Item 1. Business.

General Development of Business

General

Philip Morris International Inc. is a Virginia holding company incorporated in 1987. We are a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States of America. In addition, we ship a version of our Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to Altria Group, Inc., for sale in the United States under license.

We are leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future, based on a new category of reduced-risk products that, while not risk free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Our goal is to ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders.

Reduced-risk products ("RRPs") is the term we use to refer to products that present, are likely to present, or have the potential to present less risk of harm to smokers who switch to these products versus continuing smoking. We have a range of RRPs in various stages of development, scientific assessment and commercialization. Because our RRPs do not burn tobacco, they produce an aerosol that contains far lower quantities of harmful and potentially harmful constituents than found in cigarette smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, we aim to ensure that our RRPs meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements.

Our IQOS smoke-free product brand portfolio includes heated tobacco and nicotine-containing vapor products. Our leading smoke-free platform ("Platform 1") is a precisely controlled device into which a specially designed heated tobacco unit is inserted and heated to generate an aerosol. We market our heated tobacco units under the brand names HEETS, HEETS Marlboro and HEETS FROM MARLBORO, defined collectively as HEETS, as well as Marlboro HeatSticks and Parliament HeatSticks. Platform 1 was first introduced in Nagoya, Japan, in 2014. As of December 31, 2019, Platform 1 is available for sale in 52 markets in key cities or nationwide.

Our cigarettes are sold in more than 180 markets, and in many of these markets they hold the number one or number two market share position. We have a wide range of premium, mid-price and low-price brands. Our portfolio comprises both international and local brands and is led by Marlboro, the world’s best-selling international cigarette, which accounted for approximately 37% of our total 2019 cigarette shipment volume. Marlboro is complemented in the premium-price category by Parliament. Our other leading international cigarette brands are Bond Street, Chesterfield, L&M, Lark and Philip Morris. These seven international cigarette brands contributed approximately 78% of our cigarette shipment volume in 2019. We also own a number of important local cigarette brands, such as Dji Sam Soe, Sampoerna A and Sampoerna U in Indonesia, and Fortune and Jackpot in the Philippines.

Source of Funds — Dividends

We are a legal entity separate and distinct from our direct and indirect subsidiaries. Accordingly, our right, and thus the right of our creditors and stockholders, to participate in any distribution of the assets or earnings of any subsidiary is subject to the prior rights of creditors of such subsidiary, except to the extent that claims of our company itself as a creditor may be recognized. As a holding company, our principal sources of funds, including funds to make payment on our debt securities, are from the receipt of dividends and repayment of debt from our subsidiaries. Our principal wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries currently are not limited by long-term debt or other agreements in their ability to pay cash dividends or to make other distributions with respect to their common stock that are otherwise compliant with law.

Description of Business

We manage our business in six operating segments as follows:

•	The European Union Region (“EU”) is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and covers all the European Union countries and also Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom;

•	The Eastern Europe Region (“EE”) is also headquartered in Lausanne and includes Southeast Europe, Central Asia, Ukraine, Israel and Russia;

•	The Middle East & Africa Region (“ME&A”) is also headquartered in Lausanne and covers the African continent, the Middle East, Turkey and our international duty free business;

•	The South & Southeast Asia Region (“S&SA”) is headquartered in Hong Kong and includes Indonesia, the Philippines and other markets in this region;

•	The East Asia & Australia Region (“EA&A”) is also headquartered in Hong Kong and includes Australia, Japan, South Korea, the People's Republic of China and other markets in this region, as well as Malaysia and Singapore; and

•	The Latin America & Canada Region (“LA&C”) is headquartered in New York and covers the South American continent, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada. LA&C also includes transactions under license with Altria Group, Inc., for the distribution of our Platform 1 product in the United States.

As of March 22, 2019, we deconsolidated the financial results of our Canadian subsidiary, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. ("RBH") from our financial statements. For further details, see Item 8, Note 22. Deconsolidation of RBH.

Following the deconsolidation of our Canadian subsidiary, we will continue to report the volume of brands sold by RBH for which other PMI subsidiaries are the trademark owners. These include HEETS, Next, Philip Morris and Rooftop, which together accounted for approximately 40% of RBH's total shipment volume in 2018.

References to total international market, defined as worldwide cigarette and heated tobacco unit volume excluding the United States, total industry, total market and market shares in this Form 10-K are our estimates for tax-paid products based on the latest available data from a number of internal and external sources and may, in defined instances, exclude the People's Republic of China and/or our duty free business. In addition, to reflect the deconsolidation of RBH, effective March 22, 2019, PMI's total market share has been restated for previous periods.

Our total shipments, including cigarettes and heated tobacco units, decreased by 2.0% in 2019 to 766.4 billion units. We estimate that international industry volumes, including cigarettes and heated tobacco units, were approximately 5.1 trillion units in 2019, a 0.9% decrease from 2018. Excluding the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), we estimate that international cigarette and heated tobacco unit volume was 2.7 trillion units in 2019, a 2.0% decrease from 2018. We estimate that our reported share of the international market (which is defined as worldwide cigarette and heated tobacco unit volume, excluding the United States of America) was approximately 15.1% in 2019, 15.2% in 2018 and 15.1% in 2017. Excluding the PRC, we estimate that our reported share of the international market was approximately 28.4%, 28.3%, and 27.8% in 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Shipments of our principal cigarette brand, Marlboro, decreased by 0.6% in 2019 and represented approximately 10.0% of the international cigarette market, excluding the PRC, in 2019, 9.7% in 2018 and 9.7% in 2017.

Total shipment volume of heated tobacco units reached 59.7 billion units in 2019, up from 41.4 billion units in 2018.

We have a market share of at least 15% and, in a number of instances, substantially more than 15%, in approximately 95 markets, including Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.

Distribution & Sales

Our main types of distribution are tailored to the characteristics of each market and are often used simultaneously:

•	Direct sales and distribution, where we have set up our own distribution selling directly to the retailers (including gas stations and other key accounts);

•	Distribution through independent distributors that often distribute other fast-moving consumer goods and are responsible for distribution in a particular market;

•	Exclusive zonified distribution, where the distributors are dedicated to us in tobacco products distribution and assigned to exclusive territories within a market;

•	Distribution through national or regional wholesalers that then supply the retail trade; and

•	Our own brand retail and e-commerce infrastructures for our RRP products and accessories.

Competition

We are subject to highly competitive conditions in all aspects of our business. We compete primarily on the basis of product quality, brand recognition, brand loyalty, taste, R&D, innovation, packaging, customer service, marketing, advertising and retail price and, increasingly, adult smoker willingness to convert to our RRPs. In the combustible product category, we predominantly sell American blend cigarette brands, such as Marlboro, L&M, Parliament, Philip Morris and Chesterfield, which are the most popular across many of our markets. In the RRP product category, we predominantly sell Platform 1 devices and heated tobacco units under the IQOS brand umbrella. We seek to compete in all profitable retail price categories, although our brand portfolio is weighted towards the premium-price category.

The competitive environment and our competitive position can be significantly influenced by weak economic conditions, erosion of consumer confidence, competitors' introduction of lower-price products or innovative products, higher tobacco product taxes, higher absolute prices and larger gaps between retail price categories, and product regulation that diminishes the ability to differentiate tobacco products and restricts adult consumer access to truthful and non-misleading information about our RRPs. Competitors include three large international tobacco companies, new market entrants, particularly with respect to innovative products, several regional and local tobacco companies and, in some instances, state-owned tobacco enterprises, principally in Algeria, Egypt, the PRC, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Industry consolidation and privatizations of state-owned enterprises have led to an overall increase in competitive pressures. Some competitors have different profit and volume objectives, and some international competitors are susceptible to changes in different currency exchange rates. Certain new market entrants may alienate consumers from innovative products through inappropriate marketing campaigns and messaging and inferior product satisfaction, while not relying on scientific substantiation based on appropriate R&D protocols and standards. The growing use of digital media could increase the speed and extent of the dissemination of inaccurate and misleading information about our RRPs.

Procurement and Raw Materials

We purchase tobacco leaf of various types, grades and styles throughout the world, mostly through independent tobacco suppliers. In 2019, we also contracted directly with farmers in several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines and Poland. In 2019, direct sourcing from farmers represented approximately 23% of PMI’s global leaf requirements. The largest supplies of tobacco leaf are sourced from Argentina, Brazil, China, Italy, Indonesia (mostly for domestic use in kretek products), Malawi, Mozambique, the Philippines, Turkey and the United States.

We believe that there is an adequate supply of tobacco leaf in the world markets to satisfy our current and anticipated production requirements.

In addition to tobacco leaf, we purchase a wide variety of direct materials from a total of approximately 400 suppliers. In 2019, our top ten suppliers of direct materials combined represented approximately 50% of our total direct materials purchases. The three most significant direct materials that we purchase are printed paper board used in packaging, acetate tow used in filter making and fine paper used in the manufacturing of cigarettes and heated tobacco units. In addition, the adequate supply and procurement of cloves are of particular importance to our Indonesian business.

The adequate supply chain for our RRP portfolio, including the supply of electronic devices, is important to our business. We work with two electronics manufacturing service providers for the supply of our Platform 1 devices and a small number of other providers for other products in our RRP portfolio and related accessories. Although we work closely with these service providers on monitoring their

production capability and financial health, the commercialization of our RRPs could be adversely affected if they are unable to meet their commitments. The production of our RRP portfolio requires various metals, and we believe that there is an adequate supply of such metals in the world markets to satisfy our current and anticipated production requirements. However, some components and materials necessary for the production of our RRPs are obtained from single or limited sources, and can be subject to industry-wide shortages and price fluctuations. Our inability to secure an adequate supply of such components and materials could negatively impact the commercialization of our RRPs.

Our IQOS devices are subject to product warranties, which are described in more detail in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Item 8”) in Note 5. Product Warranty to our consolidated financial statements. We discuss our RRP products in more detail in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Item 7”) in Business Environment—Reduced-Risk Products.

Business Environment

Information called for by this Item is hereby incorporated by reference to the paragraphs in Item 7, Business Environment.

Other Matters

Customers

As described in more detail in “Distribution & Sales” above, in many of our markets we sell our products to distributors. In 2019, sales to a distributor in the European Union Region and a distributor in the East Asia & Australia Region each amounted to 10 percent or more of our consolidated net revenues. See Item 8, Note 12. Segment Reporting for more information. We believe that none of our business segments is dependent upon a single customer or a few customers, the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations. In some of our markets, particularly in the European Union and in the East Asia & Australia Regions, a loss of a distributor may result in a temporary market disruption.

Employees

At December 31, 2019, we employed approximately 73,500 people worldwide, including full-time, temporary and part-time staff. Our businesses are subject to a number of laws and regulations relating to our relationship with our employees. Generally, these laws and regulations are specific to the location of each business. In addition, in accordance with European Union requirements, we have established a European Works Council composed of management and elected members of our workforce. We believe that our relations with our employees and their representative organizations are excellent.

Information About Our Executive Officers

The disclosure regarding executive officers is hereby incorporated by reference to the discussion under the heading “Information about our Executive Officers as of February 6, 2020” in Part III, Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Item 10”).

Intellectual Property

Our trademarks are valuable assets, and their protection and reputation are essential to us. We own the trademark rights to all of our principal brands, including Marlboro, HEETS and IQOS, or have the right to use them in all countries where we use them.

In addition, we have a large number of granted patents and pending patent applications worldwide. Our patent portfolio, as a whole, is material to our business. However, no one patent, or group of related patents, is material to us. We also have registered industrial designs, as well as unregistered proprietary trade secrets, technology, know-how, processes and other unregistered intellectual property rights.

Effective January 1, 2008, PMI entered into an Intellectual Property Agreement with Philip Morris USA Inc. (“PM USA”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc. The Intellectual Property Agreement allocates ownership of jointly funded intellectual property as follows:

•	PMI owns all rights to jointly funded intellectual property outside the United States, its territories and possessions; and

•	PM USA owns all rights to jointly funded intellectual property in the United States, its territories and possessions.

The parties agreed to submit disputes under the Intellectual Property Agreement first to negotiation between senior executives and then to binding arbitration.

Seasonality

Our business segments are not significantly affected by seasonality, although in certain markets cigarette consumption trends may rise during the summer months due to outdoor use, longer daylight, and tourism.

Environmental Regulation

We are subject to international, national and local environmental laws and regulations in the countries in which we do business. We have specific programs across our business units designed to meet applicable environmental compliance requirements and reduce our carbon footprint and wastage as well as water and energy consumption. We report externally about our climate change mitigation strategy, together with associated targets and results in reducing our carbon footprint, through CDP (formerly, the Carbon Disclosure Project), the leading international non-governmental organization assessing the work of thousands of companies worldwide in the area of environmental impact, including climate change. Our environmental and occupational health and safety management system includes policies, standard practices and procedures at all our manufacturing centers. We also conduct regular safety assessments at our offices, warehouses and car fleet organizations. Furthermore, we have engaged an external certification body to validate the effectiveness of this management system at our manufacturing centers around the world, in accordance with internationally recognized standards for safety and environmental management. The environmental performance data we report externally is also verified by a qualified third party. Our subsidiaries expect to continue to make investments in order to drive improved performance and maintain compliance with environmental laws and regulations. We assess and report the compliance status of all our legal entities on a regular basis. Based on the management and controls we have in place and our review of climate change risks (both physical and regulatory), environmental expenditures have not had, and are not expected to have, a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, capital expenditures, financial position, earnings or competitive position.

Available Information

We are required to file with the SEC annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The SEC maintains an Internet website at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, from which investors can electronically access our SEC filings.

We make available free of charge on, or through, our website at www.pmi.com our Annual Report 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 Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Investors can access our filings with the SEC by visiting www.pmi.com.

The information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this report or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC.