filings.toolsAmphenol 10-K 2024-12-31
Filed 2025-02-07. 24 sections, 489K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024
or
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 1-10879
AMPHENOL CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
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| Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | 22-2785165 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
358 Hall Avenue**,** Wallingford**,** Connecticut 06492
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
203**-**265-8900
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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|---|---|---|
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered |
| Class A Common Stock, $0.001 par value | APH | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ⌧ No ◻
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ◻ No ⌧
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ⌧ No ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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| Large Accelerated Filer ⌧ | | Accelerated Filer ◻ |
| Non-accelerated Filer ◻ | | Smaller Reporting Company ☐ Emerging Growth Company ☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ⌧
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ◻
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ◻
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ⌧
As of June 30, 2024, the aggregate market value of Amphenol Corporation Class A Common Stock (based upon the closing price of such stock on the New York Stock Exchange) held by non-affiliates was approximately $70,603 million.
As of January 31, 2025, the total number of shares outstanding of Registrant’s Class A Common Stock was 1,211,081,107.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement, which is expected to be filed within 120 days following the end of the fiscal year covered by this report, are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Such forward-looking statements are based on our management’s assumptions and beliefs about future events or circumstances using information currently available, and, as a result, they are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements address events or developments that Amphenol Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “Amphenol,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) expects or believes may or will occur in the future. These forward-looking statements, which address the Company’s expected business and financial performance and financial condition, among other matters, may contain words and terms such as: “anticipate,” “believe,” “commit,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “intend,” “look ahead,” “may,” “ongoing,” “optimistic,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will” or “would” and other words and terms of similar meaning.
Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about expected earnings, revenues, growth, liquidity, effective tax rate, interest rates, the expected timing for the closing of certain acquisitions or other matters. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in all forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, the expectations may not be attained or there may be material deviation. Readers and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. A description of some of these uncertainties and other risks is set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A and elsewhere in this Annual Report, as well as other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including, but not limited to, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. There may be other risks and uncertainties not identified in these documents (that we either currently do not expect to have an adverse effect on our business or that we are unable to predict or identify at the time of this Annual Report) that may cause the Company’s actual future results to be materially different from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements may also be impacted by, among other things, future tax, regulatory and other legal changes that may arise in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
PART I
Item 1. Business
General
Amphenol Corporation is one of the world’s largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors and interconnect systems, antennas, sensors and sensor-based products and coaxial, high-speed and specialty cable. The Company estimates, based on recent reports of industry analysts, that worldwide sales of interconnect and sensor-related products were approximately $250 billion in 2024.
Certain predecessor businesses of the Company were founded in 1932, and the Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1986. The Company’s Class A Common Stock (“Common Stock”) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991.
Reportable Business Segments
The Company’s strategy is to provide our customers with comprehensive design capabilities, a broad selection of products and a high level of quality and service on a worldwide basis, while maintaining continuing programs of productivity improvement and cost control. The Company aligns its businesses into three reportable business segments: (i) Harsh Environment Solutions, (ii) Communications Solutions and (iii) Interconnect and Sensor Systems. This alignment and segment structure reinforces the Company’s entrepreneurial culture and enables clear accountability of each of our business unit general managers, while enhancing the scalability of Amphenol’s business for the future. The Company has three segment managers who lead their respective reportable business segments, each reporting directly to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. All segment information throughout this Annual Report is presented under our three reportable segments.
A description of each of our reportable business segments is as follows:
●Harsh Environment Solutions – the Harsh Environment Solutions segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of ruggedized interconnect products, including connectors and interconnect systems, specialty cable, printed circuits and printed circuit assemblies and other products.
●Communications Solutions – the Communications Solutions segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of connector and interconnect systems, including high speed, radio frequency, power, fiber optic and other products, coaxial and high-speed cable, as well as antennas.
●Interconnect and Sensor Systems – the Interconnect and Sensor Systems segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of sensors, sensor-based systems, connectors and value-add interconnect systems.
The following table provides a summary of the end markets that we service and our key products within each of the three reportable business segments:
| Reporting Segment | Harsh Environment Solutions | Communications Solutions | Interconnect and Sensor Systems | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | |
| % of 2024 Net Sales: | 29% | 42% | 29% | |||
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| End Markets | | ● Automotive ● Commercial Aerospace ● Defense ● Industrial ● Information Technology and Data Communications ● Mobile Networks | | ● Automotive ● Broadband Communications ● Commercial Aerospace ● Defense ● Industrial ● Information Technology and Data Communications ● Mobile Devices ● Mobile Networks | | ● Automotive ● Commercial Aerospace ● Defense ● Industrial ● Information Technology and Data Communications ● Mobile Networks |
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| Key Products | | Connectors and Connector Systems: ● harsh environment data, power, fiber optic and radio frequency interconnect products Value-Add Products: ● backplane interconnect systems ● cable assemblies and harnesses ● cable management products Cable: ● coaxial cable Other: ● flexible and rigid printed circuit boards | | Connectors and Connector Systems: ● fiber optic interconnect products ● high-speed interconnect products ● radio frequency interconnect products Value-Add Products: ● cable assemblies and harnesses Antennas: ● consumer device antennas ● network infrastructure antennas Cable: ● coaxial, power and specialty cable Other: ● hinges and other mechanical products ● production-related products | | Connectors and Connector Systems: ● busbars and power distribution systems ● power interconnect products Value-Add Products: ● backplane interconnect systems ● cable assemblies and harnesses Sensors and Sensor-based Products: ● force ● gas and moisture ● level ● position ● pressure ● temperature ● vibration |
For further details related to the Company’s reportable business segments, information regarding the Company’s operations and results by reportable segment, as well as the Company’s net sales and long-lived assets by geographic area, refer to Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Our Strategy
The Company’s overall strategy is to provide our customers with comprehensive design capabilities, a broad selection of products and a high level of quality and service on a worldwide basis, while maintaining continuing programs of productivity improvement and cost control. Specifically, our business strategy is as follows:
●Pursue broad market diversification - The Company constantly strives to increase the diversity of its markets, customers, applications and products. Due to the tremendous variety of opportunities in the electronics industry, management believes that it is important to participate wherever significant growth opportunities are available. This diversification positions us to proliferate our technologies across the broadest array of opportunities and reduces our exposure to any one particular market, thereby reducing the variability of our financial performance. An overview of the Company’s market and product participation is described under “Markets”.
●Develop high-technology performance-enhancing solutions - The Company seeks to expand the scope and number of its preferred supplier relationships with customers across its diverse end markets. The Company works closely with its customers at the design stage to create and manufacture innovative solutions. These products generally have higher value-added content than other interconnect, antenna and sensor products, and have been developed across the Company’s end markets. The Company is focused on technology leadership in the interconnect areas of radio frequency, power, harsh environment, high-speed and fiber optics, as well as antennas and sensors, as it views these technology areas to be of particular importance to our global customer base.
●Expand global presence - The Company is strategically expanding and shifting its global manufacturing, engineering, sales and service operations to better serve its existing customer base, penetrate developing markets and establish new customer relationships. As the Company’s global customers have grown their international operations to access developing world markets and lower manufacturing costs, the Company is continuing to expand and shift its international footprint in order to provide real-time capabilities to these customers. The majority of the Company’s international operations have broad capabilities, including new product development. The Company is also able to take advantage of the lower manufacturing costs in some regions, and has established low-cost manufacturing and assembly facilities around the world.
●Control costs - The Company recognizes the importance in today’s global marketplace of maintaining a competitive cost structure. Innovation, product quality and performance, and comprehensive customer service are not mutually exclusive with controlling costs. Controlling costs is part of a mindset. It is having the discipline to invest in programs that have a good return, maintaining a cost structure as flexible as possible to respond to changes in the marketplace, working with suppliers and vendors in a fair but prudent way to ensure a reasonable cost for materials and services and creating a mindset where managers manage the Company’s assets as if they were their own.
●Pursue strategic acquisitions and investments - The Company believes that the industry in which it operates is highly fragmented and continues to provide significant opportunities for strategic acquisitions. As a result, we continue to pursue acquisitions of high-potential companies with strong management teams that complement our existing business while further expanding our product lines, technological capabilities and geographic presence. We seek to enhance the performance of acquired companies by leveraging Amphenol’s position with customers across our diverse end markets, our leading technologies and our access to low-cost manufacturing around the world. In 2024, the Company invested approximately $2.2 billion to fund two acquisitions, while in 2023, the Company invested approximately $970 million to fund 10 acquisitions. Our acquisitions in 2024 and 2023 have strengthened our customer base and product offerings in many of our end markets and have brought new high-performing management teams into the Company. In particular, the acquisition in May 2024 of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (“CIT”), a leading global supplier of harsh environment interconnect solutions, primarily to the commercial aerospace, defense and industrial end markets, with a wide range of products, including wire and cable, cable assemblies, contacts, connectors and sensors, represents one of the largest acquisitions in the Company’s history. Management believes that CIT’s wide range of products are highly complementary to Amphenol’s existing interconnect and sensor solutions.
●Foster collaborative, entrepreneurial management - Amphenol’s management system is designed to provide clear income statement and balance sheet responsibility in a flat organizational structure. Each general manager is enabled and incented to grow and develop their business and to think entrepreneurially in providing innovative, timely and cost-effective solutions to meet customer needs. In addition, Amphenol’s general managers have access to the resources of the larger organization and are encouraged to work collaboratively with their peers throughout the Company to meet the needs of the expanding marketplace and to achieve common goals. As the Company has grown, we have preserved this unique culture of entrepreneurship by ensuring that our executive organization can effectively drive the performance of and collaboration among our global general managers. The alignment of the Company’s businesses into three divisions (representing the Company’s reportable business segments), each led by a segment manager reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, reinforces this culture and enables clear accountability, while enhancing the scalability of the Company’s entrepreneurial organization.
Markets
The Company sells products to customers in a diversified set of end markets. For a discussion of certain risks related to the Company’s end markets, refer to the subsection titled “Risks Related to our End Markets” included in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Automotive - Amphenol is a leading supplier of advanced interconnect systems, sensors and antennas for a growing array of automotive applications. In addition, Amphenol has developed advanced technology solutions for hybrid and electric vehicles and is working with leading global customers to proliferate these advanced interconnect products into next-generation automobiles. Sales into the automotive market represented approximately 20% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● antennas | ● lighting | |
| ● charging stations | | ● passenger connectivity |
| ● climate control | | ● power management |
| ● electric vehicles | | ● safety and security systems |
| ● engine management and control | | ● sensing systems |
| ● exhaust monitoring and cleaning | | ● telematics systems |
| ● hybrid vehicles | | ● transmission systems |
| ● infotainment and communications | | |
Broadband Communications - Amphenol is a world leader in broadband communication products for cable, satellite and telecommunications-based video and data networks, with industry-leading engineering, design and manufacturing expertise. The Company offers a wide range of products to service the broadband market, including customer premises and distribution cable, connectors and value-add interconnect products, passive components, active and passive fiber optic interconnect components, interconnect enclosures, as well as interconnect products integrated into headend equipment. Sales into the broadband communications market represented approximately 3% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● cable, satellite & telecommunications networks | ● network switching equipment | |
| ● customer premises equipment | | ● satellite interface devices |
| ● high-speed internet hardware | | ● set-top boxes |
Commercial Aerospace - Amphenol is a leading provider of high-performance interconnect systems and components to the commercial aerospace market. In addition to connector and interconnect assembly products, the Company also provides rigid and flexible printed circuits, high-technology cable management products as well as sensors. Our products are specifically designed to operate in the harsh environments of commercial aerospace, while also providing substantial weight reduction, simplified installation and/or minimal maintenance. Sales into the commercial aerospace market represented approximately 6% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● aircraft and airframe power distribution | ● in-flight entertainment | |
| ● avionics | | ● in-flight internet connectivity |
| ● controls and instrumentation | | ● lighting and control systems |
| ● engines | | ● wire bundling and cable management |
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Defense - Amphenol is a world leader in the design, manufacture and supply of high-performance interconnect systems for harsh environment aerospace and defense applications. Such products require superior performance and reliability under conditions of stress and in hostile environments such as vibration, pressure, humidity, radiation and rapid and severe temperature changes. Amphenol provides an unparalleled product breadth, from aerospace and defense specification connectors to customized high-speed board level interconnects; from flexible to rigid printed circuit boards; from backplane systems to completely integrated assemblies; and from sensors to sensor-based systems. Amphenol is a technology leader, participating in major programs from the earliest inception across each phase of the production cycle. Sales into the defense market represented approximately 11% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
| ● airframe | | ● naval |
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| ● avionics | | ● ordnance and missile systems |
| ● communications | | ● radar systems |
| ● engines | | ● rotorcraft |
| ● ground vehicles and tanks | | ● satellite and space programs |
| ● homeland security | | ● unmanned aerial vehicles |
Industrial - Amphenol is a technology leader in the design, manufacture and supply of high-performance interconnect systems, sensors and antennas for a broad range of industrial applications. Amphenol’s core competencies include application-specific industrial interconnect solutions utilizing integrated assemblies, including with both cable and flexible printed circuits, as well as high-power interconnects requiring advanced engineering and system integration. In particular, our innovative solutions facilitate the increasing demands of embedded computing, power distribution and electrification within industrial applications. Sales into the industrial market represented approximately 24% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● agricultural equipment | ● marine | |
| ● alternative and traditional energy generation | | ● medical equipment |
| ● batteries and hybrid drive systems | | ● oil and gas |
| ● entertainment | | ● power distribution |
| ● factory and machine tool automation | | ● public safety |
| ● heavy equipment | | ● rail mass transit |
| ● instrumentation | | ● semiconductor manufacturing equipment |
| ● internet of things | | ● smart manufacturing |
| ● LED lighting | | ● transportation |
Information Technology and Data Communications - Amphenol is a global provider of interconnect solutions to designers, manufacturers and operators of internet-enabling systems. With our industry-leading high-speed, power and active and passive fiber optic interconnect technologies, together with superior simulation and testing capability and cost effectiveness, Amphenol is a market leader in interconnect development for the information technology and data communications (“IT datacom”) market. Our products enable a broad array of IT datacom systems and applications, including a growing range of systems to power artificial intelligence and machine learning. Whether industry standard or application-specific designs are required, Amphenol provides customers with products that enable performance at the leading edge of next-generation, high-speed, power and fiber optic technologies. Sales into the IT datacom market
represented approximately 24% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● artificial intelligence (“AI”) | | ● servers |
| ● cloud computing and data centers | | ● storage systems |
| ● gaming systems | | ● transmission |
| ● networking equipment | | ● web service providers |
Mobile Devices - Amphenol designs and manufactures an extensive range of interconnect products, antennas and electromechanical components, including hinges, found in a wide array of mobile computing devices. Amphenol’s capability for high-volume production of these technically demanding, miniaturized products, combined with our speed of new product introduction, are critical drivers of the Company’s long-term success in this market. Sales into the mobile devices market represented approximately 9% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● consumer electronics | ● production-related products | |
| ● mobile and smart phones, including accessories | | ● wearable and hearable devices |
| ● mobile computing devices, including laptops, tablets and e-readers | | |
Mobile Networks - Amphenol is a leading global interconnect solutions provider to the mobile networks market and offers a wide product portfolio, including antennas, cable, connectors and interconnect systems. The Company’s products are used in current and next generation wireless communications standards, including in 5G networks. In addition, the Company works with service providers around the world to offer an array of antennas and installation-related site solution interconnect products. Sales into the mobile networks market represented approximately 3% of the Company’s net sales in 2024, with sales into the following primary end applications:
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| ● antenna systems | ● mobile switches | |
| ● base stations | | ● radio links |
| ● core network controllers | | ● small cells |
| ● distributed antenna systems (DAS) | | |
Customers and Geographies
The Company manufactures and sells a broad portfolio of products on a global basis to customers in a wide variety of industries. Our customers include many of the leaders in their respective industries, and our relationships with them typically date back many years. We believe that our diversified customer base provides us with the opportunity to leverage our skills and experience across markets and reduces our exposure to particular end markets. Additionally, we believe that the diversity of our customer base is an important asset of the Company.
For many years, customers have generally been consolidating their lists of qualified suppliers to companies that have the ability to meet certain technical, quality, delivery and other standards while maintaining geographic flexibility and competitive prices. The Company has positioned its global resources to compete effectively in this environment. As an industry leader, the Company has established close working relationships with many of its customers on a global basis. These relationships allow the Company to better anticipate and respond to these customer needs when designing new products and new technical solutions. By working with customers to develop new products and technologies, the Company is able to identify and act on trends and leverage knowledge about next-generation technology across our portfolio of products. In addition, the Company has concentrated its efforts on service, procurement and manufacturing improvements designed to increase product quality and performance and lower product lead-time and cost. For a discussion of certain risks related to the Company’s sales, refer to the subsection titled “Risks Related to our End Markets” included in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
The Company’s products are sold to thousands of original equipment manufacturers (or OEMs) in numerous countries throughout the world. The Company’s products are also sold to electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, to original design manufacturers (or ODMs) and to service providers, including telecommunications network service providers and web service providers. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s net sales during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
The Company sells its products through its own global sales force, independent representatives and a global network of electronics distributors. The Company’s sales to distributors represented approximately 18% and 17% of the Company’s net sales in 2024 and 2023, respectively. In addition to product design teams and collaborative initiatives with customers, the Company uses key account managers to manage certain customer relationships on a global basis so that it can bring to bear its total resources to meet the worldwide needs of its multinational customers.
Manufacturing
The Company is a global manufacturer employing advanced manufacturing processes including molding, stamping, plating, turning, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, 3D printing, extruding, die casting, certain other manufacturing, automation and assembly operations and proprietary process technology for connectors, specialty and coaxial cable production, antenna and sensor fabrication. Outsourcing of certain manufacturing processes is used when cost-effective. Substantially all of the Company’s manufacturing facilities operate under certification to management system standards of globally recognized, industry certification organizations. Many of our facilities are certified to quality management systems, primarily ISO9001, but also may include ISO13485, AS9100, and IATF16949. In addition, approximately half of our facilities are also certified to environmental or occupational health and safety management systems, including ISO14001 and ISO45001.
The Company’s manufacturing facilities are generally vertically integrated operations from the initial design stage through final design and manufacturing. The Company designs, manufactures and assembles its products at facilities in approximately 40 countries around the world. Our global coverage positions us near many of our customers’ locations and allows us to assist them in consolidating their supply base and lowering their production and logistics costs. In addition, the Company generally relies on local management in every region, which we believe creates a high degree of organizational stability and operational agility, as well as a deeper understanding of local markets. We believe our broad and balanced geographic distribution lowers our exposure to particular geographies. This was evident in recent years, as we were generally able to support our customers even if pandemic-related restrictions and other challenges were present in a particular geography. The Company believes that its global presence is an important competitive advantage, as it allows the Company to provide quality products on a timely and worldwide basis to its multinational customers, while at the same time offering a level of resiliency and diversification against local risks and challenges that may emerge in any single geography.
The Company employs a global manufacturing strategy to provide proximity and reliable service to customers, while also lowering production and logistics costs. Our strategy is to maintain strong cost and quality controls in our manufacturing and assembly operations. The Company evaluates and adjusts its expense levels and workforce to reflect current business conditions and attempts to maximize operating profitability as well as the return on capital investments. This strategy has been, and continues to be, critical to the Company’s ability to mitigate any potential supply chain constraints. The Company sources materials and components for its products on a worldwide basis. To better serve certain high-volume customers, the Company has established facilities near these major customers. The Company seeks to position its manufacturing and assembly facilities in order to serve local markets while coordinating, as appropriate, product design and manufacturing responsibility with the Company’s other operations around the world. For a discussion of certain risks related to the Company’s global operations, refer to the subsection titled “Risks Related to our Global Operations” included in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Research and Development
The Company’s product development strategy is to rely on product design teams at most of our business units around the world working collaboratively with customers, which often results in the Company obtaining approved vendor status for its customers’ new products and programs. The Company focuses its research and development efforts primarily on those product areas that it believes have the potential for broad market applications and significant sales within a one- to three-year period. The Company seeks to have its products become widely accepted within the industry for similar applications and products manufactured by other potential customers, which the Company believes will provide additional sources of future revenue. At the end of 2024, our research, development and engineering efforts, which relate to the creation of new and improved products and processes, were supported by approximately 4,600 of our employees and were performed primarily by individual business units focused on specific markets and product technologies.
Intellectual Property
We own a significant portfolio of patents that principally relate to mechanical, electrical, radio frequency, optical and electronic features of interconnect, antenna and sensor products. We also own a portfolio of trademarks and are a licensee of various patents and trademarks. Patents for individual products extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. Trademark rights may potentially extend for longer periods of time and are dependent upon the laws of various jurisdictions and the use of the trademarks.
We also rely upon trade secrets, manufacturing know-how, continuing technological innovations and licensing opportunities to maintain and improve our competitive position. We review third-party proprietary rights, including patents and patent applications, as available, in an effort to develop an effective intellectual property strategy, avoid infringement of third-party proprietary rights, identify licensing opportunities and monitor the intellectual property claims of others.
From time to time, the Company is involved in disputes with third parties regarding the Company’s or such third party’s intellectual property assets, particularly patents. While we consider our patents and trademarks to be valuable assets, we do not believe that our competitive position or our operations are dependent upon or would be materially impacted by the loss of any single patent or group of related patents, or by a third party’s successful enforcement of its patents against us or any of our products. For a discussion of certain risks related to the Company’s intellectual property, refer to the risk factor titled “We may experience difficulties in enforcing our intellectual property rights, which could result in loss of market share, and we may be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Raw Materials
The Company purchases a wide variety of raw materials for the manufacture of its products, including (i) precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium, (ii) aluminum, steel, copper, titanium and metal alloy products and (iii) plastic materials. The Company also purchases a wide variety of mechanical and electronic components for the manufacturing of its products. Such raw materials and components are generally available throughout the world and are purchased locally from a variety of suppliers. The Company is generally not dependent upon any one source for raw materials or components or, if one source is used, the Company generally attempts to protect itself through long-term supply agreements. From time to time, the Company has encountered, and in the future may encounter, difficulties in obtaining certain raw materials or components necessary for production at reasonable costs due to supply chain constraints and logistical challenges, which may include regulatory restrictions and the imposition of additional tariffs. These difficulties may also negatively impact the pricing of materials and components sourced or used by the Company. While the Company does not currently anticipate significant, broad-based difficulties in obtaining raw materials or components necessary for production, inflationary pressures and increased commodity prices may impact the cost and availability of certain raw materials and components used by the Company and result in supply shortages for discrete raw materials or components. For a discussion of certain risks related to the availability of and dependence on raw materials and components, refer to the risk factor titled “The Company and certain of its suppliers and customers have experienced, and may in the future experience, difficulties obtaining certain raw materials and components, and the cost of certain of the Company’s raw materials and components may increase” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein. Information regarding our obligations related to commitments to purchase certain goods and services is disclosed in Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Competition
The Company encounters competition in all areas of its business. The Company competes primarily on the basis of technology innovation, product quality and performance, price, customer service and delivery time. Primary competitors include Aptiv, Belden, CommScope, Eaton, Foxconn, Glenair, HARTING, Hirose, HUBER+SUHNER, ICT Luxshare, JAE, Jonhon, JST, Molex, Phoenix Contact, Radiall, Rosenberger, Sensata, TE Connectivity and Yazaki, among others. In addition, the Company competes with a large number of smaller companies who compete in specific geographies, markets or products. For a discussion of certain risks related to competition, refer to the risk factor titled “The Company encounters competition in all areas of our business” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Backlog and Seasonality
The Company estimates that its backlog of unfilled firm orders as of December 31, 2024 was approximately $6.1 billion compared with backlog of approximately $4.0 billion as of December 31, 2023. The increase in the Company’s backlog was primarily related to strong demand for the Company’s products that support AI applications, as well as contributions from the Company’s acquisition program. Orders typically fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on customer demand and general business conditions. Unfilled orders may generally be cancelled prior to shipment of goods. It is expected that nearly all of the Company’s backlog will be filled within the next 12 months. A significant portion of the Company’s business, such as sales to the communications-related markets and sales to distributors, generally have short lead times. Therefore, backlog may not be indicative of future demand. Generally, the Company does not experience significant seasonality in its business, although historically, the strongest quarters have typically been the last two quarters of our fiscal year.
Environmental Matt****ers
Certain operations of the Company are subject to environmental laws and regulations that govern the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, as well as the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. The Company believes that its operations are currently in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations and that the costs of continuing compliance will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. For more information on certain environmental matters, refer to Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. For a discussion of certain risks related to environmental matters, refer to the risk factor titled “The Company is subject to environmental laws and regulations that could adversely affect our business” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Government Regulation
As a global company, we are subject to various laws and regulations applicable to parties doing business with the U.S. and other governments, including laws and regulations governing reporting obligations, interactions with government officials, performance of government contracts, the use and treatment of government furnished property and the nature of materials used in our products. In addition, the Company and its products are subject to import and export regulations present in each of the various jurisdictions in which we operate around the world. Certain of our products, including purchased components of such products, are subject to U.S. and non-U.S. export control laws and regulations, and may be exported only with the required export license or through an export license exception. The issuances of such licenses, in particular within the defense market, are subject to complex laws and regulations that could change frequently and with limited notice, depending on the jurisdiction, geopolitical events or other factors. The Company has systems in place to apply for licenses and to maintain compliance with any such regulations. Separately, we are required to comply with certain U.S. and non-U.S. economic sanctions and trade embargoes, as well as the terms of any preferential duty and/or tariff programs in which we participate.
For a discussion of certain risks related to government regulation, including export and import controls and sanctions, refer to the risk factors titled “The Company is exposed to political, economic, military and other risks related to operating in countries outside the United States, and changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions, U.S. and other countries’ trade policies and other factors beyond the Company’s control may adversely impact its business and operating results,” “The Company must comply with complex export and import controls as well as economic sanctions and trade embargoes imposed by the United States government and other countries,” “Our business and financial results may be adversely affected by government contracting risks,” and “Our international operations require us to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various foreign jurisdictions, and our business reputation and financial results may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, customers, suppliers, distributors or any other business partners,” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Human Capital Management and Our Culture
The Company’s success is closely tied to the capability, adaptability and accountability of our diverse, global organization. One of the key components of our business strategy is the fostering of a collaborative and entrepreneurial management culture. Each of our general managers operates in a flat organizational structure and is enabled and incented to grow and develop their business, with the support of the resources of the larger organization. We believe this structure, with approximately 140 general managers running unique, independent businesses, creates an environment and
culture where each of our general managers has a more direct link to the success of their individual businesses and a more personal connection to the employees they oversee and the communities in which they operate.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had approximately 125,000 employees worldwide, of which approximately 12,000 were located in the United States. Less than 10% of Amphenol’s U.S. workforce is represented by an independent trade union or covered by collective bargaining. The Company believes that it has a good relationship with both its unionized and non-unionized employees.
Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) is actively involved in overseeing the Company’s employee-related strategies and practices as well as the Company’s culture. This oversight is conducted both directly and through certain of the Board’s committees. At each of its regularly scheduled quarterly meetings, the Board reviews changes in key personnel and, at least once a year, meets with management to discuss various human resources related topics. We believe the Company’s culture has been a critical component of the Company’s success and reinforcing that culture is a key responsibility of our executive management.
Our business spans the globe, and the employees in our facilities reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. At Amphenol, we promote and maintain a culture of respect and appreciation of differences in our employees. The Company generally relies on local management in every business unit to foster a strong culture consistent with the Company’s values and to be cognizant of local circumstances and requirements, which we believe creates a high degree of organizational stability and a deep commitment to our people and the local community. A key hallmark of our structure is our entrepreneurial culture that creates clear accountability for each of our general managers, who are our key business leaders. Our core management team is comprised of these general managers and their controllers, as well as our group general managers and executive management team. Women represented 22% of this core management team at the end of 2024. Of our total employees worldwide, approximately half are women.
The safety and well-being of our employees is critical to the successful operation of our business. Our health and safety activities are overseen by our corporate environmental, health, safety and sustainability leadership team and are managed by our local teams, who coordinate on-site safety programs, resources, reporting and training in our facilities. We believe that this model of coaching and tracking at the corporate level, but administering at the facility level, has allowed us to provide training and supervision that better fits the local needs of each of our workforces.
The Company is focused on providing fair and competitive compensation and benefits to our employees around the world. In the U.S., in addition to competitive compensation, the Company maintains various employee benefits such as health and related insurance, retirement savings programs and health savings and flexible spending accounts. Outside the U.S., we maintain compensation and other benefits competitive with local market conditions.
Amphenol strives to be a positive influence in the communities in which we operate around the world. Most of our community outreach is organized by our local management teams, which helps ensure that our efforts are working in support of the local communities in which our employees live and work.
Sustainability Report
We have a shared commitment to create innovative products that enable our customers to improve the lives of people around the world, to support the well-being of our employees and communities and to sustain the health of our planet. We believe that long-term value for our Company is created through making sustainable business choices, building strong relationships with our stakeholders and engaging in good corporate governance. Whether through reducing our and our partners’ environmental footprint, following humane labor practices, supporting the development of our global team, ensuring the strength and integrity of our supply chain or giving back to our communities, we have always believed that it is not just good stewardship, but good business to focus on the long-term sustainability of Amphenol.
The Company publishes an annual sustainability report (“Sustainability Report”) to highlight our goals and areas of progress and success in sustainability matters, including climate-related topics. The Sustainability Report discusses our approach and progress on the environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues most significant to our business, including ESG-related strategies, programs, goals and metrics that demonstrate our commitment to our stakeholders. The Sustainability Report is designed to inform and engage the Company’s broad range of stakeholders, such as investors, customers, suppliers, employees and members of the communities in which we operate, among others. Our 2023 Sustainability Report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) Standards
framework and topics identified under the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) standards and outlines board and executive-level oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities identified in the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) recommendations. The SASB standards and GRI and TCFD frameworks encourage companies to disclose climate-related topics that are important to certain interested stakeholders, even if not material for purposes of the U.S. securities laws. Furthermore, the materiality standards under these frameworks and other regimes we may consider are different from, and often more expansive than, the materiality standard under the U.S. securities laws. Our 2023 Sustainability Report is available on our website at https://amphenol.com/sustainability. The items discussed in our 2023 Sustainability Report have not required material capital expenditures or operating expenses, nor caused material operational challenges or risks to the Company’s business or results of operations beyond those items disclosed in Item 1A. Risk Factors within the risk factors titled “The Company may be negatively impacted by extreme weather conditions and natural catastrophic events, including those caused or intensified by climate change and global warming,” and “The Company is subject to, and may continue to be subject to, incremental costs, risks and regulations associated with efforts to combat the negative effects of climate change.” Information included in our 2023 Sustainability Report and our website is not incorporated by reference in, and does not form part of, this Annual Report. Our 2024 Sustainability Report is expected to be released during the second quarter of 2025.
Available Information
The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including Amphenol, that file with the SEC. Any such documents that the Company files with the SEC can be obtained by the public on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. This Annual Report and all of the Company’s other filings with the SEC, such as quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, and any amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are also available to view, free of charge, on the Company’s website, www.amphenol.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Also included on the Company’s website are press releases, information about the Company’s financial results and performance, and other information about the Company’s business. Copies of this Annual Report are also available without charge, from Amphenol Corporation, Investor Relations, 358 Hall Avenue, Wallingford, CT 06492. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The Company’s business, operations, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and stock price can be negatively affected by many risk factors. Investors should carefully consider the risks described below and all other information in this Annual Report. The Company’s past financial performance, including historical trends, should not be considered a reliable indicator of future performance. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that we currently consider immaterial may materialize and impair the Company’s business, operations, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and/or stock price.
If actions taken by management to limit, monitor or control enterprise risk exposures are not successful, the Company’s business, operations, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of the Company’s Common Stock and debt securities could decline and investors may lose all or part of their investment.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR GLOBAL OPERATIONS
The Company is exposed to political, economic, military and other risks related to operating in countries outside the United States, and changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions, U.S. and other countries’ trade policies and other factors beyond the Company’s control may adversely impact its business and operating results.
The Company’s operations and performance depend significantly on global, regional and U.S. economic and geopolitical conditions. During 2024, non-U.S. markets constituted approximately 65% of the Company’s net sales, with China constituting approximately 22% of the Company’s net sales. The Company employs nearly 90% of its
workforce outside the United States. The Company’s customers are located throughout the world, and the Company has many manufacturing, administrative and sales facilities outside the United States.
