TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - 10-K

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Set forth below are the risks, some of which have occurred and any of which may occur in the future, that we believe are material to our investors. This section contains forward-looking statements. You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements in Item 1. Business under the caption “Forward-looking Statements”.

Industry and Economic Risks

Our growth would be impacted if the markets into which we sell our products and services decline, do not grow as anticipated or experience cyclicality. Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets would diminish demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our financial statements. Certain of our businesses operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns.

Our business is affected by general economic conditions and related uncertainties affecting markets in which we operate. Our business is affected by general economic conditions, both inside and outside the U.S. Both domestic and international markets experienced significant inflationary pressures in 2025 and inflation rates in the U.S., as well as in other countries in which we operate, continue at elevated levels. If the global economy and financial markets, or economic conditions in Europe, the U.S. or other key markets, are unstable, that could adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of the company and its customers, distributors, and suppliers, having the effect of:

• reducing demand for some of our products and services;

• increasing the rate of order cancellations or delays;

• increasing the risk of excess and obsolete inventories;

• increasing pressure on the prices for our products and services;

• causing supply interruptions, which could disrupt our ability to produce our products; and

• creating longer sales cycles, and greater difficulty in collecting sales proceeds and slower adoption of new technologies.

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Economic, political, foreign currency and other risks associated with international sales and operations could adversely affect our results of operations. International markets contribute a substantial portion of our revenues, and we intend to continue expanding our presence in these regions. The exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates takes on different forms. International revenues and costs are subject to the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our reported revenues and profitability when translated into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. These fluctuations could also adversely affect the demand for products and services provided by us. As a multinational corporation, our businesses occasionally invoice third-party customers in currencies other than the one in which they primarily do business (which we refer to as the functional currency). Movements in the invoiced currency relative to the functional currency could adversely impact our cash flows and our results of operations. As our international sales grow, exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates could have a larger effect on our financial results. In 2025, currency translation had a favorable effect of $0.37 billion on revenues due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies in which the company sells products and services.

Some emerging market countries may be particularly vulnerable to periods of global and local political, legal, regulatory and financial instability, including issues of geopolitical relations, the imposition of international sanctions in response to certain state actions and/or sovereign debt issues, and may have a higher incidence of corruption and fraudulent business practices. As a result of these and other factors, our strategy to grow in emerging markets may not be successful, and growth rates in these markets may not be sustainable.

In addition, many of our employees, contract manufacturers, suppliers, job functions, outsourcing activities and manufacturing facilities are located outside the U.S. Accordingly, our prior results have been and our future results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:

• tariffs imposed by the U.S. on goods from other countries and tariffs imposed by other countries, on certain U.S. goods (including volatility resulting from the imposition of (and changing policies around) tariffs and related countermeasures);

• interruption to transportation flows for delivery of raw materials or parts to us and finished goods to our customers;

• changes in a specific country's or region's political, economic, social or other conditions;

• changes in diplomatic and trade relationships, including new tariffs, trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements, trade embargoes and sanctions and other trade barriers;

• the impact of public health emergencies, pandemics, epidemics or other health outbreaks on the global economy;

• uncertainties regarding the collectability of accounts receivable;

• Chinese regulations requiring the use of local suppliers, which compel companies that do business in China to partner with local companies to conduct business and provide incentives to government-backed local customers to buy from local suppliers;

• the imposition of governmental controls;

• diverse data privacy, protection and localization requirements;

• supply interruptions, which could disrupt our ability to produce our products;

• increases in materials, energy, labor or other manufacturing-related costs or higher supply chain logistics costs;

• negative consequences from changes in or interpretation of laws and regulations, including those related to tax and import/export;

• difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations;

• differing labor regulations;

• differing protection of intellectual property;

• unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; and

• geopolitical uncertainty or turmoil, including terrorism and war.

Demand for some of our products depends on capital spending policies of our customers and on government funding policies. Our customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, laboratories, universities, healthcare providers, government agencies and public and private research institutions. Many factors, including public policy spending priorities such as national procurement initiatives, available resources, cost reimbursement policies, and product and economic cycles, have had and we expect to have a significant effect on the capital spending policies of these entities. Spending by some of these customers fluctuates based on budget allocations and the timely passage of the annual federal budget. In October 2025, the federal government entered a shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations, resulting from an inability by Congress to pass a budget or continuing resolution. A similar impasse in federal government budget decisions could lead to substantial delays or reductions in federal spending.

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We are subject to risks associated with public health emergencies, pandemics, epidemics, or other health outbreaks. Our global operations expose us to risks associated with public health emergencies, epidemics, pandemics and other health outbreaks. These events have had an adverse impact on certain of our operations, supply chains and distribution systems in the past, and may again in the future, and we may experience unpredictable reductions in supply and demand for certain of our products and services. National, state and local governments may implement safety precautions, including quarantines, border closures, increased border controls, travel restrictions, shelter in place orders and shutdowns and other measures. These measures may disrupt normal business operations and may have significant negative impacts on businesses and financial markets worldwide. Our ability to continue to manufacture products is highly dependent on our ability to maintain the safety and health of our factory employees. The ability of our employees to work may be significantly impacted by future epidemics and pandemics, including their residual effects.

Business Risks

We must develop new products, adapt to rapid and significant technological change, respond to introductions of new products and services by competitors and maintain quality to remain competitive. Our growth strategy includes significant investment in and expenditures for product and service development. We sell our products and services in several industries that are characterized by rapid and significant technological changes, frequent new product and service introductions and enhancements and evolving industry standards. Competitive factors include technological innovation, including the timely, responsible and effective adoption of emerging technologies (such as AI), price, service and delivery, breadth of product line, customer support, e-business capabilities and the ability to meet the special requirements of customers. Our competitors may adapt more quickly to new technologies and changes in customers’ requirements than we can, and may achieve cost or quality advantages that we cannot match. Without the timely introduction of new products, services and enhancements, our products and services will likely become technologically obsolete over time, in which case our revenues and operating results would suffer.

Many of our existing products and services and those under development are technologically innovative and require significant planning, design, development and testing at the technological, safety, quality, product and manufacturing-process levels. Our customers use many of our products and services to develop, test and manufacture their own products. As a result, we must anticipate industry trends and develop products and services in advance of the commercialization of our customers’ products. For example, we are incorporating AI and machine learning technologies into our products, services and internal processes. Failure to keep pace with rapid developments in AI technologies could adversely affect our competitive position and results of operations. If we fail to adequately develop products or predict our customers’ needs and future activities, we may invest heavily in research and development of products and services that do not lead to significant revenues.

It may be difficult for us to implement our strategies for improving internal growth. Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. To address this issue, we are pursuing a number of strategies to improve our internal growth, including:

• strengthening our presence in selected geographic markets;

• allocating research and development funding to products with higher growth prospects;

• developing new applications for our technologies;

• expanding our service offerings;

• continuing key customer initiatives;

• combining sales and marketing operations in appropriate markets to compete more effectively;

• finding new markets for our products and services; and

• continuing the development of commercial tools and infrastructure to increase and support cross-selling opportunities of products and services to take advantage of our depth in product offerings.

We may not be able to successfully implement these strategies, and these strategies may not result in the expected growth of our business.

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Because we compete directly with certain of our larger customers and product suppliers, our results of operations could be adversely affected in the short term if these customers or suppliers abruptly discontinue or significantly modify their relationship with us. Our business may be harmed in the short term if our competitive relationship in the marketplace with certain of our large customers results in a discontinuation of their purchases from us. In addition, we manufacture products that compete directly with products that we source from third-party suppliers. We also source competitive products from multiple suppliers. Our business could be adversely affected in the short term if any of our large third-party suppliers abruptly discontinues selling products to us.

Our inability to complete any pending acquisitions or to successfully integrate any new or previous acquisitions could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our business strategy includes the acquisition of technologies and businesses that complement or augment our existing products and services. Certain acquisitions may be difficult to complete for a number of reasons, including the need for antitrust and/or other regulatory approvals, as well as disputes or litigation. Any acquisition we may complete may be made at a substantial premium over the fair value of the net identifiable assets of the acquired company. Further, we may not be able to integrate acquired businesses successfully into our existing businesses, make such businesses profitable, or realize anticipated cost savings or synergies, if any, from these acquisitions, which could adversely affect our business.

Moreover, we have acquired many companies and businesses. As a result of these acquisitions, we recorded significant goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets (primarily trade names) on our balance sheet, which amount to approximately $49.36 billion and $1.23 billion, respectively, as of December 31, 2025. In addition, we have definite-lived intangible assets totaling $14.60 billion as of December 31, 2025. We assess the realizability of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets annually as well as whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that these assets may be impaired. We assess the realizability of definite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that these assets may be impaired. These events or circumstances would generally include operating losses or a significant decline in earnings associated with the acquired business or asset. Our ability to realize the value of the goodwill and intangible assets will depend on the future cash flows of these businesses. These cash flows in turn depend in part on how well we have integrated these businesses. If we are not able to realize the value of the goodwill and intangible assets, we may be required to incur material charges relating to the impairment of those assets.

Operational Risks

Our reliance upon sole or limited sources of supply for certain materials or components could cause production interruptions, delays and inefficiencies. Some of our businesses purchase certain materials from sole or limited source suppliers for reasons of quality assurance, regulatory requirements, cost effectiveness, availability or uniqueness of design. If these or other suppliers encounter financial, operating or other difficulties, or if our relationship with them changes, we might not be able to quickly establish or qualify replacement sources of supply. The supply chains for our businesses could also be disrupted by supplier capacity constraints, bankruptcy or exiting of the business for other reasons, decreased availability or increased cost of key raw materials or commodities, such as energy, and external events such as global economic downturns and macroeconomic trends, sanctions and trade restrictions, natural disasters, pandemic health issues, geopolitical developments, war, terrorist actions, cybersecurity incidents including but not limited to ransomware attacks, misuse of AI and machine learning technologies, governmental actions and legislative or regulatory changes. Any of these factors could result in production interruptions, delays, extended lead times and inefficiencies.

A significant cyber-attack or other disruption in, or breach in security of, our information technology systems could adversely harm our operating results and financial condition, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business. We rely on information technology systems to process, transmit and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information, medical information, financial data and personally identifiable data relating to employees, customers and other business partners) and to manage or support a variety of critical business processes and activities (such as interacting with suppliers, selling our products and services, fulfilling orders and billing, collecting and making payments, shipping products, providing services and support to customers, tracking customer activity, fulfilling contractual obligations and otherwise conducting business). We use a risk-based approach to implementing security controls, reviewing the security controls of certain key business partners and third-party service providers and conducting due diligence on companies we propose to acquire. Despite our efforts, any particular system we operate or use may be susceptible to compromise of a vulnerability or a privileged account, damage or interruption from natural disasters, power loss, telecommunication failures, data center failure, third party provider failures (including failures at cloud services), hardware and software failures, improper or unauthorized use of AI, human error or sabotage, terrorist attacks, geopolitical events, computer hackers, computer viruses, ransomware, phishing, computer denial-of-service attacks, unauthorized access to customer or employee data or company trade secrets, and other attempts to harm our systems and access our information.

We and our third-party providers experience cyber-attacks and other attempts to gain unauthorized access to our products, services, and systems and data on a regular basis, and we anticipate continuing to be subject to such attempts as cyber-attacks

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become increasingly sophisticated and more difficult to predict and protect against, particularly with the advancement of AI. Despite our and our third-party providers’ implementation of security measures, our products, services, and systems and data, are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, data breaches, malware, inadvertent error, disruptions, tampering or other theft or misuse, including by employees, contingent workers, malicious actors, or nation-states or their agents. Although most of our systems leverage data backups, our disaster recovery planning is not sufficient for every eventuality. In addition, our customers rely upon our products (i.e., instruments, etc.) within their environments, which may be at risk of compromise. Risks affecting our products may include those associated with remote access solutions, system vulnerabilities, or delay of security updates, which may require customers to take action such as network isolation, password change, or manual update.

Cyber-attacks, disruptions or other incidents described above, or breaches of security in our networks, in our customers’ or third-party providers’ networks, in third-party products we use, or in cloud-based services provided to us, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to a vulnerability in our products or services, a privileged account compromise, or a failure to maintain the digital security infrastructure or security tools that protect the integrity of our products, services, and systems and data, could materially interrupt our operations or our customer’s operations, delay production and shipments, impact quality, result in theft of our and our customers’ intellectual property and trade secrets, damage our reputation or key relationships, result in defective products or services, legal claims and proceedings, liability and penalties under privacy laws and increased cost for security and remediation, in each case resulting in an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our success is largely dependent upon our ability to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce, comprised of scientific, technical, clinical, and management talent. We have in the past, and may in the future, have difficulty in attracting and retaining such talent. Our success in doing so is largely dependent upon various factors, including a highly competitive market, sought-after skills, management changes, competitor recruitment, and maintaining an attractive workplace culture (including where there is high demand for new products, services, and technologies, such as related to AI). Macroeconomic shifts such as increased competition for employees and wage inflation, have previously and could in the future affect our talent retention, turnover rates and operational costs. We cannot ensure that we will be able to hire or retain the personnel necessary for our operations or that the departure of any personnel will not have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur unexpected costs from increases in fuel and raw material prices, which could reduce our earnings and cash flows. Our primary commodity exposures are for fuel, petroleum-based resins and steel. The costs for these commodities, as well as the costs of transportation, construction and services necessary for the production and distribution of our products, continue to increase and be volatile. While we may seek to minimize the impact of price increases through higher prices to customers and various cost-saving measures, our earnings and cash flows could be adversely affected in the event these measures are insufficient to cover our costs.

Because we rely heavily on third-party package-delivery services, a significant disruption in these services or significant increases in prices may disrupt our ability to ship products, increase our costs and lower our profitability. We ship a significant portion of our products to our customers through independent package delivery companies, such as Federal Express in the U.S. and DHL in Europe. We also maintain a small fleet of vehicles dedicated to the delivery of our products and ship our products through other carriers, including national and regional trucking firms, overnight carrier services and the U.S. Postal Service. If one or more of these third-party package-delivery providers were to experience a major work stoppage, preventing our products from being delivered in a timely fashion or causing us to incur additional shipping costs we could not pass on to our customers, our costs could increase and our relationships with certain of our customers could be adversely affected. In addition, if one or more of these third-party package-delivery providers were to increase prices, and we were not able to find comparable alternatives or make adjustments in our delivery network, our profitability could be adversely affected.

Natural disasters, public health crises, political crises, and other catastrophic events or other events outside of our control may disrupt our facilities or the facilities of third parties on which we depend, and could impact customer spending. We have significant operations in California, near major earthquake faults, which make us susceptible to earthquake risk. An earthquake or other natural disaster (including the effects of climate change such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires and more intense weather events), could disrupt our operations, including the ability to fulfill supply obligations to our customers, or impair our critical systems. Any of these disruptions or other events outside of our control, such as strikes or other labor unrest, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, if any of our facilities, including our manufacturing or warehouse facilities, or the facilities of our suppliers, third-party service providers, or customers, is affected by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, power shortages or outages, fires, floods or monsoons, public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, political crises, such as terrorism, war, political instability or other conflict, or other events outside of our control, such as trade protectionism, strikes or other labor unrest, our results of operations could be adversely affected. Moreover, these types of events could negatively impact customer spending in the impacted regions or depending upon the severity, globally, which could also adversely impact our operating results.

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Increasing attention to sustainability matters may impact our business, financial results, stock price or reputation. We face increasing scrutiny from stakeholders related to our sustainability practices and disclosures. Investor advocacy groups, certain institutional investors, lenders, investment funds and other influential investors are also increasingly focused on such practices and related disclosures and in recent years have placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments. In addition, government organizations are enhancing or advancing legal and regulatory requirements specific to these matters. The heightened stakeholder focus on sustainability issues related to our business requires the continuous monitoring of various and evolving laws, regulations, standards and expectations and the associated reporting requirements. A failure to adequately meet evolving stakeholder expectations may result in noncompliance, the loss of business, reputational impacts, diluted market valuation, an inability to attract customers and an inability to attract and retain top talent. In addition, if legislation or regulations are enacted or promulgated in the U.S. or in any other jurisdiction in which we do business that impose more stringent restrictions and requirements than our current legal or regulatory obligations, we and companies in our supply chain may experience increased compliance burdens and costs to meet the regulatory obligations, which could cause disruption in the sourcing, manufacturing and distribution of our products and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our adoption of certain standards or mandated compliance to certain requirements could necessitate additional investments that could impact our profitability.

Legal, Quality and Regulatory Risks

New governmental regulations or changes in existing governmental regulations may reduce demand for our products or increase our expenses. We compete in many markets in which we and our customers must comply with federal, state, local and international regulations, such as environmental, health and safety and food and drug regulations. We develop, configure and market our products to meet customer needs created by those regulations. Any significant change in regulations, such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which contains drug price negotiation provisions, or change in the interpretation of existing regulations, could reduce demand for our products or increase our expenses. For example, we manufacture pharmaceuticals and many of our instruments are marketed to the pharmaceutical industry for use in discovering and developing drugs. Changes in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (the FDA) regulation of the drug discovery and development process could have an adverse effect on the demand for these products, and increased FDA regulation of laboratory-developed tests could delay and add to the cost of commercialization of these products, as well as subject us to additional regulatory controls.

We are subject to laws and regulations governing government contracts, and failure to address these laws and regulations or comply with government contracts could harm our business by leading to a reduction in revenues associated with these customers. We have agreements relating to the sale of our products and services to government entities and, as a result, we are subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with the government. The laws governing government contracts differ from the laws governing private contracts and government contracts may contain pricing terms and conditions that are not applicable to private contracts. We are also subject to investigation for compliance with the regulations governing government contracts. A failure to comply with these regulations could result in suspension of these contracts, criminal, civil and administrative penalties or debarment.

Our pharma services offerings are highly complex, and if we are unable to provide quality and timely offerings to our customers, our business could suffer. Our pharma services offerings are highly exacting and complex, due in part to strict quality and regulatory requirements. Our operating results in this business depend on our ability to execute and, when necessary, improve our quality management strategy and systems, and our ability to effectively train and maintain our employee base with respect to quality management. A failure of our quality control systems could result in problems with facility operations or preparation or provision of products. In each case, such problems could arise for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with raw materials or environmental factors and damage to, or loss of, manufacturing operations. Such problems could affect production of a particular batch or series of batches of products, requiring the destruction of such products or a halt of facility production altogether.

In addition, our failure to meet required quality standards may result in our failure to timely deliver products to our customers, which in turn could damage our reputation for quality and service. Any such failure could, among other things, lead to increased costs, lost revenues, reimbursement to customers for lost drug product, registered intermediates, registered starting materials, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, other customer claims, damage to and possibly termination of existing customer relationships, time and expense spent investigating the cause and, depending on the cause, similar losses with respect to other batches or products. Production problems in our drug and biologic manufacturing operations could be particularly significant because the cost of raw materials for such manufacturing is often high. If problems in preparation or manufacture of a product or failures to meet required quality standards for that product are not discovered before such product is released to the market, we may be subject to adverse regulatory actions, including product recalls, product seizures, injunctions to halt manufacture and distribution, restrictions on our operations, civil sanctions, including monetary sanctions, and criminal actions. In addition, such problems or failures could subject us to litigation claims, including claims from our customers for reimbursement for the cost of lost or damaged active pharmaceutical ingredients, the cost of which could be significant.

