Item 1. Business.

General

We are one of the world’s largest snack companies with global net revenues of $25.9 billion and net earnings of $2.9 billion in 2017. We manufacture and market delicious snack food and beverage products for consumers in approximately 160 countries around the world. Our portfolio includes many iconic snack brands including Nabisco, Oreo, LU and belVita biscuits_; Cadbury, Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk_ and Toblerone chocolate; Trident gum; Halls candy and Tang powdered beverages.

We are proud members of the Standard and Poor’s 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Our Common Stock trades on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MDLZ.” We have been incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2000.

Strategy

We intend to leverage our core strengths, including our advantaged geographic footprint, market leadership positions and portfolio of iconic brands and innovation platforms, to grow our people, grow our business and grow our impact.

	•		Grow our People: We strive to inspire our people to engage in challenging and rewarding career experiences and to contribute their talent to create a great place to work. We collaborate globally, scale ideas quickly and develop world-class capabilities. Our culture is fast-moving, bold, innovative and accountable, reflecting the traits and skills necessary to thrive in a competitive global marketplace. To support and build on the success of our people in a continually-evolving business environment, we invest in our people and their development, foster respect for one another, celebrate diversity and commit to authenticity at every level. We also work to create an environment in which our people can demonstrate innovative and courageous leadership to make a difference in every role they play in the Company. As reflected in our actions and our investments in our people, we value their contributions and celebrate their success.

	•		Grow our Business: We aim to deliver strong, profitable long-term growth by accelerating our core snacks business and expanding the reach of our Power Brands globally. Leveraging our Power Brands (including Oreo, LU and belVita biscuits; Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Toblerone chocolate; Trident gum and Halls candy) and our innovation platforms, we plan to innovate boldly and connect with our consumers wherever they are. As consumers seek out foods that have better well-being credentials, we are actively evolving our portfolio by expanding the well-being brands in our portfolio, enhancing the nutrition and ingredient profile of our Power Brands and inspiring consumers to snack mindfully by providing more portion control treats. We plan to reach consumers in new markets around the world, using both traditional and digital channels. While we already have a strong presence in modern grocery stores, we are increasing our presence in higher growth non-grocery channels, including e-commerce. To fuel these investments, we have been working to optimize our cost structure. These efforts include reinventing our supply chain, including adding and upgrading to more efficient production lines, while reducing the complexity of our product offerings, ingredients and number of suppliers. We also continue to aggressively manage our overhead costs. We have embedded zero-based budgeting practices across the organization to identify potential areas of cost reductions and capture and sustain savings within our ongoing operating budgets. Through these actions, we are leveraging our brands, platforms and capabilities to drive long-term value and return on investment for our shareholders.

	•		Grow our Impact: We are focused on helping people snack in balance and enjoy life with products that are safely and sustainably sourced, produced and delivered. We are committed to driving business growth while making positive change in the world. We use our global scale and focus where we can have the greatest impact on people and planet - including communities, safety, sustainability and well-being snacks. This includes reducing our environmental footprint, empowering farmers in our supply chain and supporting the communities where our snacks are sourced, produced and sold.

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Reportable Segments

Our operations and management structure are organized into four reportable operating segments:

	•		Latin America

	•		Asia, Middle East, and Africa (“AMEA”)

	•		Europe

	•		North America

On October 1, 2016, we integrated our Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (“EEMEA”) operating segment into our Europe and Asia Pacific operating segments to further leverage and optimize the operating scale built within the Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan were combined within our Europe region, while the remaining Middle East and African countries were combined within our Asia Pacific region to form the AMEA operating segment. We have reflected the segment change as if it had occurred in all periods presented.

We manage our operations by region to leverage regional operating scale, manage different and changing business environments more effectively and pursue growth opportunities as they arise in our key markets. Our regional management teams have responsibility for the business, product categories and financial results in the regions.

We use segment operating income to evaluate segment performance and allocate resources. We believe it is appropriate to disclose this measure to help investors analyze segment performance and trends. For a definition and reconciliation of segment operating income to consolidated pre-tax earnings as well as other information on our segments, see Note 16, Segment Reporting.

Our segment net revenues for each of the last three years were:

		For the Years Ended December 31,
		2017				2016				2015
		(in millions)
Net revenues:
Latin America		$	3,566			$	3,392			$	4,988
AMEA			5,739				5,816				6,002
Europe			9,794				9,755				11,672
North America			6,797				6,960				6,974
		$	25,896			$	25,923			$	29,636

Our segment operating income for each of the last three years was:

		For the Years Ended December 31,
		2017								2016								2015
		(in millions)
Segment operating income:
Latin America		$	565				14.5%			$	271				8.7%			$	485				14.6%
AMEA			516				13.3%				506				16.2%				389				11.7%
Europe			1,680				43.3%				1,267				40.6%				1,350				40.5%
North America			1,120				28.9%				1,078				34.5%				1,105				33.2%
		$	3,881				100.0%			$	3,122				100.0%			$	3,329				100.0%

The deconsolidation of our global coffee business in 2015, the deconsolidation of our Venezuela operations beginning with our 2016 results, currency and other items significantly affect the comparability of our consolidated and segment operating results from year to year. Please see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for a review of our operating results.

Our brands span five product categories:

	•		Biscuits (including cookies, crackers and salted snacks)

	•		Chocolate

	•		Gum & candy

	•		Beverages (including coffee through July 2, 2015 and powdered beverages)

	•		Cheese & grocery

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During 2017, our segments contributed to our net revenues in the following product categories:

		Percentage of 2017 Net Revenues by Product Category
										Gum &								Cheese &
Segment		Biscuits				Chocolate				Candy				Beverages				Grocery				Total
Latin America			3.0%				3.4%				3.5%				2.6%				1.3%				13.8%
AMEA			6.3%				7.8%				3.5%				2.2%				2.3%				22.1%
Europe			11.1%				19.0%				3.0%				0.5%				4.2%				37.8%
North America			21.2%				1.1%				4.0%				–				–				26.3%
			41.6%				31.3%				14.0%				5.3%				7.8%				100.0%

Within our product categories, the classes of products that contributed 10% or more to consolidated net revenues were:

										For the Years Ended December 31,
										2017				2016				2015
Biscuits - Cookies and crackers											36%				36%				34%
Chocolate - Tablets, bars and other											31%				30%				27%

Significant Divestitures and Acquisitions

For information on our significant divestitures and acquisitions, please refer to Note 2, Divestitures and Acquisitions, and specifically, in connection with our global coffee business deconsolidation, see the discussions under JDE Coffee Business Transactions and Keurig Transaction.

Customers

No single customer accounted for 10% or more of our net revenues from continuing operations in 2017. Our five largest customers accounted for 15.6% and our ten largest customers accounted for 21.4% of net revenues from continuing operations in 2017.

Seasonality

Demand for our products is generally balanced over the first three quarters of the year and increases in the fourth quarter primarily because of holidays and other seasonal events. Depending on when Easter falls, Easter holiday sales may shift between the first and second quarter. We build inventory based on expected demand and typically fill customer orders within a few days of receipt so the backlog of unfilled orders is not material. Funding for working capital items, including inventory and receivables, is normally sourced from operating cash flows and short-term commercial paper borrowings. For additional information on our liquidity, working capital management, cash flow and financing activities, see Liquidity and Capital Resources, Note 1_, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,_ and Note 7, Debt and Borrowing Arrangements, appearing later in this 10-K filing.

Competition

We face competition in all aspects of our business. Competitors include large multinational as well as numerous local and regional companies. Some competitors have different profit objectives and investment time horizons than we do and therefore approach pricing and promotional decisions differently. We compete based on product quality, brand recognition and loyalty, service, product innovation, taste, convenience, nutritional value, the ability to identify and satisfy consumer preferences, effectiveness of sales and marketing, routes to market and distribution networks, promotional activity and price. Improving our market position or introducing a new product requires substantial research, development, advertising and promotional expenditures. We believe these investments lead to better products for the consumer and support our growth and market position.

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Distribution and Marketing

Across our segments, we generally sell our products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, supercenters, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores and other retail food outlets. We distribute our products through direct store delivery, company-owned and satellite warehouses, distribution centers and other facilities. We use the services of independent sales offices and agents in some of our international locations.

Consumers are also increasingly shopping online. And we are building a global e-commerce organization and capabilities to pursue online growth with partners in key markets around the world, including both pure e-tailers and brick-and-mortar retailers. We continue to invest in both talent and capabilities. Our e-commerce channel strategies will play a critical role in our ambition to be the best snacking company in the world.

We conduct marketing efforts through three principal sets of activities: (i) consumer marketing and advertising including on-air, print, outdoor, digital and social media and other product promotions; (ii) consumer sales incentives such as coupons and rebates; and (iii) trade promotions to support price features, displays and other merchandising of our products by our customers.

Raw Materials and Packaging

We purchase and use large quantities of commodities, including cocoa, dairy, wheat, palm and other vegetable oils, sugar and other sweeteners, flavoring agents and nuts. In addition, we purchase and use significant quantities of packaging materials to package our products and natural gas, fuels and electricity for our factories and warehouses. We monitor worldwide supply, commodity cost and currency trends so we can cost-effectively secure ingredients, packaging and fuel required for production.

A number of external factors such as weather conditions, commodity market conditions, currency fluctuations and the effects of governmental agricultural or other programs affect the cost and availability of raw materials and agricultural materials used in our products. We address higher commodity costs and currency impacts primarily through hedging, higher pricing and manufacturing and overhead cost control. We use hedging techniques to limit the impact of fluctuations in the cost of our principal raw materials; however, we may not be able to fully hedge against commodity cost changes, and our hedging strategies may not protect us from increases in specific raw material costs.

While the costs of our principal raw materials fluctuate, we believe there will continue to be an adequate supply of the raw materials we use and that they will generally remain available from numerous sources. For additional information on our commodity costs, refer to the Commodity Trends section within Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property rights (including trademarks, patents, copyrights, registered designs, proprietary trade secrets, technology and know-how) are material to our business.

We own numerous trademarks and patents in many countries around the world. Depending on the country, trademarks remain valid for as long as they are in use or their registration status is maintained. Trademark registrations generally are for renewable, fixed terms. We also have patents for a number of current and potential products. Our patents cover inventions ranging from basic packaging techniques to processes relating to specific products and to the products themselves. Our issued patents extend for varying periods according to the date of patent application filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage as determined by the patent office or courts in the country, and the availability of legal remedies in the country. While our patent portfolio is material to our business, the loss of one patent or a group of related patents would not have a material adverse effect on our business.

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From time to time, we grant third parties licenses to use one or more of our trademarks, patents and/or proprietary trade secrets in connection with the manufacture, sale or distribution of third party products. Similarly, we sell some products under brands, patents and/or proprietary trade secrets we license from third parties. In our agreement with Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (“Kraft Foods Group,” which is now part of The Kraft Heinz Company), we each granted the other party various licenses to use certain of our and their respective intellectual property rights in named jurisdictions following the spin-off of our North American grocery business.

Research and Development

We pursue four objectives in research and development: product safety and quality, growth through new products, superior consumer satisfaction and reduced costs. Our innovation efforts focus on anticipating consumer demands and adapting quickly to changing market trends. Wellness products and healthy snacking are a significant focus of our current research and development initiatives. These initiatives aim to accelerate our growth and margins by addressing consumer needs and market trends and leveraging our global innovation platforms, Power Brands and breakthrough technologies. In September 2016, we announced our plan to invest $65 million over 2017-2018 to build out and modernize our network of global research and development facilities. We are focusing our technical resources at nine large locations to drive global growth and innovation. We celebrated the official opening of our Wroclaw Poland Technical Center in 2017. Our global Technical Centers will enable greater effectiveness, improved efficiency and accelerated project delivery. These locations are in Curitiba, Brazil; Suzhou, China; Thane, India; Mexico City, Mexico; East Hanover, New Jersey; Wroclaw, Poland; Jurong, Singapore; Bournville, United Kingdom and Reading, United Kingdom.

At December 31, 2017, we had approximately 2,450 scientists and engineers, of which 1,900 are primarily focused on research and development and the remainder are primarily focused on quality assurance and regulatory affairs. Our research and development expense was $366 million in 2017, $376 million in 2016 and $409 million in 2015.

Regulation

Our food products and ingredients are subject to local, national and multinational regulations related to labeling, health and nutrition claims, packaging, pricing, marketing and advertising, privacy and related areas. In addition, various jurisdictions regulate our operations by licensing and inspecting our manufacturing plants and facilities, enforcing standards for select food products, grading food products, and regulating trade practices related to the sale and pricing of our food products. Many of the food commodities we use in our operations are subject to government agricultural policy and intervention, and the scrutiny of human rights issues in industry supply chains has led to developing regulation in many countries. These policies have substantial effects on prices and supplies and are subject to periodic governmental and administrative review.

Examples of laws and regulations that affect our business include selective food taxes, labeling requirements such as front-of-pack labeling and nutrient profiling, marketing restrictions, potential withdrawal of trade concessions as dispute settlement retaliation and sanctions on sales or sourcing of raw materials. We will continue to monitor developments in laws and regulations. At this time, we do not expect the cost of complying with new laws and regulations will be material. Also refer to Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Currency Translation and Highly Inflationary Accounting, for additional information on government regulations and currency-related impacts on our operations in the United Kingdom, Argentina and other countries.

Environmental Regulation

Throughout the countries in which we do business, we are subject to local, national and multinational environmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. We have programs across our business units designed to meet applicable environmental compliance requirements. In the United States, the laws and regulations include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Based on information currently available, we believe that our compliance with environmental laws and regulations will not have a material effect on our financial results.

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Sustainability

A key strategic goal for us is to Grow our Impact. Building positive impact for people and our planet is at the core of who we are. We call our commitment to drive business growth with positive change in the world Impact For Growth. Many of the challenges facing people and the planet are interrelated. Our core programs and initiatives holistically address both by working to reduce our environmental footprint, empower farmers and support the communities where our snacks are sourced. We continue to leverage our global operating scale to secure sustainable raw materials and work with suppliers to drive meaningful social and environmental changes, focusing on where we can make the most impact. For example, we launched our Cocoa Life program in 2012 and will continue to invest up to $400 million through 2022 to build a sustainable cocoa supply. We are also improving sustainability in our wheat supply by working with farmers in North America and through our Harmony program in Europe.

Our 2020 sustainability goals aim to place us at the forefront in the fight against climate change with ambitious targets for an end-to-end approach to reduce our carbon footprint, including reducing our absolute CO2 emissions from manufacturing and addressing deforestation in key raw material supply chains. We are working to cut our absolute water footprint in manufacturing, focusing on priority sites where water is most scarce. We are also working to reduce waste in manufacturing and packaging.

We have been recognized for our ongoing economic, environmental and social contributions. This year we were again listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (“DJSI”) – World and North American Indices. The DJSI selects the top 10% of global companies and top 20% of North American companies based on an extensive review of financial and sustainability programs within each industry. We are at the 92nd percentile of our industry and achieved perfect scores in health and nutrition and environmental reporting.

We also participate in the CDP Climate and Water disclosures and continue to work to reduce our carbon and water footprints. We are committed to continue this and other related work in the areas of sustainable resources and agriculture, well-being snacks, community partnerships and safety of our products and people.

Employees

We employed through our consolidated subsidiaries approximately 83,000 people worldwide at December 31, 2017 and approximately 90,000 at December 31, 2016. Employees represented by labor unions or workers’ councils represent approximately 64% of our 71,000 employees outside the United States and approximately 28% of our 12,000 U.S. employees. Our business units are subject to various local, national and multinational laws and regulations relating to their relationships with their employees. In accordance with European Union requirements, we also have established a European Workers Council composed of management and elected members of our workforce. We or our subsidiaries are a party to numerous collective bargaining agreements and we work to renegotiate these collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms when they expire.

International Operations

Based on where we sell our products, we generated 75.8% of our 2017 net revenues, 75.6% of our 2016 net revenues and 78.7% of our 2015 net revenues from continuing operations outside the United States. We sell our products to consumers in approximately 160 countries. At December 31, 2017, we had operations in more than 80 countries and made our products at approximately 140 manufacturing and processing facilities in 51 countries. Refer to Note 16, Segment Reporting, for additional information on our U.S. and non-U.S. operations. Refer to Item 2, Properties, for more information on our manufacturing and other facilities. Also, for a discussion of risks related to our operations outside the United States, see Item 1A, Risk Factors.

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Executive Officers of the Registrant

The following are our executive officers as of February 9, 2018:

Name		Age		Title
Dirk Van de Put		57		Chief Executive Officer
Brian T. Gladden		52		Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Maurizio Brusadelli		49		Executive Vice President and President, Asia, Middle East and Africa
Timothy P. Cofer		49		Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer
Robin S. Hargrove		52		Executive Vice President, Research, Development, Quality and Innovation
Alejandro R. Lorenzo		46		Executive Vice President and President, Latin America
Karen J. May		59		Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Daniel P. Myers		62		Executive Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain
Gerhard W. Pleuhs		61		Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Henry Glendon (Glen) Walter IV		49		Executive Vice President and President, North America
Hubert Weber		55		Executive Vice President and President, Europe

Mr. Van de Put became Chief Executive Officer and a director in November 2017. He formerly served as President and Chief Executive Officer of McCain Foods Limited, a multinational frozen food provider, from July 2011 to November 2017 and as its Chief Operating Officer from May 2010 to July 2011. Mr. Van de Put served as President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Over-the-Counter, Consumer Health Division of Novartis AG, a global healthcare company, from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that, he worked for 24 years in a variety of leadership positions for several global food and beverage providers, including Danone SA, The Coca-Cola Company and Mars, Incorporated.

Mr. Gladden became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in December 2014. He joined Mondelēz International in October 2014. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Dell Inc., a provider of technology products and services, from June 2008 to February 2014, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of SABIC Innovative Plastics, a manufacturer of industrial plastics, from August 2007 to May 2008. Mr. Gladden spent 19 years at the General Electric Company, a multinational conglomerate, in a variety of key leadership positions, including Vice President and General Manager, Resin Business and Chief Financial Officer, GE Plastics.

Mr. Brusadelli became Executive Vice President and President, Asia Pacific in January 2016 and Executive Vice President and President, Asia, Middle East and Africa in October 2016. He previously served as President Biscuits Business, South East Asia, Japan and Sales Asia Pacific from September 2015 to December 2015, President Markets and Sales Asia Pacific from September 2014 to September 2015 and President United Kingdom and Ireland from September 2012 to August 2014. Prior to that, Mr. Brusadelli held various positions of increasing responsibility. Mr. Brusadelli joined Mondelēz International in 1993.

Mr. Cofer became Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer in January 2016 and served as Interim President, North America from April to November 2017. Mr. Cofer served as Executive Vice President and President, Asia Pacific and EEMEA from September 2013 to December 2015 and Executive Vice President and President, Europe from August 2011 to September 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Cofer held various positions of increasing responsibility. Mr. Cofer joined Mondelēz International in 1992.

Mr. Hargrove became Executive Vice President, Research, Development, Quality and Innovation in April 2015. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Research, Development & Quality for Mondelēz Europe from January 2013 to March 2015. Before joining Mondelēz International, Mr. Hargrove worked at PepsiCo, Inc., a global food and beverage company, for 19 years in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Europe from December 2006 to December 2012.

Mr. Lorenzo became Executive Vice President and President, Latin America in January 2017. Prior to that, he served as President, Global Biscuits Category from January 2015 to December 2016 and President, Brazil from September 2012 to December 2014. Prior to that, Mr. Lorenzo held various positions of increasing responsibility. Mr. Lorenzo joined Mondelēz International in 2003.

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Ms. May became Executive Vice President, Human Resources in October 2005. Prior to that, she was Corporate Vice President, Human Resources for Baxter International Inc., a healthcare company, from February 2001 to September 2005.

Mr. Myers became Executive Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain in September 2011. Prior to that, he worked for Procter & Gamble, a consumer products company, for 33 years in a variety of leadership positions, most recently serving as Vice President, Product Supply for P&G’s Global Hair Care business from September 2007 to August 2011.

Mr. Pleuhs became Executive Vice President and General Counsel in April 2012. In this role, Mr. Pleuhs oversees the legal, compliance, security, corporate and governance affairs functions within Mondelēz International. He has served in various positions of increasing responsibility since joining Mondelēz International in 1990. Mr. Pleuhs has a law degree from the University of Kiel, Germany and is licensed to practice law in Germany and admitted as house counsel in Illinois.

Mr. Walter became Executive Vice President and President, North America in November 2017. Before joining Mondelēz International, Mr. Walter worked at The Coca-Cola Company, a global beverage company, in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Industries China from February 2014 to October 2017 and President and Chief Operating Officer of Cola-Cola Refreshments in North America from January 2013 to February 2014.

Mr. Weber became Executive Vice President and President Europe in September 2013. He served as President of the European and Global Coffee category from September 2010 to September 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Weber held various positions of increasing responsibility. He joined Mondelēz International in 1988.

Ethics and Governance

We adopted the Mondelēz International Code of Conduct, which qualifies as a code of ethics under Item 406 of Regulation S-K. The code applies to all of our employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions. Our code of ethics is available free of charge on our web site at www.mondelezinternational.com and will be provided free of charge to any shareholder submitting a written request to: Corporate Secretary, Mondelēz International, Inc., Three Parkway North, Deerfield, IL 60015. We will disclose any waiver we grant to an executive officer or director under our code of ethics, or certain amendments to the code of ethics, on our web site at www.mondelezinternational.com.

In addition, we adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, charters for each of the Board’s four standing committees and the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Non-Employee Directors. All of these materials are available on our web site at www.mondelezinternational.com and will be provided free of charge to any shareholder requesting a copy by writing to: Corporate Secretary, Mondelēz International, Inc., Three Parkway North, Deerfield, IL 60015.

Available Information

Our Internet address is www.mondelezinternational.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge as soon as possible after we electronically file them with, or furnish them to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You can access our filings with the SEC by visiting www.mondelezinternational.com. The information on our web site is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC.