axta-20241231
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
or
For the transition period from to .
Commission File Number: 001-36733
AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
1050 Constitution Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19112
(855) 547-1461
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of the registrant’s principal executive offices)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Shares, $1.00 par value AXTA New York Stock Exchange
(Title of class) (Trading symbol) (Exchange on which registered)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer☒ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements
of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2024, the last day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $7,475 million (based on the closing sale price of the common stock on that date on the New York Stock Exchange).
As of February 6, 2025, there were 218,143,313 shares of the registrant’s common shares outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Part III incorporates information by reference from the registrant's Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Members. Such proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the close of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Table of Contents
PART I
ITEM 1. Business 3
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors 13
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 28
ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity 28
ITEM 2. Properties 29
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings 30
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 30
PART II
ITEM 6. Reserved 33
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 51
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 53
ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures 101
ITEM 9B. Other Information 101
ITEM 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 101
PART III
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 102
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation 102
ITEM 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 102
PART IV
ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 103
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (“Axalta,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us”), a Bermuda exempted holding company incorporated in 2012, is a leading global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-performance coatings systems and products. We have over a 150-year heritage in the coatings industry and are known for manufacturing high-quality products with well-recognized brands supported by market-leading technology and customer service. Over the course of our history we have remained at the forefront of our industry by continually developing innovative coatings technologies designed to enhance the performance, appearance and sustainability attributes of our customers' products, while improving their productivity and profitability.
Our diverse global footprint allows us to meet the needs of our customer base through an extensive sales force and technical support organization, as well as independent, locally-based distributors. Our scale and strong local presence are critical to our success, allowing us to leverage our technology portfolio and customer relationships globally while meeting customer demands locally. We operate our business in two operating segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings, serving four end-markets globally as highlighted below.
The table above reflects numbers for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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Net sales for our four end-markets and four regions for the year ended December 31, 2024 are highlighted below:
Note: Latin America includes Mexico. EMEA represents Europe, Middle East and Africa.
SEGMENT OVERVIEW
Performance Coatings
Through our Performance Coatings segment, we provide high-quality sustainable liquid and powder coating solutions to both large regional and global customers and to a fragmented and local customer base. These customers comprise, among others, independent or multi-shop operator body shops as well as a wide variety of industrial manufacturers. We are one of only a few suppliers with the technology to provide precise color matching and highly durable coatings systems. The end-markets within this segment are refinish and industrial.
Performance Coatings End-Markets
Refinish
Sales in the refinish end-market are driven by the number of vehicle collisions, owners' propensity to repair their vehicles, the number of miles vehicle owners drive and the size of the car parc. Although refinish coatings typically represent only a small portion of the overall vehicle repair cost, they are critical to the vehicle owner's satisfaction given their impact on appearance. As a result, body shop operators are focused on coatings manufacturers with a strong track record of performance and reliability. Body shops look for manufacturers with productivity enhancements, regulatory compliance, consistent quality, the presence of ongoing technical support and exact color match technologies. Color matching is a critical component of coatings manufacturer selection, since inexact matching adversely impacts vehicle appearance, and if repainting is required due to a poor match, it can reduce the speed and volume of repairs at a given shop. Sustainability is another important component of coatings supplier selection as the current market trend is for products that are inherently more environmentally friendly and use less energy, such as our specially-formulated waterborne and our high solids solventborne products that improve productivity and performance, while reducing the impact on the environment.
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We develop, market and supply a complete portfolio of innovative coatings systems and color matching technologies to facilitate faster automotive collision repairs relative to competing technologies. Our color matching technology provides Axalta-specific formulations that enable body shops to accurately match thousands of vehicle colors, regardless of vehicle brand, color, age or supplier of the original paint during production. It would be time-consuming and costly for a new entrant to create such an extensive color inventory.
Industrial
The industrial end-market comprises liquid, e-coat and powder coatings used in a broad array of end-business applications. Within the industrial end-market, we focus on the following:
•Building Products: Focused on North America, offering leading innovation for performance, style, and durability in liquid coatings serving the OEMs and aftermarket building segments, including external finishes, kitchen cabinets, flooring and furniture.
•Construction: Global solutions in liquid and powder coatings for applications such as window frames, structural steel, steel roofing, and metal building materials, typically used in residential, industrial, commercial, and monumental buildings. Coil coaters benefit from our performance solutions for applications serving customers producing buildings as well as appliances, lighting, garage doors, HVAC systems and trailers. Architects and designers can benefit from the advice of our in-house color experts, superior technical service and the latest trend collections available in our dedicated color experience rooms and digital tools.
•Battery Solutions: New innovative technologies in liquid and powder coatings for battery performance, insulation and conduction to enable innovation in the electrification and energy transition market. These new innovative technologies complement our existing solutions to insulate copper wire used in motors and transformers and our coatings insulate sheets forming magnetic circuits of motors and transformers, computer elements and other electrical devices to provide increased motor and power efficiency.
•Transportation: Key provider of liquid and powder coatings for vehicle components, chassis, and agricultural, construction, and earth moving equipment, that protect against corrosion, provide increased durability, and deliver a superior appearance.
•General Metal Finishing: Global provider of multiple technologies for a wide array of applications, including racking and shelving, metal furniture, appliances, protective coating, pipes and tubes, metal enclosures and fencing, industrial components, gutters, garage and entry doors, HVAC systems, metal wall panels, and power storage and electrical boxes.
Demand in this end-market is driven by a wide variety of macroeconomic factors, such as growth in GDP and new residential and commercial construction, as well as automotive and industrial production. There has also been an increase in demand for products that enhance environmental sustainability, corrosion resistance, productivity and color aesthetics, which we provide through a combination of e-coat, waterborne, solventborne, ultraviolet (“UV”) and powder technologies. Customers select industrial coatings based on protection, durability, appearance and value added through technical service and solutions, which can improve customers' application sustainability and productivity.
Performance Coatings Products and Brands
We offer a comprehensive range of specially-formulated waterborne and solventborne products and systems used by the global automotive refinish industry to repair damaged vehicles. Our refinish products and systems comprise a range of coatings layers, as well as fillers, aerosols, and adhesives required to match the vehicle's color and appearance, producing a repair surface indistinguishable from the adjacent surface.
We provide systems that enable body shops to match more than 220,000 color variations, using a database with more than four million formulations, globally. Our color technology is manifested in the pigment and dispersion technology that are utilized in our tints, one of the most technologically advanced parts of the refinish coatings system, which makes up most of our products in a body shop. We have a large color library and several well-known, long-standing premium brands, including Cromax®, Standox®, Spies Hecker®, SyroxTM, and Raptor®, as well as other regional and local brands.
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Our color matching and retrieval systems allow customers to quickly match any color, reducing the need for body shop technicians to repeat the color matching process, which saves time and materials. The color matching process begins with a technician scanning a damaged vehicle with one of our advanced color matching tools, such as our Axalta Irus ScanTM hand-held spectrophotometer. The Axalta Irus ScanTM reads the vehicle color, evaluating both the unique flake and color characteristics of the specific vehicle. These characteristics may vary significantly, even for vehicles of the same make, model and original color, due to a variety of factors, including a vehicle's age, plant at which it was assembled, weather conditions and operating history. The Axalta Irus ScanTM electronically connects with our ColorNet® database and generates for the body shop technician the precise mix of tints and colors needed to recreate that specific color for the part being repaired. In addition to the Axalta Irus ScanTM, we offer customers several other color matching tools, including our VINdicator® database, which identifies vehicle color based on its vehicle identification number, and traditional color matching fan decks.
We have launched a completely hands-free mixing machine for our automotive refinish customers, Axalta Irus MixTM. Axalta Irus MixTM delivers highly accurate color and works with Axalta’s innovative packaging, designed to help refinish customers meet or exceed key business goals, including maximizing profitability and minimizing environmental impact.
We have also launched a global customer experience platform for refinish customers, Axalta NimbusTM. This technology seamlessly connects refinish customers to Axalta’s tools and resources to improve efficiency, enhance productivity, boost performance, and maximize profitability. With Axalta Nimbus, customers have everything they need to power the refinish process in a single platform, including color retrieval, product ordering, inventory management, training resources, and support. By working together in a single platform, comprehensive business insights provide actionable data that help owners and managers make informed decisions to increase profitability and performance. Axalta Nimbus is designed to be easy to use with an intuitive user interface for increased efficiency and customizable capabilities based on business need.
In addition, we are a leading global developer, manufacturer and supplier of functional and decorative liquid and powder coatings for a large number of diversified applications in the industrial end-market, including building materials, cabinet, wood and luxury vinyl flooring and furniture applications in North America. Our liquid systems are used to provide insulation and thermo-mechanical protection for electrical conductors and devices, protect automotive parts and serve as primers, basecoats, and clearcoats for alloy and steel wheels, and provide weatherability and corrosion protection for metal building and infrastructure projects. Powder coatings products, both thermoset and thermoplastic, are an environmentally responsible, higher transfer efficiency alternative to liquid coatings. These coatings are typically electrostatically sprayed using a specialized spray gun and cured to create a uniform, high-quality finish. In the oil and gas industry, our powder and liquid products are used to protect components from corrosion and severe conditions such as extreme temperatures, pressures, and harsh chemicals.
Our major industrial brands include Imron® Industrial, TufcoteTM Industrial, CorlarTM Industrial, StrenexTM Industrial, PercoTop®, Voltatex®, AquaECTM, Durapon®, HydroponTM, UNRIVALEDTM, and Ceranamel® for liquid coatings and Alesta®, Teodur®, Nap-Gard®, Abcite® and Plascoat® for powder coatings.
Performance Coatings Sales, Marketing and Distribution
We leverage a large global refinish sales and technical support team to effectively serve our broad refinish customer base of approximately 93,000 body shops. Most of our products are supplied by our network of approximately 5,000 independent local distributors. In select regions, including parts of Europe, we also sell directly to body-shop customers through our company owned stores. These stores maintain an inventory of our products to fill orders from body shops in their market and assume credit risk and responsibility for logistics, delivery and billing. In certain countries, we utilize importers that buy directly from us and actively market our products to body shops. Our relationships with our top ten distributors are longstanding and continue to contribute to our success in the global refinish market.
Our large refinish sales force manages relationships directly with our end-customers to drive demand for our products, which in turn are purchased through customers in our distributor network. Due to the local nature of the refinish industry, our sales force operates on a regional/country basis to provide clients with responsive customer service and local insight. As part of their coverage efforts, salespeople introduce new products to body shops and provide technical support and ongoing training. We currently have 45 customer training centers established globally, which helps to deepen our customer relationships.
Our sales force also helps to drive shop productivity improvements and to install or upgrade body shop color matching and mixing equipment to improve shop profitability. Once a coating and color system is installed, a body shop almost exclusively uses its specific supplier's products. The proprietary nature of a coatings supplier's color systems, the substantial inventory needed to support a body shop and the body shop's familiarity with an established brand lead to high levels of customer retention. Our customer retentions have been and continue to be strong.
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Our large direct sales team in industrial serves its end customers, driving demand which is then primarily filled directly or through channels of distribution and e-commerce. We leverage this dedicated sales force and technical service team to provide regional support and identify global innovation projects to meet the evolving market needs. In the powder coatings segment, we believe we are one of only three truly global producers that can satisfy the needs and specifications of a customer in multiple regions of the world, while maximizing productivity from the broad scale and scope of our operations.
Performance Coatings Customers
Within our Performance Coatings segment, we sell coatings to customers in more than 140 countries. Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 20% of our Performance Coatings net sales during the year ended December 31, 2024.
In our industrial and refinish end-markets we serve both large OEMs and a broad, fragmented local customer base. Our industrial end-market comprises a wide variety of industrial manufacturers, while our refinish end-market primarily comprises approximately 93,000 body shops, including:
•Independent Body Shops: Single location body shops that utilize premium, mainstream or economy brands based on the local market.
•Multi-Shop Operators (“MSOs”): Body shops with more than five locations focused on providing premium paint jobs with industry leading efficiency. MSOs use premium/mainstream coatings and state-of-the-art painting technology to increase shop productivity, allowing them to repair more vehicles faster.
•OEM Dealership Body Shops: High-productivity body shops, located in OEM car dealerships, that operate like MSOs and provide premium services to customers using premium/mainstream coatings.
Performance Coatings Competition
Our primary competitors in the refinish end-market include AkzoNobel, BASF, PPG and Sherwin Williams, but we also compete against local and regional players in the markets we serve. Similarly, in the industrial end-market, we compete against multi-national suppliers, such as AkzoNobel, PPG and Sherwin-Williams, as well as a large number of local and regional players in the markets we serve. We believe we are one of the few performance coatings companies that can provide the customer service, total technology solutions, color design capability and product performance necessary to deliver exceptional value to our customers.
Mobility Coatings
Through our Mobility Coatings segment, we provide coatings technologies for light vehicle and commercial vehicle OEMs. These global customers are faced with evolving megatrends in electrification, sustainability, personalization and autonomous driving that require a high level of technical expertise. The OEMs require efficient, environmentally responsible coatings systems that can be applied with a high degree of precision, consistency and speed. The end-markets within this segment are light vehicle and commercial vehicle.
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Our portfolio brings together the best of Axalta's experience and innovation into three categories: Core Mobility Solutions, Advanced Mobility Solutions and Axalta Advantage.
•Core Mobility Solutions comprises Axalta's best-in-class basecoats and clearcoats for color and beautification along with primers, electrocoats and powder applications for surface protection.
•Advanced Mobility Solutions encompasses products and applications for trends like sustainability, mass customization, two-tone and digital paint. It includes coatings with enhanced functionality that improve LiDAR and radar performance and exterior protection for electric vehicle platforms and components.
•Axalta Advantage features expert services and consulting to improve productivity in and outside the paint shop, including application design, process improvement, cost and CO2 modeling, and troubleshooting.
Mobility Coatings End-Markets
Light Vehicle
Demand for light vehicle products is driven by regional light vehicle production. Light vehicle OEMs select coatings providers based on their global ability to deliver core and advanced technological solutions that improve exterior appearance and durability and provide long-term corrosion protection. These customers also look for suppliers that offer sustainable solutions to aid in the customer portfolio transformation and can enhance process efficiency, improve productivity and provide superior technical support. Rigorous environmental and durability testing as well as obtaining engineering approvals are also key criteria used by global light vehicle OEMs when selecting coatings providers. Globally integrated suppliers are important because they offer products with consistent standards across regions and can deliver high-quality products in sufficient quantity while meeting OEM service requirements. Our global scale, people, expertise, innovative technology platforms, and customer focus position us to be a global partner and solutions provider to the most discerning and demanding light vehicle OEMs. We believe we are one of the few coatings producers that can provide OEMs with global product specifications, standardized color development, compatibility with the growing number of substrates, increasingly complex colors and environmentally-responsible coatings while continuing to simplify and reduce steps in the coating application process.
Commercial Vehicle
Sales in the commercial vehicle end-market are generated from a variety of applications, including HDT, MDT, bus and rail, motorcycles, marine and aviation, as well as related segments such as trailers, recreational vehicles and personal sport vehicles. This end-market is primarily driven by global commercial vehicle production, which is influenced by overall economic activity, government infrastructure spending, equipment replacement cycles and evolving environmental standards for sustainability.
Commercial vehicle OEMs select coatings providers on the basis of their ability to consistently deliver advanced technological solutions that improve exterior appearance, protection and durability and provide extensive color libraries and matching capabilities at the lowest total cost-in-use, while meeting stringent environmental requirements. Particularly for HDT applications, truck owners demand a significant variety of custom colors and advanced product technologies to enable custom designs. Our strong competitive position and growth are driven by our ability to provide customers with our market-leading brand, Imron®, as well as leveraging our global product lines, regional knowledge and customer service.
Mobility Coatings Products and Brands
We develop and supply a complete coatings product line for light vehicle OEMs. Our products are designed to enhance the styling and appearance of a vehicle's exterior while providing protection from the elements, extending the life of the vehicle. Widely recognized in the industry for our advanced and patented technologies, we believe our products not only increase productivity and profitability for OEMs but also produce attractive and durable finishes. Our light vehicle coatings portfolio is one of the broadest in the industry.
The coatings operation is a critical component of the light vehicle assembly process, requiring a high degree of precision, speed and productivity. The paint shop process typically includes a dip process, three application zones and three high-temperature ovens that cure each coating layer at temperatures ranging from 320°F to 400°F (i.e., “high bake”). Our key products consist of the four main coatings layers: electrocoat (AquaEC®), primer (HyperDurTM), basecoat (ChromaDyneTM) and clearcoat (LumeeraTM).
The coatings process accounts for a majority of the total energy consumed during the light vehicle manufacturing process. With that in mind, we have developed coatings technologies, including 3-WetTM, Eco-ConceptTM and 2-Wet MonocoatTM, that help our OEM customers lower costs by reducing energy consumption and increasing productivity.
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In today's existing mobility ecosystem, coatings provide essential beauty and color to vehicle bodies while extending the useful life of the vehicle via durability-related properties such as chemical resistance and chip and corrosion protection. As the industry evolves, each dimension of mobility – electric vehicles, shared transportation and autonomous driving – requires coatings with advanced functionality that, in addition to aesthetics and protection, contribute to the efficiency of electrification, vehicle design, navigation and passenger safety, among other areas. Evolution within the mobility industry creates tremendous opportunities for OEMs but requires them to undertake significant shifts in how they design and produce vehicles. OEMs are also increasingly looking to reduce the weight of vehicles in response to stricter vehicle emissions, fuel consumption regulations and electric vehicle range extensions. As a result, OEMs are constructing vehicle platforms using a variety of new materials in addition to steel and plastic, including aluminum, carbon fiber and other substrates, each of which requires specialized coatings formulations to create a uniform color and finish. We continue to innovate with our OEM customers in driving this trend, as evidenced by use of our coatings on their flagship vehicle platforms.
We also develop and supply a wide array of coatings systems for a broad range of commercial vehicle applications. These products simultaneously enhance aesthetic appearance and provide protection from the elements. We meet the demands of commercial vehicle customers with our extensive offering of over 90,000 different colors. In HDT, because the metal and composite components are painted simultaneously in an automatic process, most truck OEMs use low bake coatings to ensure that the plastic composite parts on a truck's exterior do not deform during the bake process. Truck owners demand a wide variety of custom colors that are formulated using a combination of on-site mixing machines at the OEM or direct shipments of premixed high-volume colors from us. Our commercial vehicle brands include Imron®, Imron Elite®, Centari®, Rival®, Corlar® epoxy undercoats and AquaECTM.
Mobility Coatings Sales, Marketing and Distribution
We have full-time technical representatives stationed at most of our light vehicle OEM customers' facilities around the world. These on-site representatives provide customer support, monitor the painting process and track paint demand at each assembly plant. Monitoring OEM line performance in real-time is intended to allow our technical support teams to help improve paint department operating efficiency and provide performance feedback to our formulating chemists and paint manufacturing teams. Many of our customer technical support representatives also help OEMs manage their physical inventory by forecasting facility coatings demand based on the customer's build schedule.
We sell and ship products directly to light vehicle OEMs in each of our four regions coordinated via a global point of contact for each customer and assist OEMs with on-site customer support. Located in 9 countries, our manufacturing facilities provide a local presence intended to cultivate strong relationships, gain intimate customer knowledge, provide superior technical support to our key customers and maintain “just-in-time” product delivery capabilities critical to OEMs. We believe our local presence also allows us to quickly react to changing local dynamics, offer high-quality products and provide excellent customer service.
In the commercial vehicle end-market, we employ a dedicated sales and technical service team to support our diverse customer base, including a direct sales force supporting the HDT market. We ship our coatings directly to commercial vehicle OEMs and may also provide on-site technical service representatives that play an important role by helping to optimize the painting process and by providing responsive customer support.
Mobility Coatings Customers
We provide our products and services to light and commercial vehicle customers at over 220 assembly plants worldwide, including all the top ten global automotive manufacturers. We have a stable customer base and believe we are well positioned with the fastest growing OEMs in both the developed and emerging markets. Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 62% of our Mobility Coatings net sales during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Mobility Coatings Competition
We primarily compete against large multi-national suppliers such as AkzoNobel, BASF and PPG, as well as a few regional suppliers, in the light and commercial vehicle end-markets. With our state-of-the-art coatings solutions and local presence in key OEM geographies, we are one of the few competitors in the industry that offers global OEM manufacturers the combination of high-quality products, personalized, top-rate technical service and short lead-times for product delivery.
SEASONALITY
Generally, our first quarter net sales are less than other quarters primarily driven by our Performance Coatings segment as a result of the nature of repairs typically performed by our refinish end-market customers. In North America and EMEA, we typically see more significant accidents from the inclement weather that require more time to repair and less repair throughput for our customers. Our Mobility Coatings segment does not experience significant net sales seasonality. Cash provided by operating activities has typically been the greatest in the fourth quarter primarily driven by the timing of collections from our customers and payments to our vendors.
Economic and weather conditions have altered, and could continue to alter, seasonal patterns.
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KEY RAW MATERIALS
We use thousands of different raw materials, which fall into six broad categories: resins, pigments, solvents, monomers, isocyanates and additives. We purchase raw materials from a diverse group of global suppliers. Where possible, we work to mitigate risks to our raw material supply through alternative sourcing strategies, strategic supplier relationships and maintaining strategic inventories. Raw materials represent our single largest production cost component.
Prices for our raw materials generally fluctuate with supplier feedstock prices as well as supply and demand dynamics of the given raw material market. Over the past several years, the dynamics of supply and demand had a greater impact in the cost of our raw materials than the price of the supplier feedstocks.
Historically, to manage raw material volatility, we have used a combination of price increases to customers and, in certain circumstances, contractual raw material indexing mechanisms.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Our focus on technology has allowed us to proactively provide customers with next-generation offerings that enhance product performance, improve productivity and satisfy increasingly strict environmental regulations. Since our entry into the coatings industry over 150 years ago, we believe we have consistently been at the forefront of coatings technology innovation. These innovations have played a fundamental role in our ability to maintain and grow our global market share as well as deliver substantial financial returns.
We believe that we are a technology leader well positioned to benefit from continued industry shifts in customer needs. Our end-markets are among the most demanding in the coatings industry with high levels of required product performance that continuously evolve, with increasing expectations for productivity on customer lines and environmentally responsible products. Our technology development is led by a highly experienced and educated workforce that is focused on new product development, color development, technical customer support and improving our manufacturing processes. As such, our technology development covers two critical interrelated aspects for us, research and development as well as technical support and manufacturing. As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 1,300 team members dedicated to technology development. We operate four major technology centers throughout the world where we develop and align our technology investments with regional business needs complemented by approximately 25 regional laboratories which provide local connection to our global customer base. This includes our Global Innovation Center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which opened in 2018 for global research, product development and technology initiatives and now serves as our global headquarters.
