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
13
Table of Contents
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
14
Table of Contents
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,
15
Table of Contents
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
16
Table of Contents
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.
17
Table of Contents
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
18
Table of Contents
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.
19
Table of Contents
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
20
Table of Contents
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;
21
Table of Contents
•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.
22
Table of Contents
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
23
Table of Contents
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.
24
Table of Contents
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
25
Table of Contents
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
26
Table of Contents
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.
27
Table of Contents
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.”
28
Table of Contents
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
29
Table of Contents
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.
We own 28 of our manufacturing facilities, two of our technology centers, and 12 of our customer training centers, while the rest of the facilities and centers are leased. We believe that our properties as currently constituted are suitable, adequate and provide sufficient productive capacity for our current operations.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are from time to time party to legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. We are not involved in any litigation other than that which has arisen in the ordinary course of business. We do not expect that any currently pending lawsuits will have a material adverse effect on us as discussed in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
SEC regulations require disclosure of certain environmental matters when a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings and such proceedings involve potential monetary sanctions that the Company reasonably believes will exceed a specified threshold. Pursuant to recent SEC amendments to this requirement, the Company will be using a threshold of $1 million for such proceedings. The Company is not aware of any matters that exceed this threshold and that meet the other conditions for disclosure.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The executive officers of the Company are appointed by the Board. The following table provides information regarding our executive officers:
Name Age* Position
Chris Villavarayan 54 Chief Executive Officer and President
Carl D. Anderson II 55 Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Troy D. Weaver 53 President, Global Refinish
Hadi H. Awada 46 President, Global Mobility Coatings
Tim Bowes 61 President, Global Industrial Coatings
Amy Tufano 44 Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Alex Tablin-Wolf 41 Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
*As of February 13, 2025
30
Table of Contents
Chris Villavarayan
Mr. Villavarayan has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President since January 1, 2023. Mr. Villavarayan joined the Company from Meritor, Inc., a global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to OEMs and the aftermarket for the commercial vehicle, transportation and industrial sectors (“Meritor”), where he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility over the course of 22 years, most recently serving, from 2021 until October 2022, as CEO and President. Prior to this role, he served, from 2020-2021, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing Meritor’s global operations for both its business units, Global Truck and Aftermarket & Industrial, and serving, from 2018-2021, as board lead with executive oversight of Meritor’s four largest joint ventures. From 2018-2020, Mr. Villavarayan served as Senior Vice President and President – Global Truck, with responsibility for leading P&L across Meritor’s global truck business, and from 2014-2018 as President – Americas, managing multiple businesses across portfolios as leader of Meritor’s North and South America businesses. Meritor was acquired by Cummins Inc. in August 2022. Mr. Villavarayan currently serves as a Director on the Board of Franklin Electric and Focus: HOPE, a Detroit-based non-profit organization. Mr. Villavarayan earned his B.S. in civil engineering from McMaster University and completed the Wharton Executive Education Advanced Finance Program.
Carl D. Anderson II
Mr. Anderson has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Axalta since August 14, 2023. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for XPO, Inc., a leading provider of freight transportation services, from November 2022 to August 2023. Prior to XPO, Mr. Anderson was Senior Vice President and CFO at Meritor from March 2019 to October 2022. Throughout his 16-year tenure with Meritor, Mr. Anderson also served as Group Vice President, Finance; Treasurer; Assistant Treasurer; and Director, International Capital Markets, Risk Management and Corporate Insurance. Earlier, he held treasury and financial planning roles at General Motors Acceptance Corporation after beginning his career with First Chicago Corporation. Mr. Anderson earned an M.B.A. from Wayne State University and a B.A. in Economics from Michigan State University.
Troy D. Weaver
Mr. Weaver has served as our President, Global Refinish since January 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Weaver served as our Senior Vice President, Global Refinish from October 2020 until January 2024, as our Vice President, Global Refinish from August 2019 until October 2020 and as our Vice President, North America Refinish from January 2017 until August 2019 where he was responsible for Axalta's high performing Refinish business in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Weaver also led Axalta's initiative to secure and grow market share with multiple location collision shop operators, mega-dealers, and nationally recognized collision shop networks. Mr. Weaver began his career at DuPont Performance Coatings in 1992 where he held various Sales and Marketing leadership roles. He is also a two-time recipient of DuPont's Prestigious Marketing Excellence Award, first in 2007 and again in 2010. Mr. Weaver is active in the industry and has served as Chairman of the Board of CIECA (Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association).
