TEL Te Connectivity Ltd. - 10-K
0001104659-25-109150Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is 0.18pp more bullish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- severe+1
- cease+1
- favorable+1
- success+1
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
9,906 words
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below, that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our securities. These risks are not the only ones facing us. Our business is also subject to general risks that affect many other companies. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations, financial condition, and liquidity .
Table of Contents
Risks Relating to the Macroeconomic Environment and Our Global Presence
Conditions in global or regional economies, capital and money markets, and banking systems, and cyclical industry demand may adversely affect our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Our business and operating results have been and will continue to be affected by economic conditions regionally or globally, including new or increased tariffs and other barriers to trade, including escalation of trade and tariff tensions between the United States (“U.S.”), China, the EU, and other countries, changes to fiscal and monetary policy, inflation, slower growth or recession, higher interest rates, labor disruptions, the cost and availability of consumer and business credit, end demand from consumer and industrial markets, significant bank failures, government shutdowns, and concerns as to sovereign debt levels including credit rating downgrades and defaults on sovereign debt. Any of these economic factors could cause our customers to experience deterioration of their businesses, cash flow, financial condition, and ability to obtain financing. As a result, existing or potential customers may delay or cancel plans to purchase our products and may not be able to fulfill their obligations to us in a timely fashion or in full. Further, our vendors may experience similar problems, which may impact their ability to fulfill our orders or meet agreed service and quality levels. If regional or global economic conditions deteriorate, our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. Also, deterioration in economic conditions, expectations for future revenue, projected future cash flows, or other factors have triggered and could trigger additional recognition of impairment charges for our goodwill or other long-lived assets. Impairment charges, if any, may be material to our results of operations and financial position.
Foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our results.
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in U.S. dollars; however, a significant portion of our business is conducted outside the U.S. Changes in the relative values of currencies may have a significant effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We are exposed to the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on our costs and revenue. Approximately 60% of our net sales for fiscal 2025 were invoiced in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and we expect non-U.S. dollar revenue to continue to represent a significant portion of our future net sales. We have elected not to hedge this foreign currency exposure. Therefore, when the U.S. dollar strengthens in relation to the currencies of the countries where we sell our products, such as the euro or Asian currencies, our U.S. dollar reported revenue and income will decrease. Although the value of the U.S. dollar fluctuated in fiscal 2025, in recent years, the strength of the U.S. dollar has generally increased as compared to other currencies, which has had, and may continue to have, an adverse effect on our operating results as reported in U.S. dollars.
We manage certain cash, intercompany, and other balance sheet currency exposures in part by entering into financial derivative contracts. In addition to the risk of non-performance by the counterparty to these contracts, our efforts to manage these risks might not be successful.
We have suffered and could continue to suffer business interruptions, including impacts resulting from pandemics, severe weather events, and natural catastrophic events, including those caused or intensified by climate change, and other macroeconomic factors.
Our operations and those of our suppliers and customers, and the supply chains that support their operations, have been and may be in the future vulnerable to interruption by natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, tornados, or floods, which may be exacerbated by the effects of climate change; other disasters such as fires, explosions, acts of terrorism, or war, including the continuing military conflicts in certain parts of the world; disease or other adverse health developments; or failures of management information or other systems due to internal or external causes. These events could cause some of our operations to suffer from supply chain disruptions and potential delays in fulfilling customer orders or order cancellations altogether, lost business and sales, changing costs or availability of insurance, and/or property damage or harm to our people, each and all of which could have an adverse effect on our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, such interruptions could result in a widespread crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could affect demand for our end customers’ products. If a business interruption occurs and we are unsuccessful in our continuing efforts to minimize the impact of these events, our business, results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Table of Contents
We could be adversely affected by a decline in the market value of our pension plans’ investment portfolios or a reduction in returns on plan assets.
Concerns about deterioration in the global economy, together with concerns about tariffs, credit, inflation, or deflation, have caused and could continue to cause significant volatility in the price of all securities, including fixed income and equity securities, which has reduced and could further reduce the value of our pension plans’ investment portfolios. In addition, the expected returns on plan assets may not be achieved. A decrease in the value of our pension plans’ investment portfolios or a reduction in returns on plan assets could require us to significantly increase funding of such obligations, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Disruption in credit markets and volatility in equity markets may affect our ability to access sufficient funding.
The global equity markets have been volatile and at times credit markets have been disrupted, which has reduced the availability of investment capital and credit. Downgrades of sovereign debt credit ratings have similarly affected the availability and cost of capital. As a result, we may be unable to access adequate funding to operate and grow our business. Our inability to access adequate funding or to generate sufficient cash from operations may require us to reconsider certain projects and capital expenditures. The extent of any impact will depend on several factors, including our operating cash flows, the duration of tight credit conditions and volatile equity markets, our credit ratings and credit capacity, the cost of financing, and other general economic and business conditions.
Global political, economic, and military instability could negatively affect sales or profitability.
Our workforce; manufacturing, research, administrative, and sales facilities; markets; customers; and suppliers are located throughout the world. As a result, we are exposed to risks that could negatively affect sales or profitability, including:
changes in global trade policies, including sanctions, tariffs, trade barriers, and trade disputes;
regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
variations in lengths of payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
tax law and regulatory changes, examinations by taxing authorities, changes to the terms of income tax treaties, and difficulties in the tax-efficient repatriation of cash generated or held in a number of jurisdictions;
employment regulations and local labor conditions, including increases in employment costs, particularly in low-cost regions in which we currently operate;
difficulties protecting intellectual property;
instability in economic or political conditions, including elections, sovereign debt levels, government shutdowns, Eurozone uncertainty, inflation, recession, and actual or anticipated military or political conflicts, including the continuing military conflicts in certain parts of the world; and
the impact of each of the foregoing on our outsourcing and procurement arrangements.
We have sizeable operations in China, including 19 principal manufacturing sites. In addition, approximately 25% of our net sales in fiscal 2025 were made to customers in China. Economic conditions in China have been, and may continue to be, volatile and uncertain. In addition, the legal and regulatory system in China continues to evolve and is subject to change. There also continues to be significant uncertainty about the relationship between the U.S. and China, including with respect to geopolitics, trade policies, treaties, government regulations, and tariffs. The current political climate has intensified concerns about trade tensions between the U.S. and China in connection with each country’s recent or proposed tariffs on the other country’s products. Accordingly, our operations and transactions with customers in China could be adversely affected by changes to market conditions, changes to the regulatory environment, increased trade barriers, tariffs, or restrictions, or interpretation of Chinese law.
In addition, any further downgrade by rating agencies of long-term U.S. sovereign debt or downgrades or defaults of sovereign debt of other nations may negatively affect global financial markets and economic conditions, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, and liquidity.
Table of Contents
Global legislative and regulatory actions and proposals could cause a material change in our worldwide effective corporate tax rate and our global cash taxes.
Various legislative and regulatory proposals have been directed at multinational companies with operations in lower-tax jurisdictions. There has been heightened focus on adoption of such legislation and on other initiatives, such as:
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) and participating countries continue to enact the 15% global minimum tax. The global minimum tax is a significant structural change to the international taxation framework and more than 50 countries have thus far enacted some or all elements of the tax. Ireland has implemented elements of the OECD’s global minimum tax rules, which were effective for us beginning in fiscal 2025. We anticipate further legislative activity and administrative guidance. We continue to closely monitor the evolving global minimum tax framework and assess the implications in the jurisdictions in which we operate.
EU, U.S., and other countries’ initiatives to promote tax transparency and to prevent aggressive tax planning.
The impact of these proposals may materially increase cash taxes, increase our worldwide corporate effective tax rate, cause double taxation, and increase audit risk. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific legislative proposals or initiatives, and we cannot provide assurance that any such legislation or initiative will not apply to us.
U.S. federal tax laws could result in adverse consequences to U.S. persons treated as owning 10% or more of our shares.
Although we are an Irish company, application of certain U.S. tax law ownership attribution rules may cause non-U.S. subsidiaries to be treated as Controlled Foreign Corporations (“CFCs”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Under the current rules, a U.S. person that is treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as owning, directly, indirectly, or constructively, 10% or more of our shares may be required to annually report and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of certain types of income earned by our subsidiaries that are treated as CFCs, whether or not we make any distributions to such U.S. shareholder. Under recently enacted legislation, the current attribution rules cease to apply for tax years of foreign corporations beginning after December 31, 2025, and, as a result, based on our current ownership structure, our non-U.S. subsidiaries will not be treated as CFCs as of our tax year beginning September 26, 2026. A U.S. person that owns 10% or more of our shares should consult a tax adviser regarding the potential implications. The risk of U.S. federal income tax reporting and compliance obligations with respect to our subsidiaries that are treated as CFCs may deter our current shareholders from increasing their investment in us, and others from investing in us, which could impact the demand for, and value of, our shares.
We are subject to, and may continue to be subject to, incremental costs, risks, and regulations associated with efforts to combat the negative effects of climate change.
There is increased public awareness regarding climate change. This increased focus has led to international treaties and agreements and legislative and regulatory efforts. We may also be subject to larger, global climate change initiatives, laws, regulations, or orders, such as any laws or regulations to implement the Paris Climate Agreement, which seek to reduce GHG emissions. In addition to government requirements, our customers are also increasingly imposing climate-related requirements on their suppliers, including us. Any failure, or perceived failure, to comply with these requirements may result in reduced demand for our products, reputational harm, or other adverse impacts to our business.
Any future regulations relating to GHG emissions and/or other climate change-related laws and regulations, beyond initiatives we already have in process, could subject us to additional and/or unforeseen compliance costs and limitations, increased energy and raw material costs, and incremental capital expenditure requirements. Also, there may be additional mandatory climate-related reporting obligations, and potentially GHG emissions reduction requirements, which would likely result in increased corporate and operational general and administrative efforts and associated costs and expenses.
Any future regulatory changes in any of the countries in which we operate could result in transition risks to us, including, but not limited to: (i) the nature and timing of any requirement to lower GHG emissions and adopt more energy-efficient energy use, which could result in changes or disruptions to the way we operate, (ii) financial risks where the compliance with such regulations requires unforeseen capital expenditures and becomes costly or financially burdensome, (iii) legal risks associated with the failure to adapt to or comply with future climate change-related regulations, (iv) risks of climate litigation associated with our disclosures and/or operations; (v) risks associated with the implementation of any new
Table of Contents
technologies required to comply with such regulations, which could impede our ability to innovate new products, meet customer and market demand, or compete on pricing and quality in the market, and/or (vi) reputational risks associated with our customers’ and investors’ perceptions of us and their preferences for maintaining relationships with companies with lower emissions, all of which could harm our reputation in the marketplace.
Increasing scrutiny and expectations regarding environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters could result in additional costs or risks or otherwise adversely impact our business.
Companies across industries are facing increasing scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders related to their ESG and sustainability practices. Expectations regarding voluntary and potential mandatory ESG initiatives and disclosures may result in increased costs, changes in demand for certain products, enhanced compliance or disclosure obligations, or other adverse impacts to our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Further, our ability to achieve our current and future ESG goals is uncertain and remains subject to numerous risks, including increasing regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations, our ability to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse workforce, the availability of suppliers and other business partners that can meet our ESG expectations, the growth of our business, cost considerations, and the development and availability of cost-effective technologies or resources that support our goals. An inability to receive or maintain favorable ESG ratings could negatively impact our reputation or impede our ability to compete as effectively to attract and retain employees or customers, which may adversely impact our operations. Unfavorable ESG ratings could also lead to negative investor sentiment towards us or our industry, which could negatively impact the price of our shares as well as our access to and cost of capital.
Risks Relating to the Industry in Which We Operate
We are dependent on the automotive and other industries and significant periodic downturns have had material adverse effects on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We are dependent on end market dynamics to sell our products, and our operating results could be adversely affected by cyclical and reduced demand in these markets. Periodic downturns in our customers’ industries can significantly reduce demand for certain of our products, which has in the past and could have in the future a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Approximately 41% of our net sales for fiscal 2025 were to customers in the automotive end market. The automotive industry is dominated by large manufacturers that can exert significant price pressure on their suppliers. Additionally, the automotive industry has historically experienced significant downturns during periods of deteriorating global or regional economic or credit conditions. As a supplier of automotive electronics products, our sales of these products and our profitability have been and could continue to be negatively affected by significant declines in global or regional economic or credit conditions and changes in the operations, products, business models, part-sourcing requirements, financial condition, and market share of automotive manufacturers, as well as potential consolidations among automotive manufacturers. Further, work stoppages or slowdowns experienced by our customers in the automotive industry, or changes in consumer preferences, could result in slowdowns or closures of assembly plants where our products are included in assembled vehicles.
During fiscal 2025, approximately 13% of our net sales were to customers in the digital data networks end market, approximately 12% of our net sales were to customers in the automation and connected living end market, and approximately 9% of our net sales were to customers in the aerospace, defense, and marine end market. Demand in the digital data networks market can fluctuate significantly, depending on the underlying demand in the networking, data center, and wireless infrastructure industries. The overall market trends of increased data connectivity and continued movement to artificial intelligence (“AI”) and cloud applications have had a favorable impact on demand. Demand in the automation and connected living end market is dependent upon economic conditions, including customer investment in factory and warehouse automation, process control systems, and building automation and smart city infrastructure, as well as market conditions in the home appliances market. The aerospace and defense industry has undergone significant fluctuations in demand as a result of economic and political conditions.
We encounter competition in substantially all areas of the electronic components industry, which has and could in the future negatively impact our prices, margins, and market share.
We operate in highly competitive markets for electronic components and expect that both direct and indirect competition will increase in the future. Our overall competitive position depends on various factors including the price,
Table of Contents
quality, and performance of our products; the level of customer service; the development of new technology; our ability to participate in emerging markets; and customers’ expectations relating to socially responsible operations. The competition we experience across product lines from other companies ranges in size from large, diversified manufacturers to small, highly specialized manufacturers. The electronic components industry has become increasingly concentrated and globalized in recent years, and our major competitors have significant financial resources and technological capabilities. A number of these competitors compete with us primarily on price and in some instances may have the benefit of lower production costs for certain products. We cannot provide assurance that additional competitors will not enter our markets or that we will be able to compete successfully against existing or new competitors. Increased competition has and may in the future result in price reductions, reduced margins, or loss of market share, any of which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We are dependent on market acceptance of our new product introductions and product innovations for future revenue and failure of such introductions or innovations in a timely manner could cause our operating results to suffer.
Substantially all markets in which we operate are impacted by technological change or change in consumer tastes and preferences, which are rapid in certain end markets. Our operating results depend substantially upon our ability to continually design, develop, introduce, and sell new and innovative products; to modify existing products; and to customize products to meet customer requirements driven by such change. There are numerous risks inherent in these processes, including the risk that we will be unable to anticipate the direction of technological change or that we will be unable to develop and market profitable new products and applications in time to satisfy customer demands.
The pace of technological change continues to accelerate and our ability to react effectively to such change may present significant competitive risks.
The pace of technological change is increasing at an exponential rate. The continued creation, development, and advancement of new technologies such as AI, blockchain, quantum computing, data analytics, 3-D printing, robotics, sensor technology, data storage, neural networks, and augmented reality, as well as other technologies in the future that are not foreseeable today, continue to transform our processes, products, and services.
In order to remain competitive, we will need to stay abreast of such technologies, require our employees to continue to learn and adapt to new technologies, be able to integrate them into our current and future business models, products, services, and processes, and also guard against existing and new competitors disrupting their business using such technologies. Our strategy, value creation model, operating model, and innovation ecosystem have important technological elements and certain of our products and offerings are based on technological advances, including AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, and the Internet of Things. Meeting evolving industry requirements, including the increasing use of AI and machine learning technologies (including the need to run complex AI-based applications on devices), and introducing new products to the market in a timely manner and at prices that are acceptable to our customers are important factors in determining our competitiveness and success. Further, increasing use of AI may expose us to social and ethical issues, which may result in reputational harm and liability. In addition, we will need to compete for talent in a competitive market that is familiar with such technologies including upskilling our workforce. There can be no assurance we will continue to compete effectively with our industry peers due to technological changes, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Table of Contents
Risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm our business, damage our reputation, or give rise to legal or regulatory action.
AI technologies are complex and rapidly evolving, and we face significant competition, including from our own clients, who may develop their own internal AI-related capabilities, which can lead to reduced demand for our products. The development, adoption, and use of AI technologies is still in the early stages and involve significant risks and uncertainties, which may expose us to legal, reputational, and financial harm. AI algorithms and training methodologies may be flawed, and datasets may be overbroad, insufficient, or contain biased information. Moreover, the use of AI may give rise to risks related to harmful content, accuracy, bias, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, data privacy, cybersecurity, and health and safety, among others, and also bring the possibility of new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, or other legal liability, or ethical concerns that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results.
Pressure to lower our prices has and may in the future result in price erosion.
We have experienced, and may in the future experience, pressure to lower our prices. Although pricing actions initiated in recent years have positively impacted our net sales, we have historically experienced price erosion averaging from 1% to 2% each year. To maintain our margins, we must continue to reduce our costs by similar amounts. We cannot provide assurance that pressure to reduce our prices will not have a material adverse effect on our margins, results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We may be negatively affected as our customers and vendors continue to consolidate.
Many of the industries to which we sell our products, as well as many of the industries from which we buy materials, have become more concentrated in recent years, including the automotive, digital data networks, and aerospace and defense industries. Consolidation of customers may lead to decreased product purchases from us. In addition, as our customers buy in larger volumes, their volume buying power has increased, enabling them to negotiate more favorable pricing and find alternative sources from which to purchase. Our materials suppliers similarly have increased their ability to negotiate favorable pricing. These trends have and may continue to adversely affect the margins on our products, particularly for commodity components.
The life cycles of certain of our products can be very short and may not result in material revenue and may cause us to write off excess or obsolete inventory or equipment.
The life cycles of certain of our products can be very short relative to their development cycle. As a result, the resources devoted to product sales and marketing may not result in material revenue and, from time to time, we may need to write off excess or obsolete inventory or equipment. If we were to incur significant engineering expenses and investments in inventory and equipment that we were not able to recover and we were not able to compensate for those expenses, our gross margin, results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
We may incur material losses and costs as a result of product liability, warranty, and product recall claims that may be brought against us.
We face exposure to product liability and warranty claims in the event that our products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected, or the use of our products results, or is alleged to result, in death, bodily injury, and/or property damage. Further, if any of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may be required to participate in a recall campaign, and a customer or other party may hold us responsible for some or all of the costs of these campaigns. Actual or alleged defects in our products may therefore cause us to incur significant warranty, support and repair, replacement, or other costs as part of a product recall or otherwise, suffer substantial negative publicity, face challenges in our ability to timely deliver products to our customers, write-off the value of related inventory, and divert the attention of our engineering and management personnel. Additionally, actual or alleged defects in our products could result in damage to our reputation and to our ability to win future business. Consequently, our costs and loss of revenue associated with product liability, warranty, and recall claims could be material to our financial position and results of operations.
Table of Contents
Risks Relating to Our Operations
Our results are sensitive to raw material availability, quality, and cost and shortages, deteriorations in quality, or price increases could lead to a materially negative impact on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We are a large buyer of resins, chemicals, additives, and metals, including copper, gold, silver, palladium, aluminum, brass, steel, and zinc. Many of these raw materials are produced in a limited number of countries around the world or are only available from a limited number of suppliers. The prices of many of these raw materials continue to fluctuate, and in many cases increase, and fluctuations may persist in the future. In addition, feedstock for resins and resins themselves, as well as certain other commodities, are increasingly subject to varied and unrelated force majeure events worldwide further impacting price and availability. In recent years, raw material prices and availability have been affected by worldwide economic conditions, including supply chain disruptions, inflationary cost pressures, and tariff and trade policies. If we have difficulty obtaining raw materials, the quality of available raw materials deteriorates, or there are significant price increases for these raw materials, it could have a substantial impact on the price we pay for raw materials. To the extent we cannot compensate for cost increases through productivity improvements or price increases to our customers, our margins may decline, materially affecting our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows. In addition, we use financial instruments to hedge the volatility of certain commodities prices. The success of our hedging program depends on accurate forecasts of planned consumption of the hedged commodity materials. We could experience unanticipated hedge gains or losses if these forecasts are inaccurate.
The SEC requires annual disclosure and reporting requirements for those companies which use tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold (“conflict minerals” or “3TG”) mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) and adjoining countries (together with the DRC, the “Covered Countries”) in their products. These requirements, as well as new and additional regulations like the EU’s Conflict Minerals Regulation, could affect the sourcing, pricing, and availability of 3TG used in the manufacture of certain of our products, and may result in only a limited pool of suppliers which can demonstrate that they do not source any 3TG from the Covered Countries. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to obtain non-conflict 3TG in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. Further, since our supply chain is complex, we may face reputational challenges with our customers and other stakeholders if we are unable to meet customer non-conflict 3TG standards or sufficiently verify the origins and chain of custody for all conflict minerals used in our products through our due diligence procedures.
Poor quality of components and products manufactured by third parties could harm our business.
We may rely on third-party suppliers for the components used in our products, and we may rely on third-party manufacturers to manufacture certain of our assemblies and finished products. Our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be adversely affected if such third parties lack sufficient quality control or if there are significant changes in their financial or business condition. If these third parties fail to deliver quality products, parts, and components on time and at reasonable prices, we could have difficulties fulfilling our orders, sales and profits could decline, and our commercial reputation could be damaged.
Our future success is significantly dependent on our ability to attract and retain management and executive management employees.
Our success depends to a significant extent upon our continued ability to retain our management and executive management employees and hire new management and executive management employees to replace, succeed, or add to members of our management team. Our management team has significant industry experience and would be difficult to replace. Competition for management talent is intense, and any difficulties we may have to retain or hire members of management to achieve our objectives may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions affecting our information technology infrastructure or violations of data privacy laws have and could interfere with our operations, compromise confidential information, and expose us to liability which could materially adversely impact our business and reputation.
Cybersecurity attacks, threats, and breaches and other disruptions to our information technology infrastructure and/or the information technology infrastructure of our third-party suppliers or business partners could interfere with our operations; compromise information belonging to us, our employees, customers, and suppliers; and expose us to liabilities or penalties which could adversely impact our business and reputation. In the normal course of business, we rely on information
Table of Contents
technology networks and systems, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities. Additionally, we collect and store certain data, including proprietary business information and customer and employee data, and may have access to confidential or personal information in certain of our businesses that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations, and customer-imposed controls. Specifically, we are subject to the laws of various states and countries where we operate or do business related to solicitation, collection, processing, transferring, storing, or use of consumer, customer, supplier, or employee information or related data, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and China’s Personal Information Protection Law. In addition, certain countries in which we operate or do business have enacted or are considering enacting laws that impose additional data transfer restrictions. If countries in which we operate or do business were to adopt data localization or data residency laws, we could be required to implement new or expand existing data storage protocols, build new storage facilities, and/or devote additional resources to comply with the requirements of such laws, any of which could have significant implications to business operations and costs.
In addition to our own systems, we have outsourced, and expect to continue to outsource, certain information technology services—including cloud computing services and storage systems, system development, and information technology support services—which have in the past, and in the future may, subject our information technology and other sensitive information to additional risk.
Our information technology networks and infrastructure, and the technology networks and infrastructure of our third-party suppliers and business partners, are vulnerable to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to attack by malicious actors with significant financial and technological resources, breaches, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, malware (such as computer viruses and ransomware), social engineering (i.e., phishing attacks), theft of system credentials, other increasingly sophisticated attacks, telecommunication or utility failures, systems failures, natural disasters, or other catastrophic events, which may require us to notify regulators, customers, or employees, and enlist identity theft protection in the event of a privacy breach. We continue to monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our information technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our intellectual property and our employees’, customers’, and suppliers’ data. Cybersecurity breaches and other disruptions to our information technology infrastructure or the information technology infrastructure of our third-party suppliers and business partners, or violations of applicable laws, could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or penalties, disruption in operations, and damage to our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business. While we have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, attacks and threats to our information technology networks and infrastructure, including attempted cyber intrusions, to date none of these attacks and threats have had a material impact on our business or operations. Further, some of our employees have fully-remote or hybrid work arrangements, which may increase our vulnerability to cyber and other information technology risks.
Covenants in our debt instruments may adversely affect us.
Our five-year unsecured senior revolving credit facility (“Credit Facility”) contains financial and other covenants, such as a limit on the ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Facility) and limits on the amount of subsidiary debt and incurrence of liens. Our outstanding notes’ indentures contain customary covenants including limits on incurrence of liens, sale and lease-back transactions, and our ability to consolidate, merge, and sell assets.
Although none of these covenants are presently restrictive to our operations, our continued ability to meet the Credit Facility financial covenant can be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot provide assurance that we will continue to comply with the covenant. A breach of any of our covenants could result in a default under our Credit Facility or indentures. Upon the occurrence of certain defaults under our Credit Facility and indentures, the lenders or trustee could elect to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be immediately due and payable, and our lenders could terminate commitments to extend further credit under our Credit Facility. If the lenders or trustee accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot provide assurance that we will have sufficient assets or access to lenders or capital markets to repay or fund the repayment of any amounts outstanding under our Credit Facility and our other affected indebtedness. Acceleration of any debt obligation under any of our material debt instruments may permit the holders or trustee of our other material debt to accelerate payment of debt obligations to the creditors thereunder.
The indentures governing our outstanding senior notes contain covenants that may require us to offer to buy back the notes for a price equal to 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the repurchase date, upon a change of control triggering event (as defined in the indentures). We cannot provide assurance that we will have sufficient funds available or access to funding to repurchase tendered notes in that event, which could result in a default under the
Table of Contents
notes. Any future debt that we incur may contain covenants regarding repurchases in the event of a change of control triggering event.
The market price of our shares may fluctuate widely.
The market price of our shares may fluctuate widely, depending upon many factors, including:
our quarterly or annual earnings;
quarterly or annual sales or earnings guidance that we may provide or changes thereto;
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
volatility in financial markets and market fluctuations caused by global and regional economic conditions and investors’ concerns about potential risks to future economic growth;
changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations, or principles;
tax legislative and regulatory actions and proposals in the U.S., the EU, and other jurisdictions;
announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions or dispositions; and
the operating and stock price performance of comparable companies and companies that serve end markets important to our business.
Risks Relating to Strategic Transactions
Future acquisitions may not be successful.
We regularly evaluate the possible acquisition of strategic businesses, product lines, or technologies which have the potential to strengthen our market position or enhance our existing product offerings, and we have completed a number of acquisitions in recent years. We anticipate that we will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities as part of our growth strategy. We cannot provide assurance that we will identify or successfully complete transactions with acquisition candidates in the future. We also cannot provide assurance that completed acquisitions will be successful. Likewise, from time to time, we experience difficulty and unanticipated expenses associated with purchasing and integrating acquisitions, and acquisitions do not always perform and deliver the financial benefits expected. We have also experienced challenges at times following the acquisition of a new company or business, including, but not limited to, managing the operations, manufacturing facilities, and technology; maintaining and increasing the customer base; or retaining key employees, suppliers, or distributors. If an acquired business fails to operate as anticipated or cannot be successfully integrated with our existing business, our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
Future acquisitions could require us to issue additional debt or equity that may not be available on acceptable terms and could be dilutive.
If we were to make a substantial acquisition with cash, the acquisition may need to be financed in part through funding from banks, public offerings or private placements of debt or equity securities, or other arrangements. This acquisition financing might decrease our ratio of earnings to fixed charges and adversely affect other leverage measures. We cannot provide assurance that sufficient acquisition financing would be available to us on acceptable terms if and when required. If we were to complete an acquisition partially or wholly funded by issuing equity securities or equity-linked securities, the issued securities may have a dilutive effect on the interests of the holders of our shares.
Table of Contents
Divestitures of some of our businesses or product lines may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
We continue to evaluate the strategic fit of specific businesses and products which may result in additional divestitures. Divestitures may result in significant write-offs, including those related to goodwill and other intangible assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. Divestitures could involve additional risks, including difficulties in the separation of operations, services, products, and personnel; the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns; the disruption of our business; and the potential loss of key employees. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in addressing these or any other significant risks encountered.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property, Litigation, and Regulations
Our ability to compete effectively depends, in part, on our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our products and technology.
The electronics industry is characterized by litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. Within this industry, companies have become more aggressive in asserting and defending patent claims against competitors. There can be no assurance that we will not be subject to future litigation alleging infringement or invalidity of certain of our intellectual property rights or that we will not have to pursue litigation to protect our property rights. Depending on the importance of the technology, product, patent, trademark, or trade secret in question, an unfavorable outcome regarding one of these matters may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Litigation, regulatory actions, and compliance issues have and could subject us to fines, penalties, judgments, remediation costs, and/or other requirements that could cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
In the normal course of business, we are or may be, from time to time, the subject of government or private litigation as a result of a number of factors and from various sources, including (i) reviews, requests for information, investigations, and proceedings (both formal and informal) by state and federal governmental agencies and (ii) litigation alleging the infringement of intellectual property rights, anti-competitive behavior, securities law violations, product liability, breach of contract, and employment-related claims. In certain circumstances, patent infringement and antitrust laws permit successful plaintiffs to recover treble damages. The defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits. In addition, we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements, or become subject to injunctions or other equitable remedies, that could cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
If any of our operations are found not to comply with applicable antitrust or competition laws or applicable trade regulations, our business may suffer.
Our operations are subject to applicable antitrust and competition laws in the jurisdictions in which we conduct our business, in particular the U.S. and the EU. These laws prohibit, among other things, anticompetitive agreements and practices. If any of our commercial agreements and practices with respect to the electronic components or other markets are found to violate or infringe such laws, we may be subject to civil and other penalties. We may also be subject to third-party claims for damages. Further, agreements that infringe these antitrust and competition laws may be void and unenforceable, in whole or in part, or require modification to be lawful and enforceable. If we are unable to enforce our commercial agreements, whether at all or in material part, our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We also must comply with applicable trade regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate. A small portion of our products, including defense-related products, may require governmental import and export licenses, the issuance of which may be influenced by geopolitical and other events. Any failure to maintain compliance with trade regulations could limit our ability to import and export raw materials and finished goods into or from the relevant jurisdiction, which could negatively impact our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Table of Contents
We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act, and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act, and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance program, we cannot provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Our operations expose us to the risk of material environmental liabilities, litigation, government enforcement actions, and reputational risk.
We are subject to numerous federal, state, and local environmental protection and health and safety laws and regulations in the various countries where we operate and where our products are sold. These laws and regulations govern, among other things:
the generation, storage, use, and transportation and disposal of hazardous materials;
emissions or discharges of substances into the environment;
investigation and remediation of hazardous substances or materials at various sites;
GHG emissions;
product hazardous material content;
the health and safety of our employees; and
the importation of regulated or banned chemicals.