PATENTS, LICENSES AND TRADEMARKS
As of December 31, 2024, we had a global portfolio of approximately 680 issued patents and more than 520 trademarks. We actively apply for and obtain U.S. and foreign patents and trademarks on new products and process innovations and as of December 31, 2024, approximately 220 patent applications were pending throughout the world.
Our primary purpose in obtaining patents is to protect the results of our research for use in operations and licensing. We are also party to a substantial number of patent licenses and other technology licensing agreements. We have a significant number of trademarks and trademark registrations in the U.S. and in other countries, as described below.
We own or otherwise have rights to the trademarks, service marks, copyrights and trade names used in conjunction with the marketing and sale of our products and services. These trademarks include Abcite®, Alesta®, AquaEC®, Audurra®, Axalta Irus MixTM, Axalta Irus ScanTM, Axalta NextJetTM, Axalta NimbusTM, Centari®, Ceranamel®, Challenger®, ChemophanTM,ColorNet®, Corlar®, Cromax®, Cromax Mosaic®, Durapon 70®, Duxone®, Harmonized Coating Technologies®, Hydropon®, Imron®, Imron EliteTM, Imron ExcelProTM, LutophenTM, Nap-Gard®, Nason®, Raptor®,Rival®, Spies Hecker®, Standox®, StollaquidTM, SyntopalTM, SyroxTM, U-POL®, VermeeraTM and Voltatex®, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of us and our subsidiaries.
Although we believe that our patents, licenses and trademarks in the aggregate constitute a valuable asset, we do not regard our business as being materially dependent on any single or group of related patents, licenses or trademarks.
JOINT VENTURES
At December 31, 2024, we were party to seven joint ventures, of which three were focused in the light vehicle end-market, two were focused in the refinish end-market and two were focused in the industrial end-market. At December 31, 2024, we were the majority shareholder, and/or exercised control, in five joint ventures, which we consolidated. Our fully consolidated joint venture-related net sales were $62 million, $62 million, and $79 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—Risks Related to Other Aspects of our Business—Our joint ventures may not operate according to our business strategy if our joint venture partners fail to fulfill their obligations.”
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HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
We believe our success is realized through the engagement and commitment of our people.As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 12,800 team members, inclusive of team members added from recent acquisitions, with 26% of our team members based in the U.S. and 74% based in international locations. Our workforce is distributed globally, with approximately 45% in the Americas, 37% in EMEA and 18% in Asia Pacific.
Axalta's ability to attract, develop and retain highly skilled talent requires us to focus on the engagement, growth and well-being of each team member. As a global coatings company, we have a diverse group of employees, including but not limited to management professionals, scientists, technicians, engineers, sales representatives, operators, supply chain experts, and administrative and customer service professionals.
In 2024, Axalta began a journey to foster a unified performance-driven culture across the organization rooted in a One Axalta mindset. One Axalta is a mindset where we focus on what is best for the overall organization, align and execute on our top priorities, act with speed and urgency, prioritize and simplify to eliminate unnecessary complexities, and break down silos to tackle our biggest challenges. We believe that focus on the One Axalta mindset positions us well for future success. To accelerate adoption of this new way of working, a company-wide training goal was established for all employees, which included, among other things, training modules around our purpose and values and the One Axalta mindset.
As part of our efforts to drive cultural change and promote employee engagement, Axalta captures employee feedback via an annual engagement survey that is designed to provide insights into how employees can perform at their best. Over recent years, employee participation in the survey has increased significantly and measures of engagement have steadily improved, which we believe reflects our continued focus on addressing employee feedback and the needs of our global workforce, including our ongoing efforts to enhance internal communications, career development, and learning and development opportunities. Axalta strives to provide a wide variety of growth opportunities for our employees, including online trainings, on-the-job experience, education tuition assistance and financial counseling. We also aim to provide competitive compensation and benefits across all global locations.
Safety is paramount and the well-being of our employees is our greatest responsibility. We are committed to providing a workplace that enables team members to operate safely. Safety is ingrained in the way we do business, and our safety program is structured on the foundation that every employee is engaged and committed to improving safe operating practices and eliminating injuries. When health and safety incidents do occur, we work to determine the causes and eliminate the potential for future similar incidents. In 2024, Axalta's injury and illness performance resulted in a 0.30 OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate (“TRIR”), compared to the 2.4 OSHA TRIR for the Paint and Coating Manufacturing Industry as a whole (according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 data).
The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors (“Board”) has oversight of the Company's human capital management efforts. The Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee of our Board has oversight of the Company's policies to protect the health and safety of our employees and contractors, and this committee regularly reviews data on our safety metrics and performance.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Our business is subject to significant regulations in all of the markets that we operate in and we are committed to operating our business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Environmental
We are subject to applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and workers' safety, including those required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”). Our Environment, Health, Safety (“EHS”) and Sustainability policies and standards are a key element of the foundation upon which we develop, market, manufacture, and distribute products and services to our global customers. In 2017, we established a Board-level committee responsible for the oversight of our EHS and Sustainability policies, performance, strategy and compliance matters. We strive to assure that all our manufacturing and distribution facilities are operated in compliance in all material respects with applicable environmental requirements. Investigation, remediation, operation and maintenance costs associated with environmental compliance and management of sites are a normal recurring part of our operations. We do not expect outstanding remediation obligations to have a material impact on our financial position; however, the ultimate cost of remediation is subject to a number of variables and is difficult to accurately predict. We may also incur significant additional costs as a result of contamination that is discovered and/or government required remediation obligations that are imposed at these or other facilities in the future.
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In addition, we are, or may become, subject to various climate disclosure regimes regulating the disclosure of GHG emissions and related information, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final rules under SEC Release No. 34-99678 and No. 33-11275, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors (the “Final SEC Climate Rules”), European Union’s (“EU”) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) and California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Climate Related Financial Risk Act (together, the “California Climate Laws”). The interpretation and enforcement of such climate disclosure regimes remains uncertain, and compliance may require the investment of significant resources, increase our costs, disrupt our business operations and pose reputational and other risks.
Non-U.S. Sales
Our non-U.S. sales are subject to both U.S. and non-U.S. governmental regulations and procurement policies and practices, including regulations relating to import-export control, tariffs, investment, exchange controls, anti-corruption and repatriation of earnings. Non-U.S. sales are also subject to varying currency, political and economic risks.
Privacy Regulations
We are also subject to and comply with increasingly complex privacy and data protection laws and regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions. This includes the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which enforces rules relating to the protections around the processing and transfer of personal data. In addition, California’s Consumer Privacy Act, as modified by the California Privacy Rights Act, provides consumers with the right to know what personal data is being collected, know whether their personal data is sold or disclosed and to whom and opt out of the sale of their personal data, among other rights. The interpretation and enforcement of such regulations are continuously evolving and there may be uncertainty with respect to how to comply with them. Noncompliance with GDPR and other data protection laws could result in damage to our reputation and payment of significant monetary penalties.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
Our website address is www.axalta.com. We post, and shareholders may access without charge, our recent filings and any amendments thereto of our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and proxy statements as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with the SEC. We also post all financial press releases, including earnings releases, to our website. We use our investor relations page at ir.axalta.com as a means of disclosing material information to the public in a broad, non-exclusionary manner for purposes of the SEC’s Regulation Fair Disclosure (or Reg. FD). Investors should routinely monitor that site, in addition to our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts, as information posted on that page could be deemed to be material information. All other reports filed or furnished to the SEC on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, including current reports on Form 8-K, are available via direct link on our website. Reference to our and the SEC's websites herein do not incorporate by reference any information contained on those websites and such information should not be considered part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
As a global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-performance coatings systems, we operate in a business environment that includes risks. If any of the events contemplated by the following discussion of risks should occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could suffer materially and adversely. While the factors listed here are considered to be the more significant factors, they should not be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors, including those in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC, may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Risks Related to our Business
Risks Related to Execution of our Strategic and Operating Plans
Our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected by difficult economic conditions and/or significant volatility in the capital, credit and commodities markets.
Several of the end-markets we serve are cyclical, and macroeconomic and other factors beyond our control have in the past and could in the future reduce demand from these end-markets for our products, including as a result of depressed demand for our customers' products or services, and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. For example, weak economic conditions have in the past depressed and could in the future depress new car sales and/or production, reducing demand for our light vehicle OEM coatings and limiting the growth of the car parc. This has in the past and could in the future cause a related decline in demand for our automotive refinish coatings because, as the age of a vehicle increases, the propensity of car owners to pay for cosmetic repairs generally decreases. Also, during difficult economic times, car owners may refrain from seeking repairs for their damaged vehicles. Similarly, periods of reduced global economic activity could hinder global industrial output or cause our customers to reduce their levels of inventory (also referred to as destocking practices), which could decrease demand for our products.
Our global business is adversely affected by decreases in the general level of economic activity, such as decreases in business and consumer spending, construction activity, Class 8 truck production and industrial manufacturing, which effects are exacerbated in a high interest rate environment. Disruptions in the U.S., Europe or other economies, or weakening of emerging markets, such as China or Latin America, could adversely affect our sales, profitability and/or liquidity.
Further, a tightening of credit in financial markets could adversely affect the ability of our customers to obtain financing to support their operations, which could result in a decrease in or cancellation of orders for our products and services and impact the ability of our customers to make payments owed to us. Similarly, a tightening of credit in financial markets could adversely affect our supplier base and increase the potential for one or more of our suppliers to experience financial distress or bankruptcy, which could impact our ability to procure materials in a timely manner or at all. Lastly, a tightening of credit markets and a high interest rate environment make it more difficult for our customers to borrow to fund construction activity, manufacturing operations and other capital projects, which in turn reduces demand for our products and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Improved safety features on vehicles, commercialization of autonomous vehicles, insurance company influence, the introduction of new business models or new methods of travel, and weather conditions may reduce the demand for some of our products and could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Vehicle manufacturers continue to develop new safety features such as collision avoidance technology and autonomous vehicles that may reduce the rate and amount of vehicle collisions, potentially negatively impacting demand for our refinish coatings. Insurance companies may influence vehicle owners to use body shops that do not use our products, which could also negatively impact demand for our refinish coatings. In addition, through the introduction of new technologies, new business models or new methods of travel, such as ridesharing, the number of automotive OEM new builds may decline, potentially reducing demand for our automotive OEM coatings. Furthermore, weather conditions have had and may in the future have an adverse effect on our sales of coatings and related products. For example, unusually mild weather during winter months may lead to fewer vehicle collisions, reducing demand for our refinish coatings. Any resulting reduction in demand for our refinish coatings could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The loss of, or reduced purchases by, or our failure to meet our obligations to, any of our largest customers, or the consolidation of MSOs, distributors and/or body shops, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We have some customers that purchase a large amount of products from us and we are also reliant on distributors to assist us in selling our products. Our largest single customer accounted for approximately 5% of our 2024 net sales and our largest distributor accounted for approximately 3% of our 2024 net sales. Consolidation of any of our customers, including MSOs, distributors and body shops, could decrease our customer base and impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. For example, consolidation among distributors, like that seen within the refinish end-market in 2024, may create larger enterprises with greater negotiating power, resulting in changes to purchasing behaviors (including if the resulting business engages in inventory destocking measures) or the loss of our customers if the resulting business
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chooses to use one of our competitors for the consolidated business. Further, the loss of any of our large customers or significant changes in their level of purchases, as a result of changes in business conditions, working capital levels, product requirements, consolidation, inventory destocking or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, certain key customers have substantial purchasing power and leverage in negotiating contractual arrangements with us. These customers have demanded and may in the future demand contract terms that differ considerably from our standard terms and conditions. Large orders have also included and may in the future also include severe liabilities if we fail to provide the quantity and quality of product at the required delivery times or fail to meet other obligations. While we attempt to contractually limit our potential liability, we have agreed to, and we may in the future agree to, unfavorable contracting terms to secure these orders. Such actions have exposed us, and in the future could expose us, to significant additional risks should we fail to meet our obligations. For example, failure to meet customer expectations or contractual obligations related to the quality of our products has previously resulted in liabilities or indemnification claims, including those resulting from the operational matter discussed in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K; any such future failures may result in a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may be unable to successfully execute on our growth initiatives or targets, business strategies or operating plans.
We continue to execute, and have in the past executed, on a number of growth initiatives, strategies and operating plans designed to enhance our business, including productivity enhancements, cost reduction measures, cost savings initiatives and restructurings. For example, during February 2024, we announced a global transformation initiative intended to simplify the Company’s organizational structure and enable us to be more proactive, responsive, and agile and to better serve our customers and to lower our cost base and improve financial performance and cash flow generation (the “2024 Transformation Initiative”) and, at our Strategy Day in May 2024, we announced our three-year 2024-2026 strategy (the “2026 A Plan”). The anticipated benefits from these efforts are based on several assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate and a variety of factors could cause us to fail to realize some or all of the expected benefits and targets, including growth, cost savings, improved financial performance and productivity enhancements. These factors include, among others: delays in the anticipated timing of activities related to such growth initiatives, strategies and operating plans, including those related to actions needed to satisfy legal requirements in certain jurisdictions; increased difficulty and cost in implementing these efforts; adverse legal, reputational and financial effects on the Company resulting from such efforts; and the incurrence of other unexpected costs associated with operating the business. Further, our continued implementation of these programs may disrupt our operations and performance. We have in the past, and may in the future, fail to realize the full extent of the anticipated benefits from, or targets related to, such efforts and we cannot assure you that we will realize these benefits or targets. If, for any reason, the benefits we realize, or our actual results, are less than our estimates or targets, or the implementation of these growth initiatives, strategies and operating plans adversely affect our operations or cost more or take longer to effectuate than we expect, or if our assumptions prove inaccurate, our results of operations may be materially adversely affected. From time to time, we may commence operations at new manufacturing facilities, such as the Mobility Coatings manufacturing facility we opened in 2023 in Jilin City, Jilin Province, China, and cease operations at existing manufacturing facilities, including through relocating, eliminating or utilizing alternative sources for such operations. We may not be able to successfully commence such new operations or cease such existing operations and our failure to successfully do so could have a material adverse impact on our business results.
We rely on our distributor network and third-party delivery services for the distribution and export of certain of our products. A significant disruption in these services or significant increases in prices for these services may disrupt our ability to export material or increase our costs.
We ship a significant portion of our products to our customers through our distributor network as well as independent third-party delivery companies. If any of our key distributors or third-party delivery providers experiences a significant disruption, our products may not be timely delivered. Distributors may also decide to reduce their levels of inventory with respect to our products, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, if any of our third-party delivery providers increase prices and we are not able to pass along these increases to customers, find comparable alternatives or adjust our delivery network, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We rely on certain of our manufacturing facilities to make a significant amount of product, and certain products can only be made at specific facilities.
A small number of our manufacturing facilities have historically produced a substantial majority of our products, and certain of our products can only be made at specific facilities. Any disruption of operations at one of these facilities, like those that occurred in North America in the second quarter of 2023 due to production constraints following our implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system (“ERP”) in the region in the quarter, have in the past and could in the future significantly affect our production, distribution or our ability to fulfill our contractual obligations, including to our largest customers, which have in the past and could in the future damage our customer relationships, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. While we have certain plans in place that are
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intended to mitigate the risks of such manufacturing concentration, we cannot be certain that such contingency plans would be effective.
Price increases, business and supply chain interruptions, declines in the supply of raw materials or disruptions to our major tolling arrangements could have a significant impact on our ability to grow or sustain earnings.
Our manufacturing processes consume significant amounts of raw materials, the costs of which are subject to change based on fluctuations in worldwide supply and demand as well as other factors beyond our control, including inflationary pressures like those seen most recently from mid-2021 through 2022, and which abated for most categories during 2023 and 2024. We use a significant amount of raw materials derived from crude oil and natural gas. While the majority of our raw material inputs are fourth to sixth generation derivatives of crude oil and natural gas, volatile oil and gas prices, as well as other unrelated factors, can cause significant variations in our raw materials costs, affecting our operating results. While we attempt to limit the impact of fluctuations in the prices of raw materials by implementing raw material price adjustment mechanisms based on index pricing in certain of our contractual arrangements, such mechanisms may be ineffective and often lag market price changes and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to secure such contractual terms in future contracts or renewals of existing contracts. As a result, in rising raw material price environments, we may be unable to pass along these increased costs to our customers. Additionally, in declining raw material price environments, we may not realize raw material cost savings because of such lags, or customers may seek price concessions from us greater than any raw material cost savings we realize. If we are not able to fully offset the effects of higher raw materials costs, or if customers demand greater raw material price concessions than we obtain in low raw material cost environments, our financial results could deteriorate. Additionally, we obtain certain of our raw materials from selected key suppliers. If any sole source supplier of raw materials ceases supplying raw materials to us, or if any of our key suppliers is unable to meet its obligations in a timely fashion or at an acceptable price, or at all, we may be forced to incur higher costs to obtain the necessary raw materials elsewhere or, in limited instances, we may not be able to obtain the necessary raw materials. Additionally, in certain instances, we rely on third parties to toll manufacture certain of our intermediates and products. If any of our key tolling partners ceases to provide toll manufacturing services to us, either permanently or temporarily, we would be required to arrange for alternative manufacturing arrangements, which we may not be able to arrange on financially attractive terms, on a timely basis or at all.
In addition to the risks associated with raw materials prices, supplier capacity constraints, supplier production disruptions, including supply disruptions from our sole source or other key suppliers, supply chain and logistics congestion and disruptions, increasing costs for energy and freight, the unavailability of certain raw materials or disruptions to our key tolling arrangements could result in harm to our manufacturing capabilities or supply imbalances that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, rising costs of freight, logistics, energy and labor, as we experienced over 2022, and which generally abated in 2023 and 2024, increase our cost of sales and reduce our profitability.
Failure to develop and market new products and manage product life cycles could impact our competitive position and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our operating results are largely dependent on our development and management of our portfolio of current, new and developing products and services as well as our ability to bring those products and services to market. Difficulties or delays in product development, such as the inability to identify viable new products, successfully complete research and development, obtain relevant regulatory approvals, effectively manage our manufacturing process or costs, obtain intellectual property protection, or gain market acceptance of new products and services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Because of the lengthy and costly development process, technological challenges and intense competition, we cannot assure you that any of the products we are currently developing, or that we may develop in the future, will achieve commercial success. For example, in addition to developing technologically advanced products, commercial success of those products will depend on customer acceptance and implementation of those products as well as the products and services offered and developed by our current and future competitors and the related intellectual property rights held by such competitors. A failure to develop commercially successful products or to develop additional uses for existing products could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Further, sales of our new products could replace sales of some of our current products, offsetting the benefit of even a successful product introduction.
Risks Related to our Global Operations
As a global business, we are subject to risks associated with our non-U.S. operations and U.S. and foreign trade policy.
We conduct our business on a global basis, with approximately 65% of our 2024 net sales occurring outside the United States. We anticipate that international sales will continue to represent a substantial portion of our net sales and that our strategy for continued growth and profitability may entail further international expansion, particularly in emerging markets. Changes in local and regional economic or political conditions could affect product demand in our non-U.S. operations. Specifically, our financial results could be affected by changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies, laws and regulations, or other activities of U.S. and non-U.S. governments, agencies and similar organizations. These conditions include, but are not limited to, changes in a country's or region's social, economic or political conditions, military conflicts, including the current conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, geopolitical disputes, including as a result of China-Taiwan relations, trade regulations affecting production, pricing and marketing of products, local labor conditions and regulations,
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semiconductor chip shortages, reduced protection of intellectual property rights, changes in the regulatory or legal environment, restrictions on currency exchange activities, trapped cash issues, burdensome taxes and tariffs and other trade barriers, as well as the imposition of economic or other trade sanctions, each of which could impact our ability to do business in certain jurisdictions or with certain persons.
The U.S. government has taken actions or made proposals that are intended to address trade imbalances or trade practices, specifically with China, among other countries, which include encouraging increased production in the United States. Furthermore, the current administration has begun implementing a more protectionist trade environment, including through measures such as the imposition of higher tariffs on imports into the U.S., the renegotiation of some U.S. trade agreements and other government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries where we conduct our business, including announced tariffs on imports from China and Mexico, and threatened tariffs on imports from the EU. These actions and proposals have resulted or could result in retaliatory actions by affected countries. Such changes could increase the price we pay for certain raw materials we import from such countries, for which we may not able to obtain alternative supply at equivalent or lower prices, reduce demand for our products in other countries and adversely impact the U.S. economy or certain sectors thereof or the economy of other countries in which we conduct operations, our industry and supply chain, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Compliance and Litigation
Our failure to comply with the anti-corruption laws of the United States and various international jurisdictions could negatively impact our reputation and results of operations.
Doing business on a global basis requires us to comply with the laws and regulations of the U.S. government and those of various international and sub-national jurisdictions, and our failure to successfully comply with these rules and regulations may expose us to liabilities which may be significant. These laws and regulations apply to companies, individual directors, officers, employees and agents, and may restrict our operations, trade practices, investment decisions and partnering activities. In particular, our international operations are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) and the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010 (the “Bribery Act”), as well as anti-corruption laws of the various jurisdictions in which we operate. The FCPA, the Bribery Act and other laws prohibit us and our officers, directors, employees and agents acting on our behalf from corruptly offering, promising, authorizing or providing anything of value to foreign officials for the purposes of influencing official decisions or obtaining or retaining business or otherwise obtaining favorable treatment. As part of our business, we may, from time to time, deal with state-owned business enterprises, the employees and representatives of which may be considered foreign officials for purposes of the FCPA or the Bribery Act. We are subject to the jurisdiction of various governments and regulatory agencies outside of the U.S., which may bring our personnel into contact with foreign officials responsible for issuing or renewing permits, licenses or approvals or for enforcing or overseeing other governmental regulations. In addition, some of the international locations in which we operate lack a developed legal system and have elevated levels of corruption. Our global operations expose us to the risk of violating, or being accused of violating, the foregoing or other anti-corruption laws. Such violations could be punishable by criminal fines, imprisonment, civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, injunctions and exclusion from government contracts, as well as other remedial measures. Investigations of alleged violations can be very expensive, disruptive and damaging to our reputation. Although we have implemented anti-corruption policies and procedures and provide training on these matters, there can be no guarantee that these policies, procedures and training will effectively prevent violations or alleged violations by our employees or representatives in the future, and we could face liability and reputational harm if our distributors and other business partners violate such laws or regulations.
Evolving environmental, safety, product stewardship, consumer protection or other regulations and laws, including with respect to disclosure of metrics related to such areas, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition.
