Skip to content
KStart free
AI InfrastructureDefenseQuantumAll studies →

FLR US Equity

Fluor CorpIndustrials · Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors · CIK 1124198 · FY ends Dec 31
$52.42
+0.26 (+0.50%)
USD · as of 2026-08-21 · marketstack

FLR · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

← all FLR documents
filed 2021-02-26 · EDGAR original ↗

Our rendering of the filing — original pagination and typography are not reproduced, and tables are reduced to their short label cells (the figures live on FA). Nothing is summarized: every line below is the filing's own text.

blocks 299855 of 1,801340k characters rendered

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We operate in a complex and rapidly changing global environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and stock price. The risks described below highlight some of the factors that have affected and could affect us in the future. We may also be affected by unknown risks or risks that we currently think are immaterial. If any such events actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and stock price could be materially adversely affected.

Summary Risk Factors

The following summarizes the risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and stock price. You should read this summary together with the more detailed description of each risk factor contained below.

Risks Related to our Operations

•COVID-19 has had and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations and financial position.

•We are vulnerable to the cyclical nature of the markets we serve.

•Our revenue and earnings are largely dependent on the award of new contracts, which is driven by our clients.

•The nature of our contracts, particularly our lump-sum contracts, subject us to risks associated with delays and cost overruns, which may not be recoverable and may result in reduced profits or losses that could have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

•Intense competition in the global EPC industry can reduce our revenue and profits.

•The success of our use of teaming arrangements and joint ventures depends on the satisfactory performance by our venture partners over whom we may have little or no control, and the failure of those partners to perform their obligations could impose additional obligations on us that could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

•Cybersecurity breaches of our systems and information technology could adversely impact our ability to operate.

•We have international operations that are subject to foreign economic and political uncertainties and risks. Unexpected and adverse changes in the foreign countries in which we operate could result in project disruptions, increased cost and potential losses.

•Our backlog is subject to unexpected adjustments and cancellations.

13

Table of Contents

•Our employees work on projects that are inherently dangerous and in locations where there are high security risks, and a failure to maintain a safe work site could result in significant losses.

•Our businesses could be materially and adversely affected by events outside of our control.

•Our actual results could differ from the assumptions and estimates used to prepare our financial statements.

•If we experience delays and/or defaults in client payments, we could suffer liquidity problems or we could be unable to recover all expenditures.

•We are dependent upon suppliers and subcontractors to complete many of our contracts.

•Our U.S. government contracts and contracting rights may be terminated or otherwise adversely impacted at any time, and our inability to win or renew government contracts during regulated procurement processes could harm our operations and reduce our projects and revenues.

•Our continued success requires us to hire and retain qualified personnel.

•Our effective tax rate and tax positions may vary.

•Systems and information technology interruption, as well as new systems implementation, could adversely impact our ability to operate and our operating results.

•It can be very difficult and expensive to obtain the insurance we need for our business operations.

•If we do not have adequate indemnification for our nuclear services, it could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

•Foreign currency risks could have an adverse impact on revenue, earnings and/or backlog.

•The loss of one or a few clients could have an adverse effect on us.

•Damage to our reputation could in turn cause damage to our business.

•Our business may be negatively impacted if we are unable to adequately protect intellectual property rights.

•Our results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of asset impairments.

Risks Related to Financial Reporting

•We identified material weaknesses in our ICFR in 2019, which were remediated in 2020. If we identify material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately and timely report our financial results.

•Our prior failure to prepare and timely file our periodic reports with the SEC limits our access to the public markets to raise debt or equity capital and restricts our ability to issue equity securities.

•We restated certain of our previously issued financial statements during 2020, which resulted in unanticipated costs and may affect investor confidence and raise reputational issues.

Risks Related to Indebtedness and other Credit Related Risks

•Adverse credit and financial market conditions could impair our, our clients' and our partners' borrowing capacity, which could negatively affect our business operations, profits and growth objectives.

•Our indebtedness could lead to adverse consequences or adversely affect our financial position and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under such indebtedness, and any refinancing of this debt could be at significantly higher interest rates.

•We may be unable to win new contract awards if we cannot provide clients with letters of credit, bonds or other security or credit enhancements.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

•From time to time, we are involved in litigation and regulatory proceedings, potential liability claims and contract disputes that may have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

•Our failure to recover adequately on claims against project owners, subcontractors or suppliers for payment or performance could have a material effect on our financial results.

•We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws.

•We could be adversely impacted if we fail to comply with domestic and international import and export laws.

•Employee, agent or partner misconduct or our overall failure to comply with laws or regulations could weaken our ability to win contracts, which could result in reduced revenues and profits.

•New or changing legal requirements, including those relating to climate change, could adversely affect our operating results.

•Past and future environmental, safety and health regulations could impose significant additional costs on us that reduce our profits.

14

Table of Contents

Risks Related to Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Plans

•We cannot assure the successful implementation of our strategic and operational initiatives.

•Any acquisitions, dispositions or other investments are subject to various risks or uncertainties and may not be completed in accordance with the expected plans or anticipated time frame, or at all, and will involve significant time and expense, which could disrupt or adversely affect our business.

•We may be unable to successfully integrate acquisitions or investments we make into our businesses or capture the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions and investments.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

•In the event we issue additional equity securities, stockholders' ownership percentages would be diluted.

•Delaware law, our charter documents and our stockholder rights agreement may impede or discourage a takeover or change of control.

Risks Related to our Operations

COVID-19 has had and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations and financial position.

There have been extraordinary and wide-ranging actions taken by international, federal, state and local public health and governmental authorities in response to COVID-19, including quarantines, government restrictions on movement, business closures and suspensions, canceled events and activities, self-isolation, and other voluntary or mandated changes in behavior. Both the outbreak of the disease and actions in response thereto have created significant uncertainty and economic volatility and disruption, which have impacted and may continue to impact our workforce and operations and have materially adversely affected and may continue to materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial performance, including, but not limited to, the following:

•We have experienced, and may continue to experience, reductions in demand for certain of our services and the delay or abandonment of ongoing or anticipated projects due to our clients’, suppliers’ and other third parties’ diminished financial conditions or financial distress, as well as governmental budget constraints. These impacts are expected to continue or worsen if stay-at-home, social distancing, travel restrictions and other similar orders or restrictions remain in place for an extended period of time or are re-imposed after being lifted or eased.

•Some clients have been, and may in the future be, unable to meet their payment obligations to us in a timely manner, including as a result of deteriorating financial condition or bankruptcy. Further, other third parties, such as suppliers, subcontractors, joint venture partners and other outside business partners, have experienced significant disruptions in their ability to satisfy their obligations with respect to us, or they may be unable to do so in the future altogether.

•Many employers, including us, and governments continue to require all or a significant portion of employees to work remotely. While many of our employees can effectively perform their responsibilities while working remotely, some work may not be completed as efficiently as if it were performed on site. Additionally, we may be exposed to unexpected cybersecurity risks and additional information technology-related expenses as a result of these remote working requirements.

•Illness, travel restrictions or other workforce disruptions have affected, and may continue to affect, our supply chain, our ability to timely and satisfactorily complete our clients’ projects, our ability to provide services to our clients or our other business processes.

•We have furloughed certain employees and may need to further furlough or reduce the number of employees that we employ. We may experience difficulties associated with hiring additional employees or replacing employees, in particular with respect to roles that require security clearances or other special qualifications that may be limited or difficult to obtain.

•In addition to existing travel restrictions implemented in response to COVID-19, jurisdictions may continue to close borders, impose prolonged quarantines and further restrict travel and business activity, which could materially impair our ability to conduct our operations, to source supplies through the global supply chain and to identify, pursue and capture new business opportunities, and which could continue to restrict the ability of our employees to access their workplaces. We also face the possibility of increased overhead or other expenses resulting from compliance with any future government orders or other measures enacted in response to COVID-19.

15

Table of Contents

•We operate in many countries around the world, and certain of those countries’ governments may be unable to effectively mitigate the financial or other impacts of COVID-19 on their economies and workforces and our operations therein.

The extent to which COVID-19 will continue to impact us depends on numerous evolving factors and future developments that we are not currently able to predict and may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this 2020 10-K, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us, our business operations, results of operations and financial position.

We are vulnerable to the cyclical nature of the markets we serve.

The demand for our services is dependent upon the existence of projects with engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication, maintenance and management needs. Our clients' interest in approving new projects, budgets for capital expenditures and need for our services have in the past been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by, among other things, poor economic conditions, low oil prices, political uncertainties and currency devaluations. Clients have been and remain selective in how they allocate and expend their capital, which has resulted in a reduction of the number of projects we may bid on and win, especially the larger scale projects in which we specialize. For example, in our Energy & Chemicals segment, capital expenditures by our clients are influenced by factors such as prevailing prices and expectations about future prices for underlying commodities, technological advances, the costs of exploration, production and delivery of product, domestic and international political, military, regulatory and economic conditions and other similar factors. As a result of the decline in oil prices in the first quarter of 2020, demand for our services in our Energy & Chemicals segment has been adversely impacted. There is no guarantee that the current recovery in oil prices will be sustained, and the timing and extent of any future improvements in demand remain uncertain. Industries served by that segment and many of the others we serve have historically been and will continue to be vulnerable to general downturns, which in turn could materially and adversely affect the demand for our services.

Our revenue and earnings are largely dependent on the award of new contracts, which is driven by our clients.

The awarding and timing of projects is unpredictable and driven by our clients. Awards, including expansions of existing projects, often involve complex and lengthy negotiations and competitive bidding processes. These processes can be impacted by a wide variety of factors including a client's decision to not proceed with the development of a project, governmental approvals, financing contingencies, oil prices, environmental conditions and overall market and economic conditions. We may not win contracts that we have bid on due to price, a client's perception of our ability to perform and/or perceived technology advantages held by others. Many of our competitors may be more inclined to take greater or unusual risks or include terms and conditions in a contract that we might not deem acceptable, especially when the markets for the services we typically offer are relatively soft. Because a significant portion of our revenue is generated from large projects, our results of operations can fluctuate depending on whether and when large project awards occur and the commencement and progress of work under large contracts already awarded. As a result, we are subject to the risk of losing new awards to competitors or the risk that revenue may not be derived from awarded projects as quickly as anticipated. Additionally, uncertain economic and political conditions may make it difficult for our clients, our vendors and us to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. For example, recent changes to U.S. policies related to global trade and tariffs have resulted in uncertainty surrounding the future of the global economy as well as retaliatory trade measures implemented by other countries.

The nature of our contracts, particularly our lump-sum contracts, subject us to risks associated with delays and cost overruns, which may not be recoverable and may result in reduced profits or losses that could have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

Because our projects are often technically complex, with multiple phases occurring over several years, we incur risks in our project execution activities. These risks could result in project delays, cost overruns or other problems and can include the following:

•Incorrect assumptions related to productivity, scheduling estimates or future economic conditions, including with respect to the impacts of inflation on lump-sum contracts;

•Unanticipated technical problems, including design or engineering issues;

•Inaccurate representations of site conditions and unanticipated changes in the project execution plan;

•Project modifications creating unanticipated costs or delays and failure to properly manage project modifications;

•Inability to achieve guaranteed performance or quality standards with regard to engineering, construction or project management obligations;

16

Table of Contents

•Insufficient or inadequate project execution tools and systems needed to record, track, forecast and control cost and schedule;

•Reliance on historic cost and/or execution data that is not representative of current economic and/or execution conditions;

•Failure to accurately estimate the timing and cost of projects, including due to unforeseen increases in the cost of labor;

•Unanticipated increases in the cost of raw materials, components or equipment, including due to the imposition of import tariffs;

•Failure to properly make judgments in accordance with applicable professional standards, including engineering standards;

•Failure to properly assess and update appropriate risk mitigation strategies and measures;

•Difficulties related to the performance of our clients, partners, subcontractors, suppliers or other third parties;

•Delays or productivity issues caused by weather; and

•Changes in local laws or difficulties or delays in obtaining permits, rights of way or approvals.

These and other risks have in the past and may in the future result in our failure to achieve contractual cost or schedule commitments, safety performance, overall client satisfaction or other performance criteria. As a result, we may receive lower fees or lose our ability to earn incentive fees. In other cases, our fee will not change but we will have to continue to perform work without additional fees until the performance criteria is achieved. We may also be required to pay liquidated damages if we fail to complete a project on schedule. In addition, if we fail to meet guaranteed performance or quality standards, we may be held responsible under the guarantee or warranty provisions of our contract for cost impact to the client, generally in the form of contractually agreed-upon liquidated damages or an obligation to re-perform work. To the extent these events occur, the total cost to the project (including any liquidated damages we become liable to pay) could be material and could, in some circumstances, equal or exceed the full value of the contract. In such events, our financial condition or results of operations could be materially and negatively impacted.

In circumstances where the contract is lump-sum or the revenue is otherwise fixed, we bear significant risk for delays and cost overruns. Reimbursable contract types, such as those that include negotiated hourly billing rates, may restrict the kinds or amounts of costs that are reimbursable, therefore exposing us to the risk that we may incur certain costs in executing these contracts that are above our estimates and not recoverable from our clients.

Intense competition in the global EPC industry can reduce our revenue and profits.

We serve markets that are highly competitive and in which a large number of multinational companies compete. These markets require substantial resources and investment in technology and skilled personnel. We also see a continuing influx of non-traditional competitors offering below-market pricing while accepting greater risk. Competition places downward pressure on our contract prices and profit margins, and has in the past forced, and may in the future force, us to accept contractual terms and conditions that are not normal or customary, thereby increasing the risk of losses on such contracts. Intense competition is expected to continue in these markets, presenting us with significant challenges in our ability to maintain strong growth rates and acceptable profit margins. To the extent we are unable to meet these competitive challenges, we could lose revenue and experience an overall reduction in our profits.

The success of our use of teaming arrangements and joint ventures depends on the satisfactory performance by our venture partners over whom we may have little or no control, and the failure of those partners to perform their obligations could impose additional obligations on us that could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

In the ordinary course of business, and as has become increasingly common in our industry, we execute specific projects and otherwise conduct certain operations through joint ventures, consortiums, partnerships and other collaborative arrangements (collectively, "ventures"). We have various ownership interests in these ventures, with such ownership typically being proportionate to our decision-making and distribution rights. The ventures generally contract directly with the third party client; however, services may be performed directly by the venture, or may be performed by us, our partners, or a combination thereof.

Our success in many markets is dependent, in part, on the presence or capability of a local partner. If we are unable to compete alone, or with a quality partner, our ability to win work and successfully complete our contracts may be impacted.

17

Table of Contents

Differences in opinions or views between venture partners can result in delayed decision-making or failure to agree on material issues, which could adversely affect the business and operations of our ventures. In many of the countries in which we engage in joint ventures, it may be difficult to enforce our contractual rights under the applicable joint venture agreement.

At times, we also participate in ventures where we are not a controlling party or where we team with unaffiliated parties on a particular project bid. In such instances, we may have limited control over venture decisions and actions, including internal controls and financial reporting, which may have an impact on our business. If internal control problems arise within the joint venture, or if our joint venture partners have financial or operational issues, there could be a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The success of these and other ventures also depends, in large part, on the satisfactory performance by our venture partners of their venture obligations, including their obligation to commit working capital, equity or credit support as required by the venture and to support their indemnification and other contractual obligations. If our venture partners fail to satisfactorily perform their venture obligations, the venture may be unable to adequately perform or deliver its contracted services. Under these circumstances, we may be required to make additional investments and provide additional services to ensure the adequate performance and delivery by the venture of the contracted services and to meet any performance guarantees. From time to time, in order to establish or preserve a relationship, or to better ensure venture success, we may accept risks or responsibilities for the venture that are not necessarily proportionate with the reward we expect to receive or that may differ from risks or responsibilities we would normally accept in our own operations. We may also be subject to joint and several liability for our venture partners under the applicable contracts for venture projects. These additional obligations could result in reduced profits or, in some cases, increased liabilities or significant losses for us with respect to the venture, and in turn, our business and operations. In addition, a failure by a venture partner to comply with applicable laws, rules or regulations could negatively impact our business and reputation and could result in fines, penalties, suspension or, in the case of government contracts, even debarment.

Cybersecurity breaches of our systems and information technology could adversely impact our ability to operate.

We utilize, develop, install and maintain a number of information technology systems both for us and for others. Various privacy and security laws require us to protect sensitive and confidential information from disclosure. In addition, we are bound by our client and other contracts, as well as our own business practices, to protect confidential and proprietary information (whether it be ours or a third party's information entrusted to us) from disclosure. Our computer systems, as well as those of our clients, contractors and other vendors, face the threat of unauthorized access, computer hackers, viruses, malicious code, cyber attacks, phishing and other security incursions and system disruptions, including attempts to improperly access our confidential and proprietary information as well as the confidential and proprietary information of our clients and other business partners. While we endeavor to maintain industry-accepted security measures and technology to secure our computer systems and while we endeavor to ensure our cloud vendors that store our data maintain similar measures, these systems and the information stored on these systems may still be subject to threats. There can be no assurance that our efforts will protect us against all threats. Further, as these security threats continue to evolve, we may be required to devote additional resources to protect, detect and respond against such threats. A party who circumvents our security measures, or those of our clients, contractors or other vendors, could misappropriate confidential or proprietary information, improperly manipulate data, or cause damage or interruptions to systems. Any of these events could damage our reputation, result in litigation and regulatory fines and penalties, or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, while we maintain insurance that specifically covers cybersecurity threats, our coverage may not sufficiently cover all types of losses or claims that may arise.

We have international operations that are subject to foreign economic and political uncertainties and risks. Unexpected and adverse changes in the foreign countries in which we operate could result in project disruptions, increased cost and potential losses.

Our business is subject to international economic and political conditions that change (sometimes frequently) for reasons that are beyond our control. We expect that a significant portion of our revenue and profits will continue to come from international projects for the foreseeable future.

Operating in the international marketplace exposes us to a number of risks including:

•abrupt changes in government policies, laws, treaties (including those impacting trade), regulations or leadership;

•embargoes or other trade restrictions, including sanctions;

•restrictions on currency movement;

•tax or tariff changes;

18

Table of Contents

•currency exchange rate fluctuations;

•changes in labor conditions and difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, including logistical and communication challenges;

•U.S. government trade or other policy changes in relation to the foreign countries in which we or our clients operate;

•other social, political and economic instability, including recessions and other economic crises in other regions;

•natural disasters and public health crises, including pandemics such as COVID-19;

•expropriation and nationalization of our assets in a foreign country;

•international hostilities; and

•unrest, civil strife, acts of war, terrorism and insurrection.

Also, the lack of a well-developed legal system in some of the countries where we operate may make it difficult to enforce our contractual rights or to defend ourself against claims made by others. We operate in locations where there is a significant amount of political risk. In addition, military action or continued unrest could impact the supply or pricing of oil, disrupt our operations in the region and elsewhere, and increase our security costs. Our level of exposure to these risks may vary with each project, depending on the location of the project and its stage of completion. For example, our risk exposure with respect to a project in an early development phase, such as engineering, will generally be less than our risk exposure on a project that is in the construction phase. To the extent that our international business is affected by unexpected and adverse foreign economic and political conditions and risks, we may experience project disruptions and losses. Project disruptions and losses could significantly reduce our overall revenue and profits.

Our backlog is subject to unexpected adjustments and cancellations.

Our backlog generally consists of projects for which we have an executed contract or commitment with a client and reflects our expected revenue from the contract or commitment, which is often subject to revision over time. We cannot guarantee that the revenue projected in our backlog will be realized or profitable or will not be subject to delay or suspension. Project cancellations, scope adjustments or deferrals, or foreign currency fluctuations may occur with respect to contracts reflected in our backlog and could reduce the dollar amount of our backlog and the revenue and profits that we actually earn; or, may cause the rate at which we perform on our backlog to decrease. Most of our contracts have termination for convenience provisions in them allowing clients to cancel projects already awarded to us. Our contracts typically provide for the payment of fees earned through the date of termination and the reimbursement of costs incurred including demobilization costs. In addition, projects may remain in our backlog for an extended period of time. During periods of economic slowdown, or decreases and/or instability in oil prices, the risk of projects being suspended, delayed or canceled generally increases. Finally, poor project or contract performance could also impact our backlog and profits. Such developments could have a material adverse effect on our business and our profits.

Our employees work on projects that are inherently dangerous and in locations where there are high security risks, and a failure to maintain a safe work site could result in significant losses.

We often work on complex projects, frequently in geographically remote or high-risk locations that are subject to political, social or economic risks, or war or civil unrest. In those locations where we have employees or operations, we may expend significant efforts and incur substantial security costs to maintain the safety of our personnel. In addition, our project sites can place our employees and others near large equipment, dangerous processes or substances or highly regulated materials, and in challenging environments. Safety is a primary focus of our business and is critical to our reputation and performance. Many of our clients require that we meet certain safety criteria to be eligible to bid on contracts, and some of our contract fees or profits are subject to satisfying safety criteria. Unsafe work conditions also have the potential of increasing employee turnover, increasing project costs and raising our operating costs. If we fail to implement appropriate safety procedures and/or if our procedures fail, our employees or others may suffer injuries or even loss of life, the completion of a project could be delayed and we could experience investigations or litigation. Although we maintain functional groups whose primary purpose is to implement effective health, safety and environmental procedures throughout our company, the failure to comply with such procedures, client contracts or applicable regulations could subject us to losses and liability. Despite these activities, in these locations and at these sites, we cannot guarantee the safety of our personnel, nor can we guarantee our work, equipment or supplies will be free from damage.

19

Table of Contents

Our businesses could be materially and adversely affected by events outside of our control.

Extraordinary or force majeure events beyond our control, such as natural or man-made disasters, severe weather conditions, public health crises, political crises or other catastrophic events, could negatively impact our ability to operate or increase our costs to operate. Such events may result in disruptions to our operations; evacuation of personnel; increased labor and material costs or shortages; inability to deliver materials, equipment and personnel to jobsites in accordance with contract schedules; and loss of productivity. We may remain obligated to perform our services after any such events, unless a contract provision provides us with relief from our obligations. The extra costs incurred as a result of these events may not be reimbursed by our clients. If we are not able to react quickly to such events, or if a high concentration of our projects are impacted by such an event, our operations may be adversely affected. In addition, if we cannot complete our contracts on time, we may be subject to potential liability claims by our clients, which may reduce our profits and result in losses.

Our actual results could differ from the assumptions and estimates used to prepare our financial statements.

In preparing our financial statements, we make estimates and assumptions through the filing date of the 2020 10-K. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported values of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Areas requiring significant estimates by our management include:

•recognition of contract revenue, costs, profits or losses in applying the principles of percentage-of-completion accounting;

•recognition of revenues related to project incentives or awards we expect to receive;

•recognition of recoveries under contract change orders or claims;

•estimated amounts for expected project losses, warranty costs, contract close-out or other costs;

•collectability of billed and unbilled accounts receivable and the need and amount of any allowance for doubtful accounts;

•asset valuations;

•income tax provisions and related valuation allowances;

•determination of expense and potential liabilities under pension and other post-retirement benefit programs; and

•accruals for other estimated liabilities, including litigation and insurance revenues/reserves.

Estimates are based on management's reasonable assumptions and experience, but are only estimates. Our actual business and financial results could differ from our estimates of such results due to changes in facts and circumstances, which could have a material negative impact on our financial condition and reported results of operations. Further, we recognize contract revenue as work on a contract progresses. The cumulative amount of revenue recorded on a contract at any point in time is that percentage of total estimated revenues that costs incurred to date bear to estimated total costs. Accordingly, contract revenue and total cost estimates are reviewed and revised as the work progresses. Adjustments are reflected in contract revenue in the period when such estimates are revised. Such adjustments could be material and could result in reduced profitability.

If we experience delays and/or defaults in client payments, we could suffer liquidity problems or we could be unable to recover all expenditures.

Because of the nature of our contracts, we sometimes commit resources to projects prior to receiving payments from clients in amounts sufficient to cover expenditures as they are incurred. Some of our clients have found it difficult to pay invoices for our services timely, increasing the risk that our accounts receivable could become uncollectible and ultimately be written off. In certain cases, our clients for our large projects are project-specific entities that do not have significant assets other than their interests in the project. From time to time, it has been and may in the future be difficult for us to collect payments owed to us by these clients. In addition, clients may request extension of the payment terms otherwise agreed to under our contracts. Delays in client payments may require us to make a working capital investment, which could impact our cash flows and liquidity. If a client fails to pay invoices on a timely basis or defaults in making its payments on a project in which we have devoted significant resources, there could be a material adverse effect on our results of operations or liquidity.

We are dependent upon suppliers and subcontractors to complete many of our contracts.

Some of the work performed under our contracts is performed by third-party subcontractors. We also rely on third-party suppliers to provide much of the equipment and materials used for projects. If we are unable to hire qualified

20

Table of Contents

subcontractors or find qualified suppliers, our ability to successfully or timely complete a project could be impaired. If the amount we are required to pay for subcontractors or equipment and supplies exceeds what we have estimated, especially in a lump-sum contract, we may suffer losses on these contracts. If a supplier or subcontractor fails to provide supplies, technology, equipment or services as required under a contract to us, our joint venture partner, our client or any other party involved in the project for any reason, or provides supplies, technology, equipment or services that are not an acceptable quality, we may be required to source those supplies, technology, equipment or services on a delayed basis or at a higher price than anticipated, which could impact contract profitability. In addition, faulty workmanship, equipment or materials could impact the overall project, resulting in claims against us for failure to meet required project specifications. These risks may be intensified during an economic downturn if these suppliers or subcontractors experience financial difficulties or find it difficult to obtain sufficient financing to fund their operations or access to bonding, and are not able to provide the services or supplies necessary for our business. In addition, in instances where we rely on a single contracted supplier or subcontractor or a small number of suppliers or subcontractors, if a subcontractor or supplier were to fail, there may be no available replacement technology, equipment, materials or services on a timely basis or at the costs we had anticipated. A failure by a third-party subcontractor or supplier to comply with applicable laws, rules or regulations could negatively impact our business and reputation and could result in fines, penalties, suspension, or in the case of government contracts, even debarment.

Our U.S. government contracts and contracting rights may be terminated or otherwise adversely impacted at any time, and our inability to win or renew government contracts during regulated procurement processes could harm our operations and reduce our projects and revenues.

We enter into significant government contracts, including those contracts that we have in place with the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense. U.S. government contracts are subject to various uncertainties, restrictions and regulations, including oversight audits by government agencies and profit and cost controls, which could result in withholding or delay of payments to us. U.S. government contracts are also subject to uncertainties associated with Congressional funding, including the potential impacts of budget deficits, government shutdowns and federal sequestration. Changes in U.S. government priorities, which can occur due to policy changes or changes in the economy, could adversely impact our revenues. The U.S. government is under no obligation to maintain program funding at any specific level, and funds for a program may even be eliminated. Our U.S. government clients may terminate or decide not to renew our contracts with little or no prior notice.

In addition, U.S. government contracts are subject to specific regulations such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR"), the Truth in Negotiations Act, the Cost Accounting Standards ("CAS"), the Service Contract Act and Department of Defense security regulations. Failure to comply with any of these regulations and other government requirements may result in contract price adjustments, financial penalties or contract termination. Our U.S. government contracts are also subject to audits, cost reviews and investigations by U.S. government oversight agencies such as the U.S. Defense Contract Audit Agency (the "DCAA"). The DCAA reviews the adequacy of, and our compliance with, our internal control systems and policies (including our labor, billing, accounting, purchasing, estimating, compensation and management information systems). The DCAA also has the ability to review how we have accounted for costs under the FAR and CAS. The DCAA presents its report findings to the Defense Contract Management Agency ("DCMA"). Should the DCMA determine that we have not complied with the terms of our contract and applicable statutes and regulations, or if they believe that we have engaged in inappropriate accounting or other activities, payments to us may be disallowed or we could be required to refund previously collected payments. Additionally, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, suspension or debarment from future government contracts, and qui tam litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the U.S. government under the False Claims Act, which could include claims for treble damages. These suits may remain under seal (and hence, be unknown to us) for some time while the government decides whether to intervene on behalf of the qui tam plaintiff. Furthermore, if we have significant disagreements with our government clients concerning costs incurred, negative publicity could arise, which could adversely affect our industry reputation and our ability to compete for new contracts in the government arena or otherwise.

Most U.S. government contracts are awarded through a rigorous competitive process. The U.S. government has increasingly relied upon multiple-year contracts with pre-established terms and conditions that generally require those contractors that have been previously awarded the contract to engage in an additional competitive bidding process for each task order issued under the contract. Such processes require successful contractors to anticipate requirements and develop rapid-response bid and proposal teams as well as dedicated supplier relationships and delivery systems to react to these needs. We face rigorous competition and significant pricing pressures in order to win these task orders. If we are not successful in containing costs or able to timely respond to government requests, we may not win additional awards. Moreover, even if we are qualified to work on a government contract, we may be impacted in our pursuit of work by government policies designed to protect small businesses and under- represented minority contractors.

Many of our U.S. government contracts require security clearances. Depending upon the level of clearance required, security clearances can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain. If we or our employees are unable to obtain or retain

21

Table of Contents

necessary security clearances, we may not be able to win new business, and our existing government clients could terminate their contracts with us or decide not to renew them.

Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, an automatic sequestration process, or across-the-board budget cuts, was triggered when the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a committee of twelve members of Congress, failed to agree on a deficit reduction plan for the U.S. federal budget. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (the “BBA”) eliminates sequestration on discretionary accounts in 2020 and 2021 by increasing federal discretionary spending limits until 2021. The BBA also temporarily suspends the public debt limit through July 31, 2021. However, the Budget Control Act of 2011 remains in place, extended through 2029, and absent additional legislative or other remedial action, the sequestration could require reduced U.S. federal government spending from 2022 through 2029. A significant reduction in federal government spending or a change in budgetary priorities could reduce demand for our services, cancel or delay federal projects, and result in the closure of federal facilities and significant personnel reductions, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our continued success requires us to hire and retain qualified personnel.

The success of our business is dependent upon being able to attract, develop and retain personnel, including engineers, project management, craft employees and management around the globe, who have the necessary and required experience and expertise, and who will perform these services at a reasonable and competitive rate. Competition for these and other experienced personnel is intense. It may be difficult to attract and retain qualified individuals with the expertise and in the timeframe demanded by our clients. In certain geographic areas, for example, we may be unable to satisfy the demand for our services because of our inability to deploy qualified personnel. Also, it may be difficult to replace personnel who hold government granted eligibility that may be required to obtain certain government projects and/or who have significant government contract experience. Loss of the services of, or failure to recruit, qualified technical and management personnel could limit our ability to successfully complete existing projects and compete for new projects.

As some of our executives and other key personnel approach retirement age or otherwise leave the company, we need to provide for smooth transitions, which may require that we devote time and resources to identify and integrate new personnel into these leadership roles and other key positions. Changes in our management team may disrupt our business and the failure to successfully transition and assimilate executives or other key personnel could adversely affect our results of operation. If we are unable to employ a sufficient number of skilled personnel or effectively implement appropriate succession plans, our ability to pursue projects may be adversely affected, the costs of executing our existing and future projects may increase and our financial performance may decline.

In addition, the cost of providing our services, including the extent to which we utilize our workforce, affects our profitability. For example, the uncertainty of contract award timing can present difficulties in matching our workforce size with our contracts. If an expected contract award is delayed or not received, we could incur costs resulting from excess staff, reductions in staff, or redundancy of facilities that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Our effective tax rate and tax positions may vary.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. A change in tax laws, treaties or regulations, or their interpretation, in any country in which we operate could change the tax rate on our earnings, which could have a material impact on our results of operations. In addition, significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and our judgments could prove inaccurate. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities, and our tax estimates and tax positions could be materially affected by many factors including the final outcome of tax audits and related litigation, the introduction of new tax accounting standards, legislation, regulations and related interpretations, our global mix of earnings, our ability to realize deferred tax assets and changes in uncertain tax positions. Future changes in our tax rate or adverse changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and liquidity.

Systems and information technology interruption, as well as new systems implementation, could adversely impact our ability to operate and our operating results.

As a global company, we are heavily reliant on computer, information and communications technology and related systems, some of which are hosted by third party providers, in order to operate. From time to time, we experience system interruptions and delays that may be planned for upgrades or that may be unplanned. Unplanned interruptions could result from natural disasters, power loss, telecommunications failures, acts of war or terrorism, acts of God, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar events or disruptions. Any of these or other events could cause system interruptions, delays, loss of critical or sensitive data (including personal or financial data) or loss of funds; could delay or

22

Table of Contents

prevent operations (including the processing of transactions and reporting of financial results); and could adversely affect our reputation or our operating results. While we have and require the maintenance of reasonable safeguards designed to protect against unavailability or loss of data, these safeguards may not be sufficient. We may be required to expend significant resources to protect against or alleviate damage caused by systems interruptions and delays, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and cash flows.

We continue to evaluate the need to upgrade and/or replace our systems and network infrastructure to protect our computing environment, to stay current on vendor supported products, to improve the efficiency of our systems and for other business reasons. The implementation of new systems and information technology could adversely impact our operations by imposing substantial capital expenditures, demands on management time and risks of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems. Our systems implementations also may not result in productivity improvements at the levels anticipated. Systems implementation disruption and any other information technology disruption, if not anticipated and appropriately mitigated, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

It can be very difficult and expensive to obtain the insurance we need for our business operations.

As part of business operations we maintain insurance both as a corporate risk management strategy and to satisfy the requirements of many of our contracts. Although we have been generally able to cover our insurance needs, there can be no assurances that we can secure all necessary or appropriate insurance in the future, or that such insurance can be economically secured. For example, catastrophic events can result in decreased coverage limits, more limited coverage, increased premium costs or deductibles. We also monitor the financial health of the insurance companies from which we procure insurance, and this is one of the factors we take into account when purchasing insurance. Our insurance is purchased from a number of the world's leading providers, often in layered insurance or quota share arrangements. If any of our third party insurers fail, abruptly cancel our coverage or otherwise cannot satisfy their insurance requirements to us, then our overall risk exposure and operational expenses could be increased and our business operations could be interrupted.

If we do not have adequate indemnification for our nuclear services, it could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

We provide services to the U.S. Department of Energy and the nuclear energy industry in the on-going maintenance and modification of nuclear facilities as well as decontamination and decommissioning activities of nuclear plants. The Price-Anderson Act generally indemnifies parties performing services to nuclear power plants and Department of Energy contractors; however, not all activities we engage in on behalf of our clients are covered. Thus, if the Price-Anderson Act indemnification protections do not apply to our services, or if the exposure occurs outside of the United States in a region that does not have protections comparable to the Price-Anderson Act, our business and financial condition could be adversely affected by our client's refusal to contract with us, by our inability to obtain commercially reasonable insurance or third party indemnification, or by the potentially significant monetary damages we could incur.

Foreign currency risks could have an adverse impact on revenue, earnings and/or backlog.

Certain of our contracts subject us to foreign currency risk, particularly when project contract revenue is denominated in a currency different than the contract costs. In addition, our operational cash flows and cash balances, though predominately held in U.S. dollars, may consist of different currencies at various points in time in order to execute our project contracts globally and meet transactional requirements. We may attempt to minimize our exposure to foreign currency risk by obtaining contract provisions that protect us from foreign currency fluctuations and/or by implementing hedging strategies utilizing derivatives as hedging instruments. However, these actions may not always eliminate all foreign currency risk, and as a result, our profitability on certain projects could be affected.

Our monetary assets and liabilities denominated in nonfunctional currencies are subject to remeasurement. In addition, the U.S. dollar value of our backlog may from time to time increase or decrease significantly due to foreign currency volatility. We may also be exposed to limitations on our ability to reinvest earnings from operations in one country to fund our operations in other countries.

Our reported revenue and earnings of foreign subsidiaries could also be affected by foreign currency volatility. Revenue, cost and earnings of foreign subsidiaries with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars. If the U.S. dollar appreciates against a foreign subsidiary's non-U.S. dollar functional currency, we would report less revenue, cost and earnings in U.S. dollars than it would have had the U.S. dollar depreciated against the same foreign currency or if there had been no change in the exchange rate.

23

Table of Contents

The loss of one or a few clients could have an adverse effect on us.

A few clients, including the U.S. government, state governments and U.S. and state government agencies, have in the past, and may in the future, account for a significant portion of our revenues in any one year or over a period of several consecutive years, either directly or through participation in a joint venture that serves as a client. Although we have long-standing relationships with many of our significant clients, our clients may unilaterally reduce, fail to renew or terminate their contracts with us at any time. Most of our contracts have termination for convenience provisions in them. The loss of business from a significant client could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

Damage to our reputation could in turn cause damage to our business.

Maintaining a positive reputation is critical to attracting and maintaining clients and other business relationships. If we fail to address issues that may give rise to reputational risk, we could significantly harm our business. These issues may include, but are not limited to, any of the risk factors discussed in this Item 1A, including compliance with laws, project execution risk, cybersecurity and safety. If our reputation is harmed, we could suffer a number of adverse consequences, such as:

•reduced demand for our services;

•lack of investor confidence;

•less favorable credit rating;

•the inability to attract and retain qualified employees;

•a loss or reduction in scope of current project contracts and fewer contract awards;

•less favorable contract terms;

•increased need for financial assurances;

•increased litigation and costs; and

•heightened regulatory scrutiny.

These and other consequences resulting from damage to our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business may be negatively impacted if we are unable to adequately protect intellectual property rights.

Our success is dependent, in part, on our ability to differentiate our services through our technologies and know-how. This success includes the ability of companies in which we invest, such as NuScale, to protect their intellectual property rights. We utilize a combination of patents, copyrights, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements and other contractual arrangements to protect our interests. However, these methods only provide a limited amount of protection and may not adequately protect our interests. Our employees, contractors and joint venture partners are subject to confidentiality obligations, but this protection may be inadequate to deter or prevent misappropriation of our confidential information and/or infringement of our intellectual property rights. This can be especially true in certain foreign countries where intellectual property does not have equivalent protections as in the United States, or when our joint venture partner is a competitor who will gain access to our procedures and know-how while working with us in the performance of services.

Our clients require broad ownership rights in the work product and other materials we deliver. If we are not able to retain ownership of our pre-existing intellectual property and improvements thereto, it may affect our ability to provide similar services to other clients in the future, which ultimately, could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

Our competitors or others may independently develop technology substantially similar to our trade secret technology or we may be unsuccessful in preserving our intellectual property rights in the future. Our intellectual property rights could be invalidated, circumvented, challenged or infringed upon. Litigation to determine the scope of intellectual property rights, even if ultimately successful, could be costly and could divert management's attention.

In addition, our clients or other third parties may also provide us with their technology and intellectual property. There is a risk that we may not sufficiently protect our or their information from improper use or dissemination and, as a result, could be subject to claims and litigation and resulting liabilities, loss of contracts or other consequences that could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

24

Table of Contents

We also hold licenses from third parties that may be utilized in our business operations. If we are no longer able to license such technology on commercially reasonable terms or otherwise, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected. When we license our intellectual property to third parties, the scope of such license grant is limited to a particular plant or project. If such third party exceeds the scope of the license grant, and if we are unable to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property or otherwise take appropriate steps to enforce our rights, our revenue and margins will be adversely impacted, and the value of our intellectual property portfolio may decline thereby adversely affecting our competitive advantage and ability to win future work.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of asset impairments.

Our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by impairments to goodwill, investments, deferred tax assets or other intangible assets. Goodwill and other intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are not amortized, but instead are tested at least annually for impairment. Any future impairments, including impairments of goodwill, investments, deferred tax assets or other intangible assets, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, if we determine that an other-than-temporary decline in the fair value exists for a company in which we have invested, we may have to write down that investment to its fair value and recognize the related write-down as an investment loss. For cases in which we are required under the equity method or the proportionate consolidation method of accounting to recognize a proportionate share of another company's income or loss, such income or loss may impact our earnings.

Risks Related to Financial Reporting

We identified material weaknesses in our ICFR in 2019, which were remediated in 2020. If we identify material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately and timely report our financial results.

In connection with our 2019 year-end assessment of ICFR, we determined that we did not have an effective ICFR at December 31, 2019. We took steps to improve our ICFR and determined that we have an effective ICFR at December 31, 2020.

If we identify amaterial weaknesses in the future or are unable to successfully remediate any future material weaknesses or other deficiencies in our ICFR, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, we may be unable to maintain or regain compliance with applicable securities laws and New York Stock Exchange listing requirements and we may be subject to regulatory investigations and penalties.

Our prior failure to prepare and timely file our periodic reports with the SEC limits our access to the public markets to raise debt or equity capital and restricts our ability to issue equity securities.

We did not timely file our 2019 10-K or our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2020, June 30, 2020 or September 30, 2020 within the timeframe specified by the SEC. This limits our ability to utilize a shelf registration during 2021 to access the public markets to raise debt or equity capital, which could prevent us from pursuing transactions or implementing business strategies that we might otherwise believe are beneficial to our business. We are not eligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3 that would allow us to continuously incorporate by reference our SEC reports until December 2021. If we wish to pursue a public offering ahead of that date, we would be required to file a registration statement on Form S-1 and have it reviewed and declared effective by the SEC. Doing so could take significantly longer than using a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, increase our transaction costs and adversely impact our ability to raise capital or complete acquisitions of other companies in a timely manner.

We restated certain of our previously issued financial statements during 2020, which resulted in unanticipated costs and may affect investor confidence and raise reputational issues.

As disclosed in our 2019 10-K, we restated our financial statements and related disclosures for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and for each of the interim quarterly periods in 2018 and 2019, following the identification of misstatements as a result of an internal review. The restatement also included other immaterial adjustments to historical periods, including items previously identified and corrected in earlier periods and for other non-project items identified outside of the internal review. As a result, we incurred previously unanticipated costs for accounting and legal fees in connection with or related to the restatement, and have become subject to a number of additional risks and uncertainties, which may affect investor confidence in the accuracy of our financial disclosures and may raise reputational issues for our business.

25

Table of Contents

Risks Related to Indebtedness

Adverse credit and financial market conditions could impair our, our clients' and our partners' borrowing capacity, which could negatively affect our business operations, profits and growth objectives.

Our ability to generate cash is important for the funding of our operations, investing in joint ventures, the servicing of our indebtedness, paying dividends to stockholders and making acquisitions. To the extent that existing cash balances and cash flow from operations, together with borrowing capacity under our credit facilities, are insufficient to make investments or acquisitions or provide needed working capital, we may require additional financing from other sources. Our ability to obtain such additional financing will depend upon prevailing capital market conditions, including those arising due to events occurring in our industry, as well as conditions in our business and our operating results; and those factors may affect our efforts to negotiate terms that are acceptable to us. Furthermore, if global economic, industry, political or other market conditions adversely affect the financial institutions that provide credit to us, it is possible that our ability to establish or draw upon our credit facilities may be impacted. In addition, a downgrade in our credit rating could increase the cost of our borrowings or their refinancing, limit access to sources of financing or lead to other adverse consequences. If adequate funds are not available, or are not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to make future investments, take advantage of acquisitions or other opportunities, or respond to competitive challenges.

In addition, adverse credit and financial market conditions also adversely affect our clients' and our partners' borrowing capacity, which support the continuation and expansion of projects worldwide, and could result in contract cancellations or suspensions, project award and execution delays, payment delays or defaults by our clients. These disruptions could materially impact our backlog and profits. If we extend a significant portion of credit to our clients or projects in a specific geographic region or industry, we may experience higher levels of collection risk or non-payment if those clients are impacted by factors specific to their geographic industry or region.

Our indebtedness could lead to adverse consequences or adversely affect our financial position and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under such indebtedness, and any refinancing of this debt could be at significantly higher interest rates.

Our indebtedness could have important consequences, including but not limited to:

•increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;

•requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make debt service payments, thereby reducing the availability of cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and investments and other general corporate purposes;

•limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, challenges and opportunities, and changes in our businesses and the markets in which we operate; and

•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund our working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and debt service requirements and other financing needs.

Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend on our future operating performance and financial results, which may be subject to factors beyond our control, including general economic, financial and business conditions. If we do not have sufficient cash flow to service our indebtedness, we may need to refinance all or part of our existing indebtedness, borrow more money or sell securities or assets, some or all of which may not be available to us at acceptable terms or at all. In addition, we may need to incur additional indebtedness in the future in the ordinary course of business. Although the terms of our credit agreements and our bond indentures allow us to incur additional debt, there are limitations which may preclude us from incurring the amount of indebtedness we otherwise desire.

Our credit facilities, senior notes, other outstanding indebtedness and any additional indebtedness we incur in the future impose, or may impose, significant operating and financial restrictions on us. In addition, our credit facilities require us to maintain specified financial covenants. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default. If a default occurs, the relevant lenders could elect to declare our indebtedness, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable. If our operating performance declines, or if we are unable to comply with any covenant, such as our ability to timely prepare and file our periodic reports with the SEC, we have needed and may in the future need to obtain amendments to our credit agreements or waivers from the required creditors under our indebtedness instruments to avoid being in default. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or share price.

26

Table of Contents

We may be unable to win new contract awards if we cannot provide clients with letters of credit, bonds or other security or credit enhancements.

It is a common industry practice for clients to require us to provide surety bonds, letters of credit, bank guarantees or other forms of financial assurance as credit enhancements. Surety bonds, letters of credit or guarantees indemnify our clients if we fail to perform our obligations under our contracts. Historically, we have had strong surety bonding capacity due to our investment-grade credit rating, but, bonding is provided at the surety's sole discretion. In addition, because of the overall limitations in worldwide bonding capacity, we may find it difficult to access sufficient surety bonding capacity to meet our total surety bonding needs. With regard to letters of credit, while we have historically had adequate capacity under our existing credit facilities, any capacity that may be required in excess of our credit limits would be at our lenders' sole discretion and therefore is not certain. Failure to provide credit enhancements on terms required by a client may result in an inability to compete for or win a project.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

From time to time, we are involved in litigation and regulatory proceedings, potential liability claims and contract disputes that may have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to a variety of legal or regulatory proceedings, liability claims or contract disputes in virtually every part of the world. We engage in engineering and construction activities for large facilities where design, construction or systems failures can result in substantial injury or damage. In addition, the nature of our business results in clients, subcontractors and suppliers occasionally presenting claims against us for recovery of costs they incurred in excess of what they expected to incur, or for which they believe they are not contractually liable. We have been and may in the future be named as a defendant in legal proceedings where parties may make a claim for damages or other remedies with respect to our projects or other matters, including shareholder litigation. During times of economic uncertainty, especially with regard to our commodity-based clients, claim frequencies and amounts tend to increase.

In proceedings where it is determined that we have liability, we may not be covered by insurance or, if covered, the dollar amount of these liabilities may exceed our policy limits. In addition, even where insurance is maintained for such exposure, the policies have deductibles resulting in our assuming exposure for a layer of coverage with respect to any such claims. Our professional liability coverage is on a "claims-made" basis covering only claims actually made during the policy period currently in effect. Any liability not covered by our insurance, in excess of our insurance limits or, if covered by insurance but subject to a high deductible, could result in a material loss for us, and materially reduce our cash available for operations.

As previously disclosed, we have received subpoenas from both the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") seeking documents and information related to projects for which we recorded charges in the second quarter of 2019 and certain project accounting, financial reporting and governance matters. We are coordinating our responses to the SEC and DOJ and cooperating in providing the requested documents and information. In addition to these investigations, a special committee of our Board of Directors independently conducted and completed a review of our prior period reporting and related control environment.

If the SEC or DOJ commences legal action as a result of the investigations, we could be required to pay significant penalties and become subject to injunctions, cease and desist orders, and other equitable remedies. We can provide no assurances as to the outcome or timing of any governmental or regulatory investigation.

In addition to these investigations, we have also had numerous securities class action lawsuits and stockholder derivative actions filed against us and certain of our current and former executive officers and directors.

We have incurred, and may continue to incur, significant expenses related to legal, accounting, and other professional services in connection with the SEC investigation, the DOJ investigation, lawsuits and related legal and regulatory matters. These expenses and the diversion of the attention of the management team that has occurred, and is expected to continue, has adversely affected, and could continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a result of matters associated with the SEC and DOJ investigations and various lawsuits, we are exposed to greater risks associated with litigation, regulatory proceedings, and government enforcement actions and additional subpoenas. Any future investigations or additional lawsuits may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In other legal or regulatory proceedings, liability claims or contract disputes, we may be covered by indemnification agreements that may at times be difficult to enforce. Even if enforceable, it may be difficult to recover under these agreements if the indemnitor does not have the ability to financially support the indemnity. Litigation and regulatory

27

Table of Contents

proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur, including for monetary damages. If we were to receive an unfavorable ruling in a matter, our business and results of operations could be materially harmed. Such proceedings can also be costly, time-consuming, disruptive to operations and distracting to management, regardless of the outcome. For further information on matters in dispute, please see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our failure to recover adequately on claims against project owners, subcontractors or suppliers for payment or performance could have a material effect on our financial results.

We occasionally bring claims against clients for additional costs exceeding the contract price or for amounts not included in the original contract price. Similarly, we present change orders and claims to our subcontractors and suppliers. If we fail to properly provide notice or document the nature of change orders or claims, or are otherwise unsuccessful in negotiating a reasonable settlement, we could incur reduced profits, cost overruns and in some cases a loss on the project. These types of claims can often occur due to matters such as owner-caused delays or changes from the initial project scope, which result in additional cost, both direct and indirect. From time to time, these claims can be the subject of lengthy and costly proceedings, and it is often difficult to accurately predict when these claims will be fully resolved. When these types of events occur and while unresolved claims are pending, we may invest significant working capital in projects to cover cost overruns pending the resolution of the relevant claims. A failure to promptly recover on these types of claims could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity and financial results.

We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to officials or others for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. We train our personnel concerning anti-bribery laws and issues, and we also inform our partners, subcontractors, suppliers, agents and others who work for us or on our behalf that they must comply with anti-bribery law requirements. We also have procedures and controls in place to monitor compliance. However, there is no assurance that our internal controls and procedures will always protect us from the possible reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. If we are found to be liable for anti-bribery law violations (either due to our own acts or our inadvertence, or due to the acts or inadvertence of others including our partners, agents, subcontractors or suppliers), we could suffer from criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, including contract cancellations or debarment, and loss of reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Litigation or investigations relating to alleged or suspected violations of anti-bribery laws, even if ultimately such litigation or investigations demonstrate that we did not violate anti-bribery laws, could be costly and could divert management's attention away from other aspects of our business.

We could be adversely impacted if we fail to comply with domestic and international import and export laws.

Our global operations require importing and exporting goods and technology across international borders on a regular basis. Our policies mandate strict compliance with U.S. and foreign international trade laws. To the extent we export technical services, data and products outside of the United States, we are subject to U.S. and international laws and regulations governing international trade and exports including but not limited to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Regulations and trade sanctions against embargoed countries, which are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the Department of Treasury. From time to time, we identify certain inadvertent or potential export or related violations. These violations may include, for example, transfers without required governmental authorization. A failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in civil or criminal sanctions, including the imposition of fines, the denial of export privileges, and suspension or debarment from participation in U.S. government contracts.

Employee, agent or partner misconduct or our overall failure to comply with laws or regulations could weaken our ability to win contracts, which could result in reduced revenues and profits.

Misconduct, fraud, non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations, or other improper activities by one of our employees, agents or partners could have a significant negative impact on our business and reputation. Such misconduct could include the failure to comply with anti-corruption, export control and environmental regulations; federal procurement regulations, regulations regarding the pricing of labor and other costs in government contracts and regulations regarding the protection of sensitive government information; regulations on lobbying or similar activities; regulations pertaining to the internal control over financial reporting; and various other applicable laws or regulations. The precautions we take to prevent and detect fraud, misconduct or failures to comply with applicable laws and regulations may not be effective, and we could face unknown risks or losses. Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations or acts of fraud or misconduct could

28

Table of Contents

subject us to fines and penalties, loss of security clearance and suspension or debarment from contracting with government agencies, which could weaken our ability to win contracts and have a material adverse impact on our revenues and profits.

New or changing legal requirements, including those relating to climate change, could adversely affect our operating results.

Our business and results of operations could be affected by the passage of climate change, defense, environmental, infrastructure, trade and other laws, policies and regulations. For example, growing concerns about climate change may result in the imposition of additional environmental regulations. Legislation, international protocols or treaties, regulation or other restrictions on emissions could affect our clients, including those who (a) are involved in the exploration, production or refining of fossil fuels such as our energy and chemicals clients, (b) emit greenhouse gases through the combustion of fossil fuels, or (c) emit greenhouse gases through the mining, manufacture, utilization or production of materials or goods. Such legislation or restrictions could increase the costs of projects for us and our clients or, in some cases, prevent a project from going forward, thereby potentially reducing the need for our services, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. However, legislation and regulation regarding climate change could also increase the pace of development of carbon capture and storage projects, alternative transportation, alternative energy facilities, such as wind farms or nuclear reactors, or incentivize increased implementation of clean fuel projects, which could positively impact the demand for our services. As another example, the implementation of trade barriers, countervailing duties, or border taxes, or the addition, relaxation or repeal of laws, policies and regulations regarding the industries and sectors in which we work could result in a decline in demand for our services, or may make the manner in which we perform our services, especially from outside the United States, less cost efficient. Furthermore, changes to existing trade agreements may impact our business operations. We cannot predict when or whether any of these various legislative and regulatory proposals may become law or what their effect will be on us and our clients.

Past and future environmental, safety and health regulations could impose significant additional costs on us that reduce our profits.

We are subject to numerous environmental laws and health and safety regulations. Our projects can involve the handling of hazardous and other highly regulated materials, including nuclear and other radioactive materials, which, if improperly handled or disposed of, could subject us to civil and criminal liabilities. It is impossible to reliably predict the full nature and effect of judicial, legislative or regulatory developments relating to health and safety regulations and environmental protection regulations applicable to our operations. The applicable regulations, as well as the length of time available to comply with those regulations, continue to develop and change. The cost of complying with rulings and regulations, satisfying any environmental remediation requirements for which we are found responsible, or satisfying claims or judgments alleging personal injury, property damage or natural resource damages as a result of exposure to, or contamination by, hazardous materials, including as a result of commodities such as lead or asbestos-related products, could be substantial, may not be covered by insurance, could reduce our profits, and therefore, could materially impact our future operations.

Our company, along with our investment in NuScale, is subject to a number of regulations such as those from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and non-U.S. regulatory bodies, such as the International Atomic Energy Commission and the European Union, which can have a substantial effect on our nuclear operations and investments. Delays in receiving necessary approvals, permits or licenses, the failure to maintain sufficient compliance programs, and other problems encountered during construction (including changes to such regulatory requirements) could significantly increase our costs or have an adverse effect on our results of operations, our return on investments and our financial position.

A substantial portion of our business is generated either directly or indirectly as a result of federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations related to environmental matters. A reduction in the number or scope of these laws or regulations, or changes in government policies regarding the funding, implementation or enforcement of such laws and regulations, could significantly reduce the size of one of our markets and limit our opportunities for growth or reduce our revenue below current levels.

Risks Related to Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Plans

We cannot assure the successful implementation of our strategic and operational initiatives.

We have announced a number of strategic and operational initiatives designed to optimize costs and improve operational efficiency, including plans to divest our AMECO and Stork businesses, monetize surplus real estate and non-core investments, and rationalize resources and overhead across various geographies. Our ability to successfully execute these initiatives is subject to various risks and uncertainties, including regulatory intervention, which may negatively impact the realization of expected benefits. Our failure to realize the anticipated benefits, which may be due to our inability to execute,

29

Table of Contents

competition, economic conditions, and other risks described herein, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Any acquisitions, dispositions or other investments are subject to various risks or uncertainties and may not be completed in accordance with the expected plans or anticipated time frame, or at all, and will involve significant time and expense, which could disrupt or adversely affect our business.

We have made and expect to continue to pursue selective acquisitions or dispositions of businesses, or investments in strategic business opportunities. We may be unable to locate suitable acquisitions or investments, or we may be unable to consummate any such transactions on terms and conditions acceptable to us. Acquisitions may bring us into businesses we have not previously conducted or jurisdictions where we have had little to no prior operations experience and thus expose us to additional business risks that are different from those we have traditionally experienced. We also may encounter difficulties identifying all significant risks during our due diligence activities or integrating acquisitions and successfully managing or achieving the growth we expect to experience from these acquisitions. We may invest in companies or businesses that fail, causing a loss of all or part of our investment.

Divesting businesses involves risks and uncertainties, such as the difficulty separating assets related to such businesses from the businesses we retain, employee distraction, the need to obtain regulatory approvals and other third-party consents, which potentially disrupts customer and vendor relationships, and the fact that we may be subject to additional tax obligations or loss of certain tax benefits. Such actions also involve significant costs and require time and attention of our management, which may divert attention from other business operations. Because of these challenges, as well as market conditions or other factors, anticipated divestitures may take longer or be costlier or generate fewer benefits than expected and may not be completed at all. If we are unable to complete the divestitures or to successfully transition divested businesses, our business and financial results could be negatively impacted. If we dispose of a business, we may not be able to successfully cause a buyer of a divested business to assume the liabilities of that business or, even if such liabilities are assumed, we may have difficulties enforcing our rights, contractual or otherwise, against the buyer. We may retain exposure on financial or performance guarantees and other contractual, employment, pension and severance obligations, and potential liabilities that may arise under law because of the disposition or the subsequent failure of an acquirer. As a result, performance by the divested businesses or other conditions outside of our control could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, the divestiture of any business could negatively impact our profitability because of losses that may result from such a sale, the loss of revenues or a decrease in cash flows. Following a divestiture, we may also have less diversity in our business and in the markets we serve, as well as in our client base.

We may be unable to successfully integrate acquisitions or investments we make into our businesses or capture the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions and investments.

Whenever we make an acquisition or investment, we have and will continue to devote significant management attention and resources to integrating or aligning the business practices and operations of companies we acquire or invest in. Difficulties we may encounter in the integration/alignment process include:

•A delay in the integration or alignment of management teams, strategies, operations, products and services;

•Diversion of the attention of management as a result of the acquisition or investment;

•The consequences of a change in tax treatment, including the costs of integration/consolidation and compliance, and the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the acquisition/investment will not be realized;

•Differences in corporate culture and management philosophies;

•The ability to retain key personnel;

•The challenges of integrating or aligning complex systems, technology, networks and other assets into or to be compatible with ours in a way that minimizes any adverse effects on the business; and

•Potential unknown liabilities and unforeseen increased expenses or delays associated with the acquisition or investment, including the costs to integrate or consolidate beyond current estimates.

Any of these factors could negatively affect our ability to maintain business relationships or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the acquisition or investment.

30

Table of Contents

Risks Related to our Common Stock

In the event we issue additional equity securities, stockholders' ownership percentages would be diluted.

We may in the future issue additional equity securities to pay for potential acquisitions or to otherwise fund our corporate initiatives. If we do issue additional equity securities, the issuance may dilute our earnings per share and stockholders' percentage ownership.

Delaware law, our charter documents and our stockholder rights agreement may impede or discourage a takeover or change of control.

Fluor is a Delaware corporation. Various anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law impose impediments on the ability of others to acquire control of us, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders. In addition, certain provisions of our charters and bylaws may impede or discourage a takeover. For example:

•stockholders may not act by written consent;

•there are various restrictions on the ability of a stockholder to call a special meeting or to nominate a director for election; and

•our Board of Directors can authorize the issuance of preferred shares.

These types of provisions in our charters and bylaws could also make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders. Accordingly, stockholders may be limited in the ability to obtain a premium for their shares.

On March 24, 2020, our Board of Directors approved the adoption of a limited duration stockholder rights agreement and declared a dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right on each outstanding share of our common stock. The rights are designed to ensure that all of our stockholders receive fair and equal treatment in the event of any proposed takeover of the company and to protect against abusive tactics to gain control of the company without paying all stockholders a premium for that control. The stockholder rights agreement would cause substantial dilution to any person or group that attempts to acquire us on terms not approved in advance by our Board of Directors and may have the effect of delaying, discouraging or preventing a change in control that might otherwise be beneficial to stockholders and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Major Facilities

Our operations are conducted at both owned and leased properties in U.S. and foreign locations totaling approximately 7.9 million rentable square feet. Our executive offices are located at 6700 Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, Texas. As our business frequently changes, the extent of utilization of the facilities by particular segments cannot be accurately stated. In addition, certain of our properties are leased or subleased to third party tenants. While we have operations worldwide, the following summarizes our more significant existing facilities:

31

Table of Contents

Location Interest

United States:

Greenville, South Carolina Owned

Houston (Sugar Land), Texas Leased

Irving, Texas (Corporate Headquarters) Owned

Southern California (Aliso Viejo and Long Beach) Leased

Canada:

Calgary, Alberta Owned

Vancouver, British Columbia Leased

Latin America:

Mexico City, Mexico Leased

Santiago, Chile Owned and Leased

Europe, Africa and Middle East:

Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Owned

Amsterdam, the Netherlands Owned

Farnborough, England Owned and Leased

Gliwice, Poland Owned

Johannesburg, South Africa Leased

Utrecht, the Netherlands Leased

Asia/Asia Pacific:

Manila, the Philippines Owned and Leased

New Delhi, India Leased

Perth, Australia Leased

Shanghai, China Leased

In addition, we lease or own a number of individually insignificant offices, warehouses and equipment yards strategically located throughout the world. We also, through various joint ventures, own or lease fabrication yards in China and Mexico.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

As part of our normal business activities, we are party to a number of legal proceedings and other matters in various stages of development. We periodically assess our liabilities and contingencies for these matters based upon the latest information available.

For information on legal proceedings and matters in dispute, see the Consolidated Financial Statements in this report.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

None.

32

Table of Contents

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FLR."

Any future cash dividends will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, availability of surplus and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant. See "Item 1A. — Risk Factors."

At January 31, 2021, there were 140,759,346 shares outstanding and 4,244 stockholders of record of the company's common stock.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides information for the three months ended December 31, 2020 about purchases by the company of equity securities that have been registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").

Total — $ — —

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1)The share repurchase program, as amended, totals 34,000,000 shares. We may repurchase shares from time to time in open market transactions or privately negotiated transactions, including through pre-arranged trading programs, at our discretion, subject to market conditions and other factors and at such time and in amounts that we deem appropriate.

Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our financial statements.

Results of Operations

In early 2020, we decided to retain our government business, which had been included in Disc Ops since the third quarter of 2019. As a result, the government business is no longer reported as a discontinued operation for any period presented. Our plan to sell the AMECO equipment business remains unchanged and it remains reported as a discontinued operation. We expect to complete the sale of the AMECO equipment business within the first half of 2021. The assets and liabilities of the AMECO business are classified as held for sale for all periods presented.

