Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ITEMPAGE
Report of Independent Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42)57
Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss)59
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)60
Consolidated Balance Sheets61
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows62
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit)64
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements65
1: Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies65
2: Acquisitions72
3: Revenue74
4: Restructuring costs76
5: Goodwill and other intangibles77
6: Debt78
7: Leases81
8: Pension plans82
9: Income taxes85
10: Related party transactions88
11: Other financial information89
12: Financial instruments and risk management89
13: Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income92
14: Segment information92
15: Stock-based compensation plans94
16: Earnings (loss) per share96
17: Commitments and contingencies97

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Vertiv Holdings Co

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Vertiv Holdings Co (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of earnings (loss), comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023 in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 23, 2024 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 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 audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that 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. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

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 the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated 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.

Uncertain Tax Positions

Description of the MatterAs described in Note 9 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, the Company is involved in various income tax matters for which the ultimate outcomes are uncertain. As of December 31, 2023, the gross amount of unrecognized tax benefits was $102.5 million. The Company’s tax positions are subject to audit by local taxing authorities across multiple global subsidiaries and the resolution of such audits may span multiple years. Tax law is complex and often subject to varied interpretations, accordingly, the ultimate outcome with respect to taxes the Company may owe may differ from the amounts recognized. Auditing management's accounting for and disclosure of uncertain tax positions was especially challenging due to the complexity and significant judgment associated with the recognition and measurement of the tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained.
How We Addressed the Matter in Our AuditWe obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company’s accounting for uncertain tax positions. Our procedures included testing controls over management’s review of the valuation of, and key assumptions used to, estimate the reserves for uncertain tax positions, as well as controls over the completeness and accuracy of the data used within the Company’s analyses of its uncertain tax positions. Our audit procedures included, among others, evaluating the assumptions utilized by the Company to assess its uncertain tax positions by jurisdiction. We also tested the completeness and accuracy of the underlying data used in the Company’s analyses of its uncertain tax positions. We evaluated certain legal opinions and other supporting documentation prepared from external advisors and internal legal counsel, examined the Company's communications with the relevant tax authorities and read the minutes of the meetings of the committees of the board of directors. We involved tax professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in our evaluation of the tax technical merits of the Company’s assessment, including the assessment of whether the tax positions are more likely than not to be sustained, the amount of the potential benefits to be realized, and the application of relevant income tax law. We also assessed the Company’s disclosure of uncertain tax positions.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.

Grandview Heights, Ohio

February 23, 2024

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (LOSS)

VERTIV HOLDINGS CO

(Dollars in millions except for per share data)

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Net sales
Net sales - products$5,406.1$4,335.3$3,694.6
Net sales - services1,457.11,356.21,303.5
Net sales6,863.25,691.54,998.1
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales - products3,575.73,219.12,699.7
Cost of sales - services887.0856.3775.7
Cost of sales4,462.74,075.43,475.4
Operating expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses1,312.31,178.31,109.0
Amortization of intangibles181.3215.8144.3
Restructuring costs28.60.71.4
Foreign currency (gain) loss, net16.03.73.2
Asset impairments——8.7
Other operating expense (income)(9.9)(5.8)(3.8)
Operating profit (loss)872.2223.4259.9
Interest expense, net180.1147.390.6
Loss on extinguishment of debt0.5—0.4
Gain on tax receivable agreement——(59.2)
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities157.9(90.9)61.9
Income (loss) before income taxes533.7167.0166.2
Income tax expense73.590.446.6
Net income (loss)$460.2$76.6$119.6
Earnings (loss) per share:
Basic$1.21$0.20$0.34
Diluted$1.19$(0.04)$0.33
Weighted-average shares outstanding
Basic380,144,059376,730,519355,544,632
Diluted386,226,267378,224,051360,140,323

See accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

VERTIV HOLDINGS CO

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Net income (loss)$460.2$76.6$119.6
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Foreign currency translation67.2(196.8)(65.1)
Interest rate swaps(22.5)101.541.5
Tax receivable agreement——0.9
Pension(3.0)13.56.8
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax41.7(81.8)(15.9)
Comprehensive income (loss)$501.9$(5.2)$103.7

See accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

VERTIV HOLDINGS CO

(Dollars in millions)

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$780.4$260.6
Accounts receivable, less allowances of $29.1 and $18.4, respectively2,185.21,888.8
Inventories884.3822.0
Other current assets151.6187.3
Total current assets4,001.53,158.7
Property, plant and equipment, net560.1489.4
Other assets:
Goodwill1,330.31,284.7
Other intangible assets, net1,672.91,816.1
Deferred income taxes159.846.4
Right-of-use assets, net173.5166.4
Other100.4134.0
Total other assets3,436.93,447.6
Total assets$7,998.5$7,095.7
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt$21.8$21.8
Accounts payable986.4984.0
Deferred revenue638.9358.7
Accrued expenses and other liabilities611.8513.7
Income taxes46.519.7
Total current liabilities2,305.41,897.9
Long-term debt, net2,919.13,169.1
Deferred income taxes159.5176.5
Warrant liabilities195.058.7
Long-term lease liabilities142.6132.0
Other long-term liabilities262.0219.6
Total liabilities5,983.65,653.8
Equity
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding——
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 700,000,000 shares authorized, 381,788,876 and 377,368,837 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively——
Additional paid-in capital2,711.32,630.7
Accumulated deficit(691.9)(1,142.6)
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income(4.5)(46.2)
Total equity2,014.91,441.9
Total liabilities and equity$7,998.5$7,095.7

See accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW

VERTIV HOLDINGS CO

(Dollars in millions)

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)$460.2$76.6$119.6
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation74.372.069.1
Amortization196.7230.4157.9
Deferred income taxes(131.6)(8.6)(69.8)
Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs7.97.56.3
Gain on tax receivable agreement——(59.2)
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities157.9(90.9)61.9
Asset impairments——8.7
Stock-based compensation25.024.723.2
Payment of contingent consideration—(8.7)—
Gain on sale of property, plant and equipment—(3.7)—
Changes in tax receivable agreement——7.7
Changes in operating working capital66.7(449.2)(132.8)
Other43.4(2.9)18.3
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities900.5(152.8)210.9
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures(127.9)(100.0)(73.4)
Investments in capitalized software(6.7)(11.0)(11.2)
Proceeds from disposition of property, plant and equipment12.43.99.8
Acquisition of business(28.8)(5.0)(1,163.7)
Proceeds from sale of business11.9—21.7
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities(139.1)(112.1)(1,216.8)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings from ABL revolving credit facility and short-term borrowings224.9790.8—
Repayments of ABL revolving credit facility and short-term borrowings(459.9)(555.8)—
Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt——850.0
Repayment of long-term debt(27.1)(16.4)(21.8)
Payment of debt issuance costs—(0.6)(13.8)
Payment of tax receivable agreement—(100.0)—
Payment of contingent consideration—(12.8)—
Dividend payment(9.5)(3.8)(3.8)
Proceeds from the exercise of warrants——107.5
Exercise of employee stock options27.43.14.1
Employee taxes paid from shares withheld(3.3)(4.3)(7.3)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities(247.5)100.2914.9
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents1.5(9.2)(4.5)
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash515.4(173.9)(95.5)
Beginning cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash273.2447.1542.6
Ending cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash$788.6$273.2$447.1
Changes in operating working capital
Accounts receivable$(272.5)$(375.8)$(117.4)
Inventories(54.0)(211.4)(125.7)
Other current assets—(28.8)2.1
Accounts payable(17.7)132.8105.1
Deferred revenue274.267.655.3
Accrued expenses and other liabilities91.5(22.0)(43.4)
Income taxes45.2(11.6)(8.8)
Total changes in operating working capital$66.7$(449.2)$(132.8)
Supplemental Disclosures
Cash paid during the year for interest$176.7$132.8$75.1
Cash paid during the year for income tax, net153.0104.697.3
Property and equipment acquired during the year for capital lease obligations2.94.30.7
Noncash Supplemental Disclosure
Seller provided financing for the disposition of property, plant and equipment—12.2—

See accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

VERTIV HOLDINGS CO

(Dollars in millions)

Share Capital
SharesAmountAdditional Paid in CapitalAccumulated DeficitAccumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) IncomeTotal
Balance at December 31, 2020342,024,612$—$1,791.8$(1,331.2)$51.5$512.1
Net income (loss)———119.6—119.6
Exercise of employee stock options370,513—4.6——4.6
Stock comp activity, net of withholdings for tax (1)620,570—15.8——15.8
Employee 401K match with Vertiv stock357,344—8.2——8.2
Exercise of warrants (2)9,346,822—176.0——176.0
Stock issuance related to acquisition (3)23,081,996—601.1——601.1
Dividend payment———(3.8)—(3.8)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax————(15.9)(15.9)
Balance as of December 31, 2021375,801,857$—$2,597.5$(1,215.4)$35.6$1,417.7
Net income (loss)———76.6—76.6
Exercise of employee stock options202,724—3.1——3.1
Stock comp activity, net of withholdings for tax (4)563,597—20.4——20.4
Employee 401K match with Vertiv stock800,659—9.7——9.7
Dividend payment———(3.8)—(3.8)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax————(81.8)(81.8)
Balance at December 31, 2022377,368,837$—$2,630.7$(1,142.6)$(46.2)$1,441.9
Net income (loss)———460.2—460.2
Exercise of employee stock options2,122,710—27.4——27.4
Stock comp activity, net of withholdings for tax (5)420,170—21.7——21.7
Employee 401K match with Vertiv stock508,965—9.9——9.9
Exercise of warrants (6)1,368,194—21.6——21.6
Dividend payment———(9.5)—(9.5)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax————41.741.7
Balance at December 31, 2023381,788,876$—$2,711.3$(691.9)$(4.5)$2,014.9

(1)Net stock compensation activity includes 943,164 vested shares offset by 322,594 shares withheld for taxes valued at $7.3 and stock-based compensation of $23.2.

(2)The exercise of warrants includes $107.5 of cash received for the exercise of Public Warrants.

(3)On November 1, 2021 the Company issued 23,081,996 shares valued at $601.1 for the acquisition of E&I.

(4)Net stock compensation activity includes 876,358 vested shares offset by 312,761 shares withheld for taxes valued at $4.3 and stock-based compensation of $24.7.

(5)Net stock compensation activity includes 635,663 vested shares offset by 215,493 shares withheld for taxes valued at $3.3 and stock-based compensation of $25.0.

(6)On February 24, 2023, GS Sponsor LLC elected to exercise 5,266,666 warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the agreement governing the warrants, in exchange for which the Company issued 1,368,194 shares of Class A common stock.

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statement

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(1) DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(Dollars in millions except for per share data and as otherwise noted)

Description of Business

Vertiv Holdings Co (“Holdings Co”, and together with its majority-owned subsidiaries, “Vertiv”, “we”, “our”, or “the Company”), formerly known as GS Acquisition Holdings Corp (“GSAH”), provides mission-critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services primarily for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. Vertiv’s offerings include AC and DC power management products, switchgear and busbar products, thermal management products, integrated rack systems, modular solutions, management systems for monitoring and controlling digital infrastructure, and service. Vertiv manages and reports results of operations for three business segments: Americas; Asia Pacific; and Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Holdings Co was originally incorporated in Delaware on April 25, 2016 as GSAH, a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On June 12, 2018, GSAH consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 69,000,000 units (comprised of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “Public Warrants”)), including 9,000,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional units in full, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating proceeds to GSAH of $690.0 before underwriting discounts and expenses. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, GSAH closed the private placement of an aggregate of 10,533,333 Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “Private Placement Warrants” and, together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”), initially issued to GS DC Sponsor I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating proceeds of $15.8.

On February 7, 2020 (the “Closing Date”), Vertiv Holdings Co consummated its previously announced business combination pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 10, 2019 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among GSAH, Vertiv Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Vertiv Holdings”), VPE Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Vertiv Stockholder”), Crew Merger Sub I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of GSAH (“First Merger Sub”), and Crew Merger Sub II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of GSAH (“Second Merger Sub”). As contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (1) First Merger Sub merged with and into Vertiv Holdings, with Vertiv Holdings continuing as the surviving entity (the “First Merger”) and (2) immediately following the First Merger and as part of the same overall transaction as the First Merger, Vertiv Holdings merged with and into Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger Sub continuing as the surviving entity and renamed “Vertiv Holdings, LLC” (collectively with the First Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Business Combination”).

