Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

________________________

FORM 10-K

________________________

☒			ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2023

☐			TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

COMMISSION FILE NO. 001-08597

________________________

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

________________________

Delaware			94-2657368
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)			(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

6101 Bollinger Canyon Road,

Suite 500

San Ramon, California, 94583

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(925) 460-3600

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

________________________

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

Title of each class						Trading Symbol						Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.10 par value						COO						Nasdaq Global Select Market

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 emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ 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. Yes ☒ No ☐

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 Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of April 28, 2023, the last business day of registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of shares of the registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates was $18.8 billion.

Number of shares outstanding of the registrant's common stock, as of December 1, 2023: 49,525,982

Documents Incorporated by Reference:

Document						Part of Form 10-K
Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held in March 2024						Part III

Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG LLP, San Francisco, CA, Auditor ID: 185.

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Annual Report on Form 10-K

for the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2023

Table of Contents

PART I						Page
Item 1.			Business			7
Item 1A.			Risk Factors			19
Item 1B.			Unresolved Staff Comments			39
Item 2.			Properties			40
Item 3.			Legal Proceedings			41
Item 4.			Mine Safety Disclosures			41
PART II
Item 5.			Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			42
Item 6.			Reserved			43
Item 7.			Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			44
Item 7A.			Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk			54
Item 8.			Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			55
Item 9.			Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			88
Item 9A.			Controls and Procedures			88
Item 9B.			Other Information			88
Item 9C.			Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections			88
PART III
Item 10.			Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			89
Item 11.			Executive Compensation			89
Item 12.			Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			89
Item 13.			Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			89
Item 14.			Principal Accounting Fees and Services			89
PART IV
Item 15.			Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			90
Item 16.			Form 10-K Summary			94

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

PART I

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements relating to plans, prospects, goals, strategies, future actions, events or performance and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact, including: statements regarding the expected impact of global macroeconomic conditions, and statements regarding acquisitions (including the acquired companies' financial position, market position, product development and business strategy, expected cost synergies, expected timing and benefits of the transaction, difficulties in integrating entities or operations, as well as estimates of our and the acquired entities' future expenses, sales and earnings per share) that are forward-looking. In addition, all statements regarding anticipated growth in our net sales, anticipated effects of any product recalls, anticipated market conditions, planned product launches and expected results of operations and integration of any acquisition are forward-looking. To identify these statements, look for words like “believes,” “outlook,” “probable,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or “anticipates” and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements necessarily depend on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements are those described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, as such Risk Factors may be updated in quarterly filings.

We caution investors that forward-looking statements reflect our analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update them except as required by law.

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Summary Risk Factors

Our business faces significant risks. In addition to the summary below, you should carefully review the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We may be subject to additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks, and the trading prices of our common stock could decline by virtue of these risks. These risks should be read in conjunction with the other information in this report. Some of the more significant risks relating to our business include:

• Adverse changes in the global or regional general business, political and economic conditions, including the impact of continuing uncertainty and instability of certain countries, man-made or natural disasters and pandemic conditions, that could adversely affect our global markets, and the potential adverse economic impact and related uncertainty caused by these items.

• The impact of international conflicts, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the global response to international conflicts on the global economy, European economy, financial markets, energy markets, currency rates and our ability to supply product to, or through, affected countries.

• Our substantial and expanding international operations and the challenges of managing an organization spread throughout multiple countries and complying with a variety of legal, compliance and regulatory requirements.

• Foreign currency exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations including the risk of fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies or interest rates that would decrease our net sales and earnings.

• Our existing and future variable rate indebtedness and associated interest expense is impacted by rate increases, which could adversely affect our financial health or limit our ability to borrow additional funds.

• Changes in tax laws, examinations by tax authorities, and changes in our geographic composition of income.

• Acquisition-related adverse effects including the failure to successfully achieve the anticipated net sales, margins and earnings benefits of acquisitions, integration delays or costs and the requirement to record significant adjustments to the preliminary fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed within the measurement period, required regulatory approvals for an acquisition not being obtained or being delayed or subject to conditions that are not anticipated, adverse impacts of changes to accounting controls and reporting procedures, contingent liabilities or indemnification obligations, increased leverage and lack of access to available financing (including financing for the acquisition or refinancing of debt owed by us on a timely basis and on reasonable terms).

• Compliance costs and potential liability in connection with U.S. and foreign laws and health care regulations pertaining to privacy and security of personal information, such as HIPAA and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the U.S. and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements in Europe, including but not limited to those resulting from data security breaches.

• A major disruption in the operations of our manufacturing, accounting and financial reporting, research and development, distribution facilities or raw material supply chain due to challenges associated with integration of acquisitions, man-made or natural disasters, pandemic conditions, cybersecurity incidents or other causes.

• A major disruption in the operations of our manufacturing, accounting and financial reporting, research and development or distribution facilities due to technological problems, including any related to our information systems maintenance, enhancements or new system deployments, integrations or upgrades.

• Market consolidation of large customers globally through mergers or acquisitions resulting in a larger proportion or concentration of our business being derived from fewer customers.

• Disruptions in supplies of raw materials, particularly components used to manufacture our silicone hydrogel lenses

• New U.S. and foreign government laws and regulations, and changes in existing laws, regulations and enforcement guidance, which affect areas of our operations including, but not limited to, those affecting the health care industry, including the contact lens industry specifically and the medical device or pharmaceutical industries generally, including but not limited to the EU Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the EU In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR).

• Legal costs, insurance expenses, settlement costs and the risk of an adverse decision, prohibitive injunction or settlement related to product liability, patent infringement, contractual disputes, or other litigation.

• Limitations on sales following product introductions due to poor market acceptance.

• New competitors, product innovations or technologies, including but not limited to, technological advances by competitors, new products and patents attained by competitors, and competitors' expansion through acquisitions.

• Reduced sales, loss of customers and costs and expenses related to product recalls and warning letters.

• Failure to receive, or delays in receiving, regulatory approvals or certifications for products.

• Failure of our customers and end users to obtain adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payers for our products and services.

• The requirement to provide for a significant liability or to write off, or accelerate depreciation on, a significant asset, including goodwill, other intangible assets and idle manufacturing facilities and equipment.

• The success of our research and development activities and other start-up projects.

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

• Dilution to earnings per share from acquisitions or issuing stock.

• Impact and costs incurred from changes in accounting standards and policies.

• Risks related to environmental laws and requirements applicable to our facilities, products or manufacturing processes, including evolving regulations regarding the use of hazardous substances or chemicals in our products.

• Risks related to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues, including those related to climate change and sustainability.

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES