Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to market risk primarily from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, and equity prices, which may impact future income, cash flows, and fair value of our business. In certain situations, we may seek to reduce cash flow volatility associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates, the foreign currency risk associated with our net investment in foreign operations, or the fair value interest rate risk of our financial instruments bearing fixed interest by entering into financial arrangements intended to provide a hedge against a portion of the risks associated with such risks. We continue to have exposure to such risks to the extent they are not hedged. We enter into derivative contracts to the extent they meet the objectives described above, and not for speculative purposes.

FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK.

As a result of our global operations, we generate and incur a significant portion of our revenues and expenses, including those arising from intercompany transactions, in currencies other than the functional currency of our foreign operations creating exposure to foreign currency translation risk. Such principal currencies include the Euro, the Chinese Renminbi, the Japanese Yen, the Norwegian Krone, and the British Pound Sterling, among others. Operating entities with functional currencies other than the USD also create exposure to foreign currency risk realized upon their sale or a complete or substantially complete liquidation.

We use a number of techniques to manage the effects of currency exchange, including hedging of significant currency exposures. We use cash flow hedging primarily to reduce or eliminate the effects of foreign currency exchange rate changes on purchase and sale contracts and economic hedges when we have exposures to currency exchange risk for which we are unable to meet the requirements for hedge accounting. We use net investment hedging to hedge the foreign currency risk of our net investment in foreign operations against adverse movements in exchange rates against the USD. As a result of the above mitigating activities, we have been able to significantly reduce the financial impact of volatility from currency fluctuations.

The potential decrease in fair value of our foreign currency derivative contracts from a 10% decrease in USD spot rates against other applicable currencies would have been $13 million as of December 31, 2023. This excludes foreign currency derivative contracts designated as net investment hedges as changes in the fair value of those contracts are not expected to impact earnings. The sensitivity analysis assumes a uniform weakening of USD spot rates against the other applicable currencies, compared to the actual exchange rates applied as of December 31, 2023, with all other factors remaining constant. This sensitivity analysis disregards the offsetting change in value of the underlying hedged currency exposures in earnings.

The effect arising from foreign currency transactions, including the remeasurement of derivatives mentioned above, can result in significant fluctuations at points in time, but generally will be offset as the underlying hedged item is recognized in earnings. The global nature of our customer base and manufacturing footprint allows for the natural offset of certain income and costs denominated in foreign currencies. See Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” for net gains (losses) from foreign currency transactions for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.

INTEREST RATE RISK.

We are exposed to interest rate risk due to changes in benchmark interest rates, related to the fair value of our borrowings bearing fixed interest rates and variability of cash flows related to our investments and borrowings bearing variable interest rates.

As of December 31, 2023, we have $8,250 million of fixed-rate debt and $1,150 million outstanding on the Term Loan Facility which carries a variable interest rate. As of December 31, 2023, we have $2,504 million of Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, which are invested in short-term investments that generate income based on variable interest rates.

A change in interest rates would impact the fair value of our fixed-rate debt and would impact our earnings and cash flows associated with our floating-rate debt. A hypothetical change of interest rates by 100 basis points would increase or decrease our annual interest expense by approximately $22 million, partially offset by the change in interest income from our cash investments.

We primarily manage interest rate risk by using a mix of fixed-rate and variable-rate debt that we deem appropriate. We entered into interest-rate swap contracts in the fourth quarter of 2023, to synthetically convert $1,000 million of our senior unsecured notes from fixed rates to variable rates as part of our interest rate risk management strategy.

COMMODITY RISK.

We rely upon supplies of certain raw materials including helium, iodine, and rare earth minerals. Worldwide demand, availability, and pricing of these raw materials have been volatile, and we expect that availability and pricing will continue to fluctuate in the future. If supply of these materials is restricted or if prices increase, this could constrain our manufacturing of affected products, reduce our profit margins, or otherwise adversely affect our business, our customers, and patients who may rely on our products.

Similarly, commodities and energy prices are subject to significant volatility. If the costs of certain commodities or of energy, shipping, or transportation increase and we are unable to pass along these costs to our customers, our profit margins would be adversely affected. Furthermore, increasing our prices to our customers could result in long-term sales declines or loss of market share if our customers find alternative suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Disruptions in deliveries, capacity constraints, production disruptions up- or down-stream, price increases, or decreased availability of raw materials or commodities (including as a result of war, natural disasters, climate change-related physical and transitional risks, actual or threatened public health emergencies, or other business continuity events) adversely affect our operations and, depending on the length and severity of the disruption, can limit our ability to meet our commitments to customers or significantly impact our operating profit or cash flows.

We may from time to time engage in hedging transactions to reduce the impact to earnings from commodity price fluctuations. The impact of commodity hedges is recognized in earnings in the applicable current period.

EQUITY RISK.

As of December 31, 2023, we have $269 million of deferred compensation liabilities subject to the risk of changes in equity prices. A change in the U.S equity markets would result in a corresponding change in the fair value of these deferred compensation liabilities, which would impact our earnings and cash flows. We may from time to time engage in hedging transactions to reduce the impact to earnings from equity price fluctuations.

See Note 13, “Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements” to the consolidated and combined financial statements for further information about our risk exposures, our use of derivatives, and the effects of this activity on our consolidated and combined financial statements.