use the acquisition method to account for business combinations. The assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their respective estimated fair value at the date of acquisition. Any excess purchase price over the fair values of the acquired net assets is recorded as goodwill. Determining the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management's judgment and includes the use of estimates with respect to timing and amount of future cash flows, market rate assumptions, actuarial assumptions, appropriate discount rates and other relevant factors.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to "Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Our exposure to market risk consists of changes in interest rates, foreign currency rate fluctuations and movements in commodity prices.
Interest Rate Risk
Our principal interest rate exposure relates to outstanding amounts under our Senior Secured Credit Facility. Our Senior Secured Credit Facility provides for variable rate borrowings of up to $1,258 million, including our $514 million Term Loan and $744 million under our Revolving Credit Facility, net of $6 million of letters of credit. As of December 31, 2024, we held interest rate swap contracts that, in the aggregate, effectively hedge $500 million of the variable rate debt associated with the Term Loan at the forward-looking term rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate weighted average fixed rate of 2.81% through September 2025. A one-eighth percent increase or decrease in assumed interest rates for the Senior Secured Credit Facility, if fully drawn as of December 31, 2024, would have an impact of approximately $1 million on interest expense per year. As of December 31, 2024, we had no outstanding borrowings against the Revolving Credit Facility.
Refer to "Note 8. Debt” and "Note 9. Derivatives” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Exchange Rate Risk
While our net sales and costs are denominated primarily in U.S. Dollars, net sales, costs, assets and liabilities are generated in other currencies including Brazilian Real, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Chinese Yuan Renminbi, Euro, Hungarian Forint, Indian Rupee and Japanese Yen. The expansion of our business outside North America may further increase the risk that cash flows resulting from these activities may be adversely affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Assuming current levels of foreign currency transactions, a 10% aggregate increase or decrease in the Chinese Yuan Renminbi, Euro, Indian Rupee, and Japanese Yen would correspondingly change our earnings, net of tax, by an estimated $5 million per year. We believe our other direct exposure to foreign currencies is immaterial.
Commodity Price Risk
We are subject to changes in our cost of sales caused by movements in underlying commodity prices. As of December 31, 2024, approximately 65% of our cost of sales consisted of purchased components. A substantial portion of the purchased parts are made of aluminum and steel. The cost of aluminum parts includes an adjustment factor on future purchases for fluctuations in aluminum prices based on accepted industry indices. In addition, a substantial amount of steel-based contracts also includes an index-based component. As our costs change, we are able to pass through a portion of the changes in commodity prices to certain of our customers according to our LTAs. We historically have not entered into long-term purchase contracts related to the purchase of aluminum and steel.
Assuming current levels of commodity purchases, a 10% variation in the price of aluminum and steel would correspondingly change our earnings by approximately $8 million and $13 million per year, respectively.
Many of our LTAs have incorporated a cost-sharing arrangement related to potential future commodity price fluctuations. For purposes of the sensitivity analysis above, the impact of these cost sharing arrangements has not been included.
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ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB: ID 238) 51
Consolidated Balance Sheets 53
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 54
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 55
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity 56
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 57
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, of stockholders’ equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements"). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.
Basis for Opinions
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
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Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Product Warranty Liabilities
As described in Notes 2 and 10 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated product warranty liability balance was $67 million as of December 31, 2024. Management makes provisions for the estimated product warranty liabilities at the time the products are sold. These estimates are established using historical information including the nature, frequency, and average cost of warranty claims and are adjusted as actual information becomes available.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the product warranty liabilities is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgement by management when determining the product warranty liability estimate; (ii) the high degree of auditor judgement, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence relating to the significant assumptions related to the frequency and average cost of warranty claims; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s process for developing the estimate, significant assumptions, and inputs used to estimate product warranty liabilities. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing the completeness and accuracy of historical warranty claims data used in the estimate and (ii) professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating the reasonableness of the frequency and average cost of warranty claims and assumptions.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana
February 13, 2025
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2008.
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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(dollars in millions, except share data)
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 781 $ 555
Other current assets 82 63
Marketable securities 11 20
Property, plant and equipment, net 803 774
Other non-current assets 87 72
LIABILITIES
Current Liabilities
Product warranty liability 31 32
Current portion of long-term debt 5 6
Deferred revenue 41 41
Other current liabilities 217 212
Total Current Liabilities 506 501
Product warranty liability 36 27
Deferred revenue 95 89
Other non-current liabilities 152 159
Commitments and Contingencies (see Note 18)
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Accumulated deficit (239 ) (628 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax (51 ) (31 )
TOTAL LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 5,336 $ 5,025
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(dollars in millions, except per share data)
Years ended December 31,
Selling, general and administrative 337 357 328
Engineering — research and development 200 194 185
Interest expense, net (89 ) (107 ) (118 )
Other (expense) income, net (6 ) 15 (21 )
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:
Foreign currency translation (13 ) 2 (10 )
Interest rate swaps (6 ) (4 ) 39
Pension and OPEB liability adjustment (1 ) (7 ) 22
Total other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax (20 ) (9 ) 51
Comprehensive income, net of tax $ 711 $ 664 $ 582
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(dollars in millions)
Years ended December 31,
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 111 109 109
Stock-based compensation 26 22 18
Deferred income taxes (17 ) (17 ) (4 )
Amortization of intangible assets 10 45 46
Unrealized loss on marketable securities 9 1 22
Pension plan settlement loss 4 — —
Amortization of deferred financing costs 3 4 4
Technology-related investments loss (gain) 2 (3 ) (6 )
Unrealized loss on foreign exchange 1 — 6
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (8 ) 7 (70 )
Other assets and liabilities (26 ) (27 ) 9
Net cash provided by operating activities 801 784 657
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Additions of long-lived assets (143 ) (125 ) (167 )
Investment in equity method investee (6 ) (1 ) (1 )
Proceeds from sale of assets 4 — 2
Investment in equities without a readily determinable fair value (2 ) (5 ) —
Proceeds from technology-related investments — 2 6
Business acquisitions — — (23 )
Net cash used for investing activities (147 ) (129 ) (183 )
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Repurchases of common stock (254 ) (263 ) (278 )
Payments on long-term debt (104 ) (7 ) (7 )
Dividend payments (87 ) (83 ) (80 )
Proceeds from exercise of stock options 32 28 2
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards (10 ) (7 ) (4 )
Debt financing fees (4 ) — —
Repayments on revolving credit facility — — (95 )
Borrowings on revolving credit facility — — 95
Net cash used for financing activities (427 ) (332 ) (367 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (1 ) — (2 )
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 226 323 105
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 555 232 127
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 781 $ 555 $ 232
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Interest received from interest rate swaps $ 12 $ 12 $ 1
Non-cash investing activities:
Capital expenditures in liabilities $ 9 $ 4 $ 11
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(dollars in millions)
Stock-based compensation — — — 18 — — 18
Pension and OPEB liability adjustment — — — — — 22 22
Foreign currency translation adjustment — — — — — (10 ) (10 )
Interest rate swaps — — — — — 39 39
Issuance of common stock — — — (2 ) — — (2 )
Repurchase of common stock — — — — (278 ) — (278 )