The aggregate merger consideration paid by GSAH in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination was approximately $1,526.2 (the “Merger Consideration”). The Merger Consideration was paid in a combination of cash and stock. The amount of cash consideration paid to the Vertiv Stockholder upon the consummation of the Business Combination was $341.6. The remainder of the consideration paid to the Vertiv Stockholder upon the consummation of the Business Combination was stock consideration (“Stock Consideration”), consisting of 118,261,955 newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock (the “Stock Consideration Shares”), which shares were valued at $10.00 per share for purposes of determining the aggregate number of shares of our Class A common stock payable to the Vertiv Stockholder as part of the Merger Consideration. In addition, the Vertiv Stockholder was entitled to receive additional future cash consideration with respect to the Business Combination in the form of amounts payable under a Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, by and between the Company and the Vertiv Stockholder (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”). See “Note 10 – Related Party Transactions” to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Holdings Co entered into subscription agreements with certain investors and executive officers (“PIPE Investors”). The PIPE Investors subscribed for 123,900,000 shares of Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price equal to $1,239.0 (the “PIPE Investment”). The Company used $1,464.0 of the proceeds from the Business Combination to pay down its existing debt. Acquisition-related transaction costs and related charges are not included as a component of consideration transferred but were charged against the proceeds from the PIPE Investment and the trust account.

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In connection with the Business Combination, GSAH changed its name to Vertiv Holdings Co and changed the trading symbols for its units, each unit representing one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable Warrant to acquire one share of Class A common stock, that were issued in the IPO (less the number of units that have been separated into the underlying shares of Class A common stock and underlying Warrants (the “Public Warrants”) upon the request of the holder thereof) (the “units”). Class A common stock and Public Warrants on the NYSE were changed from “GSAH.U,” “GSAH” and “GSAH WS,” to “VERT.U,” “VRT” and “VRT WS,” respectively. As a result of the Business Combination, Vertiv Holdings Co became the owner, directly or indirectly, of all of the assets of Vertiv and its subsidiaries, and the Vertiv Stockholder holds a portion of the Company’s Class A common stock.

The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with US GAAP. This determination was primarily based on post Business Combination relative voting rights, composition of the governing board, management, and intent of the Business Combination. Under this method of accounting, GSAH was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the Business Combination was treated as the equivalent of Vertiv issuing stock for the net assets of GSAH, which primarily consisted of cash held in its trust account, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of the Company were stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Reported amounts from operations included herein prior to the Business Combination are those of Vertiv.

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries in which it has a controlling interest. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In addition certain prior year amounts have been reclassed to conform with current year presentation. The Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net sales and expenses as well as related disclosures. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions due to among other reasons, the continued uncertainty of general economic conditions that have impacted, and may continue to impact, our sales channels, supply chain, manufacturing operations, workforce, or other key aspects of our operations.

Revenue recognition

The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of manufactured products and services when control of promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Control is transferred when the customer has the ability to direct the use of and obtain benefits from the goods or services. The majority of the Company’s sales agreements contain performance obligations satisfied at a point in time when control is transferred to the customer. Sales for service contracts, including installation, inventory with no alternative use and an enforceable right of payment upon customer termination and other discrete services, generally are recognized over time as the services are provided. Payments received in advance for service arrangements are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized in net sales when the revenue recognition criteria are met. Unbilled revenue is recorded when performance obligations have been satisfied, but the Company does not have present right to payment.

For agreements with multiple performance obligations, the Company is required to determine whether performance obligations specified in these agreements are distinct and should be accounted for as separate revenue transactions for recognition purposes. In these types of agreements we allocate sales price to each distinct obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price basis. The majority of revenue from arrangements with multiple performance obligations is recognized when tangible products are delivered, with smaller portions for associated installation and commissioning recognized shortly thereafter. Generally, contract duration is short term, and cancellation, termination or refund provisions apply only in the event of contract breach. These provisions have historically not been invoked.

Payment terms vary by the type and location of the customer and the products or services offered. Revenue from our sales have not been adjusted for the effects of a financing component as we expect that the period between when we transfer control of the product and when we receive payment to be one year or less. Sales, value add, and other taxes collected concurrent with revenue are excluded from sales. The Company records amounts billed to customers for shipping and handling in a sales transaction as revenue. Shipping and handling costs are treated as fulfillment costs and are included in costs of sales.

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The Company records reductions to sales for prompt payment discounts, customer and distributor incentives including rebates, and returns at the time of the initial sale. Rebates are estimated based on sales terms, historical experience, trend analysis, and projected market conditions in the various markets served. Returns are estimated at the time of the sale primarily based on historical experience and recorded gross on the consolidated balance sheet.

Sales commissions are expensed when the amortization period is less than a year and are generally not capitalized as they are typically earned at the completion of the contract when the customer is invoiced or when the customer pays Vertiv. We typically offer warranties that are consistent with standard warranties in the jurisdictions where we sell our goods and services. Our warranties are generally assurance type warranties for which we promise that our goods and services meet contract specifications. In limited circumstances, we sell warranties that extend the warranty coverage beyond the standard coverage offered on specific products. Sales for these separately-priced warranties are recorded based on their stand-alone selling price and are recognized as revenue over the length of the warranty period.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currency for substantially all of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries is the local currency. Adjustments resulting from translating local currency financial statements into U.S. dollars are reflected in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Transactions denominated in currencies other than the subsidiaries’ functional currencies are subject to changes in exchange rates with resulting gains/losses recorded in net earnings (loss).

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the amount of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Restricted cash represents cash collateral for bank guarantees.

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Cash and cash equivalents$780.4$260.6$439.1
Restricted cash included in other current assets8.212.68.0
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash$788.6$273.2$447.1

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses

The Company’s accounts receivable are derived from customers located in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally requires no collateral from its customers. The Company establishes an allowance for credit losses on receivable based on historical experience and any specific customer collection issues that the Company has identified. Write-offs are recorded against the allowance for credit losses when all reasonable efforts for collection have been exhausted.

The change in allowance for credit losses is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Beginning balance$18.4$14.1$15.0
Provision charged to expense11.35.60.6
Deductions(0.6)(1.3)(1.5)
Ending balance$29.1$18.4$14.1

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost, using the first-in, first-out method, or net realizable value and the majority is valued based on standard costs. The remainder is valued based on average actual costs. Standard costs are revised at the beginning of each fiscal year. The impact from annually resetting standards, as well as operating variances incurred throughout the year, are allocated to inventories and recognized in cost of sales as product is sold.

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The following are the components of inventory:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Inventories
Finished products$261.6$276.5
Raw materials484.3377.2
Work in process138.4168.3
Total inventories$884.3$822.0

The change in inventory obsolescence is as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Beginning balance$56.0$56.2$64.1
Provision charged to expense28.830.115.7
Write-offs and other(25.8)(30.3)(23.6)
Ending balance$59.0$56.0$56.2

Fair Value Measurement

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurement, establishes a formal hierarchy and framework for measuring certain financial statement items at fair value, and requires disclosures about fair value measurements and the reliability of valuation inputs. Under ASC 820, measurement assumes the transaction to sell an asset or transfer a liability occurs in the principal or at least the most advantageous market for that asset or liability. Within the hierarchy, Level 1 instruments use observable market prices for the identical item in active markets and have the most reliable valuations. Level 2 instruments are valued through broker/dealer quotation or through market-observable inputs for similar items in active markets, including forward and spot prices, interest rates and volatilities. Level 3 instruments are valued using inputs not observable in an active market, such as company-developed future cash flow estimates, and are considered the least reliable. The carrying value approximates fair value for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable because of the relatively short-term maturity of these instruments.

Debt Issuance Costs, Premiums and Discounts

Debt issuance costs, premiums and discounts are amortized into interest expense over the terms of the related loan agreements using the effective interest method or other methods which approximate the effective interest method. Debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability are presented on the balance sheets as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with discounts.

Property, Plant and Equipment and Definite Lived Intangible Assets

The Company records investments in land, buildings, and machinery and equipment at cost, which includes the then fair values of assets acquired in business combinations. Depreciation is computed principally using the straight-line method over estimated service lives, which are 30 to 40 years for buildings and 10 to 12 years for machinery and equipment. The Company’s definite lived identifiable intangible assets that are subject to amortization are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Definite lived identifiable intangibles consist of intellectual property such as patented and unpatented technology and trademarks, customer relationships and capitalized software. Definite lived identifiable intangible assets are also subject to evaluation for potential impairment if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Long-lived tangible and intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Impairment losses are recognized based on estimated fair values if the sum of expected future undiscounted cash flows of the related assets is less than the carrying values.

Following are the components of property, plant and equipment:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Property, plant and equipment, net
Machinery and equipment$479.7$405.4
Buildings343.6312.4
Land41.341.0
Construction in progress67.541.5
Property, plant and equipment, at cost932.1800.3
Less: Accumulated depreciation(372.0)(310.9)
Property, plant and equipment, net$560.1$489.4

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Goodwill

Assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method and recorded at their respective fair values. Goodwill represents the excess of consideration paid over the net assets acquired and is assigned to the reporting unit that acquires the business. A reporting unit is an operating segment as defined in ASC 280, Segment Reporting, or a business one level below an operating segment if discrete financial information for that business is prepared and regularly reviewed by segment management. The Company conducts annual impairment tests of goodwill in the fourth quarter or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a reporting unit’s fair value may be less than its carrying value. The Company may assess goodwill for impairment initially using a qualitative approach to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than it’s carrying value. If an initial qualitative assessment indicates it is more likely than not goodwill may be impaired, a quantitative impairment analysis is performed to evaluate the reporting unit’s estimated fair value compared to its carrying value. If its carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value, goodwill impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit. Estimated fair values of the reporting unit are Level 3 measures and are developed using a weighting of the discounted cash flow approach, the comparable public company approach and the comparable acquisition approach. The Company performed our annual goodwill impairment using the qualitative approach for each reporting unit for the year ended December 31, 2023 and no impairment charges were reported, see “Note 5 – Goodwill and Other Intangibles” for additional information.

Finite-lived Intangible assets

Finite-lived intangible assets principally consist of certain customer relationships, developed technology, capitalized software and trademarks. These intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. The cost of customer relationships is amortized principally over 10 to 13 years, developed technology over 5 to 10 years, capitalized software over 5 years, and trademarks over 5 to 10 years. The Company reviews finite-lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company monitors these changes and events on at least a quarterly basis.

Other indefinite-lived intangible asset

Indefinite lived intangible assets consist of a trademark which is also evaluated annually in the fourth quarter for impairment or upon the occurrence of a triggering event. If the carrying value of an individual indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, the asset is written down to its fair value and the amount of the write down is the impairment charge. When a quantitative analysis is performed, the Company tests these assets using a “relief-from-royalty” valuation method to determine the fair value. Significant assumptions inherent in the valuation methodologies include, but are not limited to, future projected business results, growth rates, the discount rate for a market participant, and royalty rates. Similar to its annual assessment for goodwill, the Company performed a qualitative test for impairment in the current year resulting in no impairment charges for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Product Warranties

Warranties generally extend for one to two years from the date of sale. Provisions for warranty are determined primarily based on historical warranty cost as a percentage of sales, adjusted for specific issues that may arise.

Product warranty expense is approximately one percent of product sales and the product warranty accrual is reflected in accrued expenses on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The change in product warranty accrual is as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Beginning balance$25.6$30.0$36.5
Provision charge to expense22.716.016.6
Paid/utilized(22.2)(20.4)(23.1)
Ending balance$26.1$25.6$30.0

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Public and Private Placement Warrants

As part of the IPO on June 12, 2018, GSAH issued to third party investors 69,000,000 units, consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one Public Warrant, at a price of $10.00 per unit. Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, GSAH closed the private placement of an aggregate of 10,533,333 Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “Private Placement Warrants” and, together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”), initially issued to GS DC Sponsor I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (our “Sponsor”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating proceeds of $15.8. Each Private Placement Warrant allows the sponsor to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share.

Subsequent to the Business Combination, 9,387,093 Public Warrants and 10,533,333 Private Placement Warrants were outstanding as of December 31, 2020. On January 19, 2021, the Company redeemed the outstanding Public Warrants in full, and the units and the Public Warrants were subsequently delisted from NYSE. On February 24, 2023, GS Sponsor LLC elected to exercise 5,266,666 warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the agreement governing the warrants, in exchange for which the Company issued 1,368,194 shares of Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2023, there are 5,266,667 remaining outstanding private warrants.

The Private Placement Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and are non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrant.

The Warrants are classified as a liability at fair value on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the change in the fair value of such liability in each period is recognized as a gain or loss in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss). The Warrants are deemed equity instruments for income tax purposes.

The Private Placement Warrants are valued using a Black-Sholes-Merton pricing model as described in “Note 12 - Financial Instruments and Risk Management” to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The changes in the fair value of the Warrants may be material to our future operating results.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

In the normal course of business, the Company is exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices due to its worldwide presence and business profile. The Company’s foreign currency exposures relate to transactions denominated in currencies that differ from the functional currencies of its subsidiaries. Primary commodity exposures are price fluctuations on forecasted purchases of copper and aluminum and related products. As part of the Company’s risk management strategy, derivative instruments can be selectively used in an effort to minimize the impact of these exposures. All derivatives are associated with specific underlying exposures and the Company does not hold derivatives for trading or speculative purposes. The duration of hedge positions is less than one year.

All derivatives are accounted for under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and recognized at fair value. For derivatives hedging variability in future cash flows, the effective portion of any gain or loss is deferred in equity and recognized when the underlying transaction impacts earnings. For derivatives hedging the fair value of existing assets or liabilities, both the gain or loss on the derivative and the offsetting loss or gain on the hedged item are recognized in earnings each period. To the extent that any hedge is not fully effective at offsetting changes in the underlying hedged item, there could be a net earnings impact. The Company also uses derivatives to hedge economic exposures that do not receive deferral accounting under ASC 815. The underlying exposures for these hedges relate primarily to the revaluation of certain foreign-currency denominated assets and liabilities. Gains or losses from the ineffective portion of any hedge, as well as any gains or losses on derivative instruments not designated as hedges, are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) immediately.

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The Company may enter into net investment hedges of their foreign subsidiaries. The Company utilizes intercompany foreign currency denominated debt to hedge its investment in certain foreign subsidiaries and affiliates. Realized and unrealized translation adjustments from these hedges are included in the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) in the foreign currency translation adjustment of “Foreign currency (gain) loss, net” which offsets the translation adjustments on the underlying assets of foreign subsidiaries also recorded in “Other Comprehensive income (loss), net of tax”.

The Company designated certain interest rate swaps with a notional amount of $1,000.0 as cash flow hedges until maturity which corresponds with the maturity of the Term Loan Credit Agreement in 2027. The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage the interest rate mix of our total debt portfolio and related overall cost of borrowing. At December 31, 2023 and 2022 interest rate swap agreements designated as cash flow hedges effectively swapped a notional amount of $1,000.0, of SOFR based floating rate debt for fixed rate debt. See “Note 12 – Financial instruments and Risk Management” for additional information.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022 no outstanding currency and commodity hedges received deferral accounting treatment. Accordingly, the Company recognized mark-to-market gains (losses) of $(0.8), $0.4, and $(0.6), for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 respectively, within “Other operating expense (income)” in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss). The fair values of the outstanding hedge instruments were measured using valuations based upon quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets (Level 2) and are valued by reference to similar financial instruments, adjusted for terms specific to the contracts.

Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach of ASC 740 by jurisdiction on a legal entity by legal entity basis. Under this approach, deferred taxes represent the future tax consequences expected to occur when the reported amounts of assets and liabilities are recovered or paid. Deferred taxes result from differences between the financial and tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The impact of a change in income tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in earnings in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. The tax carryforwards reflected in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements have been determined using the separate return method. The tax carryforwards include net operating losses and tax credits.

The Company’s extensive operations and the complexity of global tax regulations require assessments of uncertainties in estimating the taxes the Company will ultimately pay. The Company recognizes liabilities for anticipated tax uncertainties in the U.S. and other tax jurisdictions based on its estimate of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes will be due.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company has provided for U.S. federal income taxes, foreign withholding and other taxes on outside basis differences in certain foreign subsidiaries that are not indefinitely reinvested. Certain earnings of foreign affiliates continue to be indefinitely reinvested, but determining the impact was not practicable due to interaction with other tax laws and regulations in the year of inclusion.

Commitments and Contingencies

Certain conditions may exist as of the date of the financial statements which may result in a loss to the Company, but will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. Such liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines, penalties, and other sources are recorded when the Company assesses that it is probable that a future liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Recoveries of costs from third parties, which the Company assesses as being probable of realization, are recorded to the extent of related contingent liabilities accrued. Legal costs incurred in connection with matters relating to contingencies are expensed in the period incurred. The Company records gain contingencies when realized.

Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2020-04: Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. This ASU provides optional expedients and exceptions to ease the potential burden in accounting for contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued as part of reference rate reform. The amendments became effective March 12, 2020 and can generally be applied through December 31, 2024.

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On April 18, 2023, the Company transitioned its interest rate swaps from LIBOR to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") effective July 2, 2023. The Term Loan Credit Agreement, dated as of March 2, 2020 (as amended), by and among (i) Vertiv Group Corporation, as borrower, (ii) Vertiv Intermediate Holding II Corporation, (iii) the administrative agent and (iv) the lenders, relating to a term loan due in 2027 (the “Term Loan Credit Agreement”), was amended on June 22, 2023, to allow for the transition, effective July 1, 2023, from the LIBOR available for borrowings under the Term Loan Credit Agreement and related LIBOR-based mechanics to an interest rate based on the SOFR and related SOFR-based mechanics. The Company adopted ASU 2020-04 and elected to apply the optional expedient to consider the amended swap contracts as a continuation of the existing arrangements. The application of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07: Segment Reporting (Topic 280) Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This ASU provides amendments by requiring disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis. The amendments are effective in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09: Income Taxes (Topic 740) Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. This ASU provides amendments that require entities to annually disclose specific rate reconciliation categories, additional details for significant reconciling items exceeding 5%, and comprehensive breakdowns of income taxes paid by jurisdiction. The amendments are effective in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2) ACQUISITIONS

CoolTera Ltd.

On December 4, 2023, the Company entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire CoolTera Ltd. The transaction closed on December 8, 2023. CoolTera is a global provider of liquid cooling infrastructure solutions, and designs and manufactures coolant distribution units, secondary fluid networks, and manifolds for data center liquid cooling solutions. The acquisition of CoolTera brings advanced cooling technology, deep domain expertise, controls and systems, and manufacturing and testing for high density compute cooling requirements to the company's existing thermal management portfolio.

E&I

On September 8, 2021, the Company entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire E&I. The E&I Acquisition closed on November 1, 2021. Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement, total consideration was $1,770.4, net of $10.3 of cash acquired. The gross consideration of $1,780.7, consisted of $1,168.7 in cash, approximately $601.1 of Company common stock, equating to 23.1 million shares of Vertiv common stock, $7.4 of contingent consideration and $3.5 of other adjustments. The Company was obligated to pay up to $200.0 of additional cash consideration if E&I achieved certain EBITDA targets for the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022 the value of the contingent earnout was zero. For the year ended December 31, 2022 the decrease in the fair value of contingent consideration of $3.7 is recorded in “Other operating expense (income)” on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss).

The Company accounted for the acquisition of E&I using the acquisition method of accounting. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed have been recorded based on their fair values, and as a result, the estimates and assumptions are subject to change. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has finalized the valuations to determine the final purchase price allocation including the final working capital adjustments, amounts allocated to intangible assets, the allocation of fair value to its foreign jurisdictions, and recording the tax effects of the E&I Acquisition.

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The following is the final purchase price allocation of assets acquired and liabilities assumed related to the E&I acquisition:

Preliminary Allocation as of December 31, 2021AdjustmentsFinal Allocation as of December 31, 2022
Accounts receivable$87.7$—$87.7
Inventories50.1—50.1
Other current assets15.7—15.7
Property, plant and equipment87.1—87.1
Goodwill748.24.5752.7
Other intangible assets1,004.2—1,004.2
Other assets10.4—10.4
Accounts payable33.9—33.9
Accrued expenses and other liabilities50.01.051.0
Deferred income taxes129.8(1.5)128.3
Other long-term liabilities24.3—24.3
Net assets acquired and liabilities assumed$1,765.4$5.01,770.4

The following table represents the definite lived intangible assets acquired, the final fair values and respective useful lives:

Useful LifeFair Value
Customer relationships15 to 16 years$731.6
Developed technology13 years180.7
Trademarks15 to 16 years52.3
Backlog1 year39.6
Total intangible assets$1,004.2

The Company used the multi-period excess earnings method to value the customer relationship intangible assets and the relief from royalty method to value the developed technology intangible assets. The significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value of customer relationships included forecasted earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization, customer attrition rates and a discount rate. The significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value of developed technology included the forecasted net sales, royalty rates and a discount rate. These significant assumptions are forward-looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions. The estimated weighted-average useful lives was 14.2 years for finite lived intangible assets.

Goodwill was calculated as the difference between the acquisition date fair value of the consideration transferred and the fair value of net assets recognized for E&I, and represents the future economic benefits, including synergies, and assembled workforce, that are expected to be achieved as a result of the consummation of the acquisition of E&I. The goodwill arising from the acquisition is not expected to be deductible for tax purposes. As of the E&I Acquisition closing date, goodwill of $273.6 and $479.1 has been allocated to the America’s and the Europe, Middle East and Africa segments, respectively. Refer to “Note 5 - Goodwill and Other Intangibles” for additional information about goodwill and other intangible assets.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, E&I net sales were $67.4 which are included in “Net sales” and operating loss from the acquisition were $10.0 included in “Income (loss) before income taxes, net” on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Loss).

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Pro Forma Financial Information

In accordance with ASC 805 Business Combination, the following unaudited pro forma results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 assumes the E&I business combination was completed on January 1, 2021. The following pro forma results include adjustments to reflect acquisition related costs, additional interest expense and amortization of debt issuance costs, accounting policies applied to E&I after the business combination, amortization of intangibles associated with the business combination and the effects of adjustments made to the carrying value of certain assets.

Unaudited proforma informationYear Ended December 31, 2021
Net sales$5,323.9
Net income (loss)76.7

The unaudited pro forma results contain adjustments to give effect to pro forma events that are directly attributable to the business transaction, factually supportable, and expected to have a continuing impact on the combined results. Pro forma data may not be indicative of the results that would have been obtained had the acquisition occurred at the beginning of the periods presented, nor is it intended to be a projection of future results. Additionally, the pro forma financial information does not reflect the costs which the Company has incurred or may incur to integrate the acquired business.

(3) REVENUE

The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of manufactured products and services when control of promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.

Critical infrastructure & solutions

The Company identifies delivery of products as performance obligations within the critical infrastructure & solutions offering. Such products include AC and DC power management, thermal management, integrated modular solutions, as well as hardware for managing IT equipment. The Company generally satisfies these performance obligations and recognizes revenue for these products at a point in time when control has transferred to the customer. The transfer of control generally occurs when the product has been shipped or delivery has occurred, depending on shipping terms.

For customized products that the customer controls at the customer’s site while the Company builds and customizes the product, the Company recognizes revenue over time because the customer obtains control of the asset as it is built. For these products, the Company uses an input method to recognize revenue based on costs incurred relative to total estimated project costs as this represents the most faithful measure of the goods transferred to the customer.

Services & spares

Services include preventative maintenance, acceptance testing, engineering and consulting, performance assessments, remote monitoring, training, spare parts, and critical digital infrastructure software. Services are generally recognized as the services are provided, or straight-line for stand-ready contracts, because the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefit as we perform the services. The Company recognizes revenue for software applications at a point in time upon transfer of the software and monitoring services are recognized over time.

Integrated rack solutions

Performance obligations within integrated rack solutions include the delivery of racks, rack power, rack power distribution, rack thermal systems, and configurable integrated solutions. For these performance obligations, the Company recognizes revenue at a point in time based on when transfer of control occurs.

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Disaggregation of Revenues

The following table disaggregates revenue by business segment, product and service offering and timing of transfer of control:

Year Ended December 31, 2023
AmericasAsia PacificEurope, Middle East, & AfricaTotal
Sales by Product and Service Offering:
Critical infrastructure & solutions$2,560.5$911.4$977.2$4,449.1
Services & spares823.3429.7339.01,592.0
Integrated rack solutions460.7186.7174.7822.1
Total$3,844.5$1,527.8$1,490.9$6,863.2
Timing of revenue recognition:
Products and services transferred at a point in time$2,932.3$1,163.9$942.4$5,038.6
Products and services transferred over time912.2363.9548.51,824.6
Total$3,844.5$1,527.8$1,490.9$6,863.2
Year Ended December 31, 2022
AmericasAsia PacificEurope, Middle East, & AfricaTotal
Sales by Product and Service Offering:
Critical infrastructure & solutions$1,608.4$949.3$917.6$3,475.3
Services & spares754.6441.7284.31,480.6
Integrated rack solutions365.6210.3159.7735.6
Total$2,728.6$1,601.3$1,361.6$5,691.5
Timing of revenue recognition:
Products and services transferred at a point in time$1,925.0$1,242.6$985.7$4,153.3
Products and services transferred over time803.6358.7375.91,538.2
Total$2,728.6$1,601.3$1,361.6$5,691.5
Year Ended December 31, 2021
AmericasAsia PacificEurope, Middle East, & AfricaTotal
Sales by Product and Service Offering: (1)
Critical infrastructure & solutions$1,189.6$971.7$739.1$2,900.4
Services & spares705.1421.5312.11,438.7
Integrated rack solutions292.7215.8150.5659.0
Total$2,187.4$1,609.0$1,201.7$4,998.1
Timing of revenue recognition:
Products and services transferred at a point in time$1,514.6$1,304.3$1,019.5$3,838.4
Products and services transferred over time672.8304.7182.21,159.7
Total$2,187.4$1,609.0$1,201.7$4,998.1

(1)For the year ended December 31, 2021, E&I sales from November 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 of $21.7 and $45.7 are included in Americas; and Europe, Middle East & Africa reportable segments, respectively.

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The opening and closing balances of current and long-term deferred revenue are as follows:

Balances at December 31, 2023Balances at December 31, 2022
Deferred revenue - current$638.9$358.7
Deferred revenue - noncurrent (1)61.849.5

(1) Noncurrent deferred revenue is recorded within “Other long-term liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Deferred revenue - noncurrent consists primarily of maintenance, extended warranty and other service contracts. The Company expects to recognize revenue of $36.5, $14.0 and $11.3 in the years ending December 31, 2025, 2026, and thereafter, respectively.

(4) RESTRUCTURING COSTS

Restructuring costs include expenses associated with the Company’s efforts to continually improve operational efficiency and reposition its assets to remain competitive on a worldwide basis. Plant closing and other costs include lease and contract termination costs of moving fixed assets, employee training, relocation, and facility costs. These costs are recorded in “Restructuring costs” on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss).

The Company has an on-going multi-year restructuring program to align its cost structure to support margin expansion targets. The program includes workforce reductions and footprint optimization across all segments. The current liability and non-current liability for estimated restructuring costs is recorded in "Accrued expenses and other liabilities” and "Other long-term liabilities", respectively, on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The change in the current liability for restructuring costs for the year ended December 31, 2023 were as follows:

December 31, 2022Paid/UtilizedExpenseDecember 31, 2023
Severance and benefits$15.3$(17.2)$27.0$25.1
Plant closing and other0.1(1.6)1.60.1
Total$15.4$(18.8)$28.6$25.2

The change in the current liability for restructuring costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 were as follows:

December 31, 2021Paid/UtilizedExpenseDecember 31, 2022
Severance and benefits$33.8$(16.7)$(1.8)$15.3
Plant closing and other0.2(2.6)2.50.1
Total$34.0$(19.3)$0.7$15.4

Restructuring expense by business segment were as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Americas$6.0$1.9$4.0
Asia Pacific14.1(1.7)3.1
Europe, Middle East & Africa(1)3.70.7(7.1)
Corporate4.8(0.2)1.4
Total$28.6$0.7$1.4

(1) During 2021, a previously recorded restructuring reserve was relieved due to the sale of a heavy industrial UPS business, refer to “Note 5 - Goodwill and Other Intangibles” for more information.

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(5) GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLES

The change in the carrying value of goodwill by segment follows:

AmericasAsia PacificEurope, Middle East & AfricaTotal
Balance, December 31, 2021$632.0$50.9$647.2$1,330.1
E&I Acquisition(1)0.2—4.34.5
Foreign currency translation and other2.1(3.8)(48.2)(49.9)
Balance, December 31, 2022$634.3$47.1$603.3$1,284.7
Acquisition/Divestiture(2)——24.524.5
Foreign currency translation and other1.0(0.7)20.821.1
Balance, December 31, 2023$635.3$46.4$648.6$1,330.3

(1) Adjustment to the initial purchase price allocation on the E&I Acquisition, refer to "Note 2 - Acquisition" for more information on the E&I Acquisition.

(2) Represents the goodwill acquired in December related to CoolTera Ltd., refer to "Note 2 - Acquisition" for additional information, offset by the write-off of goodwill associated with the disposition of a technical furniture business.

The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization of identifiable intangible assets by major class follow:

As of December 31, 2023GrossAccumulated AmortizationNet
Customer relationships$1,768.6$(710.7)$1,057.9
Developed technology494.3(261.2)233.1
Capitalized software111.2(82.6)28.6
Trademarks88.9(35.9)53.0
Other45.5(37.3)8.2
Total finite-lived identifiable intangible assets$2,508.5$(1,127.7)$1,380.8
Indefinite-lived trademarks292.1—292.1
Total intangible assets$2,800.6$(1,127.7)$1,672.9
As of December 31, 2022GrossAccumulated AmortizationNet
Customer relationships$1,741.8$(573.8)$1,168.0
Developed technology483.4(215.9)267.5
Capitalized software104.7(68.7)36.0
Trademarks87.1(31.9)55.2
Other35.9(35.9)—
Total finite-lived identifiable intangible assets$2,452.9$(926.2)$1,526.7
Indefinite-lived trademarks289.4—289.4
Total intangible assets$2,742.3$(926.2)$1,816.1

Total intangible asset amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, was $196.7, $230.4, and $157.9, respectively.

Based on intangible asset balances as of December 31, 2023, expected amortization expense is as follows:

20242025202620272028
$197.2$197.2$187.1$154.8$142.9

Divestiture

In October 2021, the Company entered into an agreement for approximately €20.0 ($21.7) in cash proceeds for the sale of a heavy industrial UPS business within the Europe, Middle East & Africa segment. As a result of the disposition, the Company adjusted the business to the current fair value, less expected costs to sell, and recorded an $8.7 impairment in “Asset impairments” in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss). On December 21, 2021, the sale of the heavy industrial UPS business was finalized, which resulted in no additional impairment.

Annual Goodwill Impairment Analysis

The Company performed a qualitative impairment test for all of its reporting units during the fourth quarter of 2023. Based on the results of our qualitative impairment assessment, we concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded their carrying value and, therefore, our goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2023.

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(6) DEBT

Long-term debt, net of current portion, consisted of the following as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Term Loan due 2027 at 7.97% and 6.89% at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively$2,118.1$2,139.8
Senior Secured Notes due 2028 at 4.125% at both December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively850.0850.0
ABL Revolving Credit Facility—235.0
Unamortized discount and issuance costs(27.2)(33.9)
2,940.93,190.9
Less: Current Portion(21.8)(21.8)
Total long-term debt, net of current portion$2,919.1$3,169.1

Contractual maturities of the Company’s debt obligations as of December 31, 2023 are shown below:

2024$21.2
202521.2
202621.2
20272,054.5
2028850.0
Total$2,968.1

Term Loan due 2027

Subject to certain conditions and without consent of the then-existing Term Lenders (but subject to the receipt of commitments), the Borrower may incur additional loans under the Term Loan Credit Agreement (as an increase to the Term Loan or as one or more new tranches of term loans) (“Incremental Term Loans”) in an aggregate principal amount of up to the sum of (a) the greater of $325.0 and 60.0% of Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement), plus (b) an amount equal to all voluntary prepayments, repurchases and redemptions of pari passu term loans borrowed under the Term Loan Credit Agreement and of certain other pari passu indebtedness incurred outside the Term Loan Credit Agreement utilizing capacity that would otherwise be available for Incremental Term Loans, plus (c) an unlimited amount, so long as on a pro forma basis after giving effect thereto, (i) with respect to indebtedness secured by the Collateral (as defined below) on a pari passu basis with the Term Loan, the Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement) would not exceed 3.75:1.00 and (ii) with respect to indebtedness incurred outside of the Term Loan Credit Agreement and secured by the Collateral on a junior basis with the Term Loan or that is unsecured, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement) would not exceed either (A) 5.25:1.00 or (B) if such indebtedness is incurred in connection with a permitted acquisition or other permitted investment, the Consolidated Total Net Leverage Ratio in effect immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction (the amounts referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c), collectively, the “Incremental Amount”). Subject to certain conditions, the Borrower may incur additional indebtedness outside of the Term Loan Credit Agreement using the then-available Incremental Amount in lieu of Incremental Term Loans.

The Term Loan amortizes in equal quarterly installments in an amount equal to 1.00% per annum of the initial principal amount, which amortization payments commenced on June 30, 2020. Prior to the amendments discussed below, the interest rate applicable to the Term Loan was, at the Borrower’s option, either (a) the base rate (which is the highest of (i) the prime rate of Citibank, N.A. on such day, (ii) the greater of the then-current (A) federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and (B) rate comprised of both overnight federal funds and overnight LIBOR, in each case, plus 0.50%, (iii) LIBOR for a one month interest period, plus 1.00% and (iv) 1.00%), plus 2.00% or (b) one-, three- or six-month LIBOR or, if agreed by all Term Lenders, 12-month LIBOR or, if agreed to by the Term Agent, any shorter period (selected at the option of the Borrower), plus 3.00%. Additionally, concurrent with entering into the Term Loan Credit Agreement, Vertiv Group entered into interest rate swap agreements with a notional amount of $1,000.0. The swap transactions exchange floating rate interest payments for fixed rate interest payments on the notional amount to reduce interest rate volatility. The borrowing rate of the Term Loan as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was 7.97% and 6.89%, respectively.

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The Borrower may voluntarily prepay the Term Loan, in whole or in part, subject to minimum amounts, with prior notice but without premium or penalty. The Borrower is required to repay the Term Loan with 50% of Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement), 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain asset sales and casualty and condemnation events and the incurrence of certain other indebtedness, in each case, subject to certain step-downs, reinvestment rights, thresholds and other exceptions. Any Term Loan prepaid or repaid may not be re-borrowed. Unless accelerated subject to the terms of the Term Loan Credit Agreement, any amounts not otherwise prepaid or repaid shall mature on the seven year anniversary of entry into the Term Loan Credit Agreement.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Term Loan Credit Agreement are guaranteed by Holdings Co and all of the Borrower’s direct and indirect wholly-owned U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) (collectively, the “Guarantors”). Subject to certain exceptions, the obligations of the Borrower and the Guarantors under the Term Loan Credit Agreement and related documents are secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Borrower and the Guarantors (the “Collateral”).

The Term Loan Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative, reporting and negative covenants, and events of default. The negative covenants include, among other things, restrictions on (subject to certain exceptions) our ability to incur additional indebtedness; pay dividends or other payments on capital stock; guarantee other obligations; grant liens on assets; make loans, acquisitions or other investments; transfer or dispose of assets; make optional payments of, or otherwise modify, certain debt instruments; engage in transactions with affiliates; amend organizational documents; engage in mergers or consolidations; enter into arrangements that restrict certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; change the nature of the business conducted by Vertiv Group and its restricted subsidiaries; and designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries. Additionally, the activities which may be carried out by Holdings Co are subject to limitations.

Term Loan Amendments

On March 10, 2021, pursuant to Amendment No. 1 a repricing amendment, the interest rate margin decreased to 2.75% in respect of Term Loans bearing interest based on the LIBOR rate and to 1.75% in respect of Term Loans bearing interest based on the base rate as described above. The Company recognized a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $0.4 related to the interest rate decrease for the year ended December 31, 2021.

On June 22, 2023, pursuant to Amendment No. 2, the interest rate under the Term Loan Credit Agreement transitioned, effective July 1, 2023, from the LIBOR available for borrowings under the credit agreement and related LIBOR-based mechanics to an interest rate based on the SOFR and related SOFR-based mechanics. Refer to further information in “Note 1 — Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”.

On December 13, 2023, pursuant to Amendment No. 3, among other modifications, the interest rate margin for the Borrower’s outstanding term loans under the Credit Agreement was reduced by 0.25%, to 2.50% in respect of term loans bearing interest based on the Term SOFR rate and to 1.50% in respect of term loans bearing interest based on the base rate described above. The maturity date for such term loans remains March 2, 2027, and all other material provisions of the Credit Agreement remain materially unchanged. The Company recognized a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $0.5 related to the interest rate decrease for the year ended December 31, 2023.

ABL Revolving Credit Facility

On March 2, 2020, the Company entered into the Fifth Amendment extended the maturity of, and made certain other modifications to, the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, by and among Holdings Co, the Borrower, certain subsidiaries of the Borrower, as co-borrowers (the “Co-Borrowers”), various financial institutions from time to time party thereto, as lenders (the “ABL Lenders”), the ABL Agent and certain other institutions from time to time party thereto as collateral agents and letter of credit issuers. The revolving facility provided by the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement (the "ABL Revolving Credit Facility") is available to the Borrower and the Co-Borrowers and provides for revolving loans in various currencies and under U.S. and foreign subfacilities, in an aggregate amount up to $570.0 with a letter of credit subfacility of $200.0 and a swingline subfacility of $75.0, in each case, subject to various borrowing bases. Borrowings under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility are limited by borrowing base calculations based on the sum of specified percentages of eligible accounts receivable, certain eligible inventory and certain unrestricted cash, minus the amount of any applicable reserves.

Subject to certain conditions and without the consent of the then-existing ABL Lenders (but subject to the receipt of commitments), commitments under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility may be increased to up to $600.0. The maturity date of the ABL Revolving Credit Facility is March 2, 2025.

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On September 20, 2022, Holdings Co, the Borrower and certain subsidiaries entered into Amendment No. 6 (“Sixth Amendment”) and Amendment No. 7 (“Seventh Amendment”) to the ABL Revolving Credit Facility. Among other modifications, the Sixth Amendment converts the interest rate benchmark for currently outstanding and future revolving loans based on LIBOR to SOFR, with a 10 basis point credit spread adjustment for all available tenors, EURIBOR, and SONIA, as applicable. Under the Seventh Amendment, the U.S. revolving loan commitments under the U.S. tranche was increased by $115.0 to a total loan commitment of $570.0 under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility. All other material provisions of the ABL Revolving Credit Facility were unchanged, including the March 2, 2025 maturity date. We paid $0.6 in legal fees related to the amendments which were capitalized within “Other” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Prior to the Sixth Amendment, the interest rate benchmark was LIBOR.

The interest rate applicable to loans denominated in U.S. dollars under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility prior to the Sixth Amendment is, at the Borrower’s option, either (a) the base rate (which is the highest of (i) the prime rate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. on such date, (ii) the greater of the then-current (A) federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and (B) rate comprised of both overnight federal and overnight LIBOR, in each case, plus 0.50%, (iii) LIBOR for a one month interest period, plus 1.00% and (iv) 1.00%), plus an applicable margin (the “LIBOR Base Rate Margin”) ranging from 0.25% to 0.75%, depending on average excess availability or (b) one-, three- or six-month LIBOR or, if available to all ABL Lenders, 12-month LIBOR or any shorter period (selected at the option of the Borrower), plus an applicable margin (the “LIBOR Margin”) ranging from 1.25% to 1.75%, depending on average excess availability.

The interest rate applicable to loans denominated in U.S. dollars under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility after the Sixth Amendment is, at the Borrower’s option, either (a) the base rate (which is the highest of (i) the prime rate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. on such date, (ii) the greater of the then-current (A) federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and (B) rate comprised of both overnight federal and overnight SOFR, in each case, plus 0.50%, (iii) the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate (as defined in the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement) for a one month interest period, plus 1.00% and (iv) 1.00%), plus an applicable margin (the “SOFR Base Rate Margin”) ranging from 0.25% to 0.75%, depending on average excess availability or (b) one-, three- or six-month Adjusted Term SOFR Rate (selected at the option of the Borrower), plus an applicable margin (the “SOFR Margin” and collectively, with the SOFR Base Rate Margin, the LIBOR Margin, and the LIBOR Base Rate Margin, the “Applicable Margins”) ranging from 1.25% to 1.75%, depending on average excess availability.

Certain “FILO” denominated loans have margins equal to the Applicable Margins, plus an additional 1.00%. Loans denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are subject to customary interest rate conventions and indexes, but in each case, with the same Applicable Margins. In addition, the following fees are applicable under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility: (a) an unused line fee of 0.25% per annum on the unused portion of the commitments under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility, (b) letter of credit participation fees on the aggregate stated amount of each letter of credit equal to the SOFR Margin and (c) certain other customary fees and expenses of the lenders, letter of credit issuers and agents thereunder.

The Borrower and Co-Borrowers may voluntarily repay loans under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility, in whole or in part, subject to minimum amounts, with prior notice but without premium or penalty. The Borrower and Co-Borrowers are required to make prepayments under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility at any time when, and to the extent that, the aggregate amount of outstanding loans and letters of credit under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility exceeds the lesser of the then-applicable aggregate commitments and the then-applicable borrowing base. Subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions and the then-applicable borrowing base, any amounts repaid may be re-borrowed.

The Borrower’s and Co-Borrowers’ obligations under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed by the Guarantors (including certain Co-Borrowers as to the obligations of other Co-Borrowers) and, subject to certain exclusions, certain non-U.S. restricted subsidiaries of the Borrower (the “Foreign Guarantors”). No Foreign Guarantor guarantees the obligations of the Borrower or any Co-Borrower that is a U.S. subsidiary of the Borrower. Subject to certain exceptions, the obligations of the Borrower, Co-Borrowers, Guarantors and Foreign Guarantors under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility and related documents are secured by a lien on the Collateral and, subject to certain exceptions and exclusions, certain assets of the Co-Borrowers that are non-U.S. subsidiaries of the Borrower and certain assets of the Foreign Guarantors (collectively, the “Foreign Collateral”). None of the Foreign Collateral secures the obligations of the Borrower or any Co-Borrower that is a U.S. subsidiary of the Borrower.

The ABL Revolving Credit Facility contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative, reporting (including as to borrowing base-related matters) and negative covenants, and events of default. The negative covenants include, among other things, restrictions on (subject to certain exceptions) our ability to incur additional indebtedness; pay dividends or other payments on capital stock; guarantee other obligations; grant liens on assets; make loans, acquisitions or other investments; transfer or dispose of assets; make optional payments of, or otherwise modify, certain debt instruments; engage in transactions with affiliates; amend organizational documents; engage in mergers or consolidations;

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enter into arrangements that restrict certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; change the nature of the business conducted by Vertiv Group and its restricted subsidiaries; and designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries. Additionally, the activities which may be carried out by Holdings Co are subject to limitations. In addition, ABL Revolving Credit Facility requires the maintenance of a minimum Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the ABL Revolving Credit Facility) on any date when Global Availability (as defined in the ABL Revolving Credit Facility) is less than the greater of (a) 10.0% of the aggregate commitments and (b) $30.0 of at least 1.00 to 1.00, tested for the four fiscal quarter period ended on the last day of the most recently ended fiscal quarter for which financials have been delivered, and at the end of each succeeding fiscal quarter thereafter until the date on which Global Availability has exceeded the greater of (a) 10.0% of the aggregate commitments and (b) $30.0 for 30 consecutive calendar days. The Global Availability of the ABL Revolving Credit Facility exceeds the minimum requirements for covenant compliance at December 31, 2023.

At December 31, 2023, Vertiv Group and the Co-Borrowers had $554.0 of availability under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility (subject to customary borrowing base and other conditions, and subject to separate sublimits for letters of credit, swingline borrowings and borrowings made to certain non-U.S. Co-Borrowers), net of letters of credit outstanding in the aggregate principal amount of $16.0, and taking into account the borrowing base limitations set forth in the ABL Revolving Credit Facility. At December 31, 2023, there was no outstanding balance on the ABL Revolving Credit Facility. At December 31, 2022, there was a $235.0 balance on the ABL Revolving Credit Facility with a weighted-average borrowing rate of 5.85%.

On February 16, 2024, Holdings Co, the Borrower and certain subsidiaries entered into Amendment No. 8 (the “Eighth Amendment”), which, among other modifications, extends the maturity date of the ABL Revolving Credit Facility to be five years from the date of the Eighth Amendment (subject to an earlier springing maturity date if certain other indebtedness for borrowed money matures earlier), increases the revolving loan commitments tranche by $30.0M to a total loan commitment of $600.0 under the ABL Revolving Credit Facility, modifies certain borrowing base reporting requirements and removes the French tranche and the FILO tranches from the ABL Revolving Credit Facility.

Senior Secured Notes due 2028

On October 22, 2021, the Borrower completed its offering of $850.0 aggregate principal amount of its Senior Secured Notes due 2028 (the “Notes”) in a private placement at par. The Notes bear interest at 4.125% per annum and mature on November 15, 2028. The Company incurred $13.8 of debt issuance costs that were capitalized as part of the Notes. The Indenture governing the Notes contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative, reporting and negative covenants, and events of default. The negative covenants include, among other things, restrictions on the ability of the Borrower and certain subsidiaries to grant liens or security interests on assets, undertake mergers and consolidations, sell or otherwise transfer assets, pay dividends or make other distributions and restricted payments, incur indebtedness, make acquisitions, loans, advances or other investments, optionally prepay or modify terms of certain junior indebtedness, enter into transactions with affiliates or change lines of business, in each case, subject to certain thresholds and exceptions.

(7) LEASES

The Company leases office space, warehouses, vehicles, and equipment. Leases have remaining lease terms of 1 year to 20 years, some of which have renewal and termination options. Termination options are exercisable at the Company’s option. Lease terms used to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities include periods covered by options to extend the lease where the Company is reasonably certain to exercise that option and periods covered by an option to terminate the lease if the Company is reasonably certain not to exercise that option. The majority of the Company’s leases are operating leases. Finance leases are immaterial to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company determines if an arrangement is an operating lease at inception. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. All other operating leases are recorded on the balance sheet with a corresponding operating lease asset, net, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term and the operating lease liabilities representing the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants.

Operating lease assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term and include options to extend or terminate the lease when they are reasonably certain to be exercised. The present value of lease payments is determined primarily using the incremental borrowing rate, adjusted for lease term and foreign currency, based on the information available at lease commencement date. Lease agreements with lease and non-lease components are generally accounted for as a single lease component. The Company’s operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

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Refer to the below table for a summary of operating lease expenses:

Year Ended December 31, 2023Year Ended December 31, 2022
Operating lease cost$63.7$58.7
Short-term and variable lease cost28.823.6
Total lease cost$92.5$82.3

Supplemental cash flow information related to operating leases is as follows:

Year Ended December 31, 2023Year Ended December 31, 2022
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash outflows - payments on operating leases$62.7$57.9
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new lease obligations:
Operating leases$72.1$69.9

Supplemental balance sheet information related to operating leases is as follows:

Balance Sheet LocationDecember 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Operating lease right-of-use assetsOther assets$173.5$166.4
Operating lease liabilitiesAccrued expenses and other liabilities$42.9$45.2
Operating lease liabilitiesLong-term lease liabilities141.0130.4
Total lease liabilities$183.9$175.6

Weighted average remaining lease terms and discount rates for operating leases are as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Weighted average remaining lease term6.8 years6.8 years
Weighted average discount rate8.4%6.2%

Maturities of lease liabilities at December 31, 2023 are as follows:

December 31, 2023
Operating Leases
2024$56.6
202543.1
202632.6
202725.1
202818.1
Thereafter70.6
Total Lease Payments246.1
Less: Imputed Interest(62.2)
Present value of lease liabilities$183.9

(8) PENSION PLANS

Most of the Company’s employees participate in defined contribution plans, including 401(k), profit sharing, and other savings plans that provide retirement benefits.

Certain U.S. and non-U.S. employees participate in company-specific or statutorily required defined benefit plans. In general, the Company’s policy is to fund these plans based on legal requirements, required benefit payments, and other factors.

Net periodic pension expense and projected benefit obligations for the Company’s U.S defined benefit plans are not significant for disclosure. Total defined contribution plan expense for the Company’s U.S plans was $14.9, $11.9, and $11.9 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

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Retirement plan expense for our non-U.S. plans includes the following components:

Non-U.S. Plans
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Company defined benefit plans:
Service cost$2.9$2.9$3.5
Interest cost3.62.42.0
Expected return on plan assets(0.9)(0.7)(0.8)
Net amortization(0.4)0.30.6
Net periodic pension expense5.24.95.3
Curtailment——(1.9)
Settlement1.2(0.1)(0.1)
Defined contribution plans2.42.63.5
Total$8.8$7.4$6.8

Details of the changes in the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets for our non-U.S. defined benefit pension plans follow:

Non-U.S. Plans
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Projected benefit obligation, beginning$67.9$87.4
Service cost2.92.9
Interest cost3.62.4
Actuarial (gain) loss6.3(14.9)
Benefits paid(2.7)(1.5)
Participant contributions0.20.2
Settlements(5.7)(0.2)
Foreign currency translation and other4.4(8.4)
Projected benefit obligation, ending$76.9$67.9
Fair value of plan assets, beginning14.713.8
Actual return on plan assets0.8(0.1)
Employer contributions6.32.7
Participants’ contributions0.20.3
Benefits paid(2.7)(1.5)
Settlements(5.7)(0.2)
Foreign currency translation and other1.1(0.3)
Fair value of plan assets, ending$14.7$14.7
Net amount recognized in the balance sheet$(62.2)$(53.2)
Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Noncurrent asset$0.5$0.3
Current liability(3.3)(2.9)
Noncurrent liability(59.4)(50.6)
Net amount recognized in the balance sheet$(62.2)$(53.2)
Pretax accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss$1.6$(4.4)

As of December 31, 2023, non-U.S. plans were net underfunded by $62.2, inclusive of unfunded plans totaling $62.7 and an insignificant amount of overfunded non-U.S. plans. As of the plans’ December 31, 2023 and 2022 respective measurement dates, the total accumulated benefit obligation in in excess of plan assets were as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Projected benefit obligation$65.8$51.6
Accumulated benefit obligation55.645.4
Fair value of plan assets3.0—

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Future expected benefit payments are as follows:

Non-U.S. Plans
2024$4.5
20254.2
20264.3
20274.8
20285.1
2029 through 203336.4
Total future expected benefit payments$59.3

The Company expects to contribute approximately $0.6 to its retirement plans in 2024. Company's defined benefit pension plan expense for 2024 is expected to be approximately $6.3, versus $5.2 in 2023.

The weighted-average assumptions used in the valuation of pension benefits are as follows:

Non-U.S. Plans
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Net pension expense
Discount rate5.29%2.96%
Expected return on plan assets5.76%5.12%
Rate of compensation increase4.03%3.83%
Benefit obligations
Discount rate5.41%5.29%
Rate of compensation increase4.25%4.03%

Actuarial developed yield curves are used to determine discount rates. The expected return on plan assets assumption is determined by reviewing the investment returns of the plans for the past 10 years plus longer-term historical returns of an asset mix approximating the Company’s asset allocation targets, and periodically comparing these returns to expectations of investment advisors and actuaries to determine whether long-term future returns are expected to differ significantly from the past.

The Company’s non-U.S. Plan asset allocations at December 31, 2023 and 2022 follow:

Non-U.S. Plans
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Debt securities23%20%
Insurance arrangements20%1%
Cash—%38%
Other57%41%
Total100%100%

The Company did not have any U.S Plan assets at December 31, 2023 or 2022.

The primary objective for the investment of plan assets is to secure participant retirement benefits while earning a reasonable rate of return. Plan assets are invested consistent with the principles of prudence and diversification with a long-term investment horizon. The strategy for plan assets is to minimize concentrations of risk by investing primarily in companies in a diversified mix of industries worldwide, while targeting neutrality in exposure to market capitalization levels, growth versus value profile, global versus regional markets, fund types and fund managers.

The approach for debt securities emphasizes investment-grade corporate and government debt with maturities matching a portion of the longer duration pension liabilities. Leveraging techniques are not used and the use of derivatives in any fund is limited and inconsequential.

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The fair values of defined benefit plan assets, organized by asset class and by the fair value hierarchy of ASC 820 as outlined in “Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” follow:

Level 1Level 2Level 3TotalPercentage
December 31, 2023
Debt securities$—$3.4$—$3.423%
Insurance arrangements——3.03.020%
Other——8.38.357%
Total$—$3.4$11.3$14.7100%
December 31, 2022
Debt securities$—$3.0$—$3.020%
Insurance arrangements——0.10.11%
Cash5.6——5.638%
Other—3.32.76.041%
Total$5.6$6.3$2.8$14.7100%

Asset Classes

Global equities reflects companies domiciled in the U.S., including multi-national companies, as well as companies domiciled in developed nations outside the U.S. Corporate and government bonds represents investment-grade debt of issuers primarily outside the U.S. and insurance arrangements typically ensure no market losses or provide for a small minimum return guarantee and are primarily invested in bonds by the insurer. Other includes cash and general funds that invest primarily in equities, bank deposits and bonds with a guaranteed rate of return.

Fair Value Hierarchy Categories

Valuations of Level 1 assets for all classes are based on quoted closing market prices from the principal exchanges where the individual securities are traded. Cash is valued at cost, which approximates fair value. Debt securities categorized as Level 2 assets are generally valued based on independent broker/dealer bids or by comparison to other debt securities having similar durations, yields and credit ratings. Other Level 2 assets are valued based on a net asset value of fund units held, which is derived from either market-observed pricing for the underlying assets or broker/dealer quotation. Interests in mixed assets funds are Level 2, and non-U.S. general fund investments and insurance arrangements are Level 3. The fair value of the insurance contracts is an estimate of the amount that would be received in an orderly sale to a market participant at the measurement date. The amount the plan would receive from the contract holder if the contracts were terminated is the primary input and is unobservable.

Details of the changes in value for Level 3 assets are as follows:

20232022
Level 3, beginning balance January 1,$2.8$3.0
Gains (losses) on assets held3.3(0.7)
Purchases, sales and settlements, net5.20.5
Level 3, ending balance December 31,$11.3$2.8

(9) INCOME TAXES

The effective tax rate for continuing operations was 13.8%, 54.1%, and 28.0%, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. The effective rate in 2023 was primarily influenced by the net valuation allowance release offset by the non-tax deductibility of the change in fair value of warrant liabilities. The prior two periods were primarily influenced by the mix of income between the Company’s U.S. and non-U.S. operations, favorable tax rates and incentives in non-U.S. jurisdictions, taxes accrued on unremitted earnings, withholding taxes on cross-border payments, changes in valuation allowance for U.S. federal and state and non-US purposes, the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“the Act”), the change in fair value of warrant liabilities, and changes in reserves for uncertain tax positions.

The GILTI provisions of the Act require the Company to include in its U.S. income tax return foreign subsidiary earnings in excess of an allowable return on the foreign subsidiary’s tangible assets. The Company has made the policy election to record any liability associated with GILTI in the period in which it is incurred.

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Earnings (loss) before income taxes from continuing operations consists of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
United States$49.1$(83.0)$(72.7)
Non-U.S. (1)484.6250.0238.9
Total earnings (loss) before income taxes$533.7$167.0$166.2

(1)Certain of the Company’s Non-U.S. entities generate significant losses for which a valuation allowance is provided for and accordingly do not create a tax benefit.

The principal components of income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations consists of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Current:
Federal$45.5$1.2$2.3
State and local16.93.49.7
Non-U.S.142.594.4104.4
Deferred:
Federal(94.0)4.3(25)
State and local(23.5)(1.5)(4.7)
Non-U.S.(13.9)(11.4)(40.1)
Income tax expense (benefit)$73.5$90.4$46.6

Reconciliation of U.S. federal statutory taxes to the Company’s total income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations consists of the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Taxes at U.S. statutory rate (21%)$112.1$35.1$34.9
State and local taxes, net of federal tax benefit13.5(0.5)4.5
Non-U.S. rate differential6.114.229.5
Non-U.S. tax holidays and incentives(13.1)(0.7)(12.1)
Uncertain tax positions5.77.533.7
U.S. tax impact of non-U.S. operations10.06.5(21.1)
Change in valuation allowances(100.5)33.6(24.0)
Taxes on undistributed foreign earnings and withholding/ dividend taxes13.217.114.2
Foreign derived intangible income(3.0)(1.1)(15.9)
R&D deduction/ credit(15.0)(11.9)(11.8)
Impact of non-tax litigation and other settlements5.5—(8.5)
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities33.2(19.1)13.0
Other permanent differences1.0(1.3)7.2
Impact of rate changes in non-U.S. jurisdictions1.48.9(9.2)
Impact of transaction costs—(0.4)6.0
Non-deductible compensation1.02.10.9
Other (1)2.40.45.3
Total income tax expense (benefit)$73.5$90.4$46.6

(1)Represents several adjustments, none of which are significant for separate disclosure.

The Company has tax holiday agreements in place in China, which expire in between 2023 and 2024. It is the Company’s intention to reapply for these holidays as they expire. We anticipate that we will continue to qualify for these holidays, but we will assess based on business conditions at the time of renewal.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022 the Company has recognized $39.0 and $41.3, respectively, of net deferred income tax liabilities for U.S. income taxes, non-U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes on outside basis differences for certain foreign subsidiaries with earnings that are not indefinitely reinvested.

Table of contents

The principal items that gave rise to deferred income tax assets and liabilities follow:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Deferred tax assets
Net operating losses and capital losses$60.8$95.3
Capitalized research expenditures105.784.7
Accrued liabilities44.838.8
Employee compensation and benefits23.313.7
Pensions14.812.8
Business interest deduction limitation88.778.4
Inventory29.823.9
R&D credit carryforward4.47.6
Lease liability22.524.6
Bad debts9.26.8
Foreign tax credit carryforward26.821.1
Other6.33.7
Total deferred tax assets, before valuation allowances$437.1$411.4
Valuation allowances$(146.8)$(250.4)
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances$290.3$161.0
Deferred tax liabilities
Intangibles & Goodwill(175.9)(176.9)
Undistributed foreign earnings(39.0)(41.3)
Property, plant & equipment(27.0)(21.1)
Debt issuance costs(24.6)(27.8)
Lease Right of Use Asset(20.2)(22.5)
Other(3.3)(1.5)
Total deferred tax liabilities$(290.0)$(291.1)
Net deferred income tax liabilities$0.3$(130.1)

At December 31, 2023, the Company has utilized all available federal net operating losses. At December 31, 2023, the gross amount of the Company’s state net operating losses was $464.3, expiring at various times between 2024 and 2042. At December 31, 2023, the Company had $31.2 other federal tax credit carryforwards expiring between 2027 and 2043. At December 31, 2023, the Company had other immaterial state tax credit carryforwards expiring between 2029 and 2038.

The use of certain US tax attributes as of December 31, 2023 is subject to an annual limitation due to the change in ownership of our stock in February 2020 as described in “Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”. There can be no assurance that trading in our shares will not affect another change in ownership under the Internal Revenue Code which could impose an additional limit on the use of our tax attributes.

At December 31, 2023, the Company’s foreign net operating losses that are available to offset future taxable income were $172.6. These foreign loss carryforwards will expire at various times beginning in 2024 with some losses having an unlimited carryforward period.

At December 31, 2023, the Company’s foreign capital loss carryforwards were $66.0. The majority of foreign capital loss carryforwards will expire in 2024 with the remaining having an unlimited carryforward period.

Pursuant to the terms of the separation, Emerson agreed to indemnify the Company for all U.S. federal, state or local income taxes, as well as non-U.S. income taxes, that are attributable to any period prior to the separation. An indemnification receivable of $6.9 has been recorded in noncurrent other assets for the uncertain tax positions related to periods prior to the separation. The impact on the Company’s tax expense for changes in uncertain tax positions for periods prior to the separation (discussed below) will be offset by the Emerson indemnification, resulting in no net effect on the Company’s net income.

Pursuant to the terms of the E&I Acquisition, E&I agreed to indemnify the Company for certain non-U.S. income taxes, that are attributable to any period prior to the acquisition. An indemnification receivable of $2.8 has been recorded in noncurrent other assets for the uncertain tax positions related to periods prior to the acquisition. The impact on the Company’s tax expense for changes in uncertain tax positions for periods prior to the acquisition (discussed below) will be offset by the E&I indemnification, resulting in no net effect on the Company’s net income.

Table of contents

Following are changes in unrecognized tax benefits before considering recoverability of cross-jurisdictional tax credits (federal, state, and non-U.S.) and temporary differences. The amount of unrecognized tax benefits is not expected to significantly increase or decrease within the next 12 months.

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Beginning balance$97.0$98.6$70.0
Additions for the current year tax positions20.611.925.1
Additions for prior year tax positions5.8—22.8
Reductions for prior year tax positions(0.5)(11.9)(10.2)
Reductions for settlements with tax authorities(4.1)—(8.5)
Reductions for expirations of statute of limitations(16.3)(1.6)(0.6)
Ending balance$102.5$97.0$98.6

The total amount of net unrecognized tax benefits that would affect income tax expense, if recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements, is $97.0. In addition, an adjustment of $9.7 would result to other expense for reversal of the indemnification receivable. The Company accrues interest and penalties related to income taxes in income tax expense. As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, total accrued interest and penalties were $19.0, $18.0, and $15.2, respectively.

Eligible domestic subsidiaries file a consolidated U.S. Federal income tax return. Examinations by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service are complete through the December 1, 2016 date of separation with Emerson, with the limited exception of 2014. The status of state and non-U.S. tax examinations varies due to the numerous legal entities and jurisdictions in which the Company operates. As noted above, pursuant to the terms of the transactions, Emerson and E&I will indemnify the Company for certain tax assessments for periods prior to closing.

The change in the income tax valuation allowance is as follows:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Beginning balance$250.4$241.6$282.6
Additions (reductions) charged to expense(100.4)33.6(24.0)
Reductions charged to other accounts(3.2)(24.8)(17.0)
Ending balance$146.8$250.4$241.6

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded a net valuation allowance release of $103.4 primarily related to U.S. federal and state jurisdictions. At each reporting date, management considers new evidence, both positive and negative, that could affect its view of the future realization of deferred tax assets. As of December 31, 2023, management determined that there is sufficient positive evidence to conclude that it is more likely than not that the U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets, excluding primarily foreign tax credits, are realizable. The Company therefore reduced the valuation allowance accordingly.

(10) RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Transactions with Affiliates of Advisors

On August 8, 2023 (the “Stock Sale Transaction date”), VPE Holdings, LLC (the “Vertiv Stockholder”), an affiliate of Platinum Equity Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”) completed the sale of 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company (the “Stock Sale Transaction”). Subsequent to the Stock Sale Transaction, the Vertiv Stockholder holds less than 5% of the outstanding Class A common stock of the Company and as such is no longer considered a related person of the Company for purposes of Item 404 of Regulation S-K by virtue of its ownership in the Company.

The Company purchased and sold goods in the ordinary course of business with affiliates of Advisors. Purchases from the start of the current year through the Stock Sale Transaction date were $74.1. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 purchases were $137.0 and $98.0, respectively. Sales from the start of the current year through the Stock Sale Transaction date were $89.5. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 sales were $146.0 and $86.9, respectively. Accounts payable were $3.8 as of December 31, 2022. Accounts receivable were $33.3 as of December 31, 2022.

Tax Receivable Agreement

On December 31, 2021, the Company and an affiliate of the Vertiv Stockholder agreed to amend and supplement the tax receivable agreement entered into by the Company and the Vertiv Stockholder on February 7, 2020, (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”) to replace the Company’s remaining payment obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement with an obligation to pay $100.0 in cash in two equal installments. The first installment payment was scheduled to be on or before June 15, 2022 and the second payment was scheduled to be due on or before September 15, 2022. On June 15, 2022, the Company and the Vertiv Stockholder agreed to further amend the payment schedule under the Tax Receivable Agreement into three installment payments, wherein the first installment payment of $12.5 became due and was paid on June 15, 2022, the second installment of $12.5 became due and was paid on September 15, 2022, and the third installment of $75.0 became due and was paid on November 30, 2022. The Tax Receivable Agreement terminated on November 30, 2022 upon receipt of final payment.

For the year ended December 31, 2021 the Company recorded $4.5 of accretion expense in “Interest expense, net”, in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Loss). An unrealized loss of $(3.2) was recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet, related to the change in fair value of the tax receivable liability for the year ended December 31, 2021. Upon execution of the amended Tax Receivable Agreement on December 31, 2021, the Company reversed $4.1 previously recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income”, and recognized a gain of $59.2, recorded in “Gain on tax receivable agreement” in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Loss), for the difference between the amount accrued for this obligation in comparison to the amount at which the obligation will be settled.

(11) OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Items reported in earnings include the following:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Research and development expense$303.5$282.0$266.4
Depreciation expense74.372.069.1
Advertising expense20.120.626.0

Items reported in accrued expenses and other liabilities include the following:

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Accrued payroll and other employee compensation$165.4$132.6
Restructuring (see Note 4)25.215.4
Operating lease liabilities (see Note 7)42.945.2
Product warranty (see Note 1)26.125.6
Other352.2294.9
Total$611.8$513.7

(12) FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND RISK MANAGEMENT

In accordance with ASC 820, the Company uses a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. Observable inputs are from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability developed based upon the best information available in the circumstances. These tiers include the following:

Level 1 — inputs include observable unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2 — inputs include other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable

Level 3 — inputs include unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions

In determining fair value, the Company uses various valuation techniques and prioritizes the use of observable inputs. The availability of observable inputs varies from instrument to instrument and depends on a variety of factors including the type of instrument, whether the instrument is actively traded and other characteristics particular to the instrument. For many financial instruments, pricing inputs are readily observable in the market, the valuation methodology used is widely accepted by market participants and the valuation does not require significant management judgment. For other financial instruments, pricing inputs are less observable in the marketplace and may require management judgment.

Recurring fair value measurements

A summary of the Company’s financial instruments recognized at fair value, and the fair value measurements used, are as follows:

As of December 31, 2023
Balance Sheet LocationTotalQuoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)Other observable inputs (Level 2)Unobservable inputs (Level 3)
Assets:
Interest rate swapsOther current assets$36.4$—$36.4$—
Interest rate swapsOther noncurrent assets44.5—44.5—
Total assets$80.9$—$80.9$—
Liabilities:
Private warrantsWarrant liabilities$195.0$—$195.0$—
Total liabilities$195.0$—$195.0$—
As of December 31, 2022
Balance Sheet LocationTotalQuoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)Other observable inputs (Level 2)Unobservable inputs (Level 3)
Assets:
Interest rate swapsOther current assets$36.9$—$36.9$—
Interest rate swapsOther noncurrent assets73.3—73.3—
Total assets$110.2$—$110.2$—
Liabilities:
Private warrantsWarrant liabilities$58.7$—$58.7$—
Total liabilities$58.7$—$58.7$—

Interest rate swaps — From time to time the Company may enter into derivative financial instruments designed to hedge the variability in interest expense on floating rate debt. Derivatives are recognized as assets or liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at their fair value. When the derivative instrument qualifies as a cash flow hedge, changes in the fair value are deferred through other comprehensive income, depending on the nature and effectiveness of the offset.

The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage the interest rate mix of its total debt portfolio and related overall cost of borrowing. At December 31, 2023, interest rate swap agreements designated as cash flow hedges effectively swapped a notional amount of $1,000.0 of SOFR based floating rate debt for fixed rate debt. At December 31, 2022, interest rate swap agreements designated as cash flow hedges effectively swapped a notional amount of $1,000.0 of LIBOR based floating rate debt for fixed rate debt. Our interest rate swaps mature in March 2027. The Company recognized $38.9, $2.4, and $(10.5) in earnings for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, within “Interest expense, net” on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Loss). At December 31, 2023, the Company expects that approximately $36.4 of pre-tax net gains on cash flow hedges will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income into earnings during the next twelve months.

The interest rate swaps are valued using the SOFR yield curves at the reporting date. Counterparties to these contracts are highly rated financial institutions. The fair values of the Company’s interest rate swaps are adjusted for nonperformance risk and creditworthiness of the counterparty through the Company’s credit valuation adjustment (“CVA”). The CVA is calculated at the counterparty level utilizing the fair value exposure at each payment date and applying a weighted probability of the appropriate survival and marginal default percentages. On April 18, 2023, the Company transitioned its interest rate swaps from LIBOR to SOFR effective July 2, 2023. As mentioned previously, the Company transitioned its Term Loan due 2027 to SOFR effective July 1, 2023.

Net Investment hedge — During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company designated certain intercompany debt to hedge a portion of its investment in foreign subsidiaries and affiliates. Realized and unrealized translation adjustments from these hedges were $17.9 and $11.1 and are included in “Foreign currency translation” in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, approximately $225.0 and $233.6 of the Company’s intercompany debt was designated to hedge investments in certain foreign subsidiaries and affiliates.

Private Warrants — The fair value of the Private Warrants is considered a Level 2 valuation and is determined using the Black-Sholes-Merton valuation model. The significant assumptions which the Company used in the model are:

Warrant valuation inputsDecember 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Stock price$48.03$13.66
Strike price$11.50$11.50
Remaining life1.102.10
Volatility55.0%56.0%
Interest rate (1)4.73%4.39%
Dividend yield (2)0.21%0.07%

(1) Interest rate determined from a constant maturity treasury yield

(2) December 31, 2023 and 2022 dividend yield assumes $0.10 and $0.01, respectively, per share per annum.

Other fair value measurements

The Company determines the fair value of debt using Level 2 inputs based on quoted market prices. The following table presents the estimated fair value and carrying value of long-term debt, including the current portion of long-term debt as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Fair ValuePar Value (1)Fair ValuePar Value (1)
Term Loan due 2027$2,104.9$2,118.1$2,062.4$2,139.8
Senior Secured Notes due 2028794.0850.0726.1850.0
ABL Revolving Credit Facility due 2025——235.0235.0

(1)See “Note 6 — Debt” for additional information

(13) ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME

Activity in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Foreign currency translation, beginning$(157.0)$39.8$104.9
Other comprehensive income (loss)(1)67.2(196.8)(65.1)
Foreign currency translation, ending(89.8)(157.0)39.8
Interest rate swaps, beginning110.28.7(32.8)
Unrealized gain (loss) deferred during the period(2)(3)(22.5)101.541.5
Interest rate swaps, ending87.7110.28.7
Pension, beginning0.6(12.9)(19.7)
Actuarial gain (loss), net of income taxes(4)(3.0)13.56.8
Pension, ending(2.4)0.6(12.9)
Tax receivable agreement, beginning——(0.9)
Unrealized gain (loss) during the period (5)——(3.2)
TRA settlement (6)——4.1
Tax receivable agreement, ending———
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income$(4.5)$(46.2)$35.6

(1)For the year ended December 31, 2023 foreign currency translation included tax effects of $(0.7), refer to "Note 9 - Income taxes" for additional information.

(2)During the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, $38.9, $2.4, and $(10.5) respectively, was reclassified into earnings.

(3)For the year ended December 31, 2023 interest rate swaps included tax effects of $6.9.

(4)For the year ended December 31, 2023 pension included tax effects of $0.7.

(5)The fair value movement on the Tax Receivable Agreement attributable to our own credit risk spread is recorded in “Other comprehensive (loss) income (loss)” prior to amending the Tax Receivable Agreement.

(6)See “Note 10 - Related Party” for additional information.

(14) SEGMENT INFORMATION

Operating profit (loss) is the primary income measure used by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) to assess segment performance and make operating decisions. Segment performance is assessed exclusive of Corporate and other costs, foreign currency gain (loss), and amortization of intangibles. Corporate and other costs primarily include stock-based compensation, other incentive compensation, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, asset impairments, and costs that support centralized global functions including Finance, Treasury, Risk Management, Strategy & Marketing, IT, Legal, and global product platform development and offering management.

The Company determines its reportable segments based on how operations are managed internally for the products and services sold to customers, including how the results are reviewed by the CODM, which includes determining resource allocation methodologies used for reportable segments. During 2023, we reorganized our internal reporting and realigned our operating segment structure to how our CODM, our Chief Executive Officer, allocates resources and makes decisions. The changes resulted in the identification of two new operating segments, 1) India and 2) Asia, which previously were collectively reported as our legacy Australia & New Zealand, South East Asia and India operating segment. Given the similarities of economic characteristics and other qualitative factors, we aggregate these operating segments with Greater China and we report this as our Asia Pacific reportable segment.

In conjunction with the realignment, the Company concluded the new operating segments also comprised reporting units and the company tested goodwill for impairment for each reporting unit both immediately before and immediately after the business realignment. The Company allocated goodwill to the two new reporting units based on their relative fair value. The goodwill impairment tests under both the legacy and new reporting unit structures concluded that no impairment existed as of the date of the change.

The segment performance measure excludes corporate and other costs, as described herein. Intersegment selling prices approximate market prices. Summarized information about the Company’s results of operations by reportable business segment and product and service offering follows:

Americas includes products and services sold for applications within the data center, communication networks and commercial and industrial markets in North America and Latin America. This segment’s principal product and service offerings include:

  • Critical infrastructure & solutions** includes AC and DC power management, thermal management, and integrated modular solutions.

  • Integrated rack solutions** includes racks, rack power, rack power distribution, rack thermal systems, and configurable integrated solutions; and hardware for managing I.T. equipment.

  • Services & spares** includes preventative maintenance, acceptance testing, engineering and consulting, performance assessments, remote monitoring, training, spare parts, and critical digital infrastructure software.

Asia Pacific includes products and services sold for applications within the data center, communication networks and commercial and industrial markets throughout Greater China, Australia & New Zealand, South East Asia, and India. Products and services offered are similar to the Americas segment.

Europe, Middle East & Africa includes products and services sold for applications within the data center, communication networks and commercial and industrial markets in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Products and services offered are similar to the Americas segment.

Reportable Business Segments

Year Ended December 31,
Sales202320222021
Americas$3,885.2$2,773.0$2,206.4
Asia Pacific1,615.61,699.31,693.6
Europe, Middle East & Africa1,732.31,556.81,267.4
7,233.16,029.15,167.4
Eliminations(369.9)(337.6)(169.3)
Total$6,863.2$5,691.5$4,998.1
Year Ended December 31,
Operating profit (loss)202320222021
Americas$958.8$426.1$441.2
Asia Pacific248.5274.4253.4
Europe, Middle East & Africa380.0234.6217.6
Total reportable segments1,587.3935.1912.2
Foreign currency gain (loss)(16.0)(3.7)(3.2)
Corporate and other(517.8)(492.2)(504.8)
Total corporate, other and eliminations(533.8)(495.9)(508.0)
Amortization of intangibles(181.3)(215.8)(144.3)
Operating profit (loss)$872.2$223.4$259.9
Total AssetsDecember 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Americas$3,466.4$3,128.5
Asia Pacific1,338.41,323.1
Europe, Middle East & Africa2,505.42,360.0
7,310.26,811.6
Corporate and other688.3284.1
Total$7,998.5$7,095.7
Year Ended December 31,
Intersegment sales202320222021
Americas$40.7$44.4$19.0
Asia Pacific87.898.084.6
Europe, Middle East & Africa241.4195.265.7
Total$369.9$337.6$169.3
Year Ended December 31,
Depreciation and Amortization202320222021
Americas$121.1$124.1$114.7
Asia Pacific34.738.741.0
Europe, Middle East & Africa80.9108.942.9
Corporate and other34.330.728.4
Total$271.0$302.4$227.0
Year Ended December 31,
Capital Expenditures202320222021
Americas$65.7$53.9$28.7
Asia Pacific25.223.720.5
Europe, Middle East & Africa25.717.818.3
Corporate and other11.34.65.9
Total$127.9$100.0$73.4
Year Ended December 31,
Sales by Destination202320222021
United States and Canada$3,598.1$2,548.3$1,975.4
Europe1,307.11,151.61,053.9
Asia1,480.31,543.91,561.3
Latin America281.1259.6218.3
Middle East/Africa196.6188.1189.2
$6,863.2$5,691.5$4,998.1

Sales in the U.S. were $3,430.3, $2,430.6, and $1,874.9 for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, while sales in China were $682.9, $746.3, and $862.7, respectively.

(15) STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

The Company’s stock incentive plan permits the granting of incentive stock options or nonqualified stock options; stock appreciation rights; performance awards, which may be cash-or share-based; restricted stock units; restricted stock; and other stock-based awards. We measure and record compensation expense based on the fair value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant for restricted stock and restricted stock units ("RSUs") and the grant date fair value, determined utilizing the Black-Scholes formula, for stock options. We record compensation cost for service-based awards, including graded-vesting awards, on a straight-line basis over the entire vesting period, or for retirement eligible employees over the requisite service period. We account for the forfeiture of awards as they occur.