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A violation of data privacy or data protection laws could adversely harm our operating results and financial condition, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business. As a global organization, we are subject to data privacy and data protection laws, rules, and customer-imposed controls as a result of producing, collecting, processing, storing and transmitting confidential, personal and/or sensitive data in the course of our business. A significant number of countries where we operate have enacted privacy or data protection laws, rules and regulations, the majority of which have extraterritorial scope, creating significant compliance challenges as we seek to maintain our global reach, with significant penalties for non-compliance, based on total worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year. In some cases, there are restrictions on the transfer of personal data outside the home country. More recently, privacy and data protection regulators are paying special attention to emerging issues linked to new digital technologies, such as the use of AI, biometrics, and surveillance technologies, which pose unique challenges to existing privacy and data protection paradigms. For example, in the U.S., individual states regulate data breach and security requirements, and multiple governmental bodies assert authority over aspects of the protection of personal privacy. European laws require us to have an approved legal mechanism to transfer personal data out of Europe, and the EU GDPR imposes significantly stricter requirements in how we collect and process personal data. Several countries, such as China, have passed laws that require personal data relating to their citizens to be maintained on local servers and impose additional data transfer restrictions. Any actual or perceived noncompliance with these laws, rules and regulations, our internal policies and procedures or our contracts governing the processing of personal data could result in significant consequences, including, among other things, business interruption, sanctions and significant pecuniary fines, regulatory inquiries and investigations, adverse publicity, loss of competitive advantage and customer trust, as well as privacy litigation and civil lawsuits with damages, any of which may adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements. The importance of privacy and data protection laws, rules and regulations for our industry specifically is constantly growing, as personal data is an integral part of doing business in our sectors, and the legal standards are evolving and becoming more complex worldwide.

We are subject to product and other liability risks for which we may not have adequate insurance coverage. We may be named as a defendant in product liability or errors and omissions lawsuits, which may allege that products or services we have provided have resulted or could result in an unsafe condition, property damage or injury to end users or financial loss for consumers. Additionally, products currently or previously sold by our environmental and process instruments and radiation measurement and security instruments businesses include fixed and portable instruments used for chemical, radiation and trace explosives detection. These products are used in airports, embassies, cargo facilities, border crossings and other high-threat facilities for the detection and prevention of terrorist acts. If any of these products were to malfunction, it is possible that explosive or radioactive material could fail to be detected by our product, which could lead to product liability claims. In addition, patients involved in our clinical services trials conducted by our clinical development services business or taking drugs approved on the basis of those trials may also bring personal injury claims against us. There are also many other factors beyond our control that could lead to liability claims, such as the reliability and competence of the customers’ operators and the training of such operators.

Any such product liability claims brought against us could be significant and any adverse determination may result in liabilities subject to insurance policy exclusions where insurance would not respond or in excess of our insurance coverage. Although we carry product liability and errors and omissions insurance, we cannot be certain that our current insurance will be sufficient to cover these claims or that it can be maintained on acceptable terms, if at all.

We are required to comply with a wide variety of laws and regulations, and are subject to regulation by various federal, state and foreign agencies. We are subject to various local, state, federal, foreign and transnational laws and regulations, which include the operating and security standards of the FDA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (the DEA), various state boards of pharmacy, state health departments, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the DHHS), the European Medicines Agency (the EMA), the EU member states and other comparable agencies and, in the future, any changes to such laws and regulations could adversely affect us. In particular, we are subject to laws and regulations concerning current good manufacturing practices and drug safety. Our subsidiaries may be required to register for permits and/or licenses with, and may be required to comply with the laws and regulations of, the DEA, the FDA, the DHHS, foreign agencies including the EMA, and other various state boards of pharmacy, state health departments and/or comparable state agencies as well as certain accrediting bodies depending upon the type of operations and location of product distribution, manufacturing and sale.

The manufacture, distribution and marketing of many of our products and services, including medical devices, and our pharma and clinical development services, are subject to extensive ongoing regulation by the FDA, the DEA, the EMA, and other equivalent local, state, federal and non-U.S. regulatory authorities. In addition, we are subject to inspections by these regulatory authorities. Failure by us or by our customers to comply with the requirements of these regulatory authorities, including without limitation, remediating any inspectional observations to the satisfaction of these regulatory authorities, could result in warning letters, product recalls or seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacture and distribution, restrictions on our operations, civil or criminal sanctions, or withdrawal of existing or denial of pending approvals, including those relating to products or facilities. In addition, such a failure could expose us to contractual or product liability claims, contractual claims

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from our customers, including claims for reimbursement for lost or damaged active pharmaceutical ingredients or personal injury, as well as ongoing remediation and increased compliance costs, any or all of which could be significant. We are the sole manufacturer of a number of pharmaceuticals for many of our customers and a negative regulatory event could impact our customers’ ability to provide products to their customers.

We are also subject to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations that govern, among other things, the handling, transportation and manufacture of substances that could be classified as hazardous, and we are required to comply with various import laws and export control and economic sanctions laws, which may affect our transactions with certain customers. In certain circumstances, export control and economic sanctions regulations may prohibit the export of certain products, services and technologies. In other circumstances, we may be required to obtain an export license before exporting the controlled item. Compliance with the various import laws that apply to our businesses can restrict our access to, and increase the cost of obtaining, certain products and at times can interrupt our supply of imported inventory. Any noncompliance by us with applicable laws and regulations or the failure to maintain, renew or obtain necessary permits and licenses could result in criminal, civil and administrative penalties and could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our reputation, ability to do business and financial statements may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents, business partners or other third parties. We have internal controls and compliance systems to protect the company against acts committed by employees, agents or businesses that we acquire that would violate U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and false claims, pricing, sales and marketing practices, conflicts of interest, competition, employment practices and workplace behavior, export and import compliance, money laundering and data privacy, but these controls and systems may not be sufficient to prevent every such wrongful act. In particular, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, and we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree. Any such improper actions or allegations of such acts could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the U.S. and in other jurisdictions and related shareholder lawsuits, could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. In addition, the government may seek to hold us liable for violations committed by companies which we acquire. We also rely on our suppliers to adhere to our supplier standards of conduct, and material violations of such standards of conduct could occur that could have a material effect on our business, reputation and financial statements. Improper or unauthorized use of AI by our employees or third parties working on our behalf could create additional risks, including exposure of confidential information, errors in output, or the generation of inaccurate, misleading or biased results, which could negatively impact our customers, stakeholders and reputation. In addition, any allegations of issues resulting from the misuse of our products could, even if untrue, adversely affect our reputation and our customers’ willingness to purchase products from us. Any such allegations could cause us to lose customers and divert our resources from other tasks, which could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our inability to protect our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, third parties may claim that we infringe their intellectual property, and we could suffer significant litigation or licensing expense as a result. We place considerable emphasis on obtaining patent and trade secret protection for significant new technologies, products and processes because of the length of time and expense associated with bringing new products through the development process and into the marketplace. Our success depends in part on our ability to develop patentable products and obtain, defend and enforce patent protection for our products both in the U.S. and in other countries. We own numerous U.S. and foreign patents, and we intend to file additional applications, as appropriate, for patents covering our products. Patents may not be issued for any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us, and the claims allowed under any issued patents may not be sufficiently broad to protect our technology. Any issued patents owned by or licensed to us may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, and the rights under these patents may not provide us with competitive advantages. The integration of AI, including generative AI, into our products, services or internal operations may expose us to increased risks of intellectual property infringement or misappropriation. In addition, competitors may design around our technology or develop competing technologies. Intellectual property rights may also be unavailable or limited in some foreign countries, which could make it easier for competitors to capture increased market position. We could incur substantial costs to defend ourselves in suits brought against us or in suits in which we may assert our patent rights against others. An unfavorable outcome of any such litigation could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how with which we seek to protect our products, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees and consultants. These agreements may not adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights. These agreements may be breached and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently developed by our competitors.