We may not have been, or we may not always be, in compliance with all environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. If we violate these laws, we could be fined, criminally charged, or otherwise sanctioned by regulators, including temporary closures of facilities. In addition, environmental and health and safety laws are becoming more stringent, resulting in increased costs and compliance requirements.
Certain environmental laws assess liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the costs of investigation, reporting, removal, and remediation of hazardous substances or materials at their properties or at properties at which they have disposed of or mishandled hazardous substances. Liability for investigation, reporting, removal, and remediation costs under certain regulatory regimes, such as U.S. federal and state laws, is retroactive, strict, and joint and several. In addition to cleanup actions brought by governmental authorities, private parties could bring personal injury or other claims due to the presence of, or exposure to, hazardous substances. We have received notifications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, other environmental agencies, and third parties that conditions at a number of currently and formerly-owned or operated sites where we and others have disposed of or mishandled hazardous substances require investigation, cleanup, and other possible remedial action and require that we reimburse the government or otherwise pay for the costs of investigation and remediation and for natural resource damage claims from such sites. We also have independently investigated various sites and determined that further investigation and/or remediation is necessary.
While we plan for future capital and operating expenditures to maintain compliance with environmental laws, we cannot provide assurance that our costs of complying with current or future environmental protection and health and safety laws, or our liabilities arising from past or future releases of, or exposures to, hazardous substances will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows or that we will not be subject to additional environmental claims for personal injury, property damage, damage to natural resources, and/or cleanup in the future based on our past, present, or future business activities.
Table of Contents
Our products are subject to various requirements related to chemical usage, hazardous material content, recycling, and other circular economy initiatives.
The EU, China, U.S., and other jurisdictions in which our products are sold have enacted or are proposing to enact laws addressing environmental and other impacts from product disposal, use of hazardous materials in products, use of chemicals in manufacturing, recycling of products at the end of their useful life, circular economy initiatives, and other related matters. These laws include but are not limited to the EU RoHS, End-of-Life Vehicle, and WEEE Directives; the EU REACH regulation; and the China RoHS regulation. These laws prohibit the use of certain substances in the manufacture of our products and directly and indirectly impose a variety of requirements for modification of manufacturing processes, registration, chemical testing, labeling, and other matters. These laws continue to proliferate and expand in these and other jurisdictions to address other materials and other aspects of our product manufacturing and sale. These laws could make the manufacture or sale of our products more expensive or impossible, could limit our ability to sell our products in certain jurisdictions, and could result in liability for product recalls, penalties, or other claims.
Risks Relating to Our Irish Jurisdiction of Incorporation
The laws of Ireland differ from the laws in effect in the U.S. and may afford less protection to holders of our securities.
It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in the U.S. against us in Ireland, based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws. In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons based on those laws. We have been advised that the U.S. currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any U.S. federal or state court based on civil liability, whether or not based solely on U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Ireland.
As an Irish company, we are governed by the Irish Companies Act 2014, which differs in some material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits. Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an Irish company generally are owed to the company only. Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal right of action against directors or officers of the company and may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the company only in limited circumstances. Accordingly, holders of our securities may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would holders of securities of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the U.S.
As an Irish public limited company, certain decisions related to our capital structure will require the approval of shareholders, which may limit our flexibility to manage our capital structure.
Irish law generally provides that a board of directors may allot and issue shares (or rights to subscribe for or convert into shares) without being required first to offer those shares to existing shareholders on a pro-rata basis, if authorized to do so by a company’s constitution or by resolution of shareholders. Such authorization may be granted in respect of up to the entirety of a company’s authorized but unissued share capital and for a maximum period of five years, at which point it must be renewed by another shareholder resolution. Our articles of association authorize our directors to allot shares up to the maximum of our authorized but unissued share capital for a period of five years from September 30, 2024. These authorizations will need to be renewed upon its expiration and at periodic intervals thereafter. Under Irish law, these authorities may be given for up to five years at each renewal, but governance considerations may result in renewals for shorter periods or in respect of less than the maximum permitted number of shares being sought or approved.
Additionally, under Irish law, we may only pay dividends and, generally, make share repurchases and redemptions from distributable profits. Distributable profits may be created through our earnings or other methods (including certain intragroup reorganizations involving the capitalization of our undistributable profits and their subsequent reduction). While it is our intention to maintain a sufficient level of distributable profits in order to pay dividends on our ordinary shares and make share repurchases, there is no assurance that we will maintain the necessary level of distributable profits to do so.
Table of Contents
Provisions of our articles of association could delay or prevent a third-party’s effort to acquire us.
Our articles of association could delay, defer, or prevent a third party from acquiring us, despite the possible benefit to our shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares. In addition to our articles of association, several mandatory provisions of Irish law could prevent or delay an acquisition of us. We are also subject to various provisions of Irish law relating to mandatory bids, voluntary bids, requirements to make a cash offer, and minimum price requirements, as well as substantial acquisition rules and rules requiring the disclosure of interests in our shares in certain circumstances.
These provisions, whether alone or together, may discourage potential takeover attempts, discourage bids for our ordinary shares at a premium over the market price, or adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, our ordinary shares. These provisions, whether alone or together, could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our shareholders to elect directors other than the candidates nominated by our board.
Transfers of our ordinary shares may be subject to Irish stamp duty.
For the majority of transfers of our ordinary shares, there will not be any Irish stamp duty. A transfer of our ordinary shares from a seller who holds shares beneficially (i.e., through Depository Trust Company (“DTC”)) to a buyer who holds the acquired shares beneficially (i.e., through DTC), which is effected by the debit/credit of book-entry interests representing the shares through DTC, will not be subject to Irish stamp duty. However, a transfer of our ordinary shares by a seller who holds shares directly (i.e., not through DTC) to any buyer, or by a seller who holds the shares beneficially to a buyer who holds the acquired shares directly, may be subject to Irish stamp duty (currently at the rate of 1% of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired, if higher). A shareholder who directly holds shares may transfer those shares into his or her own broker account to be held through DTC without giving rise to Irish stamp duty provided that the shareholder has confirmed to our transfer agent that there is no change in the beneficial ownership of the shares as a result of the transfer and the transfer into DTC is not effected in contemplation of a sale of such shares by the beneficial owner to a third party. Because of the potential Irish stamp duty on transfers of our ordinary shares, we strongly recommend that any person who wishes to acquire our ordinary shares acquire such shares through DTC.
We do not intend to pay any stamp duty levied on transfers of our shares on behalf of a buyer. However, our memorandum and articles of association allow us in our absolute discretion to pay (or to cause one of our affiliates to pay) any such stamp duty payable. In the event of any such payment, we will be entitled to (i) seek reimbursement from the buyer, (ii) set-off the amount of the stamp duty against future dividends on such shares, and (iii) claim a first and paramount lien on our ordinary shares acquired by such buyer and any dividends paid on such shares. Our directors have discretion to decline to register an instrument of transfer in the name of a buyer unless the instrument of transfer has been properly stamped (in circumstances where stamping is required).
Dividends you receive may be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax.
In certain circumstances, as an Irish tax resident company, we may be required to deduct Irish dividend withholding tax (currently at the rate of 25%) from dividends paid to our shareholders. Whether we will be required to deduct Irish dividend withholding tax from dividends paid to a shareholder will depend largely on whether the shareholder qualifies for an exemption from dividend withholding tax under Irish law and has provided a valid Dividend Withholding Tax (“DWT”) Form to his or her broker (in the case of the ordinary shares held beneficially), or to our transfer agent (in the case of the ordinary shares held directly).
Dividends received by investors could be subject to Irish income tax.
Dividends paid in respect of our ordinary shares generally are not subject to Irish income tax where the beneficial owner of these dividends is exempt from dividend withholding tax, unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in TE Connectivity plc.
TE shareholders who receive their dividends subject to Irish dividend withholding tax generally will have no further liability to Irish income tax on the dividend unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in TE Connectivity plc.
Table of Contents
Our ordinary shares received by means of a gift or inheritance could be subject to Irish capital acquisitions tax.
Irish capital acquisitions tax (“CAT”) could apply to a gift or inheritance of our ordinary shares irrespective of the place of residence, ordinary residence, or domicile of the parties. This is because our ordinary shares will be regarded as property situated in Ireland. The person who receives the gift or inheritance has primary liability for CAT. Gifts and inheritances passing between spouses are exempt from CAT. Children currently have a tax-free threshold of €400,000 per lifetime in respect of taxable gifts or inheritances received from their parents.
Legislation in the U.S. could adversely impact our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
Various U.S. federal and state legislative proposals have been introduced in recent years that may negatively impact the growth of our business by denying government contracts to U.S. companies that have moved to lower-tax jurisdictions.
We expect the U.S. Congress to continue to consider implementation and/or expansion of policies that would restrict the federal and state governments from contracting with entities that have corporate locations abroad. We cannot predict the likelihood that, or final form in which, any such proposed legislation might become law, the nature of regulations that may be promulgated under any future legislative enactments, the effect such enactments and increased regulatory scrutiny may have on our business, or the outcome of any specific legislative proposals. Therefore, we cannot provide assurance that any such legislative action will not apply to us. In addition, we are unable to predict whether the final form of any potential legislation discussed above also would affect our indirect sales to U.S. federal or state governments or the willingness of our non-governmental customers to do business with us. As a result of these uncertainties, we are unable to assess the potential impact of any proposed legislation in this area and cannot provide assurance that the impact will not be materially adverse to us.
Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- decline+4
- divestiture+3
- weakness+2
- positive+2
- benefit+1
- improvements+1
- innovation+1
- enabling+1
MD&A (Item 7)
11,094 words
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following discussion may contain forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those factors discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report, particularly in “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Information.”
Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in U.S. dollars, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”).
Discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024 is presented below. The “Segment Results” section also discusses fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 because of the change in our segment structure discussed below. Discussion of our financial condition and consolidated results of operations for fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 can be found in “Part II. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024.
The following discussion includes organic net sales growth (decline) which is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for additional information regarding this measure.
Table of Contents
Overview
We are a global industrial technology leader creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future. As a trusted innovation partner, our broad range of connectivity and sensor solutions enable the distribution of power, signal, and data to advance next-generation transportation, energy networks, automated factories, data centers enabling artificial intelligence, and more.
Change in Place of Incorporation
During fiscal 2024, our board of directors and shareholders approved a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation from Switzerland to Ireland. In connection with the change, TE Connectivity Ltd., our former parent entity, entered into a merger agreement with TE Connectivity plc, its then wholly-owned subsidiary and a public limited company incorporated under Irish law. Under the merger agreement, TE Connectivity Ltd. merged with and into TE Connectivity plc, which was the surviving entity, in order to effect our change in jurisdiction of incorporation from Switzerland to Ireland. The merger was completed on September 30, 2024, thereby changing our jurisdiction of incorporation from Switzerland to Ireland. Effective for fiscal 2025, we are organized under the laws of Ireland. We have not had and do not anticipate any material changes in our operations or financial results as a result of the merger and change in place of incorporation.
New Segment Structure
Effective for fiscal 2025, we reorganized our management and segments to align the organization around our current strategy. We now operate through two reportable segments: Transportation Solutions and Industrial Solutions. Prior period segment results have been recast to conform to the new segment structure. See additional information regarding our segments in Notes 1 and 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Summary of Fiscal 2025 Performance
Our fiscal 2025 net sales increased 8.9% from fiscal 2024 due to sales growth in the Industrial Solutions segment, partially offset by sales declines in the Transportation Solutions segment. Richards Manufacturing, which was acquired in April 2025, contributed net sales of $179 million. On an organic basis, our net sales increased 6.4% in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024.
Our net sales by segment were as follows:
Transportation Solutions —Our net sales decreased 1.0% in fiscal 2025 due primarily to sales declines in the sensors and commercial transportation end markets.
Industrial Solutions —Our net sales increased 23.7% in fiscal 2025 as a result of sales growth in the digital data networks; energy; automation and connected living; and aerospace, defense, and marine end markets, partially offset by sales declines in the medical end market.
We paid cash dividends to shareholders of $2.72 per ordinary share in fiscal 2025. Also, in September 2025, our board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.71 per ordinary share, payable on December 12, 2025, to shareholders of record on November 21, 2025.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $4,139 million in fiscal 2025.
Economic Conditions
Our business and operating results have been and will continue to be affected by worldwide economic conditions. The global economy has been impacted in recent years by supply chain disruptions, inflationary cost pressures, and, most recently, tariff and trade policies. We are monitoring the current environment and its potential effects on our customers and the end markets we serve.
In recent years, we have experienced inflationary cost pressures including increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials. However, we have been able to mitigate increased costs and supply chain disruptions through productivity and/or price increases. Also, we have taken and continue to focus on actions to manage costs, including restructuring and
Table of Contents
other cost reduction initiatives such as reducing discretionary spending and travel. Additionally, we are managing our capital resources and monitoring capital availability to ensure that we have sufficient resources to fund our future capital needs. See further discussion in “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
We are actively monitoring developments in tariff and trade policies and the potential impacts on our business. In addition, we are using pricing actions and sourcing changes to largely mitigate the impacts of new tariffs and changes in existing tariff rates.
We continue to monitor military conflicts in certain parts of the world as well as escalating tensions in surrounding countries and associated sanctions. These did not have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations during fiscal 2025 and 2024.
Outlook
In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we expect our net sales to be approximately $4.5 billion as compared to $3.8 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. This increase reflects sales growth in both the Industrial Solutions and Transportation Solutions segments. The Industrial Solutions segment will benefit from the acquisition of Richards Manufacturing. We expect diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be approximately $2.33 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. This outlook reflects the positive impact of foreign currency exchange rates on net sales and earnings per share of approximately $113 million and $0.02 per share, respectively, in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 as compared to the same period of fiscal 2025 and includes the impact of currently enacted tariffs. Also, this outlook is based on foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices that are consistent with current levels.
Acquisitions
As discussed above, on April 1, 2025, we acquired 100% of Richards Manufacturing, a U.S.-based producer of overhead and underground electrical and gas distribution products, for cash of approximately $2.3 billion, net of cash acquired. The acquired business has been reported as part of the energy business within our Industrial Solutions segment from the date of acquisition.
During fiscal 2025, we acquired two additional businesses for a combined cash purchase price of $321 million, net of cash acquired. The acquired businesses have been reported as part of our Industrial Solutions segment from the date of acquisition.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we acquired approximately 98.7% of the outstanding shares of Schaffner Holding AG (“Schaffner”), a leader in electromagnetic solutions based in Switzerland, for CHF 505.00 per share in cash for a purchase price of CHF 294 million (equivalent to $339 million), net of cash acquired. The acquired business has been reported as part of our Industrial Solutions segment from the date of acquisition. During the third quarter of fiscal 2024, we completed a squeeze-out of the remaining minority shareholders for $5 million and the Schaffner shares were delisted from the SIX Swiss Exchange.
See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding acquisitions.
Divestitures
During fiscal 2024, we sold one business for net cash proceeds of $59 million. In connection with the divestiture, we recorded a pre-tax gain on sale of $10 million. Prior to divestiture, the business was reported in our Transportation Solutions segment.
See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding divestitures.
Table of Contents
Results of Operations
Net Sales
The following table presents our net sales and the percentage of total net sales by segment:
Fiscal
($ in millions)
Transportation Solutions
Industrial Solutions
Total
The following table provides an analysis of the change in our net sales by segment:
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2025 versus Fiscal 2024
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Acquisitions
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
(Divestiture)
($ in millions)
Transportation Solutions
Industrial Solutions
Total
Net sales increased $1,417 million, or 8.9%, in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. The increase in net sales resulted primarily from organic net sales growth of 6.4% and the net positive impact of 2.2% from acquisitions and a divestiture. Richards Manufacturing, which was acquired on April 1, 2025, contributed net sales of $179 million in fiscal 2025. In fiscal 2025, net pricing actions positively affected organic net sales by $51 million. See further discussion of net sales below under “Segment Results.”
Net Sales by Geographic Region. Our business operates in three geographic regions—Asia–Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas—and our results of operations are influenced by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar, compared to other currencies, will directly affect our reported results as we translate those currencies into U.S. dollars at the end of each fiscal period. We sell our products into approximately 130 countries, and approximately 60% of our net sales were invoiced in currencies other than the U.S. dollar in fiscal 2025. The percentage of net sales in fiscal 2025 by major currencies invoiced was as follows:
Currencies
Percentage
U.S. dollar
Euro
Chinese renminbi
Japanese yen
All others
Total
The following table presents our net sales and the percentage of total net sales by geographic region:
Fiscal
($ in millions)
Asia–Pacific
EMEA
Americas
Total
Table of Contents
The following table provides an analysis of the change in our net sales by geographic region:
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2025 versus Fiscal 2024
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Acquisitions
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
(Divestiture)
($ in millions)
Asia–Pacific
EMEA
Americas
Total
Cost of Sales and Gross Margin
The following table presents cost of sales and gross margin information:
Fiscal
Change
($ in millions)
Cost of sales
As a percentage of net sales
Gross margin
As a percentage of net sales
In fiscal 2025, gross margin increased $623 million as compared to fiscal 2024 primarily as a result of higher volume and improved manufacturing productivity.
We use a wide variety of raw materials in the manufacture of our products. Cost of sales and gross margin are subject to variability in raw material prices, which continue to fluctuate for many of the raw materials we use. The following table presents the average prices incurred related to copper, gold, silver, and palladium:
Fiscal
Measure
Copper
Gold
Troy oz.
Silver
Troy oz.
Palladium
Troy oz.
In fiscal 2025, we purchased approximately 191 million pounds of copper, 103,000 troy ounces of gold, 1.6 million troy ounces of silver, and 13,700 troy ounces of palladium. We expect to purchase approximately 185 million pounds of copper, 105,000 troy ounces of gold, 1.7 million troy ounces of silver, and 12,000 troy ounces of palladium in fiscal 2026.
Operating Expenses
The following table presents operating expense information:
Fiscal
Change
($ in millions)
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
As a percentage of net sales
Acquisition and integration costs
Restructuring and other charges, net
Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses. In fiscal 2025, selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $134 million as compared to fiscal 2024 due primarily to increased selling expenses to support higher sales levels, higher incentive compensation costs, and incremental expenses attributable to recently acquired businesses, partially offset by savings attributable to restructuring actions and the release of reserves associated with trade compliance matters.
Table of Contents
Acquisition and Integration Costs. In fiscal 2025, we incurred acquisition and integration costs of $47 million, of which $28 million related to the acquisition of Richards Manufacturing.
Restructuring and Other Charges, Net. We are committed to continuous productivity improvements, and we evaluate opportunities to simplify our global manufacturing footprint, migrate facilities to lower-cost regions, reduce fixed costs, and eliminate excess capacity. These initiatives are designed to help us maintain our competitiveness in the industry, improve our operating leverage, and position us for future growth.
During fiscal 2025 and 2024, we initiated restructuring programs associated with footprint consolidation and cost structure improvements in both of our segments. We incurred net restructuring charges of $113 million and $144 million in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. Annualized cost savings related to actions initiated in fiscal 2025 are expected to be approximately $80 million and are expected to be fully realized by the end of fiscal 2026. Cost savings will be reflected primarily in cost of sales and selling, general, and administrative expenses. For fiscal 2026, we expect total restructuring charges to be approximately $100 million and total spending, which will be funded with cash from operations, to be approximately $100 million.
During fiscal 2024, we recorded a gain on divestiture of $10 million.
During fiscal 2025 and 2024, we incurred costs of $11 million and $20 million, respectively, related to our change in place of incorporation from Switzerland to Ireland. See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the change.
See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding net restructuring and other charges.
Operating Income
The following table presents operating income and operating margin information:
Fiscal
Change
($ in millions)
Operating income
Operating margin
Operating income included the following:
Fiscal
(in millions)
Acquisition-related charges:
Acquisition and integration costs
Charges associated with the amortization of acquisition-related fair value adjustments
Restructuring and other charges, net
Taxes (non-income tax) recorded in selling, general, and administrative expenses
Total
See discussion of operating income below under “Segment Results.”
Table of Contents
Non-Operating Items
The following table presents select non-operating information:
Fiscal
Change
($ in millions)
Income tax expense (benefit)
Effective tax rate
Income Taxes. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for discussion of items impacting income tax expense and the effective tax rate.
The OECD and participating countries continue to enact the 15% global minimum tax. The global minimum tax is a significant structural change to the international taxation framework and more than 50 countries have thus far enacted some or all elements of the tax. Ireland has implemented elements of the OECD’s global minimum tax rules, which were effective for us beginning in fiscal 2025. In January 2025, the OECD released new guidance for the global minimum tax rules which impacted the realizability of certain deferred tax assets associated with a ten-year tax credit obtained by a Swiss subsidiary in fiscal 2024. We anticipate further legislative activity and administrative guidance. We continue to closely monitor the evolving global minimum tax framework and assess the implications in the jurisdictions in which we operate.
The valuation allowance for deferred tax assets was $8,821 million and $8,285 million at fiscal year end 2025 and 2024, respectively. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.
As of fiscal year end 2025, certain subsidiaries had approximately $37.7 billion of cumulative undistributed earnings that have been retained indefinitely and reinvested in our global manufacturing operations, including working capital; property, plant, and equipment; intangible assets; and research and development activities. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding undistributed earnings.
Segment Results
Transportation Solutions
Net Sales. The following table presents the Transportation Solutions segment’s net sales and the percentage of total net sales by industry end market:
Fiscal
($ in millions)
Automotive
Commercial transportation
Sensors
Total
The following table provides an analysis of the change in the Transportation Solutions segment’s net sales by industry end market:
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2025 versus Fiscal 2024
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2024 versus Fiscal 2023
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
Divestiture
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
Divestiture
($ in millions)
Automotive
Commercial transportation
Sensors
Total
Net sales in the Transportation Solutions segment decreased $93 million, or 1.0%, in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024 primarily as a result of organic net sales declines of 1.0%. Our organic net sales by industry end market were as follows:
Table of Contents
Automotive —Our organic net sales were flat in fiscal 2025 with growth of 11.3% in the Asia–Pacific region largely offset by declines of 10.5% in the EMEA region and 5.0% in the Americas region. Our organic net sales growth in the Asia–Pacific region resulted from increased content per vehicle as well as vehicle production growth. In the EMEA and Americas regions, our organic net sales were impacted by a shift in platform mix consistent with consumer demand and declines in vehicle production levels compared to prior year .
Commercial transportation —Our organic net sales decreased 2.3% in fiscal 2025 as a result of d eclines in the Americas and EMEA regions, partially offset by growth in the Asia–Pacific region .
Sensors —Our organic net sales decreased 8.0% in fiscal 2025 due to market weakness in both transportation and industrial applications .
In the Transportation Solutions segment, net sales decreased $194 million, or 2.0%, in fiscal 2024 from fiscal 2023 due primarily to the negative impact of a divestiture of 1.6% and the negative impact of foreign currency translation of 0.7%. Our organic net sales by industry end market were as follows:
Automotive —Our organic net sales increased 2.9% in fiscal 2024 as a result of growth of 14.2% in the Asia–Pacific region, partially offset by declines of 5.1% in the Americas region and 4.3% in the EMEA region. Our organic net sales growth in the Asia–Pacific region was due to vehicle production growth as well as increased content per vehicle. In the Americas and EMEA regions, our organic net sales were impacted by slight declines in vehicle production levels compared to prior year and a shift in platform mix consistent with consumer demand .
Commercial transportation —Our organic net sales decreased 4.1% in fiscal 2024 as a result of d eclines in the EMEA and Americas regions, partially offset by growth in the Asia–Pacific region .
Sensors —Our organic net sales decreased 10.8% in fiscal 2024 due primarily to market weakness in industrial applications and our strategic exit of certain lower margin and lower growth product lines .
Operating Income. The following table presents the Transportation Solutions segment’s operating income and operating margin information:
Fiscal
Fiscal
Fiscal
versus
versus
($ in millions)
Operating income
Operating margin
Operating income in the Transportation Solutions segment decreased $62 million in fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024. Excluding the items below, operating income decreased in fiscal 2025 primarily as a result of net price erosion. In fiscal 2024, operating income in the Transportation Solutions segment increased $393 million from fiscal 2023. Excluding the items below, operating income increased in fiscal 2024 due primarily to improved manufacturing productivity.
Fiscal
(in millions)
Acquisition and integration costs
Restructuring and other charges, net
Taxes (non-income tax) recorded in selling, general, and administrative expenses
Total
Table of Contents
Industrial Solutions
Net Sales. The following table presents the Industrial Solutions segment’s net sales and the percentage of total net sales by industry end market:
Fiscal
($ in millions)
Digital data networks
Automation and connected living
Aerospace, defense, and marine
Energy
Medical
Total
The following table provides an analysis of the change in the Industrial Solutions segment’s net sales by industry end market:
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2025 versus Fiscal 2024
Change in Net Sales for Fiscal 2024 versus Fiscal 2023
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Net Sales
Organic Net Sales
Acquisitions
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
Acquisitions
Growth (Decline)
Growth (Decline)
Translation
(Divestiture)
($ in millions)
Digital data networks
Automation and connected living
Aerospace, defense, and marine
Energy
Medical
Total
In the Industrial Solutions segment, net sales increased $1,510 million, or 23.7%, in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024 due primarily to organic net sales growth of 17.6% and the positive impact of 5.7% from acquisitions. Richards Manufacturing contributed net sales of $179 million in fiscal 2025. Our organic net sales by industry end market were as follows:
Digital data networks —Our organic net sales increased 72.6% in fiscal 2025 due primarily to growth in AI and cloud applications .
Automation and connected living —Our organic net sales increased 3.5% in fiscal 2025 as a result of strength in the appliances market, partially offset by weakness in factory automation applications .
Aerospace, defense, and marine —Our organic net sales increased 9.5% in fiscal 2025 due primarily to growth in the defense and the commercial aerospace markets .
Energy —Our organic net sales increased 15.0% in fiscal 2025 due to growth in the Americas region driven by renewable energy applications as well as growth in the EMEA and Asia–Pacific regions .
Medical —Our organic net sales decreased 17.1% in fiscal 2025 primarily as a result of reduced demand resulting from inventory corrections in the supply chain .
Net sales in the Industrial Solutions segment were flat in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 as the net positive impact of 1.6% from acquisitions and a divestiture was largely offset by organic net sales declines of 0.9% and the negative impact of foreign currency translation of 0.6%. Our organic net sales by industry end market were as follows:
Digital data networks —Our organic net sales increased 10.2% in fiscal 2024 due to growth in AI applications, partially offset by reduced demand resulting from inventory corrections in the supply chain in the first half of the year .
Table of Contents
Automation and connected living —Our organic net sales decreased 19.1% in fiscal 2024 due to declines in factory automation applications and the appliances market.
Aerospace, defense, and marine —Our organic net sales increased 15.4% in fiscal 2024 due to growth in all markets .
Energy —Our organic net sales increased 4.9% in fiscal 2024 due to growth in the Americas and EMEA regions, partially offset by declines in the Asia–Pacific region .
Medical —Our organic net sales increased 6.5% in fiscal 2024 primarily as a result of growth in interventional medical applications .
Operating Income. The following table presents the Industrial Solutions segment’s operating income and operating margin information:
Fiscal
Fiscal
Fiscal
versus
versus
($ in millions)
Operating income
Operating margin
Operating income in the Industrial Solutions segment increased $477 million in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024. Excluding the items below, operating income increased in fiscal 2025 primarily as a result of higher volume and the positive impact of net pricing actions. In fiscal 2024, operating income in the Industrial Solutions segment increased $99 million from fiscal 2023. Excluding the items below, operating income increased in fiscal 2024 due primarily to the positive impact of net pricing actions.
Fiscal
(in millions)
Acquisition-related charges:
Acquisition and integration costs
Charges associated with the amortization of acquisition-related fair value adjustments
Restructuring and other charges, net
Taxes (non-income tax) recorded in selling, general, and administrative expenses
Total
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our ability to fund our future capital needs will be affected by our ongoing ability to generate cash from operations and may be affected by our access to capital markets, money markets, or other sources of funding, as well as the capacity and terms of our financing arrangements. We believe that cash generated from operations and, to the extent necessary, these other sources of potential funding will be sufficient to meet our anticipated capital needs for the foreseeable future, including the repayment of $500 million of 4.50% senior notes and $350 million of 3.70% senior notes, both due in February 2026. Also, we may use funds to acquire strategic businesses or product lines, reduce our outstanding debt, or return cash to shareholders through dividends on our ordinary shares or purchases of our ordinary shares pursuant to our authorized share repurchase program. The cost or availability of future funding may be impacted by financial market conditions. We will continue to monitor financial markets and respond as necessary to changing conditions. We believe that we have sufficient financial resources and liquidity which will enable us to meet our ongoing working capital and other cash flow needs.
As of fiscal year end 2025, our cash and cash equivalents were held in subsidiaries which are located in various countries throughout the world. Under current applicable laws, substantially all of these amounts can be repatriated to Tyco Electronics Group S.A. (“TEGSA”), our Luxembourg subsidiary, which is the obligor of substantially all of our debt, and to TE Connectivity plc, our Irish parent company; however, the repatriation of these amounts could subject us to additional tax expense. We provide for tax liabilities on the Consolidated Financial Statements with respect to amounts that we expect to
Table of Contents
repatriate; however, no tax liabilities are recorded for amounts that we consider to be retained indefinitely and reinvested in our global manufacturing operations. As of fiscal year end 2025, we had approximately $3.5 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and intercompany deposits, principally in our subsidiaries, that we have the ability to distribute to TEGSA and TE Connectivity plc but we consider to be permanently reinvested. We estimate that an immaterial amount of tax expense would be recognized on the Consolidated Financial Statements if our intention to permanently reinvest these amounts were to change. Our current plans do not demonstrate a need to repatriate cash, cash equivalents, and intercompany deposits that are designated as permanently reinvested in order to fund our operations, including investing and financing activities.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities increased $662 million to $4,139 million in fiscal 2025 as compared to $3,477 million in fiscal 2024. The increase resulted primarily from higher pre-tax income and a reduction in income tax payments. The amount of income taxes paid, net of refunds, during fiscal 2025 and 2024 was $276 million and $475 million, respectively.
Pension contributions were $69 million in both fiscal 2025 and 2024. We expect pension contributions to be approximately $70 million in fiscal 2026, before consideration of any voluntary contributions. For additional information regarding pensions, see Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Capital expenditures were $936 million and $680 million in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. We expect fiscal 2026 capital spending levels to be approximately 5% of net sales. We believe our capital funding levels are adequate to support new programs, and we continue to invest in our manufacturing infrastructure to further enhance productivity and manufacturing capabilities.
During fiscal 2025, we acquired Richards Manufacturing for approximately $2.3 billion, net of cash acquired. Also during fiscal 2025, we acquired two additional businesses for a combined cash purchase price of $321 million, net of cash acquired. We acquired one business for a cash purchase price of $339 million, net of cash acquired, during fiscal 2024. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding acquisitions.
During fiscal 2024, we received net cash proceeds of $59 million related to the sale of one business. See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding divestitures.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities and Capitalization
Total debt at fiscal year end 2025 and 2024 was $5,694 million and $4,203 million, respectively. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding debt.
During fiscal 2025, TEGSA, our wholly-owned subsidiary, issued €500 million aggregate principal amount of 2.50% senior notes due in May 2028, $450 million aggregate principal amount of 4.50% senior notes due in February 2031, €750 million aggregate principal amount of 3.25% senior notes due in January 2033, and $450 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% senior notes due in May 2035. The notes issued during fiscal 2025 are TEGSA’s unsecured senior obligations and rank equally in right of payment with all existing and any future senior indebtedness of TEGSA and senior to any subordinated indebtedness that TEGSA may incur.
TEGSA has a five-year unsecured senior revolving credit facility (“Credit Facility”) with a maturity date of April 2029 and aggregate commitments of $1.5 billion. The Credit Facility contains provisions that allow for incremental commitments of up to $500 million and borrowings in designated currencies. TEGSA had no borrowings under the Credit Facility at fiscal year end 2025 or 2024.
Borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to, at the option of TEGSA, (1) with respect to revolving loans denominated in U.S. dollars, (a) the term secured overnight financing rate (“Term SOFR”) (as defined in the Credit Facility) or (b) an alternate base rate equal to the highest of (i) Bank of America, N.A.’s base rate, (ii) the federal funds effective rate plus 1 / 2 of 1%, (iii) the Term SOFR for a one-month interest period plus 1%, and (iv) 1%, and (2) with respect to revolving loans determined in an alternative currency, (a) an alternative currency daily rate or (b) an alternative currency term rate, as applicable, plus, in each case, an applicable margin based upon the senior, unsecured,
Table of Contents
long-term debt rating of TEGSA. TEGSA is required to pay an annual facility fee. Based on the applicable credit ratings of TEGSA, this fee ranges from 5.0 to 12.5 basis points of the lenders’ commitments under the Credit Facility.
The Credit Facility contains a financial ratio covenant providing that if, as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, our ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Facility) for the then most recently concluded period of four consecutive fiscal quarters exceeds 3.75 (or temporarily 4.25 following a qualified acquisition) to 1.0, an Event of Default (as defined in the Credit Facility) is triggered. The Credit Facility and our other debt agreements contain other customary covenants. None of our covenants are presently considered restrictive to our operations. As of fiscal year end 2025, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants and believe that we will continue to be in compliance with our existing covenants for the foreseeable future.
Periodically, TEGSA issues commercial paper to U.S. institutional accredited investors and qualified institutional buyers in accordance with available exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 as part of our ongoing effort to maintain financial flexibility and to potentially decrease the cost of borrowings. Borrowings under the commercial paper program are backed by the Credit Facility. At fiscal year end 2025, TEGSA had no commercial paper outstanding. TEGSA had $255 million of commercial paper outstanding at a weighted-average interest rate of 4.95% at fiscal year end 2024.
Payment obligations under TEGSA’s senior notes, commercial paper, and Credit Facility are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured basis by TEGSA’s parent, TE Connectivity Switzerland Ltd., and its parent, TE Connectivity plc.
Payments of ordinary/common share dividends to shareholders were $803 million and $760 million in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. See Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding dividends.
In September 2025, our board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.71 per ordinary share, payable on December 12, 2025, to shareholders of record on November 21, 2025.
Following our change in place of incorporation, dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, may be declared on a quarterly basis by our board of directors, as provided by Irish law. Shareholder approval is no longer required for interim dividends. In exercising its discretion to approve such dividends, our board of directors will consider our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, future business prospects, statutory requirements of applicable law, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by Irish law, and other factors that they may deem relevant.
During fiscal 2025, our board of directors authorized an increase of $2.5 billion in our share repurchase program. We repurchased approximately 8 million of our ordinary shares for $1,356 million and approximately 14 million of our common shares for $1,991 million under the share repurchase program during fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. At fiscal year end 2025, we had $1.4 billion of availability remaining under our share repurchase authorization.
Summarized Guarantor Financial Information
As discussed above, our senior notes, commercial paper, and Credit Facility are issued by TEGSA and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured basis by TEGSA’s parent, TE Connectivity Switzerland Ltd., and its parent, TE Connectivity plc. In addition to being the issuer of our debt securities, TEGSA owns, directly or indirectly, all of our operating subsidiaries. The following tables present summarized financial information, excluding investments in and equity
Table of Contents
in earnings of our non-guarantor subsidiaries, for TE Connectivity plc, TE Connectivity Switzerland Ltd., and TEGSA on a combined basis.
Fiscal Year End
(in millions)
Balance Sheet Data:
Total current assets
Total noncurrent assets (1)
Total current liabilities
Total noncurrent liabilities (2)
Includes $2,444 million and $2,368 million as of fiscal year end 2025 and 2024, respectively, of intercompany loans receivable from non-guarantor subsidiaries.
Includes $5,001 million and $7,309 million as of fiscal year end 2025 and 2024, respectively, of intercompany loans payable to non-guarantor subsidiaries.
Fiscal
(in millions)
Statement of Operations Data:
Loss from continuing operations
Net loss
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
In certain instances, we have guaranteed the performance of third parties and provided financial guarantees for uncompleted work and financial commitments. The terms of these guarantees vary with end dates ranging from fiscal 2026 through the completion of such transactions. The guarantees would be triggered in the event of nonperformance, and the potential exposure for nonperformance under the guarantees would not have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
In disposing of assets or businesses, we often provide representations, warranties, and/or indemnities to cover various risks including unknown damage to assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability for investigation and remediation of environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. We do not expect that these uncertainties will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
At fiscal year end 2025, we had outstanding letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and surety bonds of $219 million.
Commitments and Contingencies
The following table provides a summary of our contractual obligations and commitments for debt, minimum lease payment obligations under non-cancelable leases, and other material obligations at fiscal year end 2025:
Payments Due
In Fiscal 2026
Thereafter
Total
(in millions)
Long-term debt:
Principal payments (1)
Interest payments on debt (2)
Operating leases (3)
Purchase obligations (4)
Total contractual cash obligations (5)(6)(7)
See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding debt.
Table of Contents
Interest payments exclude the impact of any interest rate swap and cross-currency swap contracts. Interest payments on debt are projected for future periods using rates in effect as of fiscal year end 2025 and are subject to change in future periods.
Operating leases represents the undiscounted lease payments. See Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding leases.
Purchase obligations consist primarily of commitments for purchases of goods and services.
The above table does not reflect unrecognized income tax benefits of $719 million and related accrued interest and penalties of $89 million, the timing of which is uncertain. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding unrecognized income tax benefits, interest, and penalties.
The above table does not reflect pension obligations to certain employees and former employees. We are obligated to make contributions to our pension plans; however, we are unable to determine the amount of plan contributions due to the inherent uncertainties of obligations of this type, including timing, interest rate charges, investment performance, and amounts of benefit payments. We expect to contribute approximately $70 million to pension plans in fiscal 2026, before consideration of any voluntary contributions. See Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding these plans and our estimates of future contributions and benefit payments.
The above table does not reflect redeemable noncontrolling interests of $145 million associated with our First Sensor AG (“First Sensor”) subsidiary. Noncontrolling interest holders can elect either (1) to remain First Sensor noncontrolling interest shareholders and receive recurring annual compensation of €0.56 per First Sensor share or (2) to put their First Sensor shares in exchange for compensation of €33.27 per First Sensor share. The ultimate amount and timing of any future cash payments is uncertain. See Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding redeemable noncontrolling interests .
Legal Proceedings
In the normal course of business, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, including patent infringement claims, product liability matters, employment disputes, disputes on agreements, other commercial disputes, environmental matters, antitrust claims, trade compliance matters, and tax matters, including non-income tax matters such as value added tax, sales and use tax, real estate tax, and transfer tax. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these proceedings, based upon our experience, current information, and applicable law, we do not expect that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses. Our significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. We believe the following accounting policies are the most critical as they require significant judgments and assumptions that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Management’s estimates are based on the relevant information available at the end of each period.
Revenue Recognition
We account for revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers . Our revenues are generated principally from the sale of our products. Revenue is recognized as performance obligations under the terms of a contract, such as a purchase order with a customer, are satisfied; generally this occurs with the transfer of control. We transfer control and recognize revenue when we ship product to our customers, the customers accept and have legal title for the product, and we have a right to payment for such product. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for those products and excludes taxes assessed by governmental authorities and collected from customers concurrent with the sale of products. Shipping and handling costs are treated as fulfillment costs and are included in cost of sales. Since we typically invoice our customers when we satisfy our performance obligations, we do not have material contract assets or contract liabilities. Our credit terms are customary and do not contain significant financing components that extend beyond one year of fulfillment of performance obligations. We apply the practical expedient of ASC 606 with respect to financing components and do not evaluate contracts in which payment is due within one year of satisfaction of the related performance obligation. Since our performance obligations to deliver products are part of contracts that generally have original durations of one year or less, we have elected to use the
Table of Contents
optional exemption to not disclose the aggregate amount of transaction prices associated with unsatisfied or partially satisfied performance obligations.
Our standard terms of sale generally warrant that our products will conform to our, or mutually agreed to, specifications and that our products will be free from material defects in materials and workmanship for a limited time. In certain instances, we may sell products to customers under terms other than our standard terms. We do not account for warranties as separate performance obligations.
Although products are generally sold at fixed prices, certain distributors and customers receive incentives or awards, such as sales rebates, return allowances, scrap allowances, and other rights, which are accounted for as variable consideration. We estimate these amounts in the same period revenue is recognized based on the expected value to be provided to customers and reduce revenue accordingly. Our estimates of variable consideration and ultimate determination of the estimated amounts to include in the transaction price are based primarily on our assessment of anticipated performance and historical and forecasted information that is reasonably available to us.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
We account for goodwill and other intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other .
Intangible assets include both indeterminable-lived residual goodwill and determinable-lived identifiable intangible assets. Intangible assets with determinable lives primarily include customer relationships and intellectual property, consisting of patents, trademarks, and unpatented technology. Recoverability estimates range from 1 to 50 years and costs are generally amortized on a straight-line basis. Evaluations of the remaining useful lives of determinable-lived intangible assets are performed on a periodic basis and when events and circumstances warrant.
We test for goodwill impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is generally an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (a “component”) if the component constitutes a business for which discrete financial information is available and regularly reviewed by segment management. At fiscal year end 2025, we had four reporting units, all of which contained goodwill. There were two reporting units in both the Transportation Solutions and Industrial Solutions segments. When changes occur in the composition of one or more reporting units, goodwill is reassigned to the reporting units affected based on their relative fair values. We review our reporting unit structure each year as part of our annual goodwill impairment test, or more frequently based on changes in our structure.
Goodwill impairment is evaluated by comparing the carrying value of each reporting unit to its fair value on the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter of each year or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired. In assessing a potential impairment, management relies on several reporting unit-specific factors including operating results, business plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows, transactions, and marketplace data. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and management’s judgment in applying these factors to the impairment analysis.
When testing for goodwill impairment, we identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, a goodwill impairment charge will be recorded for the amount of the excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.
Fair value estimates used in the goodwill impairment tests are calculated using an income approach based on the present value of future cash flows of each reporting unit. The income approach is supported by a guideline analysis (a market approach). These approaches incorporate several assumptions including future growth rates, discount rates, income tax rates, and market activity in assessing fair value and are reporting unit specific. Changes in economic and operating conditions impacting these assumptions could result in goodwill impairments in future periods.
We completed our annual goodwill impairment test in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and determined that no impairment existed.
Income Taxes
In determining pre-tax income for financial statement purposes, we must make certain estimates and judgments. These estimates and judgments affect the calculation of certain tax liabilities and the determination of the recoverability of
Table of Contents
certain deferred tax assets, which arise from temporary differences between the income tax return and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense.
In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets, we consider all available positive and negative evidence including our past operating results, the existence of cumulative losses in the most recent years, and our forecast of taxable income. In estimating future taxable income, we develop assumptions including the amount of pre-tax operating income in various tax jurisdictions, the reversal of temporary differences, and the implementation of feasible and prudent tax planning strategies. These assumptions require significant judgment about the forecasts of taxable income and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.
We currently have recorded significant valuation allowances that we intend to maintain until it is more likely than not the deferred tax assets will be realized. Our income tax expense recorded in the future will be reduced to the extent of decreases in our valuation allowances. The realization of our remaining deferred tax assets is dependent primarily on future taxable income in the appropriate jurisdictions. Any reduction in future taxable income including any future restructuring activities may require that we record an additional valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. An increase in the valuation allowance would result in additional income tax expense in such period and could have a significant impact on our future earnings.
Changes in tax laws and rates also could affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities in the future. Management is not aware of any enacted changes that would have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
The calculation of our tax liabilities includes estimates for uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations across multiple global jurisdictions where we conduct our operations. Under the uncertain tax position provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes , we recognize liabilities for tax and related interest for issues in tax jurisdictions based on our estimate of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes and related interest will be due. These tax liabilities and related interest are reflected net of the impact of related tax loss carryforwards, as such tax loss carryforwards will be applied against these tax liabilities and will reduce the amount of cash tax payments due upon the eventual settlement with the tax authorities. These estimates may change due to changing facts and circumstances. Due to the complexity of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a settlement that differs from our current estimate of the tax liabilities and related interest. These tax liabilities and related interest are recorded in income taxes and accrued and other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Pension Plans
Our defined benefit pension plan expense and obligations are developed from actuarial assumptions. The funded status of our plans is recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and is measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and the projected benefit obligation at the measurement date. The projected benefit obligation represents the actuarial present value of benefits projected to be paid upon retirement factoring in estimated future compensation levels. The fair value of plan assets represents the current market value of cumulative company and participant contributions made to irrevocable trust funds, held for the sole benefit of participants, which are invested by the trustees of the funds. The benefits under our defined benefit pension plans are based on various factors, such as years of service and compensation.
Net periodic pension benefit cost is based on the utilization of the projected unit credit method of calculation and is charged to earnings on a systematic basis over the expected average remaining service lives of current participants, or, for inactive plans, over the remaining life expectancy of participants.
Two critical assumptions in determining pension expense and obligations are discount rates and expected long-term returns on plan assets. We evaluate these assumptions at least annually. Other assumptions reflect demographic factors such as retirement, mortality, and employee turnover. These assumptions are evaluated periodically and updated to reflect our actual experience. Actual results may differ from actuarial assumptions. Discount rates represent the market rate for high-quality fixed income investments and are used to calculate the present value of the expected future cash flows for benefit obligations to be paid under our pension plans. A decrease in discount rates increases the present value of pension benefit obligations. At fiscal year end 2025, a 25-basis-point decrease in discount rates would have increased the present value of our pension obligations by $63 million; a 25-basis-point increase would have decreased the present value of our pension obligations by $60 million. We consider the current and expected asset allocations of our pension plans, as well as historical and expected long-term rates of return on those types of plan assets, in determining the expected long-term rates of return on
Table of Contents
plan assets. A 50-basis-point decrease or increase in the expected long-term returns on plan assets would have increased or decreased, respectively, our fiscal 2025 pension expense by $9 million.
At fiscal year end 2025, the long-term target asset allocation in our U.S. plans’ master trust is 25% return-seeking assets and 75% liability-hedging assets. Asset re-allocation to meet that target is occurring over a multi-year period based on the funded status. We expect to reach our target allocation when the funded status of the plans exceeds 110%. Based on the funded status of the plans as of fiscal year end 2025, our target asset allocation is 67% return-seeking and 33% liability-hedging.
Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
Organic Net Sales Growth (Decline)
We present organic net sales growth (decline) as we believe it is appropriate for investors to consider this adjusted financial measure in addition to results in accordance with GAAP. Organic net sales growth (decline) represents net sales growth (decline) (the most comparable GAAP financial measure) excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rates, and acquisitions and divestitures that occurred in the preceding twelve months, if any. Organic net sales growth (decline) is a useful measure of our performance because it excludes items that are not completely under management’s control, such as the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and items that do not reflect the underlying growth of the company, such as acquisition and divestiture activity.
Organic net sales growth (decline) provides useful information about our results and the trends of our business. Management uses this measure to monitor and evaluate performance. Also, management uses this measure together with GAAP financial measures in its decision-making processes related to the operations of our reportable segments and our overall company. It is also a significant component in our incentive compensation plans. We believe that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures that management uses in evaluating operations. The tables presented in “Results of Operations” and “Segment Results” provide reconciliations of organic net sales growth (decline) to net sales growth (decline) calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Organic net sales growth (decline) is a non-GAAP financial measure and should not be considered a replacement for results in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP financial measure may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures reported by other companies. The primary limitation of this measure is that it excludes the financial impact of items that would otherwise either increase or decrease our reported results. This limitation is best addressed by using organic net sales growth (decline) in combination with net sales growth (decline) to better understand the amounts, character, and impact of any increase or decrease in reported amounts.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this Annual Report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Forward-looking statements include, among others, the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, potential growth opportunities, potential operating performance improvements, acquisitions, divestitures, the effects of competition, and the effects of future legislation or regulations. Forward-looking statements also include statements addressing our ESG, and sustainability plans and goals. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “aspire,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “goal,” “target,” “continue,” “may,” and “should,” or the negative of these terms or similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
Table of Contents
statements. We do not have any intention or obligation to update forward-looking statements after we file this report except as required by law.
The following and other risks, which are described in greater detail in “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors,” as well as other risks described in this Annual Report, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in forward- looking statements:
conditions in the global or regional economies and global capital markets, and cyclical industry conditions, including recession, inflation, tariffs, and higher interest rates;
conditions affecting demand for products in the industries we serve, particularly the automotive industry;
risk of future goodwill impairment;
pricing pressure and competition, including competitive risks associated with the pace of technological change;
market acceptance of our new product introductions and product innovations and product life cycles;
raw material availability, quality, and cost;
product liability, warranty, and product recall claims and our ability to defend such claims;
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and impacts of offsetting hedges;
financial condition and consolidation of customers and vendors;
reliance on third-party suppliers;
risks associated with current and future acquisitions and divestitures;
global risks of business interruptions due to natural disasters or other disasters which have impacted and could continue to negatively impact our results of operations as well as customer behaviors, business, and manufacturing operations as well as our facilities and the facilities of our suppliers, and other aspects of our business;
global risks of political, economic, and military instability, including the continuing military conflicts in certain parts of the world, and volatile and uncertain economic conditions and the evolving regulatory system in China;
risks associated with cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions to our information technology infrastructure, including as a result of AI;
risks related to compliance with current and future environmental and other laws and regulations, including those related to climate change;
risks related to the increasing scrutiny and expectations regarding ESG matters;
risks associated with compliance with applicable antitrust or competition laws or applicable trade regulations;
our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;
risks of litigation, regulatory actions, and compliance issues;
our ability to operate within the limitations imposed by our debt instruments;
Table of Contents
the possible effects on us of various non-U.S. and U.S. legislative proposals and other initiatives that could materially increase our worldwide corporate effective tax rate, increase global cash taxes, and negatively impact our U.S. government contracts business;
requirements related to chemical usage, hazardous material content, recycling, and other circular economy initiatives;
various risks associated with being an Irish corporation;
the impact of fluctuations in the market price of our shares; and
the impact of certain provisions of our articles of association on unsolicited takeover proposals.
There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time or that we currently do not expect to have a material adverse effect on our business.
- Exhibit 4tel-20250926xex4d1.htm · 292.1 KB
- Exhibit 10tel-20250926xex10d20.htm · 312.2 KB
- Exhibit 21tel-20250926xex21d1.htm · 203.8 KB
- Exhibit 22tel-20250926xex22d1.htm · 6.5 KB
- Exhibit 23tel-20250926xex23d1.htm · 2.1 KB
- Exhibit 24tel-20250926xex24d1.htm · 15.4 KB
- Exhibit 31tel-20250926xex31d1.htm · 9.7 KB
- Exhibit 31tel-20250926xex31d2.htm · 9.1 KB
- Exhibit 32tel-20250926xex32d1.htm · 7.1 KB
- 0001104659-25-109150-index-headers.html0001104659-25-109150-index-headers.html
- Ticker
- TEL
- CIK
0001385157- Form Type
- 10-K
- Accession Number
0001104659-25-109150- Filed
- Nov 10, 2025
- Period
- Sep 26, 2025 (Q3 25)
- Industry
- Wholesale-Electronic Parts & Equipment, NEC
External resources
Permalink
https://insiderdelta.com/issuers/TEL/10-k/0001104659-25-109150