KWR US Equity☆

kwr-20251231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025

OR

For the transition period from _____ to _____

Commission file number 001-12019

QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (610) 832-4000

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

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

Common Stock, $1 par value KWR New York Stock Exchange

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

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

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ Nox

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S- T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yesx No o

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

Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o

Emerging growth company o

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x

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

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

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

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. (The aggregate market value is computed by reference to the last reported sale on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2025): $1,514,771,520

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: 17,335,075 shares of Common Stock, $1.00 Par Value, as of February 16, 2026.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement relating to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III.

Quaker Chemical Corporation

Table of Contents

Page

Part I

Item 1. Business. 2

Item 1A. Risk Factors. 7

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments. 19

Item 1C. Cybersecurity. 19

Item 2. Properties. 20

Item 3. Legal Proceedings. 20

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures. 20

Item 4(a). Information about our Executive Officers. 21

Part II

Item 6. Reserved. 25

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. 41

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. 43

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. 96

Item 9B. Other Information. 96

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. 96

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. 97

Item 11. Executive Compensation. 97

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services. 97

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules. 98

1

PART I

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Report”), the terms “Quaker Houghton,” the “Company,” “we,” and “our” refer to Quaker Chemical Corporation (doing business as Quaker Houghton), its subsidiaries, and associated companies, unless the context otherwise requires.

Item 1. Business.

General Description

The Company was organized in 1918 and incorporated as a Pennsylvania business corporation in 1930. Quaker Houghton is the global leader in industrial process fluids. With a robust presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, the Company’s customers include thousands of the world’s most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, can, mining, and metalworking companies. Quaker Houghton develops, produces, and markets a broad range of formulated specialty chemical products and offers chemical management services (which we refer to as “FluidcareTM”) for various heavy industrial and manufacturing applications throughout its three segments: Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”); and Asia/Pacific.

The major product lines of Quaker Houghton include metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, surface solutions, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, and rod and wire drawing fluids. The following are the respective contributions to consolidated net sales of each of our principal product lines representing more than 10% of consolidated net sales for any of the past three years based on the Company’s current product line segmentation:

Surface solutions 10.9 % 5.2 % 5.0 %

Sales Revenue

The majority of the Company’s sales worldwide are made directly through its own employees and its FluidcareTM programs, with the balance sold through distributors and agents. The Company’s employees typically visit the plants of customers regularly, work on site, and through training and experience, identify production needs which can be resolved or otherwise addressed either by utilizing the Company’s existing products or by applying new formulations developed in its laboratories.

As part of the Company’s FluidcareTM business, certain third-party product sales to customers are managed by the Company. Where the Company acts as principal, revenues are recognized on a gross reporting basis at the selling price negotiated with its customers. Where the Company acts as an agent for its customers, revenue is recognized on a net reporting basis at the amount of the administrative fee earned by the Company for ordering the goods. SeeNote 5, Net Sales and Revenue Recognition, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Competition

The specialty chemical industry comprises a number of companies similar in size to Quaker Houghton, as well as companies larger and smaller in size. The Company cannot readily determine its precise competitive position in every industry it serves. However, the Company estimates it holds the leading global position in the market for industrial process fluids including leading global positions in the markets for process fluids in portions of the automotive and industrial markets, and a leading position in the market for process fluids to produce sheet steel and aluminum. The offerings of many of the Company’s competitors differ from those of Quaker Houghton; some offer a broad portfolio of fluids, including general lubricants, while others have more specialized product ranges. All competitors provide different levels of technical services to individual customers. Competition in the industry is based primarily on the ability to supply products and provide technical services that meet the needs of the customer at an appropriate price and value to both the Company and the customer.

Major Customers and Markets

In 2025, Quaker Houghton’s five largest customers (each composed of multiple subsidiaries or divisions with semi-autonomous purchasing authority) accounted for approximately 11% of consolidated net sales, with its largest customer accounting for approximately 3% of consolidated net sales. A significant portion of the Company’s revenues are realized from the sale of process fluids and services to manufacturers of steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment, and durable goods, and therefore, Quaker Houghton is subject to the same business cycles as those experienced by these manufacturers and their customers.

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The Company’s financial performance is generally correlated to the volume of global production within the industries it serves, rather than directly related to the financial performance of its customers. Furthermore, steel and aluminum customers typically have limited manufacturing locations compared to metalworking customers and generally use higher volumes of products at a single location.

Raw Materials

Quaker Houghton uses approximately 3,000 raw materials, including animal fats, vegetable oils, mineral oils, oleochemicals, surfactant agents and various chemical compounds that act as additives to our base formulations. Quaker Houghton uses a significant number of raw materials derived from crude oil and natural gas. Other than of mineral oils, most of these raw material inputs are fourth to sixth generation derivatives of crude oil and natural gas, which are subject to volatile oil and gas prices and can cause significant variations in our raw materials costs. Oleochemicals are impacted by their own unique supply and demand factors. As experienced during 2025 and 2024, the Company’s earnings have been and could continue to be affected by market changes in raw material prices. Refer to the disclosure contained in Item 7A of this Report for additional information.

Patents and Trademarks

Quaker Houghton has a limited number of patents and patent applications including patents issued, applied for, or acquired in the U.S. and in various foreign countries, some of which may be material to its business, with the earliest patent expiry in 2026. The Company principally relies on its proprietary formulas and its applications know-how and experience to meet customer needs. Quaker Houghton products are identified by numerous trademarks that are registered throughout its marketing area.

Research and Development- Laboratories

The Company maintains approximately 30 separate laboratory facilities worldwide that are primarily devoted to applied research and development. In addition, the Company maintains quality control labs at each of its manufacturing facilities. Quaker Houghton research and development is directed primarily toward applied technology since the nature of the Company’s business requires continual modification and improvement of formulations to provide specialty chemicals to satisfy customer requirements. If problems are encountered which cannot be resolved by local laboratories, the problem is referred to one of our 10 principal laboratories, located in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Aurora, Illinois; Santa Fe Springs, California; Uithoorn, Netherlands; Coventry, United Kingdom; Dortmund, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Turin, Italy or Qingpu, China.

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 were $60.7 million, $57.3 million and $50.3 million, respectively.

Recent Acquisition Activity

In April 2025, the Company acquired Dipsol Chemicals Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, (“Dipsol”). Dipsol is headquartered in Japan and is a leading supplier of surface treatment and plating solutions and services primarily for the automotive and other industrial applications end markets. Dipsol has operations in several countries and these operations are reported within the Company’s respective Americas, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific segments. This acquisition expands the Company’s advanced solutions businesses in attractive end markets with solid growth characteristics. Dipsol also provides significant cross-selling opportunities and enhances the Company’s ability to meet the needs of our customers across the globe.

In April 2025, the Company acquired Natech, Ltd., (“Natech”). Natech is based in the United Kingdom and is a manufacturer of surface treatment chemicals for a variety of industrial applications. Natech is reported as part of the EMEA reportable segment. This acquisition strengthens Quaker Houghton’s overall surface treatment product and application capabilities within Europe.

In February 2025, the Company acquired Chemical Solutions & Innovations (Pty) Ltd. (“CSI”). CSI is based in South Africa and is a supplier of metalworking fluids and lubricants to the South African market. CSI is reported as part of the EMEA reportable segment. This acquisition strengthens Quaker Houghton’s position in South Africa and expands the Company’s presence in that region.

In July 2024, the Company acquired the Sutai Group (“Sutai”). Sutai is based in Japan and provides impregnation treatment products and services to the automotive and other industries. Sutai is reported as part of the Asia/Pacific reportable segment. This acquisition strengthens Quaker Houghton’s technology portfolio, enabling the Company to better support and optimize production processes for customers across the Japanese, Asia Pacific and global markets.

In February 2024, the Company acquired I.K.V. Tribologie IKVT and its subsidiaries (“IKV”). IKV, which is part of the Company’s EMEA segment, specializes in high-performance lubricants and greases, including original equipment manufacturer first-fill greases that are primarily used in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and other industrial markets. The acquisition of IKV strengthens the Company’s position in first-fill greases.

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Regulatory Matters

In order to facilitate compliance with applicable federal, state, and local statutes and regulations relating to occupational health and safety and protection of the environment, the Company has an ongoing program of site assessments for the purpose of identifying capital expenditures or other actions that may be necessary to comply with such requirements. The program includes periodic inspections of each facility by the Company and/or independent experts, as well as ongoing inspections and training by on-site personnel. Such inspections, among other things, address operational matters, record keeping, reporting requirements and capital improvements. Capital expenditures directed solely or primarily to regulatory compliance amounted to approximately $9.4 million, $6.0 million and $3.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Company Segmentation

The Company’s operating segments, which are consistent with its reportable segments, reflect the structure of the Company’s internal organization, the method by which the Company’s resources are allocated and the manner by which the Chief Operating Decision Maker assesses the Company’s performance. The Company has three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; and (iii) Asia/Pacific. See Notes 4, 5, and 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.

Non-U.S. Activities

Since significant revenues and earnings are generated by non-U.S. operations, the Company’s financial results are affected by currency fluctuations, particularly between the U.S. dollar and the Euro, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, the Chinese renminbi, the British pound sterling and the Indian rupee, and the impact of those currency fluctuations on the underlying economies. In addition, trade policies and tariffs, including those affecting the Company’s key markets, could further impact exchange rates and economic stability, influencing both the cost of raw materials and the competitiveness of the Company’s products in international markets. Reference is made to (i) the foreign exchange risk information contained in Item 7A of this Report, (ii) the geographic information in Note 4, Business Segments, to the Consolidated Financial Statements and (iii) information regarding risks attendant to foreign operations included in Item 1A of this Report.

Number of Employees

On December 31, 2025, Quaker Houghton had approximately 4,700 full-time employees globally of whom approximately 900 were employed by the parent company and its U.S. subsidiaries, and approximately 3,800 were employed by its non-U.S. subsidiaries. Associated companies of Quaker Houghton (in which it owns 50% or less and has significant influence) employed approximately 900 people on December 31, 2025.

Core Values

Quaker Houghton considers its employees as its greatest strength in differentiating our business and strengthening our market positions. The Company’s goal is to have an organization that is inclusive of all of its people and is representative of the communities in which we operate.

The Company’s core values are (i) live safe; (ii) act with integrity; (iii) drive results; (iv) exceed customer expectations; (v) embrace diversity; and (vi) do great things together. Our core values embody who we are as a company, build a safer, stronger Quaker Houghton, and guide the Company’s internal conduct and relationship with the outside world. By fostering a culture and environment that exemplifies our core values, we gain, as a company, unique perspectives, backgrounds and varying experiences to ensure continued long-term success.

Aligned to our core values, all full-time employees are provided up to 16 hours per calendar year to volunteer for a non-profit or charity of their choice. The approach is supported by recommendations to our employees regarding volunteering opportunities, such as environmental conservation, STEM education, community health, safety and development opportunities for underrepresented groups. In 2025, we continued our donation-matching and grantmaking programs to impact our local communities globally with matching and grants available to eligible organizations across the globe.

Sustainability Governance and Strategy

In 2020, the Company established the Board Sustainability Committee, which has specific responsibility to assist the Board of Directors (the “Board”) in its assessment, evaluation, and oversight of the Company’s sustainability programs and initiatives. In formulating our sustainability strategy, our Executive Leadership Team (“ELT”) and Board consider certain risks and uncertainties that may materially impact our financial condition and results of operations. These risks and uncertainties are further described in Item 1A of this Report.

4

Sustainability Report

We report our progress on our Sustainability strategy in our sustainability report, which is published annually and is available on our corporate website at https://home.quakerhoughton.com/sustainability. The Company’s 2024 Sustainability Report reflects the most recent data on a variety of topics, including specific information relating to the Company’s environmental, social, and governance initiatives. Information in these sustainability reports and on our website are not incorporated by reference in this Report and, accordingly, should not be considered part of this Report.

Talent Development, Culture and Total Rewards

Our Compensation and Human Resources Committee is responsible for overseeing our policies and strategies related to culture and human capital. We place importance on developing our leaders at all levels. Our leaders have access to training on coaching, performance and rewards, development planning and change management, as well as specialized opportunities for external coaching, leadership assessments, or external development programs. In 2025, we introduced a leadership competency model and tools designed to support individual growth, enhance performance, and strengthen leadership impact at every level of the organization. We continue to utilize a robust process to review each department’s talent landscape, assess our talent, identify critical roles, and update succession plans. The process results in targeted development actions and career growth opportunities designed to ensure we have the talent we need to deliver results both now and in the future.

Additionally, we regularly evaluate our total rewards offerings to ensure that our total compensation and benefits packages are aligned with our business strategy and organizational culture. We strive to create a culture where recognition is ingrained, including utilization of an enterprise reward and recognition program that incentivizes the results and behaviors of our employees and their impacts on our teams and business.

Inclusion

Quaker Houghton strives to cultivate an inclusive culture. Accordingly, Quaker Houghton provides equal employment opportunities and does not discriminate based on age, ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, disability/medical condition, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

In 2025, we reinforced our commitment to creating a culture where every colleague feels valued and included through the launch of our WeBelong campaign. This initiative served as the umbrella brand for all culture and engagement programs, ensuring alignment and visibility across the enterprise. This campaign highlights initiatives related to Colleague Resource Groups, Inclusion training, Giving, Volunteering, Colleague Stories and more. We launched an enterprise-wide Engagement Survey to better understand colleague challenges and opportunities. Insights from this survey are driving action plans focused on efficiency, clarity, and inclusion, ensuring that every colleague has the tools and support to thrive.

Inclusion begins with the Board and ELT. For additional information on the Company’s leadership, refer to Item 4(a) Information about our Executive Officers and Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Workplace Safety

We are committed to maintaining a strong safety culture and to emphasizing the importance of our employees’ role in identifying, mitigating and communicating safety risks. We maintain policies and operational practices that communicate a culture where all levels of employees are responsible for safety. We believe that the achievement of superior safety performance is both an important short-term and long-term strategic goal in managing our operations. We emphasize ten “Lifesaving Rules’ which make a significant difference in preventing serious injuries and fatalities. We have launched several “Live Safe” initiatives to create an environment of openness and awareness in which all employees are actively engaged in proactive safety activities. We are keen in reporting near misses, hazard identifications and educating our employees on their “Stop Work Authority,” which are seen as leading indicators, helping us in our “Path to Zero” incidents. Our leading indicators are proactive and preventive measures that can shed light about the effectiveness of safety and health initiatives and reveal potential risks in the tasks that they perform each day. We also require all employees to regularly complete safety training. Additionally, our ELT is closely involved in our safety programs, conducts regular reviews of safety performance metrics and shares the collective safety performance during Company-wide meetings.

Quaker Houghton on the Internet

Financial results, news and other information about Quaker Houghton can be accessed from the Company’s website at https://www.quakerhoughton.com. This site includes important information on the Company’s locations, products and services, financial reports, news releases and career opportunities. The Company’s periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and other filings, including exhibits and supplemental schedules filed therewith, and amendments to those reports, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) are available on the Company’s website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information contained on, or that may be accessed through, the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference in this Report and, accordingly, you should not consider that information part of this Report.

5

Factors that May Affect Our Future Results

Certain information included in this Report and other materials filed or to be filed by us with the SEC, including the Company’s other periodic reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, press releases, and other materials released to, or statements made to, the public, as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by us, contain or may contain forward-looking statements that fall under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and can generally be identified by words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “target,” “possible,” “potential,” “plan” or similar expressions, but these terms are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such statements include information relating to current and future business activities, operational matters, capital spending, and financing sources. We have based these forward-looking statements on assumptions, projections and expectations about future events that we believe are reasonable based on currently available information, including statements regarding the potential effects of economic downturns, tariffs, including retaliatory tariffs, “trade wars” and uncertainty surrounding changes in tariffs, inflation, and global supply chain constraints on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition; our expectation that we will maintain sufficient liquidity and remain in compliance with the terms of the Company’s credit facility; expectations about future demand and raw material costs; and statements regarding the impact of increased raw material costs and pricing initiatives.

These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, intentions, financial condition, results of operations, future performance, and business, which may differ materially from expectations, estimates and projections because of many factors, including, but not limited to:

•the timing and extent of the impacts on our business from acts of war, terrorism and military conflicts, including those in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as related economic, political and governmental actions taken by various government organizations in response;

•inflationary pressures, increases in raw material costs, supply chain constraints and other impacts of economic downturns, as well as high interest rates and their impact on our and our customers’ business operations;

•the potential timing, impacts, benefits and other uncertainties of acquisitions and divestitures, including our ability to finance any acquisition on commercially reasonable terms or to realize synergies, integrate acquisitions and acquired businesses or separate divested assets and businesses;

•broader macroeconomic factors, including potential for changes in global and regional economic conditions, the possibility of global or regional slowdowns or recessions, other macroeconomic stresses and uncertainties, including political and geopolitical events, civil disturbances and endemics/pandemics or extreme weather events and other natural disasters that may adversely affect regional economic conditions; and

•our future results and plans including our sustainability goals and enterprise strategy.

A major risk is that demand for the Company’s products and services is largely derived from the demand for our customers’ products, which subjects the Company to uncertainties related to downturns in a customer’s business and unanticipated customer production slowdowns and shutdowns.

Other major risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, legislative and regulatory developments including changes to existing laws and regulations, or the way they are interpreted, applied or enforced; tariffs, trade restrictions and the economic and other sanctions imposed by other nations on Russia and Belarus and/or other government organizations; suspensions of activities in Russia by many multinational companies; foreign currency fluctuations; significant changes in applicable tax rates and regulations and the potential impacts therefrom, including those arising from H.R.1, commonly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence; the impacts of consolidation in our industry, including loss or consolidation of a major customer; the effects of climate change, fire or other natural disasters; and the potential occurrence of cyber-security breaches, cyber-security attacks, and other technology outages and security incidents.

Furthermore, the Company is subject to the same business cycles as those experienced by our customers in the steel, automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment, aluminum, and durable goods industries.

Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this Report, in the Company’s Annual Report to Shareholders for 2025 or in any other public statements we make may prove to be incorrect due to inaccurate assumptions or unforeseen risks and uncertainties. In addition to the factors above, our forward-looking statements are qualified with respect to the risks disclosed elsewhere in this Report, including in Item 1A, Risk Factors, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. These risks, uncertainties, and possible inaccurate assumptions relevant to our business could materially impact our future performance and cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. However, additional disclosures on related subjects may be found in the Company’s subsequent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other related filings.

6

We caution you not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

There are many factors that may affect our business and results of operations, including the following risks relating to: (1) the demand for our products and services and our ability to grow our customer base; (2) our business operations, including internal and external factors that may impact our operational continuity; (3) our international operations; (4) our supply chain; (5) domestic and foreign taxation and government regulation and oversight; and (6) more general risk factors that may impact our business.

Risks Related to the Demand for our Products and Services and our Customer Base

Changes to the industries and markets that we serve could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

As the leader in industrial process fluids, we are subject to the same business cycles as those experienced by our customers that participate in the steel, automotive, industrial equipment, aerospace, aluminum and durable goods industries. Because demand for our products and services is largely derived from the global demand for our customers’ products, we are subject to uncertainties related to downturns in our customers’ businesses and shutdowns or curtailments of our customers’ production, including as a result of adverse changes affecting national, regional and global economies or increased competitive pressure within our customers’ industries. Our customers may experience deterioration of their businesses, cash flow shortages and difficulty obtaining financing, leading them to delay or cancel plans to purchase products, and they may not be able to pay our bills or fulfill their other obligations in a timely fashion. We have limited ability to adjust our costs contemporaneously with changes in sales; thus, a significant sudden downturn in sales or increased credit losses due to reductions in global production within the industries we serve and/or weak end-user markets could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. Further, our suppliers and other business partners may experience similar conditions, which could impact their ability to fulfill their obligations to us and also result in material adverse effects on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Changes in competition in the industries and markets we serve could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

The specialty chemical industry is highly competitive and there are many companies with significant financial resources and/or customer relationships that compete with us to provide similar products and services. Some competitors may be able to offer more favorable or flexible pricing and service terms or may be better able to adapt to changes in conditions in our industries, fluctuations in the costs of raw materials or to changes in global economic conditions, potentially resulting in reduced profitability and/or a loss of market share for us. The pricing decisions of our competitors could affect demand for our offerings, and could lead us to decrease our prices, which could negatively affect our margins and profitability. In addition, our competitors could potentially consolidate their businesses and gain scale or better position their product offerings, which could have a negative impact on our profitability and market share. Competition in our industry historically has also been based on the ability to provide products that meet the needs of the customer and render technical services and laboratory assistance, which our competitors may be able to accomplish more effectively or efficiently than we can. If we are unsuccessful with differentiating ourselves, it could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations and we could lose market share to our competitors.

Loss of a significant customer, bankruptcy of a major customer, or the closure of or significant reduction in production at a customer site could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

During 2025, our top five largest customers (each composed of multiple subsidiaries or divisions with semi-autonomous purchasing authority) together accounted for approximately 11% of our consolidated net sales, with the largest customer accounting for approximately 3% of our consolidated net sales. The loss of a significant customer could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. Also, a significant portion of our revenues is derived from sales to customers in the cyclical steel, aerospace, aluminum and automotive industries, where bankruptcies have occurred in the past and where companies have periodically experienced financial difficulties. If a significant customer or group of customers in the same industry experiences financial difficulties or files for bankruptcy protection, we may be unable to collect on our receivables, customer manufacturing sites may be closed, or our contracts may be voided, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and result of operations. The bankruptcy of a major customer could therefore have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. Also, some of our customers, primarily in the steel, aluminum and aerospace industries, often have fewer manufacturing locations compared to other metalworking customers and generally use higher volumes of products at a single location. The loss, closure, or significant reduction in production at one or more of these locations or other major sites of a significant customer could have a material adverse effect on our business.

7

We may not be able to timely develop, manufacture and gain market acceptance of new and enhanced products required to maintain or expand our business, which could adversely affect our competitive position and our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

We believe that our continued success depends on our ability to continuously develop and manufacture new products and product enhancements on a timely and cost-effective basis in response to customer demands for higher performance process chemicals and other product offerings. Our competitors may develop new products or enhancements to their products that offer better performance, features that render our products less competitive or obsolete, or lower prices, any of which may cause us to lose business and/or significant market share. The development and commercialization of new products require significant expenditures over an extended period of time, and some products that we seek to develop may fail to gain traction or never become profitable. In any event, ongoing investments in research and development for the future do not yield an immediate beneficial impact on our operating results and therefore could result in higher costs without a proportional increase in revenues.