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We also depend in part on our trademarks and the strength of our proprietary brands, which we consider important to our business. If we are unable to protect or preserve the value of our intellectual property rights for any reason, including our inability to successfully defend against counterfeit, knock offs, grey-market, infringing or otherwise unauthorized products, our brand and reputation could be damaged, and our business may be harmed.

Third parties may assert claims against us to the effect that we are infringing on their intellectual property rights. In the event that a claim relating to intellectual property is asserted against us, or third parties not affiliated with us hold pending or issued patents that relate to our products or technology, we may seek licenses to such intellectual property or challenge those patents. However, we may be unable to obtain these licenses on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, and our challenge of the patents may be unsuccessful. Our failure to obtain the necessary licenses or other rights could prevent the sale, manufacture, or distribution of our products and, therefore, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Financial Profile

Fluctuations in our effective tax rate may adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. As a global company, we are subject to taxation in numerous countries, states and other jurisdictions. In preparing our financial statements, we record the amount of tax that is payable in each of the countries, states and other jurisdictions in which we operate. Our future effective tax rate, however, may be lower or higher than experienced in the past due to numerous factors, including a change in the mix of our profitability from country to country, changes in accounting for income taxes, the results of examinations and audits of our tax filings and recently enacted and future changes in tax laws in jurisdictions in which we operate. Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different from previous periods or our current expectations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

In December 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) published a proposal for the establishment of a global minimum tax rate of 15% (the “Pillar Two rule”). As of December 31, 2025, numerous countries where we operate have enacted legislation, or have indicated their intent to adopt legislation, to implement certain aspects of the Pillar Two rules. The OECD and implementing countries are expected to continue to make further revisions to their legislation and release additional guidance. We are closely monitoring developments of the Pillar Two rule and are currently evaluating the potential impacts in each of the countries in which we operate; however, we currently do not expect the Pillar Two rule to have a material impact on our effective tax rate.

Our existing and future indebtedness may restrict our investment opportunities or limit our activities and negatively impact our credit ratings. As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately $39.38 billion in outstanding indebtedness. In addition, we have availability to borrow under a revolving credit facility that provides for up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (the Facility). We may also obtain additional long-term debt and lines of credit to meet future financing needs, which would have the effect of increasing our total leverage.

Our leverage could have negative consequences, including increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions, limiting our ability to obtain additional financing and limiting our ability to acquire new products and technologies through strategic acquisitions.

Our ability to make scheduled payments, refinance our obligations or obtain additional financing will depend on our future operating performance and on economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow to meet our obligations. If we are unable to service our debt, refinance our existing debt or obtain additional financing, we may be forced to delay strategic acquisitions, capital expenditures or research and development expenditures.

Additionally, the agreements governing our debt require that we maintain a financial ratio, and contain affirmative and negative covenants that restrict our activities by, among other limitations, limiting our ability to incur additional indebtedness, merge or consolidate with other entities and create liens. The covenants in the Facility include a Consolidated Net Interest Coverage Ratio (Consolidated EBITDA to Consolidated Net Interest Expense), as such terms are defined in the Facility. Specifically, the company has agreed that, so long as any lender has any commitment under the Facility, any letter of credit is outstanding under the Facility, or any loan or other obligation is outstanding under the Facility, it will maintain a minimum Consolidated Net Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.5:1.0 as of the last day of any fiscal quarter.

Our ability to comply with these financial restrictions and covenants is dependent on our future performance, which is subject to prevailing economic conditions and other factors, including factors that are beyond our control such as the impact of foreign exchange rates and interest rates. Our failure to comply with any of these restrictions or covenants may result in an event of default under the applicable debt instrument, which could permit acceleration of the debt under that instrument and require us to prepay that debt before its scheduled due date. Also, an acceleration of the debt under certain of our debt instruments would trigger an event of default under other of our debt instruments.

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Item 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Reference is made throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements , which begin on page 29 of this report. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for 2023 is included in Item 7 of the company’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company refers to various amounts or measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). These non-GAAP measures are further described and reconciled to their most directly comparable amount or measure under the section “ Non-GAAP Measures ” later in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Amounts and percentages reported within this Annual Report on Form 10-K are presented and calculated based on underlying unrounded amounts. As a result, the sum of components may not equal corresponding totals due to rounding.

Overview

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. enables customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by helping them accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, increase laboratory productivity, and improve patient health through diagnostics and the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies. Markets served include pharmaceutical and biotech, academic and government, industrial and applied, as well as healthcare and diagnostics. The company’s operations fall into four segments (Note 11): Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics, and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

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Consolidated Results

(Dollars in millions except per share amounts)

Change

Revenues

GAAP operating income

GAAP operating income margin

Adjusted operating income (non-GAAP measure)

Adjusted operating income margin (non-GAAP measure)

GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) attributable to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Adjusted earnings per share (non-GAAP measure)

Organic Revenue Growth

Revenue growth

Impact of acquisitions

Impact of currency translation

Organic revenue growth (non-GAAP measure)

During 2025, revenues grew in the pharma and biotech market due to increased demand from customers, partially offset by reduced demand for COVID-19 vaccine and therapy related products and services. Revenues in the academic and government market declined, driven by customer hesitancy in a more uncertain environment in the U.S. and macro conditions in China. Revenue to customers in the industrial and applied market grew. Revenues to customers in the diagnostics and healthcare market were flat. During 2025, sales grew in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, but declined in China. Contributions to organic revenue during 2025 were led by the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services and Life Sciences Solutions segments.

The company continues to execute its proven growth strategy which consists of three pillars:

• High-impact innovation;

• Our trusted partner status with customers; and

• Our unparalleled commercial engine.

GAAP operating income margin and adjusted operating income margin increased in 2025 due primarily to very strong productivity improvements, partially offset by unfavorable business mix and strategic investments. GAAP operating income margin in 2025 also benefited from lower amortization expense when compared to 2024; however, this was partially offset by higher transaction-related costs. We estimate that charges for restructuring and related actions incurred for headcount reductions and facility consolidations, which were approximately $0.3 billion in 2025 and $0.3 billion in 2024, will realize annual cost savings of approximately $0.5 billion and $0.2 billion, respectively, primarily due to reduced employee and facility expenses.

The company’s references to strategic investments generally refer to targeted spending for enhancing commercial capabilities, including expansion of geographic sales reach and e-commerce platforms, marketing initiatives, expanded service and operational infrastructure, research and development projects and other expenditures to enhance the customer experience, as well as incentive compensation and recognition for employees. The company’s references throughout this discussion to productivity improvements generally refer to the impact of its Practical Process Improvement (PPI) Business System to address inflation, drive cost efficiencies and improve profitability. The benefits of PPI include optimized price realization, reduced costs resulting from implementing continuous improvement methodologies, global sourcing initiatives, a lower cost structure following restructuring actions including headcount reductions and consolidation of facilities, and low cost region manufacturing.

Notable Recent Acquisitions

On July 10, 2024, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, Olink Holding AB (publ), a Swedish-based provider of next-generation proteomics solutions. The acquisition enhances the segment’s capabilities in the high-growth proteomics market with the addition of highly differentiated solutions. It also complements the existing life sciences and mass spectrometry offerings, accelerating protein biomarker discovery and providing strong synergy opportunities.

On September 1, 2025, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, our filtration and separation business, a leading provider of purification and filtration technologies used in the production of biologics as well as in medical technologies and industrial applications, from Solventum Corporation. The business strengthens the segment’s bioproduction offerings with advanced filtration technologies that improve quality and efficiency across upstream and downstream workflows. In addition, its industrial filtration and membrane solutions will expand our reach into industries including battery, semiconductor and medical device manufacturing.

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Segment Results

The company’s management evaluates segment operating performance using operating income before certain charges/credits as defined in Note 11. Accordingly, the following segment data are reported on this basis.

(Dollars in millions)

Revenues

Life Sciences Solutions

Analytical Instruments

Specialty Diagnostics

Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services

Eliminations

Consolidated revenues

Life Sciences Solutions

Organic (non-GAAP measure)

(Dollars in millions)

Total

Change

Acquisitions/ Divestitures

Currency

Translation

Revenues

Segment income

Segment income margin

The increase in organic revenues in 2025 was driven by the bioproduction business. On a reported basis, the bioproduction business grew $548 million, driven by higher demand from pharma and biotech customers, as well as the impact from the 2025 acquisition of the filtration and separation business. Genetic sciences grew $82 million, driven by the 2024 acquisition of Olink. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from the impact from acquisitions, unfavorable business mix, and strategic investments, partially offset by very strong productivity improvements.

Analytical Instruments

Organic (non-GAAP measure)

(Dollars in millions)

Total

Change

Acquisitions/ Divestitures

Currency

Translation

Revenues

Segment income

Segment income margin

Organic revenues were flat in 2025 primarily due to growth in the electron microscopy and chromatography and mass spectrometry businesses, largely offset by declines in the chemical analysis business. On a reported basis, the electron microscopy business and chromatography and mass spectrometry business grew $87 million and $83 million, respectively, partially offset by a decline of $78 million in the chemical analysis business. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from the impacts of tariffs and related foreign exchange, strategic investments, and unfavorable business mix, partially offset by strong productivity improvements.

Specialty Diagnostics

Organic (non-GAAP measure)

(Dollars in millions)

Total

Change

Acquisitions/ Divestitures

Currency

Translation

Revenues

Segment income

Segment income margin

The increase in organic revenues in 2025 was led by growth in the healthcare market channel and the transplant diagnostics business. On a reported basis, the clinical diagnostic business grew $52 million, the immunodiagnostics business grew $48 million, and the transplant diagnostics business grew $37 million, which were the principal drivers of reported revenue growth in the segment. The increase in segment income margin was due to strong productivity improvements.

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Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services

Organic (non-GAAP measure)

(Dollars in millions)

Total

Change

Acquisitions/ Divestitures

Currency

Translation

Revenues

Segment income

Segment income margin

The increase in organic revenues in 2025 primarily due to growth in the research and safety market channel and the pharma services business, partially offset by moderation in COVID-19 vaccines and therapies-related activity. On a reported basis, the pharma services business and research and safety market channel grew $457 million and $422 million, respectively. The increase in segment income margin was primarily due to exceptionally strong productivity improvements, partially offset by unfavorable business mix and strategic investments.

Non-operating Items

(Dollars in millions)

Net interest expense

GAAP other income/(expense)

Adjusted other income/(expense) (non-GAAP measure)

GAAP tax rate

Adjusted tax rate (non-GAAP measure)

Weighted average diluted shares

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) increased due primarily to lower cash, and cash equivalents and short-term investments balances, as well as lower interest rates on these balances when compared to 2024. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. In 2025 and 2024, the company’s net interest expense was reduced by approximately $283 million and $264 million, respectively, as a result of its interest rate swap and cross-currency interest rate swap arrangements (Note 10).

GAAP other income/(expense) and adjusted other income/(expense) includes currency transaction gains/losses on non-operating monetary assets and liabilities, and net periodic pension benefit cost/(income), excluding the service cost component. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2025 and 2024 also includes $14 million and $20 million, respectively, of net gains/(losses) on investments. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2025 also includes $8 million of settlement charges for pension plans.

The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2025 were impacted by a $269 million deferred tax benefit resulting from the recognition of tax attributes related to domestication transactions, a deferred tax benefit of $153 million related to capital losses generated as part of intra-entity transactions, a $158 million benefit in jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized due to forecasted income, and a $93 million tax benefit from tax return reassessments. The company’s GAAP rate was also impacted by $51 million of tax expense related to tax legislation enacted during the third quarter of 2025 (Note 7).

The company’s 2024 GAAP and adjusted tax rates were impacted by tax benefits of $459 million, primarily in jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized due to forecasted income. The company’s GAAP tax rate in 2024 was also impacted by $176 million of expense, net, for a provision associated with a tax audit.

The effective tax rates in both 2025 and 2024 were also affected by relatively significant earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. Due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization for tax purposes, the company’s cash payments for income taxes were higher than its income tax expense for financial reporting purposes. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

The company expects its GAAP effective tax rate in 2026 will be between 7% and 9% based on currently forecasted rates of profitability in the countries in which the company conducts business and expected generation of foreign tax credits. The effective tax rate can vary significantly from period to period as a result of discrete income tax factors and events. The company expects its adjusted tax rate will be approximately 11.5% in 2026.

The company has operations and a taxable presence in approximately 70 countries outside the U.S. Some of these countries have lower tax rates than the U.S. The company’s ability to obtain a benefit from lower tax rates outside the U.S. is dependent on its relative levels of income in countries outside the U.S. and on the statutory tax rates in those countries. Based on the dispersion of the company’s non-U.S. income tax provision among many countries, the company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate in any individual country is not likely to materially affect the company’s income tax provision or net income.

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Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities was impacted by an $88 million impairment of an equity method investment in 2024.

Weighted average diluted shares decreased in 2025 compared to 2024 due to share repurchases.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company’s proven growth strategy has enabled it to generate free cash flow as well as access the capital markets. The company deploys its capital primarily via mergers and acquisitions and secondarily via share buybacks and dividends.

December 31,

December 31,

(In millions)

Cash and cash equivalents

Short-term investments

Total debt

Approximately half of the company’s cash balances and cash flows from operations are generated outside the U.S. The company uses its non-U.S. cash for needs outside of the U.S., including acquisitions, capacity expansion, and repayment of third-party foreign debt by foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the company also transfers cash to the U.S. using non-taxable intercompany transactions, including loans and returns of capital, as well as dividends where the related U.S. dividend received deduction or foreign tax credit equals any tax cost arising from the dividends. As a result of using such means of transferring cash to the U.S., the company does not expect any material adverse liquidity effects from its significant non-U.S. cash balances for the foreseeable future.

The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents and its future cash flow from operations together with available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of its existing businesses for the foreseeable future, including at least the next 24 months.

As of December 31, 2025, the company’s short-term obligations and current maturities of long-term obligations totaled $3.53 billion. The company has a revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (Note 3). If the company borrows under this facility, it intends to leave undrawn an amount equivalent to outstanding commercial paper to provide a source of funds in the event that commercial paper markets are not available. As of December 31, 2025, no borrowings were outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, although available capacity was reduced by immaterial outstanding letters of credit.

(In millions)

Net cash provided by operating activities

Net cash used in investing activities

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Free cash flow (non-GAAP measure)

Operating Activities

During 2025, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable used cash of $0.43 billion and changes in contract assets/liabilities used cash of $0.38 billion. An increase in accounts payable provided cash of $0.42 billion. Changes in other assets and liabilities used cash of $1.31 billion primarily due to the timing of payments for income taxes. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.78 billion during 2025.

During 2024, net income provided substantially all cash from operating activities. Changes in working capital were not significant. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.83 billion during 2024.

Investing Activities

During 2025, acquisitions used cash of $4.04 billion. The company’s investing activities also included $1.52 billion for the purchase of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments, as well as $1.18 billion of proceeds from net sales of investments.

During 2024, acquisitions used cash of $3.13 billion. The company’s investing activities also included net purchases of investments of $1.63 billion, primarily to provide additional interest income, as well as $1.40 billion for the purchase of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

The company expects that for all of 2026, expenditures for property, plant and equipment, net of disposals, will be between $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion.

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.

Financing Activities

During 2025, issuance of debt provided $7.76 billion of cash. Repayment of debt used cash of $2.41 billion. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $3.00 billion of the company’s common stock (5.8 million shares) and the payment of $0.64 billion in cash dividends. On November 6, 2025, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $5.00 billion of the company’s common stock. Early in the first quarter of 2026, the company repurchased $3.00 billion (4.9 million shares) of the company's common stock. At February 26, 2026, $2.00 billion was available for future repurchases of the company’s common stock under this authorization.

In the first quarter of 2026, the company issued $3.80 billion of senior notes (Note 3).

During 2024, issuance of debt provided $1.20 billion of cash. Repayment of debt used cash of $3.61 billion. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $4.00 billion of the company's common stock (7.4 million shares) and the payment of $0.58 billion in cash dividends.

The company is contingently liable with respect to certain legal proceedings and related matters. An unfavorable outcome that differs materially from current accrual estimates, if any, for one or more of the matters described under the heading “Product Liability, Workers Compensation and Other Personal Injury Matters” in Note 5 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial position as well as its results of operations and cash flows.

In addition to the obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2025, which include, but are not limited to the agreement to acquire Clario Holdings, Inc. (Note 12), pension obligations (Note 14), unrecognized tax benefits (Note 7), debt (Note 3), operating leases (Note 13), and contingent consideration (Note 4), the company also has unconditional purchase obligations in the ordinary course of business that include agreements to purchase goods, services or fixed assets, pay royalties, and fund capital commitments pursuant to investments held by the company (Note 5).

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures such as organic revenue growth, which is reported revenue growth, excluding the impacts of revenues from acquired/divested businesses and the effects of currency translation. We report organic revenue growth because Thermo Fisher management believes that in order to understand the company’s short-term and long-term financial trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of acquisitions/divestitures and foreign currency translation on revenues. Thermo Fisher management uses organic revenue growth to forecast and evaluate the operational performance of the company as well as to compare revenues of current periods to prior periods.

We report adjusted operating income, adjusted operating income margin, adjusted other income/(expense), adjusted tax rate, and adjusted EPS. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the company’s core operating performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods, forecasts, and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by management in their financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. To calculate these measures we exclude, as applicable:

• Certain transaction-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition, significant transaction-related third-party costs, changes in estimates of contingent acquisition-related consideration, and other costs associated with obtaining short-term financing commitments for pending/recent acquisitions. We exclude these costs because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs.

• Costs/income associated with restructuring activities and large-scale abandonments of product lines, such as reducing overhead and consolidating facilities. We exclude these costs because we believe that the costs related to restructuring activities and large-scale abandonment of product lines are not indicative of our normal operating costs.

• Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities; impairments of long-lived assets; and certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, including gains/losses on investments, the sale of businesses, product lines, and real estate, significant litigation-related matters, curtailments/settlements of pension plans, and the early retirement of debt. We exclude these items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

• The expense associated with the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because a significant portion of the purchase price for acquisitions may be allocated to intangible assets that have lives of up to 20 years. Exclusion of the amortization expense allows comparisons of operating results that are consistent over time for both our newly acquired and long-held businesses and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

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• The noncontrolling interest and tax impacts of the above items and the impact of significant tax audits or events (such as changes in deferred taxes from enacted tax rate/law changes), the latter of which we exclude because they are outside of our normal operations and difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We report free cash flow, which is operating cash flow less net capital expenditures, to provide a view of the continuing operations’ ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. The company also uses this measure as an indication of the strength of the company. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures of the company’s results of operations and cash flows included in this Form 10-K are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the company’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth within the “Consolidated Results” and “Segment Results” sections and below.

(Dollars in millions except per share amounts)

Reconciliation of adjusted operating income and adjusted operating income margin

GAAP operating income

Cost of revenues adjustments (a)

Selling, general and administrative expenses adjustments (b)

Restructuring and other costs (c)

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets

Adjusted operating income (non-GAAP measure)

Reconciliation of adjusted other income/(expense)

GAAP other income/(expense)

Adjustments (d)

Adjusted other income/(expense) (non-GAAP measure)

Reconciliation of adjusted tax rate

GAAP tax rate

Adjustments (e)

Adjusted tax rate (non-GAAP measure)

Reconciliation of adjusted earnings per share

GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) attributable to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Cost of revenues adjustments (a)

Selling, general and administrative expenses adjustments (b)

Restructuring and other costs (c)

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets

Other income/expense adjustments (d)

Income taxes adjustments (e)

Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities

Noncontrolling interests adjustments (f)

Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP measure)

Reconciliation of free cash flow

GAAP net cash provided by operating activities

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

Free cash flow (non-GAAP measure)

(a) Adjusted results exclude accelerated depreciation on manufacturing assets to be abandoned due to facility consolidations and charges for the sale of inventory revalued at the date of acquisition. Adjusted results in 2025 exclude $4 million of transaction-related costs. Adjusted results in 2024 also exclude $13 million of charges for inventory write-downs associated with large-scale abandonment of product lines.

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.

(b) Adjusted results exclude certain third-party expenses, principally transaction/integration costs, charges/credits for changes in estimates of contingent acquisition consideration, charges associated with product liability litigation, and accelerated depreciation on fixed assets to be abandoned due to facility consolidations.

(c) Adjusted results exclude restructuring and other costs consisting principally of severance, impairments of long-lived assets, net charges/credits for pre-acquisition litigation and other matters, net gains/losses on the sale of real estate, charges for environmental-related matters, and abandoned facility and other expenses of headcount reductions and real estate consolidations. Adjusted results in 2025 also exclude $51 million of charges for disposition of a consolidated joint venture.

(d) Adjusted results exclude net gains/losses on investments. Adjusted results in 2025 also exclude $8 million of settlement charges for pension plans.

(e) Adjusted results exclude incremental tax impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income, incremental tax impacts as a result of tax rate/law changes, and the tax impacts from audit settlements.

(f) Adjusted results exclude the incremental impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The company’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations is based upon its financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an on-going basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to acquisition-related measurements and income taxes. Management believes the most complex and sensitive judgments, because of their significance to the consolidated financial statements, result primarily from the need to make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, current market and economic conditions and other assumptions that management believes are reasonable. The results of these estimates form the basis for judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities where the values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The company believes the following represent its critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of its financial statements:

Acquisition-related Measurements

Business Combinations

The company uses assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations. The determinations of the fair value of intangible assets, which represent a significant portion of the purchase price in many of the company’s acquisitions, require the use of significant judgment with regard to (i) the fair value and (ii) whether such intangibles are amortizable or non-amortizable and, if the former, the period and the method by which the intangible asset will be amortized. The company estimates the fair value of acquisition-related intangible assets principally based on projections of cash flows that will arise from identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses, which include estimates of customer attrition and technology obsolescence rates, among others. The projected cash flows are discounted to determine the present value of the assets at the dates of acquisition. See Note 12 for additional information about our recent business combinations.

Goodwill

The company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually and when events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of an asset below its carrying amount. Events or circumstances that might require an interim evaluation include unexpected adverse business conditions, economic factors, unanticipated technological changes or competitive activities, loss of key personnel and acts by governments and courts, among others. Goodwill totaled $49.36 billion at December 31, 2025 (Note 2). Estimates of discounted future cash flows require assumptions related to revenue and operating income margin growth rates, discount rates and other factors. The company also considers (i) peer revenues and earnings trading multiples from companies that have operational and financial characteristics that are similar to the respective reporting units and (ii) estimated weighted average costs of capital. Different assumptions from those made in the company’s analysis could materially affect projected cash flows and the company’s evaluation of goodwill for impairment.

The company performed the quantitative goodwill impairment test for all of its reporting units, except as discussed below. Determinations of fair value based on projections of discounted cash flows, which generally increased from the prior year projections primarily due to lower discount rates, and based on peer revenues and earnings trading multiples, which were generally consistent with the prior year, were sufficient to conclude that no impairments of goodwill existed at the end of the tenth fiscal month of 2025, the date of the company’s annual impairment testing. There were no interim impairments of goodwill in 2025. There can be no assurance, however, that adverse events or conditions will not cause the fair values of these

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assets to decline. Should the fair values of the company’s reporting units decline because of reduced operating performance, market declines, or other indicators of impairment, or as a result of changes in the discount rates, charges for impairment may be necessary.

With the completion of the filtration and separation business acquisition in September 2025, the company established a new reporting unit that solely consists of the legacy business, the book carrying value of which equaled its fair value as of the acquisition date. During its annual 2025 goodwill impairment assessment, the company performed a qualitative assessment of this reporting unit and determined that no events had occurred and no circumstances had changed that would more-likely-than-not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying amount. As a result, the company did not perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test for this reporting unit. Given that the fair value of the reporting unit was not substantially in excess of its carrying value as of the annual 2025 assessment date, relatively small decreases in future cash flows versus anticipated results, decreases in peer trading multiples and/or increases in the weighted average cost of capital could result in impairment of goodwill. The reporting unit consisting of the filtration and separation business had $2.10 billion of goodwill, and an overall carrying value of $4.01 billion as of December 31, 2025.

Definite-lived Intangible Assets

Definite-lived intangible assets totaled $14.60 billion at December 31, 2025 (Note 2). Certain definite-lived intangible assets have largely independent cash flows. The company reviews these definite-lived intangible assets for impairment individually when indication of potential impairment exists, such as a significant reduction in cash flows associated with the assets. Actual cash flows arising from a particular intangible asset could vary from projected cash flows, which could imply different carrying values from those established at the dates of acquisition and which could result in impairment of such asset. Most of the company’s definite-lived intangible assets are used in conjunction with other assets, such as property, plant and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets. In these situations, the company considers the asset groups to be the units of account for impairment testing. The company recorded definite-lived intangible asset impairments of $0.01 billion in 2023.

Income Taxes

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

In the ordinary course of business there is inherent uncertainty in quantifying the company’s income tax positions. The company assesses income tax positions and records tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date. For those tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, the company has recorded the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the financial statements. Should tax return positions that the company expects are sustainable not be sustained upon audit, the company could be required to record an incremental tax provision for such taxes. The company’s liability for these unrecognized tax benefits totaled $0.42 billion at December 31, 2025, compared to $0.52 billion at December 31, 2024, primarily as a result of audit settlements and reductions of prior year tax positions (Note 7).

The company operates in numerous countries under many legal forms and, as a result, is subject to the jurisdiction of numerous domestic and non-U.S. tax authorities, as well as to tax agreements and treaties among these governments. Determination of taxable income in any jurisdiction requires the company to interpret the related tax laws and regulations and the use of estimates and assumptions regarding significant future events, such as the amount, timing and character of deductions, permissible revenue recognition methods under the tax law and the sources and character of income and tax credits. Changes in tax laws, regulations, agreements and treaties, currency exchange restrictions or the company’s level of operations or profitability in each taxing jurisdiction could have an impact upon the amount of current and deferred tax balances and hence the company’s net income.

Valuation Allowances

The company estimates the degree to which tax assets will result in a benefit, after consideration of all positive and negative evidence, and provides a valuation allowance for tax assets that it believes will more likely than not go unused. In situations in which the company has been able to determine that its deferred tax assets will be realized, that determination generally relies on future reversals of taxable temporary differences and expected future taxable income. If it becomes more likely than not that a tax asset will be used, the company reverses the related valuation allowance. Any such reversals are recorded as a reduction of the company’s tax provision. The company’s tax valuation allowance totaled $3.56 billion and $1.04 billion at December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively (Note 7). Should the company’s actual future taxable income by tax jurisdiction vary from estimates, additional allowances or reversals thereof may be necessary.

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A description of recently issued accounting standards is included under the heading “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1.