In light of our decision to retain our government business in 2020, we had the following six reportable segments:

◦Energy & Chemicals

◦Mining & Industrial

◦Infrastructure & Power

◦Government

◦Diversified Services

◦Other

Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, we will operate through three business segments: Energy Solutions, Urban Solutions and Mission Solutions. Energy Solutions will focus on energy transition, chemicals and traditional oil and gas opportunities. Urban Solutions will focus on mining, metals, advanced technologies, manufacturing, life sciences, infrastructure and our professional staffing services. Mission Solutions will focus on delivering solutions to federal agencies across the U.S. government and to select international opportunities. Additionally, we are initiating plans to sell Stork.

During 2019, we approved and initiated a broad restructuring plan designed to optimize costs, improve operational efficiency and support long-term sustainable growth. These restructuring activities included the rationalization of resources, investments, real estate and overhead across various geographies. We also met with a number of our clients, subcontractors

33

Table of Contents

and suppliers in an attempt to bring resolution to or get clarification on a variety of matters, including outstanding disputes and claims, pending change orders, schedule extensions, accounts receivable and other project close out items. The negotiations and agreements resulting from these meetings, as well as project developments during the second quarter, resulted in the recognition of significant charges across three segments, which are reflected in the results for 2019.

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,

Revenue

Segment profit (loss) $ and margin %

Impairment, restructuring and other exit costs (305.6) (532.6) —

Gain (loss) on pension settlement 0.4 (137.9) (21.9)

Earnings (loss) attributable to NCI from Cont Ops 68.3 (31.0) 59.4

Earnings (loss) from Cont Ops before taxes (207.0) (1,071.5) 385.7

New awards

New awards related to projects located outside of the U.S. 58% 51% 80%

(1)Total segment profit (loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure. We believe that total segment profit (loss) provides a meaningful perspective on our results as it is the aggregation of individual segment profit (loss) measures that we use to evaluate and manage our performance.

34

Table of Contents

Backlog

Backlog related to projects located outside of the U.S. 64% 67%

Backlog related to lump-sum projects 55% 52%

Our business has been adversely affected by the economic impacts of the outbreak of COVID-19 and the steep decline in oil prices that occurred in the early part of 2020. These events have created significant uncertainty and economic volatility and disruption, which have impacted and may continue to impact our business. We have experienced, and may continue to experience, reductions in demand for certain of our services and the delay or abandonment of ongoing or anticipated projects due to our clients’, suppliers’ and other third parties’ diminished financial condition or financial distress, as well as governmental budget constraints. Although we initially assessed our project estimates for COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020, continued isolation of estimated COVID-19 effects became increasingly difficult to measure as 2020 progressed. Our estimates reflect our best assessment of project results inclusive of COVID-19 effects, which have been dynamic as our projects have seen changes in prevailing regulations as COVID cases crested and fell. These impacts may continue or worsen under prolonged stay-at-home, social distancing, travel restrictions and other similar orders or restrictions. Significant uncertainty still exists concerning the magnitude of the impact and duration of these events.

Because of the foregoing matters, we performed interim impairment testing of our goodwill, intangible assets and investments. We also evaluated the impact of these events on our reserves for credit risk and the fair value of our assets held for sale.

During 2020, we recognized the following significant charges:

• $298 million for impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, investments and other assets;

• $60 million for current expected credit losses associated with Energy & Chemicals clients;

• $146 million for impairments of assets held for sale (included in Disc Ops), of which $12 million related to goodwill; as well as

• Significant forecast revisions for project positions due to COVID-19 related schedule delays and associated cost growth.

During 2019, we recognized charges (related to cumulative catch up adjustments and loss projects) totaling $839 million in the Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power and Other segments. We also recognized $533 million related to impairments, restructuring and other exit costs. Additionally, we settled the remaining obligations associated with our defined benefit pension plan in the United Kingdom and recognized a loss on pension settlement of $138 million during 2019. During 2018, we recognized charges totaling $417 million related to projects in the Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power and Other segments. These project charges were partially offset by a gain of $125 million from the sale of a joint venture interest in the United Kingdom. Earnings in 2018 also benefitted from the adoption of ASC 606 which increased earnings before taxes by $132 million, primarily in the Energy & Chemicals segment.

During 2020, consolidated revenue declined primarily due to volume declines on Energy & Chemicals and Mining & Industrial projects, many of which were completed or nearing completion. The revenue decline in 2020 was further compounded by COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices. For example, a large mining project was suspended for six months due to COVID-19 and the volume of work in the Diversified Services segment significantly declined as turnaround work was delayed and maintenance scopes reduced. During 2019, consolidated revenue declined primarily due to volume declines on Energy & Chemicals projects as well as the completion of a power restoration project in Puerto Rico in 2018 and three large power projects in 2019.

During 2020, total segment profit increased due to the project charges in the Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power and Other segments recognized in 2019 (discussed above). The increase in total segment profit in 2020 was diminished

35

Table of Contents

by the impact of COVID-19 on numerous projects in 2020. During 2019, total segment profit significantly declined due to the 2019 project charges in the Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power and Other segments.

The effective tax rate from continuing operations was (9.0%), (45.3%) and 44.9% for 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively. The 2020 effective tax rate was favorably impacted by a $125 million benefit due to the utilization of a 2019 net operating loss carryback as allowed under the CARES ACT enacted on March 27, 2020. This benefit was offset by a $149 million increase in valuation allowances to reduce deferred tax assets primarily in the U.S. and the Netherlands. The 2019 effective tax rate was unfavorably impacted by $731 million in charges related to establishing valuation allowances to reduce net deferred tax assets in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. The 2018 effective tax rate was unfavorably impacted due to a $79 million increase in valuation allowances to reduce certain deferred tax assets in the U.S., the Netherlands and Belgium.

Our results reported by foreign subsidiaries with non-U.S. dollar functional currencies are affected by foreign currency volatility. When the U.S. dollar appreciates against the non-U.S. dollar functional currencies of these subsidiaries, our reported revenue, cost and earnings, after translation into U.S. dollars, are lower than what they would have been had the U.S. dollar depreciated against the same foreign currencies or if there had been no change in the exchange rates.

Our margins, in some cases, may be favorably or unfavorably impacted by a change in the amount of materials and customer-furnished materials, which are accounted for as pass-through costs.

The lack of broad based new awards could continue to put pressure on our future earnings streams, particularly in the Energy & Chemicals segment. Backlog included $1.8 billion for projects in a loss position as of December 31, 2020. The decline in backlog during 2020 and 2019 primarily resulted from new award activity being outpaced by work performed. During 2019, certain suspended contracts associated with our joint venture in Mexico were removed from backlog. Although backlog reflects business that is considered to be firm, cancellations, deferrals or scope adjustments may occur. Backlog is adjusted to reflect any known project cancellations, revisions to project scope and cost, foreign currency exchange fluctuations and project deferrals, as appropriate. Backlog differs from RUPO discussed elsewhere. Backlog includes the amount of revenue we expect to recognize under ongoing operations and maintenance contracts for the remainder of the current year renewal period plus up to three additional years if renewal is considered to be probable, while RUPO includes only the amount of revenue we expect to recognize under ongoing operations and maintenance contracts with definite terms and substantive termination provisions.

Impairment, Restructuring and Other Exit Costs

During 2019, we initiated a restructuring plan designed to optimize costs and improve operational efficiency. These efforts primarily relate to the rationalization of resources, investments, real estate and overhead across various geographies, as well as the liquidation of certain components of the AMECO business that are being excluded from sale. Our planned restructuring activities were substantially completed by the end of 2020. Restructuring costs totaled $8 million and $240 million during 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Information about our restructuring, which we believe is complete as of December 31, 2020, follows:

(in millions) Costs Incurred in 2020 Costs Incurred in2019

Restructuring and other exit costs:

Asset impairments 0.4 90.4

Other exit costs 1.0 2.0

Total restructuring and other exit costs $ 8.0 $ 240.0

36

Table of Contents

Impairment expense is summarized as follows:

Year Ended December 31,

Impairment expense:

Intangible customer relationships associated with Stork 26,671 33,657

Equity method investments in the Energy & Chemicals segment 86,096 256,769

Information technology assets 16,269 —

In the first quarter of 2021, we announced a plan to sell Stork. Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, we expect Stork will be reported as a discontinued operation and the assets and liabilities of Stork will be classified as held for sale. Once classified as available for sale, Stork's assets will be subjected to a quarterly recoverability analysis.

Segment Operations

We provide professional services in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication and modularization, operations, maintenance and asset integrity, as well as project management services, on a global basis and serve a diverse set of industries worldwide. We consider charges to include effects that negatively impact a project's gross margin, including negative adjustments to revenue and recognition of project losses.

Energy & Chemicals

Revenue in 2020 decreased compared to 2019 due to significant declines in the volume of execution activities for numerous upstream, downstream and chemicals projects nearing completion, partially offset by increased execution activity for an LNG project in Canada. Revenue in 2019 decreased compared to 2018 due to a significant decline in the volume of customer-furnished materials and project execution activities, combined with the impact of a lower volume of broad based new awards. The revenue decline in 2019 was also partially offset by increased execution activity for the LNG project.

Segment profit significantly increased during 2020 despite the adverse impacts of the recognition of reserves totaling $60 million for expected credit losses associated with certain joint venture clients, as well as margin diminution on a percentage-of-completion basis resulting from project positions taken with respect to COVID-19 related schedule delays and associated cost growth. The increase in segment profit during 2020 is primarily the result of charges taken during 2019, discussed below. Excluding these items, segment profit declined in 2020 due to the reduced execution activity of the upstream, downstream and chemicals projects discussed above, partially offset by the increase in activity for the LNG project and a decrease in overhead.

Segment profit in 2019 significantly decreased compared to 2018 as a result of charges taken during 2019 including $260 million for cost growth on an offshore project, $87 million for cost growth on two downstream projects and scope reductions on a large upstream project, $26 million for the write-off of pre-contract costs, $26 million on embedded foreign currency derivatives and $31 million from the resolution of close-out matters. Segment profit in 2018 was adversely impacted by charges of $133 million for cost growth on a completed, downstream project and $40 million for cost growth on the aforementioned offshore project.

The changes in segment profit margin in 2020 and 2019 were primarily attributable to the same factors that affected revenue and segment profit. Segment profit margin in 2020 was also adversely impacted by a shift from higher margin work in 2019 to lower margin work in 2020 in certain geographies.

No significant awards were booked in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 and declining oil prices on our customers' capital spend. New awards in 2019 included a downstream project in the United Kingdom as well as chemicals projects in China, India and on the U.S. gulf coast. New awards in 2018 included an LNG export facility in Canada as well as an engineering and procurement contract for a refinery in Texas.

The decline in backlog during 2020 resulted from the decline in new award activity and the de-recognition of a suspended downstream project. The decrease in backlog during 2019 resulted primarily from new award activity being outpaced by work performed as well as the removal of certain contracts associated with our joint venture in Mexico that were suspended during 2019.

We expect our Energy & Chemicals segment to benefit from opportunities in the chemicals and non-traditional oil and gas markets.

37

Table of Contents

Mining & Industrial

Revenue decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily due to a six month suspension during 2020 of a large mining project in South America due to COVID-19 and a decline in the volume of execution activities for a large life sciences project and two mining projects completed or nearing completion. These revenue declines were partially offset by increased execution activities on two advanced technologies projects as well as a mining project and a metals project, both in North America. Revenue increased in 2019 compared to 2018 primarily due to increased execution activities for several large mining projects as well as ramping up construction activity on the two advanced technologies projects.

Segment profit declined in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily due to a gain of $31 million recognized in 2019 resulting from a favorable resolution of a longstanding customer dispute on a mining project. Segment profit in 2020 was also adversely impacted by the decline in activity for the life sciences project and mining projects nearing completion as well as the mining project in South America that was impacted by COVID-19. The decrease in segment profit in 2020 was partially offset by a reduction in overhead expenses.Segment profit in 2019 increased compared to 2018 due to the increased volume of execution activities for the large mining projects and the two advanced technologies projects that drove the increase in revenue as well as the favorable resolution of the customer dispute. The decline in segment profit margin in 2020 and the increase in segment profit margin in 2019 was primarily the result of the favorable resolution of the customer dispute in 2019.

New awards in 2020 included a significant North American steel project as well as several front-end studies that we believe positions the segment well for follow-on EPC awards. New awards in 2019 included an advanced manufacturing project in the Netherlands. New awards in 2018 included a copper project in Peru, an iron ore replacement mine in Australia and a mine expansion project in Peru. The decrease in backlog during 2020 and 2019 primarily resulted from work performed outpacing new award activity.

We expect our mining business line to benefit from the growing global demand for copper and our advanced technologies and life sciences business line to benefit from the increasing demand for data storage facilities and biological facilities.

Infrastructure & Power

Revenue in 2020 increased compared to 2019 primarily driven by an increase in execution activities for several infrastructure projects, including a year-over-year increase on a rail project which was canceled in the third quarter of 2020. The increase in revenue during 2020 was partially offset by a decrease in execution activities for several infrastructure projects nearing completion. Revenue in 2019 decreased compared to 2018 primarily due to the substantial completion of the three large power projects during 2019. This decline was partially offset by increased project execution activities on several infrastructure projects. Revenue also reflects the adverse impact of various forecast revisions discussed below.

Segment profit in 2020 significantly improved compared to 2019 primarily due to forecast revisions on several power and infrastructure projects recognized in 2019 (discussed below). A positive settlement on a canceled rail project in 2020 was offset by charges for cost growth in the infrastructure legacy portfolio. Segment profit in 2019 significantly decreased compared to 2018 due to charges of $135 million for the settlement of client disputes and cost growth on certain close-out matters for the three power projects discussed above and $133 million resulting from late engineering changes, schedule-driven cost growth and negotiations with clients and subcontractors on pending change orders for several infrastructure projects. Segment profit in 2018 included $188 million in charges on one of the aforementioned power projects as a result of cost growth and a $125 million gain associated with the sale of a joint venture interest in the United Kingdom. The changes in segment profit margin in 2020 and 2019 were primarily attributable to the same factors impacting segment profit in those years. Lower margin contributions from certain infrastructure projects for which charges were recognized during 2020 and 2019 may continue to adversely impact near term segment profit margin. We expect approximately 35% of the segment's revenue in 2021 will be generated from zero margin projects as of December 31, 2020.

New awards in 2020 included a highway project in Texas.New awards in 2019 included a road project in Texas and a rail project in Chicago. New awards in 2018 included an international bridge project and the LAX Automated People Mover project.

The decrease in backlog during 2020 was primarily due to a decline in new award activity in part driven by more selectivity in pursuing projects as well as delayed procurements. The decrease in backlog during 2019 was primarily due to work performed and project cancellations outpacing new award activity. Backlog included $1.5 billion for projects in a loss position as of December 31, 2020.

We believe our infrastructure business is well positioned for select opportunities in the U.S. due to urbanization and an aging infrastructure system. These opportunities may be enhanced with the introduction of a federal infrastructure spending bill.

38

Table of Contents

Government

Revenue in 2020 decreased compared to 2019 primarily due to the completion of a nuclear decommissioning project in 2019 as well a decline in work performed for FEMA. The decrease in 2020 revenue was further driven by the recognition of service fee revenue in 2019 upon the favorable settlement of project claims on two cancelled nuclear power projects in the U.S. The decline in revenue in 2020 was partially offset by increased project execution activities at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as well as our DOE sites. Revenue in 2019 decreased compared to 2018 substantially driven by the completion of a power restoration project in Puerto Rico in 2018 as well as a decrease in project execution activities for a logistics assistance program in Afghanistan, partially offset by an increase in execution activities at the Savannah River DOE site and the favorable settlement of the two nuclear power plant projects in 2019.

The decrease in segment profit in 2020 was substantially driven by the favorable settlement of the two nuclear power plant projects in 2019 as well as the completion of the nuclear decommissioning project in 2019 and the decline in FEMA work in 2020. Segment profit in 2020 was also adversely impacted by COVID-19, particularly as it relates to estimated fee recoveries on certain projects. The increase in segment profit in 2019 was due to the favorable settlement of the two nuclear power plant projects. The changes in segment profit margin in 2020 and 2019 were primarily attributable to the same factors that affected revenue and segment profit.

New awards in 2020, 2019 and 2018 included one-year extensions of the logistics assistance contract in Afghanistan and the Savannah River environmental management contract. New awards in 2018 also included a five-year extension of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve contract and a thirty-month extension at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.

The decline in backlog during 2020 and 2019 resulted from new award activity being outpaced by work performed. Backlog included $1.0 billion and $1.9 billion of unfunded government contracts as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Diversified Services

As discussed elsewhere, most of the operating results of our AMECO equipment business are included in Disc Ops. The retained portion of the AMECO operations have been or are in the process of being liquidated but do not meet the qualifications of Disc Ops. These retained operations remain in the Diversified Services segment.

Revenue in 2020 decreased compared to 2019 primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 and declining oil prices resulting in lower volumes in the Stork business and the staffing business as turnaround work is delayed and maintenance scopes reduced. Revenue declines in 2020 were further driven by reduced volume from the winding down of our AMECO operations in Mexico. Revenue in 2019 decreased compared to 2018 primarily due to lower volumes in the Stork business in Europe, the cancellation of a large operations and maintenance project in North America in 2018 and scope reductions on a maintenance project in Australia. The decline in 2019 revenue was further driven by scope reductions on a large power services project in the U.S. and lower volumes at the AMECO equipment business in Mexico. The revenue declines in 2019 were partially offset by higher contributions from the staffing business in North America and Europe.

Segment profit in 2020 remained flat compared to 2019. The lower volumes in the Stork business and the staffing business were offset by a reduction in expenses related to close out activities at our AMECO operations in Mexico as well as a reduction in overhead costs. Segment profit in 2019 decreased compared to 2018 primarily driven by the above mentioned reduced volumes in the operations and maintenance business, including higher margin specialty services, and the closure of the AMECO equipment business in Mexico. The decline in segment profit in 2019 was further driven by charges related to negotiations with clients and joint venture partners. The declines in segment profit margin in 2020 and 2019 were primarily due to the same factors affecting segment profit.

The decrease in backlog during 2020 was primarily due to the postponement of new maintenance work due to COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices. The increase in backlog during 2019 was primarily due to a large award for the power services business. Our equipment and staffing businesses do not report backlog or new awards.

Other

Other includes the operations of NuScale, as well as two lump-sum projects including a plant for which we serve as a subcontractor to a commercial client (the "Radford" project) and a weapons storage and maintenance facility (the "Warren" project). The Radford and Warren projects continue to project losses as of December 31, 2020.

Revenue in 2020 increased compared to 2019 due to increased execution activities for both the Radford and Warren projects.

39

Table of Contents

Segment loss in 2020 improved due to the recognition of significant charges on the Radford and Warren projects in 2019. Forecast revisions in 2019 resulted in charges of $59 million on the Warren project and $83 million on the Radford project for various engineering and cost growth associated with the facilities. Segment loss in 2018 of $56 million was driven by forecast revisions on the Radford project. Our forecast for both projects is based upon our assessment of the probable cost to finish the projects as well as our assessment of the recovery of unapproved change orders. The Radford project is substantially complete with systems turnover to the client expected in the first quarter of 2021.

NuScale expenses, net of qualified reimbursable expenses, included in the determination of segment loss, were $84 million, $66 million and $74 million during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in NuScale costs during 2020 was due to an increase in research and development activities as NuScale received final design certification by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in August of 2020. Capital contributions by NuScale's NCI holders of $9 million, $49 million and $2 million during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, reduced the need for additional funding from Fluor.

Corporate and Other Matters

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

Corporate G&A

Foreign currency (gains) losses 46.8 26.5 (33.4)

Legal and accounting fees associated with the 2020 internal review 42.0 — —

The increase in compensation expense in 2020 was primarily due to higher stock price driven compensation, as our stock price increased from the date of grant to the end of the year. The decrease in compensation expense in 2019 was primarily due to lower stock price and performance driven compensation. During 2020 and 2019, most major foreign currencies strengthened against the U.S. dollar resulting in foreign currency exchange losses. In 2018, most major foreign currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar resulting in foreign currency exchange gains. The decrease in other expense in 2020 was driven by the realization of our restructuring efforts and lower travel costs due to COVID-19.

The increase in net interest expense during 2020 was primarily attributable to a decrease in interest income driven by lower interest rates in 2020. The decrease in net interest expense during 2019 was primarily attributable to an increase in interest income from time deposits in 2019 as well as a payment made in 2018 for a "make-whole" premium associated with the redemption of the 2021 Notes.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Our significant accounting policies are described in the notes to our financial statements. The preparation of our financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Estimates are based on information available through the date of the issuance of the financial statements and, accordingly, actual results in future periods could differ from these estimates. Significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements apply to the following critical accounting policies:

Revenue Recognition for Long-Term Contracts. We recognize our engineering and construction contract revenue over time as we provide services to satisfy our performance obligations. We generally use the cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion measure of progress as it best depicts how control transfers to our clients. The cost-to-cost approach measures progress towards completion based on the ratio of contract cost incurred to date compared to total estimated contract cost. Use of the cost-to-cost measure of progress requires us to prepare estimates of total expected revenue and cost to complete our projects.

40

Table of Contents

Due to the nature of our industry, there is significant complexity in our estimation of total expected revenue and cost, for which we must make significant judgments. Our contracts with our customers may contain award fees, incentive fees, liquidated damages or other provisions that can either increase or decrease the contract price to arrive at estimated revenue. These variable amounts generally are awarded upon achievement of certain performance metrics, program milestones or cost targets and can be based upon customer discretion. We estimate variable consideration at the most likely amount to which we expect to be entitled. We include estimated amounts in the transaction price to the extent it is probable we will realize that amount. Our estimates of variable consideration and our determination of its inclusion in project revenue for accounting purposes are based on an assessment of our anticipated performance and other information that may be available to us.

At a project level, we have specific practices and procedures to review our estimate of total revenue and cost. Each project team reviews the progress and execution of our performance obligations, which impact the project’s accounting outcome. As part of this process, the project team reviews information such as any outstanding key contract matters, progress towards completion and the related program schedule and identified risks and opportunities. The accuracy of our revenue and profit recognition in a given period depends on the accuracy of our project estimates, which can change from period to period for factors such as:

•Complexity in original design;

•Extent of changes from original design;

•Different site conditions than assumed in our bid;

•The productivity, availability and skill level of labor;

•Weather conditions when executing a project;

•The technical maturity of the technologies involved;

•Length of time to complete the project;

•Availability and cost of equipment and materials;

•Subcontractor and joint venture partner performance;

•Expected costs of warranties; and

•Our ability to recover for additional contract costs.

We recognize changes in contract estimates on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in contract estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in prior periods. Changes in contract estimates may also result in the reversal of previously recognized revenue if the current estimate adversely differs from the previous estimate. If we estimate that a project will have costs in excess of revenue, we recognize the total loss in the period it is identified.

Variable Consideration. The nature of our contracts gives rise to several types of variable consideration, including claims, unpriced change orders, award and incentive fees, liquidated damages and penalties. We consider variable consideration in the development of our project forecasts so that our forecasted revenue reflects the amount of consideration we expect to be probable of recovering without a future significant reversal. We estimate the amount of revenue attributable to variable consideration using the expected value method (i.e., the sum of probability-weighted amounts) or the most likely amount method, whichever offers better prediction. Significant judgments are required in developing estimates for variable consideration.

Fair Value Measurements. We are often required to use fair value measurement techniques with inputs that require the use of estimates and involve significant judgment. These circumstances include:

•Goodwill impairment testing of reporting units when quantitative analysis is deemed necessary

•Impairment testing of intangible assets when impairment indicators are present

•Impairment testing of investments as part of other than temporary impairment assessments when impairment indicators are present

•Fair value assessments of businesses held for sale that are reported at fair value less cost to sell

•Purchase price allocations for acquired businesses

When performing quantitative fair value or impairment evaluations, we estimate the fair value of our assets by considering the results of either or both income-based and market-based valuation approaches. Under the income approach, we prepare a discounted cash flow valuation model using recent forecasts and compare the estimated fair value of each asset to its carrying value. Cash flow forecasts are discounted using the appropriate weighted-average cost of capital at the date of evaluation. The weighted-average cost of capital is comprised of the cost of equity and the cost of debt with a weighting for each that reflects our current capital structure. Preparation of long-term forecasts involve significant judgments involving consideration of our backlog, expected future awards, customer attrition, working capital assumptions, and general market trends and conditions. Significant changes in these forecasts or any valuation assumptions, such as the discount rate selected, could affect the estimated fair value of our assets and could result in impairment expenses. Under the market approach, we

41

Table of Contents

consider market information such as multiples of comparable publicly traded companies and/or completed sales transactions to develop or validate our fair value conclusions, when appropriate and available.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices in 2020, we performed interim impairment testing of our goodwill, intangibles and certain other investments and recognized impairment expenses during the first quarter of 2020 of $169 million, $27 million and $86 million, respectively. All other factors being equal, a one hundred basis point change in the discount rates used in these valuations would change the fair value of these assets by $47 million, $2 million and $3 million, respectively.

During the third quarter of 2019, we performed quantitative testing of our goodwill, intangibles and other investments. The majority of our goodwill resides in our Diversified Services reporting unit. Based on the testing performed, the fair value of the Diversified Services reporting unit exceeded its carrying value, including goodwill, by 20%. All other factors being equal, a one hundred basis point increase in the discount rate used in the valuation would have resulted in its fair value exceeding its carrying value by 7%. During the third quarter of 2019, we recognized impairment charges of $257 million related to certain investments and $34 million related to customer relationship intangible assets. All other factors being equal, a one hundred basis point change in the discount rates used in these valuations would have affected these impairments by $20 million and $4 million, respectively.

Restructuring Accruals. We recognize and accrue restructuring related termination benefits when the recognition criteria under GAAP have been met, depending on the nature of the termination benefit. Recognition of termination benefits requires the use of estimates in determining the expected termination benefits payable, when they are probable of being realized and can be reasonably estimated. Our estimates consider the number of employees that we expect will be eligible to receive the benefit and the amount of benefit potentially payable to each employee based on either the terms of the plan or statutory entitlement.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Item is described more fully in the Notes to Financial Statements.

Litigation and Matters in Dispute Resolution

Item is described more fully in the Notes to Financial Statements.

LIQUIDITY AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

Our liquidity is provided by available cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities, cash generated from operations, capacity under our credit facility and, when necessary, access to the capital markets. We have both committed and uncommitted lines of credit available for revolving loans and letters of credit. We believe that for at least the next 12 months, cash generated from operations, along with our unused credit capacity and cash position, is sufficient to support operating requirements. However, we regularly review our sources and uses of liquidity and may pursue opportunities to increase our liquidity position.

In February 2021, we entered into an amended and restated $1.65 billion credit facility which matures in February 2023 and replaces the now terminated $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion Revolving Loan and Letter of Credit Facilities. The amended credit facility contains customary financial and restrictive covenants, including a debt-to-capitalization ratio that cannot exceed 0.65 to 1.00, a limitation on the aggregate amount of debt of the greater of $750 million or €750 million for our subsidiaries, and a minimum liquidity threshold, as defined in the amended credit facility, of $1.5 billion which may be reduced to $1.25 billion upon the repayment of debt. If the amended credit facility had been in place as of December 31, 2020, our financial covenants would have limited our further borrowings to approximately $934 million. If there are future losses, the amount of available credit capacity under our committed facility may be further reduced.

As of December 31, 2020, letters of credit totaling $418 million were outstanding under our predecessor lines of credit. There were no borrowings outstanding under these facilities as of December 31, 2020. These credit facilities also contained customary financial and restrictive covenants, including a debt-to-capitalization ratio that could not exceed 0.6 to 1.0.

Cash and cash equivalents combined with marketable securities were $2.2 billion as of December 31, 2020 and $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2019. Cash and cash equivalents are held in numerous accounts throughout the world to fund our global project execution activities. Non-U.S. cash and cash equivalents amounted to $984 million and $944 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Non-U.S. cash and cash equivalents exclude deposits of U.S. legal entities that are either swept into overnight, offshore accounts or invested in offshore, short-term time deposits, to which there is unrestricted access.

42

Table of Contents

In evaluating our liquidity needs, we consider cash and cash equivalents held by our consolidated variable interest entities (joint ventures and partnerships). These amounts (which totaled $655 million and $393 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively) were not necessarily readily available for general purposes. We also consider the extent to which client advances (which totaled $125 million and $69 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively) are likely to be sustained or consumed over the near term for project execution activities and the cash flow requirements of our various foreign operations. In some cases, it may not be financially efficient to move cash and cash equivalents between countries due to statutory dividend limitations and/or adverse tax consequences. We did not consider any cash to be permanently reinvested outside the U.S. as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, other than unremitted earnings required to meet our working capital and long-term investment needs in non-U.S. foreign jurisdictions where we operate.

Year Ended December 31,

INVESTING CASH FLOW

Proceeds from sales of businesses and investments 48,897 — 124,942

FINANCING CASH FLOW

Repurchase of common stock — — (50,022)

Proceeds from issuance of Senior Notes — — 598,722

Cash paid during the year for:

Operating Activities

Cash flows from operating activities result primarily from our EPC activities and are affected by changes in working capital associated with such activities. Working capital levels vary from period to period and are primarily affected by our volume of work and the billing schedules on our projects. These levels are also impacted by the stage of completion and commercial terms of engineering and construction projects, as well as our execution of our projects compared to their budget. Working capital requirements also vary by project and the payments terms agreed to with our clients, vendors and subcontractors. Most contracts require payments as the projects progress. Additionally, certain projects receive advance payments from clients. A typical trend for our projects is to have higher cash balances during the initial phases of execution due to deposits paid to us which then diminish toward the end of the construction phase. As a result, our cash position is reduced as customer advances are utilized, unless they are replaced by advances on other projects. We maintain cash reserves and borrowing facilities to provide additional working capital in the event that a project’s net operating cash outflows exceed its available cash balances.

43

Table of Contents

During 2020, consolidated working capital decreased. Specific factors related to the change in working capital include:

•Decreases in accounts receivable which resulted from normal billing and collections for several projects in the Infrastructure & Power, Government and Diversified Services segments.

•Decreases in contract assets which resulted from normal project execution activities for several projects in the Energy & Chemicals, Mining & Industrial, and Diversified Services segments.

During 2019, working capital significantly decreased. Specific factors related to the change in working capital include:

•Decreases in accounts receivable which resulted primarily from normal billing and collections for several projects in the Mining & Industrial segment as well as the LOGCAP IV program in Afghanistan.

•Decreases in contract assets which resulted primarily from normal project execution activities for several projects in the Energy & Chemicals, Infrastructure & Power and Government segments.

Excluding the non-cash impact of adopting ASC 606, working capital increased during 2018. Specific factors related to the change in working capital include:

•Increases in contract assets which resulted primarily from normal project execution activities on a large mining project and several infrastructure projects, partially offset by decreases in contract assets on several Energy & Chemicals projects.

•A decrease in contract liabilities in the Energy & Chemicals segment, which resulted primarily from normal project execution activities on several large projects.

•An increase in accounts payable in the Mining & Industrial segment, which resulted from normal invoicing activities on a large mining project.

•A decrease in other current assets, driven primarily by the receipt of income tax refunds in 2018.

The decrease in operating cash flow in 2020 and the increase in operating cash flow in 2019 resulted primarily from changes in working capital balances.

During the fourth quarter of 2020, we entered into a settlement agreement with a client in connection with a dispute over client-imposed delays and cost overruns on a cancelled rail project in Maryland. We received an initial settlement payment of $116 million in December 2020 and we are contractually owed an additional $150 million to be paid no later than December 2021.

During 2020, we paid approximately $40 million in legal and accounting fees associated with the internal review that was completed in December 2020.

We contributed $130 million, $115 million and $150 million into our DC plans during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $25 million, $15 million and $45 million into our DB plans during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We expect to contribute up to $12 million to our DB plans in 2021, which is expected to be in excess of the minimum funding required.

All periods included the operations of NuScale, which are primarily for research and development activities associated with the licensing and commercialization of small modular nuclear reactor technology. NuScale expenses included in the determination of segment profit were $84 million, $66 million and $74 million during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. NuScale expenses for 2020, 2019 and 2018 were reported net of qualified reimbursable expenses of $71 million, $56 million and $62 million, respectively. Capital contributions by NuScale's NCI holders of $9 million, $49 million and $2 million during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, reduced the need for additional funding from Fluor.

Investing Activities

We hold cash in bank deposits and marketable securities which are governed by our investment policy. This policy focuses on, in order of priority, the preservation of capital, maintenance of liquidity and maximization of yield. These investments may include money market funds, bank deposits placed with highly-rated financial institutions, repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by U.S. Government-related securities, high-grade commercial paper and high quality short-term and medium-term fixed income securities.

44

Table of Contents

Capital expenditures are primarily related to construction equipment associated with equipment operations now included in Disc Ops, as well as expenditures for facilities and investments in information technology. Proceeds from the disposal of property, plant and equipment are primarily related to the disposal of construction equipment associated with the equipment business in Disc Ops.

During 2020, we sold substantially all of the assets of our AMECO equipment business in Jamaica as well as 100% of our interest in an equipment rental business in Europe. The operations of the AMECO business in Jamaica were included in Disc Ops through the date of sale. Also in 2020, we sold our interests in two infrastructure joint ventures in the Netherlands that are currently in the operations and maintenance phase of the contract and one infrastructure joint venture in the U.S. In 2018, we sold our interest in a joint venture in the United Kingdom.

Investments in unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures in 2020 and 2019 included capital contributions to two infrastructure joint ventures in the United States. Investments in 2018 included capital contributions to an infrastructure joint venture in the United States as well as investments in COOEC Fluor. We completed our final funding commitment to COOEC Fluor of $26 million during 2021.

Financing Activities

We have a common stock repurchase program, authorized by the Board of Directors, to purchase shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions at our discretion. In 2018, we repurchased 1,097,126 shares of common stock under our current and previously authorized stock repurchase programs. As of December 31, 2020, 10,513,093 shares could still be purchased under the existing stock repurchase program.

Quarterly cash dividends were typically paid during the month following the quarter in which they were declared.

Therefore, dividends declared in the fourth quarter of 2019 were paid in the first quarter of 2020. Quarterly cash dividends of

$0.21 per share were declared in 2018 and in the first, second and third quarters of 2019. Quarterly cash dividends

of $0.10 per share were declared in the fourth quarter of 2019. We suspended our dividend during April 2020. The

payment and level of future cash dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.

In August 2018, we issued $600 million of 4.250% Senior Notes (the “2028 Notes”) due September 15, 2028 and received proceeds of $595 million, net of underwriting discounts. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on March 15, 2019.

In September 2018, we used a portion of the proceeds from the 2028 Notes to fully redeem our $500 million 3.375%

Senior Notes (the “2021 Notes”) due September 15, 2021. The redemption price of $503 million was equal to 100 percent of

the principal amount of the 2011 Notes plus a “make-whole” premium of $3 million.

Other borrowings represent short-term bank loans and other financing arrangements associated with Stork. During the second and third quarters of 2018, we issued commercial paper to meet our short-term liquidity needs. All of the outstanding commercial paper was repaid in October 2018.

Distributions paid to holders of NCI represent cash outflows to partners of consolidated partnerships or joint ventures created primarily for the execution of single contracts or projects. Distributions in 2020 and 2019 primarily related to a mining joint venture project in Chile. Distributions in 2018 primarily related to transportation joint venture projects in the United States. Capital contributions by NCI in 2020 related to three infrastructure joint ventures in the United States. Capital contributions by NCI in 2019 primarily related to initial investments from new partners in NuScale.

Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash

During 2019, most major foreign currencies strengthened against the U.S. dollar resulting in unrealized translation gains of $101 million of which $10 million related to cash held by foreign subsidiaries. During 2018, most major foreign currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar resulting in unrealized translation losses of $117 million of which $62 million related to cash held by foreign subsidiaries. The cash held in foreign currencies will primarily be used for project-related expenditures in those currencies, and therefore our exposure to exchange gains and losses is generally mitigated.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Letters of Credit

As of December 31, 2020, letters of credit totaling $418 million were outstanding under committed lines of credit and letters of credit totaling $862 million were outstanding under uncommitted lines of credit. Letters of credit are provided in the ordinary course of business primarily to indemnify our clients if we fail to perform our obligations under our contracts. Surety bonds may be used as an alternative to letters of credit.

45

Table of Contents

Guarantees

Source: SEC EDGAR (public domain) · 10-K for the period ended 2020-12-31, filed 2021-02-26 · accession 0001628280-21-003360

Filing HTML rendered to line-structured narrative text by the shipped reducer (datafeeds.edgar_fulltext.visible_text, keep_table_headers=True): scripts and inline-XBRL headers are dropped, and table content is reduced to its short label cells — numeric table data is not rendered and is therefore not counted. The same rendering is used for every year, so a year-over-year comparison is like for like.

The text is our rendering of the filing, not a facsimile: original pagination, typography and tables are not reproduced, and the numbers live in the financial statements (FA).

The outline locates item HEADINGS in this document. Only Items 1A and 7 have certified boundaries elsewhere in the terminal (the redline and the narrative-overlap number); every span here runs from one heading found to the next heading found.

How the outline was chosen. It is the longest chain of item headings that runs forward through both the document and the standard item order: 20 headings are on that chain and 14 further heading-shaped lines are not — the table-of-contents echo of every item, cross-references and exhibit-list mentions. Each entry's length is measured from its heading to the next heading on the chain.