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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

The risks and uncertainties described below could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections, and could cause the market value of our stock to decline. You should consider these risk factors when reading the rest of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this document. These risk factors may not include all of the important factors that could affect our business or our industry or that could cause our future financial results to differ materially from historic or expected results or cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate or decline.

STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY

If we are unsuccessful in transforming our business model, our operating results could be negatively impacted. In recent years, we have shifted our business model to become a software- and services-led enterprise provider, focusing on increased software and services revenue, as well as recurring revenue, to enable NCR to become an as-a-Service company. Activating our strategy to create NCR-as-a-Service could negatively impact our revenue and margin as we shift toward increasing recurring revenue. Additionally, this strategy includes the shift away from perpetual license-based products that yield revenue recognized at an earlier point in time to a term license model to include a termination for convenience which could also have a negative impact on our revenue and margin. We expect to continue to spend and may increase our capital expenditures to support our shift to NCR-as-a-Service with the focus on our strategic growth platforms, which are the offerings with the highest growth potential to accelerate the shift. Our success depends on the return on investment generated from the capital expenditures and our ability to continue to execute these strategies, while improving the Company's cost structure. Successful execution of our strategy and the businesses associated with the strategic growth platforms depends on a number of different factors including, among others, developing, deploying and supporting the next generation of digital first software and cloud solutions for the industries we serve; market acceptance of our new and existing software and cloud solutions; successfully expanding the payment processing market; enabling our sales force to use a consultative selling model that better incorporates our comprehensive and new solutions; transforming our services performance, capabilities and coverage to improve efficiency, incorporate remote diagnostic and other technologies and align with and support our new solutions; managing professional services and other costs associated with large solution roll-outs; integrating, and developing and supporting software gained through acquisitions. In addition, we continue to pursue initiatives to expand our customer base by increasing our use of indirect sales channels, and by developing, marketing and selling solutions aimed at the small- to medium-business market. It is not yet certain whether these initiatives will yield the anticipated benefits, or whether our solutions will be compelling and attractive to small- and medium-sized businesses. If we are not successful in growing software and services and expanding our customer base at the rate that we anticipate, implementing and managing these various initiatives and minimizing any resulting loss in productivity, or if the costs to complete these initiatives is higher than anticipated, we may not meet our growth and gross margin projections or expectations, and operating results could be negatively impacted.

If we do not swiftly and successfully develop and introduce new solutions in the competitive, rapidly changing environment in which we do business, our business results may be impacted. The development process for our solutions requires high levels of innovation from our product development teams and suppliers of the components embedded or incorporated in our solutions. We expect to continue to spend and may increase our capital expenditures and allocate these expenditures primarily to our strategic growth platforms. In addition, certain of our solutions, including our cloud solutions, may require us to build, lease or expand, and maintain, infrastructure (such as hosting centers) to support them. The development process can be lengthy and costly, and requires us to commit a significant amount of resources to bring our business solutions to market. In addition, our success may be impacted by safety and security technology and industry standards. We may not be able to anticipate our customers’ needs and technological and industry trends accurately, or to complete development of new solutions efficiently. In addition, contract terms, market conditions or customer preferences may affect our ability to limit, sunset or end-of-life our older products in a timely or cost-effective fashion. If any of these risks materialize, we may be unable to introduce new solutions into the market on a timely basis, if at all, and our business and operating results could be impacted. Likewise, we sometimes make assurances to customers regarding the operability and specifications of new technologies, and our results could be impacted if we are unable to deliver such technologies, or if such technologies do not perform as planned. Once we have developed new solutions, if we cannot successfully market and sell those solutions, our business and operating results could be negatively impacted.

If we do not compete effectively within the technology industry, we will not be successful.We operate in the intensely competitive technology industry. This industry is characterized by rapidly changing technology, disruptive technological innovation, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions, price and cost reductions, and increasingly greater commoditization of products making differentiation difficult. Our competitors include other large companies in the information technology industry, such as Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Fiserv, Inc., Temenos AG, Infosys Ltd., Alkami Technology, Inc., HP Inc., Diebold Nixdorf, Inc., Hyosung TNS Inc., Toshiba Tec Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Q2 Holdings, Inc. and

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ACI Worldwide, Inc., many of which have more financial and technical resources, or more widespread distribution and market penetration for their platforms and service offerings, than we do. We also compete with companies in specific industry segments, such as entry-level ATMs, POS solutions and imaging solutions. In addition, as consumers and customers in the banking, retail and hospitality industry adopt new alternative technologies such as cashless and other streamlined payment services and automated shopping solutions, we may face competition from other technology companies.

Our future competitive performance and market position depend on a number of factors, including our ability to:

•execute our NCR-as-a-Service strategy to grow our software and services revenue, as well as our recurring revenue;

•improve margin expansion while successfully reacting to competitive product and pricing pressures;

•mitigate increases in labor costs, component parts, freight, services and interest rates with price increases;

•penetrate and meet the changing competitive requirements and deliverables in developing and emerging markets;

•retain our existing key customers and add new customer relationships;

•cross-sell additional products and services to our existing customer base;

•rapidly and continually design, develop and market, or otherwise maintain and introduce innovative solutions and related products and services for our customers that are competitive in the marketplace;

•react on a timely basis to shifts in market demands and technological innovations, including shifts toward the desire of banks and retailers to provide digital-first experience to their customers and the use of mobile devices in transactions and payments;

•reduce costs without creating operating inefficiencies or impairing product or service quality;

•maintain competitive operating margins;

•improve product and service delivery quality; and

•effectively market and sell all of our diverse solutions.

Our business and operating performance also could be impacted by external competitive pressures, such as consolidation, increasing price erosion and the entry of new competitors and technologies into our existing product and geographic markets. In addition, our customers sometimes finance our product sales through third-party financing companies, and in the case of customer default, these financing companies may be forced to resell this equipment at discounted prices, competing with us and impacting our ability to sell incremental units. The impact of these product and pricing pressures could include lower customer satisfaction, decreased demand for our solutions, loss of market share and reduction of operating profits.

If we do not successfully integrate acquisitions or effectively manage alliance activities, we may not drive future growth. As part of our overall solutions strategy, we have made, and intend to continue to make, investments in companies, solutions, services and technologies, either through acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or strategic alliances. These activities allow us to further our company strategy and provide us access to new technology or solutions that expand our offerings. Acquisitions and alliance activities inherently involve risks. The risks we may encounter include those associated with:

•disruption to our business and the continued successful execution of our company strategy, goals and responsibilities, including but not limited to the Company’s non-GAAP EPS growth, including mix shift to software and services, increase in recurring revenue and free cash flow, as well as the NCR-as-a-Service model, while managing significant transactions;

•increased capital and research and development expenses and resource allocation;

•assimilation and integration of different business operations, corporate cultures, personnel, infrastructures (such as data centers) and technologies or solutions acquired or licensed, while maintaining quality, and designing and implementing appropriate risk management measures;

•retention of key employees and talent associated with the acquired or combined business;

•the incurrence of significant transaction fees and costs;

•the potential for unknown liabilities within the acquired or combined business that we may not become aware of until after the completion of the acquisition; and

•the possibility of conflict with joint venture or alliance partners regarding strategic direction, prioritization of objectives and goals, governance matters or operations.

There is risk that the integration, new technology or solutions, including but not limited to expanded payment processing and entry into ATM-as-a-Service, may not perform as anticipated, may take longer than anticipated and may not meet estimated growth projections or expectations, or investment recipients may not successfully execute their business plans. Further, we may not achieve the projected efficiencies and synergies once we have integrated the business into our operations, which may lead to the impairment or write down of assets, and other additional costs not anticipated at the time of acquisition. In the event that these risks materialize, we may not be able to fully realize the benefit of our investments, and our operating results could be adversely affected.

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Our multinational operations, including in new and emerging markets, expose us to business and legal risks. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the percentage of our revenue from outside of the United States was 49% and 51%, respectively, and we expect our percentage of revenue generated outside the United States to continue to be significant. In addition, we continue to seek to further penetrate existing international markets, and to identify opportunities to enter into or expand our presence in developing and emerging markets. While we believe that our geographic diversity may help to mitigate some risks associated with geographic concentrations of operations, our ability to sell our solutions and manufacture internationally, including in new and emerging markets, is subject to risks, which include, among others:

•the impact of ongoing and future economic and credit conditions on the stability of national and regional economies and industries within those economies;

•political conditions and local regulations that could adversely affect demand for our solutions, our ability to access funds and resources, or our ability to sell products in these markets;

•the impact of a downturn in the global economy, or in regional economies, on demand for our products;

•competitive labor markets and increasing wages in markets that we operate in;

•currency exchange rate fluctuations that could result in lower demand for our products as well as generate currency translation losses;

•limited availability of local currencies to pay vendors, employees and third parties and to distribute funds outside of the country;

•changes to global or regional trade agreements that could limit our ability to sell products in these markets;

•the imposition of import or export tariffs, taxes, trade policies or import and export controls that could increase the expense of, or limit demand for our products;

•changes to and compliance with a variety of laws and regulations that may increase our cost of doing business or otherwise prevent us from effectively competing internationally;

•government uncertainty or limitations on the ability to enforce legal rights and remedies, including as a result of new, or changes to, laws and regulations;

•reduced protection for intellectual property rights in certain countries;

•implementing and managing systems, procedures and controls to monitor our operations in foreign markets;

•changing competitive requirements and deliverables in developing and emerging markets;

•longer collection cycles and the financial viability and reliability of contracting partners and customers;

•managing a geographically dispersed workforce, work stoppages and other labor conditions or issues;

•disruptions in transportation and shipping infrastructure; and

•the impact of civil unrest relating to war and terrorist activity on the economy or markets in general, or on our ability, or that of our suppliers, to meet commitments.

In addition, as a result of our revenue generated outside of the United States, the amount of cash and cash equivalents that is held by our foreign subsidiaries continues to be significant. After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, in general we will not be subject to additional United States taxes if cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held outside the United States are distributed to the United States in the form of dividends or otherwise. However, we may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, which could be significant.

The strategic review may cause disruption to the business and may fail to result in increasing the value to our shareholders or in the completion of any transaction. On February 8, 2022, NCR announced that its Board of Directors unanimously approved commencing a comprehensive strategic review, with the assistance of outside advisors, which will evaluate a full range of strategic alternatives available to NCR to enhance value for all shareholders. Those strategic alternatives could include a disposition of a material business or assets of the Company, a spin-off, merger or sale of the Company, other structural changes, changes to branding or geographic footprint or other transactions or alternatives. The review may result in near-term disruption to our business and employees as we explore certain alternatives. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the outcome of the strategic review will result in an increase in the share price for our shareholders or in the completion of any transaction.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

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Our business may be negatively affected by domestic and global economic and credit conditions. Our business is sensitive to the strength of domestic and global economic and credit conditions, particularly as they affect, either directly or indirectly, the financial, retail and hospitality sectors of the economy. Economic and credit conditions are influenced by a number of factors, including political conditions, consumer confidence, unemployment levels, interest rates, tax rates, commodity prices and government actions to stimulate economic growth. The imposition or threat of protectionist trade policies or import or export tariffs, global and regional market conditions and spending trends in the financial, retail and hospitality industries, new tax legislation across multiple jurisdictions, modified or new global or regional trade agreements, uncertainty over further potential changes in Eurozone participation and fluctuations in oil and commodity prices, among other things, have created a challenging and unpredictable environment in which to market the products and services of our various businesses across our different geographies and industries. A negative or unpredictable economic climate could create uncertainty or financial pressures that impact the ability or willingness of our customers to make capital expenditures, thereby affecting their decision to purchase or roll out our products or services or, especially with respect to smaller customers, to pay accounts receivable owed to NCR. Additionally, if customers respond to a negative or unpredictable economic climate by consolidation, it could reduce our base of potential customers. Negative or unpredictable global economic conditions also may have an adverse effect on our customers’ ability to obtain financing for the purchase of our products and services from third party financing companies or on the number of payment processing transactions which could negatively impact our operating results.

We are subject to certain significant risks and uncertainties from the payments-related business and industry. As a part of our overall strategy related to our payments-related business we may be subject to the following risks:

The proliferation of payment options and increasingly frictionless methods of payment other than cash, including credit cards, debit cards, stored-value debit cards, contactless, and mobile payments options, could result in a reduced need for cash in the marketplace and a resulting decline in the usage of our ATMs. The continued growth in electronic payment methods, such as mobile phone payments, contactless payments and card only self-service order and payment terminals could result in a reduced need for cash in the marketplace and ultimately, a decline in the usage of ATMs. New payment technology, such as Venmo, Zelle, Square Cash, Facebook Messenger Payments and virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, or other new payment method preferences by consumers could reduce the general population’s need or demand for cash and negatively impact our ATM transaction volumes in the future.

NCR derives a significant portion of its revenues from ATM and financial services transaction fees, which could be reduced by a decline in the usage of ATMs, the ability to charge cardholders fees to use ATMs and the level of transaction fees received, or a decline in the number of ATMs that are operated by us, whether as a result of changes in consumer spending preferences, global economic conditions, or otherwise. Additionally, should banks or other ATM operators decrease or eliminate the fees they charge to users of their ATMs or otherwise offer free access to their networks, such action would make transactions at our ATMs comparatively more expensive to consumers and could adversely impact transaction volumes and revenue.

The majority of the electronic debit networks over which transactions are conducted require sponsorship by a bank, and the loss of any sponsors and/or the inability to find a replacement may cause disruptions to our operations. In each of the geographic markets, bank sponsorship is required in order to process transactions over certain networks. In all of the markets we serve, ATMs are connected to financial transaction switching networks operated by organizations such as Visa and MasterCard. The rules governing these switching networks require any company sending transactions through these networks to be a bank or a technical service processor that is approved and monitored by a bank. As a result, the operation of the ATM network in all of the markets we serve depends on the ability to secure these “sponsor” arrangements with financial institutions.

Interchange fees may be lowered in some cases at the discretion of the various EFT networks through which transactions are routed, or through potential regulatory changes, thus reducing future revenues and operating profits. Future changes in interchange rates, some of which we have minimal or no control over, could have an adverse impact on our operations and cash flows.

Non-compliance with established EFT network rules and regulations could expose NCR to fines, penalties or other liabilities and could negatively impact results of operations. Additionally, new EFT network rules and regulations could require significant amounts of capital to remain in compliance with such rules and regulations. Transactions are routed over various EFT networks to obtain authorization for cash disbursements and to provide account balances. These networks primarily include Star, Pulse, NYCE, Cirrus (MasterCard), and Plus (Visa) in the United States, and LINK in the United Kingdom, among other networks. EFT networks set the interchange fees that they charge to the financial institutions, as well as the amounts paid to NCR. Additionally, EFT networks, including MasterCard and Visa, establish rules and regulations that ATM providers must comply with in order for member cardholders to use those ATMs. Failure to comply with such rules and regulations could result in penalties and/or fines, which could negatively impact our financial results.

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There is a significant amount of vault cash within our ATMs, which is subject to potential loss due to theft, civil unrest or other events, including natural disasters. Third parties are also relied upon in the various regions to provide NCR with the cash required to operate many of the ATMs. If these third parties were unable or unwilling to provide the necessary cash to operate the ATMs, there would be a need to identify alternative sources of cash to operate the ATMs or we would not be able to operate this business.

The election by our merchant customers not to participate in the surcharge-free network offerings could impact the effectiveness of those offerings, which would negatively impact our financial results. Financial institutions that are members of the Allpoint network pay a fee in exchange for allowing their cardholders to use selected NCR-owned, managed and/or participating ATMs on a surcharge-free basis. The success of the Allpoint network is dependent upon the participation by our merchant customers in that network. In the event a significant number of our merchants elect not to participate in the Allpoint network, the benefits and effectiveness of the network would be diminished, thus potentially causing some of the participating financial institutions to not renew their agreements, terminate early, and/or trigger financial penalties, thereby having a negative impact on our financial results.

The cash-in-transit business exposes NCR to additional risks beyond those experienced from the ownership and operation of ATMs. The cash-in-transit operation in the United Kingdom delivers cash to and collects residual cash from ATMs in that market. The cash-in-transit business exposes NCR to significant risks, including the potential for cash-in-transit losses, employee theft, as well as claims for personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, punitive damages, and general liability,

Errors or omissions in the settlement of merchant funds or in the vault cash reconciliations could damage relationships with customers and vault cash providers, respectively, and expose NCR to liability. NCR is responsible for maintaining accurate bank account information for certain merchant customers, financial institution customers and vault cash providers and accurate settlements of funds into these accounts based on the underlying transaction activity

In addition, financial and third-party risks related to our cryptocurrency offerings, such as inappropriate access and theft of cryptocurrency assets held by our custodian, insufficient insurance coverage by the custodian to reimburse us for all such losses, the custodian’s failure to maintain effective controls over the custody and settlement services provided to us, the custodian’s inability to purchase or liquidate cryptocurrency holdings, and default on financial or performance obligations by counterparty financial institutions, could materially and adversely affect our financial performance.

Portions of certain businesses NCR recently acquired are customer-facing and expose the Company to additional compliance risks because we may be subject to certain consumer protection requirements such as oversight by the CFPB and FTC and similar state or foreign agencies in the jurisdictions where they operate. Prior to these acquisitions, NCR was primarily a business-to-business company and not directly subject to these broader consumer protection laws and regulations. The Company will also be exposed to additional compliance risks in scope and geography as our payments-related offers expand into new markets, each with their own consumer protection requirements. In addition, the customer-facing nature of our payments-related business subjects the Company to increased risks of disputes with consumers, including litigation and class action litigation, and significant costs to address such matters. The volatility of cryptocurrency markets and the level of consumer understanding of cryptocurrencies may cause this risk to be greater than in more traditional customer-facing businesses. The Company also faces additional risks related to uncertainty in potential future regulation and legal oversight of markets and businesses engaged in products and services relating to blockchain technology, virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies.

Disruptions in our data center hosting and public cloud facilities could adversely affect our business. Our software products are increasingly being offered and provided on a cloud or other hosted basis through data centers operated by the Company or third parties in the United States and other countries. In addition, certain applications and data that we use in our services offerings and our operations may be hosted or stored at such facilities. These facilities may be vulnerable to natural disasters, including those exacerbated by the effects of climate change, telecommunications failures and similar events, or to intentional acts of misconduct, such as security breaches or interference (including by disgruntled employees, former employees or contractors). The occurrence of these events or acts, or any other unanticipated problems, at these facilities could result in damage to or the unavailability of these cloud hosting facilities. Such damage or unavailability could, despite existing disaster recovery and business continuity arrangements, interrupt the availability of our cloud offerings for our customers. We have experienced such interruptions and damage or unavailability could interrupt the availability of applications or data necessary to provide services or conduct critical operations. Interruptions in the availability of our cloud offerings or our ability to service our customers could result in the failure to meet contracted up-time or service levels, which could cause us to issue credits or pay penalties or cause customers to terminate or not renew subscriptions. Interruptions could also expose us to liability claims, negative publicity and the need to engage in costly remediation efforts, any of which could impact our business and reduce our revenue.

If we do not retain key employees, or attract quality new and replacement employees, we may not be able to meet our business objectives.Our employees are vital to our success, including the successful transformation of the Company into a software- and

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services-led business. Therefore, our ability to retain our key business leaders and our highly skilled software development, technical, sales, consulting and other key personnel, including key personnel of acquired businesses, is critical. Maintaining an inclusive culture and work environment is an important factor in attracting employees and retention. The market for highly skilled workers and leaders in our industry is extremely competitive, and we may need to invest significant amounts of cash and equity to attract and retain new employees. We may never realize returns on these investments. Key employees may decide to leave NCR for other opportunities or may be unavailable for health or other reasons. Changes of key business leaders could be disruptive to our business or delay the execution of our strategy, and as a result could cause fluctuation in our stock price. In addition, as our business model evolves, we may need to attract employees with different skill sets, experience and attributes to support that evolution. If we are unable to retain our key personnel, or we are unable to attract highly qualified new and replacement employees by offering competitive compensation, secure work environments, and leadership opportunities now and in the future, our business and operating results could be negatively impacted.

Defects, errors, installation difficulties or development delays could expose us to potential liability, harm our reputation and negatively impact our business. Many of our products are sophisticated and complex, and may incorporate third-party hardware and software. Despite testing and quality control, we cannot be certain that defects or errors will not be found in our products. If our products contain undetected defects or errors, or otherwise fail to meet our customers’ expectations, we could face the loss of customers, liability exposure and additional development costs. If defects or errors delay product installation or make it more difficult, we could experience delays in customer acceptance, or if our products require significant amounts of customer support, it could result in incremental costs to us. In addition, our customers who license and deploy our software may do so in both standard and non-standard configurations in different environments with different computer platforms, system management software and equipment and networking configurations, which may increase the likelihood of technical difficulties. Our products may be integrated with other components or software, and, in the event that there are defects or errors, it may be difficult to determine the origin of such defects or errors. Additionally, damage to, or failure or unavailability of, any significant aspect of our cloud hosting facilities could interrupt the availability of our cloud offerings, which could cause disruption for our customers, and, in turn, their customers, and expose us to liability. If any of these risks materialize, they could result in additional costs and expenses, exposure to liability claims, diversion of technical and other resources to engage in remediation efforts, loss of customers or negative publicity, each of which could negatively impact our business and operating results.

If third party suppliers upon which we rely are not able to fulfill our needs, our ability to timely bring our products to market could be affected. There are a number of vendors providing the services and producing the parts and components that we utilize in or in connection with our products. However, there are some services and components that are licensed or purchased from single sources due to price, quality, technology, functionality or other reasons. For example, we depend on transaction processing services from Accenture, computer chips and microprocessors from Intel and operating systems from Microsoft. Certain parts and components used in the manufacturing of our ATMs and the delivery of many of our retail solutions are also supplied by single sources. In addition, there are a number of key suppliers for our businesses that provide us with critical products for our solutions. If we were unable to secure the necessary services or maintain current demand, including contract manufacturing, parts, software, components or products from a particular vendor, and we had to find an alternative supplier, our new and existing product shipments and solution deliveries, or the provision of contracted services, could be delayed, impacting our business and operating results.

We have, from time to time, formed alliances with third parties that have complementary products, software, services and skills. These alliances represent many different types of relationships, such as outsourcing arrangements to manufacture hardware and subcontract agreements with third parties to perform services and provide products and software to our customers in connection with our solutions. For example, we rely on Jabil Inc. to provide contract manufacturing services for our ATMs and self-service checkout solutions, primarily for our customers in the Americas. We also rely on third parties for cash replenishment services for our ATM products. These alliances introduce risks that we cannot control, such as nonperformance by third parties and difficulties with or delays in integrating elements provided by third parties into our solutions. Lack of information technology infrastructure, shortages in business capitalization, and manual processes and data integrity issues, particularly with smaller suppliers can also create product time delays, inventory and invoicing problems, and staging delays, as well as other operating issues. The failure of third parties to provide high-quality products or services that conform to required specifications or contractual arrangements could impair the delivery of our solutions on a timely basis, create exposure for non-compliance with our contractual commitments to our customers and impact our business and operating results. Also, some of these third parties have access to confidential NCR and customer data, personal data, and sensitive data, the integrity and security of which are of significant importance to the Company.

The coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The impacts of COVID-19, including several emerging variants of COVID-19, have grown throughout the world. The ultimate scale and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and the pace and degree of recovery are unknown and are expected to continue to adversely impact our business and financial condition for an extended period. The specific impacts of COVID-19 on our

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Company includes, but is not limited to, the following items, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, or otherwise limit our ability to execute our business strategy and financial goals.

Governmental authorities have implemented numerous measures attempting to contain and mitigate the effects of the virus, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place orders and shutdowns. While we have implemented programs to mitigate the impact of these measures on our results of operations, there can be no assurance that these programs will be successful. There is significant uncertainty regarding such measures and potential future measures.

Our Company and many of our suppliers have faced challenges with workforce safety and availability, labor and wage inflation, a changing workforce, and component availability and supply cost escalations, including materials, labor and freight. Our ability to maintain a safe and cost-effective workforce and supply chain as COVID-19 and its impacts evolve may continue to adversely affect our Company and our suppliers and distributors.

Our manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in areas that have been affected by the pandemic and we have taken measures to try to contain it. Restrictions on our access to our manufacturing facilities or on our support operations or workforce, or similar limitations for our distributors and suppliers, could limit customer demand and/or our capacity to meet customer demand.

The continued spread of COVID-19 could cause delay, or limit the ability of, customers to continue to operate and perform, including in making timely payments to us, or cause a decrease in customer demand or a slowdown in customer expansion. Local governmental restrictions and public perceptions of the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have caused, and may continue to cause, consumers to avoid or limit gatherings in public places or social interactions, which have and could continue to adversely impact the businesses of our customers in the banking, retail and hospitality industries we serve due to physical store closures, the willingness of our customers to make capital expenditures or pay accounts receivable, the ability of our customers to obtain financing for the purchase of our solutions, or the amount of disposable income available to consumers, which may adversely impact the businesses of our customers.

The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices, such as employee work locations and workforce numbers and compensation, and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, distributors, suppliers and contractors. Remote talent management and return to work efforts may cause loss of efficiency and negatively impact our company culture and morale.

There is no certainty that measures taken to mitigate the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic will be successful, and our ability to perform critical functions could be harmed. As our Company continues to address such challenges, legal disputes, actions or proceedings related to COVID-19 and its impacts may arise. The degree to which COVID-19 affects our financial results and operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic or any related emerging variants, their severity, the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, the continued distribution and the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters on COVID-19, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions resume or continue to resume as COVID-19 variants impact our economy.

Our historical and ongoing manufacturing activities subject us to environmental exposures. Our facilities and operations are subject to a wide range of environmental protection laws, and we have investigatory and remedial activities underway at a number of facilities that we currently own or operate, or formerly owned or operated, to comply, or to determine compliance, with such laws. In addition, our products are subject to environmental laws in a number of jurisdictions. Given the uncertainties inherent in such activities, there can be no assurances that the costs required to comply with applicable environmental laws will not impact future operating results. We have also been identified as a potentially responsible party in connection with certain environmental matters, including the Fox River and Kalamazoo River matters, as further described in Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report; in “Government Regulations” within Item 1 of Part I of this Report; and in “Environmental and Legal Contingencies” within the “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” section of “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of Part II of this Report, and we incorporate such disclosures by reference and make them a part of this discussion of risk factors.

Climate change could negatively impact our business long-term. Global climate change may have an increasingly adverse impact on NCR’s business continuity and our ability to keep our employees safe and provide for our customers. NCR considers potential risks related to weather as part of its operations strategy and has business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place. However, they may not adequately protect us from serious disasters and adverse impacts. In addition, climate change events could have an impact on critical infrastructure in the United States and internationally, which has the potential to disrupt our business, our third-

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party suppliers, or the business of our customers and partners. They may also cause us to experience higher losses, attrition and additional costs to maintain or resume operations.

We have operations all over the world and our sites in California, Texas, Florida, and India are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects. In 2021, the west coast of the United States experienced historic wildfires; a winter storm in Texas led to massive power outages; and multiple hurricanes formed over the gulf coast - all of which caused significant destruction to the affected regions. We anticipate that similar weather events will continue to bring significant annual destruction in vulnerable areas. In India, extreme temperatures and increased cyclones’ frequency could interrupt our business continuity arrangements. The long-term effects of climate change could have significant repercussions for the global economy and cause significant financial and physical damages.

DATA PRIVACY & SECURITY

Data protection, cybersecurity and data privacy issues could negatively impact our business. Our products and services, including our cloud and hosted solutions as well as our payments and networking solutions, facilitate financial and other transactions for the customers in the industries we serve. As a result, we collect, use, transmit and store certain of the transaction, cryptocurrency, private keys, and personal data of our customers and end-users. We also have access to transaction and personal data of our customers and their customers through or in the course of servicing our products or third-party products. Additionally, we collect, use and store personal data of our employees and the personnel of our business partners, such as resellers, suppliers and contractors, in the ordinary course of business. While we have programs and measures in place designed to protect and safeguard this data, and while we have implemented access controls designed to limit the risk of unauthorized use or disclosure by employees and contractors, the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to this data are complex and changing, as are the underlying objectives of the attacker, like targeted business disruption, financial impact, intellectual property theft, political motives, or sophisticated nation-state sponsored and organized cyber-criminal activity, and may be difficult to detect for long periods of time. An attack, disruption, intrusion, denial of service, theft or other breach, or an inadvertent act by an employee or contractor, could result in unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, this data, resulting in claims, costs and reputational harm that could negatively affect our operating results. We may also detect, or may receive notice from third parties (including governmental agencies) regarding potential vulnerabilities in our information technology systems, our products, or third-party products used in conjunction with our products or our business. In the course of our business activities, NCR contracts with numerous suppliers, vendors and resellers who may experience a cybersecurity, data protection or privacy issue that could negatively affect our operating results. Even if these potential vulnerabilities do not result in a data breach, their existence can adversely affect marketplace confidence and reputation. To the extent such vulnerabilities require remediation, such remedial measures could require significant resources and may not be implemented before such vulnerabilities are exploited. As the landscape evolves, we may also find it necessary to make significant further investments to protect information and infrastructure.

Like most companies, NCR is regularly the subject of attempted cyberattacks, which may involve personal data. To date, the Company is not aware of any that have caused adverse consequences material to the Company. Most such attacks are detected and prevented by the Company’s various information technology and data protections, including but not limited to firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, denial of service detection, anomaly based detection, anti-virus/anti-malware, endpoint encryption and detection and response software, Security Information and Event Management (“SIEM”) system, identity management technology, security analytics, multi-factor authentication and encryption. There can be no assurance that our protections will always be successful.

The Company has established relationships with cybersecurity firms and internal cybersecurity experts, which it engages in connection with certain suspected incidents. The costs arising from those engagements, which depending on the incident may include both investigatory and remedial efforts, have not to date been material to the Company. The Company also regularly undergoes evaluation of its protections against incidents, including both self-assessments and expert third-party assessments, and it regularly enhances those protections, both in response to specific threats and as part of the Company’s efforts to stay current with advances in cybersecurity defense. When the Company experiences a confirmed cybersecurity incident it generally performs root cause analyses and in appropriate instances will implement additional controls based on those analyses. In 2021, Company spending on cybersecurity efforts represented approximately 10% of its overall IT spend. There can be no assurance that the Company or its cybersecurity consultants will be able to prevent or remediate all future incidents or that the cost associated with responding to any such incident will not be significant.

The personal information and other data that we process and store also are subject to data security and data privacy obligations and laws of many jurisdictions, which are growing in complexity and sophistication as data becomes more enriched and technology and the global data protection landscape evolves. These laws may conflict with one another, and many of them are subject to frequent modification and differing interpretations. The laws impose a significant compliance burden and include, for example, the European Union's (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Brazilian General

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Data Protection Law. Complying with these evolving and varying standards could require significant expense and effort, and could require us to change our business practices or the functionality of our products and services in a manner adverse to our customers and our business. In addition, violations of these laws can result in significant fines, penalties, claims by regulators or other third parties, and damage to our brand and business. The GDPR, for example, includes fines of up to €20 million or up to 4% of the annual global revenues of the infringer for failure to comply, and grants corrective powers to supervisory authorities including the ability to impose a limit on processing of personal data. The laws also cover the transfer of personal, financial and business information, including transfers of employee information between us and our subsidiaries, across international borders.

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

Our level of indebtedness could limit our financial and operating activities and adversely affect our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs. At December 31, 2021, we had approximately $5.62 billion of total indebtedness outstanding, which increased substantially from the prior year due to the acquisition of Cardtronics. At December 31, 2021, we had approximately $894 million of secured revolving credit commitments undrawn and available for borrowing under our senior secured revolving credit facility. Our current level of indebtedness could:

•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to the payment of principal and interest, thereby reducing the funds available for operations and future business opportunities;

•make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our outstanding debt, including obligations to repurchase our senior unsecured notes under our indentures following the occurrence of certain changes in control;

•limit our ability to borrow money or otherwise enter into financing arrangements that would provide us with additional capital if needed for other purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate purposes, on satisfactory terms or at all;

•limit our ability to adjust to changing economic, business and competitive conditions;

•place us at a competitive disadvantage with competitors who may have less indebtedness or greater access to financing or access to financing on preferential terms;

•make us more vulnerable to an increase in interest rates, a downturn in our operating performance or a decline in general economic, business and other conditions; and

•make us more susceptible to adverse changes in our credit ratings, which could impact our ability to obtain financing in the future and increase the cost of such financing.

To the extent that we are unable to successfully integrate Cardtronics or achieve the projected efficiencies and synergies of the acquisition, it may materially adversely affect our ability to service the indebtedness. If compliance with our obligations under our debt and other financing agreements materially limits our financial or operating activities, or hinders our ability to adapt to changing industry conditions, we may lose market share, our revenue may decline and our operating results may be negatively affected.

The terms of the documents governing our indebtedness include financial and other covenants that could restrict or limit our financial and business operations.Our credit agreement governing the senior secured facilities and the indentures for our senior unsecured notes include restrictive covenants that, subject to certain exceptions and qualifications, restrict or otherwise limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things:

•incur additional indebtedness;

•create liens on, sell or otherwise dispose of, our assets;

•engage in certain fundamental corporate changes or changes to our business activities;

•make certain investments or material acquisitions;

•engage in sale-leaseback or hedging transactions;

•repurchase our common stock, pay dividends or make similar distributions on our capital stock;

•repay certain indebtedness;

•engage in certain affiliate transactions; and

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•enter into agreements that restrict our ability to create liens, pay dividends or make loan repayments.

The senior secured credit agreement and the indentures for our senior unsecured notes also contain certain affirmative covenants, and the senior secured credit agreement require us to comply with a leverage ratio that measures our debt relative to our Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the senior secured credit agreement).

These covenants and restrictions could affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to react to market conditions or take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. Additionally, our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, including general economic and credit conditions and industry downturns.

If we fail to comply with these covenants and are unable to obtain a waiver or amendment from the applicable debtholders, an event of default would result under the applicable agreements and under other agreements containing related cross-default provisions.

If we fail to comply with these covenants and are unable to obtain a waiver or amendment from the applicable lenders, an event of default would result under these agreements and under other agreements containing related cross-default provisions.

•Upon an event of default under the senior secured credit agreement, the administrative agent or the required lenders could, among other things, declare outstanding amounts due and payable, refuse to lend additional amounts to us, or require us to deposit cash collateral in respect of outstanding letters of credit. If we were unable to repay or pay the amounts due, the administrative agent or the lenders could, among other things, proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure such indebtedness, which includes certain of our domestic assets and the equity interests of certain of our domestic and foreign subsidiaries.

•Upon an event of default under the indentures for our senior unsecured notes, the related trustee or the holders of our senior unsecured notes could declare all outstanding amounts immediately due and payable.

Despite our current levels of debt, we may still incur substantially more debt, including secured debt, and similar liabilities, which would increase the risks described in these risk factors relating to indebtedness. Although the agreements governing our senior secured credit facilities and our senior unsecured notes include restrictions on our ability to incur additional debt, those agreements do not prohibit us from incurring additional debt or pursuing other financing arrangements. As a result, the amount of additional debt and other obligations that we could incur could be substantial. In addition, certain types of liabilities are not considered “Indebtedness” under our senior secured credit agreement or the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes, and our senior secured credit agreement and indentures do not impose any limitation on the amount of liabilities incurred by our subsidiaries, if any, that are designated as “unrestricted subsidiaries” under our senior secured credit agreement or indentures, as applicable. Accordingly, to the extent permitted under our senior secured credit agreement or indentures, we could incur significant additional debt, liabilities or similar obligations in the future, some of which could constitute secured debt (such as additional debt under our senior secured credit agreement). In addition, if we form or acquire any subsidiaries in the future, those subsidiaries also could incur debt or similar liabilities. If new debt or similar liabilities are added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could increase.

We may, from time to time, seek to opportunistically refinance, amend, reprice and/or otherwise replace any of our debt, obtain additional debt financing or enter into other financing arrangements, reduce or extend our debt, lower our interest payments or the cost of capital available to us under certain types of financing arrangements, or otherwise seek to improve our financial position or the terms of our debt or other financing agreements. These actions may include open market debt repurchases, negotiated repurchases, or other repayments, redemptions or retirements of our debt or other financing arrangements. The amount of debt that may be borrowed or issued, refinanced, and/or repurchased, repaid, redeemed or otherwise retired, if any, will depend on market conditions, trading levels of our debt, our cash position, compliance with our debt covenants and other considerations. Any such actions could impact our financial condition or results of operations.

If we are unable to continue to access or renew financing sources and obtain capital, our ability to maintain and grow our business may be impaired. We use debt and other sources of financing to maintain and grow our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew our senior secured credit facilities after their current maturity dates on acceptable terms, or at all, or that we will be able to obtain additional or replacement financing on acceptable terms or at all. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, our financial position, our results of operations, and the capacity for additional borrowing or other forms of financing under our existing financing arrangements. If our various financing alternatives were to become limited or unavailable, we may be unable to maintain or grow our business and our operations could be materially adversely affected.

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Our cash flows may not be sufficient to service our indebtedness, and if we are unable to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, we may be required to seek other financing alternatives, which may not be successful.Our ability to make timely payments of principal and interest on our debt obligations depends on our ability to generate positive cash flows from operations, which is subject to general economic conditions, competitive pressures and certain financial, business and other factors, which may include factors beyond our control. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to make these payments, we may be required to seek additional financing sources, reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations or refinance our indebtedness. These actions could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may not be able to take any of these actions, and, even if successful, these actions may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. Our ability to restructure or refinance our outstanding indebtedness will depend on, among other things, the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. There can be no assurance that we will be able to restructure or refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and the outstanding principal and interest on our debt could be declared to be due and payable, in which case we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation or required to substantially restructure or alter our business operations or debt obligations.

Borrowings under our senior secured credit facilities bear interest at a variable rate which subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations or other costs of capital under our senior secured credit facilities to increase significantly.All of our borrowings under our senior secured credit facilities are priced using variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on this variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed were to remain the same. Although we may enter into interest rate swaps or similar instruments to reduce interest rate volatility in connection with our variable rate financing arrangements, we cannot provide assurances that we will be able to do so or that such swaps or instruments will be effective.

The terms governing our trade receivables facility, including the length of term, financial and other covenants, and obligations to remit collections on the sold receivables could restrict or otherwise limit our financial and business operations. During 2021, we amended our trade receivables facility to allow, among other things, one of our wholly-owned, bankruptcy remote special purposes entities (an “SPE”) to sell to PNC and other participating financial institutions an undivided ownership interest in a portion of the trade receivables owned by such SPE, in an amount not to exceed $300 million at any point in time. Our trade receivables facility has a term of two years and contains customary termination events, including termination events that are based on the performance of the pool of receivables, including the pool's satisfaction of certain financial tests relating to the three-month rolling average ratios of defaults, delinquencies, dilution and days' sales outstanding. If we fail to renew our trade receivable facility or a termination event occurs and we are unable to obtain a waiver or amendment from the applicable purchasers, we would be required to continue remitting collections to the purchasers until the facility was terminated, and we would no longer benefit from the liquidity provided to us by the ability to sell our receivables. Such a result could negatively impact the cash that we have available to use in our financial and business operations. A termination event under the trade receivables facility would also result in an event of default or a termination event under other agreements containing related cross-default provisions.

Certain changes in control may result in an acceleration of our indebtedness or our obligations under other financing arrangements, or may require us to repurchase our senior unsecured notes or our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. Upon the occurrence of a change in control under the applicable indenture governing the applicable senior unsecured notes, holders of those notes may require us to repurchase their notes. On any date during the three months commencing on and immediately following March 16, 2024 and the three months commencing on and immediately following every third anniversary of such date, holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock will have the right to require us to repurchase any or all of our outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. In addition, upon certain change of control events involving the Company, holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock can require us, subject to certain exceptions, to repurchase any or all of their Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

It is possible that we would not have sufficient funds at the time that we are required to make any such purchase of notes or Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (or both). We cannot assure the holders of the senior unsecured notes and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock that we will have sufficient financial resources, or will be able to arrange financing, to pay the repurchase price in cash with respect to any such notes or Series A Convertible Preferred Stock that holders have requested to be repurchased upon a change in control or scheduled redemption. Our failure to repurchase the senior unsecured notes of a series when required would result in an event of default with respect to such notes which could, in turn, constitute a default under the terms of our other indebtedness, if any. If we are unable to repurchase all shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock that holders have requested to be purchased, then we are required to pay dividends on the shares not repurchased at a rate equal to 8.0% per annum, accruing daily from such date until the full purchase price, plus all accrued dividends, are paid in full in respect of such shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

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In addition, a change in control (i) may constitute an event of default under our senior secured credit agreement that would permit the lenders to accelerate the maturity of the borrowings thereunder and/or terminate the commitments under the senior secured revolving credit facility, (ii) may constitute a termination event under our trade receivables facility that would permit the purchasers to declare the capital they have invested in our receivables to be due and owing and (iii) may require us to make a similar change in control offer to holders of our existing senior unsecured notes.

Certain important corporate events, such as leveraged recapitalization that would increase the level of our indebtedness, may not constitute a change in control under the indentures governing our unsecured notes or the terms of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings assigned to our debt securities by rating agencies may increase our future capital costs and reduce our access to capital.Any rating assigned to our debt could be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agency’s judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes, so warrant. Any future lowering of our ratings likely would make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain additional debt financing or capital from other financing arrangements.

Our pension liabilities could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.At December 31, 2021, our obligation for benefits under our pension plans was $2,987 million and our pension plan assets totaled $2,485 million, which resulted in an underfunded pension obligation of $502 million. While we rebalanced our United States and international plan assets in order to reduce volatility, made several discretionary contributions to our pension plans and have, from time to time, completed de-risking actions, including plan settlements, our remaining underfunded pension obligation continues to require ongoing cash contributions. Our underfunded pension obligation also may be affected by future transfers and settlements relating to our pension plans.

In addition, certain of the plan assets remain subject to financial market risk, and our actuarial and other assumptions underlying our expected future benefit payments, long-term expected rate of return and future funding expectations for our plans depend on, among other things, interest rate levels and trends and capital market expectations. Further volatility in the performance of financial markets, changes in any of these actuarial assumptions (including those described in our “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” section of the “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of Part II of this Report) or changes in regulations regarding funding requirements could require material increases to our expected cash contributions to our pension plans in future years.

We may be required to write down the value of certain significant assets, which would adversely affect our operating results. We have a number of significant assets on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 and the value of these assets can be adversely impacted by factors related to our business and operating performance, as well as factors outside of our control. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. Our deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances, totaled approximately $908 million and $1,109 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We regularly review our deferred tax assets for recoverability and establish a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. If we are unable to generate sufficient future taxable income, if there is a material change in the actual effective tax rates or if there is a change to the time period within which the underlying temporary differences become taxable or deductible, then we could be required to increase our valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets, which could result in a material increase in our effective tax rate.

NCR has previously recorded valuation allowances related to certain deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of the ultimate realization of the future benefits from those assets. The recorded valuation allowances cover deferred tax assets, primarily tax loss carryforwards and foreign tax credits, in tax jurisdictions where there is uncertainty as to the ultimate realization of those tax losses and credits. If we are unable to generate sufficient future taxable income of the proper source in the time period within which the temporary differences underlying our deferred tax assets become deductible, or before the expiration of our loss and credit carryforwards, additional valuation allowances could be required in the future.

LAW AND COMPLIANCE

Our continuing ability to be a leading software- and services-led enterprise provider could be negatively affected if we do not protect our intellectual property, especially our software. It is critical to our strategy, and the benefits provided by our innovations and technologies, that we are able to protect, leverage and rely on our intellectual property, including our intellectual property rights. We protect our innovations and technologies through intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights, trademarks

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(including service marks) and trade secrets. To the extent we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property, especially that relate to our software and services, our business could be adversely impacted.

Many of our offerings rely on technologies developed by others, and if we are unable to continue to obtain licenses for such technologies or licenses to substitutes for similar technologies, our business could be adversely impacted.

From time to time, we receive notices and other communications from third parties, including our customers, regarding patents and other intellectual property rights that may pertain to claims from third parties regarding infringement of patents and other intellectual property rights. Whether those claims have merit, they may require significant resources to analyze, address and defend, as appropriate. If an infringement claim is successful and we are required to pay damages, or we are unable to license the infringed item or substitute a similar non-infringing item on a reasonable basis, our business could be adversely impacted.

Changes to our tax rates and additional income tax liabilities could impact profitability. We are a United States based multinational company subject to income taxes in the United States and a significant number of foreign jurisdictions. Our domestic and international tax liabilities are dependent on the distribution of our earnings across different jurisdictions, and our provision for income taxes and cash tax liability could be adversely affected if the distribution of earnings is higher than expected in jurisdictions with higher statutory tax rates.

In addition, changes in United States or foreign tax laws and regulations, which have become more frequent in recent years, or tax rulings could affect our financial position and results of operations. For example, in light of continuing global fiscal challenges, various levels of government and international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) and EU are increasingly focused on tax reform and other legislative or regulatory action to increase tax revenue and establish minimum levels of corporate income tax. These tax reform efforts, such as the OECD-led Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (“BEPS”), are designed to ensure that corporate entities are taxed on a larger percentage of their earnings. Although some countries have passed tax laws based on findings from the BEPS project, the final nature, timing and extent of any such tax reforms or other legislative or regulatory actions is unpredictable, and it is difficult to assess their overall effect. Additionally, tax law changes that could significantly reduce or limit our ability to utilize our deferred tax assets could have a material impact on our tax rate and cash tax payments. Any of these potential changes could increase our effective tax rate, increase cash tax payments and adversely impact our financial results.

We are also subject to ongoing audits of our income tax returns in various jurisdictions both in the United States and internationally and could be subject to additional audits focusing on transfer pricing. While we believe that our tax positions will be sustained, the outcomes of such audits could result in the assessment of additional taxes, which could adversely impact our cash flows and financial results.

We face uncertainties with regard to regulations, lawsuits and other related matters. In the normal course of business, we are subject to proceedings, lawsuits, claims and other matters, including, for example, those that relate to the environment, health and safety, labor and employment, employee benefits, import/export compliance, intellectual property, data privacy and security, payments services (such as payment processing and settlement services), cryptocurrency, product liability, commercial disputes and regulatory compliance, among others. Because such matters are subject to many uncertainties, their outcomes are not predictable and we must make certain estimates and assumptions in our financial statements. While we believe that amounts provided in our Consolidated Financial Statements with respect to such matters are currently adequate in light of the probable and estimable liabilities, there can be no assurances that the amounts required to satisfy alleged liabilities from such matters will not impact future operating results. Additionally, we are subject to diverse and complex laws and regulations, including those relating to corporate governance, public disclosure and reporting, environmental safety and the discharge of materials into the environment, product safety, import and export compliance, data privacy and security, antitrust and competition, government contracting, anti-corruption, and labor and human resources, which are rapidly changing and subject to many possible changes in the future. Compliance with these laws and regulations, including changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, and federal securities laws among others, may create a substantial burden on us, and substantially increase costs to our organization or could have an impact on our future operating results.

We expect new environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations that may affect us, our suppliers, and our customers. Climate change regulation in particular has been the subject of federal regulation in the United States as well as in other jurisdictions around the world. With the change of Presidential administration and President Biden’s goals of “80 percent clean electricity and 50 percent economy-wide carbon emissions reductions by 2030”, a number of proposals related to climate change have been introduced by U.S. Congress members. These proposals all seek to address climate change and range on topic, from proposed legislation on land-use, energy, transportation, adaptation and finance. Such laws or regulations could cause us to incur additional direct costs for compliance, as well as increased indirect costs resulting from our customers, suppliers, or both incurring additional compliance

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costs that are passed on to us. In addition, the SEC is expected to mandate climate-related risk disclosure in the near future, which may impact or prompt us to accelerate our climate change mitigating efforts already underway and may impose additional compliance and disclosure costs.

Additionally, doing business on a worldwide basis requires us and our subsidiaries to comply with the laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various international jurisdictions. For example, our international operations are subject to United States and foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which generally prohibits U.S. companies or agents acting on behalf of such companies from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. Our international operations are also subject to economic sanction programs administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). If we are not in compliance with such laws and regulations, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, which may cause harm to our reputation and to our brand and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes to cryptocurrency regulations could impact profitability. The regulation of cryptocurrency is still an evolving area both domestically and internationally, and we expect that we could become subject to additional regulations and licensing requirements, including as a result of the expansion of our cryptocurrency offerings and the increasing number of jurisdictions in which we provide these offerings. The evolving regulatory landscape may require us to make product changes, restrict product offerings in certain jurisdictions, or implement additional and potentially costly controls. If we fail to comply with regulations, requirements, or prohibitions applicable to us, we could face regulatory or other enforcement actions and potential fines and other consequences.

GOVERNANCE

The issuance of shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock reduces the relative voting power of holders of our common stock, and the conversion and sale of those shares would dilute the ownership of such holders and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 0.3 million shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock were outstanding, representing approximately 7% of our outstanding common stock, including the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock on an as-converted basis. Holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to a cumulative dividend at the rate of 5.5% per annum, which was payable quarterly in arrears and payable in-kind for the first sixteen dividend payments, after which, beginning in the first quarter of 2020, are payable in cash or in-kind at the option of the Company. If we fail to timely declare and pay a dividend, the dividend rate will increase to 8.0% per annum until such time as all accrued but unpaid dividends have been paid in full.

As holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to vote, on an as-converted basis, together with holders of our common stock on all matters submitted to a vote of the holders of our common stock, the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, and the subsequent issuance of additional shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock through the payment of in-kind dividends, effectively reduces the relative voting power of the holders of our common stock.

In addition, the conversion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to common stock would dilute the ownership interest of existing holders of our common stock, and any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock would increase the number of shares of our common stock available for public trading, and could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.

Our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has rights, preferences and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the rights of our common stockholders, which could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition, and may result in the interests of the holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock differing from those of our common stockholders. The holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have the right to receive a liquidation preference entitling them to be paid out of our assets available for distribution to stockholders before any payment may be made to holders of any other class or series of capital stock, an amount equal to the greater of (a) 100% of the liquidation preference thereof plus all accrued dividends or (b) the amount that such holder would have been entitled to receive upon our liquidation, dissolution and winding up if all outstanding shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock had been converted into common stock immediately prior to such liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

In addition, dividends on the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock accrue and are cumulative at the rate of 5.5% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears. If we fail to timely declare and pay a dividend, the dividend rate will increase to 8.0% per annum until such time as all accrued but unpaid dividends have been paid in full. The dividends were payable in-kind for the first sixteen dividend payments, after which, beginning in the first quarter of 2020, dividends are payable in cash or in-kind at the option of the Company.

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The holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock also have certain redemption rights or put rights, including the right to require us to repurchase all or any portion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock on any date during the three months commencing on and immediately following March 16, 2024 and the three months commencing on and immediately following every third anniversary of such date, at 100% of the liquidation preference thereof plus all accrued but unpaid dividends, and the right, subject to certain exceptions, to require us to repurchase all or any portion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock upon certain change of control events at the greater of (a) 100% of the liquidation preference thereof plus all accrued but unpaid dividends and (b) the consideration the holders would have received if they had converted their shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into common stock immediately prior to the change of control event.

These dividend and share repurchase obligations could impact our liquidity and reduce the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, growth opportunities, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes. Our obligations to the holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock could also limit our ability to obtain additional financing or increase our borrowing costs, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition. The preferential rights could also result in divergent interests between the holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and holders of our common stock.

We could be subject to actions or proposals from stockholders that do not align with our business strategies or the interests of our other stockholders. While we seek to actively engage with stockholders and consider their views on business, strategy, and environmental, social and governance issues, responding to these stockholders could be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our business and operations, and divert the attention of our Board of Directors and senior management. Uncertainties associated with such activities could interfere with our ability to effectively execute our strategic plan, impact customer retention and long-term growth, and limit our ability to hire and retain personnel. In addition, actions of these stockholders may cause periods of fluctuation in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

Item 2. PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2021, NCR operated 294 facilities consisting of approximately 6.5 million square feet in 60 countries throughout the world. On a square footage basis, 10% of these facilities are owned and 90% are leased. Within the total facility portfolio, NCR operates 14 research and development and manufacturing facilities totaling 1.3 million square feet, 100% of which is leased. The remaining 5.2 million square feet of space includes office, repair, and warehousing space and other miscellaneous sites, and is 87% leased. NCR also owns or leases 7 land parcels totaling 2.8 million square feet in 3 countries.

NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Our address at our corporate headquarters is 864 Spring Street Northwest, Atlanta Georgia, 30308, USA.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Information regarding legal proceedings is included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report as part of Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

NCR common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and trades under the symbol “NCR”. There were approximately 73,118 holders of NCR common stock as of February 11, 2022.

Dividends

Historically NCR has not paid cash dividends and does not anticipate the payment of cash dividends on NCR common stock in the immediate future. The declaration of dividends is restricted under our senior secured credit facility and the terms of the indentures for our senior unsecured notes, and would be further subject to the discretion of NCR’s Board of Directors.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the relative investment performance of NCR stock, the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Stock Index, Standard & Poor’s 500 Information Technology Sector and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index. This graph covers the five-year period from December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2021.

(1)In each case, assumes a $100 investment on December 31, 2016, and reinvestment of all dividends, if any.

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Purchase of Company Common Stock

On October 19, 2016, the Board approved a share repurchase program, with no expiration from the date of authorization, for the systematic repurchase of the Company’s common stock to offset the dilutive effects of the Company’s employee stock purchase plan, equity awards and in-kind dividends on the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. Availability under this program accrues quarterly based on the average value of dilutive issuances during the quarter.

On March 12, 2017, the Board approved a second share repurchase program that provides for the repurchase of up to $300 million of the Company’s common stock. On July 25, 2018, the Board authorized an incremental $200 million of share repurchases under this program.

No shares were repurchased under these programs during the three months ended December 31, 2021.

As of December 31, 2021, approximately $153 million was available for repurchases under the March 2017 program, and approximately $660 million was available for repurchases under the October 2016 dilution offset program. The timing and amount of repurchases under these programs depend upon market conditions and may be made from time to time in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated stock repurchase programs, issuer self-tender offers or otherwise. The repurchases will be made in compliance with applicable securities laws and may be discontinued at any time.

The Company occasionally purchases vested restricted stock or exercised stock options at the current market price to cover withholding taxes. For the three months ended December 31, 2021, 914,338 shares of vested restricted stock were purchased at an average price of $40.21 per share.

The Company’s ability to repurchase its common stock is restricted under the Company’s senior secured credit facility and terms of the indentures for the Company’s senior unsecured notes, which prohibit certain share repurchases, including during the occurrence of an event of default, and establish limits on the amount that the Company is permitted to use to repurchase shares and make other restricted payments. This amount is calculated using formulas based generally on 50% of the Company’s consolidated net income for the period beginning in the third quarter of 2012 through the end of the most recently ended fiscal quarter, subject to certain other adjustments and deductions, with certain prescribed minimums and its use is subject to customary conditions, including the absence of an event of default. These formulas are described in greater detail in the Company’s senior secured credit facility and the indentures for the Company’s senior unsecured notes, each of which is filed with the SEC.

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Item 6. Reserved.

None.

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Index to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”)

Page

Overview 31

Business Overview 32

Significant Themes and Events 32

Strategic Initiatives and Trends 33

Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic 34

Results of Operations 34

Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources 40

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates 44

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements 47

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (“MD&A”)

This section should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these forward-looking statements that could cause future results to differ materially from those reflected in this section.

Our discussion within MD&A is organized as follows:

•Overview. This section contains background information on our Company and a summary of significant themes and events during the year as well as strategic initiatives and trends in order to provide context for management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations.

•Results of operations. This section contains an analysis of our results of operations presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations by comparing the results for the year ended December 31, 2021 to the results for the year ended December 31, 2020. On June 21, 2021, we completed the acquisition of Cardtronics plc (“Cardtronics”), which is included in the Banking segment results. For management's discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 in comparison with the year ended December 31, 2019, please see our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021.

•Liquidity and capital resources. This section provides an analysis of our cash flows and a discussion of our contractual obligations at December 31, 2021.

•Critical accounting estimates. This section contains a discussion of the accounting policies that we believe are important to our financial condition and results of operations and that require judgment and estimates on the part of management in their application. In addition, all of our significant accounting policies, including critical accounting policies, are summarized in Note 1, “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies”, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this Report.

OVERVIEW

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

NCR is a software- and services-led enterprise technology provider that runs stores, restaurants and self-directed banking for our customers. Our software platform, which runs in the cloud and includes microservices and APIs that integrate with our customers' systems, and our NCR-as-a-Service solutions bring together all of the capabilities and competencies of NCR to power the technology to run our customers’ operations. We serve customers in the banking, retail, hospitality, and telecommunications and technology (“T&T”) industries. In this Report, we categorize our operations into the following segments: Banking, Retail, Hospitality, and T&T. Each of our segments derives its revenue in each of the sales theaters in which NCR operates.

Effective January 1, 2022, the Company realigned its reportable segments to correspond with changes to its operating model, management structure and organizational responsibilities. The reportable segments effective January 1, 2022 include: Payments & Network; Digital Banking; Self-Service Banking; Retail; and Hospitality. Additionally, effective January 1, 2022, the expenses related to corporate functions that are not specifically attributable to an individual reportable segment along with any immaterial operating segment(s) are included in Corporate & Other.

NCR is a global company that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. NCR’s reputation is founded upon over 137 years of providing quality products, services and solutions to our customers. At the heart of our customer and other business relationships is a commitment to acting responsibly, ethically and with the highest level of integrity. This commitment is reflected in NCR’s Code of Conduct, which is available on the Corporate Governance page of our website.

SIGNIFICANT THEMES AND EVENTS

As more fully discussed in later sections of this MD&A, the following were significant themes and events for 2021.

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•Revenue increased 15% from the prior year due to overall growth across the Banking, Retail and Hospitality segments

◦Software and services revenue represented 73% of total consolidated revenue

◦Recurring revenue increased 25% from the prior year and comprised 58% of total consolidated revenue

•Completed acquisition of Cardtronics on June 21, 2021, the world's largest non-bank ATM operator and services provider, and the acquisition of LibertyX on January 5, 2022, a leading cryptocurrency software provider;

•Completed various financing transactions related to the acquisition of Cardtronics, redeemed note due in 2025 to reduce interest expense, and subsequently reduced leverage; and

•Announced aspirational five-year goals for 2026, which include annual recurring revenue of 80 percent by 2026, annual non-GAAP earnings per share (“non-GAAP EPS”)(1) growth of 15 percent, and annual free cash flow(1) of $1 billion in 2026

(1) With respect to our goals of free cash flow and non-GAAP EPS growth, we are not providing a reconciliation to the respective GAAP measure because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty the reconciling items that may affect GAAP EPS and Cash flow from operations without unreasonable effort.. For the definition of non-GAAP EPS, see the Our Strategy section within Item 1 of this Report. For our definition of free cash flow, see the Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources section later in MD&A.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND TRENDS

In order to provide long-term value to all our stakeholders, we set complementary business goals and financial strategies. NCR is continuing its transition to become a software platform and payments company with a shift to a higher level of recurring revenue. Our business goal is to be a leading enterprise technology provider that runs stores, restaurants and self-directed banking through our software platform and our NCR-as-a-Service solutions. In late 2018, we set five-year strategic goals, originally set as 2024 targets. These included to transition our revenue mix so that 80 percent of our total revenue is comprised of software and services revenue, 60 percent of our total revenue is comprised of recurring revenue, and our adjusted EBITDA margin rate increases to 20 percent. Since we were near achieving those goals, in late 2021, we established aspirational five-year goals for 2026, which include annual recurring revenue of 80 percent by 2026, annual earnings per share (non-GAAP EPS) growth of 15 percent, and annual non-GAAP free cash flow of $1 billion in 2026. Execution of our goals and strategy is driven by the following key pillars: (i) focus on our customers; (ii) take care of our employees; (iii) bring high-quality, innovative products to market; and (iv) leverage our brand.

As we strive to achieve these aspirational five-year goals, we plan to capitalize on opportunities presented by the acquisitions of Cardtronics and LibertyX to accelerate our Payments & Network business as we go to market with a more robust offering in this segment. We also plan to continue to improve our execution to drive solid returns and to transform our business to drive a re-rate of our valuation.

On February 8, 2022, NCR announced that its Board of Directors unanimously approved commencing a comprehensive strategic review, with the assistance of outside advisors, which will evaluate a full range of strategic alternatives available to NCR to enhance value for all shareholders. Those strategic alternatives could include a disposition of a material business or assets of the Company, a spin-off, merger or sale of the Company, other structural changes, changes to branding or geographic footprint or other transactions or alternatives. The Board has not set a timetable for the conclusion of its review of strategic alternatives. NCR does not intend to comment further on the strategic review process unless and until NCR has determined that further disclosure is beneficial or required by law. Shareholders are advised that there can be no certainty that the strategic review will result in a transaction, or if a transaction is pursued that such a transaction will be completed.

Cybersecurity Risk Management

Similar to most companies, NCR and its customers are subject to more frequent and increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks. The Company maintains cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures including disclosure controls, which it regularly evaluates for updates, for handling and responding to cybersecurity events. These policies and procedures include internal notifications and engagements and, as necessary, cooperation with law enforcement. Personnel involved in handling and responding to cybersecurity events periodically undertake tabletop exercises to simulate an event. Our internal notification procedures include notifying the applicable Company attorneys, which, depending on the level of severity assigned to the event, may include direct notice to, among others, the Company’s General Counsel, Ethics & Compliance Officer, and Chief Privacy Officer. Company attorneys support efforts to evaluate the materiality of any incidents, determine whether notice to third parties such as customers or vendors is required, determine whether any prohibition on insider trading is appropriate, and assess whether disclosure to stockholders or governmental filings, including with the SEC, are required. Our internal notification procedures also include notifying various NCR Information Technology Services managers, subject matter experts in the Company’s software department and Company leadership, depending on the level of severity assigned to the event.

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For further information on potential risks and uncertainties see Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

IMPACTS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

We continue to navigate through the challenging times presented by COVID-19 with a sharp focus on and goal of safeguarding our employees, helping our customers and managing impacts on our supply chain. Despite the unprecedented environment, our teams are executing at a high level and we are advancing our strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic is complex and continues to evolve, including the latest Omicron variant. While it is difficult to project the long-term impact of the pandemic, we expect it will negatively impact our business at least in the short-term. The ultimate impact on our overall financial condition and operating results will depend on the currently unknowable duration and severity of the pandemic, supply chain challenges and cost escalations including materials, labor and freight, and any additional governmental and public actions taken in response. We continue to evaluate the long-term impact that COVID-19 may have on our business model. There can be no assurance that the measures we have taken or will take will completely offset the negative impact of COVID-19.

For further information on the risks posed to our business from the COVID-19 pandemic, refer to Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Key Strategic Financial Metrics

The following tables show our key strategic financial metrics for the years ended December 31, the relative percentage that those amounts represent to total revenue, and the change in those amounts year-over-year. The software and services revenue and recurring revenue metrics below include the results of operations of Cardtronics for the period from the date of acquisition, June 21, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

Software and services revenue as a percentage of total revenue

Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

Recurring revenue as a percentage of total revenue

Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

(1) Recurring revenue includes all revenue streams from contracts where there is a predictable revenue pattern that will occur at regular intervals with a relatively high degree of certainty. This includes hardware and software maintenance revenue, cloud revenue, payment processing revenue, and certain professional services arrangements as well as term-based software license arrangements that include customer termination rights.

Net income (loss) from continuing operation and adjusted EBITDA(1) as a percentage of total revenue

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Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

(1) NCR's management uses the non-GAAP measure adjusted EBITDA because it provides useful information to investors as an indicator of strength and performance of the Company's ongoing business operations, including funding discretionary spending such as capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions, and other investments. NCR determines adjusted EBITDA based on GAAP net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to NCR plus interest expense, net; plus income tax expense (benefit); plus depreciation and amortization; plus stock-based compensation expense; plus other income (expense); plus pension mark-to-market adjustments, pension settlements, pension curtailments and pension special termination benefits and other special items, including amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, restructuring charges, among others. Refer to the table below for the reconciliations of net income (loss) from continuing operations (GAAP) to adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP).

Net income (loss) from continuing operations (GAAP) $ 97 $ (7) $ 614

Pension mark-to-market adjustments (118) 34 75

Transformation and restructuring costs 66 234 58

Acquisition-related amortization of intangibles 132 81 86

Acquisition-related (gains) costs 98 (6) 3

Internal reorganization and IP transfer — — (37)

Loss on debt extinguishment 42 20 —

Interest income (8) (8) (4)

Income tax expense (benefit) 186 (53) (273)

Consolidated Results

The following table shows our results for the years December 31, the relative percentage that those amounts represent to revenue, and the change in those amounts year-over-year.

Percentage of Revenue (1) Increase (Decrease)

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(1) The percentage of revenue is calculated for each line item divided by total revenue, except for product gross margin, service gross margin and total gross margin, which are divided by the related component of revenue.

Revenue

Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

Product revenue includes our hardware and software license revenue streams. Service revenue includes hardware and software maintenance revenue, implementation services revenue, interchange and surcharge revenue, cloud revenue as well as professional services revenue.

Total revenue increased 15% in 2021 from 2020 driven by an increase in service revenue of 18% and an increase in product revenue of 9%. The increase in services was driven by growth in payments revenue, which includes the results of Cardtronics, and other recurring revenue streams, primarily in cloud and managed services. The increase in product revenue was due to higher self-checkout and point-of-sale revenue.

Gross Margin

Percentage of Revenue (1) Increase (Decrease)

(1) The percentage of revenue is calculated for each line item divided by the related component of revenue.

Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 26.5% in 2021 compared to 24.6% in 2020. Gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2021 included $39 million related to transformation and restructuring costs and $60 million related to amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets. Gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2020 included $150 million related to transformation and restructuring costs and $22 million related to amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets. Excluding these items, gross margin as a percentage of revenue increased from 27.3% to 27.8% due to higher revenue partially offset by increased component and freight costs due to supply chain challenges. Continued increases in labor costs as well as component parts, freight, services, and interest rates could negatively impact our gross margin in future periods.We are working to mitigate the impact of these rising costs through a variety of actions, such as increasing the prices of our products and services, pre-purchasing materials, locking in prices in advance or utilizing alternate sources of materials. However, we may not be completely successful in these efforts and even when we are successful, there may be a time lag before the impacts of these actions are reflected in our margins.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $1.151 billion in 2021 up from $1.069 billion in 2020. As a percentage of revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses were 16.1% in 2021 and 17.2% in 2020. In 2021, selling, general and administrative expenses included $20 million of transformation costs, $72 million of acquisition-related amortization of intangibles and $84 million of acquisition-related costs. In 2020, selling, general and administrative expenses included $66 million of transformation and restructuring costs, $59 million of acquisition-related amortization of intangibles and $1 million of acquisition-related costs. Excluding these items, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased as a percentage of revenue from 15.2%

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in 2020 to 13.6% in 2021 primarily due to the increase in revenue and the impact of expense reduction measures taken entering 2021.

Research and Development Expenses

Percentage of Total Revenue Increase (Decrease)

Research and development expenses were $268 million in 2021, up from $234 million in 2020. As a percentage of revenue, these costs were 3.7% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2020. In 2021, research and development expenses included $1 million of costs related to our transformation and restructuring initiatives. In 2020, research and development expenses included $11 million of transformation and restructuring costs. After considering this item, research and development expenses increased slightly as a percentage of revenue from 3.6% in 2020 to 3.7% in 2021 due to an increase in investments related to our strategic initiatives.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

Increase (Decrease)

Loss on extinguishment of debt $ 42 $ 20 $ — 110 % 100 %

Loss on extinguishment of debt was $42 million in 2021 related to the premium paid for early redemption of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 8.125% senior secured notes due 2025, which includes the write-off of deferred financing fees of $5 million and a cash redemption premium of $37 million. Refer to Note 5, “Debt Obligations”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion on the financing transactions.

Loss on extinguishment of debt was $20 million in 2020 related to the early extinguishment of the $600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% senior unsecured notes due in 2022 and the $700 million aggregate principal amount of 6.375% senior unsecured notes due in 2023. The loss included the write-off of deferred financing fees of $5 million and a cash redemption premium of $15 million.

Interest Expense

Increase (Decrease)

Interest expense was $238 million in 2021 compared to $218 million in 2020. Interest expense in all years was primarily related to the Company's senior unsecured notes and borrowings under the Company's senior secured credit facility. The increase in interest expense in 2021 was related to the increase in total outstanding debt as a result of the closing of the acquisition of Cardtronics. The higher average outstanding principal balances during 2021 were partially offset by the lower average interest rates on the Company's senior unsecured notes, interest expense increased in 2021 compared to 2020.

Other Income (Expense), net

Other income (expense), net was income of $90 million in 2021, expense of $42 million in 2020 and expense of $73 million in 2019, with the components reflected in the following table:

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Interest income $ 8 $ 8 $ 5

Foreign currency fluctuations and foreign exchange contracts (22) (14) (23)

Bank-related fees (27) (5) (7)

Employee benefit plans 131 (31) (82)

Gain on entity liquidations — — 37

Impairment of an equity investment — (7) —

Bargain purchase gain on acquisition — 7 —

Other, net — — (3)

Other income (expense), net $ 90 $ (42) $ (73)

Employee benefit plans within Other income (expense), net includes the components of pension, postemployment and postretirement expense, other than service cost. This includes actuarial gains and losses from the annual pension mark-to-market adjustment. In 2021, there was an actuarial gain of $118 million compared to actuarial loss of $34 million in 2020. The actuarial gain in 2021 was primarily due to an increase in discount rates as well as a favorable impact from an update to the mortality tables. The loss in 2020 was primarily due to a decrease in the discount rates.

In 2021, the increase in bank-related fees was primarily due to $19 million related to certain structuring and commitment fees as a result of the financing transactions entered into during the first quarter of 2021 related to the transaction with Cardtronics.

Income Taxes

Increase (Decrease)

Our effective tax rate was 65% in 2021 and 90% in 2020. During 2021, significant matters impacting our tax rate include a $36 million expense from recording a valuation allowance against interest expense deduction carryforwards in the United States, a $14 million benefit from the deferred tax impact of a tax law change in the United Kingdom and a $40 million non-cash expense resulting from an internal entity restructuring. During 2020, the tax rate was impacted by a $48 million benefit resulting from the release of a valuation allowance against U.S. foreign tax credits and the re-establishment of expected foreign tax credit offsets to unrecognized tax benefits.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company recorded $9 million of income tax expense ($4.7 million of which related to multiple prior annual periods) related to the utilization of foreign tax credits in prior years and an additional valuation allowance required for interest expense carryforwards recognized in interim periods during 2021. The Company determined that the adjustments in the fourth quarter of 2021 were not material, quantitatively or qualitatively, to the impacted annual and interim financial statements.

While we are subject to numerous federal, state and foreign tax audits, we believe that appropriate reserves exist for issues that might arise from these audits. Should these audits be settled, the resulting tax effect could impact the tax provision and cash flows in future periods. During 2022, the Company expects to resolve certain tax matters related to U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. These resolutions could have a material impact on the effective tax rate in 2022.

We regularly review our deferred tax assets for recoverability and establish a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. The determination as to whether a deferred tax asset will be realized is made on a jurisdictional basis and is based on the evaluation of positive and negative evidence. This evidence includes historical taxable income/loss, projected future taxable income, the expected timing of the reversal of existing temporary differences and the implementation of tax planning strategies.

Loss from Discontinued Operations, net of tax

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Increase (Decrease)

In 2021, income (loss) from discontinued operations was zero, net of tax.

In 2020, the loss from discontinued operations was $72 million, net of tax, primarily related to updates in estimates and assumptions for the Fox River and Kalamazoo River environmental reserves.

Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

The Company manages and reports its businesses in the following segments: Banking, Retail, Hospitality and T&T. Each of these segments derives its revenue by selling in the sales theaters in which NCR operates. Segments are measured for profitability by the Company’s chief operating decision maker based on revenue and segment adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as GAAP net income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to NCR plus interest expense, net; plus income tax expense (benefit); plus depreciation and amortization; plus stock-based compensation expense; plus other income (expense); plus pension mark-to-market adjustments, pension settlements, pension curtailments and pension special termination benefits and other special items, including amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, restructuring charges, among others. The special items are considered non-operational so are excluded from the adjusted EBITDA metric utilized by our chief operating decision maker in evaluating segment performance and are separately delineated to reconcile back to total reported income from operations. Management believes this format is useful to investors because it allows analysis and comparability of operating trends. It also includes the same information that is used by NCR management to make decisions regarding the segments and to assess our financial performance.

Corporate and Other reconciles our segment results to adjusted EBITDA, which primarily includes other income (expense) that are managed only on a total company basis and are, accordingly, reflected only in consolidated results.

The following table shows our segment revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, the relative percentage that those amounts represent to revenue, and the change in those amounts year-over-year. The Banking revenue and adjusted EBITDA metrics below include the results of operations of Cardtronics for the period from the date of acquisition, June 21, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

Percentage of Revenue (1) Increase (Decrease)

Revenue

Adjusted EBITDA by segment

Corporate and Other (12) (17) (39)

(1) For segment revenue, the percentage of revenue is calculated for each line item divided by total revenue. For segment adjusted EBITDA, the percentage of revenue is calculated for each line item divided by the related segment revenue amount.

Segment Revenue

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Banking revenue increased 20% due to the inclusion of Cardtronics, as well as higher software and services revenue. Retail revenue increased 10% due to higher point-of-sale and self-checkout solutions revenue. Hospitality revenue increased 24% driven primarily by an increase in point-of-sale solutions revenue. T&T revenue decreased 14% in 2021 compared to 2020 driven by a decrease in services revenue.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA

For the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020

Banking, Retail and Hospitality adjusted EBITDA increased in 2021 compared to 2020 primarily driven by higher revenue as well as cost reduction actions taken in the prior year. T&T adjusted EBITDA increased in 2021 compared to 2020 driven by cost reduction actions taken in the prior year partially offset by lower revenue.

For the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019

Banking, Retail and Hospitality adjusted EBITDA decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 primarily driven by lower hardware revenue partially offset by cost saving initiatives implemented in 2020. T&T adjusted EBITDA decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 driven by an unfavorable mix of revenue partially offset by the increase in revenue.

FINANCIAL CONDITION, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

In the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.077 billion and in the year ended December 31, 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was $641 million. The increase in net cash provided by operating activities was due to higher operating earnings as well as the agreement entered into during the third quarter of 2021 to sell short term receivables from certain trade accounts to an unaffiliated financial institution which provided a $300 million benefit to operating cash flows. Refer to Note 6, “Trade Receivables Facility”, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

NCR’s management uses a non-GAAP measure called “free cash flow” to assess the financial performance of the Company. We previously defined free cash flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities and cash provided by (used in) discontinued operations, less capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment, less additions to capitalized software, plus discretionary pension contributions and settlements (if any). In 2021, with the increase in our restricted cash settlement activity and the initial sale of trade accounts receivables under the agreement entered into during the 3rd quarter, we began defining free cash flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment, less additions to capitalized software, plus/minus restricted cash settlement activity, plus acquisition-related items, less the impact from the initial sale of trade accounts receivables under the agreement entered into during the 3rd quarter of 2021, and plus pension contributions and settlements. All periods presented have been recast to reflect this new definition. We believe free cash flow information is useful for investors because it relates the operating cash flows from the Company’s continuing operations to the capital that is spent and to improve business operations. In particular, free cash flow indicates the amount of cash available after capital expenditures for, among other things, investments in the Company’s existing businesses, strategic acquisitions and investments, repurchase of NCR stock and repayment of debt obligations. Free cash flow does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures, since there may be other non-discretionary expenditures that are not deducted from the measure. Free cash flow does not have a uniform definition under GAAP, and therefore NCR’s definition of this measure may differ from that of other companies. This non-GAAP measure should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, cash flows from operating activities under GAAP.

The table below reconciles net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to NCR’s non-GAAP measure of free cash flow for the years ended December 31:

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Net cash provided by operating activities $1,077 $641 $634

Capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment (106) (31) (91)

Additions to capitalized software (242) (232) (238)

Restricted cash settlement activity (41) — (5)

Transaction costs 55 — —

Sale of accounts receivables (300) — —

In 2021, free cash flow decreased slightly from 2020 as a result of higher capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment related to ATMs to be deployed, and higher additions to capitalized software of $10 million due to an increase in investments related to our strategic initiatives. In addition, working capital also increased primarily due to inventory and the higher component costs.

In 2020, net cash provided by operating activities increased $7 million, which contributed to a net increase in free cash flow of $144 million in comparison to 2019. Additionally, capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment decreased $60 million primarily due to the initiatives implemented earlier in the year to address the business impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additions to capitalized software decreased slightly $6 million as the Company continued to focus on investment in our strategic growth platforms.

Certain financing activities and certain other investing activities are not included in our calculation of free cash flow. Our other investing activities primarily include business acquisitions, investments, as well as proceeds from the sales of property, plant and equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the payments for business combinations was $2.47 billion, net of cash acquired, mainly for the consideration paid related to the acquisition of Cardtronics completed in 2021.

Our financing activities include borrowings and repayments of credit facilities and notes. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we issued new senior unsecured notes for an aggregate principal amount of $1.2 billion and amended and restated the senior secured credit facility to add an incremental term loan for $1.505 billion, of which $200 million converted into the revolving credit facility. We paid $53 million of deferred financing fees related to these transactions. Additionally, we redeemed all of the $400 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 8.125% senior notes due 2025. We paid $37 million of early redemption fees related to this transaction. The $300 million trade receivables securitization facility was extinguished as part of the purchase agreement and the sale agreements. Refer to Note 5, “Debt Obligations”, and Note 6, “Trade Receivables Facility”, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued new senior unsecured notes for an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion and we paid $21 million of deferred financing fees related to these transactions. Additionally, in the year ended December 31, 2020, we redeemed the $600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.000% senior unsecured notes due in 2022 and $700 million aggregate principal amount of 6.375% senior unsecured notes due in 2023. As a part of our debt extinguishment, we recognized a loss of $20 million, which includes the write-off of deferred financing fees of $5 million and a cash redemption premium of $15 million.

Financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 also included the proceeds from stock employee plans of $44 million and tax withholding payments on behalf of employees for stock based awards that vested of $50 million. Financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 also included the redemption of the outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock owned by two affiliated shareholders for a total cash consideration of $144 million, the repurchase of our common stock for $41 million, dividends paid on the Series A preferred stock of $9 million, proceeds from stock employee plans of $17 million as well as tax withholding payments on behalf of employees for stock based awards that vested of $28 million.

Long Term Borrowings The senior secured credit facility consists of term loan facilities in an aggregate principal amount of $2.055 billion, of which $1.94 billion was outstanding as of December 31, 2021. Additionally, the senior secured credit facility provides for a five-year revolving credit facility with an aggregate principal amount of $1.3 billion, of which $380 million was outstanding as of December 31, 2021. The revolving credit facility also allows a portion of the availability to be used for letters of credit, and as of December 31, 2021, there were $26 million in letters of credit outstanding.

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As of December 31, 2021, we had outstanding $1.2 billion in aggregate principal balance of 5.125% senior unsecured notes due in 2029, $500 million in aggregate principal balance of 5.750% senior unsecured notes due in 2027, $650 million aggregate principal balance of 5.000% senior unsecured notes due in 2028, $500 million in aggregate principal balance of 6.125% senior unsecured notes due in 2029, and $450 million in aggregate principal balance of 5.250% senior unsecured notes due in 2030.

On August 12, 2021 (the “Redemption Date”), the Company redeemed all of the outstanding $400 million 8.125% Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 8.125% Notes plus the excess of (if any) (a) the present value at the Redemption Date of (i) the redemption price of 8.125% Notes on April 15, 2022, plus (ii) all required remaining scheduled interest payments due on the 8.125% Notes through April 15, 2022 (but excluding accrued and unpaid interest to and excluding the Redemption Date), computed using a discount rate equal to the Adjusted Treasury Rate (as described in the terms of the indenture relating to the 8.125% Notes), over (b) the principal amount of the 8.125% Notes on the Redemption Date, and accrued and unpaid interest to and excluding the Redemption Date (the “Redemption Price”).

On September 30, 2021 NCR amended and restated its existing Receivables Financing Agreement to modify certain terms of the Company’s existing revolving trade receivables securitization facility (the “T/R Facility”). As part of the amendment, the Company repaid the outstanding balances under the facility and the borrowing capacity under the facility was eliminated.

See Note 5, “Debt Obligations”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report for further information on the senior secured credit facility (including certain amendments to such facility), the senior unsecured notes, the trade receivables securitization facility and our financing activities in connection with the Cardtronics transaction.

Employee Benefit Plans We expect to make pension, postemployment and postretirement plan contributions of approximately $46 million in 2022. See Note 9, “Employee Benefit Plans”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report for additional discussion on our pension, postemployment and postretirement plans.

Series A Convertible Preferred Stock In 2015, NCR issued 820,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2021, there were approximately 300,000 shares that remained issued and outstanding. Holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to a cumulative dividend at the rate of 5.5% per annum, which was payable quarterly in arrears and payable in-kind for the first sixteen dividend payments, after which, beginning in the first quarter of 2020, are payable in cash or in-kind at the option of the Company. The holders also have certain redemption rights or put rights, including the right to require us to repurchase all or any portion of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock on any date during the three months commencing on and immediately following March 16, 2024 and the three months commencing on and immediately following every third anniversary of such date, at 100% of the liquidation preference plus all accrued but unpaid dividends.

Additionally, the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible at the option of the holders at any time into shares of common stock at a conversion price of $30.00 per share, or a conversion rate of 33.333 shares of common stock per share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2021, the maximum number of common shares that could be required to be issued upon conversion of the outstanding shares of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock was 9.2 million shares which would represent approximately 7% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2021 including the preferred shares on an as-converted basis.

Cash and Cash Equivalents Held by Foreign Subsidiaries Cash and cash equivalents held by the Company's foreign subsidiaries were $412 million and $329 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, including the repatriation tax, in general we will not be subject to additional U.S. taxes if cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments held outside the United States are distributed to the United States in the form of dividends or otherwise. However, we may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, which could be significant.

Summary As of December 31, 2021, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $447 million and our total debt was $5.62 billion. Our borrowing capacity under our senior secured credit facility was $894 million at December 31, 2021. Our ability to generate positive cash flows from operations is dependent on general economic conditions, the competitive environment in our industry, and is subject to the business and other risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of this Report. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations, or otherwise comply with the terms of our credit facilities, we may be required to seek additional financing alternatives.

We believe that we have sufficient liquidity based on our current cash position, cash flows from operations and existing financing to meet our expected pension, postemployment and postretirement plan contributions, remediation payments related to environmental

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matters, debt servicing obligations, payments related to transformation initiatives, and our operating requirements for the next twelve months, and in the long-term (i.e. beyond December 31, 2022) to meet our material cash requirements described below.

Material Cash Requirements from Contractual and Other Obligations In the normal course of business, we enter into various contractual obligations that impact, or could impact, the liquidity of our operations. The following table and discussion outlines our material obligations as of December 31, 2021 on an undiscounted basis, with projected cash payments in the years shown:

Estimated environmental liability payments 120 22 35 20 43

For purposes of this table, we used interest rates as of December 31, 2021 to estimate the future interest on debt obligations outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and have assumed no voluntary prepayments of existing debt. See Note 5, “Debt Obligations”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report for additional disclosure related to our debt obligations and the related interest rate terms.

The estimated environmental liability payments included in the table of material cash requirements shown above are related to the Fox River, Kalamazoo River and Ebina environmental matters. The amounts shown are our expected payments, net of the payment obligations of co-obligors and an estimate for payments to be received from indemnification parties. For additional information, refer to Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report.

Our lease obligations are primarily for future rental amounts for our world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as for certain sales and manufacturing facilities in various domestic and international locations and leases related to equipment and vehicles.

Purchase obligations represent committed purchase orders and other contractual commitments for goods or services. The purchase obligation amounts were determined through information in our procurement systems and payment schedules for significant contracts. Included in the amounts are committed payments in relation to the long-term service agreement with Accenture under which NCR’s transaction processing activities and functions are performed.

We have a liability related to our uncertain tax positions. Due to the nature of the underlying liabilities and the extended time often needed to resolve income tax uncertainties, we cannot make reliable estimates of the amount or timing of cash payments that may be required to settle these liabilities. For additional information, refer to Note 7, “Income Taxes”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report.

Our U.S. and international employee benefit plans, which are described in Note 9, “Employee Benefit Plans”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report, could require significant future cash payments. In 2021, we made no discretionary contributions to our U.S. pension plan. We do not expect mandatory contributions until 2026 based on current funding requirements and assuming the Company does not complete any further actions, including, but not limited to, a further pre-fund or de-risking action. The funded status of NCR’s U.S. pension plan is an underfunded position of $503 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to an underfunded position of $539 million as of December 31, 2020. Our international retirement plans were in a funded position of $1 million as of December 31, 2021, as compared to an underfunded position of $128 million as of December 31, 2020. The decrease in our underfunded position is primarily attributable to an increase in discount rates as well as a favorable impact from a mortality update. Contributions to international pension plans are expected to be approximately $15 million in 2022.

We also have product warranties that may affect future cash flows. These items are not included in the table of obligations shown above, but are described in detail in Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Report.

Our senior secured credit facility and the indentures for our senior unsecured notes include affirmative and negative covenants that restrict or limit our ability to, among other things, incur indebtedness; create liens on assets; engage in certain fundamental corporate

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changes or changes to our business activities; make investments; sell or otherwise dispose of assets; engage in sale-leaseback or hedging transactions; pay dividends or make similar distributions; repay other indebtedness; engage in certain affiliate transactions; or enter into agreements that restrict our ability to create liens, pay dividends or make loan repayments. Our senior secured credit facility also includes financial covenants that require us to maintain:

•A consolidated leverage ratio on the last day of any fiscal quarter, not to exceed (i) in the case of any fiscal quarter ending on or prior to December 31, 2021, 5.50 to 1.00, (ii) in the case of any fiscal quarter ending on or prior to September 30, 2022, 5.25 to 1.00, and (iii) in the case of any fiscal quarter ending on or after December 31, 2022, 4.75 to 1.00.

The Company has the option to elect to increase the maximum permitted leverage ratio for the periods described in the foregoing clause (iii) by 0.25 in connection with the consummation of any material acquisition (as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Facility) for three fiscal quarters.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. In connection with the preparation of these financial statements, we are required to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and the related disclosure of contingent liabilities. These assumptions, estimates and judgments are based on historical experience and are believed to be reasonable at the time. However, because future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty, the determination of estimates requires the exercise of judgment. Our critical accounting policies are those that require assumptions to be made about matters that are highly uncertain. Different estimates could have a material impact on our financial results. Judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of these policies and estimates may result in materially different amounts being reported under different conditions or circumstances. Our management continually reviews these assumptions, estimates and judgments to ensure that our financial statements are presented fairly and are materially correct.

In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP and does not require significant management judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting among available alternatives would not produce a materially different result. The significant accounting policies and estimates that we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results are discussed in the paragraphs below. Our senior management has reviewed these critical accounting estimates and related disclosures with our independent registered public accounting firm and the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. See Note 1, “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies”, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this Report, which contains additional information regarding our accounting policies and other disclosures required by GAAP.

Revenue Recognition We enter into contracts to sell our products and services, which may be sold separately or bundled with other products and services. As a result, interpretation and judgment are sometimes required to determine the appropriate accounting for these transactions, including: (1) whether performance obligations are considered distinct that should be accounted for separately versus together, how the price should be allocated among the performance obligations, and when to recognize revenue for each performance obligation; (2) developing an estimate of the stand-alone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct performance obligation; (3) combining contracts that may impact the allocation of the transaction price between product and services; and (4) estimating and accounting for variable consideration, including rights of return, rebates, expected penalties or other price concessions as a reduction of the transaction price.

Our estimates of SSP for each performance obligation require judgment that considers multiple factors, including, but not limited to, historical discounting trends for products and services, pricing practices in different geographies and industries, gross margin objectives, and internal costs. Our estimates for rights of return and rebates are based on historical sales returns and credits, specific criteria outlined in customer contracts or rebate agreements, and other factors known at the time. Our estimates for expected penalties and other price concessions are based on historical trends and expectations regarding future occurrence.

Changes in judgments with respect to these assumptions and estimates could impact the timing or amount of revenue recognition. Additional information regarding our revenue recognition policy is included in Note 1, “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Inventory Valuation We assess the valuation of our inventory on a periodic basis and make adjustments to the value to properly provide for potential exposure due to slow-moving, excess, obsolete or unusable inventory. Inventories are written down to net realizable value based on forecasted usage of part, sales orders, technological obsolescence and inventory aging. These factors can be impacted by market conditions, technology changes, changes in strategic direction, and customer demand and require estimates

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and management judgment that may include elements that are uncertain. On a quarterly basis, we review the current net realizable value of inventory and adjust for any inventory exposure due to age, obsolescence, or excess of cost over net realizable value.

Goodwill Goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level for impairment on an annual basis during the fourth quarter or more frequently if certain events occur indicating that the carrying value of goodwill may be impaired. A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include a decline in expected cash flows, a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate, a decision to sell a business, unanticipated competition, or slower growth rates, among others.

In the evaluation of goodwill for impairment, we have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary or to perform a quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. Under the qualitative assessment, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. If under the quantitative assessment the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the amount of the impairment loss, if any, is determined based on the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value up to the total value of goodwill assigned to the reporting unit. Fair values of the reporting units are estimated using a weighted methodology considering the output from both the income and market approaches. The income approach incorporates the use of a discounted cash flow (“DCF”) analysis. A number of significant assumptions and estimates are involved in the application of the DCF model to forecast operating cash flows, including revenue growth, operating income margin and discount rate. Several of these assumptions vary among reporting units. The cash flow forecasts are generally based on approved strategic operating plans. The market approach is performed using the Guideline Public Companies (“GPC”) method which is based on earnings multiple data. We perform a reconciliation between our market capitalization and our estimate of the aggregate fair value of the reporting units, including consideration of a control premium.

Valuation of Long-lived Assets and Amortizable Other Intangible Assets We perform impairment tests for our long-lived assets if an event or circumstance indicates that the carrying amount of our long-lived assets may not be recoverable. In response to changes in industry and market conditions, we may also strategically realign our resources and consider restructuring, disposing of, or otherwise exiting businesses. Such activities could result in impairment of our long-lived assets or other intangible assets. We also are subject to the possibility of impairment of long-lived assets arising in the ordinary course of business. We consider the likelihood of impairment if certain events occur indicating that the carrying value of the long-lived assets may be impaired and we may recognize impairment if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset or intangible asset is not recoverable from its undiscounted cash flows. Impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the asset. We use both the income approach and market approach to estimate fair value. Our estimates of fair value are subject to a high degree of judgment since they include a long-term forecast of future operations. Accordingly, any value ultimately derived from our long-lived assets may differ from our estimate of fair value.

We make strategic acquisitions that may have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position. We allocate the purchase price of acquired businesses to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction at their estimated fair values. The estimates used to determine the fair value of long-lived assets, such as intangible assets, can be complex and require significant judgments. We use information available to us to make fair value determinations and engage independent valuation specialists, when necessary, to assist in the fair value determination of significant acquired long-lived assets. The determination of fair value requires estimates about cash flow forecasts, discount rates, revenue growth rates, EBITDA margin, customer attrition rate, and other future events that are judgmental in nature. While we use our best estimates and assumptions as a part of the purchase price allocation process, our estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Any adjustments subsequent to the measurement period are recorded to our consolidated statements of income. We are also required to estimate the useful lives of intangible assets to determine the amount of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization expense to record in future periods. Additional information regarding our acquisitions is included in Note 3, “Business Combinations and Divestitures”,in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Pension, Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits We sponsor domestic and foreign defined benefit pension and postemployment plans as well as domestic postretirement plans. As a result, we have significant pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs, which are developed from actuarial valuations. Actuarial assumptions attempt to anticipate future events and are used in calculating the expense and liability relating to these plans. These factors include assumptions we make about interest rates, expected investment return on plan assets, involuntary turnover rates, and rates of future compensation increases. In addition, our actuarial consultants advise us about subjective factors such as withdrawal rates and mortality rates to use in our valuations. We generally review and update these assumptions on an annual basis at the end of each fiscal year. We are required to consider current market conditions, including changes in interest rates, in making these assumptions. The actuarial assumptions that

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we use may differ materially from actual results due to changing market and economic conditions, higher or lower withdrawal rates, or longer or shorter life spans of participants. These differences may result in a significant impact to the amount of pension, postretirement or postemployment benefits expense we have recorded or may record. Ongoing pension, postemployment and postretirement expense impacts all of our segments. Pension mark-to-market adjustments, settlements, curtailments and special termination benefits are excluded from our segment results as those items are not included in the evaluation of segment performance. See Note 4, “Segment Information and Concentrations”, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this Report for a reconciliation of our segment results to income from operations.

The key assumptions used in developing our 2021 expense were discount rates of 1.7% for our U.S. pension plan and 1.4% for our postretirement plan, and an expected return on assets assumption of 2.1% for our U.S. pension plan in 2021. The U.S. plan represented 63% of the pension obligation and 100% of the postretirement plan obligation as of December 31, 2021. Holding all other assumptions constant, a 0.25% change in the discount rate used for the U.S. plan would have increased or decreased 2021 ongoing pension expense by approximately $4 million and would have had an immaterial impact on 2021 postretirement income. A 0.25% change in the expected rate of return on plan assets assumption for the U.S. pension plan would have increased or decreased 2021 ongoing pension expense by approximately $4 million. Our expected return on plan assets has historically been and will likely continue to be material to net income. For 2022, we intend to use discount rates of 2.1% and 1.9% in determining the U.S. pension and postretirement expense, respectively. We intend to use an expected rate of return on assets assumption of 5.0% for the U.S. pension plan.

VYX US Equity

VYX · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-31

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Item 2. PROPERTIES

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Item 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Item 6. Reserved.

Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (“MD&A”)

VYX US Equity☆

VYX · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-31

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Item 2. PROPERTIES

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Item 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Item 6. Reserved.

Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (“MD&A”)

VYX US Equity