Our manufacturing activities and products, both inside and outside of the U.S., are subject to regulation by various federal, state, provincial and local laws, regulations and government agencies, including the EPA, as well as other authorities both inside and outside of the U.S. In addition, legal and regulatory systems in emerging and developing markets may be less developed and less consistent. Laws and regulations, and the interpretation and enforcement thereof, may change as a result of a variety of factors, including political, economic, regulatory or social events or in response to climate change. Changes in our business, whether resulting from acquisitions or otherwise, have previously increased, and may further increase, our exposure to additional laws and regulations, such as consumer protection statutes. The specific impact of changing laws and regulations, or the interpretation or enforcement of current or future laws and regulations, on our business may vary depending on a number of factors. As a result of changing laws and regulations, or the interpretation or enforcement of current or future laws and regulations, we have been and may in the future be required to make expenditures to modify operations, relocate operations, perform site cleanups or other environmental remediation, or curtail or cease operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Requirements relating to product stewardship and resource sustainability, including product recycling, packaging, composition and disposal, may also require us to incur significant expenses, including expenses related to costs, fines or other penalties, suspensions or modifications of products or manufacturing processes related to such products, or prohibitions of products we manufacture. In addition, new disclosure and due diligence requirements related to GHG emissions and climate
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change and other environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) related topics, such as supply chain due diligence requirements, including the Final SEC Climate Rules, the California Climate Laws, the EU's recently adopted CSRD and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”), and other requirements adopted by national and sub-national jurisdictions from time to time, may negatively impact our business by diverting resources and harming our reputation.
We cannot predict the impact that changing climate conditions or more frequent and severe weather events, if any, will have on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. Moreover, we cannot predict how legal, regulatory and social responses to concerns about climate change, as well as other sustainability and environmental matters, will impact our business.
As a result of our current and past operations and/or products, including operations and/or products related to our businesses prior to the Acquisition, we could incur significant environmental liabilities and costs.
We are subject to various laws and regulations around the world governing the protection of the environment and health and safety, including the discharge of pollutants into the air and water and the management and disposal of hazardous substances. These laws and regulations not only govern our current operations and products, but also impose potential liability on us for our or our predecessors' past operations. We could incur fines, penalties and other sanctions as a result of violations of such laws and regulations. In addition, as a result of our operations and/or products, including our past operations and/or products related to our businesses prior to the acquisition of DuPont Performance Coatings (“DPC”), a business formerly owned by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (now known as EIDP, Inc., a subsidiary of Corteva, Inc.) (“EIDP”), including certain assets of DPC and all of the capital stock and other equity interests of certain entities engaged in the DPC business (the “Acquisition”), we could incur substantial costs, including costs relating to remediation and restoration activities and third-party claims for property damage or personal injury. The ultimate costs under environmental laws and the timing of these costs are difficult to accurately predict. Our accruals for costs and liabilities at sites where contamination is being investigated or remediated may not be adequate because the estimates on which the accruals are based depend on a number of factors, including the nature and extent of contamination, the outcome of discussions with regulatory agencies, available technology, site-specific information, remediation alternatives and, at multi-party sites, other Potentially Responsible Parties (“PRPs”) and the number and financial viability of the other PRPs. Additional contamination may also be identified, and/or additional cleanup obligations may be incurred, at these or other sites in the future. For example, periodic monitoring or investigation activities are ongoing at a number of our sites where contaminants have been detected or are suspected, and we may incur additional costs if more active or extensive remediation is required. In addition, in connection with the Acquisition, EIDP has, subject to certain exceptions and exclusions, agreed to indemnify us for certain liabilities relating to environmental remediation obligations and certain claims relating to the exposure to hazardous substances and products manufactured prior to our separation from EIDP. We could incur material additional costs if EIDP fails to meet its obligations, if the indemnification proves insufficient or if we otherwise are unable to recover costs associated with such liabilities. The costs of our current operations, complying with complex environmental laws and regulations, as well as internal voluntary programs, are significant and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future as environmental regulations become more stringent.
We handle and transport certain materials that are inherently hazardous due to their toxic nature.
In our business, we handle and transport hazardous materials. If mishandled or released into the environment, whether by us or providers who are contracted for transportation, these materials could cause substantial property damage, environmental harm or personal injuries resulting in significant legal claims against us. In addition, evolving regulations concerning the handling and transportation of certain materials could result in increased future capital or operating costs.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by litigation and claims.
We face risks arising from various litigation matters and other claims that have been asserted against us or that may be asserted against us in the future, including, but not limited to, claims for product liability, patent and trademark infringement, antitrust, warranty, contract and third-party property damage or personal injury, including claims arising from the matters described in Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For instance, we have seen a continuing nationwide trend in purported class actions against chemical manufacturers generally seeking relief such as medical monitoring, property damages, off-site remediation and punitive damages arising from alleged environmental torts without claiming present personal injuries. We have also seen a continuing trend in public and private nuisance suits being filed on behalf of states, counties, cities and utilities alleging harm to the general public. There is also heightened scrutiny by governments, regulators and potential plaintiffs on the usage of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in products, the role of PFAS in the contamination of soil, air and water and health concerns related to the use of products containing PFAS. Governmental inquiries or requirements involving PFAS could cause us to incur liability for damages or other costs, civil proceedings, including personal injury claims, class actions, the imposition of fines and penalties, or other remedies, as well as restrictions on or added costs for our business operations going forward.
Various factors or developments can lead to changes in current estimates of liabilities such as a final adverse judgment, significant settlement or changes in applicable law. A future adverse ruling or unfavorable development could result in future charges that could have a material adverse effect on us. An adverse outcome in any one or more of these matters could be material to our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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Risks Related to Human Resources
If we are required to make unexpected payments to any pension plans applicable to our employees, our financial condition may be adversely affected.
We have defined benefit pension plans in which many of our current and former employees outside the U.S. participate or have participated. Many of these plans are underfunded or unfunded and the liabilities in relation to these plans will need to be satisfied as they mature from our operating reserves. In jurisdictions where the defined benefit pension plans are intended to be funded with assets in a trust or other funding vehicle, the liabilities exceed the corresponding assets in many of the plans. Various factors, such as changes in actuarial estimates and assumptions (including as to life expectancy, discount rates and rate of return on assets) as well as changes in asset allocations and actual return on assets, can increase the expenses and liabilities of the defined benefit pension plans. The assets and liabilities of the plans must be valued from time to time under applicable funding rules and as a result we may be required to increase the cash payments we make in relation to these defined benefit pension plans.
Our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be adversely affected to the extent that we are required to make any additional payments to any relevant defined benefit pension plans in excess of the amounts assumed in our current projections and assumptions or report higher pension plan expenses under relevant accounting rules.
We are subject to work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with our labor force, which may adversely impact our operations and cause us to incur incremental costs.
Many of our employees globally are in unions or otherwise covered by labor agreements, including works councils. As of December 31, 2024, substantially all of our U.S. workforce was not unionized and approximately half of our workforce outside the U.S. was unionized or otherwise covered by labor agreements. Consequently, we have been and may in the future be subject to union campaigns, work stoppages, union negotiations and other labor disputes. Additionally, negotiations with unions or works councils in connection with existing labor agreements may result in significant increases in our cost of labor, limit our ability to restructure or manage our operations, divert management's attention away from operating our business or break down and result in the disruption of our operations. The occurrence of any of the preceding outcomes could impair our ability to manufacture our products and result in increased costs and/or worsened operating results. Further, we have been and may in the future be impacted by work stoppages at our suppliers or customers that are beyond our control.
We may not be able to recruit and retain the experienced and skilled personnel we need to compete.
Our future success depends on our ability to attract, retain, develop and motivate highly skilled personnel. We must have talented personnel to succeed, and competition for management and skilled employees in our industry is intense. Our ability to meet our performance and growth goals depends upon the personal efforts and abilities of our management and skilled employees. We cannot assure you that we will retain or successfully recruit senior management, or that their services will remain available to us. In addition, increasing legislative, regulatory and judicial scrutiny, or limitations, on employee non-compete and similar agreements and restrictions may make it easier for former employees to work for our competitors or to otherwise compete with our business. We also cannot assure you that we will successfully respond to changing employee preferences in the past few years, including flexible working arrangements. Failures in these areas could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
Our inability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our financial results.
Intellectual property rights both in the U.S. and in foreign countries, including patents, trade secrets, confidential information, trademarks and trade names, are important to our business and will be critical to our ability to grow and succeed in the future. We make decisions on whether to apply for intellectual property protection and what kind of protection to pursue based on a cost benefit analysis. While we endeavor to protect our intellectual property rights in certain jurisdictions in which our products are produced or used and in jurisdictions into which our products are imported, the decision to file for intellectual property protection is made on a case-by-case basis and we may not accurately assess the jurisdictions where intellectual property protection is worthwhile. Because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other laws concerning intellectual property rights, our intellectual property rights may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as they would in the U.S. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We have applied for patent protection relating to certain existing and proposed products, processes and services in certain jurisdictions. If we fail to timely file a patent application in any jurisdiction, we may be precluded from doing so at a later date. Furthermore, the initial claims may be narrowed through the prosecution process and we cannot assure you that our pending patent applications will not be challenged by third parties or that such applications will eventually be granted by the applicable patent offices. The patents we own could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by others and may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Our existing patents will all eventually expire, after which we will not be able to prevent our competitors from using our previously patented technologies, which could materially adversely affect our competitive advantage stemming from the applicable products and
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technologies. We also cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our patents, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our patents.
We also utilize and rely on a significant number of unpatented proprietary technologies. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise obtain access to our unpatented technology. To protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information, we require certain employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators to enter into confidentiality agreements as we deem appropriate. We cannot assure you that we will be able to enter into these confidentiality agreements or that these agreements will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure of such trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies, we could be materially adversely affected.
We rely on our trademarks, trade names and brand names to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties have in the past and in the future may oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.
We also license certain of our trademarks for use by third parties. In an effort to preserve our trademark rights, we enter into license agreements with these third parties that govern the use of our trademarks and contain limitations on their use. Although we make efforts to police the use of our trademarks by our licensees, we cannot assure you that these efforts will be sufficient to ensure that our licensees abide by the terms of their licenses. In the event that our licensees fail to do so, our trademark rights could be diluted. We are also a licensee of certain intellectual property owned by third parties. Failure to maintain such licenses or our inability to continue to use such intellectual property, due to disputes with those third parties or otherwise, could adversely affect our business.
If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it may be costly and time consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in any litigation could harm our business.
We cannot assure you that our activities will not, unintentionally or otherwise, infringe on the patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights owned by others. We may spend significant time and effort and incur significant litigation costs if we are required to defend ourselves against claims of intellectual property rights infringement, regardless of whether the claims have merit. If we are found to have infringed on the patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to substantial claims for damages, which could materially impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. We may also be required to cease development, use or sale of the relevant products or processes, or we may be required to obtain a license on the disputed rights, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.
Risks Related to Other Aspects of our Business
We may continue to engage in acquisitions and divestitures, and may encounter difficulties integrating acquired businesses with, or disposing of divested businesses from, our current operations and, as a result, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions and divestitures.
We expect to continue to seek to grow through acquisitions, joint ventures or other arrangements. Our due diligence reviews in these transactions may not identify all of the issues necessary to accurately estimate the cost or potential loss contingencies with respect to a particular transaction, including potential exposure to regulatory sanctions resulting from a counterparty's previous activities. We may incur unanticipated costs or expenses, including post-closing asset impairment charges or expenses associated with eliminating redundant facilities or from litigation and other liabilities. We may also face regulatory scrutiny as a result of perceived concentration in certain markets, which could cause additional delay or prevent us from completing certain acquisitions that would be beneficial to our business. We may also encounter difficulties in integrating acquisitions with our operations, applying our internal controls processes to these acquisitions or managing strategic investments. Additionally, we may not achieve the benefits, including synergies and cost savings, as well as the growth and the fit with our existing businesses, we anticipate when we first enter into a transaction in the amount or on the timeframe anticipated. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, accounting requirements relating to business combinations, including the requirement to expense certain acquisition costs as incurred, may cause us to experience greater earnings volatility and generally lower earnings during periods in which we acquire new businesses. Furthermore, we have in the past made and may in the future make divestitures from time to time. These divestitures may result in continued financial involvement in the divested businesses, such as through indemnities, guarantees or other financial arrangements. These arrangements could result in financial obligations imposed upon us, reduce our net sales and profitability and could affect our future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Acquisitions and divestitures may also require us to devote significant internal resources and could divert management's attention away from operating our business.
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Our joint ventures may not operate according to our business strategy if our joint venture partners fail to fulfill their obligations.
As part of our business, we have entered into certain, and may in the future enter into additional, joint venture arrangements. The nature of a joint venture requires us to share control over significant decisions with unaffiliated third parties. Since we may not exercise control over our current or future joint ventures, we may not be able to require our joint ventures to take actions that we believe are necessary to implement our business strategy. Additionally, differences in views among joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or failures to agree on major issues. If these differences cause the joint ventures to deviate from our business strategy, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
EIDP's potential breach of its obligations in connection with the Acquisition, including failure to comply with its indemnification obligations, may materially affect our business and operating results.
Although the Acquisition closed on February 1, 2013, EIDP still has performance obligations to us, including fulfilling certain indemnification requirements. We could incur material additional costs if EIDP fails to meet its obligations or if we otherwise are unable to recover costs associated with such liabilities.
We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our common shares.
Based on the market price of our common shares and the composition of our income, assets and operations, we do not expect to be treated as a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year or in the foreseeable future. However, the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects, and we cannot assure you the U.S. Internal Revenue Service will not take a contrary position. Furthermore, this is a factual determination that must be made annually after the close of each taxable year. If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. person holds our common shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. person.
Risks Related to our Indebtedness
Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy and our industry and our flexibility in managing our business, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt and prevent us from meeting our obligations with respect to our indebtedness.
As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately $3.4 billion of indebtedness on a consolidated basis. As of December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with all of the covenants under our outstanding debt instruments. We are more leveraged than some of our competitors, which could adversely affect our business plans.
Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to you. For example, it could:
•limit our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes;
•require us to devote a substantial portion of our annual cash flow to the payment of interest on our indebtedness;
•expose us to the risk of high interest rates, as, over the term of our debt, the interest cost on a significant portion of our indebtedness is subject to changes in interest rates;
•limit our ability to repurchase our common shares or pay dividends;
•limit our flexibility in managing our business through our obligation to comply with customary financial and other covenants in the instruments governing our indebtedness, including the indentures governing our Senior Notes (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) and the credit agreement governing our Senior Secured Credit Facilities (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), which covenants are described in further detail in Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K; and
•increase our vulnerability to and limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, downturns in general economic conditions or in one or more of our businesses.
To service all of our indebtedness, we will require a significant amount of cash and our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.
As described below in “Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Shares,” our ability to generate cash is dependent on the earnings and receipt of funds from our subsidiaries and joint ventures, which businesses are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions, and to financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or to fund our other liquidity needs, including planned capital expenditures. In such circumstances, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness at or before maturity. We may not 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
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such as selling assets, issuing additional equity or reducing or delaying capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions and investments. Such actions, if necessary, may not be effected on commercially reasonable terms or at all. The instruments governing our indebtedness restrict our ability to sell assets and to use the proceeds from such sales, and we may not be able to consummate those dispositions or obtain proceeds in an amount sufficient to meet any debt service obligations then due.
If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, and we may not be able to obtain waivers of such defaults from our lenders. In the event of such un-waived default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, the lenders under our Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) could elect to terminate their commitments thereunder, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.
Despite our current level of indebtedness and restrictive covenants, we and our subsidiaries may incur additional indebtedness. This could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial financial leverage.
We and our subsidiaries may incur significant additional indebtedness under the agreements governing our indebtedness or otherwise. Although the indentures governing our Senior Notes and the credit agreement governing our Senior Secured Credit Facilities contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of thresholds, qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. Additionally, these restrictions may not prevent us from incurring obligations that, although preferential to our common shares in terms of payment, do not constitute indebtedness.
In addition, if new debt is added to our and/or our subsidiaries' debt levels, the related risks that we now face as a result of our leverage would intensify. See Part II, Item 7, “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Financial Condition.”
We are dependent upon our lenders for financing to execute our business strategy and meet our liquidity needs. If our lenders are unable or unwilling to fund borrowings under their credit commitments or we are unable to borrow, it could negatively impact our business.
We are dependent upon our lenders for financing to execute our business strategy and meet our liquidity needs. If our lenders are unable to fund borrowings under their credit commitments or we are unable to borrow from them for any reason, our business could be negatively impacted. During periods of volatility in the credit markets, there is risk that any lenders, even those with strong balance sheets and sound lending practices, could fail or refuse to honor their legal commitments and obligations under existing credit commitments, including, but not limited to, extending credit up to the maximum permitted by a credit facility, or allowing access to additional credit features. If our lenders are unable or unwilling to fund borrowings under their revolving credit commitments or we are unable to borrow from them, it could be difficult in such environments to obtain sufficient liquidity to meet our operational needs.
Our ability to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms may be limited.
Although we believe our cash and cash equivalents, together with cash we expect to generate from operations and unused capacity available under our Revolving Credit Facility, provide adequate resources to fund ongoing operating requirements, we may need to seek additional financing to compete effectively.
If we are unable to obtain capital on commercially reasonable terms, it could:
•reduce funds available to us for purposes such as working capital, capital expenditures, research and development, strategic acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
•restrict our ability to introduce new products, exploit business opportunities and compete effectively; and
•increase our vulnerability to economic downturns and competitive pressures in the markets in which we operate.
Difficult and volatile conditions in the capital, credit and commodities markets and in the overall economy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Difficult global economic conditions, including significant volatility in the capital, credit and commodities markets, low levels of business and consumer confidence and high levels of unemployment in certain parts of the world, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The difficult conditions in these markets and the overall economy affect our business in a number of ways. For example:
•under difficult market conditions there can be no assurance that borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility would be available or sufficient to meet our operational needs, and in such a case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on reasonable terms, or at all;
•in order to respond to market conditions, we may need to seek waivers from the applicability of various provisions in the credit agreement governing our Senior Secured Credit Facilities or the indentures governing our Senior Notes, and in such case, there can be no assurance that we can obtain such waivers at a reasonable cost, if at all;
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•market conditions could cause the counterparties to the derivative financial instruments we may use to hedge our exposure to interest rate, commodity or currency fluctuations to experience financial difficulties and, as a result, our efforts to hedge these exposures could prove unsuccessful and, furthermore, our ability to engage in additional hedging activities may decrease or become more costly; and
•market conditions could result in our key customers experiencing financial difficulties and/or electing to limit spending, which in turn could result in decreased sales and earnings for us.
We do not know if market conditions or the state of the overall economy will improve or worsen in the near future. We cannot provide assurance that a continuation of current economic conditions or an economic downturn in one or more of the geographic regions in which we sell our products would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with the current interest rate environment and, to the extent we use debt to fund our operations, changes in interest rates will affect our cost of debt.
A substantial portion of our indebtedness bears interest at variable rates, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), making our cost of debt higher in elevated interest rate environments, which increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. While we may choose to, and routinely do, enter into interest rate hedging transactions to mitigate the effect of fluctuations in interest rates, we can provide no assurance that we will enter any such transactions in the future or that any such transactions would be successful in mitigating the risks of fluctuations in interest rates.
Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Shares
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. is a holding company with no operations of its own. Because our operations are conducted almost entirely through our subsidiaries and joint ventures, we are largely dependent on our receipt of distributions and dividends or other payments from our subsidiaries and joint ventures for cash to fund all of our operations and expenses, including to make future dividend payments, if any. We may engage in restructurings and similar transactions that have the effect of altering the economic features of, and rights associated with, our common shares.
Though Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. is party to certain intercompany financing arrangements and is a guarantor of third-party debt of certain of its indirect subsidiaries, our operations are conducted almost entirely through our subsidiaries and joint ventures and our ability to generate cash to meet our debt service obligations or to make future dividend payments, if any, or to fund any share repurchases, is highly dependent on the earnings and the receipt of funds from our subsidiaries and joint ventures in the form of intercompany distributions, loans or advances and through repayment of loans or advances from us. Payments to us by our subsidiaries and joint ventures will be contingent upon our subsidiaries' or joint ventures' earnings and other business considerations and may be subject to statutory or contractual restrictions. In addition, there may be significant tax and other legal restrictions on the ability of foreign subsidiaries or joint ventures to remit money to Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. Any payment of intercompany distributions, loans or advances to and from our subsidiaries and joint ventures could be subject to restrictions on, or taxation of, dividends or repatriation of earnings under applicable local law, monetary transfer restrictions, foreign currency exchange regulations in the jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries operate or other restrictions imposed by current or future agreements, including debt instruments, to which our non-U.S. subsidiaries may be a party. From time to time, we may engage in internal reorganizations to manage such restrictions and other limitations. However, any such reorganizations may, among other things, adversely affect our operating results and cash flows. Additionally, we seek to identify improvement opportunities to optimize our corporate organizational structure, including potential transactions that could result in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. or any successor entity being incorporated in a jurisdiction other than Bermuda. Any such transaction, which may not require approval from all of the holders of our common shares, could result in adverse tax or other economic consequences for the holders of our common shares and may result in the holders of our common shares having fewer or less effective protections and/or governance rights, among other potential impacts.
The price of our common shares has and may in the future fluctuate significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Volatility in the market price of our common shares may prevent you from being able to sell your common shares at or above the price you paid for your common shares. The market price of our common shares has in the past fluctuated, and could in the future fluctuate, significantly for various reasons, including the realization of any risks described under this “Risk Factors” section.
In addition, over the past several years, the stock markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies, including us and other companies in our industry. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance of the affected companies. Hence, the price of our common shares could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with our business, and these fluctuations could materially reduce our share price and cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Further, in the past, market fluctuations and price declines in a company's stock have led to securities class action litigation. If such a suit were to arise, it could have a substantial cost, adversely impact our business and divert our resources regardless of the outcome.
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We do not expect to pay dividends on our common shares and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common shares. There can be no guarantee that we will repurchase shares under our share repurchase program.
We currently do not declare or pay dividends on our common shares. Therefore, the success of an investment in our common shares will depend upon any future appreciation in their value. There is no guarantee that our common shares will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which our shareholders have purchased their shares. The payment of future dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend on, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, statutory and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends and other relevant considerations. The credit agreement governing our Senior Secured Credit Facilities and the indentures governing our Senior Notes also limit our ability to pay dividends. In addition, Bermuda law imposes requirements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common shares. As a consequence of these limitations and restrictions, we may not be able to make, or may have to reduce or eliminate, the payment of dividends on our common shares.
While the Board has authorized a common share repurchase program of $700 million, of which $600 million remains available, there is no guarantee with respect to the timing or amount of any future share repurchases, or that we will repurchase the full amount authorized under our current common share repurchase program. Other factors, including changes in tax or securities laws, as well as restrictions imposed in the documents governing our indebtedness, could also impact our common share repurchases. Common share repurchases may reduce the liquidity available to the Company for other activities, including repayment of debt, working capital, capital expenditures, research and development, strategic acquisitions and other general corporate purposes
Future sales of our common shares in the public market could lower our share price, and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities may dilute your ownership in us and may adversely affect the market price of our common shares.
We and our shareholders may sell additional common shares in subsequent offerings. We may also issue additional common shares or convertible debt securities. As of February 6, 2025, we had 1,000,000,000 common shares authorized and 218,143,313 common shares outstanding.
We cannot predict the size of future issuances or sales of our common shares or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of our common shares will have on the market price of our common shares. Sales of substantial amounts of our common shares (including sales by members of management and shares that may be issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common shares. See Part III, Item 13, “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence.”
We are a Bermuda company and it may be difficult for you to enforce judgments against us or our directors and executive officers.
We are a Bermuda exempted company. As a result, the rights of our shareholders are governed by Bermuda law and our memorandum of association and bye-laws. The rights of shareholders under Bermuda law may differ from the rights of shareholders of companies incorporated in another jurisdiction, and a substantial portion of our assets are located outside the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process on those persons in the U.S. or to enforce in the U.S. judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or those persons based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws. It is questionable whether courts in Bermuda will enforce judgments obtained in other jurisdictions, including the United States, against us or our directors or officers under the securities laws of those jurisdictions or entertain actions in Bermuda against us or our directors or officers under the securities laws of other jurisdictions.
Bermuda law differs from the laws in effect in the U.S. and may afford less protection to our shareholders.
We are organized under the laws of Bermuda. As a result, our corporate affairs are governed by the Companies Act 1981, which differs in some material respects from laws typically applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including the provisions relating to interested directors, amalgamations, mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, shareholder lawsuits and indemnification of directors. Generally, the duties of directors and officers of a Bermuda company are owed to the company only. Shareholders of Bermuda companies typically do not have rights to take action against directors or officers of the company and may only do so in limited circumstances. Shareholder class actions are not available under Bermuda law. The circumstances in which shareholder derivative actions may be available under Bermuda law are substantially more limited and less clear than they would be to shareholders of U.S. corporations. The Bermuda courts, however, would ordinarily be expected to permit a shareholder to commence an action in the name of a company to remedy a wrong to the company where the act complained of is alleged to be beyond the corporate power of the company or illegal, or would result in the violation of the company's memorandum of association or bye-laws. Furthermore, consideration would be given by a Bermuda court to acts that are alleged to constitute a fraud against the minority shareholders or, for instance, where an action requires the approval of a greater percentage of the company's shareholders than those who actually approved it.
When the affairs of a company are being conducted in a manner that is oppressive or prejudicial to the interests of some shareholders, one or more shareholders may apply to the Supreme Court of Bermuda, which may make such order as it sees fit, including an order regulating the conduct of the company's affairs in the future or ordering the purchase of the shares of
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any shareholders by other shareholders or by the company. Additionally, under our bye-laws and as permitted by Bermuda law, each shareholder has waived any claim or right of action against our directors or officers for any action taken by directors or officers in the performance of their duties, except for actions involving fraud or dishonesty. In addition, the rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Bermuda law are not as clearly established as under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in jurisdictions in the U.S., particularly the State of Delaware. Therefore, our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction within the U.S.
We have anti-takeover provisions in our bye-laws that may discourage a change of control.
Our bye-laws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board, including that directors may only be removed for cause and our Board can determine the powers, preferences and rights of our preference shares and issue the preference shares without shareholder approval.
These provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company and may prevent our shareholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common shares offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common shares if the provisions are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests, make it more difficult for you and other shareholders to elect directors of your choosing and allow us to take corporate actions other than those you desire.
General Risk Factors
Interruption, interference with, or failure of our information technology and communications systems could hurt our ability to effectively provide our products and services, which could harm our reputation, financial condition, operating results and cash flows.
The availability of our products and services and fulfillment of our customer obligations depend on the continuing operation of our information technology and communications systems. Our systems are vulnerable to damage, interference, or interruption from modifications or upgrades, terrorist attacks, natural disasters or pandemics, power loss, telecommunications failures, user errors, computer viruses, ransomware attacks, computer denial of service attacks, phishing schemes, or other attempts to harm or access our systems, and we have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, such events, though the effects have yet to have a material adverse effect on our business. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Any such event relating to our systems (or the systems of third parties that we rely on) could result in theft, misuse, modification or destruction of information, including trade secrets and confidential business information, and cause business disruptions, including those that may disrupt production at our manufacturing facilities, reputational damage and third-party claims, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Since the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to systems, or to otherwise sabotage them, change frequently and are often not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. As these threats continue to evolve, particularly around cybersecurity, we may be required to expend significant resources to enhance our control environment, processes, practices, and other countermeasures. While we have designed and implemented controls to restrict access to our data and information technology infrastructure, it is still vulnerable to unauthorized access through cyber attacks, theft and other security breaches. These types of attacks have occurred against our systems from time to time, and we believe there have been no material adverse impacts to date. We expect these attacks to continue, and our protective measures may not be adequate to ensure that our operations will not be disrupted, should another such event occur in the future. Geopolitical tensions or conflicts may further heighten the risk of cyber attacks, and the emergence and maturation of artificial intelligence capabilities may also lead to more sophisticated methods of attack. Although we continually seek to improve our countermeasures to prevent such events, we may be unable to anticipate every scenario and it is possible that certain cyber threats or vulnerabilities will be undetected or unmitigated in time to prevent an attack on us and our customers. We have in the past been, and may in the future be, vulnerable to the effects of cybersecurity incidents that occur at third parties such as our customers, suppliers or business partners, and a failure of a third party's safeguards, policies or procedures could compromise our own data or operations. While we maintain safeguards to mitigate the effects of such incidents, we cannot be certain that such safeguards would be effective. These safeguards are reviewed periodically and modified to enable greater mitigation of such risks. See Part I, Item 1C, “Cybersecurity.”
In addition, we rely extensively on information systems and technology to manage our business and summarize operating results. We are in the process of a multi-year implementation of a new ERP system, which will replace much of our existing core financial systems. In 2023, we experienced temporary operational disruptions in North America from our ERP system implementation in the region, which resulted in a negative impact to net sales during the three months ended June 30, 2023 in North America, most notably in our Performance Coatings segment. We may not be able to successfully implement the ERP system in any of the regions in which it has not yet been implemented without experiencing similar delays, increased costs, and other difficulties, including the diversion of management from the day-to-day operation of the business, and failure to successfully implement the ERP system could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
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Additionally, the ERP system is critical to our ability to provide important information to our management on a timely basis, obtain and deliver products to our customers, provide services and customer support, send invoices and track payments, fulfill contractual obligations, accurately maintain books and records, provide accurate, timely and reliable reports on our financial and operating results, improve our data management, and otherwise operate our business.Failure of the ERP system to perform adequately in any of these areas could harm our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows, and, in the case of functions that impact our customers, could result in harm to our customer relationships.Lastly, if we do not effectively implement the ERP system as planned or the ERP system does not operate as intended, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be negatively affected.
Uncertainty in the development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence in our products and services, as well as our business more broadly, could adversely affect our business and reputation. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies may enable disruption in our industry and threaten our competitive positioning.
We use systems and tools that incorporate technologies based on AI, including systems and tools that may include generative AI for customers and our workforce. As with many new and emerging technologies, AI presents numerous risks and challenges that could adversely affect our business. The development, adoption, and use for generative AI technology remains in early stages and ineffective or inadequate AI or generative AI development or deployment practices by us or third parties could result in unintended consequences. For example, AI algorithms that we use may be flawed or may be based on datasets that are biased or insufficient. There is also uncertainty around the validity and enforceability, as well as the nature, of our rights in intellectual property that is created in connection with our use, development, and deployment of AI, including the potential compromise of our rights in our intellectual property that is input into AI tools, whether done intentionally or by our employees or agents without permission to do so. In addition, our use of AI could unintentionally infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties. Developing, testing, and deploying resource-intensive AI systems may require additional investment and increase our costs. There also may be real or perceived social harm, unfairness, or other outcomes that undermine public confidence in the use and deployment of AI. Certain of our competitors may deploy AI technologies that provide more value to customers than those deployed by us, which could affect customer demand for our products and services. Additionally, certain AI technologies may enable, or accelerate the pace of, disruption in our industry, including by allowing existing and future competitors to compete and/or outpace Axalta in areas that we have a competitive advantage in currently, including color-matching and certain application technologies. Any of the foregoing may result in decreased demand for our products or harm to our business, results of operations or reputation. The legal and regulatory landscape surrounding AI technologies is rapidly evolving and uncertain, including in the areas of intellectual property, cybersecurity, and privacy and data protection. Compliance with new or changing laws, regulations or industry standards relating to AI may impose significant operational costs and may limit our ability to develop, deploy or use AI technologies. Failure to appropriately respond to this evolving landscape may result in legal liability, regulatory action, or reputational harm.
Increased competition may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
As described in greater detail in the “Performance Coatings Competition” section on page 7 and the “Mobility Coatings Competition” section on page 9, we face substantial competition from many international, national, regional and local competitors of various sizes in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our coatings and related products. Our inability to compete successfully could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We take on credit risk exposure from our customers in the ordinary course of our business.
We routinely offer customers pre-bates, loans and other financial incentives to purchase our products. These arrangements generally obligate the customer to purchase products from us and/or repay us such incentives. In the event that a customer is unwilling or unable to fulfill its obligations under these arrangements, we have incurred, and may in the future incur, financial losses. In addition, in the ordinary course of our business, we guarantee certain of our customers' obligations to third parties. Any default by our customers on their obligations could force us to make payments to the applicable creditor. See Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on on guarantees of our customers' obligations to third parties. It is possible that customer defaults on obligations owed to us and on third-party obligations that we have guaranteed could be significant, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our level of credit risk exposure from our customers has remained stable in recent years.
Currency risk may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We derive a significant portion of our net sales from outside the U.S. and conduct our business and incur costs in the local currency of most countries in which we operate. Because our financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, we must translate our financial results as well as assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect during or at the end of each reporting period, as applicable. Therefore, increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar against currencies in such countries will affect our results of operations and the value of balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. In particular, we are exposed to the Euro, the Brazilian Real, the Chinese Yuan, the British Pound, the Australian Dollar, the Turkish Lira, the Mexican Peso, the Polish Zloty and the Argentinian Peso. Furthermore, many of our local businesses import or buy raw materials in a currency other than their functional currency, which can impact the operating results for these
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operations if we are unable to mitigate the impact of the currency exchange fluctuations. We cannot accurately predict the effects of exchange rate fluctuations upon our future operating results because of the number of currencies involved, the variability of currency exposures and the potential volatility of currency exchange rates. Accordingly, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Terrorist acts, conflicts, wars, natural disasters, pandemics and other health crises, among other events beyond our control, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
As a multinational company with a large international footprint, we are subject to increased risk of damage or disruption to us, our employees and other personnel, facilities, partners, suppliers, distributors, resellers or customers due to terrorist acts, conflicts, wars, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, power outages, pandemics or other public health crises and environmental incidents, wherever located around the world. The potential for future terrorist acts, conflicts, wars, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, power outages, pandemics or other public health crises and environmental incidents and the national and international responses to such events or perceived threats or potential conflicts relating to or arising out of such events may create economic and political uncertainties and challenges for us, our customers, suppliers and logistic partners that could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Such events may compromise the safety of, and continued provision of services by, our employees and other personnel, including executive officers and other key personnel, and any resulting disruptions or loss of services could harm our business. A loss of the use of all or a portion of one of our key manufacturing facilities due to accident, labor issues, weather conditions, acts of war, political unrest, geopolitical risk, terrorist activity, pandemic or other public health crises, natural disaster or otherwise, whether short- or long-term, and any interruption in production capability could require us to make substantial capital expenditures to remedy the situation, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Russia's conflict with Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East and the sanctions and other measures imposed by various governments in response to these conflicts (including the additional sanctions against Belarus that became effective during 2024) have increased the level of economic and political uncertainty globally. A significant escalation or expansion of economic disruption or countries subject to sanctions or the scope of any of these conflicts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and could result in, among other things, supply chain disruptions, rising prices for oil and other commodities, volatility in capital markets and foreign exchange rates, rising interest rates or heightened cybersecurity risks, any of which may adversely affect the Company’s business.
