What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2024-02-20 compared with 2023-02-22 · 79 added, 76 removed, 95 unchanged (62% of the section changed)

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Our principal executive offices are located at 101 West Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115-1075, telephone (216) 566-2000.

As used in this report, the terms “Sherwin-Williams,” “Company,” “we” and “our” mean The Sherwin-Williams Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise.

As used in this report, the terms “Sherwin-Williams,” “Company,” “we”, “us” and “our” mean The Sherwin-Williams Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise.

Available Information

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The Company has three reportable operating segments:

The Americas Group, Consumer Brands Group and Performance Coatings Group (individually, a “Reportable Segment” and collectively, the “Reportable Segments”).

Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group and Performance Coatings Group (individually, a Reportable Segment and collectively, the Reportable Segments).

The Company reports all other business activities and immaterial operating segments that are not reportable in the Administrative segment.

For more information about the Reportable Segments, see Note 23 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8.

The Americas Group

The Americas Group consisted of 4,931 company-operated specialty paint stores in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean region at December 31, 2022.

Paint Stores Group

Paint Stores Group consisted of 4,694 company-operated specialty paint stores in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean region at December 31, 2023.

Each store in this segment is engaged in servicing the needs of architectural and industrial paint contractors and do-it-yourself homeowners.

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In addition, each store sells select purchased associated products.

In addition to our stores in the Latin America region, The Americas Group meets regional customer demands through developing, licensing, manufacturing, distributing and selling a variety of architectural paints, coatings and related products in North and South America.

The loss of any single customer would not have a material adverse effect on the business of this segment.

Consumer Brands Group

The Consumer Brands Group manufactures and supplies a broad portfolio of branded and private-label architectural paint, stains, varnishes, industrial products, wood finishes products, wood preservatives, applicators, corrosion inhibitors, aerosols, caulks and adhesives to retailers and distributors throughout North America, as well as in China and Europe.

The Consumer Brands Group also supports the Company’s other businesses around the world with new product research and development, manufacturing, distribution and logistics.

Approximately 67% of the total sales of the Consumer Brands Group in 2022 were intersegment transfers of products primarily sold through The Americas Group.

The Consumer Brands Group manufactures and distributes a broad portfolio of branded and private-label architectural paint, stains, varnishes, industrial products, wood finishes products, wood preservatives, applicators, corrosion inhibitors, aerosols, caulks and adhesives to retailers, including home centers and hardware stores, dedicated dealers and distributors throughout North America, Latin America and Europe.

During 2023, the Company divested a non-core domestic aerosol business and the China architectural business, both part of the Consumer Brands Group.

See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for more information.

Sales and marketing of certain controlled brand and private-label products is performed by a direct sales staff.

The products distributed through third-party customers are intended for resale to the ultimate end-user of the product.

The Consumer Brands Group also consisted of 318 company-operated specialty paint stores in Latin America at December 31, 2023.

Each store in this segment is engaged in servicing the needs of home, commercial and industrial projects to contractors and do-it-yourself customers in Latin America.

These stores market and sell Sherwin-Williams ® and other controlled brand architectural paint and coatings, protective and marine products, OEM product finishes and related products which are branded for the Latin America market.

In addition, each store sells select purchased associated products.

The Consumer Brands Group also supports the Company’s other businesses around the world with new product research and development, manufacturing, distribution and logistics.

Approximately 61% of the total sales of the Consumer Brands Group in 2023 were intersegment transfers of products primarily sold through the Paint Stores Group.

The Consumer Brands Group had sales to certain customers that, individually, may be a significant portion of the sales and related profitability of the segment.

This segment incurred most of the Company’s capital expenditures related to ongoing environmental compliance measures at sites currently in operation.

This segment incurred most of the Company’s capital expenditures related to ongoing environmental compliance measures, manufacturing capacity expansion, operational efficiencies and maintenance projects at sites currently in operation.

Performance Coatings Group

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This segment licenses certain technology and trade names worldwide.

Sherwin-Williams ® and other controlled brand products are distributed through The Americas Group and this segment’s 317 company-

operated branches and by a direct sales staff and outside sales representatives to retailers, dealers, jobbers, licensees and other third-party distributors.

During 2023, the Company acquired German-based SIC Holding GmbH which is part of the Performance Coatings Group.

See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for more information.

Sherwin-Williams ® and other controlled brand products are distributed through the Paint Stores Group, this segment’s 322 company-operated branches, a direct sales staff and outside sales representatives to retailers, dealers, jobbers, licensees and other third-party distributors.

The Performance Coatings Group had sales to certain customers that, individually, may be a significant portion of the sales of the segment.

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The Administrative segment does not include any significant foreign operations.

Also included in the Administrative segment is the operations of a real estate management unit that is responsible for the ownership, management, and leasing of non-retail properties held primarily for use by the Company, including the Company’s headquarters site, and disposal of idle facilities.

Sales of this segment represent external leasing revenue of excess headquarters space or leasing of facilities no longer used by the Company in its primary businesses.

Also included in the Administrative segment is the operations of a real estate management unit that is responsible for the ownership, management and leasing of non-retail properties held primarily for use by the Company and disposal of idle facilities.

Sales of this segment represent external leasing revenue.

Material gains and losses from the sale of property are infrequent and not a significant operating factor in determining the performance of the Administrative segment.

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The majority of the sales for the Reportable Segments traditionally occur during the second and third quarters.

However, periods of economic downturn can alter these seasonal patterns.

Periods of economic downturn, however, can alter these seasonal patterns.

There is no significant seasonality in sales for the Administrative segment.

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Working capital items (inventories and accounts receivable) are generally financed through short-term borrowings, which include the use of lines of credit and the issuance of commercial paper.

For a description of the Company’s liquidity and capital resources, see the “Financial Condition, Liquidity and Cash Flow” section in Item 7.

For a description of the Company’s liquidity and capital resources, see Item 7 Financial Condition, Liquidity and Cash Flow.

Trademarks and Trade Names

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The major trademarks and trade names used by each of the Reportable Segments are set forth below.

• The Americas Group:

Sherwin-Williams®, A-100®, Builders Solution®, Captivate®, Cashmere®, Colorgin®, Condor®, Duration®, Emerald®, Kem Tone®, Latitude®, Loxon®, Metalatex®, Novacor®, Painters Edge Plus™, ProClassic®, ProCraft®, Pro Industrial™, ProMar®, SuperDeck®, SuperPaint®, Woodscapes®

• Paint Stores Group:

Sherwin-Williams®, A-100®, Builders Solution®, Captivate®, Cashmere®, Duration®, Emerald®, Gallery Series™, Kem Tone®, Latitude®, Loxon®, Metalatex®, Novacor®, Painters Edge Plus™, ProClassic®, ProCraft®, Pro Industrial™, ProMar®, Scuff Tuff®, SuperDeck®, SuperPaint®, Woodscapes®

• Consumer Brands Group:

Cabot®, Dupli-Color®, Dutch Boy®, Geocel®, HGTV HOME® by Sherwin-Williams, Huarun®, Krylon®, Minwax®, Purdy®, Ronseal®, Thompson’s® WaterSeal®, Valspar®, White Lightning®

Cabot®, Colorgin®, Condor®, Dupli-Color®, Dutch Boy®, Geocel®, HGTV HOME® by Sherwin-Williams, Krylon®, Minwax®, Purdy®, Ronseal®, Thompson’s® WaterSeal®, Valspar®, White Lightning®

• Performance Coatings Group:

Sherwin-Williams®, Acrolon®, AcromaPro®, ATX®, DeBeer Refinish®, Duraspar®, EcoDex®, Envirolastic®, Excelo®, EzDex®, Fastline®, Firetex®, Fluropon®, Heat-Flex®, House of Kolor®, Huarun®, Inver®, Kem Aqua®, Lazzuril®, Macropoxy®, Martin Senour®, Matrix Edge®, M.L.

Campbell®, Octoral®, PermaClad®, Polane®, Powdura®, Sayerlack®, Sher-Wood®, Sumaré®, Ultra 9K®, Ultra 7000®, ValPure®, Valspar®

Although patents and licenses are not of material importance to our business as a whole or any segment, The Americas Group and the Performance Coatings Group derive a portion of their income from the licensing of technology, trademarks and trade names to foreign companies.

Sherwin-Williams®, Acrolon®, AcromaPro®, ATX®, DeBeer Refinish®, Duraspar®, EcoDex®, Envirolastic®, Excelo®, EzDex®, Fastline®, Firetex®, Fluropon®, Gross & Perthun™, Heat-Flex®, House of Kolor®, Huarun®, ICA®, Inver®, Kem Aqua®, Klumpp Coatings™, Lazzuril®, Macropoxy®, Martin

Senour®, Matrix Edge®, M.L.

Campbell®, Octoral®, Oskar Nolte™, PermaClad®, Polane®, Powdura®, Sayerlack®, Sher-Wood®, Sumaré®, Ultra 9K®, Ultra 7000®, ValPure®, Valspar®

Although patents and licenses are not of material importance to our business as a whole or any segment, the Performance Coatings Group derives a portion of its income from the licensing of technology, trademarks and trade names to foreign companies.

Backlog and Productive Capacity

Backlog orders are not typically significant in the business of any Reportable Segment since there is normally a short period of time between the placing of an order and shipment.

During 2022 , we experienced raw material shortages and labor constraints that impacted our production and ability to meet customer orders.

We believe that sufficient productive capacity currently exists to fulfill our needs for paint, coatings and related products during 2024.

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We are a leading manufacturer and retailer of paint, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers, however, our competitive position varies for our different products and markets.

In The Americas Group, competitors include other paint and wallpaper stores, mass merchandisers, home centers, independent hardware stores, hardware chains and manufacturer-operated direct outlets.

In the Paint Stores Group, competitors include other paint and wallpaper stores, mass merchandisers, home centers, independent hardware stores, hardware chains and manufacturer-operated direct outlets.

Product quality, product innovation, breadth of product line, technical expertise, service and price determine the competitive advantage for this segment.

In the Consumer Brands Group, domestic and foreign competitors include manufacturers and distributors of branded and private-label paint and coatings products.

In the Consumer Brands Group, domestic and foreign competitors include manufacturers and distributors of branded and private-label paint and coatings products as well as other paint and wallpaper stores, mass merchandisers, home centers, independent hardware stores, hardware chains and manufacturer-operated direct outlets.

Technology, product quality, product innovation, breadth of product line, technical expertise, distribution, service and price are the key competitive factors for this segment.

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Human Capital Resources

The success of our business and ability to execute on our strategy depend in large part on our ability to attract, retain, develop and progress a diverse population of qualified employees at all levels of our organization.

At December 31, 2022, we employed 64,366 people worldwide, of which 75% were in the United States and 25% were in other global regions.

Our commitment to our people is embedded in the Company’s corporate purpose and guiding values.

Through our purpose, we strive to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters.

Our employees are instrumental in fulfilling this purpose through the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of innovative paint and coatings products.

Through the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of innovative paint and coatings products, our employees are instrumental in fulfilling our corporate purpose to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters.

The Company’s seven guiding values — integrity, people, service, quality, performance, innovation and growth — drive how we fulfill our purpose, emphasize the importance of our global workforce and serve as the foundation of our culture of excellence.

We have developed key strategies, objectives and measures as part of the overall management of our business that support our global workforce and enable us to attract, retain, develop and progress top talent in a competitive labor market.

These strategies, objectives and measures are advanced through programs, policies and initiatives focused on inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E), talent acquisition and employee engagement, occupational health and safety and total rewards, which includes compensation and benefits programs and practices.

Inclusion, Diversity and Equity .

We strive to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging where differences are welcomed, appreciated and celebrated to positively impact our people and business.

Reflected in the Company’s Code of Conduct and reinforced through our actions, training and attitudes, fostering an inclusive culture is a moral and business imperative.

The building blocks of our ID&E strategy include:

• Educate and communicate to drive success:

Building awareness of inclusive leadership behaviors to leverage the unique contributions of each employee to positively impact our people and business results.

• Fill the pipeline with the best talent:

Attracting the best talent pool that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we serve and do business.

• Develop and engage talent by investing in our people:

Investing in our people by providing networking and learning opportunities to drive retention, progression and engagement.

• Progress talent by embedding equity into talent planning:

Embedding equity into talent practices, processes, tools and resources at all levels.

Creating a supportive, welcoming environment across our global footprint is the shared responsibility of all employees, including our senior leaders.

Each year, our senior leaders attend an ID&E education and training session to assist us in maintaining our commitment to leading with inclusion and leveraging the diversity of our workforce.

During 2022, we held our annual CEO Forums on Inclusion, which are designed to encourage open discussions with employees that are led by our Chief Executive Officer and other senior leaders about opportunities to advance our culture of inclusion and belonging.

We also continued our focus on driving allyship and empathy through conscious inclusion training across our global workforce and elevating the visibility and prominence of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

These voluntary, employee-led networks are organized around a shared underrepresented demographic, and membership spans across 250 chapters globally.

ERGs bring together employees from various groups, divisions and functional teams to foster more inclusive workplaces, create greater synergy around business objectives and serve as a hub for professional development and mentorship opportunities that enable our employees to thrive and find long-term success at Sherwin-Williams.

At December 31, 2023, we employed 64,088 people worldwide, of which approximately 75% were in the United States and 25% were in other global regions.

The success of our business and our ability to execute on our strategy depend in large part on our ability to attract, retain, develop and progress qualified employees with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives at all levels of our organization.

To deliver on these objectives, we have developed key programs, policies and initiatives focused on belonging and culture, talent acquisition and employee engagement, occupational health and safety and total rewards, which includes compensation and benefits programs and practices.

Belonging and Culture .

We strive to foster a culture of belonging to drive employee engagement and performance while attracting, retaining, developing and progressing a diverse pipeline of talent that reflects the communities in which we operate.

As reflected in our Code of Conduct and reinforced through our actions, training and attitudes, fostering an inclusive culture is a moral and business imperative.

The building blocks of our culture include:

• Communicating impact:

Sharing the Company story, goals and priorities at all levels, and educating our workforce on allyship and belonging.

• Leading with inclusion:

Creating a culture where we are open and leverage the unique contributions of each employee to positively impact our people and business results.

• Empowering everyone:

Investing in our people by providing collaboration, development and learning opportunities to drive retention, progression and engagement.

• Committing to action:

Empowering and engaging leaders to use tools and resources to take meaningful action to foster a culture of belonging for all employees.

While our commitment starts at the top, with a Board of Directors with diverse skills, backgrounds and experiences, creating a supportive, welcoming environment across our global footprint is the shared responsibility of all of our employees, including our senior leaders.

We strive to ensure our senior leaders have the resources they need to foster inclusion and belonging and ultimately leverage the diversity of our workforce to deliver customer-focused differentiated products, services and solutions.

Our senior leaders attend an education and training session every year, and we hold CEO Forums on Inclusion, led by our CEO and other senior leaders, designed to encourage open discussions with employees about opportunities to advance our culture of belonging.

In 2023, we also continued our focus on driving allyship and empathy through conscious inclusion training and elevating the visibility and prominence of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

These are voluntary, employee-led communities with a shared purpose of developing connections between and among employees and allies with diverse backgrounds.

We have over 300 chapters globally that bring together employees from various groups, divisions and functional teams to foster more inclusive workplaces, create greater synergy around business objectives and serve as a hub for professional development and mentorship opportunities that enable our employees to thrive and find long-term success at Sherwin-Williams.

Talent Acquisition and Employee Engagement.

Through our integrated talent management strategy, we strive to attract, retain, develop and progress a workforce that embraces our culture of inclusion and reflects our diversity efforts.

This strategy connects major milestones in the employee journey, including talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, leadership and management development, succession and career progression, and is supported by our focus on employee engagement, ID&E, workforce analytics and human resources information technology governance.

The Company’s early talent programs, including our management trainee program and similar programs across our global business, play a critical role in attracting, developing and advancing a diverse pipeline of talent.

We strive to attract, retain, develop and progress a workforce that embraces our culture of inclusion through an integrated talent management strategy.

This strategy connects major milestones in the employee journey, including talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, leadership and management development, succession and career progression, and is supported by our focus on employee engagement, culture, workforce analytics and information technology governance.

During 2023, we hired approximately 1,400 college graduates through our management trainee program as part of our long-term growth initiatives.

We also partner with various colleges and universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, to attract women, underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, veterans and other candidates into the talent pipeline.

We also collaborate with various colleges and universities to continue to broaden our talent pipeline with qualified women, underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, veterans and other candidates.

We invest in our people by providing learning and employee networking opportunities, including through our ERGs, to drive retention, development and engagement and help employees excel in their current and future roles.

During 2022, our employees completed thousands of hours of online and instructor-led courses across a broad range of categories, including leadership, ID&E, professional skills, technical and compliance.

We measure our progress toward creating an inclusive culture that empowers employees to learn, grow and achieve their aspirations by conducting periodic pulse surveys and our global engagement survey, which we first conducted during 2021 and expect to conduct every other year.

During 2023, our employees completed thousands of hours of online and instructor-led courses across a broad range of categories, including leadership, professional skills, technical skills and compliance.

We measure our progress toward creating a culture of belonging that empowers employees to learn, grow and achieve their aspirations by conducting periodic pulse surveys and a global engagement survey, which we conducted in 2023 and expect to conduct every other year.

We are focused on using these survey results to drive continued progress with our efforts.

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Providing safe and healthy working environments for our employees is a core value.

We have a consistent focus on Environmental, Health and Safety excellence that promotes employee health and safety, process safety, and occupational health, including evaluation and implementation of reasonable preventative measures to reduce workplace injuries and illness.

We strive for incident-free workplaces — continuously assessing and improving the programs that are in place to help keep our employees, customers and communities safe.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented modifications throughout our business and health and safety programs designed to protect the health and well-being of our employees and customers.

These efforts have included, and may continue to include where necessary and appropriate, enhanced cleaning and sanitation procedures and return to work protocols.

These efforts also continue to include permitting remote, alternate and flexible work arrangements where possible to promote increased flexibility and support employee health and safety, while maintaining our focus on innovation, collaboration, and engagement.

We have a consistent focus on Environmental, Health and Safety excellence that promotes employee health and safety, process safety and occupational health, including evaluation and implementation of preventative measures to reduce workplace injuries and illness.

We strive for incident-free workplaces and are continuously assessing and improving the programs that are in place to help keep our employees, customers and communities safe, including by improving our global management systems, standards and performance measures.

Total Rewards.

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Our total rewards programs are designed to offer competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits and other programs to support employees’ growth, both personally and professionally, and the diverse needs and well-being of our employees worldwide.

Over the past few years, we have enhanced certain of the Company’s benefits and practices to support the health and well-being of our employees through the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges.

Over the past few years, we have enhanced certain of the Company’s benefits and practices to support the health and well-being of our employees.

Our enhanced benefits have included tele-health, paid sick leave, family leave and voluntary leave of absence policies and programs.

We also have rewarded our employees’ resiliency and hard work and made changes in our business to encourage retention, including through wage increases, reduced store hours and employee benefits enhancements.

During 2022, we continued enhancing the benefits we provide to our employees, including by extending our employee assistance program to our global workforce.

The program provides mental

health and well-being, family, career, lifestyle, legal and financial resources, tools and services designed to support our employees across all aspects of their lives.

Additionally, in 2023, we continued to permit remote, alternate and flexible work arrangements where possible to promote increased flexibility and support employee health and well-being, while maintaining our focus on collaboration and engagement.

Regulatory Compliance

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These forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations, predictions, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events and conditions and may discuss, among other things, anticipated future performance (including sales and earnings), expected growth, future business plans and the costs and potential liability for environmental-related matters and the lead pigment and lead-based paint litigation.

Any statement that is not historical in nature is a forward-looking statement and may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “project,” “could,” “plan,” “goal,” “target,” “potential,” “seek,” “intend,” “aspire,” “strive” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology.

Any statement that is not historical in nature is a forward-looking statement and may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “goal,” “target,” “potential,” “intend,” “aspire,” “strive,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “seek,” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

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These risks, uncertainties and other factors include such things as:

• general business conditions, strengths of retail and manufacturing economies and growth in the coatings industry;

• changes in general domestic and international economic conditions, including due to higher inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates and unemployment rates, higher labor and healthcare costs, recessions and changing government policies, laws and regulations;

• changes in raw material and energy supplies and pricing;

• disruptions in the supply chain, including those caused by industry capacity constraints, labor shortages, raw material availability, and transportation and logistics delays and constraints;

• adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, including those that may be related to climate change or otherwise, and public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic;

• general business conditions, including the strength of retail and manufacturing economies and growth in the coatings industry;

• changes in general domestic and international economic conditions, including due to changes in inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates, unemployment rates, labor costs, healthcare costs, recessionary conditions, geopolitical conditions, government policies, laws and regulations;

• weakening of global credit markets and our ability to generate cash to service our indebtedness;

• fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including as a result of inflation, central bank monetary policies, currency controls and other exchange restrictions;

• any disruption in the availability of, or increases in the price of, raw material and energy supplies;

• disruptions in the supply chain, including those related to industry capacity constraints, raw material availability, transportation and logistics delays and constraints, political instability or civil unrest;

• catastrophic events, adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, including those that may be related to climate change or otherwise;

• losses of or changes in our relationships with customers and suppliers;

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• our ability to successfully integrate past and future acquisitions into our existing operations, as well as the performance of the businesses acquired;

• our ability to achieve expected benefits of restructuring and productivity initiatives;

• weakening of global credit markets and our ability to generate cash to service our indebtedness;

• risks and uncertainties associated with our expansion into and our operations in Asia, Europe, South America and other foreign markets, including general economic conditions, policy changes affecting international trade, political instability, inflation rates, recessions, sanctions, foreign currency exchange rates and controls, foreign investment and repatriation restrictions, legal and regulatory constraints, civil unrest, armed conflict (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine), war and other economic and political factors;

• the achievement of growth in foreign markets, such as Asia, Europe and South America;

• cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions to our information technology systems and operations;

• our ability to protect or enforce our material trademarks and other intellectual property rights;

• risks and uncertainties associated with our expansion into and our operations in Asia, Europe, South America and other foreign markets, including general economic conditions, policy changes affecting international trade, political instability, inflation rates, recessions, sanctions, foreign currency exchange rates and controls, foreign investment and repatriation restrictions, legal and regulatory constraints, civil unrest, armed conflicts and wars (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war) and other economic and political factors;

• cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions to our information technology systems, and our reliance on information technology systems;

• our ability to attract, retain, develop and progress a qualified global workforce;

• our ability to execute on our business strategies related to sustainability matters, and achieve related expectations, including as a result of evolving regulatory and other standards, processes, and assumptions, the pace of scientific and technological developments, increased costs and the availability of requisite financing, and changes in carbon markets;

• damage to our business, reputation, image or brands due to negative publicity;

• our ability to protect or enforce our material trademarks and other intellectual property rights;

• our ability to comply with numerous and evolving U.S.

laws, rules, and regulations and the effectiveness of our compliance efforts;

• adverse changes to our tax positions in U.S.

jurisdictions, including as a result of new or revised tax laws or interpretations;

• increasingly stringent domestic and foreign governmental regulations, including those affecting health, safety and the environment;

• inherent uncertainties involved in assessing our potential liability for environmental-related activities;

• other changes in governmental policies, laws and regulations, including changes in tariff policies, as well as changes in accounting policies and standards and taxation requirements (such as new or revised tax laws or interpretations);

• other changes in governmental policies, laws and regulations, including changes in tariff policies, accounting policies and standards;

• the nature, cost, quantity and outcome of pending and future litigation and other claims, including the lead pigment and lead-based paint litigation, and the effect of any legislation and administrative regulations relating thereto.

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business