filings.toolsItem 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This report includes forward-looking statements based on the Company’s current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. When used in this report, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “may,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. In this report, the Company discloses important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s expectations. For more information on these and other factors, see “Forward-Looking Information” herein.
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Item 6. Selected Financial Data”, and the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Business Overview
AMETEK’s operations are affected by global, regional and industry economic factors. However, the Company’s strategic geographic and industry diversification, and its mix of products and services, have helped to mitigate the potential adverse impact of any unfavorable developments in any one industry or the economy of any single country on its consolidated operating results. In 2020, the Company was impacted by a weak global economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussed below. In response to the weak global economy, the Company recorded 2020 realignment costs totaling $43.9 million (the “2020 realignment costs”). The 2020 realignment costs were composed of $35.5 million in severance costs for a reduction in workforce and $8.4 million of asset write-downs, primarily inventory. Contributions from the acquisitions of IntelliPower in January 2020, Pacific Design Technologies, Inc. (“PDT”) in September 2019, Gatan in October 2019, and a continued focus on and implementation of Operational Excellence initiatives, including the 2020 realignment actions, had a positive impact on the Company’s 2020 results.
Highlights of 2020 were:
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In January 2020, the Company spent $116.5 million, net of cash acquired, to acquire IntelliPower, a leading provider of high-reliability, ruggedized uninterruptible power systems serving a wide range of defense and industrial applications.
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In March 2020, the Company completed the sale of its Reading Alloys business (“Reading”) to Kymera International for net proceeds of $245.3 million in cash. The sale resulted in a pre-tax gain of $141.0 million recorded in other income, net and income tax expense of $31.4 million.
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Cash flow provided by operating activities for 2020 was a record $1,281.0 million, an increase of $166.6 million or 14.9%, compared with $1,114.4 million in 2019.
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Free cash flow (cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures) increased to a record $1,206.8 million in 2020, compared with $1,012.1 million in 2019.
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EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was a record $1,421.6 million in 2020, compared with $1,388.3 million in 2019.
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The Company continued its emphasis on investment in research, development and engineering, spending $246.2 million in 2020. Sales from products introduced in the past three years were $1,074.0 million or 23.7% of net sales.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on our Business
Our business, operations and end markets were negatively impacted in 2020 by the global outbreak and rapid spread of COVID-19. As the situation rapidly evolved, we remained focused on safely serving our customers and protecting the health and safety of our employees. All of our manufacturing locations remain operational with enhanced safety measures to help keep our employees, contractors, customers, and communities safe. In compliance with government protocols, certain of the Company's employees were instructed to work from home until government mandated restrictions allow for a safe return to the workplace. Those working at our sites are required to follow appropriate procedures, including completion of multiple training sessions and performance of self- and on-site screenings, as well as adhere to our personal protective equipment, social distancing, and personal hygiene protocols. We are committed to safely maintaining plant operations and focusing on business continuity, while reliably supplying critical products to our customers.
During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid decline in demand which impacted most of our end markets and geographies. We continue to experience end market volatility, however, orders have begun to return and stabilize in many of our end markets. Our financial position remains strong, however, we continue to closely monitor our fixed costs, capital expenditure plans, inventory, and capital resources to respond to changing conditions and to ensure we have the resources to meet our future needs. We believe that we will emerge from these events well positioned for long-term growth, though we cannot reasonably estimate the duration and severity of this global pandemic or its ultimate impact on the global economy and our business and results. Please refer to "Risk Factors", Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for more information.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth net sales and income by reportable segment and on a consolidated basis:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net sales: | |||||||||||||||||
| Electronic Instruments | $ | 2,989,928 | $ | 3,322,881 | $ | 3,028,959 | |||||||||||
| Electromechanical | 1,550,101 | 1,835,676 | 1,816,913 | ||||||||||||||
| Consolidated net sales | $ | 4,540,029 | $ | 5,158,557 | $ | 4,845,872 | |||||||||||
| Operating income and income before income taxes: | |||||||||||||||||
| Segment operating income: | |||||||||||||||||
| Electronic Instruments | $ | 770,620 | $ | 865,307 | $ | 782,144 | |||||||||||
| Electromechanical | 324,962 | 387,931 | 363,765 | ||||||||||||||
| Total segment operating income | 1,095,582 | 1,253,238 | 1,145,909 | ||||||||||||||
| Corporate administrative expenses | (67,698) | (75,858) | (70,369) | ||||||||||||||
| Consolidated operating income | 1,027,884 | 1,177,380 | 1,075,540 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (86,062) | (88,481) | (82,180) | ||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 140,487 | (19,151) | (5,615) | ||||||||||||||
| Consolidated income before income taxes | $ | 1,082,309 | $ | 1,069,748 | $ | 987,745 |
The following “Results of Operations of the year ended December 31, 2020 compared with the year ended December 31, 2019” section presents an analysis of the Company’s consolidated operating results displayed in the Consolidated Statement of Income. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 can be found under Item 7 in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 20, 2020.
Results of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared with the year ended December 31, 2019
Net sales for 2020 were $4,540.0 million, a decrease of $618.6 million or 12.0%, compared with net sales of $5,158.6 million in 2019. The decrease in net sales for 2019 was due to a 13% organic sales decline driven by a weak economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unfavorable 3% from the Reading divestiture, partially offset by a 4% increase from acquisitions. EIG net sales were $2,989.9 million in 2020, a decrease of 10.0%, compared with $3,322.9 million in 2019. EMG net sales were $1,550.1 million in 2020, a decrease of 15.6%, compared with $1,835.7 million in 2019.
Total international sales for 2020 were $2,209.9 million or 48.7% of net sales, a decrease of $265.0 million or 10.7%, compared with international sales of $2,474.9 million or 48.0% of net sales in 2019. The decrease in international sales was primarily driven by lower sales in Europe as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Export shipments from the United States, which are included in total international sales, were $1,196.4 million in 2020, a decrease of $109.8 million or 8.4%, compared with $1,306.2 million in 2019.
Orders for 2020 were $4,624.4 million, a decrease of $649.9 million or 12.3% compared with $5,274.3 million in 2019. The decrease in orders was due to an 11% organic order decline driven by a weak economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unfavorable 3% from the Reading divestiture, partially offset by a favorable 1% from acquisitions, and a favorable 1% effect of foreign currency translation. The Company’s backlog of unfilled orders at December 31, 2020 was a record $1,802.2 million, an increase of $84.3 million or 4.9%, compared with $1,717.9 million at December 31, 2019.
The Company recorded 2020 realignment costs totaling $43.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 (the “2020 realignment costs”). The 2020 realignment costs were composed of $35.5 million in severance costs for a reduction in workforce and $8.4 million of asset write-downs, primarily inventory, in response to the impact of a weak global economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. See Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
The 2020 realignment costs (in millions) reported in the consolidated statement of income as well as the impact on segment operating margins (in basis points) in 2020 are as follows:
| 2020 | |||||||||||
| Realignment Costs | Operating Margins | ||||||||||
| EIG | $ | 22.8 | (70) | ||||||||
| EMG | 20.9 | (130) | |||||||||
| Total reported in segment operating income | 43.7 | (100) | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 0.2 | ||||||||||
| Total reported in the consolidated statement of income | $ | 43.9 | (100) |
Segment operating income for 2020 was $1,095.6 million, a decrease of $157.6 million or 12.6%, compared with segment operating income of $1,253.2 million in 2019. The decrease in segment operating income was primarily due to the lower sales discussed above and the $43.7 million of 2020 realignment costs, partially offset by the benefits of the Company's Operational Excellence initiatives. Segment operating income, as a percentage of net sales, decreased to 24.1% in 2020, compared with 24.3% in 2019. The segment operating margins were negatively impacted by 100 basis points due to the 2020 realignment costs discussed above, partially offset by the benefits of the Company’s Operational Excellence initiatives.
Cost of sales for 2020 was $2,996.5 million or 66.0% of net sales, a decrease of $374.4 million or 11.1%, compared with $3,370.9 million or 65.3% of net sales for 2019. The cost of sales decrease was primarily due to the net sales decrease discussed above, partially offset by the increase from the 2020 realignment costs discussed above.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2020 were $515.6 million or 11.4% of net sales, a decrease of $94.7 million or 15.5%, compared with $610.3 million or 11.8% of net sales in 2019. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to the decrease in net sales discussed above as well as lower discretionary spending as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consolidated operating income was $1,027.9 million or 22.6% of net sales for 2020, a decrease of $149.5 million or 12.7%, compared with $1,177.4 million or 22.8% of net sales in 2019. The consolidated operating income margins were negatively impacted by 100 basis points due to the 2020 realignment costs discussed above, partially offset by the benefits of the Company's Operational Excellence initiatives.
Other income, net was $140.5 million for 2020, an increase of $159.7 million, compared with $19.2 million of other expense in 2019. The increase in other income was primarily due to the gain on the sale of Reading of $141.0 million, higher defined benefit pension income of $7.5 million, and lower acquisition-related expenses.
The effective tax rate for 2020 was 19.4%, compared with 19.5% in 2019. See Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
Net income for 2020 was a record $872.4 million, an increase of $11.1 million or 1.3%, compared with $861.3 million in 2019. The net of tax gain of $109.6 million on the sale of Reading and net of tax expense of $33.6 million on the 2020 realignment costs are included in net income in 2020.
Diluted earnings per share for 2020 were a record $3.77, an increase of $0.02 or 0.5%, compared with $3.75 per diluted share in 2019. The net of tax gain of $0.47 per diluted share on the sale of Reading and net of tax expense of $0.15 per diluted share on the 2020 realignment costs are included in diluted earnings per share in 2020.
Segment Results
EIG’s net sales totaled $2,989.9 million for 2020, a decrease of $333.0 million or 10.0%, compared with $3,322.9 million in 2019. The net sales decrease was due to a 15% organic sales decline driven by a weak global economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by the acquisitions of Gatan and IntelliPower.
EIG’s operating income was $770.6 million for 2020, a decrease of $94.7 million or 10.9%, compared with $865.3 million in 2019. EIG’s operating margins were 25.8% of net sales for 2020, compared with 26.0% of net sales in 2019. EIG’s decrease in operating income was primarily due to the decrease in sales discussed above as well as the $22.8 million of 2020 realignment costs, partially offset by the benefits of the Company's Operational Excellence initiatives. EIG’s 2020 operating margins were negatively impacted by 70 basis points due to the 2020 realignment costs discussed above.
EMG’s net sales totaled $1,550.1 million for 2020, a decrease of $285.6 million or 15.6%, compared with $1,835.7 million in 2019. The net sales decrease was due to a 10% organic sales decline driven by a weak global economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a favorable 2% impact from the PDT acquisition as well as an unfavorable 8% impact from the Reading divestiture.
EMG’s operating income was $325.0 million for 2020, a decrease of $62.9 million or 16.2%, compared with $387.9 million in 2019. EMG’s operating margins were 21.0% of net sales for 2020, compared with 21.1% of net sales in 2019. EMG’s decrease in operating income was primarily due to the decrease in sales discussed above as well as the $20.9 million of 2020 realignment costs, partially offset by benefits from the Group’s Operating Excellence initiatives. EMG’s 2020 operating margins were negatively impacted by 130 basis points due to the 2020 realignment costs discussed above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash provided by operating activities totaled a record $1,281.0 million in 2020, an increase of $166.6 million or 14.9%, compared with $1,114.4 million in 2019. The increase in cash provided by operating activities for 2020 was primarily due to strong working capital management.
Free cash flow (cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures) was a record $1,206.8 million in 2020, compared with $1,012.1 million in 2019. EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $1,421.6 million in 2020, compared with $1,388.3 million in 2019. Free cash flow and EBITDA are presented because the Company is aware that they are measures used by third parties in evaluating the Company. (See the “Notes to Selected Financial Data” included in Item 6 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a reconciliation of U.S. GAAP measures to comparable non-GAAP measures).
Cash provided by investing activities totaled $61.6 million in 2020, compared with cash used by investing activities of $1,150.9 million in 2019. In 2020, the Company paid $116.5 million, net of cash acquired, to purchase IntelliPower in January 2020 and received proceeds of $245.3 million from the sale of its Reading business. Additions to property, plant and equipment totaled $74.2 million in 2020, compared with $102.3 million in 2019.
Cash used by financing activities totaled $539.4 million in 2020, compared with $72.9 million of cash provided by financing activities in 2019. At December 31, 2020, total debt, net was $2,413.7 million, compared with $2,768.7 million at December 31, 2018. In 2020, short-term borrowings decreased $328.0 million, compared with an increase of $130.7 million in 2019. Long-term borrowings decreased $102.9 million in 2020, compared to no change in long-term borrowings in 2019.
In October 2018, the Company along with certain of its foreign subsidiaries amended and restated its Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement amends and restates the Company’s existing $850 million revolving credit facility, which was due to expire in March 2021. The amended Credit Agreement consists of a five-year revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion with a final maturity date in October 2023. The revolving credit facility total borrowing capacity excludes an accordion feature that permits the Company to request up to an additional $500 million in revolving credit commitments at any time during the life of the Credit Agreement under certain conditions. The revolving credit facility provides the Company with additional financial flexibility to support its growth plans, including its acquisition strategy. At December 31, 2020, the Company had available borrowing capacity of $1,897.7 million under its revolving credit facility, including the $500 million accordion feature.
In the third quarter of 2020, an 80 million British pound ($102.9 million) 4.68% senior note matured and was paid. In the fourth quarter of 2019, $100 million of 6.30% senior notes matured and were paid. The debt-to-capital ratio was 28.9% at December 31, 2020, compared with 35.1% at December 31, 2019. The net debt-to-capital ratio (total debt, net less cash and cash equivalents divided by the sum of net debt and stockholders’ equity) was 16.8% at December 31, 2020, compared with 31.7% at December 31, 2019. The net debt-to-capital ratio is presented because the Company is aware that this measure is used by third parties in evaluating the Company. (See the “Notes to Selected Financial Data” included in Item 6 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a reconciliation of U.S. GAAP measures to comparable non-GAAP measures).
In 2020, the Company repurchased approximately 55,000 shares of its common stock for $4.7 million, compared with $11.9 million used for repurchases of approximately 133,000 shares in 2019. At December 31, 2020, $484.4 million was available under the Company’s Board of Directors authorization for future share repurchases. On February 12, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an increase of $500 million in the authorization for the repurchase of the Company’s common stock.
Additional financing activities for 2020 included cash dividends paid of $165.0 million, compared with $127.5 million in 2019. On February 12, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a 29% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on the Company’s common stock to $0.18 per common share from $0.14 per common share.
Proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options were $64.9 million in 2020, compared with $90.4 million in 2019.
As a result of all of the Company’s cash flow activities in 2020, cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2019 totaled $1,212.8 million, compared with $393.0 million at December 31, 2019. At December 31, 2020, the Company had $344.0 million in cash outside the United States, compared with $357.9 million at December 31, 2019. The Company utilizes this cash to fund its international operations, as well as to acquire international businesses. The Company is in compliance with all covenants, including financial covenants, for all of its debt agreements. The Company believes it has sufficient cash-generating capabilities from domestic and unrestricted foreign sources, available credit facilities and access to long-term capital funds to enable it to meet its operating needs and contractual obligations in the foreseeable future.
Subsequent Event
Effective February 11, 2021, the Company's Board of Directors approved an 11% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on the Company's common stock to $0.20 per common share from $0.18 per common share.
The following table summarizes AMETEK’s contractual cash obligations and the effect such obligations are expected to have on the Company’s liquidity and cash flows in future years at December 31, 2020.
| Payments Due | |||||||||||||||||
| Contractual Obligations (1) | Total | Less Than One Year | More Than One Year | ||||||||||||||
| (In millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt borrowings(2) | $ | 2,347.6 | $ | 62.2 | $ | 2,285.4 | |||||||||||
| Revolving credit loans(3) | 72.1 | 72.1 | — | ||||||||||||||
| Total debt(4) | 2,419.7 | 134.3 | 2,285.4 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest on long-term fixed-rate debt | 454.4 | 71.4 | 383.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Non-cancellable operating leases(5) | 190.1 | 50.3 | 139.8 | ||||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations(6) | 526.1 | 462.1 | 32.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 3,590.3 | $ | 718.1 | $ | 2,840.2 |
(1)The liability for uncertain tax positions was not included in the table of contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020 because the timing of the settlements of these uncertain tax positions cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. See Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
(2)See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
(3)Although not contractually obligated, the Company expects to have the capability to repay the revolving credit loan within one year as permitted in the Credit Agreement. Accordingly, $72.1 million was classified as short-term debt at December 31, 2020.
(4)Excludes debt issuance costs of $6.0 million, of which $2.0 million is classified as current and $4.0 million is classified as long-term. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
(5)The leases expire over a range of years from 2021 to 2035, except for a single land lease with 63 years remaining. Most of the leases contain renewal or purchase options, subject to various terms and conditions.
(6)Purchase obligations primarily consist of contractual commitments to purchase certain inventories at fixed prices.
Other Commitments
The Company has standby letters of credit and surety bonds of $46.8 million related to performance and payment guarantees at December 31, 2020. Based on experience with these arrangements, the Company believes that any obligations that may arise will not be material to its financial position.
Internal Reinvestment
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures were $74.2 million or 1.6% of net sales in 2020, compared with $102.3 million or 2.0% of net sales in 2019. In 2020, approximately 73% of capital expenditures were for improvements to existing equipment or additional equipment to increase productivity and expand capacity. Capital expenditures in 2021 are expected to be approximately 2% of net sales, with a continued emphasis on spending to improve productivity.
Research, Development and Engineering
The Company is committed to, and has consistently invested in, research, development and engineering activities to design and develop new and improved products and solutions. Research, development and engineering costs before customer reimbursement were $246.2 million in 2020, $260.3 million in 2019 and $230.2 million in 2018. These amounts included research and development expenses of $158.9 million, $161.9 million and $141.0 million in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively. All such expenditures were directed toward the development of new products and solutions and the improvement of existing products and solutions.
Environmental Matters
Information with respect to environmental matters is set forth in Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Critical accounting policies are those policies that can have a significant impact on the presentation of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations and that require the use of complex and subjective estimates based on the Company’s historical experience and management’s judgment. Because of the uncertainty inherent in such estimates, actual results may differ materially from the estimates used. Below are the policies used in preparing the Company's financial statements that management believes are the most dependent upon the application of estimates and assumptions. A complete list of the Company’s significant accounting policies is in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Business Combinations. The Company allocates the purchase price of an acquired company, including when applicable, the acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration between tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed from the acquired business based on their estimated fair values, with the residual of the purchase price recorded as goodwill. Third party appraisal firms and other consultants are engaged to assist management in determining the fair values of certain assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Estimating fair values requires significant judgments, estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to: discount rates, future cash flows and the economic lives of trade names, technology, and customer relationships. These estimates are based on historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain.
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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives, primarily trademarks and trade names, are not amortized; rather, they are tested for impairment at least annually. The Company can elect to perform a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair values of its reporting units are less than the respective carrying values of those reporting units. The
Company elected to bypass performing the qualitative screen and performed the first step quantitative analysis of the goodwill impairment test in the current year. The Company may elect to perform the qualitative analysis in future periods.
The Company principally relies on a discounted cash flow analysis to determine the fair value of each reporting unit, which considers forecasted cash flows discounted at an appropriate discount rate. The Company believes that market participants would use a discounted cash flow analysis to determine the fair value of its reporting units in a sale transaction. The annual goodwill impairment test requires the Company to make a number of assumptions and estimates concerning future levels of revenue growth, operating margins, depreciation, amortization and working capital requirements, which are based on the Company’s long-range plan and are considered level 3 inputs. The Company’s long-range plan is updated as part of its annual planning process and is reviewed and approved by management. The discount rate is an estimate of the overall after-tax rate of return required by a market participant whose weighted average cost of capital includes both equity and debt, including a risk premium. While the Company uses the best available information to prepare its cash flow and discount rate assumptions, actual future cash flows or market conditions could differ significantly resulting in future impairment charges related to recorded goodwill balances. While there are always changes in assumptions to reflect changing business and market conditions, the Company’s overall methodology and the population of assumptions used have remained unchanged. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the goodwill impairment test to changes in the fair value calculations, the Company applied a hypothetical 10% decrease in fair values of each reporting unit. The 2020 results (expressed as a percentage of carrying value for the respective reporting unit) showed that, despite the hypothetical 10% decrease in fair value, the fair values of the Company’s reporting units still exceeded their respective carrying values by 40% to 779%.
The impairment test for indefinite-lived intangibles other than goodwill (primarily trademarks and trade names) consists of a comparison of the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to the carrying value of the asset as of the impairment testing date. The Company can elect to perform a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair values of its indefinite-lived intangible assets are less than the respective carrying values of those assets. The Company elected to bypass performing the qualitative screen. The Company may elect to perform the qualitative analysis in future periods. The Company estimates the fair value of its indefinite-lived intangibles using the relief from royalty method using level 3 inputs, which is a widely used valuation technique for such assets. The fair value derived from the relief from royalty method is determined by applying a royalty rate to a projection of net revenues discounted using an appropriate discount rate. Each royalty rate is determined based on the profitability of the trade name to which it relates and observed market royalty rates. Certain impairment models have discount rates calculated based on a debt/equity cost of capital. While the Company uses the best available information to prepare its cash flow and discount rate assumptions, actual future cash flows or market conditions could differ significantly resulting in future impairment charges related to recorded intangible balances. While there are always changes in assumptions to reflect changing business and market conditions, the Company’s overall methodology and the population of assumptions used have remained unchanged.
The Company’s acquisitions have generally included a significant goodwill component and the Company expects to continue to make acquisitions. At December 31, 2020, goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $4,977.9 million or 48.1% of the Company’s total assets. The Company completed its required annual impairment tests in the fourth quarter of 2020 and determined that the carrying values of the Company’s goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles were not impaired. There can be no assurance that goodwill or indefinite-lived intangibles impairment will not occur in the future.
- Pensions. The Company has U.S. and foreign defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. The most significant elements in determining the Company’s pension income or expense are the assumed pension liability discount rate and the expected return on plan assets. The pension discount rate reflects the current interest rate at which the pension liabilities could be settled at the valuation date. At the end of each year, the Company determines the assumed discount rate to be used to discount plan liabilities. In
estimating this rate for 2020, the Company considered rates of return on high-quality, fixed-income investments that have maturities consistent with the anticipated funding requirements of the plan. In estimating the U.S. and foreign discount rates, the Company’s actuaries developed a customized discount rate appropriate to the plans’ projected benefit cash flow based on yields derived from a database of long-term bonds at consistent maturity dates. The Company determines the expected long-term rate of return based primarily on its expectation of future returns for the pension plans’ investments. Additionally, the Company considers historical returns on comparable fixed-income and equity investments and adjusts its estimate as deemed appropriate.
- Income Taxes. The process of providing for income taxes and determining the related balance sheet accounts requires management to assess uncertainties, make judgments regarding outcomes and utilize estimates. The Company conducts a broad range of operations around the world and is therefore subject to complex tax regulations in numerous international taxing jurisdictions, resulting at times in tax audits, disputes and potential litigation, the outcome of which is uncertain. Management must make judgments currently about such uncertainties and determine estimates of the Company’s tax assets and liabilities. To the extent the final outcome differs, future adjustments to the Company’s tax assets and liabilities may be necessary.
The Company assesses the realizability of its deferred tax assets, taking into consideration the Company’s forecast of future taxable income, available net operating loss carryforwards and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the deferred tax assets. Based on this assessment, management must evaluate the need for, and the amount of, valuation allowances against the Company’s deferred tax assets. To the extent facts and circumstances change in the future, adjustments to the valuation allowances may be required.
The Company assesses the uncertainty in its tax positions, by applying a minimum recognition threshold which a tax position is required to meet before a tax benefit is recognized in the financial statements. Once the minimum threshold is met, using a more likely than not standard, a series of probability estimates is made for each item to properly measure and record a tax benefit. The tax benefit recorded is generally equal to the highest probable outcome that is more than 50% likely to be realized after full disclosure and resolution of a tax examination. The underlying probabilities are determined based on the best available objective evidence such as recent tax audit outcomes, published guidance, external expert opinion, or by analogy to the outcome of similar issues in the past. There can be no assurance that these estimates will ultimately be realized given continuous changes in tax policy, legislation and audit practice. The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2, Recent Accounting Pronouncements, to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain matters discussed in this Form 10-K are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”), which involve risk and uncertainties that exist in the Company’s operations and business environment and can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the Company’s actual future results. The Company wishes to take advantage of the “safe harbor” provisions of the PSLRA by cautioning readers that numerous important factors in some cases have caused, and in the future could cause, the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Some, but not all, of the factors or uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from present expectations are set forth above and under Item 1A. Risk Factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless required by the securities laws to do so.
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