During the last few years, there have also been significant changes to U.S. and other countries’ trade policies, export control laws, sanctions, legislation, treaties and tariffs, including, but not limited to, U.S. trade policies and tariffs affecting China and certain of the other countries in which we operate. These changes have, in certain cases, increased our costs of doing business. There is significant uncertainty about the future of trade relationships around the world, including potential changes to trade laws and regulations, trade policies, and tariffs. For example, effective February 4, 2025, the U.S. government implemented an additional 10% tariff on goods being imported from China and, in response, the Chinese government implemented a 15% tariff on certain goods being imported into China from the U.S. The U.S. has also announced additional 25% tariffs for goods imported into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada beginning in March 2025. We cannot predict what additional actions may ultimately be taken by the U.S. or other governments with respect to tariffs or trade relations, what products may be subject to such actions (including subject to U.S. export control restrictions), or what actions may be taken by the other countries in retaliation. The imposition of additional tariffs or other trade barriers could increase our costs in certain markets and may cause our customers to find alternative sourcing or could make it more difficult for us to sell our products in some markets or to some customers, which may result in declines in our sales and operating income. We have manufacturing facilities in certain jurisdictions that are authorized to operate under preferential duty and/or tariff programs that provide for reduced tariffs and/or eased import and export regulations and are subject to compliance with the terms of such programs, which have become stricter. Failure to comply with the terms of such programs could increase our manufacturing costs and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Additionally, it is possible that government policy changes and uncertainty about such changes could increase market volatility and currency exchange rate fluctuations. As a result of these dynamics, we cannot predict the impact to our business of any future changes to the U.S.’s or other countries’ trading relationships or the impact of new laws or regulations adopted by the U.S. or other countries.
In addition to the risks noted above, a number of other legal, economic and geopolitical factors could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operations, financial condition, liquidity and/or results of operations, such as:
●a global or regional economic slowdown or recession in any of the Company’s end markets (or a prolonging or intensification of such a slowdown or recession), which could negatively affect the financial condition of our customers and result in reduced demand;
●postponement of customer spending, in response to tighter credit, inflationary pressures, financial market volatility and other global economic factors;
●effects of significant changes in economic, monetary and/or fiscal policies, including interest rate changes by the U.S. Federal Reserve or other international central banking systems, foreign currency fluctuations, significant income tax changes and inflationary pressures;
●intergovernmental and other conflicts or actions, including, but not limited to, armed conflict, such as the ongoing military conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, as well as between Israel and its adversaries in the Middle East, trade wars, cyberattacks and acts of terrorism or war;
●employment regulations and local labor conditions, including increases in employment costs, particularly in low-cost regions in which the Company currently operates;
●industrial policies in various countries that favor domestic industries over multinationals or that restrict foreign companies altogether;
●difficulties protecting intellectual property;
●longer payment cycles;
●changes in exchange control regulations, including any government actions that prohibit, limit or increase the cost of paying a dividend or otherwise moving cash between the Company’s subsidiaries located in different countries;
●credit risks and other challenges in collecting accounts receivable; and
●changes in assumptions, such as discount rates, along with lower than expected investment returns and performance related to the Company’s benefit plans.
We may be negatively impacted by adverse public health developments, including epidemics and pandemics.
Any outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments in countries where we operate could have a material and adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. This was particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in disruptions to our offices
and manufacturing facilities around the world, as well as the facilities of our suppliers, customers and our customers’ contract manufacturers. These disruptions included government regulations that inhibited our ability to operate certain of our facilities in the ordinary course, travel restrictions, supplier constraints, supply chain interruptions, logistics challenges and limitations, labor disruptions and reduced demand from certain customers. Future disruptions from similar harmful public health developments could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The Company and certain of its suppliers and customers have experienced, and may in the future experience, difficulties obtaining certain raw materials and components, and the cost of certain of the Company’s raw materials and components may increase.
The Company uses basic materials like aluminum, steel, copper, titanium, metal alloys, gold, silver, palladium and plastic resins in its manufacturing processes as well as a variety of components and relies on third-party suppliers to secure these materials and components. In the past, prices for these and certain other basic materials have experienced significant volatility. While the Company does not currently anticipate significant, broad-based difficulties in obtaining raw materials or components necessary for production, it has, from time to time, experienced certain difficulties, and inflationary pressures and increased commodity prices may impact the cost and availability of certain raw materials and components used by the Company and result in supply shortages for discrete raw materials or components. Moreover, the Company may not be able to pass along any increased raw material or component prices to its customers and may not be able to procure and obtain sufficient quantities of raw materials and components in a timely manner and at acceptable prices from our suppliers. In limited instances, we depend on a single source of supply or participate in commodity markets that may be served by a limited number of suppliers. Delays in obtaining supplies may result from a number of factors affecting our suppliers, and any delay could impair our ability to deliver products to our customers. The cost and availability of raw materials may fluctuate significantly due to external factors including, but not limited to, product scarcity, war or other armed conflict, logistical challenges, disruptions caused by climate change and adverse weather conditions, commodity market fluctuations, currency fluctuations, governmental policies and regulations such as trade tariffs and import restrictions, as well as pandemics and epidemics, which may, in turn, negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Cybersecurity incidents affecting our information technology systems could disrupt business operations or cause the release of highly sensitive confidential or personal information, resulting in adverse impacts to our reputation and operating results and potentially leading to litigation and/or governmental investigations, fines and other penalties.
We rely on information technology systems provided by third-party providers and our own information technology systems for critical operations and face numerous and evolving cybersecurity threats and techniques used to disrupt operations and gain unauthorized access to these systems. These threats may arise from diverse threat actors such as state-sponsored organizations and opportunistic hackers and hacktivists, as well as through diverse attack vectors, including, but not limited to, malware, social engineering/phishing, credential harvesting, ransomware, malfeasance by insiders, human or technological error and other increasingly sophisticated attacks. Cyberattacks continue to expand and evolve, making it difficult to detect and prevent such threats from impacting the Company. Globally, there continues to be an elevated volume of cyber threats, exploitation of previously unknown software vulnerabilities, ransomware attempts and social engineering attacks, such as phishing and impersonation, and attackers increasingly use tools and techniques that are designed to circumvent controls, avoid detection, and remove or obfuscate forensic evidence. The proliferation of Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices and Operational Technology (“OT”) systems has expanded the potential points of entry for an unauthorized user to access a system or network. Threat actors are targeting IoT and OT systems to disrupt critical infrastructure or gain lateral access to corporate networks. In addition, the rise of AI and machine learning has led to more sophisticated and deceptive attacks. Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI-generated deepfake videos, audio and text to deceive individuals and organizations. These attacks can be used for impersonation in social engineering and fraud. Attackers can manipulate systems in new ways and more easily perform functions at scale. As a result, we may be unable to detect, investigate, remediate, or recover from future attacks or incidents, or avoid a material adverse impact to our business.
In addition, global remote working dynamics continue to present additional risk that threat actors will engage in social engineering (for example, phishing) and exploit vulnerabilities in corporate and non-corporate networks. Ransomware attacks have become easier to execute, and with the rise of ransomware as a service, it has become an increasingly popular business model to lease or sell ransomware variants to anyone willing to pay the fee.
There can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully complied with or effective in protecting our information technology systems. The Company and third-party providers upon whom we may rely for certain information technology services have been, and expect to continue to be, a target of various cybersecurity attacks, including, but not limited to, ransomware attacks, phishing and other sophisticated threats. While the impact of previous attacks has not been material, future cybersecurity incidents could lead to unauthorized access to and potentially impair the Company’s information technology systems, products, customers, suppliers and third-party service providers. Cybersecurity incidents could potentially result in the disruption of our business operations and/or misappropriation, destruction or corruption of critical data and confidential, personal, or proprietary information. Cybersecurity events could also result in the loss of or inability to access confidential information and critical business, financial or other data, and/or cause the release of highly sensitive confidential or personal information. Cybersecurity incidents could also result from unauthorized parties gaining access to our systems or information through fraudulent or other means of deceiving our employees, suppliers or third-party service providers. Our and key third-party information technology systems and infrastructure are susceptible to disruptions from cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, security breaches, computer viruses, security vulnerabilities or “bugs” in software or hardware, outages, systems failures, natural disasters, adverse public health developments, or other catastrophic events, any of which could result in reputational damage that may cause the loss of existing or future customers, the loss of our intellectual property, the release of highly sensitive confidential or personal information, the inability to access critical data and other operational disruptions, litigation with third parties (including class actions) and/or governmental investigations, fines and other penalties, among other things, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Finally, we cannot guarantee that any costs and liabilities incurred in relation to an attack or incident will be covered by our existing insurance policies or that applicable insurance will be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms or at all.
We and our business partners maintain significant amounts of data electronically in locations around the world. This data relates to all aspects of our business, including financial information and current and future products under development, and also contains certain customer, supplier, partner and employee data, such as personal information. There is a risk of intrusion, cyberattacks or tampering that could compromise the integrity and privacy of this data or make the data inaccessible to us. In addition, in certain cases, we outsource to third-party business partners. Those partners may also be subject to data intrusion or a cyberattack. Any compromise of the data could substantially disrupt our operations, impact future business opportunities, harm our customers, employees and other business partners, damage our reputation, violate applicable laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations and subject us to potentially significant costs and liabilities, including litigation or other enforcement actions.
The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, with frequent imposition of new and changing requirements. Privacy laws and regulations around the world including, for example, in the European Union (“EU”), People’s Republic of China, the state of California, and several other U.S. states, impose significant obligations for companies on how they collect, store, protect, process and transfer personal information and can impose significant fines for non-compliance. The potential for fines, penalties and other related costs in the event of a breach of or non-compliance with any existing and forthcoming information security or privacy laws and requirements may have an adverse effect on our financial results. For further discussion of the Company’s risk management, strategy, and governance around cybersecurity, refer to Part I, Item 1C. Cybersecurity herein.
The Company may be negatively impacted by extreme weather conditions and natural catastrophic events, including those caused or intensified by climate change and global warming.
From time to time, extreme weather conditions and natural disasters have negatively impacted, and may continue to negatively impact, portions of our operations, as well as the operations of our suppliers, vendors, customers and distributors. Such unpredictable weather conditions and natural disasters including, but not limited to, severe storms, earthquakes, fires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and stronger and longer-lasting weather patterns, including heat waves and freezes and ambient temperature or precipitation changes, and their consequences and effects have, in the past, temporarily disrupted our business operations both in the United States and abroad. Climate change may exacerbate certain such events and may also contribute to other changes that could also adversely impact our operations. These events could cause some of the Company’s operations to suffer from supply chain disruptions and potential delays in fulfilling customer orders or order cancellations altogether, lost business and sales, increased costs, energy and water scarcity, changing costs or availability of insurance, and/or property damage or harm to our people, each and all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition and results of operations.
Our international operations require us to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various foreign jurisdictions, and our business reputation and financial results may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, customers, suppliers, distributors or any other business partners.
Doing business on a worldwide basis requires us and our subsidiaries to comply with the anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various foreign jurisdictions, and our failure to comply with these rules and regulations may expose us to significant liabilities. These laws and regulations may apply to companies, individual directors, officers, employees, subcontractors and agents, and may restrict our operations, trade practices, investment decisions and partnering activities. In particular, our international operations are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (“FCPA”). As part of our business, we deal with state-owned business enterprises, the employees and representatives of which may be considered foreign officials for purposes of the FCPA. In addition, some of the foreign locations in which we operate lack a developed legal system and have elevated levels of corruption. As a result of the above activities, we are exposed to the risk of violating U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws.
