Genuine Parts (GPC) 10-Q2023 Q3 Quarterly report

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and therefore do not include all information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements. Except as disclosed herein, there have been no material changes in the information disclosed in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Genuine Parts Company (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or “its”) for the year ended December 31, 2022. Accordingly, the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures herein should be read in conjunction with our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Specifically, we make estimates and assumptions in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for inventory adjustments, the accrual of bad debts, credit losses on guaranteed loans, customer sales returns, and volume incentives earned, among others. Inventory adjustments (including adjustments for a majority of inventories that are valued under the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method) are accrued on an interim basis and adjusted in the fourth quarter based on the annual book to physical inventory adjustment and LIFO valuation. Reserves for bad debts, credit losses on guaranteed loans and customer sales returns are estimated and accrued on an interim basis based on a consideration of historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Volume incentives are estimated based upon cumulative and projected purchasing levels.

In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of our financial results for the interim periods have been made. These adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. We have reclassified certain prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of results for the year ended December 31, 2023. We have evaluated subsequent events through the date the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements covered by this quarterly report were issued.

Changes to U.S. GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) in the form of Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). We consider the applicability and impact of all ASUs and any not listed below were assessed and determined to not be applicable or are expected to have an immaterial impact on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

We are exposed to various risks arising from business operations and market conditions, including fluctuations in certain foreign currencies. We use derivative and non-derivative instruments as risk management tools to mitigate the potential impact of foreign exchange rate risks. The objective of using these tools is to reduce fluctuations in our earnings and cash flows associated with changes in these rates. Derivative instruments are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value and are designated as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. They are valued using inputs other than quoted prices, such as foreign exchange rates and yield curves.

As of September 30, 2023 the fair value of our senior unsecured notes was approximately $2.9 billion, which are designated as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. Our valuation technique is based primarily on prices and other relevant information generated by observable transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.

We guarantee the borrowings of certain independently controlled automotive parts stores and businesses (“independents”) and certain other affiliates in which we have a noncontrolling equity ownership interest (“affiliates”). While such borrowings of the independents and affiliates are outstanding, we are required to maintain compliance with certain covenants. At September 30, 2023, we were in compliance with all such covenants.

As of September 30, 2023, we have recognized certain assets and liabilities amounting to $63 million each for the guarantees related to the independents’ and affiliates’ borrowings. These assets and liabilities are included in other assets and other long-term liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The liabilities relate to our noncontingent obligation to stand ready to perform under the guarantee programs and they are distinct from our current expected credit loss reserve.

Several global financial institutions offer voluntary supply chain finance (“SCF”) programs which enable our suppliers (generally those that grant extended terms), at their sole discretion, to sell their receivables from us to these financial institutions on a non-recourse basis at a rate that takes advantage of our credit rating and may be beneficial to them. We and our suppliers agree on commercial terms for the goods and services we procure, including prices, quantities and payment terms, regardless of whether the supplier elects to participate in the SCF program. Our current payment terms with the majority of our suppliers range from 30 to 360 days. The suppliers sell goods or services, as applicable, to us and they issue the associated invoices to us based on the agreed-upon contractual terms. Then, if they are participating in the SCF program, our suppliers, at their sole discretion, determine which invoices, if any, they want to sell to the financial institutions. In turn, we direct payment to the financial institutions, rather than the suppliers, for the invoices sold to the financial institutions. No guarantees are provided by us or any of our subsidiaries on third-party performance under the SCF program; however, we guarantee the payment by our subsidiaries to the financial institutions participating in the SCF program for the applicable invoices. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to participate in the SCF program, and we have no direct financial relationship with the financial institutions, as it relates to the SCF program. Accordingly, amounts due to our suppliers that elected to participate in the SCF program are included in the line item accounts payable in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

All activity related to amounts due to suppliers that elected to participate in the SCF program is reflected in cash flows from operating activities in our consolidated statement of cash flows. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the outstanding payment obligations to the financial institutions are $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively. The amount settled through the SCF program was $3.1 billion and $2.7 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 respectively.

We calculate basic earnings per share by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Certain outstanding options are not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation

Beginning in 2023, certain functions, including cybersecurity and the management of our product liability litigation, were transferred to corporate to be streamlined and centrally managed. These costs totaled $15 million and $44 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, of which $9 million and $27 million were allocated to Automotive and $6 million and $17 million were allocated to Industrial based on several factors, including sales volumes and headcount. Beginning in 2023, these costs, which totaled $30 million and $49 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, are no longer allocated to our segments when measuring their operating performance. We have not restated the 2022 comparative segment financial information.

Net sales are disaggregated by geographical region for each of our reportable segments, as we deem this presentation best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of net sales and cash flows are affected by economic factors. The following table presents disaggregated geographical net sales from contracts with customers by reportable segment:

Under our accounts receivable sales agreement (the "A/R Sales Agreement"), we continuously sell designated pools of receivables as they are originated by us and certain U.S. subsidiaries to a separate bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity (“SPE”). The A/R Sales Agreement has a three-year term, which we intend to renew.

We continue to be involved with the receivables transferred by the SPE to the unaffiliated financial institutions by providing collection services. As cash is collected on sold receivables, the SPE continuously transfers ownership and control of new qualifying receivables to the unaffiliated financial institutions so that the total principal amount outstanding of receivables sold is approximately $1.0 billion at any point in time (which is the maximum amount allowed under the agreement as amended on January 3, 2022).

The total principal amount outstanding of receivables sold is approximately $1.0 billion as of both September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The amount of receivables pledged as collateral as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 is approximately $1.3 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.

Continuous cash activity related to the A/R Sales Agreement is reflected in net cash provided by operating activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The SPE incurs fees due to the unaffiliated financial institutions related to the accounts receivable sales transactions. Those fees, which totaled $15 million and $8 million for the three months ended and $44 million and $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, are recorded within other non-operating expense (income) in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The SPE has a recourse obligation to repurchase from the unaffiliated financial institutions any previously sold receivables that are not collected due to the occurrence of certain events, including credit quality deterioration and customer sales returns. The reserve recognized for this recourse obligation as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 is not material. The servicing liability related to our collection services also is not material, given the high quality of the customers underlying the receivables and the anticipated short collection period.

Net periodic benefit income from our pension plans included the following components for our pension benefits:

Service cost is recorded in selling, administrative and other expenses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income while all other components are recorded within other non-operating expense (income). Pension benefits also include amounts related to supplemental retirement plans.

We acquired several businesses for approximately $232 million and $1.6 billion, net of cash acquired, during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we recognized approximately $290 million and $38 million of revenue, net of store closures, related to our current year Automotive and Industrial acquisitions, respectively. We recorded approximately $172 million of goodwill and other intangible assets associated with these acquisitions. Other intangible assets acquired of $77 million consisted of customer relationships with a weighted average amortization lives of 20 years. For each acquisition, we allocate the purchase price to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed based on their fair values as of their respective acquisition dates. The results of operations for acquired businesses are included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income beginning on their respective acquisition dates.

On January 3, 2022, we, through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Motion Industries, Inc., acquired all of the equity interests in KDG for a purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion in cash, net of cash acquired of approximately $30 million. KDG, which is headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is a power transmission, automation and fluid power industrial distributor and solutions provider with operations throughout the United States, providing electro-mechanical products, bearings, power transmission, motion control and electrical and fluid power components to maintenance, repair, and operation and original equipment manufacturer customers.

We are subject to various legal proceedings, many involving routine litigation incidental to the businesses, including approximately 2,309 pending product liability lawsuits resulting from our national distribution of automotive parts and supplies. Many of these involve claims of personal injury allegedly resulting from the use of automotive parts we distributed. The amount accrued for pending and future claims was $225 million as of September 30, 2023, which represented our best estimate of the liability within our calculated range of $199 million to $283 million, discounted using a discount rate of 4.59%. The amount accrued for pending and future claims was $220 million as of December 31, 2022, which represented our best estimate of the liability within our calculated range of $190 million to $270 million, discounted using a discount rate of 3.83%. Our undiscounted product liability was $297 million and $285 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. There have been no significant developments to the information presented in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K with respect to litigation or commitments and contingencies.

Item 103 of SEC Regulation S-K requires disclosure of certain environmental matters when a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings and such proceedings involve potential monetary sanctions that we reasonably believe will exceed an applied threshold not to exceed $1 million. Applying this threshold, there are no environmental matters to disclose for this period.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes contained herein and with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, accompanying notes, related information and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of results for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Some statements in this report, as well as in other materials we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), release to the public, or make available on our website, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in the future tense and all statements accompanied by words such as “expect,” “likely,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “position,” “will,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “on track,” “anticipate,” “to come,” “may,” “possible,” “assume,” or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include our view of business and economic trends for the remainder of the year and our expectations regarding our ability to capitalize on these business and economic trends and to execute our strategic priorities. Senior officers may also make verbal statements to analysts, investors, the media and others that are forward-looking.

We caution you that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and while we believe that our expectations for the future are reasonable in view of currently available information, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events may differ materially from those indicated as a result of various important factors. Such factors may include, among other things, changes in general economic conditions, including unemployment, inflation (including the impact of tariffs) or deflation, financial institution disruptions and geopolitical conflicts such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in the Gaza strip; volatility in oil prices; significant cost increases, such as rising fuel and freight expenses; public health emergencies, including the effects on the financial health of our business partners and customers, on supply chains and our suppliers, on vehicle miles driven as well as other metrics that affect our business, and on access to capital and liquidity provided by the financial and capital markets; our ability to maintain compliance with our debt covenants; our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our operations and to realize the anticipated synergies and benefits; our ability to successfully implement our business initiatives in our two business segments; slowing demand for our products; the ability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relationships; changes in national and international legislation or government regulations or policies, including changes to import tariffs, environmental and social policy, infrastructure programs and privacy legislation, and their impact to us, our suppliers and customers; changes in tax policies; volatile exchange rates; our ability to successfully attract and retain employees in the current labor market; uncertain credit markets and other macroeconomic conditions; competitive product, service and pricing pressures; failure or weakness in our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, including as a result of the work from home environment; the uncertainties and costs of litigation; disruptions caused by a failure or breach of our information systems, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K and from time to time in our subsequent filings with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our subsequent Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC.

Genuine Parts Company is a service organization engaged in the global distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts. We have a long tradition of growth dating back to 1928, the year we were founded in Atlanta, Georgia. We conduct business in North America, Europe and Australasia from a network of more than 10,000 locations.

Our Automotive Parts Group ("Automotive") operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand, and accounted for 62% of total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Our Industrial Parts Group ("Industrial") operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore, and accounted for 38% of our total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

We consider a variety of performance and financial measures in assessing our business, and the key performance indicators used to measure our results are Comparable Sales, Gross Profit and Gross Margin, Selling, Administrative and Other Expenses ("SG&A"), Segment Profit and Segment Margin, as well as Net Income and EBITDA along with their adjusted measures. For more information regarding our key performance indicators please reference the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Our results for the third quarter of 2023 reflect a 2.6% increase in sales driven by our international automotive businesses and continued growth in our Industrial segment. Our year-over-year sales growth was negatively impacted by one less selling day in the U.S., the moderating benefit of inflation on the pricing environment in our global automotive segment and declines in sales in our U.S. Automotive business. The combination of continued revenue growth and gross margin expansion led to earnings growth of 12.4% and further expansion of total segment margin.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2023, our revenue grew 5.6%, helping drive earnings growth of 7.4%, which reflects the ongoing benefits of our diverse business mix and geographic footprint. Our results for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 include costs of $47 million resulting from a gain on the June 2022 sale of real estate and KDG acquisition costs incurred throughout 2022.

Our results of operations are summarized below for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.

Our results of operations are summarized below for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.