In addition, our customers use our specialty chemicals for a broad range of applications. Changes in our customers’ products or processes or changes in regulatory, legislative or industry requirements may lead our customers to reduce consumption of the specialty chemicals that we produce or make them unnecessary or less attractive. Customers may also adopt alternative materials or processes that do not require our products. Examples of such evolving customer demands and industry trends are the movement towards lighter-weight materials and the growing prevalence of electric vehicles. Should a customer decide to use a different material or technology due to price, performance or other considerations, we may not be able to supply a product that meets the customer’s new requirements. Consequently, it is important that we develop new products to replace the products that mature and decline in use. Despite our efforts, we may not be able to develop and introduce products incorporating new technologies in a timely manner that will satisfy our customers’ future needs or achieve market acceptance. Moreover, new products may have lower margins than the products they replace. Our business, results of operations, cash flows and margins could be materially adversely affected if we are unable to successfully manage the maturation or obsolescence of our existing products and the introduction of new products successfully.

Risks Related to Business Operations, Including Internal and External Factors that May Impact Our Operational Continuity

Our ability to successfully implement our business strategy requires that we effectively and efficiently execute and integrate the acquisitions we identify as strategic as well as successfully divest those operations that are no longer important to that strategy. If we are unsuccessful, we may be unable to achieve our strategic objectives and could also be subject to unanticipated integration costs and claims for indemnification from the buyers of businesses we may divest, all of which could adversely impact our liquidity, financial position and results of operation.

Our business strategy includes making acquisitions and other investments that complement our existing businesses, and based on an evaluation of our business portfolio, sometimes divesting existing businesses that are not important to our strategy. We continually analyze and evaluate acquisition opportunities with the potential to strengthen our industry position, enhance our existing product offerings or deepen our relationships with our customers. We may not successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates or have sufficient financing and/or cash available to successfully complete acquisitions we identify, especially in a competitive sales process.

In addition, strategic acquisitions present operational, financial, and managerial challenges to integration, including diversion of management attention from existing businesses, difficulty with integrating or separating personnel and financial and other systems, increased expenses and raw material costs, assumption of unknown liabilities and indemnities that may not be discovered before an acquisition or fully reflected in the price we pay, and potential disputes with the sellers. If we are unable to consummate such transactions, or successfully integrate and grow completed acquisitions and achieve contemplated revenue synergies and cost savings, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may also need to finance future acquisitions, and the terms of any financing, and the need to ultimately repay or refinance any indebtedness, may have negative effects on us. Acquisitions also could have a dilutive effect on our financial results. Acquisitions also generally result in goodwill, which would need to be written off against earnings in the future if it becomes impaired. Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses, and expenses.

Further, the success of any acquisition we complete depends on our ability to navigate risks such as those listed above and successfully integrate acquisitions, including, but not limited to, our ability to:

•develop or modify financial reporting, information systems, and other related financial tools to ensure overall financial integrity and adequacy of internal control procedures;

•identify and capitalize on potential synergies, including cost reduction opportunities;

•adequately address challenges arising from the increased scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations; and

•further penetrate existing, and expand into new, markets with the products and capabilities acquired in acquisitions.

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If we fail to successfully integrate acquisitions into our existing business, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. We may fail to obtain the benefits we anticipate from our recently completed or future acquisitions or joint ventures and we may not create the appropriate infrastructure to support the additional growth from organic or acquired businesses, which could also have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Divestitures have inherent risks, including the possibility that we may not be able to achieve the proceeds we desire from a sale, potential post-closing liabilities and claims for indemnification, that may impact our ability to fully realize the anticipated benefit. In particular, in connection with the sale of certain properties and businesses, we agreed to indemnify the purchasers for certain types of matters, including certain breaches of representations and warranties, taxes and certain environmental matters. With respect to environmental matters, the discovery of contamination arising from properties that we have divested may expose us to indemnity obligations under the sale agreements with the buyers of such properties or cleanup obligations and other damages under applicable environmental laws, even if we were not aware of the contamination. We may not have insurance coverage for such indemnity obligations. Further, we cannot predict the nature or amount of any indemnity or other obligations we may have to pay. These payments may be costly and may adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. If these or other post-closing risks materialize, the benefits of any divestiture may not be fully realized, if at all, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Gulf and its wholly-owned subsidiary, QH Hungary Holdings Limited, have a significant minority stake in the Company and the contractual ability to nominate certain directors of the Company, which may enable them to influence the direction of our business and significant corporate decisions.

Gulf and its wholly-owned subsidiary, QH Hungary Holdings Limited (together, the “Gulf Affiliates”), remain our largest shareholders. If they were to make available for sale a portion of their shares, that portion could represent a significant amount of common stock of the Company being sold and any such transaction (if it were to occur) could have an adverse impact on the Company’s stock price or otherwise cause price volatility.

In addition, under our shareholders agreement with the Gulf Affiliates, they currently have the right to designate three individuals for election to the Board and this right, together with their share ownership, gives them substantial influence over our business, including over matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including the election of directors, amendment of our organizational documents, acquisitions or other business combinations involving the Company, and potentially the ability to prevent extraordinary transactions such as a takeover attempt or business combination. The concentration of ownership of our shares held by the Gulf Affiliates may make some future actions more difficult without their support. The Gulf Affiliates, however, among other provisions in the shareholders agreement, have agreed that for so long as any of their designees are on the Board, and for six months thereafter, they will vote all Quaker Houghton shares consistent with the recommendations of the Board for each director nominee as reflected in each proxy statement of the Company, including in support of any Quaker Houghton directors nominated for election or re-election to the Board (except as would conflict with their rights to designees on the Board). Nevertheless, the interests of Gulf may conflict with our interests or the interests of our other shareholders, though we are not currently aware of any such conflicts.

The timing and amount of the Company’s share repurchases are subject to a number of uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to repurchase shares of our common stock.

On February 28, 2024, the Board approved a new share repurchase program (“2024 Share Repurchase Program”), authorizing the Company to repurchase up to an aggregate of $150 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program replaced an earlier program, was effective immediately and has no expiration date. Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, the Company is authorized to repurchase shares through open market purchases, privately-negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchases or otherwise in accordance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company continues to utilize trading plans for the repurchase of shares pursuant to the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, which permit the Company to purchase shares, at predetermined price targets, when it may otherwise be precluded from doing so. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be terminated at any time at the Company’s discretion. The specific timing and amount of repurchases will vary based on available capital resources and other financial and operational performance, prevailing prices, market conditions, securities law limitations, and other factors. Important factors that could cause the Company to limit, suspend or delay its share repurchases include unfavorable trading market conditions, the price of the Company’s common stock, the nature of other investment opportunities presented to us from time to time, the ability to obtain financing at attractive rates and the availability of U.S. cash, none of which we can predict.

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Repurchase activities could affect the price of our common stock and increase its volatility. The existence of the 2024 Share Repurchase Program could also cause the price of our common stock to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our common stock. There can be no assurance that any stock repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock could decline below the levels at which we repurchased such shares, as we experienced in 2024. Any failure to repurchase shares after we have announced our intention to do so could negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence in us and could negatively impact our stock price. Although the 2024 Share Repurchase Program is intended to enhance long-term shareholder value, short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program’s effectiveness.

Failure to comply with any material provision of our principal credit facility or other debt agreements could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Our principal credit facility requires the Company to comply with certain provisions and covenants and while we do not currently consider these provisions and covenants to be overly restrictive, they could become more difficult to comply with as our business or financial conditions change. We are also subject to interest rate risk due to the variable interest rates within the credit facility and if interest rates rise, interest costs would increase as well.

Our principal credit facility contains provisions that are customary for facilities of its type, including affirmative and negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default, including restrictions on (a) the incurrence of additional indebtedness, (b) investments in and acquisitions of other businesses, lines of business and divisions, (c) the making of dividends or capital stock purchases and (d) dispositions of assets. Other financial covenants contained in our principal credit facility include a consolidated interest coverage test and a consolidated net leverage test. Customary events of default in the credit facility include, among others, defaults for non-payment, breach of representations and warranties, non-performance of covenants, cross-defaults, insolvency, and a change of control of the Company in certain circumstances. If we are unable to comply with the financial and other provisions of our principal credit facility, we could become in default. The occurrence of an event of default under the credit facility could result in all loans and other obligations becoming immediately due and payable and the facility being terminated. In addition, deterioration in the Company’s results of operations or financial position could significantly increase borrowing costs.

Our variable-rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly or result in an inability to obtain sufficient financing on favorable terms. Additionally, rising interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

We carry, and expect to continue to carry for the foreseeable future, a substantial amount of debt and other fixed obligations. Our ability to satisfy these obligations, finance acquisitions, repurchase shares, and pay dividends rely on our access to capital, which depends in large part on cash flow generated by our business and the availability of debt financing. The Company’s principal credit facility permits interest on certain variable-rate borrowings to be calculated based on the Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“Term SOFR”), which exposes us to interest rate risk. See Note 19, Debt, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Interest rate increases, which we have experienced in the past and may experience again in the future, increase our debt service obligations on the variable-rate indebtedness even though the amount borrowed remains the same, which requires us to use more of our available cash to service our indebtedness. In order to manage the Company’s exposure to variable interest rate risk associated with the Company’s principal credit facility, in the first quarter of 2023, the Company entered into three-year interest rate swaps to convert a portion of the Company’s variable interest rate borrowings to an average fixed rate plus an applicable margin as provided in the Company’s principal credit facility, based on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. These swaps only cover a portion of our variable rate indebtedness. See Note 24, Hedging Activities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Rising interest rates not only increase our cost of capital but could also have a dampening effect on overall economic activity and the financial condition of the Company’s customers, either or both of which could negatively affect customer demand for the Company's products and customers’ ability to repay their obligations. Rising interest rates could also cause credit market dislocations, which could have an impact on the Company’s and its customers’ cost of capital.

Risks Related to our International Operations

Our global presence subjects us to political and economic risks that could adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

A significant portion of our revenues and earnings are generated by our non-U.S. operations. Our success as a global business depends, in part, upon our ability to succeed across different legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions by developing, implementing and maintaining policies and strategies that are effective in all of the locations where we do business. Risks inherent in our global operations include:

•trade protection measures including import and export controls, trade embargoes, and trade sanctions affecting countries or regions we serve, which could result in our losing access to customers and suppliers in those countries or regions;

•unexpected adverse changes in export duties, quotas and tariffs and difficulties in obtaining export licenses;

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•termination or substantial modification of international trade agreements that may adversely affect our access to raw materials and to markets for our products;

•our agreements with counterparties in countries outside the U.S. may be difficult for us to enforce and related receivables may take longer or be difficult for us to collect;

•less protective foreign intellectual property laws, and more generally, legal systems that may be less developed and predictable than those in the U.S.;

•limitations on ownership or participation in local enterprises as well as the potential for expropriation or nationalization of enterprises;

•instability in or adverse changes to the economic, political, social, legal or regulatory conditions in a country or region where we do business, as a result of political activity, armed conflict and/or terrorist activities such as those that are being experienced in multiple areas around the world; and

•complex and dynamic local tax regulations, including changes in foreign laws and tax rates or U.S. laws and tax rates with respect to foreign income that may unexpectedly increase the rate at which our income is taxed, impose new and additional taxes on remittances, repatriation or other payments by subsidiaries, or cause the loss of previously recorded tax benefits.

The current global geopolitical and trade environment creates the potential for increased escalation of domestic and international tariffs and retaliatory trade policies, including the possibility of a “trade war” involving the United States and one or more of its trading partners. Recent government actions, including tariffs and trade policies, have impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains, created significant uncertainty and volatility in financial markets, and increased the risk of recession and elevated unemployment levels; these conditions could continue or worsen. Changes in U.S. trade policy and retaliatory actions by U.S. trade partners could also result in weakening economic conditions. If new tariffs are imposed or current tariffs are increased, materials and goods that U.S. companies import and export may face higher prices, and this could lead to significant shortages or price increases in our raw materials, decreased international sales, reduced margins or increased prices. Changes in U.S. trade policy and retaliatory actions by U.S. trade partners could also result in weakening economic conditions. If we are unable to successfully manage these and other risks associated with our international businesses, the risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The scope of our international operations subjects us to risks from currency fluctuations that could adversely affect our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Our non-U.S. operations generate significant revenues and earnings. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including hyperinflationary conditions, may affect product demand and may adversely affect the profitability in U.S. dollars of the products and services we provide in international markets where payment for our products and services is made in the local currency. Our financial results are affected by currency fluctuations, particularly between the U.S. dollar and the Euro, the British pound sterling, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, the Chinese renminbi and the Indian rupee. During the past three years, sales by our non-U.S. subsidiaries accounted for approximately 63% to 67% of our consolidated net sales. We generally do not use financial instruments that expose us to significant risk involving foreign currency transactions; however, the relative size of our non-U.S. activities has a significant impact on reported operating results and our net assets. Therefore, as exchange rates change, our results can be materially affected. See the foreign exchange risk information contained in Item 7A of this Report and the geographic information in Note 4, Business Segments, to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

Also, we occasionally source inventory in a different country than that of the intended sale. This practice can give rise to foreign exchange risk. We seek to mitigate this risk through local sourcing of raw materials in the majority of our locations.

Changes in domestic and foreign trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, and other factors beyond our control may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The U.S. government recently implemented changes to its trade policies, including significant tariff increases on imports and potential changes to existing trade agreements, creating a dynamic and uncertain trade environment. Such measures can be adopted with little or no notice, and retaliatory actions by other countries may further increase costs and disrupt global supply chains. Higher tariffs or trade restrictions may raise the cost of inventory and products sold by our customers, vendors, partners, and suppliers, reducing demand, compressing margins, and impairing their financial performance and ability to meet obligations. This, in turn, could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. Tariffs or other trade restrictions may lead to continuing uncertainty and volatility in U.S. and global financial markets, which may lead to adverse changes in the availability, terms and cost of capital, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

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Risks Relating to Our Supply Chain

We rely on a wide variety of raw materials, and our business depends on our ability to source them cost-effectively.

Approximately 3,000 raw materials, including animal fats, vegetable oils, mineral oils, oleochemicals, ethylene, solvents, surfactant agents, and various chemical compounds that act as additives to our base formulations, and a wide variety of other organic and inorganic compounds and various derivatives of the foregoing. The price of mineral oil and its derivatives can be affected by the price of crude oil and industry refining capacity. Animal fat and vegetable oil prices, as well as the prices of other raw materials, are impacted by their own unique supply and demand factors, and by biodiesel consumption, which in turn can be affected by the price of crude oil and by government incentives for low-carbon fuels. Accordingly, significant fluctuations in the price of crude oil can have a material impact on the cost of these raw materials. In addition, many of the raw materials used by Quaker Houghton are commodity chemicals which can experience significant price volatility.

We generally attempt to pass through changes in the prices of raw materials to our customers, but we may be unable to do so (or may be delayed in doing so). In addition, raising prices we charge to our customers in order to offset increases in the prices we pay for raw materials could cause us to suffer a loss of sales volumes. Although we have been successful in recovering a substantial amount of raw material cost increases while retaining our customers, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to offset higher raw material costs or retain customers in the future. A significant change in margin or the loss of customers due to pricing actions could result in a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations as described within Item 7 of this Report.

Lack of availability of raw materials and issues associated with sourcing from single suppliers and suppliers in volatile economic environments could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

The specialty chemical industry periodically experiences supply shortages for certain raw materials. In addition, we source some materials from a single supplier or from suppliers in jurisdictions that have experienced political or economic instability. Even where we have multiple suppliers of a particular raw material, there are occasionally shortages. Any significant disruption in supply, such as was experienced several years ago, could affect our ability to obtain raw materials or satisfactory substitutes or could increase the cost of such raw materials or substitutes, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. In addition, certain raw materials that we use are subject to regulation, and a change in our ability to legally use such raw materials may impact the products or services we are able to offer which could negatively affect our ability to compete and could adversely affect our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Loss of a significant manufacturing facility or disruptions within our supply chain or in transportation could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Our manufacturing facilities are located throughout the world. While we have some redundant capabilities, if one of our facilities is forced to shut down or curtail operations because of damage or other unforeseen factors, including natural disasters, labor difficulties or public health crises, we may not be able to timely supply our customers. This could result in a loss of sales over an extended period or permanently. While we seek to mitigate this risk through business continuity and contingency planning and other measures, the loss of production in any one region over an extended period of time could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. Any losses due to these events may not be covered by our existing insurance policies or may be subject to significant deductibles.

We could be similarly adversely affected by disruptions to our supply chain and transportation network. The Company relies heavily on railroads, ships, and over-the-road shipping methods to transport raw materials to its manufacturing facilities and to transport finished products to customers. The costs of transporting our products could be negatively affected by factors outside of our control, including shipping container shortages or global imbalances in shipping capabilities,port strikes or other labor disruptions, transportation disruptions or rate increases, increased border controls or closures, extreme weather events, tariffs, rising fuel costs, armed conflicts and capacity constraints. Significant delays or increased costs affecting our supply chain could materially affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Disruptions at our suppliers could lead to increases in raw material or energy costs and/or reduced availability of materials or energy, potentially affecting our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

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Risks Relating to Domestic and Foreign Taxation and Government Regulation and Oversight

Changes in tax laws could result in fluctuations in our effective tax rate and have a material effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

We pay income taxes in the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of local tax rates and tax attributes applicable to our operations in the various countries, states and other jurisdictions in which we operate. Our effective tax rates and tax liabilities could therefore be materially affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in tax rates, expiration or lapses of tax credits or incentives, changes in uncertain tax positions, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws or in how they are interpreted or enforced, including matters such as transfer pricing. In addition, we are regularly under audit by tax authorities, and the final decisions of such audits could materially affect our current tax estimates and tax positions. See Note 10, Incomes Taxes, and Note 25, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for a discussion of uncertain tax positions, tax years subject to examination, and audits and inspections. Any of these factors or similar tax-related risks could cause our effective tax rate and tax-related payments, including any such payments related to tax liabilities of businesses we have acquired, to significantly differ from previous periods and current or future expectations which could have a material effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

Pending and future legal proceedings, including tax and environmental matters, could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations, as well as our reputation in the markets we serve.

The Company and its subsidiaries are routinely party to proceedings, cases, and requests for information from, and negotiations with, various claimants and federal and state agencies relating to various legal matters, including tax and environmental matters. See Note 10, Incomes Taxes, and Note 25, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report, which describes uncertain tax positions and audits and inspections, as well as information concerning amounts accrued associated with certain environmental remediation costs and other potential commitments or contingencies. An adverse result in one or more pending or ongoing matters or any potential future matter of a similar nature could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial position, and results of operations, as well as our reputation in the markets we serve.

Failure to comply with the complex global regulatory environment in which we operate could have an adverse impact on our reputation and/or a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

We are subject to government regulation in all jurisdictions in which we conduct business. Changes in the regulatory environments in which we operate, particularly, but not limited to, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Thailand, Australia, the U.K. and the EU, could lead to heightened regulatory compliance costs and scrutiny, could adversely impact our ability to continue selling certain products in the U.S. or foreign markets, and/or could otherwise increase the cost of doing business. While we seek to mitigate these risks through a variety of actions, including receiving Responsible Care Certification, ongoing employee training, and employing comprehensive environmental, health and safety programs, there is no guarantee these actions will prevent all potential regulatory compliance issues. For instance, failure to comply with the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”) regulations or other similar laws and regulations could result in our inability to sell certain products or we could incur fines, ongoing monitoring obligations or other future business consequences, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations. In addition, the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) requires chemicals to be assessed against a risk-based safety standard and then requires that unreasonable risks that are identified be eliminated. This regulation and other pending initiatives at the U.S. state level, as well as initiatives in Canada, Asia and other regions, could potentially require toxicological testing and risk assessments of a wide variety of chemicals, including chemicals used or produced by us. These assessments may result in heightened concerns about the chemicals involved and additional requirements being placed on their production, handling, labeling or use. These concerns and additional requirements could also increase the cost incurred by our customers to use our chemical products and otherwise limit their use which could lead to a decrease in demand for these products. A decrease in demand due to these issues could have an adverse impact on our liquidity, financial position, and results of operations.

Further, we are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), the U.K. Bribery Act and other anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws in jurisdictions around the world. These and similar laws generally prohibit companies and their officers, directors, employees and third-party intermediaries, business partners and agents from making improper payments or providing other improper items of value to government officials or other persons. While we have policies and procedures and internal controls designed to address compliance with such laws, including employee training programs, we cannot guarantee that our employees and third-party intermediaries, business partners and agents will not take, or be alleged to have taken, actions in violation of such policies and laws for which we may be ultimately held responsible. Detecting, investigating and resolving actual or alleged violations may require a significant diversion of time, resources and attention from senior management. Any alleged or actual violation of these or other applicable anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws could result in whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, loss of export privileges, and criminal or civil sanctions, penalties and fines, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

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The shipment of goods, services and technology across international borders subjects us to extensive trade laws and regulations. Our import activities are governed by the unique customs laws and regulations in each of the countries where we operate. Moreover, many countries, including the U.S., control the export and re-export of certain goods, services and technology and impose related export record-keeping and reporting obligations, which can be burdensome. Governments may also impose economic sanctions against certain countries, persons and entities that may restrict or prohibit transactions involving such countries, persons and entities, which may limit or prevent our conduct of business in certain jurisdictions.

The laws and regulations concerning import activity, export record-keeping and reporting, export control and economic sanctions are complex and constantly changing. These laws and regulations can cause delays in shipments and unscheduled operational downtime. Moreover, any failure to comply with applicable legal and regulatory trading obligations could result in criminal and civil penalties and sanctions such as fines, imprisonment, debarment from governmental contracts, seizure of shipments and loss of import and export privileges. In addition, investigations by government authorities in these countries could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Uncertainty related to environmental regulation and industry standards relating to, as well as physical risks of, climate change and biodiversity loss, could impact our liquidity, financial position, and results of operations.

Increased public and stakeholder awareness of global climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental risks have contributed to, and may result in, even more extensive, international, regional and/or federal requirements or industry standards to reduce or mitigate the effects of these changes. These regulations could mandate even more restrictive regulatory or industry standards than the voluntary goals that we have established or require changes to be adopted on a more accelerated time frame than we currently plan. New disclosure requirements have been adopted various jurisdictions, including in the EU, California, Mexico and Australia. There continues to be a lack of consistent legislation related to disclosure and operational matters, which creates complexity and economic and regulatory uncertainty. Although we are closely following developments in this area and changes in the regulatory landscape in the U.S. and our other markets, we cannot predict how or when those challenges may ultimately impact our business. While certain climate change initiatives may result in new business opportunities for us in the area of alternative fuel technologies and emissions control, compliance with these initiatives may also result in additional costs to us including, among other things, increased production costs, additional taxes and compliance costs, reduced emission allowances or additional restrictions on production or operations.

In addition, the potential physical impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss are highly uncertain. These may include extreme weather events and long-term changes in temperature levels and water availability as well as damaged ecosystems. The physical risks of climate change and biodiversity loss may impact our facilities, customers and suppliers, and the availability and costs of materials and natural resources, sources and supply of energy, product demand and manufacturing. In addition, climate change may increase both the frequency and severity of natural disasters that may affect our business operations.

If environmental laws or regulations or industry standards are changed in a manner that imposes significant additional operational restrictions and compliance requirements upon us or our products, or our operations are disrupted due to physical impacts of climate change or biodiversity loss, our business, capital expenditures, liquidity, results of operations, financial condition and competitive position could be negatively impacted.

We are subject to stringent labor and employment laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and our relationship with our employees could deteriorate which could adversely impact our operations.

A majority of our full-time employees are employed outside the U.S. In many jurisdictions where we operate, labor and employment laws and regulations grant significant job protection to some employees including rights on termination of employment. In addition, in some countries our employees are represented by works councils or are governed by collective bargaining agreements and we are often required to consult with and seek the consent or advice of such representatives. These laws and regulations, together with our obligations to seek consent or consult with the relevant unions or works councils, could have a significant impact on our flexibility in managing our workforce and responding to market changes. While the Company believes it has generally positive relations with its labor unions and employees, there is no guarantee the Company will be able to successfully negotiate new or renew labor agreements without work stoppages, labor difficulties or unfavorable terms. If we were to experience an extended interruption of operations at any of our facilities because of strikes or other work stoppages, our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

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We may be unable to adequately protect our proprietary rights and trade brands, which may limit our ability to compete in our markets and could adversely affect our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

We have a limited number of patents and patent applications, including patents issued, applied for, or acquired in the U.S. and in various foreign countries, some of which are material to our business. However, we rely principally on our proprietary formulae and applications know-how and experience to meet customer needs. Also, our products are identified by trademarks that are registered throughout our marketing area. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary information through patent and trademark filings, and the use of appropriate trade secret protections, it is possible that competitors or other unauthorized third parties may obtain, copy, use, disclose or replicate our formulae, products, and processes. Similarly, third parties may assert claims against us and our customers and distributors alleging our products infringe upon third-party intellectual property rights. In addition, the laws and/or judicial systems of foreign countries in which we design, manufacture, market and sell our products may afford little or no effective protection of our proprietary technology or trade brands. Also, security over our global information technology structure is subject to increasing risks associated with cyber-crime and other related cyber-security threats. These potential risks to our proprietary information, trade brands and other intellectual property could subject us to increased competition and a failure to protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights could negatively impact our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

General Risk Factors

Our business could be adversely affected by environmental, health and safety laws and regulations or by potential product, service or other related liability claims.

The development, manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals and other services involve inherent exposure to potential product liability claims, service level claims, product recalls and related adverse publicity. Some customers have and may in the future require us to represent that our products conform to certain product specifications provided by them. Any failure to comply with such specifications could result in claims or legal action against us. Any of the foregoing potential product or service risks could also result in substantial and unexpected expenditures and affect customer confidence in our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position and results of operations.

In addition, our business is subject to hazards associated with the manufacturing, handling, use, storage, and transportation of chemical materials and products, including historical operations at our current and former facilities. These potential hazards could cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to, or destruction of, property or equipment and environmental contamination or other environmental damage, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the jurisdictions in which we operate, we are subject to numerous U.S. and non-U.S. national, federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated properties. We currently use, and in the past have used, hazardous substances at many of our facilities, and we have in the past been, and may in the future be, subject to claims relating to exposure to or contamination caused by hazardous materials. We also have generated, and continue to generate, hazardous wastes at a number of our facilities. Liabilities associated with the investigation and cleanup of hazardous substances, as well as personal injury, property damages or natural resource damages arising from the release of, or exposure to, such hazardous substances, may be imposed in many situations without regard to violations of laws or regulations or other fault, and may also be imposed jointly and severally (so that a responsible party may be held liable for more than its share of the losses involved, or even the entire loss). These liabilities may also be imposed on many different entities, including, for example, current and prior property owners or operators, as well as entities that arranged for the disposal of the hazardous substances. The liabilities may be material and can be difficult to identify or quantify. In addition, the occurrence of disruptions, shutdowns or other material operating problems at our facilities or those of our customers due to any of these risks could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our operations as a whole, including our results of operations and cash flows, both during and after the period of operational difficulties.

Further, some of the raw materials we handle are subject to government regulation that affect the manufacturing processes, handling, uses and applications of our products. In addition, our production facilities and a number of our distribution centers require numerous operating permits. Due to the nature of these requirements and changes in our operations, our operations may exceed limits under permits or we may not have the proper permits to conduct our operations.

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Ongoing compliance with environmental laws, regulations and permits that impact registration/approval requirements, transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products, and storage and disposal of wastes could require us to make changes in manufacturing processes or product formulations and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We may incur substantial costs, including fines, damages, criminal or civil sanctions and remediation costs, or experience interruptions in our operations, including as a result of revocation, non-renewal or modification of the Company’s operating permits and revocation of the Company’s product registrations, for violations arising under these laws or permit requirements. Any such revocation, modification or non-renewal may require the Company to cease or limit the manufacture and sale of its products at one or more of its facilities, which may limit or prevent the Company’s ability to meet product demand or build new facilities and may have a material adverse effect on liquidity, financial position, and results of operations. Additional information may arise in the future concerning the nature or extent of our liability with respect to identified sites, and additional sites may be identified for which we are alleged to be liable, which could cause us to materially increase our environmental accrual or the upper range of the costs we believe we could reasonably incur for such matters. Increased compliance costs may not affect competitors in the same way that they affect us due to differences in product formulations, manufacturing locations or other factors, and we could be at a competitive disadvantage, which might adversely affect our financial performance.

Our insurance may not fully cover all potential exposures.

We maintain product, property, business interruption, casualty, cyber, and other general liability insurance, but this may not cover all risks associated with the hazards of our business and these coverages are subject to limitations, including deductibles and coverage limits. We may incur losses beyond the limits, or outside the coverage, of our insurance policies, including liabilities for environmental remediation. In addition, from time to time, various types of insurance for companies in the specialty chemical industry have not been available on commercially acceptable terms and, in some cases, have not been available at all. We are potentially at additional risk if one or more of our insurance carriers fail. Additionally, severe disruptions in the domestic and global financial markets could adversely impact the ratings and survival of some of our insurers. Future downgrades in the ratings of insurers could adversely impact both the availability of appropriate insurance coverage and its cost. In the future, we may not be able to obtain coverage at current levels, if at all, and our premiums may increase significantly on coverage that we maintain.

Impairment evaluations of goodwill, intangible assets, investments or other long-lived assets could result in a reduction in our recorded asset values, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

We perform reviews of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets on an annual basis, or more frequently if triggering events indicate a possible impairment. We test goodwill at the reporting unit level by comparing the carrying value of the net assets of the reporting unit, including goodwill, to the reporting unit's fair value. Similarly, we test indefinite-lived intangible assets by comparing the fair value of the assets to their carrying values. If the carrying values of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets exceed their fair value, the goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets would be considered impaired. In addition, we perform a review of a definite-lived intangible assets or other long-lived assets when changes in circumstances or events indicate a possible impairment. If any impairment or related charge is warranted, as we determined to be the case in the second quarter of 2025 when we recognized an $88.8 million impairment charge related to our EMEA reportable segment, then our financial position and results of operations could be materially affected. See Note 15, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

If we identify a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting, or if we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately determine our financial results or prevent fraud, either of which could have a material effect on us.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot be certain that we will be successful in maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and financial processes. We have in the past and may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. Furthermore, to the extent our business grows or significantly changes, our internal controls may become more complex, and we could require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. If we identify material weaknesses in the future, it could negatively impact our operations or the market value of our common stock. Additionally, the existence of a material weakness may require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weaknesses and management may not be able to remediate it, which we may not be able to do in a timely manner.

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Disruption of critical information systems or material breaches in the security of our systems could adversely affect our business and our customer relationships and subject us to fines or other regulatory actions.

We rely on information technology systems, digital telecommunications and other computer resources to obtain, process, analyze, manage, transmit, and store electronic information in our day-to-day operations. We also rely on our technology infrastructure in all aspects of our business, including to interact with customers and suppliers, fulfill orders and bill, collect and make payments, ship products, provide support to customers, and fulfill contractual obligations. Further, we rely on our vendors and third-party service providers to maintain effective cybersecurity measures to keep our information secure. Our information technology systems are subject to potential disruptions, including significant network or power outages, usage errors by our employees, business partners, or outside service providers, cyberattacks, ransomware attacks, computer viruses, other malicious codes, and/or unauthorized access attempts, any of which, if successful, could result in data leaks or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. Security breaches could result in unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or personal data belonging to our employees, partners, customers or suppliers for which we may incur liability. Cyberattacks and other security threats could originate from a wide variety of external sources, including cyber-criminals, nation-state hackers, hacktivists and other outside parties. Cyberattacks and other security threats could also originate from the malicious or accidental acts of insiders, such as employees, and other business partners and outside service providers. Cybersecurity threats, attempted intrusions and other incidents, such as these, are becoming more sophisticated and frequent. Security breaches and cyber incidents have, from time to time, occurred and may occur in the future. Although the breaches and cyber incidents experienced to date have not had a material impact, there can be no assurance that our protective measures will prevent security breaches that could have a significant impact on our business, reputation and financial results. Additionally, the costs to combat cyber or other security threats can be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions. Media or other reports of perceived vulnerabilities in our network security, regardless of their immediacy or accuracy, could adversely impact our reputation and materially affect our business and financial results. While we have implemented security measures and internal controls designed to protect against cyber and other security threats, such measures cannot provide absolute security and may not be successful in preventing future security breaches.

We are subject to the data privacy and protection laws and regulations adopted by federal, state and foreign legislatures and governmental agencies in various countries in which we operate, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Implementing and complying with these laws and regulations may be more costly or take longer than we anticipate or could otherwise affect our business operations.

In addition, some U.S. state governments have enacted or are considering enacting more stringent laws and regulations protecting personal information and data. For instance, California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, (“CCPA”), which went into effect in January 2020. The CCPA gives California residents expanded rights to access and delete their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as for private rights of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information. In addition, the California Consumer Rights Act (“CPRA”) was recently enacted to strengthen elements of the CCPA and became effective January 1, 2023. A number of other states have considered similar privacy proposals, with states like Virginia and Colorado enacting their own privacy laws. These privacy laws and the evolving regulatory environment related to personal data may impact our business activities, and while we carry cyber insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred, that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim.

Breaches, cyber incidents and disruptions, or failure to comply with laws and regulations related to information security or privacy by us, our vendors and third-party service providers could result in legal claims or proceedings against us by governmental entities or individuals, significant fines, penalties or judgements, disruption of our operations, remediation requirements, changes to our business practices, and damage to our reputation. Therefore, a failure to monitor, maintain or protect our information technology systems and data integrity effectively or to anticipate, plan for and recover from significant disruptions to these systems could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

We are subject to risks associated with the development and use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies by us and third parties

Although currently limited, the deployment of AI technologies in our operations, products, and services may expose us to significant competitive, legal, regulatory, and operational risks. There can be no assurance that our use of AI will achieve the intended benefits or enhance our business as anticipated. Competitors may be more effective in leveraging AI tools, developing superior products or applications, or optimizing their operations, which could place us at a competitive disadvantage.

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The use of AI also presents risks related to algorithmic errors, flawed or biased training data, or unintended consequences resulting from AI-driven processes. Our AI applications may inadvertently result in the loss or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or intellectual property and may complicate our ability to claim or enforce intellectual property rights. We may also face increased risks of intellectual property infringement, data privacy violations, cybersecurity breaches, or unauthorized use of company or customer data as a result of AI implementation.

Furthermore, the regulatory landscape for AI is evolving rapidly. For example, certain states such as Utah, Colorado and California have enacted legislation governing the development and/or use of AI systems. Meanwhile, the White House has issued an Executive Order titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence” which seeks to establish a federal framework for regulation of artificial intelligence. Existing and new laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate may increase our compliance costs, restrict our use of AI technologies, or expose us to additional legal liability. Any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Our business depends on attracting and retaining qualified management and other key personnel.

Due to the specialized and technical nature of our business, our future performance is dependent on our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified leadership, commercial, technical, and other key personnel. Competition for such talent is intense and has further increased in light of evolving labor and employment trends, including the increase in remote, hybrid or other alternative flexible work arrangements and, in many jurisdictions, laws and regulations aimed at limiting or eliminating the enforceability of non-competition and other restrictive covenants with employees. In the current labor and employment environment, we may be unable to continue to attract or retain such personnel. In an effort to mitigate such risks, the Company utilizes retention bonuses, offers competitive total rewards and maintains continuous succession planning, including for our senior executive officers. However, there can be no assurance that these mitigating factors will be adequate to attract or retain qualified management or other key personnel. Failure to retain key employees, failure to effectively implement our succession planning efforts and successfully transition key roles, or the inability to hire, train, retain and manage qualified personnel could also adversely affect our business.

Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks.

Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny from stakeholders related to their ESG practices. Investor advocacy groups, institutional investors, investment funds, and other influential parties are also increasingly focused on ESG practices and in recent years have placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments. Regardless of the industry, investors’ increased focus and activism related to ESG and similar matters may impact access to capital, as investors may decide to reallocate capital or to not commit capital as a result of their assessment of a company’s ESG practices.

We face pressures from certain stakeholders to prioritize and promote sustainable practices and reduce our carbon footprint. Our stakeholders may pressure us to implement ESG procedures or standards beyond those we have in place in order to continue engaging with us, to remain invested in us, or before they will make further investments in us. Additionally, we may face reputational challenges in the event our ESG procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by certain constituencies. We have adopted certain practices as highlighted in the Company’s Sustainability Report, including with respect to environmental stewardship. The Company’s Sustainability Report is published annually and is available on the Company’s corporate website at home.quakerhoughton.com/sustainability.

Legislation requiring disclosure related to ESG matters is increasingly being adopted by governments in various jurisdictions, including the EU, Mexico, Australia and California, which requirements are expected to be applicable to us or certain of our operations and which impose varying and differing requirements. These developing requirements can significantly expand climate and other sustainability related disclosure requirements, which could require substantial time and attention of management and financial resources. Further, as we work to align with the recommendations of recognized third-party frameworks, we continue to expand our disclosures in these areas. This is consistent with our commitment to executing on a strategy that reflects the economic, social, and environmental impact we have on the world while advancing and complementing our business strategy. Our disclosures on these matters and standards we set for ourselves or a failure to meet these standards, may influence our reputation and the value of our brand. It is possible that our stakeholders might not be satisfied with our ESG efforts or the speed of their adoption. If we do not meet our stakeholders’ expectations, our business and/or our ability to access capital could be harmed. Any harm to our reputation resulting from setting these standards or our failure or perceived failure to meet such standards could adversely affect our business, financial performance, and growth.

Additionally, adverse effects upon our customers’ industries related to the worldwide social and political environment may also adversely affect demand for our services. This includes the uncertainty or instability resulting from climate change or biodiversity loss, changes in political leadership and environmental policies, changes in geopolitical-social views toward fossil fuels and renewable energy, concern about the environmental impact of climate change or biodiversity loss, and investors’ expectations regarding ESG matters. Any long-term material adverse effect on our customers or their industries could have a significant financial and operational adverse impact on our business.

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In addition, “Anti-ESG” sentiment has also gained momentum across the U.S., with a growing number of states, federal agencies, the executive branch and Congress having enacted or proposed “anti-ESG” policies, legislation or issued related legal opinions and engaged in related investigations and litigation. As such, we may face scrutiny, reputational risk, lawsuits, market access restrictions or governmental enforcement actions or penalties as a result of our ESG programs and commitments, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial position, and results of operations. We are closely monitoring these developments.

Terrorist attacks, wars and armed conflicts, natural disasters, widespread public health crises or other uncommon events may affect the markets in which we operate and our profitability which could adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial position, and results of operations.

Wars and armed conflicts, such as the ongoing military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as responses to such events including sanctions, boycotts, protests or other restrictive actions by the U.S. and/or other countries or its residents, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, widespread public health crises or other disruptive events may negatively affect our operations. There can be no assurance that there will not be violence or unrest in the jurisdictions where we do business. Also, natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, fires, floods, and tsunamis cannot be predicted.

Wars or armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, and natural disasters (which may be amplified by ongoing global climate change and biodiversity loss) may directly impact our physical facilities and/or those of our suppliers or customers. In addition, such events may disrupt the global insurance and reinsurance industries with the result that we may not be able to obtain insurance at historical terms and levels, if at all, for all of our facilities. In addition, available insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of the damage incurred or, if available, may be prohibitively expensive. Widespread public health crises, including contagious diseases, could also disrupt operations of the Company, its suppliers and customers, which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. A significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population similar to the COVID-19 pandemic could also result in an economic downturn that could adversely affect demand for our products and impact our operating results. To the extent that the Company’s customers and suppliers are materially and adversely impacted by a widespread outbreak of contagious disease, this could reduce the availability, or result in delays, of materials or supplies to or from the Company, which in turn could materially interrupt the Company’s business operations.

The consequences of wars or armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, widespread public health crises or other uncommon global events can be unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee or effectively plan for these events, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial position, and results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

The Company is subject to various cybersecurity risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including intellectual property theft; fraud; extortion; harm to employees or customers; violation of privacy laws and other litigation and legal risk; and reputational risk. Refer to the “Risk Factors” section, which appears in Item 1A of this Report for more information regarding these risks. In response to these risks, we have implemented cybersecurity processes, technologies, and controls detailed below to aid in our efforts to assess, identify, and manage cybersecurity risks. Our Global Cyber Security team works to identify, assess and manage cybersecurity threat risks, their severity, and potential mitigations.

As of the date of this report, we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents or risks from cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, individually or in the aggregate.

Governance

The Board, primarily through the Audit Committee, oversees management's approach to managing cybersecurity risks. Management provides cybersecurity updates to the Audit Committee, at least quarterly, and material cybersecurity incidents are reported to the Board.

Quaker Houghton has a dedicated Global Cyber Security team led by the Senior Director, Cybersecurity and Compliance that is responsible for identifying, assessing, monitoring, managing and communicating the Company’s cybersecurity risks. Collectively this team has decades of dedicated cybersecurity experience with personnel experienced and certified in various disciplines, including data security and privacy, enterprise risk management, cloud security and ethical hacking.

The Global Cyber Security team reports to the Chief Digital Information Officer (“CDIO”), who reports to the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), who in turn reports to the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). Refer to the “Information about our Executive Officers” section, which appears in Item 4(a) of this report for more information about the CDIO’s relevant professional experience and qualifications.

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Risk Management and Strategy

Key cybersecurity risks are incorporated into our enterprise risk management framework. Our cybersecurity risk management program leverages the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) framework, which organizes cybersecurity risk management actions into six categories: govern, identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. The Company’s cybersecurity risk management program and strategy includes the following:

•Cybersecurity Operations Centers - We, along with certain third-parties, operate several global cybersecurity operations centers, which provide 24/7 monitoring and incident response capabilities. In the event of an alert, our cybersecurity operations centers coordinate the investigation and remediation of such alerts.

•Partnerships with Cybersecurity Companies-We partner with specialized cybersecurity companies and organizations, leveraging third-party technology and expertise. These partnerships help monitor and maintain the performance and effectiveness of our cybersecurity tools and program.

•Annual and Periodic Assessments by Third Parties- Our cyber risk management program undergoes periodic assessments by third parties including annual penetration and disaster recovery tests.

•Policies and Training - We maintain company-wide policies and procedures concerning cybersecurity, which are reviewed and approved by appropriate management members. All employees are required to complete cybersecurity training periodically, with additional specialized trainings for certain roles. We conduct monthly phishing simulation exercises with mandatory training on failure.

•Incident Response- In case of a cybersecurity incident, we follow a documented incident response process, which outlines steps from detection to mitigation, recovery, and notification, including notifying senior leadership and the Board as appropriate based on severity.

•Third-Party Service Providers - In addition to assessing our own cybersecurity preparedness, we also consider and evaluate cybersecurity risks associated with use of third-party service providers. We assess third party cybersecurity controls through a cybersecurity questionnaire and include security and privacy addendums to our contracts where applicable.

Item 2. Properties.

Quaker Houghton’s corporate headquarters and a laboratory facility are located in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The laboratory facility is within the Americas’ segment. The Company’s other principal facilities in its Americas’ segment are located in Santa Fe Springs, California; Carrollton, Georgia; Aurora, Illinois; Zion, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Madison Heights, Michigan; Batavia, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Middletown, Ohio; Strongsville, Ohio; Lewisburg, Tennessee; Waterloo, Ontario; Monterrey, N.L., Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Company’s EMEA segment has principal facilities in Uithoorn, the Netherlands; Dortmund, Germany; Monheim am Rhein, Germany; Barbera, Spain; Bera, Spain; Santa Perpetua de Mogoda, Spain; Karlshamn, Sweden; Moncalieri, Italy; Coventry, U.K.; Broms Grove, U.K, and Saint-Donat, France. The Company’s Asia/Pacific segment operates out of its principal facilities located in Chongqing, China; Qingpu, China; Shanghai, China; Songjiang, China; Dahej, India; Rayong, Thailand; Moorabbin, Australia; Perth, Australia, Gamagori, Japan, and Ichihara City, Japan.

With the exception of the Conshohocken, Santa Fe Springs, Madison Heights, Lewisburg, Monheim am Rhein, Aurora, Karlshamn, Songjiang, Rayong, and Coventry sites, which are leased, the remaining principal facilities are owned by the Company and, as of December 31, 2025, were mortgage free. Quaker Houghton also leases sales, laboratory, manufacturing, and warehouse facilities in other locations.

Quaker Houghton’s principal facilities consist of various manufacturing, administrative, warehouse, and laboratory buildings. Most locations have raw material storage tanks, ranging from 1 to 155 at each location with capacities ranging from 5 to 70,000 gallons, and processing or manufacturing vessels ranging from 2 to 54 at each location with capacities ranging from 2 to 29,000 gallons.

Each of Quaker Houghton’s non-U.S. associated companies (in which it owns a 50% or less interest and has significant influence) owns or leases a plant and/or sales facilities in various locations, with the exception of Primex, Ltd.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

The Company is a party to proceedings, cases, and requests for information from, and negotiations with, various claimants and Federal and state agencies relating to various matters, including environmental matters. For information concerning pending certain environmental non-capital remediation costs and other legal-related matters, refer to Note 25, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company is a party to other litigation which management currently believes will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flow or financial condition.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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Item 4(a). Information about our Executive Officers.

Our executive officers as of February 23, 2026 are listed below with their respective ages, positions currently held at the Company, and principal occupation and business experience during at least the last five years. Each of the executive officers, with the exception of Steven Dassing, is appointed annually to a one-year term. Mr. Dassing is considered an executive officer in his capacity as principal accounting officer for purposes of this Item 4(a).

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PART II

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

The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the trading symbol KWR. The Board declared cash dividends that totaled $1.99 per share of outstanding common stock or $34.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 and $1.88 per share of outstanding common stock or $33.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. In February and May 2025, our Board declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.485 per share of outstanding common stock, payable to shareholders of record in April 2025 and July 2025, respectively. Subsequently, our Board declared quarterly dividends of $0.508 per share of outstanding common stock in July and November 2025, payable to shareholders of record in October 2025 and January 2026, respectively. We currently expect to continue paying comparable cash dividends on a quarterly basis in the future. Future declaration of dividends and the establishment of future record dates and payment dates are subject to the final determination of our Board, and will be based on our future financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, contractual restrictions, anticipated cash needs, business prospects, provisions of applicable law and other factors our Board may deem relevant.

There are currently no restrictions on the Company’s ability to pay dividends. However, in the event that our net leverage ratio were to rise above 2.5x, certain restrictions would apply. Refer to the description of the Company’s primary Credit Facility in Note 19, Debt, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for more information about the covenants.

As of January 16, 2026, 17,332,279 shares of Quaker common stock were issued and outstanding and were held by 496 shareholders of record. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote per share.

Reference is made to the information in Item 12 of this Report under the caption “Equity Compensation Plans,” which is incorporated herein by this reference.

The following table sets forth information concerning shares of the Company’s common stock acquired by the Company during the fourth quarter of 2025 for the period covered by this report:

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(1)2,022 of these shares were acquired from employees related to the surrender of shares in payment of the vesting of restricted stock awards or units. The price paid for shares acquired from employees pursuant to employee benefit and equity compensation plans is based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of vesting as specified by the plan pursuant to which the applicable option, restricted stock award, or restricted stock unit was granted.

(2)On February 28, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company approved, and the Company announced, a share repurchase program, pursuant to which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $150 million of Quaker Chemical Corporation common stock (“2024 Share Repurchase Program”), which replaced a prior authorization and has no expiration date. The number of shares to be repurchased and the timing of such transactions will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions. See Note 8, Equity, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

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Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2025 for (i) Quaker’s common stock, (ii) the S&P 600 SmallCap Index (the “SmallCap Index”), (iii) the S&P 400 Materials Group Index (the “Materials Group Index”) and (iv) S&P Composite 1500 Chemicals Index (the “Chemicals Index”). The graph assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 2020, in each of Quaker’s common stock, and in the stocks comprising the SmallCap Index, Materials Group Index and the Chemicals Index. We included the SmallCap Index this year, to replace the S&P MidCap 400 Index, as it represents the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity market and includes companies with similar market capitalizations to Quaker.

Item 6. Reserved.

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

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Report”), the terms “Quaker Houghton,” the “Company,” “we,” and “our” refer to Quaker Chemical Corporation (doing business as Quaker Houghton), its subsidiaries, and associated companies, unless the context otherwise requires.

Executive Summary

Quaker Houghton is the global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world’s most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge, and customized services. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the U.S.

Net sales of $1,888.6 million in 2025 increased 3% compared to $1,839.7 million in 2024. The net sales increase of $48.9 million, or 3%, is primarily due to contributions from acquisitions of approximately 4% and favorable foreign currency translation of approximately 1%, partially offset by decreases in selling price and product mix of approximately 2%. Organic sales volumes remained consistent in 2025 compared to 2024, primarily as a result of continued new business wins across all segments, particularly Asia/Pacific, which was offset by a continuation of soft end market conditions including the uncertainty caused by tariffs, particularly in the Americas and EMEA segments. The decrease in selling price and product mix was primarily attributable to the impact of the mix of products, services and geographies and the impact of our index-based customer contracts.

The Company reported a net loss of $2.5 million or $0.14 net loss per diluted share in 2025, compared to a net income of $116.6 million or $6.51 earnings per diluted share in 2024. The net loss primarily reflects an $88.8 million non-cash impairment charge to write down the remaining value of goodwill associated with the Company’s EMEA reportable segment. Excluding non-recurring and non-core items, the Company’s current year non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $123.2 million and $7.02, respectively, compared to $133.5 million and $7.44, respectively, in 2024. The decrease in current year Non-GAAP earnings was primarily driven by lower gross margins and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”), partially offset by an increase in net sales. The Company generated adjusted EBITDA of $299.2 million compared to $310.9 million in 2024, as the increase in net sales was offset by lower operating margins and an increase in SG&A. Non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations—Consolidated—Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for the definition and reconciliation of these measures to their most comparable GAAP measures.

The Company’s 2025 operating performance in each of its three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; and (iii) Asia/Pacific, reflects similar drivers to that of the Company’s consolidated performance. The increase in operating earnings for the Asia/Pacific segment compared to the prior year was primarily driven by an increase in net sales and further contribution from acquisitions, partially offset by lower segment operating margins. The decrease in operating earnings for the EMEA segment compared to the prior year was primarily driven by lower segment operating margins, partially offset by an increase in net sales. The decrease in operating earnings for the America segment compared to the prior year was primarily driven by a decrease in net sales and a decrease in segment operating margins. Additional details of segment operating performance are provided in the Reportable Segments Review in the Operations section of this Item below.

Net cash flows provided by operating activities were $136.5 million in 2025 compared to $204.6 million in 2024. The decrease in net operating cash flows was primarily driven by lower operating performance, higher cash outflows from restructuring activities and higher outflows from working capital in 2025 compared to 2024. The key drivers of the Company’s operating cash flow and working capital are further discussed in the Company’s Liquidity and Capital Resources section of this Item 7, below.

The Company performed well in 2025, making progress on its long-term financial and strategic initiatives. In addition, the Company results in 2025 reflect an increase in sales volumes in the Asia/Pacific segment and new business wins across all segments, despite a continuation of challenging end market conditions, particularly in the Americas and EMEA segments.

On July 4, 2025, H.R. 1, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBB”), was signed into law. The OBBB includes significant changes to the federal corporate tax provisions and extends certain otherwise expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Among other things, the legislation restores 100% bonus depreciation for eligible property, reinstates expensing for domestic research and experimental expenditures, imposes new limitations on interest expense deductibility, and expands disallowed deductions for certain employee remuneration. The legislation has multiple effective dates, with certain provisions effective in 2025 and other provisions implemented through 2027. The provisions effective in 2025 do not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The Company is continuing to evaluate the potential impacts of the provisions effective in 2026 and 2027.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Quaker Houghton’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations are based on its consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to customer sales incentives, product returns, credit losses, inventories, property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”), investments, goodwill, intangible assets, income taxes, business combinations, and restructuring. These estimates reflect historical experience as well as our best judgment about current and/or future economic and market conditions and their effects and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable based on currently available information, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. However, actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Quaker Houghton believes the following critical accounting policies describe the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements:

Accounts receivable and inventory exposures: The Company establishes allowances for credit losses for estimatedlosses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers was to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. As part of our terms of trade, we may custom manufacture products for certain large customers and/or may ship products on a consignment basis. Further, a significant portion of our revenue is derived from sales to customers in industries where companies have previously experienced financial difficulties. If a significant customer bankruptcy occurs, then we must judge the amount of proceeds, if any, that may ultimately be received through the bankruptcy or liquidation process. These matters may increase the Company’s exposure should a bankruptcy occur and may require a write down or a disposal of certain inventory as well as the failure to collect receivables. Reserves for customers filing for bankruptcy protection are established based on a percentage of the amount of receivables outstanding at the bankruptcy filing date. However, initially establishing this reserve and the amount thereof is dependent on the Company’s evaluation of likely proceeds to be received from the bankruptcy process, which could result in the Company recognizing minimal or no reserve at the date of bankruptcy. We generally reserve for large and/or financially distressed customers on a specific review basis, while a general reserve is maintained for other customers based on historical experience. The Company’s consolidated allowance for credit losses was $14.9 million and $13.6 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The Company recorded expense to increase its provision for credit losses by $0.7 million, $2.1 million and $1.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Tax exposures, uncertain tax positions and valuation allowances: The Company records expenses and liabilities for taxesbased on estimates of amounts that will be determined as deductible or taxable in tax returns filed in various jurisdictions. The filed tax returns are subject to audit, which often occur several years subsequent to the date of the financial statements. Disputes or disagreements may arise during audits over the timing or validity of certain items, such as taxable income or deductions, which may not be resolved for extended periods of time. The Company also evaluates uncertain tax positions on all income tax positions taken on previously filed tax returns or expected to be taken on a future tax return in accordance with FIN 48, which prescribes the recognition threshold and measurement attributes for financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return and, also, whether the benefits of tax positions are probable or if they are more likely than not to be sustained upon audit based upon the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are determined to be more likely than not to be sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. For tax positions that are not determined to be more likely than not sustained upon audit, the Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit in its financial statements. In addition, the Company’s continuing practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. Also, the Company nets its liability for unrecognized tax benefits against deferred tax assets related to net operating losses or other tax credit carryforward on the basis that the uncertain tax position is settled for the presumed amount at the balance sheet date.

The Company also records valuation allowances on a quarterly basis to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. While the Company has considered future taxable income and assesses the need for a valuation allowance, in the event the Company were to determine that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its net recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would increase income in the period such determination was made. Likewise, should the Company determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its net deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would be charged to income in the period such determination was made. Both determinations could have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

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Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reform”), the Company recorded a $15.5 million transition tax liability for U.S. income taxes on the undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2025, the $15.5 million transition liability has been fully paid. The Company may also be subject to other taxes, such as withholding taxes and dividend distribution taxes, if these undistributed earnings are ultimately remitted to the U.S. As of December 31, 2025, the Company has a deferred tax liability of $8.5 million, which primarily represents the estimate of the non-U.S. taxes the Company will incur to remit certain previously taxed earnings to the U.S. It is the Company’s current intention to reinvest its future undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries to support working capital needs and certain other growth initiatives outside of the U.S. The amount of such undistributed earnings at December 31, 2025 was approximately $429.2 million. Any tax liability which might result from ultimate remittance of these earnings is expected to be substantially offset by foreign tax credits (“FTCs”) (subject to certain limitations), however, certain withholding taxes could apply. It is currently impractical to estimate any such incremental tax expense. See Note 10, Income Taxes, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Business Combinations: The Company accounts for business combinations under the acquisition method ofaccounting. This method requires the recording of acquired assets, including separately identifiable intangible assets, at their acquisition date fair values. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. The determination of the estimated fair value of assets acquired requires management’s judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including assumptions with respect to projected revenue growth rates, gross margins, and operating margins, the weighted average cost of capital (“WACC”), royalty rates, asset lives and market multiples, among other items. When necessary, the Company consults with external advisors to help determine fair value. For non-observable market values, the Company may determine fair value using acceptable valuation principles, including the excess earnings, relief from royalty, lost profit or cost methods. The Company engaged an independent third-party valuation specialist to assist with the allocation of the total purchase price for the acquisition of Dipsol Chemicals Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, (“Dipsol”) to the fair value of the net assets acquired. The preliminary fair value of customer-related intangible assets was determined using the multi-period excess earnings method, while the preliminary fair value of product technology and trademarks were determined using the relief from royalty method. These valuation methodologies required the use of several assumptions and estimates, including, but not limited to, the customer attrition rate, the discount rate, net sales attributable to existing customers, the economic life, the EBITDA margin, and the contributory asset charge for the customer-related intangible assets, and the discount rate, the projected revenue, the royalty rate, and the economic life for the product technology and trademark intangible assets. The preliminary fair value of inventory was determined using the net realizable value approach, which includes the use of several estimates, including the selling prices and current replacement cost as of the valuation date. The preliminary fair value of land was determined using a sales comparison approach, which includes the use of several assumptions and estimates, including reproduction/replacement cost, while the preliminary fair value of building and improvements and personal property was determined using the cost approach, which includes the use of several assumptions and estimates, including the building condition, floor value, physical deterioration, functional and economic obsolescence, reproduction/replacement cost, and remaining useful lives. For further information see Note 2, Business Combinations, to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Goodwill and other intangible assets: The Company amortizes definite-lived intangible assets on a straight-line basis over their useful lives. Goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite lives are not amortized and are required to be assessed at least annually for impairment. The Company completes its annual goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test during the fourth quarter of each year, or more frequently if triggering events indicate a possible impairment. As part of annual goodwill impairment testing, the Company has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. The Company’s evaluation of qualitative factors includes an assessment of relevant facts, events, and circumstances of a reporting unit including but not limited to macroeconomic conditions, industry and market conditions, overall finance performance, cost factors that have a negative effect on earnings and cash flows, sustained decreases in the Company’s share price, and etc. The Company will perform a quantitative test when qualitative factors alone are not sufficient to conclude whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If the Company performs a quantitative test, an impairment loss will be recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

The Company’s consolidated goodwill at December 31, 2025 and 2024 was $501.7 million and $518.9 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had indefinite-lived intangible assets for trademarks and intangibles totaling $201.2 million and $185.3 million, respectively.

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During the second quarter of 2025, the Company concluded that the negative impacts of the lower than projected financial performance, driven by the continuation of soft end market conditions, as well as an increase in the Company’s cost of capital, driven by uncertainty around the potential negative impacts of tariffs, represented a triggering event for the Company’s EMEA reporting unit and the associated goodwill. In completing a quantitative goodwill impairment test, the Company compared the reporting unit’s fair value, based on future discounted cash flows, to its carrying value in order to determine if an impairment of goodwill exists. The estimates of future discounted cash flows involve considerable judgment and are based upon certain significant assumptions including the WACC as well as projected EBITDA, which includes assumptions related to revenue growth rates, gross margin levels and operating expenses. As a result of the impact of the uncertainty around tariffs, and continued soft end market conditions driving lower current year EMEA earnings and a decline in projected future EMEA earnings, as well as an increase in the WACC assumption utilized in the Company’s 2024 annual impairment assessment, the Company concluded that the estimated fair value of the EMEA reporting unit was less than its carrying value. As a result, a pre-tax, non-cash impairment charge of $88.8 million ($86.7 million after-tax) to write down the remaining carrying value amount of the EMEA reporting unit Goodwill was recorded in the second quarter of 2025, reflected in “Impairment charges” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2025.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, the Company performed its annual impairment assessment by applying the quantitative assessment and concluded that it was more likely than not that the fair value of each reporting unit was greater than its carrying value.

Pension and Postretirement benefits: The Company provides certain defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefitsto current employees, former employees and retirees. Independent actuaries, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, perform the required valuations to determine benefit expense and, if necessary, non-cash charges to equity for additional minimum pension liabilities. Critical assumptions used in the actuarial valuation include the weighted average discount rate, which is based on applicable yield curve data, including the use of a split discount rate (spot-rate approach) for the U.S. plans and certain foreign plans, rates of increase in compensation levels, and expected long-term rates of return on assets.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

See Note 3, Recently Issued Accounting Standards, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information and for a discussion regarding recently adopted accounting standards and recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $179.8 million and $188.9 million at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Cash held by subsidiaries in foreign countries was approximately $171.4 million and $180.6 million at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The $9.1 million decrease in cash and cash equivalents was the net result of $214.1 million of cash used in investing activities, largely offset by $136.5 million of cash provided by operating activities, $61.8 million provided by financing activities, and a favorable impact of foreign currency translation of approximately $6.7 million.

Net cash flows provided by operating activities were $136.5 million in 2025 compared to $204.6 million in 2024. The decrease in net operating cash flow year-over-year reflects lower operating performance in 2025 compared to 2024, higher outflows from restructuring activities, and an increase in net cash outflows from working capital, primarily due to higher outflows of accounts payable and accrued liabilities due to timing of payments and higher outflows for the purchases of inventories.

Net cash flows used in investing activities were $214.1 million in 2025 compared to $76.4 million in 2024. The increase in cash used in investing activities year-over-year is primarily the result of $164.2 million of payments, net of cash acquired, in the current year related to the acquisitions of Chemical Solutions & Innovations (Pty) Ltd. (“CSI”), Dipsol, and Natech, Ltd., (“Natech”), a $14.1 million increase in payments relating to capital expenditures, and $3.0 million of interest received from the fixed-for-fixed cross-currency swaps designated as net investment hedges. The prior year included $39.3 million of payments, net of cash acquired, related to the acquisitions of I.K.V. Tribologie IKVT and its subsidiaries (“IKV”) and the Sutai Group (“Sutai”). See Note 2, Business Combinations, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information about business acquisitions.

Net cash flows provided by financing activities were $61.8 million in 2025 compared to net cash flows used in financing activities of $122.7 million in 2024. The increase in net cash inflows was primarily driven by $174.2 million of net borrowings on the Company’s revolving credit facility in the current year, an increase of $156.3 million compared to the prior year, which the Company used for the purpose of funding the purchase price of the Dipsol acquisition as well as for other corporate purposes. In addition, the Company made term loan debt payments of approximately $34.7 million in 2025, a $22.5 million decrease in payments compared to the prior year. The Company also made payments of approximately $41.5 million for repurchases of the Company’s common stock under its share repurchase program in the current year, a $7.7 million decrease compared to the prior year.

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During June 2022, the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Quaker Houghton B.V., as borrowers, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, U.S. Dollar swing line lender and letter of credit issuer, Bank of America Europe Designated Active Company, as Euro Swing Line Lender, certain guarantors and other lenders entered into an amendment to its primary credit facility (the “Original Credit Facility”). The amended credit facility (“Credit Facility”) established (A) a new $150.0 million Euro equivalent senior secured term loan (the “Euro Term Loan”), (B) a new $600.0 million senior secured term loan (the “U.S. Term Loan”), and (C) a new $500.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”), each maturing in June 2027. The Company has the right to increase the amount of the Credit Facility by an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of $300.0 million or 100% of Consolidated EBITDA, subject to certain conditions including the agreement to provide financing by any lender providing such increase.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had Credit Facility borrowings outstanding of $859.7 million. The Company’s other debt obligations are primarily industrial development bonds, bank lines of credit and municipality-related loans, which totaled $11.5 million as of December 31, 2025. Total unused capacity under these arrangements as of December 31, 2025 was approximately $57.4 million. The Company’s total net debt as of December 31, 2025 was $691.4 million, which consists of total borrowings of $871.2 million less cash and cash equivalents of $179.8 million. The Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default. Financial covenants contained in the Credit Facility include a consolidated interest coverage ratio test and a consolidated net leverage ratio test. As of December 31, 2025, the Company was in compliance with all of the Credit Facility covenants. Refer to the description of the Company’s primary Credit Facility in Note 19, Debt, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information about the covenants and events of default.

The weighted average variable interest rate incurred on the outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility during the twelve months ended December 31, 2025 was approximately 5.2%. As of December 31, 2025, the interest rate on the outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility was approximately 4.7%. As part of the Credit Facility, the Company is required to pay an annual commitment fee ranging from 0.150% to 0.275% related to unutilized commitments under the Revolver, depending on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. The Company had unused capacity under the Revolver of approximately $268.5 million, which is net of bank letters of credit of approximately $2.5 million, as of December 31, 2025.

In order to manage the Company’s exposure to variable interest rate risk associated with the Credit Facility, in the first quarter of 2023, the Company entered into $300.0 million notional amounts of three-year interest rate swaps to convert a portion of the Company’s variable rate borrowings into an average fixed rate obligation of 3.64% plus an applicable margin as provided in the Credit Facility based on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. As of December 31, 2025, the aggregate interest rate on the swaps, including the fixed base rate plus the applicable margin, was 5.0%. See Note 24, Hedging Activities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

The Company capitalized third-party and credit debt issuance costs attributed to the Euro Term Loan, U.S. Term Loan and Revolver during the second quarter of 2022. Capitalized costs attributed to the Euro Term Loan and U.S. Term Loan are recorded as a direct offset to Long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Capitalized costs attributed to the Revolver are recorded within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These capitalized costs are amortized into Interest expense over the five year term of the Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had $0.7 million and $1.1 million, respectively, of debt issuance costs recorded as a reduction of Long-term debt and $1.4 million and $2.4 million, respectively, of debt issuance costs recorded within Other assets.

The Company uses foreign exchange forward contracts to economically hedge the impact of the variability in exchange rates on certain foreign currency-denominated assets and liabilities. Additionally, in connection with the Dipsol acquisition, in March 2025, the Company entered into foreign exchange forward contracts with various financial institutions with an aggregate notional amount of $155.3 million to hedge the variability in U.S. dollar-Japanese yen exchange rates associated with the purchase price. These contracts settled on April 1, 2025 in connection with the Dipsol acquisition. The Company recognized a $1.4 million foreign currency loss during the year ended December 31, 2025 in Other (expense) income, net relating to the change in fair value of these instruments as of the settlement date. See Note 24, Hedging Activities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

During 2022, the Company initiated a global cost and optimization program to improve its cost structure and drive a more profitable and productive organization. The Company has achieved its annualized cost savings goal from this program of at least $20 million. In 2025, the Company approved additional actions under the program, which are expected to generate approximately an additional $40 million of annualized cost savings. These actions are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2026. The Company recognized $35.1 million, $6.5 million and $7.6 million of restructuring and related charges for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, as a result of these programs and other facility closure actions. The Company made cash payments related to the settlement of restructuring liabilities under the program of $26.6 million and $7.6 million during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The Company expects total one-time cash costs of this program to be approximately 1 to 1.5 times annualized savings. See Note 7, Restructuring and Related Activities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

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As of December 31, 2025, the Company’s gross liability for uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, was $14.2 million. The Company cannot determine a reliable estimate of the timing of cash flows by period related to its uncertain tax position liability. However, should the entire liability be paid, the amount of the payment may be reduced by up to $7.5 million as a result of offsetting benefits in other tax jurisdictions. See Note 10, Income Taxes, to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.