Hadi H. Awada
Mr. Awada has served as our President, Global Mobility Coatings since January 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Awada was our Senior Vice President, Global Mobility Coatings from October 2020 until January 2024. Previously, Mr. Awada was President, Forvia Mobility – North America, where he also served as a member of Forvia North American Board of Management and President, Faurecia Clean Mobility – Asia Pacific, serving on multiple boards with joint venture partners. In those roles, Mr. Awada ran a multibillion-dollar business and led efforts to develop and deploy an operational turnaround and transform the product line to focus on new technologies for customers seeking sustainability and innovation. Previously at Faurecia, he worked in Europe where he led sales and programs for many international customers. He also spent four years in Asia as the Vice President for light vehicle customer business units, product line, marketing and communications. Mr. Awada was employed by Faurecia from 2004 to 2010 and again from 2013 to 2020. Mr. Awada started his career after earning his B.A. from the University of Toledo, serving the Ford Motor Company in various roles within the Ford customer service division.
Tim Bowes
Mr. Bowes has served as our President, Global Industrial Coatings since January 2025. Prior to that, Mr. Bowes served as Axalta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer from March 2023 until his appointment as President, Global Industrial Coatings. Prior to joining Axalta, he served as Senior Vice President and President of Electrification, Industrial, Aftermarket, Purchasing & Supply Chain for Meritor. Mr. Bowes has also served as Senior Vice President and President of the Casting business unit for American Axle & Manufacturing and CEO and President of Transtar Industries, an Industrial and Automotive Aftermarket company. He also held executive leadership roles at ITT Automotive and Intermet. Mr. Bowes has lived and worked in Asia and Europe and holds an M.B.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a B.S. from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan.
31
Table of Contents
Amy Tufano
Ms. Tufano has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since September 2023. Ms. Tufano has been with Axalta since 2021, joining the company as Vice President of Human Resources ("HR") for the global Operations and Technology organizations. Previously, Ms. Tufano served in HR leadership roles at Campbell Soup Company and Northrop Grumman. She earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University and a B.A. in Business Administration from Flagler College.
Alex Tablin-Wolf
Mr. Tablin-Wolf has served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary since January 2024. Mr. Tablin-Wolf joined Axalta in January 2017, and, prior to his current appointment, served in a number of roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Axalta, Mr. Tablin-Wolf was a corporate attorney at Blank Rome LLP and Fox Rothschild LLP, where he concentrated his practice on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and general corporate counseling. Mr. Tablin-Wolf earned a B.S. in Psychology from Santa Clara University and a J.D., cum laude, from the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
32
Table of Contents
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Share Information
Our common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AXTA.”
As of February 6, 2025, there were three registered holders of record of Axalta's common shares as shown on the records of the Company's transfer agent. A substantially greater number of holders of Axalta common shares are “street name” or beneficial holders, whose shares of record are held by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Since our incorporation in August 2012, we have not paid dividends on our common shares, and we do not currently intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
Stock Performance
The line graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder value return of our common shares with the cumulative total returns of an overall stock market index, the Standard & Poor's Composite 500 Index (“S&P 500”), and our peer group index, Standard & Poor's 400 Materials Index (“S&P 400 Materials”). This graph assumes an investment of $100 in our common shares and each index (with all dividends reinvested) on December 31, 2019.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
33
Table of Contents
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
This discussion and analysis deals with comparisons of material changes in the consolidated financial statements for 2024 and 2023. For the comparison of 2023 and 2022, see Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Many statements made in the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business plan, strategies and capital structure. These statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “anticipates,” “anticipated,” “expect,” “expected,” “believe,” “believes,” “intend,” “intended,” “estimate,” “estimated,” “projections,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “future,” “goals,” “targets,” “can,” “assumptions,” “plans,” “potential,” “possible,” “strategy,” “threatened,” “seek,” and “forecasts” and the negative of these words or other comparable or similar terminology. We base these forward-looking statements or projections on our current expectations, plans and assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances and at such time. As you read and consider this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. The forward-looking statements and projections are subject to and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, including the tariffs recently imposed by the U.S. Government on Canada, Mexico and China and any retaliatory actions, geopolitical and technological factors outside of our control, as well as risks related to the execution of, and assumptions underlying, the 2024 Transformation Initiative and the 2026 A Plan, that may cause our business, industry, strategy, financing activities or actual results to differ materially. More information on potential factors that could affect our financial results is available in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” as well as “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other documents that we have filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or projections. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements and projections are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, you should be aware that many factors, including, but not limited to, those described in “Risk Factors,” could affect our actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements and projections.
These forward-looking statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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.
OVERVIEW
We are 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. Our diverse global footprint of 44 manufacturing facilities, four technology centers, 45 customer training centers and approximately 12,800 team members, inclusive of team members added from recent acquisitions, allows us to meet the needs of customers in over 140 countries. We serve our customer base through an extensive sales force and technical support organization, as well as through approximately 5,000 independent, locally based distributors.
We operate our business in two operating segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings. Our segments are based on the type and concentration of customers served, service requirements, methods of distribution and major product lines.
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.
34
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.
BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS
General Business Highlights
Our net sales increased 1.8%, including a 0.4% headwind from foreign currency translation, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared with the year ended December 31, 2023. The increased net sales were driven by higher volumes of 1.1%, including contributions from the André Koch acquisition completed in October 2023, contributions of 0.7% from the CoverFlexx acquisition completed in July 2024 and higher average selling price and product mix of 0.4%. The following trends have impacted our segment net sales performance:
•Performance Coatings:Net sales increased 1.4% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared with the year ended December 31, 2023. The increased net sales were driven by contributions of 1.1% from the CoverFlexx acquisition and higher average selling price and product mix of 0.6%, partially offset by lower sales volumes of 0.2%, including contributions from the André Koch acquisition completed in October 2023, and impacts from foreign currency fluctuations.
•Mobility Coatings: Net sales increased 2.5% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared with the year ended December 31, 2023. The increased net sales were driven by higher sales volumes of 3.4%, partially offset by a headwind from unfavorable foreign currency translation of 0.9% primarily due to the weakening of the Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso and Chinese Yuan compared to the U.S. Dollar. Price-mix impacts were flat year over year.
Our business serves four end-markets globally with net sales for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 as follows:
Performance Coatings
Total Net sales Performance Coatings 3,455 3,408 1.4 %
Mobility Coatings
Total Net sales Mobility Coatings 1,821 1,776 2.5 %
2024 Transformation Initiative
During February 2024, we announced the 2024 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 generate greater cash flows. See Part II, Item 7, “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
CoverFlexx Acquisition
During July 2024, we completed the acquisition of CoverFlexx. See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
Capital and Liquidity Highlights
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we prepaid $75 million of the outstanding principal amount of the 2029 Dollar Term Loans (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). See Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
35
Table of Contents
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we repurchased 2.8 million shares of our common stock for total consideration of $100 million as we executed against the $700 million share repurchase program approved by the Board of Directors in April 2024.
During March, June and November 2024, we entered into the Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Amendments, respectively, to the Credit Agreement (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). The Fourteenth and Sixteenth Amendments cumulatively reduced the interest rate spread applicable to the 2029 Dollar Term Loans from 2.50% to 1.75% when bearing interest at a rate based on SOFR. The Fifteenth Amendment increased commitments available pursuant to the Revolving Credit Facility from $550 million to $800 million, while extending the maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility from May 2026 to June 2029. See Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
Leadership Transition
President, Global Industrial Coatings
On January 23, 2025, the Company announced that Tim Bowes has been appointed President, Global Industrial Coatings, effective January 27, 2025. Mr. Bowes succeeded Shelley Bausch who stepped down from the role.
FACTORS AFFECTING OUR OPERATING RESULTS
The following discussion sets forth certain components of our statements of operations as well as factors that impact those items.
Net sales
We generate revenue from the sale of our products and services across all major geographic areas. Our net sales include total sales less estimates for returns and price allowances. Price allowances include discounts for prompt payment as well as volume-based incentives. Our overall net sales are generally impacted by the following factors:
•fluctuations in overall economic activity within the geographic markets in which we operate;
•underlying growth (or lack thereof) in one or more of our end-markets, either worldwide or in particular geographies in which we operate;
•the type of products used within existing customer applications, or the development of new applications requiring products similar to ours;
•changes in product sales prices (including volume discounts, cash discounts for prompt payment and impacts from raw material indexing);
•changes in the level of competition faced by our products, including price competition, quality competition and the launch of new products by competitors;
•our ability to successfully develop and launch new products and applications;
•changes in buying habits of our customers (including our distributors); and
•fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
While the factors described above impact net sales in each of our operating segments, the impact of these factors on our operating segments can differ, as described below. For more information about risks relating to our business, see Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business.”
Cost of goods sold (“cost of sales”)
Our cost of sales consists principally of the following:
•Production materials costs. These include costs of the materials needed to manufacture products for distribution. These costs generally increase on an aggregate basis as production volumes increase, but materials prices are also influenced by changes in market dynamics. A significant amount of the materials used in production are purchased on a global lowest-cost basis.
•Employee costs. These include the compensation and benefit costs, including share-based compensation expense, for employees involved in our manufacturing operations and on-site technical support services. These costs generally increase on an aggregate basis as production volumes increase and may decline as a percent of net sales as a result of economies of scale associated with higher production volumes.
•Depreciation expense. Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated or amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.
36
Table of Contents
•Other. Our remaining cost of sales consists of freight costs, warehousing expenses, purchasing costs, costs associated with closing or idling of production facilities, functional costs supporting manufacturing, cost of poor quality, including product claims, and other general manufacturing expenses, such as expenses for utilities and energy consumption.
The main factors that influence our cost of sales as a percentage of net sales include:
•changes in the price of raw materials, including as a result of tariffs;
•changes in the costs of labor, logistics and energy;
•production volumes;
•the implementation of cost control measures aimed at improving productivity, including reduction of fixed production costs, refinements in inventory management and the coordination of purchasing within each subsidiary and at the business level;
•changes in sales volumes, average selling prices and product mix;
•inventory obsolescence, quality and yield loss from manufacturing; and
•fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”)
Our SG&A expenses consist of all expenditures incurred in connection with the sales and marketing of our products, as well as technical support for our customers and administrative overhead costs, including:
•compensation and benefit costs for management, sales personnel and administrative staff, including share-based compensation expense. Expenses relating to our sales personnel increase or decrease principally with changes in sales volume due to the need to increase or decrease sales personnel to meet changes in demand. Expenses relating to administrative personnel generally do not increase or decrease directly with changes in sales volume; and
•depreciation, advertising and other selling expenses, such as expenses incurred in connection with travel and communications.
Changes in SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales have historically been impacted by a number of factors, including:
•changes in the costs of labor, including inflationary pressures;
•changes in sales volume, as higher volumes enable us to spread the fixed portion of our administrative expense over higher sales;
•changes in our customer base, as new customers may require different levels of sales and marketing attention;
•new product launches in existing and new markets, as these launches typically involve a more intense sales activity and technical support before they are integrated into customer applications;
•customer credit issues requiring increases to the allowance for doubtful accounts; and
•fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Other operating charges
Our other operating charges include termination benefits and other employee-related costs, acquisition and divestiture-related costs, impairment charges, charges related to an operational matter, which is discussed further in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, certain environmental charges, and gains or losses on sales of facilities, details of which are included in our reconciliations of segment operating performance to income before income taxes as shown in Note 21 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses represent costs incurred to develop new products, services, processes and technologies or to generate significant improvements to existing products, services or processes.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net consists primarily of interest expense on institutional borrowings and other financing obligations and changes in fair value of interest rate derivative instruments, net of capitalized interest expense. Interest expense, net also includes the amortization of debt issuance costs and debt discounts associated with our Senior Secured Credit Facilities, Senior Notes and other indebtedness.
37
Table of Contents
Other expense, net
Other expense, net represents costs incurred on various non-operational items including costs incurred in conjunction with our debt refinancing and extinguishment transactions, interest income, as well as foreign exchange gains and losses and non-operational impairment losses unrelated to our core business.
Provision for income taxes
We and our subsidiaries are subject to income tax in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. While the extent of our future tax liability is uncertain, changes to the debt and equity capitalization of our subsidiaries, the realignment of the functions performed, and risks assumed by the various subsidiaries are among the factors that will determine the future book and taxable income of the Company and its subsidiaries.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the information contained in the accompanying financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our historical results of operations summarized and analyzed below may not necessarily reflect what will occur in the future.
Net sales
Volume effect 1.1 %
Impact of CoverFlexx 0.7 %
Price/Mix effect 0.4 %
Exchange rate effect (0.4) %
Net sales increased primarily due to the following:
n Contributions from the CoverFlexx acquisition
n Higher average selling prices and product mix in Performance Coatings
Partially offset by:
38
Table of Contents
Cost of sales
Cost of sales decreased primarily due to the following:
n Lower variable input costs as a result of deflationary benefits
Partially offset by:
n Lower variable input costs as a result of deflationary benefits
Partially offset by:
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses $ 847 $ 840 $ 7 0.8 %
n Increase of $3 million in bad debt expense
Partially offset by:
Other operating charges
Other operating charges increased primarily due to the following:
n Increase of $6 million in acquisition-related costs
n Increase of $4 million in environmental remediation costs
Partially offset by:
39
Table of Contents
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses $ 74 $ 74 $ — — %
Research and development expenses remained generally consistent:
Amortization of acquired intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles $ 92 $ 88 $ 4 4.5 %
Amortization of acquired intangibles increased primarily due to the following:
Partially offset by:
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net $ 205 $ 213 $ (8) (3.8) %
Interest expense, net decreased primarily due to the following:
Partially offset by:
Other expense, net
Other expense, net $ 5 $ 20 $ (15) (75.0) %
Other expense, net decreased primarily due to the following:
n $2 million benefit from pension settlements and curtailments
Partially offset by:
n Increased miscellaneous expense, net of $4 million
40
Table of Contents
Provision for income taxes
Year Ended December 31,
Income before income taxes $ 496 $ 355
Provision for income taxes 105 86
Statutory U.S. Federal income tax rate 21.0 % 21.0 %
Effective tax rate 21.1 % 24.3 %
Effective tax rate vs. statutory U.S. Federal income tax rate 0.1 % 3.3 %
(Favorable) Unfavorable Impact
Changes in valuation allowance (2) 14 38
Foreign exchange gains and losses (14) 1
Tax credits (7) (9)
Non-deductible expenses and interest 7 7
Change in unrecognized tax benefits 13 (6)
State taxes 6 5
Foreign taxes 8 9
Bermuda CITA (3) (27) —
Other - net (4) 26 (4)
(1) Primarily related to earnings in Bermuda, Germany and Switzerland.
(2) Changes in valuation allowance primarily relates to operations in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, including tax impacts of foreign exchange losses. Activity during the year ended December 31, 2024 includes a $26 million favorable impact related to the write off of an expired Netherlands net operating loss carryforward.
(3) In 2024, the Company recorded adjustments to recognize the impacts of Bermuda Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 (“Bermuda CITA”), effective January 1, 2025, resulting in a net deferred tax benefit of $27 million. See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
(4) In 2024, the Company recorded tax expense of $26 million in the Netherlands related to the write off of an expired net operating loss carryforward.
41
Table of Contents
SEGMENT RESULTS
The Company's products and operations are managed and reported in two operating segments: Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings. See Note 21 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
Performance Coatings Segment
Impact of CoverFlexx 1.1 %
Price/Mix effect 0.6 %
Volume effect (0.2) %
Exchange rate effect (0.1) %
Adjusted EBITDA Margin 24.3 % 21.8 %
Net sales increased primarily due to the following:
n Contributions from the CoverFlexx acquisition
Partially offset by:
n Decreased variable input costs due to deflationary benefits
n Contributions from the CoverFlexx acquisition
Partially offset by:
n Less effective coverage of fixed costs as a result of lower sales volumes
42
Table of Contents
Mobility Coatings Segment
Volume effect 3.4 %
Exchange rate effect (0.9) %
Adjusted EBITDA Margin 15.3 % 11.8 %
Net sales increased primarily due to the following:
Partially offset by:
n Decreased variable input costs due to deflationary benefits
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Our primary sources of liquidity are cash on hand, net cash provided by operating activities and available borrowing capacity under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities.
At December 31, 2024, availability under the Revolving Credit Facility was $778 million, net of $22 million of letters of credit outstanding. All such availability may be utilized without violating any covenants under the Credit Agreement or the indentures governing the Senior Notes. At December 31, 2024, we had no outstanding borrowings under other lines of credit. Our remaining available borrowing capacity under other lines of credit in certain non-U.S. jurisdictions totaled $102 million at December 31, 2024.
We, or our affiliates, at any time and from time to time, may purchase shares of our common stock or the Senior Notes, and may prepay our 2029 Dollar Term Loans or other indebtedness. Any such purchases of our common stock or Senior Notes may be made through the open market or privately negotiated transactions with third parties or pursuant to one or more redemptions, tender or exchange offers or otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices, as well as with such consideration, as we, or any of our affiliates, may determine.
We have various supplier finance programs in place around the world. We partner with large banking institutions and utilize these programs to enhance our liquidity profile. Depending on the program, the liabilities under the program are classified either as accounts payable or current portion of borrowings on our consolidated balance sheets. Our supplier financing programs are more fully described in Note 18 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
During February 2024, we announced the 2024 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 generate greater cash flows. Total cash expenditures related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative are expected to be approximately $100-110 million. We estimate that, once fully executed, the 2024 Transformation Initiative will yield net savings, inclusive of non-labor savings and costs for backfilling certain roles, of approximately $75 million on an annualized basis. We realized approximately $20 million of the run-rate savings from the 2024 Transformation Initiative in 2024, which was better than expected, and expect $30-40 million to be realized in 2025 with the full run-rate previously forecasted to be realized during 2026. See Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
43
Table of Contents
Cash Flows
Years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
Years Ended December 31,
Net cash provided by (used for):
Operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 280 276
Amortization of deferred financing costs and original issue discount 7 9
Debt extinguishment and refinancing-related costs 5 10
Deferred income taxes (17) (8)
Realized and unrealized foreign exchange losses, net 11 21
Stock-based compensation 28 26
Impairment charges — 15
Interest income on swaps designated as net investment hedges (15) (10)
Other non-cash, net 9 22
Net income adjusted for non-cash items 699 630
Changes in operating assets and liabilities (123) (55)
Investing activities (440) (206)
Financing activities (201) (315)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (42) (6)
Net (decrease) increase in cash $ (107) $ 48
Year Ended December 31, 2024
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $576 million. Net income before deducting depreciation, amortization and other non-cash items generated cash of $699 million. This was partially offset by net uses of working capital of $123 million, for which the most significant drivers were increases in prepaid expenses and other assets of $130 million and decreases in accounts payable of $49 million. These outflows were driven primarily by the timing of payments of Business Incentive Plan assets (“BIPs”), timing of purchasing and payments to vendors. These outflows were partially offset by increases in other accrued liabilities of $36 million largely driven by accruals related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative and customer rebates.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $440 million. The primary uses were $301 million for the acquisitions discussed in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K net of cash acquired, $140 million for purchases of property, plant and equipment and $22 million for the disbursements to customers for loans which primarily have a repayment period of five years, partially offset by proceeds of $15 million from settlements and interest proceeds from swaps designated as net investment hedges, which are discussed further in Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Net Cash Used for Financing Activities
Net cash used for financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $201 million. The primary uses were prepayments of $75 million for the 2029 Dollar Term Loans, purchases of our common stock of $100 million, contractual debt repayments of $17 million, payments of $6 million for fees associated with repricing our 2029 Dollar Term Loans in March 2024 and November 2024 and increasing borrowing capacity and extending the maturity date of our Revolving Credit Facility in June 2024 and payments totaling $6 million for deferred acquisition-related consideration. The two repricings of the 2029 Dollar Term Loans completed in 2024 resulted in an aggregate $148 million of constructive financing cash inflows and corresponding constructive financing cash outflows. The primary financing inflow was from borrowing $185 million against our Revolving Credit Facility, which has been repaid as of December 31, 2024.
44
Table of Contents
Other Impacts on Cash
Currency exchange impacts on cash for the year ended December 31, 2024 were unfavorable by $42 million, which was driven primarily by the fluctuations of the Euro, Mexican Peso and Brazilian Real, in each case compared to the U.S. Dollar.
Year Ended December 31, 2023
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $575 million. Net income before deducting depreciation, amortization and other non-cash items generated cash of $630 million. This was partially offset by net uses of working capital of $55 million, for which the most significant drivers were increases in accounts and notes receivable and prepaid expenses and other assets of $119 million and $71 million, respectively, driven primarily by increased price-mix, the timing of collections and payments of BIPs. These outflows were partially offset by decreases in inventories of $103 million as a result of management of inventory levels and increases in other accrued liabilities of $29 million.
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities
Net cash used for investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $206 million. The primary uses were for purchases of property, plant and equipment of $138 million, and for business acquisitions of $106 million discussed further in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included in the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, partially offset by proceeds of $39 million from settlements and interest proceeds from swaps designated as net investment hedges, which are discussed further in Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Net Cash Used for Financing Activities
Net cash used for financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $315 million. The primary uses were prepayments of $200 million of the outstanding principal amount of the 2029 Dollar Term Loans, contractual repayments of $57 million on borrowings, which includes $42 million for our China supplier financing program, purchases of our common stock totaling $50 million, payments of $17 million for fees associated with refinancing our 2024 Dollar Term Loans (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), repricing our 2029 Dollar Term Loans and the issuance of the 2031 Dollar Senior Notes and payments totaling $8 million for deferred acquisition-related consideration. Partially offsetting the outflows were proceeds of $9 million from a short-term borrowing and $8 million net cash received primarily from stock option exercises. Our China supplier financing program and our 2024 Dollar Term Loan refinancing are discussed further in Note 18 and Note 19, respectively, to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Other Impacts on Cash
Currency exchange impacts on cash for the year ended December 31, 2023 were unfavorable by $6 million, which was driven primarily by the fluctuations of the Euro, Argentinian Peso and Turkish Lira, partially offset by the Mexican Peso and British Pound, in each case compared to the U.S. Dollar.
Financial Condition
We had cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2024 and 2023 of $593 million and $700 million, respectively. Of these balances, $497 million and $462 million were maintained in non-U.S. jurisdictions as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We believe at this time our organizational structure allows us the necessary flexibility to move funds throughout our subsidiaries to meet our operational and working capital needs.
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 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 on 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 such as selling assets, selling additional equity or reducing or delaying capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions, investments and alliances. Our primary sources of liquidity are cash on hand, cash flow from operations and available borrowing capacity under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities. Based on our forecasts, we believe that cash flow from operations, available cash on hand and available borrowing capacity under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities and other existing lines of credit will be adequate to service debt, fund our cost saving initiatives, meet liquidity needs and fund necessary capital expenditures for the next twelve months.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of principal or interest on, or to refinance, our indebtedness or to fund working capital requirements, capital expenditures and other current obligations will depend on our ability to generate cash from operations. Such cash generation is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
45
Table of Contents
If required, our ability to raise additional financing and our borrowing costs may be impacted by short and long-term debt ratings assigned by independent rating agencies, which are based, in significant part, on our performance as measured by certain credit metrics such as interest coverage and leverage ratios. Our highly leveraged nature may limit our ability to procure additional financing in the future and elevated interest rate environments may increase our interest expense and weaken our financial condition.
Our indebtedness, including the Senior Secured Credit Facilities, Senior Notes and short-term borrowings, is more fully described in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We believe that we continue to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet our cash requirements, including our debt service obligations as well as our working capital needs. Availability under the Revolving Credit Facility was $778 million and $528 million at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, all of which may be borrowed by us without violating any covenants under the Credit Agreement or the indentures governing the Senior Notes.
During March, June and November 2024, we entered into the Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Amendments, respectively, to the Credit Agreement. The Fourteenth and Sixteenth Amendments cumulatively reduced the interest rate spread applicable to the 2029 Dollar Term Loans from 2.50% to 1.75% when bearing interest at a rate based on SOFR. The Fifteenth Amendment increased commitments available pursuant to the Revolving Credit Facility from $550 million to $800 million, while extending the maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility from May 2026 to June 2029. See Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.
During June 2024, in connection with the acquisition of CoverFlexx discussed in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we borrowed $185 million against the Revolving Credit Facility.