In connection with the Business Combination, GSAH’s Board adopted the Vertiv Holdings Co 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”), on December 9, 2019 which was approved by GSAH’s stockholders on February 6, 2020, immediately preceding the Business Combination. Under the 2020 Plan, a total aggregate of 33.5 million share awards issuable were authorized and reserved for issuance for the purpose of better motivating our employees, consultants and directors to achieve superior performance measured by both our key financial and operating metrics as well as relative stock price appreciation. The 2020 Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of our Board and permits the granting of incentive stock options or nonqualified stock options; stock appreciation rights; performance awards, which may be cash-or share-based; restricted stock units; restricted stock; and other stock-based awards. Beginning with the first business day of each calendar year beginning in 2021, the number of shares will increase by the least of (a) 10.5 million shares, (b) 3% of the number of shares outstanding as of the last day of the immediately preceding calendar year, or (c) a lesser number of shares determined by the Compensation Committee.

Stock options

Stock options are generally granted to certain employees and directors to purchase common shares at an exercise price equal to the market price of the Company’s stock at the date of the grant. Option awards generally vest 25% per year over 4 years of continuous service and have 10-year contractual terms.

The Company uses a Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options. The principal significant assumptions utilized in valuing stock options include the expected stock price volatility (based on the most recent historical period equal to the expected life of the option); the expected option life (an estimate based on historical experience); the expected dividend yield; and the risk-free interest rate (an estimate based on the yield of United States Treasury zero coupon with a maturity equal to the expected life of the option). Because the Company only recently became publicly traded, we do not have sufficient historical information on which to base expected volatility. As such, our volatility assumption is based on the historical and implied volatility of similar public companies, which were identified considering factors such as industry, stage of life cycle, size, and financial leverage. Because the Company does not have sufficient historical option exercise experience upon which we can estimate the expected term we estimate the expected term using the average of the vesting period and the contractual period of the award.

A summary of the weighted average assumptions used in determining the fair value of stock options follows:

Year Ended December 31,
202320222021
Expected volatility37.09%37.31%30.47%
Expected option life in years6.256.256.25
Expected dividend yield0.06%0.08%0.08%
Risk-free interest rate4.23%2.31%0.86%
Weighted-average fair value of stock options$7.26$5.04$6.53

A summary of the 2023 stock option activity follows:

OptionsWeighted-average exercise price per optionWeighted-average remaining contractual life in yearsAggregate intrinsic value (1)
Outstanding at January 1, 202310,612,810$13.40
Granted3,544,62316.55
Exercised(2,092,068)13.26
Forfeited and canceled(910,008)14.92
Outstanding at December 31, 202311,155,357$14.307.48$376.3
Exercisable at December 31, 20233,392,786$13.466.56$117.3

(1)The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the difference between the Company’s stock price on the last trading day of 2023 and the exercise price of each in-the-money option on the last day of the period presented.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 total compensation expense relating to stock options was $14.3, $15.3, and $9.3, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, there was $31.4 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested options. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.38 years.

Restricted stock units

RSUs have been issued to certain employees and directors as of December 31, 2023 and entitle the holder to receive one common share for each RSU upon vesting. RSU shares are accounted for at fair value based upon the closing stock price on the date of grant. The corresponding expense is amortized over the vesting period, generally over seven years. A summary of the 2023 RSU activity follows:

Restricted stock unitsWeighted-average fair value per unit
Outstanding at January 1, 20233,038,783$15.43
Granted750,19518.11
Vested(621,009)11.86
Forfeited and canceled(441,074)15.89
Outstanding at December 31, 20232,726,895$16.90

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 total compensation expense relating to RSUs was $7.8 and $9.2, and $13.9, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, there was $34.5 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested RSUs. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 4.47 years.

Performance awards

On November 18, 2022, the Company granted long-term performance awards as a part of its 2020 stock incentive plan to certain executive officers. The performance awards are contingent upon the Company meeting internal company-based metrics, and to the extent earned will be settled in RSUs that must be held until January 1, 2027 to vest into shares of the Company’s common stock.

The performance awards vest after a four-year period and are based on achieving a company-based metric in fiscal year 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. To the extent awards are earned based on achieving a company-based metric, the dollar value will convert into RSUs. The RSUs, to the extent earned, vest on January 1, 2027 as shares of the Company’s common stock. The amount of stock distributed will vary based on the company-based metric achieved in each fiscal year and the future price of the shares.

The fair value for all internal company-based metric performance awards is monitored quarterly and if it becomes probable that such goals will not be achieved or will be exceeded, compensation expense recognized will be adjusted and previous surplus compensation expense recognized will be reversed or additional expense will be recognized. For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, total compensation expense relating to the performance awards was $2.9 and $0.2, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023 the company-based metric was achieved.

(16) EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE

Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) adjusted for the gain on fair value of warrant liability, if the warrants are in-the-money and the impact is dilutive, by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period increased by the number of additional shares that would have been outstanding related to potentially dilutive equity-based compensation and warrants.

The details of the earnings per share calculations for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 are as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
(in millions, except per share and per share amounts)202320222021
Basic earnings (loss) per share computation:
Net income (loss)$460.2$76.6$119.6
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - basic380,144,059376,730,519355,544,632
Basic earnings per share$1.21$0.20$0.34
Diluted earnings (loss) per share computation:
Net income (loss)$460.2$76.6$119.6
Gain on fair value of warrant liabilities—(90.9)—
Net income (loss) adjusted for the gain on fair value of warrant liabilities$460.2$(14.3)$119.6
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - basic380,144,059376,730,519355,544,632
Dilutive effect of private warrants—1,493,532—
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation6,082,208—4,595,691
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - diluted386,226,267378,224,051360,140,323
Diluted earnings (loss) per share$1.19$(0.04)$0.33

The dilutive effect of stock awards was 6.1 million shares for the year ended December 31, 2023. Additionally, 0.3 million stock awards and 3.2 million warrants were also outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2023, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share because the effect would be anti-dilutive.

The dilutive effect of warrants was 1.5 million shares for the year ended December 31, 2022. Additional stock awards represented 15.8 million shares were also outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2022, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share because the effect would be anti-dilutive.

The dilutive effect of stock awards was 4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Additionally, 2.3 million stock awards and 5.7 million warrants were also outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2021, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share because the effect would be anti-dilutive.

(17) COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Company is a party to a number of pending legal proceedings and claims, including those involving general and product liability and other matters. The Company accrues for such liabilities when it is probable that future costs will be incurred and such costs can be reasonably estimated. Accruals are based on developments to date; management’s estimates of the outcomes of these matters; the Company’s experience in contesting, litigating and settling similar matters; and any related insurance coverage. While the Company believes that a material adverse impact is unlikely, given the inherent uncertainty of litigation, a future development in these matters could have a material adverse impact on the Company. The Company is unable to estimate any additional loss or range of loss that may result from the ultimate resolution of these matters, other than those described below.

On December 28, 2017, Vertiv acquired Energy Labs, Inc. (“Energy Labs”). The purchase agreement contained a provision for contingent consideration in the form of an earn-out payment based on the achievement of 2018 operating results. The range of payment outcomes was zero to $34.5. On June 4, 2019, Vertiv notified the selling stockholders of Energy Labs of Vertiv’s determination that the applicable 2018 operating results had not been achieved and that no contingent consideration was due to the selling stockholders. On September 6, 2019, the selling stockholders of Energy Labs notified Vertiv of their dispute regarding the contingent consideration allegedly due to them. The selling stockholders assert that the applicable 2018 operating results were exceeded and that Vertiv owes $34.5 in earn-out, the highest amount of earn-out possible under the agreement. On December 21, 2021, the parties agreed to a settlement term sheet, which includes, among other terms, the following: the Company agreed to pay $21.5 to the selling stockholders of Energy Labs; a full and complete waiver, release and discharge of all claims and liabilities; and a dismissal of the pending lawsuit. The parties executed a Settlement Agreement on December 30, 2021 consistent with the aforementioned terms. On January 12, 2022, the Company paid the agreed upon settlement of $21.5.

On August 3, 2021, an American Arbitration Association arbitration hearing commenced with respect to a 2018 claim filed by Vertiv against SVO Building One, LLC (“SVO”) alleging damages of approximately $12.0 with respect to (i) unremitted payment for work and materials in connection with, the design, engineering, procurement, installation, construction, and commissioning of a data center located in Sacramento, California and (ii) damages and injunctive relief relating to SVO’s unauthorized use of Vertiv’s intellectual property and work product. SVO filed a counterclaim in 2018 alleging damages of approximately $18.0 relating to (i) allegations that Vertiv was not a duly licensed contractor at all times during the project in violation of California’s contractor license regulations, (ii) breach of warranty, and (iii) gross negligence. On September 3, 2021, the arbitrator issued an interim phase one ruling finding (1) that Vertiv was in violation of California contractor license regulations and was barred from recovery of approximately $9.0 for work performed and equipment delivered in connection with the project, as well as requiring disgorgement plus interest of $10.0, (2) SVO was not in violation of California’s contractor license regulations, and (3) Vertiv and SVO agreed to a traditional baseball arbitration provision under the terms and conditions for the project, wherein each party is required to submit a proposed final award to the arbitrator for consideration, and the arbitrator is required to select one of the proposed awards submitted by the parties as the final award in the arbitration and is prohibited from issuing an alternative award. On December 31, 2021, the parties entered into a settlement agreement on ordinary and customary terms, settling all of the disputes between them. As of December 31, 2022, the settlement was recorded in “Accrued expenses and other liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The settlement was paid in the third quarter of 2023.

On May 3, 2022, a putative securities class action, In re Vertiv Holdings Co Securities Litigation, 22-cv-3572, was filed against Vertiv, certain of the Company’s officers and directors, and other defendants in the Southern District of New York. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on September 16, 2022. The amended complaint alleges that certain of the Company’s public statements were materially false and/or misleading with respect to inflationary and supply chain pressures and pricing issues, and asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These claims are asserted on behalf of a putative class of all persons and entities that (i) purchased Vertiv securities between February 24, 2021 and February 22, 2022; and/or (ii) purchased Vertiv securities in or traceable to the November 4, 2021 secondary public offering by a selling stockholder pursuant to a resale registration statement. On January 31, 2024, the Court issued an order dismissing the claims under Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act. The motion to dismiss the claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act remains pending.

On June 9, 2023, two Vertiv shareholders, Matthew Sullivan and Jose Karlo Ocampo Avenido, brought a derivative lawsuit, Sullivan v. Johnson, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0608, against Vertiv (as nominal defendant only) and certain of the Company’s directors and officers in Delaware Court of Chancery for breach of fiduciary duty. The complaint alleges that certain of the named directors and officers caused the Company to issue materially false and/or misleading public statements with respect to inflationary and supply chain pressures and pricing issues, and that the Company suffered damages as a result. This action has been stayed since August 10, 2023, pending the securities class action.

The Company believes it has meritorious defenses against the allegations made in the aforementioned lawsuits, which are at the preliminary stages. However, the Company is unable at this time to predict the outcome of these matters or the amount of any cost associated with their resolution.

In November 2023, following the filing of the actions described above, the Company received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and a parallel request for documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which relate to the allegations made in the class action complaint and derivative action. The Company is actively responding to these matters.

In January 2024, the Mexican tax administration service, the Servicio de Administracion Tributaria (the "SAT"), initiated a process to suspend the importer registration of one of the Company's wholly owned Mexico subsidiaries, Tecnología del Pacífico S.A. de C.V. (“TDP”), in connection with a contested customs tax audit for the period April 2016 to February 2018. SAT claimed its basis for the suspension was a failure by TDP to provide sufficient evidence of the export of goods temporarily imported at required levels under Mexico's Manufacturing, Maquila and Export Services Industries Program ("IMMEX Program"). The Company and TDP has disputed SAT’s position throughout the customs tax audit, through the filing of various petitions and appeals with appropriate documentation evidencing the complete and timely export of the goods temporarily imported during the audit period. TDP has accepted a proposal from SAT to close the audit by making payments and fees totaling approximately $10.1 which has been recorded in “Accrued expenses and other liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023. The Company intends to seek reimbursement of this amount as an undue payment in the near future from SAT, for which the outcome is currently unknown and no receivable has been established. Furthermore, the Company remains subject to other customs tax audits concerning other facilities located within Mexico. While we cannot predict with certainty the outcome of other assessments, based on currently known information, we believe a risk of loss, if any, is not currently estimable. Accordingly, no further reserve for loss contingency has been recorded in the Company's financial statements as of December 31, 2023 related to these other matters. In February 2024, $5.2 was paid to SAT in connection with the accepted proposal.

The Company is unable at this time to predict the outcome of these matters, including whether any proceedings may be instituted in connection with the government inquiries, or the amount of any cost associated with their resolution.

As of December 31, 2023, other than as described above, there were no known contingent liabilities (including guarantees, taxes and other claims) that management believes were or will be material in relation to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements, nor were there any material commitments outside the normal course of business.

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