There can be no assurance that our policies and procedures designed for complying with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations will be effective in preventing our directors, officers, employees, subcontractors and agents from taking actions that violate these legal requirements. Violations of these legal requirements could subject us to criminal fines and imprisonment, civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, injunctions, debarment from government contracts and other remedial measures. In addition, any actual or alleged violations could disrupt our operations, cause reputational harm, involve significant management distraction and result in a material adverse effect on our competitive position, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
The Company’s results can be positively or negatively affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
The Company conducts business in many foreign currencies through its worldwide operations, and as a result, is subject to foreign exchange exposure due to changes in exchange rates of the various currencies, including possible foreign currency restrictions and/or devaluations. Changes in exchange rates can positively or negatively affect the Company’s sales, operating margins and equity. There can be no assurance that any or all actions taken by the Company to mitigate currency risk, such as locating factories in the same country or region in which products are sold, hedging contracts, cost reduction and pricing actions or working capital management, will be fully effective in successfully managing currency risk. A significant and sudden decline in the value of any of the foreign currencies of the Company’s worldwide operations could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The Company is dependent on attracting, recruiting, hiring and retaining skilled employees, including our various management teams.
Our performance is dependent on our ability to attract, recruit, hire and retain skilled personnel, including our various management teams. It is possible that scarce labor market conditions, which the Company has experienced from time to time, could have an adverse effect on our ability to attract, recruit, hire and retain skilled employees, which in turn, could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our business could also be adversely impacted by any ongoing increases in labor costs, including wages and benefits.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR END MARKETS
The Company encounters competition in all areas of our business.
The Company competes primarily on the basis of technology innovation, product quality and performance, price, customer service and delivery time. Competitors include large, diversified companies, some of which have greater assets and financial resources than the Company, as well as medium- to small-sized companies. Rapid technological changes could also lead to the entry of new competitors of various sizes against whom we may not be able to successfully compete. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to compete successfully against existing or new competition, and the inability to do so may result in price reductions, reduced margins, or loss of market share, any of which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company is dependent on end market dynamics to sell its products, and some of the Company’s end markets are subject to cyclical and at times rapid periods of reduced demand.
The Company is dependent on end market dynamics to sell its products, and its operating results could be adversely affected by cyclical and at times rapid periods of reduced demand in any of its end markets. Demand for products can be subject to rapid changes arising from a wide variety of factors, including new technology developments, changes in general economic conditions, consolidation within an industry, changes in access to financing, competition, new legislation and regulation, prolonged work stoppages or other disputes with labor unions and governmental budgetary constraints, among many other factors. Periodic downturns in any of our customers’ end markets can significantly reduce demand for certain of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
RISKS RELATED TO ACQUISITIONS
The Company has at times experienced difficulties and unanticipated expenses in connection with purchasing and integrating newly acquired businesses.
The Company has completed numerous acquisitions in recent years, including two in 2024 and 10 in 2023. The Company anticipates that it will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities as part of its growth strategy. From time to time, the Company experiences difficulty and unanticipated expenses associated with purchasing and integrating acquisitions, and acquisitions do not always perform and deliver the financial benefits expected. In addition, the Company may not be able to close acquisitions as anticipated, or at all. The Company has also experienced challenges at times following the acquisition of a new company or business, including, but not limited to, managing the operations, manufacturing facilities and technology; maintaining and increasing the customer base; or retaining key employees, suppliers and distributors. In certain limited cases, the Company has pursued indemnification claims against seller(s) of an acquired business or sought recovery under third party insurance policies for pre-acquisition liabilities, breaches of representations, warranties or covenants or for other reasons provided for in the relevant acquisition agreement or insurance policy. To the extent we pursue indemnification claims against such seller(s) or insurers, such seller(s) or insurers may successfully contest such claims and/or may not have the financial capacity to compensate us for such claims, or such claims may otherwise be difficult or impractical to enforce. We cannot predict or guarantee whether and to what extent anticipated cost savings, benefits, margin improvements and growth prospects will be achieved from recent or future acquisitions.
The Company may in the future incur goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges.
On December 31, 2024, the total assets of the Company were $21.4 billion, which included $8.2 billion of goodwill (the excess of fair value of consideration paid over the fair value of net identifiable assets of businesses acquired) and $1.2 billion of other intangible assets, net. The Company performs annual evaluations (or more frequently, if necessary) for the potential impairment of the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets. Such evaluations to date have not resulted in the need to recognize an impairment. However, if the financial performance of the Company’s businesses were to decline significantly, the Company could incur a material non-cash charge to its income statement for the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that impairment charges in the future will not be required if the expected cash flow estimates as projected by management do not occur, especially if an economic recession occurs and continues for a lengthy period or becomes more severe, or if acquisitions and investments made by the Company fail to achieve expected returns.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The Company’s credit agreement and senior notes contain certain requirements, which if breached, could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
The third amended and restated credit agreement governs our $3.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”), which also backstops the Company’s U.S. commercial paper program (“U.S. Commercial Paper Program”) and Euro commercial paper program (“Euro Commercial Paper Program”, and together with the U.S. Commercial Paper Program, “Commercial Paper Programs”). The Revolving Credit Facility contains financial and other covenants, such as a limit on the ratio of debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a limit on priority indebtedness and limits on incurrence of liens. The ability to meet the financial covenants can be affected by events beyond the Company’s control, and the Company cannot provide assurance that it will meet those
tests. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under the Revolving Credit Facility. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Revolving Credit Facility, the lenders could terminate all commitments to extend further credit and elect to declare amounts outstanding thereunder to be immediately due and payable, which could result in the acceleration of certain of the Company’s other indebtedness and the Company not having sufficient assets to repay indebtedness under the Revolving Credit Facility and such other debt instruments. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had no borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, U.S. Commercial Paper Program and Euro Commercial Paper Program. However, the Company borrowed under the U.S. Commercial Paper Program throughout much of 2024, and the Company may make additional borrowings under any of its debt instruments from time to time.
In addition to the Revolving Credit Facility, the Company’s various senior notes, some of which were issued during 2024, also impose certain obligations on the Company and prohibit various actions by the Company unless it satisfies certain financial requirements. While the Company is compliant with all such requirements as of December 31, 2024, there can be no assurance that the Company will remain in compliance with such requirements.
The Company relies on the global capital markets, and an inability to access those markets on favorable terms could adversely affect the Company’s results.
The Company has used the global capital markets to raise capital to invest in its business and make strategic acquisitions. The capital and credit markets have experienced significant volatility in the past. If general economic and capital market conditions deteriorate significantly, it could become more difficult to access capital to finance capital investments, acquisitions and other initiatives including dividends and share repurchases, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, if the credit rating agencies that rate the Company’s debt were to downgrade the Company’s credit rating, it would likely increase the Company’s cost of capital and make it more difficult for the Company to obtain new financing and access capital markets, which could also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The Company’s results may be negatively affected by changing interest rates.
The Company is subject to interest rate volatility with regard to existing and future issuances of debt. The Company monitors its mix of fixed-rate and variable-rate debt, as well as its mix of short-term and long-term debt. As of December 31, 2024, less than 1% of the Company’s outstanding borrowings were subject to floating interest rates. To the extent that interest rates change related to floating rate debt and the Company borrows under any of our floating rate debt instruments in the future (Commercial Paper Programs as well as our Revolving Credit Facility), our interest expense and interest payments will be impacted accordingly. There can be no assurance that interest rates will not change significantly from current levels.
RISKS RELATED TO LEGAL AND REGULATORY MATTERS
Our business and financial results may be adversely affected by government contracting risks.
We are subject to various laws and regulations applicable to parties doing business with the U.S. and other governments, including laws and regulations governing reporting obligations, interactions with government officials, performance of government contracts, the use and treatment of government furnished property and the nature of materials used in our products. We may be unilaterally suspended or barred from conducting business with the U.S. and other foreign governments or their suppliers (both directly and indirectly) or become subject to fines or other sanctions if we are found to have violated such laws or regulations. As a result of the need to comply with these laws and regulations, we are subject to increased risks of governmental investigations, civil fraud actions, criminal prosecutions, whistleblower lawsuits and other enforcement actions. The U.S. laws and regulations to which we are subject include, but are not limited to, the Export Administration Regulations, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the False Claims Act, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FCPA. Moreover, we are subject to a wide range of similar laws and regulations in other countries throughout the world. Failure, or the perceived failure, to comply with applicable requirements also could harm our reputation and our ability to compete for future government contracts or sell commercial equivalent products. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.
In addition, U.S. government contracts are subject to modification, curtailment or termination by the U.S. government without prior written notice, either for convenience or for default as a result of our failure to perform under the applicable contract. If our contracts are terminated by the U.S. government as a result of our default, we could be liable for additional costs the U.S. government incurs in acquiring undelivered goods or services from another source and any other damages it suffers. Furthermore, the U.S. government periodically audits our governmental contract costs, which could result in fines, penalties or adjustment of costs and prices under the contracts. Any such fines, penalties or payment adjustments resulting from such audits could adversely affect our reputation, business, operations, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.
The Company must comply with complex export and import controls as well as economic sanctions and trade embargoes imposed by the United States government and other countries.
Certain of our products, including purchased components of such products, are subject to U.S. and non-U.S. export control laws and regulations, and may be exported only with the required export license or through an export license exception. In addition, we are required to comply with certain U.S. and non-U.S. economic sanctions and trade embargoes that restrict our ability to transact or deal with certain persons, countries, regions, and governments. These laws and regulations are complex, may change frequently and without prior notice, have generally become more stringent over time and have intensified under recent U.S. administrations, especially in light of ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as other countries. For example, in 2019, the U.S. government added certain companies based in China to the “Entity List” maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which imposes additional restrictions on sales to such companies. Since 2019, numerous other companies have been added to that list. Further, in 2022, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry Security (“BIS”) released new export control regulations that restrict the provision to China of certain technology, software, manufacturing equipment and commodities that are used to make certain advanced computing integrated circuits (“ICs”) and supercomputers. These changes include new restrictions on the ability of U.S. companies to provide certain services to any facility in China that manufactures certain advanced ICs. Since 2022, numerous other related rules and regulations have been implemented by BIS. In response to these regulations, the Chinese government has implemented its own set of import and export rules and regulations and added certain U.S.-based companies to the Chinese government’s “Unreliable Entity List”, which imposes additional restrictions on such companies. Although, to date, none of such restrictions have had a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, the U.S. and Chinese governments have the power to place even greater restrictions, and such restrictions could further limit or prohibit the Company from selling its products or providing its services. In addition, we cannot ensure that our policies and procedures designed to maintain compliance with applicable rules and regulations will be effective in preventing instances of non-compliance. If we were to fail to comply with applicable export control restrictions (for example, by failing to obtain required export licensing), customs regulations, economic sanctions and other laws, we could be subject to substantial civil and criminal penalties, including fines, the incarceration of responsible employees and managers, reputational harm, and the possible loss of export or import privileges. In addition, if our distributors fail to obtain appropriate import, export or re-export licenses or permits, we may also be adversely affected through reputational harm and penalties. Obtaining the necessary export license for a particular sale may be time-consuming and may result in the delay or loss of sales opportunities.
Changes in fiscal and tax policies, audits and examinations by taxing authorities could impact the Company’s results.
The Company is subject to tax in all jurisdictions in which it operates, including the Company’s two largest markets, the U.S. and China. Any future examinations, changes in tax laws, regulations, accounting standards for income taxes and/or other tax guidance could materially impact the Company’s current and non-current tax liabilities, along with deferred tax assets and liabilities, and consequently, our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”), a tax and spending package that introduced several tax-related provisions, including a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax (“CAMT”) on certain large corporations and a 1% excise tax on certain corporate stock repurchases, was enacted into law in 2022. Companies were required to reassess their valuation allowances for certain affected deferred tax assets in the period of enactment but did not need to remeasure deferred tax balances for the related tax accounting implications of the CAMT. The IRA provisions, which became effective for Amphenol beginning on January 1, 2023, did not have a material impact on the Company during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. However, the full impact of these provisions in the future depends on several factors, including interpretive regulatory guidance, which has not yet been released.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/G20 Inclusive Framework, known as Pillar Two, provides guidance for a global minimum tax. This guidance lays out a common approach for adopting the global minimum tax and enacting local legislation codifying the provisions that all 142 countries in the Inclusive Framework agreed to by consensus. The EU member states have agreed to adopt these rules in two stages. The first component became effective on January 1, 2024, and the second component became effective on January 1, 2025. Non-EU countries have enacted or are expected to enact legislation on a similar timeline. Certain countries in which we operate have already enacted legislation to adopt the Pillar Two framework, while several other countries are expected to also implement similar legislation with varying effective dates in the future. When and how this framework is adopted or enacted by the various countries in which we do business will increase tax complexity and may increase uncertainty and adversely affect our provision for income taxes in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions.
We may experience difficulties in enforcing our intellectual property rights, which could result in loss of market share, and we may be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others.
We rely on patent and trade secret laws, copyright, trademark, confidentiality procedures, controls and contractual commitments to protect our intellectual property rights. Despite our efforts, these protections may be limited and, from time to time, we encounter difficulties in protecting our intellectual property rights, particularly in certain countries outside the U.S. We cannot provide assurance that the patents that we hold or may obtain will provide meaningful protection against our competitors. Changes in laws concerning intellectual property, or the enforcement of such laws, may affect our ability to prevent or address the misappropriation of, or the unauthorized use of, our intellectual property, potentially resulting in loss of market share. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights. Litigation is inherently uncertain, and outcomes are unpredictable. If we cannot protect our intellectual property rights against unauthorized copying or use, or other misappropriation, we may not remain competitive.
The intellectual property rights of others could inhibit our ability to introduce new products. Other companies hold patents on technologies used in our industries and are aggressively seeking to expand, enforce and license their patent portfolios. We periodically receive notices from, or have lawsuits filed against us by, third parties claiming infringement, misappropriation or other misuse of their intellectual property rights and/or breach of our agreements with them. These third parties may include entities that do not have the capabilities to design, manufacture, or distribute products or that acquire intellectual property like patents for the sole purpose of monetizing their acquired intellectual property through asserting claims of infringement and misuse. In addition, some foreign competitors may take advantage of the intellectual property laws in their home countries and the more favorable litigation and regulatory environment to our detriment. Third-party claims of infringement may result in loss of revenue, substantial costs or lead to monetary damages or injunctive relief against us.
The Company is subject to customer claims, litigation and other regulatory or legal proceedings.
The Company is currently engaged in, or subject to, various customer claims, litigation and other regulatory and legal matters and may be subject to additional claims, litigation and other regulatory or legal proceedings in the future. Such matters expose the Company to risks that could be material, including, but not limited to, risks related to employment disputes, tax controversies, government investigations, intellectual property infringement, compliance with environmental laws, unfair sales practices, product safety and liability, and product warranty, indemnity and other contract-related claims. These matters may subject the Company to lawsuits, voluntary or forced product recalls, government investigations and criminal liability, including claims for compensatory, punitive or consequential damages, and could result in disruptions to our business and significant legal expenses. These matters could also damage our reputation, harm our relationships with customers or negatively affect product demand.
The insurance coverages that the Company maintains may not apply to all types of claims and proceedings, and, where insurance exists, the amount of insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover the total claims and liabilities. In some cases, particularly with respect to product warranty claims from customers, we self-insure against this risk, meaning that any product liability claims will likely have to be paid from Company funds and not by insurance. Any current or future substantial liabilities or regulatory actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and reputation.
The Company is subject to environmental laws and regulations that could adversely affect our business.
The Company operates in both the United States and various foreign jurisdictions, and we must comply with locally enacted laws and regulations addressing health, safety and environmental matters in such jurisdictions in which we
manufacture and/or sell our products. Certain operations of the Company are subject to locally enacted environmental laws and regulations that govern the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, as well as the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. The Company and its operations may be subject to liabilities, regardless of fault, for investigative and/or remediation efforts on such matters that may arise at any of the Company’s former or current properties, either owned or leased. Environmental liabilities can result from the use of hazardous materials in production, the disposal of products, damages associated with the use of any of our products or other related matters. We cannot be certain as to the potential impact of any changes to environmental conditions or environmental policies that may arise in any of our jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with these local environmental laws and regulations could result in fines or other punitive damages and/or modifications to our production processes as well as subject us to reputational harm, any of which could adversely impact our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.
The Company is subject to, and may continue to be subject to, incremental costs, risks and regulations associated with efforts to combat the negative effects of climate change.
There is increased public awareness regarding climate change. This increased focus has led to certain international treaties and agreements and legislative and regulatory efforts. In addition to the risks discussed under the risk factor titled “The Company may be negatively impacted by extreme weather conditions and natural catastrophic events, including those caused or intensified by climate change and global warming,” the Company may also be subject to larger, global climate change initiatives, laws, regulations or orders which seek to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. In addition to government requirements, certain of our customers are also imposing climate-related requirements on their suppliers, including us. Any failure, or perceived failure, to comply with these requirements may result in reduced demand for our products, reputational harm, or other adverse impacts to our business.
Given our global manufacturing presence, any future regulations relating to GHG emissions and/or other climate change-related laws and regulations, beyond initiatives already in process at the Company, could subject us to additional and/or unforeseen compliance costs and limitations, increased energy and raw material costs and incremental capital expenditure requirements. In addition, certain governmental bodies have adopted, and are considering adopting additional, mandatory climate-related reporting obligations, and potentially GHG emissions reduction requirements, and these regulatory developments, to the extent we are subject to them, will likely result in increased corporate and operational general and administrative efforts and associated costs and expenses.
In recent years, both U.S. and foreign regulations have evolved, and there have been various new laws around the world that have been passed and will require additional ESG-related disclosure. For example, in Europe, the EU finalized the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which introduces more prescriptive sustainability reporting requirements for EU companies as well as certain non-EU companies. In March 2024, in the U.S., the SEC issued a new rule (Final Rule 33-11275_: The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors_), which mandates certain climate- and emissions-related disclosure and financial statement requirements that SEC registrants will be required to comply with in their public filings. Although the SEC issued an order staying the new rule in April 2024 pending litigation challenging the new rule, the Company continues to review, evaluate and implement the necessary processes in order to comply with this new rule. The Company’s adoption of and compliance with this new rule could result in additional costs to the Company or other adverse impacts to our business, financial condition or results of operations. This new SEC rule follows actions from certain U.S. states that continue to propose and/or pass their own ESG-related laws, certain of which came into effect in the last few years. For example, on October 7, 2023, the governor of California signed and enacted into law two climate-related disclosure bills (Senate Bill-253, Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Senate Bill-261, Greenhouse Gases: Climate-Related Financial Risk), which will require compliance as early as 2026. Such laws are not uniform and may be inconsistently applied, which can increase the complexity and cost of compliance as well as any associated litigation or enforcement risks.
In addition to the requirement to comply with these enacted laws and regulations and other potential mandatory ESG requirements, any future regulatory changes in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate, in addition to those already enacted, could result in transition risks to the Company, including, but not limited to: (i) the nature and timing of any requirement to lower GHG emissions and adopt more energy-efficient energy use, which could result in changes or disruptions to the way the Company operates, (ii) financial risks where the compliance with such regulations requires unforeseen capital expenditures and becomes costly or financially burdensome, (iii) legal risks associated with the failure to adapt to or comply with future climate change-related regulations, (iv) risks of climate litigation associated with our disclosures and/or operations; (v) risks associated with the implementation of any new technologies required to comply with such regulations, which could impede our ability to develop new products, meet customer and market demand or compete on pricing and quality in the market, and/or (vi) reputational risks associated with our customers’
and investors’ perceptions of the Company and their preferences for maintaining relationships with companies with lower emissions, all of which could harm our reputation in the marketplace.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy
We have developed and implemented an information security and cybersecurity risk management program (“Program”) intended to protect and preserve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our data and information technology systems. Our Program takes a risk-based approach and is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program. We use the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (the “NIST CSF”) as a benchmark to ensure that our Program is maintained in line with industry best practices. This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications or requirements, but it does mean that we use the NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
The Company maintains a decentralized information technology infrastructure, where each of our business units utilizes a separate and distinct information technology system. This means that if any business unit’s systems are compromised, there is less risk that another business unit will be impacted by that event. This decentralized structure also allows our information security professionals embedded within an individual business unit to make quick, efficient decisions when changes or actions are needed and provides an additional safeguard for our data and systems.
Our Program includes:
●periodic risk assessments and penetration tests, which are integrated within our enterprise risk management framework processes, designed to identify cybersecurity and technology risks, as well as to formulate management actions to respond to, mitigate and remediate material issues (if any);
●annual management reporting to the Board;
●reporting of the scope, objectives and results of internal audits on the procedures performed to validate the effectiveness of our control environment related to our information security systems and security controls to the Audit Committee at least two times a year;
●annual cybersecurity awareness training, including phishing simulation campaigns, to educate employees on recognizing cybersecurity threats and preventing actions that could unintentionally grant unauthorized access to our systems;
●deployment of endpoint protection software, supported by external managed services, to attempt to proactively detect and block malicious code from affecting our systems;
●a cross-functional team principally responsible for managing our cybersecurity risk assessment processes and our response to cybersecurity incidents;
●the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess risk, monitor alerts, perform penetration testing or otherwise assist with aspects of our security controls and response to cybersecurity incidents; and
●a documented framework and supporting processes for handling security incidents that facilitates coordination across multiple parts of the Company.
We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior security breach, that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business strategy, financial condition and results of operations. We face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. For a discussion of certain risks related to cybersecurity, refer to the risk factor titled “Cybersecurity incidents affecting our information technology systems could disrupt business operations or cause the release of highly sensitive confidential or personal information, resulting in adverse impacts to our reputation and operating results and potentially leading to litigation and/or governmental investigations, fines and other penalties” in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein.
Cybersecurity Governance
Our Board maintains oversight responsibility relating to our Program, with assistance from the Audit Committee. At least annually, our management team (including the leaders of our Information Technology and Internal Audit teams) provides an update regarding our Program to the Board. This update provides an overall assessment of the effectiveness of our Program and a review of areas of focus for the upcoming year. The Board also receives periodic reports from our Vice President, Internal Audit, on the audit focus areas and control testing related to our information security systems and security controls, and our management team updates the Board, as necessary, regarding any significant cybersecurity incidents.
Our management team, including our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Vice President, Information Technology, and Vice President, Internal Audit, is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. The team has primary responsibility for our Program and our Vice President, Information Technology, supervises both our internal information security personnel and our retained external cybersecurity consultants. Our management team supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from internal information technology personnel and external consultants engaged by us, as well as alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in our information technology environment.
Our management team’s experience includes knowledge related to information technology, cybersecurity and incidence response, risk management, control analysis and corporate governance. For additional details about our management team and their experience, refer to the Executive Leadership page on the Company’s website at https://www.amphenol.com/governance/leadership.
Item 2. Properties
The Company’s fixed assets include factories and warehouses and a substantial quantity of machinery and equipment. The Company’s factories, warehouses and machinery and equipment are generally in good operating condition, are reasonably maintained and substantially all of its facilities are in regular use. The Company considers the present level of fixed assets along with planned capital expenditures as suitable and adequate for operations in the current business environment. At December 31, 2024, the Company operated approximately 300 manufacturing facilities with approximately 31 million square feet, of which approximately 23 million square feet were leased. Manufacturing facilities located in the U.S. had approximately 6 million square feet, of which approximately 3 million square feet were leased. Manufacturing facilities located outside the U.S. had approximately 25 million square feet, of which approximately 20 million square feet were leased. The square footage by segment related to our manufacturing facilities was approximately 10 million square feet, 12 million square feet and 9 million square feet for the Harsh Environment Solutions segment, Communications Solutions segment and Interconnect and Sensor Systems segment, respectively.
The Company believes that its facilities are suitable and adequate for its business and are being appropriately utilized for their intended purposes. Utilization of the facilities varies based on demand for the relevant products. The Company regularly reviews its anticipated requirements for facilities and, based on that review, may from time to time acquire or lease additional facilities and/or dispose of existing facilities.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Information required with respect to legal proceedings in this Part I, Item 3 is included in Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
The Company effected the initial public offering of its Class A Common Stock (“Common Stock”) in November 1991. The Company’s Common Stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since that time under the ticker symbol “APH.” As of January 31, 2025, there were 30 holders of record of the Company’s Common Stock. A significant number of outstanding shares of Common Stock are registered in the name of only one holder, which is a nominee of The Depository Trust Company, a securities depository for banks and brokerage firms. The Company believes that there are a significant number of beneficial owners of its Common Stock.
Stock Split
On May 20, 2024, the Company announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved a two-for-one split of the Company’s Common Stock. The stock split was effected in the form of a stock dividend paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 31, 2024. The additional shares were distributed on June 11, 2024, and the Common Stock began trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 12, 2024. The shares of Common Stock retain a par value of $0.001 per share. As a result of the stock split, stockholders received one additional share of Common Stock for each share held as of the record date. There was no change in the number of authorized shares of common stock of the Company as a result of the stock split. All current and prior year data impacted by the stock split and presented throughout this Annual Report, including, but not limited to, number of shares and per share information, earnings per share, stock-based compensation data and dividends per share amounts, among others, have been adjusted to reflect the effect of the stock split and to conform to the current year presentation.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return of Amphenol over a period of five years ending December 31, 2024 with the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 (“S&P 500”) Stock Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Electrical Components & Equipment Index. This graph assumes that $100 was invested in our Common Stock and each index on December 31, 2019, reflects reinvested dividends, and is weighted on a market capitalization basis as of the beginning of each year. Each reported data point below represents the last trading day of each calendar year. The comparisons in the graph below are based upon historical data and are not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, future performance.
Dividends
Contingent upon declaration by the Board, the Company pays a quarterly dividend on shares of its Common Stock.
The following table sets forth the dividends declared per common share during each quarter of 2024 and 2023:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| First Quarter | | $ | 0.11 | | $ | 0.105 |
| Second Quarter | | 0.11 | | 0.105 | ||
| Third Quarter | | 0.165 | | 0.105 | ||
| Fourth Quarter | | 0.165 | | 0.11 | ||
| Total | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.425 |
Dividends declared and paid for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in millions) were as follows:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Dividends declared | | $ | 662.9 | | $ | 507.4 |
| Dividends paid (including those declared in the prior year) | | 595.1 | | 500.6 |
Amphenol has a history of paying quarterly cash dividends. While the Company currently expects a cash dividend to be paid in the future, future dividend payments remain within the discretion of the Board and are dependent on our financial results, liquidity, capital requirements, financial condition, compliance with financial covenants and requirements, and other factors considered relevant by the Board.
Repurchase of Equity Securities
On April 23, 2024, the Board authorized a new stock repurchase program under which the Company may purchase up to $2.0 billion of its Common Stock during the three-year period ending on the close of business on April 28, 2027 (the “2024 Stock Repurchase Program”). The 2024 Stock Repurchase Program became effective on April 29, 2024. During the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, the Company repurchased 2.4 million and 7.0 million shares of its Common Stock for $168.9 million and $463.7 million, respectively, under the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program. Of the total repurchases made in 2024, 4.2 million shares, or $287.5 million, have been retired by the Company, with the remainder of the repurchased shares retained in Treasury stock at the time of repurchase. From January 1, 2025 to January 31, 2025, the Company repurchased 0.7 million additional shares of its Common Stock for $50.7 million, and, as of February 1, 2025, the Company has remaining authorization to purchase up to $1,485.6 million of its Common Stock under the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program. The timing and amount of any future repurchases will depend on a number of factors, such as the levels of cash generation from operations, the volume of stock options exercised by employees, cash requirements for acquisitions, dividends paid, economic and market conditions and the price of the Common Stock.
On April 27, 2021, the Board authorized a stock repurchase program under which the Company could purchase up to $2.0 billion of its Common Stock during the three-year period ending April 27, 2024 (the “2021 Stock Repurchase Program”). During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company repurchased 4.1 million shares of its Common Stock for $225.6 million under the 2021 Stock Repurchase Program. All of the repurchased shares under the 2021 Stock Repurchase Program during 2024 have been retired by the Company. As a result of these repurchases, the Company completed all repurchases authorized under the 2021 Stock Repurchase Program, and, therefore, the 2021 Stock Repurchase Program has terminated.
The Company’s stock repurchases during the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 were as follows, adjusted to give effect to the two-for-one stock split discussed above and in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements:
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (dollars in millions, except price per share) | | | | | | | Total Number of Shares | | Maximum Dollar Value | | |
| | | Total Number | | Average | | Purchased as Part of | | of Shares that May Yet be | | ||
| | | of Shares | | Price Paid | | Publicly Announced | | Purchased Under the | | ||
| Period | | Purchased | per Share | Plans or Programs | Plans or Programs | | |||||
| First Quarter – 2024 | | 2,858,200 | | $ | 53.80 | | 2,858,200 | | $ | 72.7 | |
| Second Quarter – 2024 | | 3,068,840 | | | 62.05 | | 3,068,840 | | | 1,881.4 | |
| Third Quarter – 2024 | | 2,730,300 | | | 64.55 | | 2,730,300 | | | 1,705.2 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fourth Quarter – 2024: | | | | | | | | | | | |
| October 1 to October 31, 2024 | 821,200 | | 66.20 | 821,200 | | 1,650.8 | | ||||
| November 1 to November 30, 2024 | 833,700 | | 71.53 | 833,700 | | 1,591.2 | | ||||
| December 1 to December 31, 2024 | 753,800 | | 72.79 | 753,800 | $ | 1,536.3 | | ||||
| | | 2,408,700 | | | 70.11 | | 2,408,700 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Total – 2024 | 11,066,040 | | $ | 62.29 | 11,066,040 | | | |
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
(amounts in millions, except share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 has been derived from and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8, herein for Amphenol Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “Amphenol,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in U.S. dollars, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP” or “GAAP”). The following discussion and analysis also includes references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, which are defined in the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below, including “Constant Currency Net Sales Growth” and “Organic Net Sales Growth”. For purposes of the following discussion, the terms “constant currencies” and “organically” have the same meaning, respectively, as these aforementioned non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” within this Item 7 for more information, including our reasons for including non-GAAP financial measures and material limitations with respect to the usefulness of the measures.
In addition to historical information, the following discussion and analysis also contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors herein, as well as the risks and uncertainties that exist with the use of forward-looking statements as described in the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” section included herein at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”).
Stock Split
On May 20, 2024, the Company announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved a two-for-one split of the Company’s Class A Common Stock (“Common Stock”). The stock split was effected in the form of a stock dividend paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 31, 2024. The additional shares were distributed on June 11, 2024, and the Common Stock began trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 12, 2024. The shares of Common Stock retain a par value of $0.001 per share. All current and prior year data impacted by the stock split and presented in this Item 7 and throughout this Annual Report herein, including, but not limited to, number of shares and per share information, earnings per share, stock-based compensation data and dividends per share amounts, among others, have been adjusted to reflect the effect of the stock split and to conform to the current year presentation. Refer to Note 1 of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information related to the stock split.
Overview
General
Amphenol is one of the world’s largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors and interconnect systems, antennas, sensors and sensor-based products and coaxial, high-speed and specialty cable. In 2024, approximately 65% of the Company’s sales were outside the United States. The primary end markets for our products are:
| ● | information technology and communication devices and systems for the converging technologies of voice, video and data communications; |
|---|
| ● | a broad range of industrial applications and traditional, hybrid and electric automotive applications; and |
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| ● | defense and commercial aerospace applications. |
|---|
The Company’s products are used in a wide variety of applications by a broad array of customers around the world. The Company competes primarily on the basis of technology innovation, product quality and performance, price, customer service and delivery time. For many years, customers have generally been consolidating their lists of qualified suppliers to companies that have the ability to meet certain technical, quality, delivery and other standards while maintaining geographic flexibility and competitive prices. The Company has focused its global resources to position itself to compete effectively in this environment. The Company believes that its global presence is an important competitive advantage, as it allows the Company to provide quality products on a timely and worldwide basis to its
multinational customers, while at the same time offering a level of resiliency and diversification against local risks and challenges that may emerge in any single geography.
Reportable Business Segments
The Company aligns its businesses into the following three reportable business segments:
●Harsh Environment Solutions – the Harsh Environment Solutions segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of ruggedized interconnect products, including connectors and interconnect systems, specialty cable, printed circuits and printed circuit assemblies and other products for use in the industrial, defense, commercial aerospace, automotive, mobile networks and information technology and data communications end markets.
●Communications Solutions – the Communications Solutions segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of connector and interconnect systems, including high speed, radio frequency, power, fiber optic and other products, coaxial and high-speed cable, as well as antennas, for use in the information technology and data communications, mobile devices, industrial, mobile networks, broadband communications, automotive, commercial aerospace and defense end markets.
●Interconnect and Sensor Systems – the Interconnect and Sensor Systems segment designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of sensors, sensor-based systems, connectors and value-add interconnect systems used in the automotive, industrial, information technology and data communications, mobile networks, defense and commercial aerospace end markets.
This alignment reinforces the Company’s entrepreneurial culture and enables clear accountability of each of our business unit general managers, while enhancing the scalability of Amphenol’s business for the future. For further details related to the Company’s reportable business segments, refer to Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements herein.
Strategy
The Company’s strategy is to provide our customers with comprehensive design capabilities, a broad selection of products and a high level of quality and service on a worldwide basis, while maintaining continuing programs of productivity improvement and cost control. The Company focuses its research and development efforts through close collaboration with its customers to develop highly engineered products that meet customer needs and have the potential for broad market applications and significant sales within a one- to three-year period. The Company is also focused on controlling costs. The Company does this by investing in modern manufacturing technologies, controlling purchasing processes and expanding into lower cost areas.
The Company’s strategic objective is to further enhance its position in its served markets by pursuing the following success factors:
| ● | Pursue broad market diversification; |
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| ● | Develop high-technology performance-enhancing solutions; |
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| ● | Expand global presence; |
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| ● | Control costs; |
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| ● | Pursue strategic acquisitions and investments; and |
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| ● | Foster collaborative, entrepreneurial management. |
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In 2024, the Company reported net sales, operating income and net income attributable to Amphenol Corpo
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
(amounts in millions)
The Company, in the normal course of doing business, is exposed to a variety of risks, including market risks associated with foreign currency exchange rates and changes in interest rates. The Company does not have any significant concentration with any one counterparty.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
The Company conducts business in many foreign currencies through its worldwide operations, and as a result, is subject to foreign exchange exposure due to changes in exchange rates of the various currencies. Changes in exchange rates can positively or negatively affect the Company’s sales, operating margins and equity. The Company attempts to mitigate currency risk in a number of ways, such as locating factories in the same country or region in which products are sold, hedging contracts, cost reduction and pricing actions or working capital management. However, there can be no assurance that any or all such actions taken by the Company will be fully effective in successfully managing currency risk, including in the event of a significant and sudden decline in the value of any of the foreign currencies of the Company’s worldwide operations.
One of the Company’s wholly owned European subsidiaries (the “Euro Issuer”) has two outstanding unsecured senior notes issued in Europe (collectively, the “Euro Notes”), each of which was issued with a principal amount of €500.0. The 0.750% Euro Senior Notes, which were issued in May 2020, mature on May 4, 2026, while the 2.000% Euro Senior Notes, which were issued in October 2018, mature on October 8, 2028. The Company and the Euro Issuer also have a commercial paper program (the “Euro Commercial Paper Program” and, together with the U.S. Commercial Paper Program, the “Commercial Paper Programs”), pursuant to which the Euro Issuer may issue, outside of the United States, short-term unsecured commercial paper notes. In addition to the Euro Notes, which are denominated in Euros, the Company may borrow, from time to time, under the Company’s $3,000.0 unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and Euro Commercial Paper Program, and such borrowings have been and may continue to be denominated in various foreign currencies, including the Euro. When borrowing in foreign currencies, there can be no assurance that the Company can successfully manage changes in exchange rates, including in the event of a significant and sudden decline in the value of any of the foreign currencies in which such borrowings are made. Refer to Note 4 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s debt.
The Company also utilizes foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations for exposures associated with (i) certain transactions denominated in foreign currencies and (ii) net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries from which we expect to repatriate earnings to the United States. As of December 31, 2024, the fair value of such foreign exchange forward contracts was not material. A 10% change in foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material effect on the value of the hedges as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company does
not engage in purchasing forward contracts for trading or speculative purposes, and our derivative financial instruments are with large financial institutions with strong credit ratings. As of December 31, 2024, the Company does not have any significant concentration of exposure with any one counterparty. Refer to Note 1 and Note 5 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of derivative financial instruments.
Interest Rate Risk
The Company is subject to market risk from exposure to changes in interest rates based on the Company’s financing activities. The Company manages its exposure to interest rate risk through a mix of fixed and variable rate debt. The Company currently has various fixed rate senior notes outstanding, in both the United States and Europe, with various maturity dates, the most recent of which were issued in 2024. In April 2024, the Company issued the April Senior Notes: (i) $450.0 aggregate principal amount of the Original 2027 Senior Notes, (ii) $450.0 aggregate principal amount of the 2029 Senior Notes and (iii) $600.0 aggregate principal amount of the 2034 Senior Notes. Then, in October 2024, the Company issued the October Senior Notes: (i) $250.0 aggregate principal amount of the Additional 2027 Senior Notes, (ii) $750.0 aggregate principal amount of the 2035 Senior Notes and (iii) $500.0 aggregate principal amount of the 2054 Senior Notes. Refer to Note 4 of the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements herein for further discussion related to these debt instruments.
Any borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at rates that fluctuate with a spread that varies, based on the Company’s debt rating, over certain currency-specific benchmark rates, which benchmark rates in the case of U.S. dollar borrowings are either the base rate or the adjusted term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). Any borrowings under the Commercial Paper Programs are subject to floating interest rates. Therefore, when the Company borrows under these debt instruments, the Company is exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had no borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, U.S. Commercial Paper Program and Euro Commercial Paper Program. However, the Company borrowed under the U.S. Commercial Paper Program throughout much of 2024, the proceeds of which were used for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, partially funding the acquisition of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (“CIT”) in May 2024, as discussed further in Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Although all such borrowings were repaid before the end of 2024, the Company may make additional borrowings under any of its debt instruments from time to time in the future. As of December 31, 2024, less than 1% of the Company’s outstanding borrowings were subject to floating interest rates.
To the extent that interest rates change related to floating rate debt and the Company borrows under any of our floating rate debt instruments in the future (Commercial Paper Programs as well as our Revolving Credit Facility), our interest expense and interest payments will be impacted accordingly. A 10% change in the interest rate at December 31, 2024 and 2023 under our Revolving Credit Facility or Commercial Paper Programs would not have a material effect on interest expense. Although the Company does not expect changes in interest rates to have a material effect on income or cash flows in 2025, there can be no assurance that interest rates will not change significantly from current levels.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Amphenol Corporation
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Amphenol Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in equity, and cash flow, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Item 15 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (generally accepted accounting principles). Also, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
Basis for Opinions
The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Income Taxes — Unrecognized Tax Benefits — Refer to Notes 1 and 6 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company operates in the U.S. and numerous foreign taxable jurisdictions, and at any point in time has numerous audits underway at various stages of completion. The Company evaluates its tax positions and establishes liabilities for uncertain tax positions that may be challenged by tax authorities and may not be fully sustained, despite the Company’s belief that the underlying tax positions are fully supportable. The tax effects of an uncertain tax position taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns are recognized only if it is “more likely than not” to be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on its technical merits as of the reporting date. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
Management judgment is required to identify and evaluate each unrecognized tax benefit to determine whether the more likely than not recognition threshold has been met. Further, the evaluation of each unrecognized tax benefit requires management to apply specialized skill and knowledge related to the identified position. The Company has unrecognized tax benefits of $214.5 million, including penalties and interest, as of December 31, 2024.
We identified the liabilities for uncertain tax positions as a critical audit matter because of the complexity created by the multiple jurisdictions in which the Company files its tax returns, each of which may have differing and complex tax laws and regulations. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including
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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
The Company’s management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of December 31, 2024. These disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms, and such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on their evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2024.
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management Report on Internal Control
Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Due to its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting of Amphenol Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”), as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, the Company conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in the Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on that evaluation, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Those standards require that Deloitte & Touche LLP plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Deloitte & Touche LLP has issued an attestation report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, which is included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Item 9B. Other Information
Trading Arrangements
During the three months ended December 31, 2024, no director or officer of the Company adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as each term is defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
PART III
The Company intends to file a definitive proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act within 120 days following the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and certain information included therein is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 10 with respect to the Directors of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 10 with respect to the Executive Officers of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 10 with respect to corporate governance is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
To the extent disclosure for delinquent reports is being made, it can be found under the caption “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
The Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is applicable to all directors, officers and employees of the Company, including the principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, is available on the Company’s website at www.amphenol.com. The Company intends to post amendments to or waivers from its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (to the extent applicable to the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or persons performing similar functions) on its website. In addition, a current copy may be requested by writing to the Company’s World Headquarters at:
358 Hall Avenue
P.O. Box 5030
Wallingford, CT 06492
Attention: Investor Relations
The Company has adopted an Insider Trading Compliance Policy that governs the purchase, sale and other dispositions of its securities by directors, officers and employees of the Company that it believes is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules, and regulations, and any listing standards applicable to the Company. A copy of the Company’s Insider Trading Compliance Policy is filed as Exhibit 19.1 to this Annual Report.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement, other than the “Equity Compensation Plan Information” provided below.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table summarizes the Company’s equity compensation plan information as of December 31, 2024:
| | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Equity Compensation Plan Information | | |||||
| | Number of | Weighted | Number of securities remaining | | ||||
| | securities to be issued | | average exercise | | available for future issuance | | ||
| | upon exercise of | | price of outstanding | | under equity compensation | | ||
| | | outstanding options, | | options, warrants | | plans (excluding shares | | |
| Plan category | warrants and rights | | and rights | | reflected in column (a)) | | ||
| | | (a) | | (b) | | (c) | | |
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 105,704,191 | | $ | 29.40 | 55,113,594 | | ||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | — | | — | — | | |||
| Total | 105,704,191 | | $ | 29.40 | 55,113,594 | |
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Pursuant to Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K, the information required by Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement.
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a)(1) Consolidated Financial Statements
Schedules other than the above have been omitted because they are either not applicable or the required information has been included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or the notes thereto.
(a)(3) Listing of Exhibits
The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report:
† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
- Incorporated herein by reference as stated.
** Filed herewith.
*** Furnished herewith.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
SCHEDULE II
AMPHENOL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022
(Dollars in millions)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Balance at | Charged to | | | Balance at | ||||||||
| | | beginning | | cost and | | Additions | | end of | |||||
| | | of period | | expenses | | (Deductions) | | period | |||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year ended December 31, 2024 | | $ | 68.4 | | $ | 2.6 | | $ | (4.5) | | $ | 66.5 | |
| Year ended December 31, 2023 | | 63.9 | | | 13.4 | | | (8.9) | | | 68.4 | | |
| Year ended December 31, 2022 | | 43.5 | | | 20.2 | | | 0.2 | | 63.9 | | ||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year ended December 31, 2024 | | $ | 46.6 | | $ | 10.8 | | $ | 16.2 | | $ | 73.6 | |
| Year ended December 31, 2023 | | | 42.2 | | | 3.4 | | | 1.0 | | | 46.6 | |
| Year ended December 31, 2022 | | 44.9 | | | (1.1) | | | (1.6) | | | 42.2 | |
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the Town of Wallingford, State of Connecticut on the 7th day of February, 2025.
| | |
|---|---|
| | AMPHENOL CORPORATION |
| | |
| | |
| | /s/ R. Adam Norwitt |
| | R. Adam Norwitt |
| | President and Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| | | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signature | | Title | | Date |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ R. Adam Norwitt | | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| R. Adam Norwitt | | (Principal Executive Officer) | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Craig A. Lampo | | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | | February 7, 2025 |
| Craig A. Lampo | | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Martin H. Loeffler | | Chairman of the Board of Directors | | February 7, 2025 |
| Martin H. Loeffler | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ David P. Falck | | Presiding Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| David P. Falck | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Nancy A. Altobello | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Nancy A. Altobello | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Edward G. Jepsen | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Edward G. Jepsen | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Rita S. Lane | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Rita S. Lane | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Robert A. Livingston | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Robert A. Livingston | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Prahlad Singh | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Prahlad Singh | | | | |
| | | | | |
| /s/ Anne Clarke Wolff | | Director | | February 7, 2025 |
| Anne Clarke Wolff | | | | |