The insurance we maintain may not cover all potential exposures.
Our product liability, property, business interruption, cybersecurity and casualty insurance coverages may not cover all risks associated with the operation of our business and may not be sufficient to offset the costs of any losses, lost sales or increased costs experienced during business interruptions. For some risks, we may elect not to obtain insurance. As a result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain insurance policies can increase substantially and, in some instances, certain insurance policies may become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. As a result, we may not be able to renew our insurance policies or procure other desirable insurance on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Losses and liabilities from uninsured or underinsured events and delay in the payment of insurance proceeds could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to complex and evolving data privacy laws.
Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection and other matters, including GDPR. We could be liable for loss or misuse of our customers' and/or our employees' personally-identifiable information if we fail to prevent or mitigate such misuse or loss. Although we have developed systems and processes that are designed to protect customer and employee information and prevent misuse of such information and other security breaches, failure to prevent or mitigate such misuse or breaches may affect our reputation and operating results negatively and may require significant management time and attention and could result in significant regulatory fines and/or other penalties.
We may be subject to changes in our tax rates and the adoption of tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities that may adversely affect our results of operations.
We are subject to taxes in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions where our subsidiaries are organized. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates, tax laws and other non-tax legislation, such as economic substance regulations, in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change. Our effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in available tax credits or tax deductions and changes in tax and other non-tax laws or their interpretation, such as interpretations as to the legality of tax advantages granted under the EU state aid rules, impacts of the EU's Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and local exit tax rules with respect to business restructurings. Our tax returns and other tax matters are subject to examination by local tax authorities and governmental bodies. Additionally, we and our subsidiaries are engaged in intercompany transactions across multiple tax jurisdictions. Although we believe we have clearly reflected the economics of these transactions and the proper local transfer pricing documentation is in place, tax authorities may propose and sustain adjustments.We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these examinations to determine the
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adequacy of our provision for taxes.There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If our effective tax rates were to increase, or if the ultimate determination of the taxes owed by us is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”), which represents a coalition of member countries globally, is supporting changes to numerous long-standing tax principles through its base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) project. The BEPS project is focused on a number of issues, including the shifting of profits among affiliated entities located in jurisdictions with different tax rates and a global minimum corporate income tax under “Pillar Two.” The Pillar Two framework imposes, among other items, a minimum tax rate of 15% that has been implemented by several jurisdictions in which we operate, with effect from January 1, 2024. The effect of enacted Pillar Two rules did not have a significant impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024. Countries continue to introduce local legislation implementing the Pillar Two framework with terms that may differ from the OECD. If any of the countries in which we have significant tax exposure introduce local legislation implementing the Pillar Two framework with terms that differ from the OECD’s framework, it could have a material adverse impact on our effective tax rate and tax liabilities. In addition, the OECD continues to issue interpretations and administrative guidance, which may vary from our expectations and could have a material adverse impact on our effective tax rate and tax liabilities.
Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders with respect to our ESG practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks.
Companies are facing increasing scrutiny from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders related to their ESG practices and disclosure. Investor advocacy groups, investment funds, and influential investors are also increasingly focused on these practices, especially as they relate to the environment, health and safety, diversity, labor conditions and human rights. Recently adopted disclosure requirements related to ESG, including the Final SEC Climate Rules, the EU’s CSRD and CSDDD and the California Climate Laws, have already and will continue to increase our ESG-related compliance costs, which could result in increases to our overall operational costs. New government regulations could also result in new or more stringent forms of ESG oversight, including increased limitation on, or required reduction of, GHG emissions, and the expansion of mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure regarding ESG matters. In addition, we may be subject to heightened scrutiny, negative publicity, boycotts, lawsuits or demands from activists, politicians or other individuals or organizations opposed to ESG regarding our human capital and diversity and ESG initiatives, including those discussed in the following paragraph, and the expectations of these individuals or organizations may conflict with regulatory requirements or stakeholder expectations. Public statements with respect to ESG matters are also increasingly becoming subject to heightened scrutiny from shareholders and governmental authorities related to the risk of potential “greenwashing,” or misleading information or false claims overstating potential ESG benefits. Failure to adapt to or comply with regulatory requirements or investor, employee, customer, or other stakeholder expectations, including any perceived failure, could negatively impact our reputation, ability to do business with certain customers, and our stock price and could lead to novel forms of litigation, including shareholder litigation and governmental investigations or enforcement actions related to ESG matters.
We have announced a number of 2030 ESG targets. Achievement of these targets depends on our development and execution of various operational strategies relating to each discrete target. The development and execution of these strategies and achievements of our targets are subject to risk and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control. There are no assurances that we will be able to successfully develop or execute our strategies and achieve our targets, and if we fail to achieve any target, or if we change or are perceived to have changed any such targets, it could damage our reputation, customer and investor relationships, stock price or our access to, and the terms of, financing.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
The availability of our products and services and fulfillment of our customer obligations depend on the continuing operation of our information technology and communications systems. Accordingly, cybersecurity represents a critical component of the Company’s overall approach to risk management. The Company’s cybersecurity policies, standards and practices are integrated into the Company’s enterprise risk management (“ERM”) approach, and cybersecurity risks are among the core enterprise risks that are subject to oversight by the Board, as described below, acting through the Audit Committee. The Company’s cybersecurity policies, standards and practices leverage recognized frameworks established by the International Organization for Standardization.
The Company generally approaches cybersecurity threats through a cross-functional, multilayered approach, with the goals of implementing and maintaining preventative controls, identifying and monitoring threats and maximizing chances of recovery in the case of a cybersecurity incident.
The Company periodically engages assessors, consultants, auditors and other third parties to assess our cybersecurity programs, including information security maturity assessments, audits and independent reviews of our information security control environment and operating effectiveness. The Company attempts to adjust its cybersecurity policies, standards, processes and practices as necessary based on the information provided by the assessments, audits and reviews. In engaging with third-party providers that will have access to certain sensitive Company data, the Company performs a cross-functional due diligence review and attempts to identify risks posed by engaging such third-party providers, and, where feasible, seeks to obtain contractual commitments from such third parties with respect to such engagement. The Company maintains cybersecurity insurance with coverage for security incident response expenses, certain losses due to network security failures, investigation expenses, privacy liability and certain third-party liability, subject to certain deductibles, exclusions and policy limits.
Governance and Oversight
The Board and the Audit Committee are responsible for overseeing the Company’s ERM processes, with the Audit Committee being tasked with overseeing cybersecurity risks facing the Company. Throughout the year, the Audit Committee receives relevant updates from management on cybersecurity matters, which address a wide range of topics including, for example, recent developments, evolving standards, vulnerability assessments, third-party and independent reviews, the overall threat environment, technological trends, global employee training and efforts to enhance the Company’s cybersecurity capabilities and preparedness. Relevant matters are also reviewed with the full Board on at least an annual basis.
The Company’s Global Director of Information Security & Compliance (the “GDISC”) is the member of the Company’s management that is principally responsible for overseeing the Company’s cybersecurity risk management programs, in partnership with business and functional leaders across the Company.The GDISC has 22 years of experience in the information technology and cybersecurity field, including previous roles in cybersecurity leadership, governance, and technology architecture and engineering. The GDISC reports to the Company’s Chief Information Officer (the “CIO”), who reports directly to the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. The CIO has 24 years of experience in the information technology and cybersecurity field, including previous roles in security architecture, audit, compliance, and governance.
Under the oversight of the GDISC, members of the Company’s Information Technology and Compliance departments administer the Company's cybersecurity response policies, including assessing cybersecurity incidents as they occur and determining the severity of any cybersecurity incidents. To facilitate the success of this program, multidisciplinary teams throughout the Company are deployed to address cybersecurity threats and to respond to cybersecurity incidents in accordance with the Company’s policies. These teams report to an incident response governance team, which is composed of members of the Company’s senior leadership team. These teams monitor the prevention, detection, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents in real time, and report incidents to the Audit Committee, as appropriate.
For additional information regarding how cybersecurity threats have affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, see Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Interruption, interference with, or failure of our information technology and communications systems could hurt our ability to effectively provide our products and services, which could harm our reputation, financial condition, operating results and cash flows.”
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
In February 2024, we moved our corporate headquarters from Glen Mills, PA to Philadelphia, PA. Our extensive geographic footprint comprises 44 manufacturing facilities (including two manufacturing sites operated by our joint ventures), four major technology centers and 45 customer training centers supporting our global operations. The table below presents summary information regarding our facilities as of December 31, 2024.
Type of Facility/Country Location Segment
Manufacturing Facilities
North America
Canada Cornwall, ON Performance
Milton, ON Performance
United States of America Brighton, MI Performance
Fridley, MN Performance
Front Royal, VA (1) Performance; Mobility
Ft. Madison, IA Performance; Mobility
High Point, NC Performance
Houston, TX Performance
Jacksonville, TX Performance
Madison, AL Performance
Mt. Clemens, MI (1) Performance; Mobility
Orrville, OH Performance
Riverside, CA Performance
Sacramento, CA (1) Performance
Latin America
Brazil Guarulhos Performance; Mobility
Colombia Cartagena de Indias Performance
Guatemala Amatitlan Performance
Mexico Apodaca Performance
Ocoyoacac Performance
Tlalnepantla Performance; Mobility
EMEA
Austria Guntramsdorf Performance; Mobility
France Montbrison Performance
Germany Landshut Performance
Wuppertal Performance; Mobility
Netherlands Zuidland Performance
Sweden Västervik Performance
Switzerland Bulle Performance
Turkey Gebze Performance; Mobility
Çerkezköy Performance
United Kingdom Darlington Performance
Farnham Performance
Huthwaite Performance
Wellingborough Performance
United Arab Emirates Ras Al Khaimah Performance
Asia Pacific
China Jilin Performance; Mobility
Jiading Performance; Mobility
Qingpu Performance
Ma'anshan Performance
India Savli Performance; Mobility
Malaysia Shah Alam Performance
Shah Alam Performance
Thailand Bangplee Performance; Mobility
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Type of Facility/Country Location Segment
Joint Venture Manufacturing Facilities
Indonesia Cikarang Performance
Joint Venture Partner Manufacturing Facilities
South Africa Port Elizabeth Mobility
Technology Centers
China Shanghai Performance; Mobility
Germany Wuppertal Performance; Mobility
United States of America Mt. Clemens, MI Performance; Mobility
Philadelphia, PA Performance; Mobility
Customer Training Centers Location by Region Number of Facilities
North America 11
Latin America 2
Asia Pacific 17
(1) Subject to a mortgage under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities.