Pentair (PNR) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Our vision is to be the world’s most valued sustainable water solutions company for our employees, customers and shareholders. As a company, we:

The Flow segment (formerly named the Industrial & Flow Technologies segment) delivers water where it is needed, when it is needed, more efficiently and transforms waste into value. This segment designs, manufactures and sells a variety of fluid treatment and pump products and systems, including pressure vessels, gas recovery solutions, membrane bioreactors, wastewater reuse systems and advanced membrane filtration, separation systems, water disposal pumps, water supply pumps, fluid transfer pumps, turbine pumps, solid handling pumps, and agricultural spray nozzles, while serving the global residential, commercial and industrial markets. These products and systems are used in a range of applications, including fluid delivery, ion exchange, desalination, food and beverage, separation technologies for the oil and gas industry, residential and municipal wells, water treatment, wastewater solids handling, pressure boosting, circulation and transfer, fire suppression, flood control, agricultural irrigation and crop spray.

Flow customers include businesses engaged with end users, and wholesale and retail distribution in the residential, commercial, food and beverage, and industrial vertical markets.

Flow faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the vertical markets in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings and required specifications), quality, service and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, our commercial business, which products include pressure tanks, control valves, activated carbon products, commercial ice machines, conventional filtration products, and commercial point-of-entry and point-of-use water treatment systems, comprised approximately 67% of Water Solutions sales. In addition, our commercial business also provides installation and preventative services for water management solutions for commercial operators. The other approximately 33% of Water Solutions sales were associated with our residential business, which primarily focuses on products associated with residential point of entry and point of use filtration and softening systems.

We experience seasonal demand with several end customers and end users within Water Solutions. End-user demand for water solution products generally follows warm weather trends and is at seasonal highs from April to September.

Water Solutions faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the vertical markets in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including required specifications), quality and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced. We believe our distribution channels and reputation for quality also provide us a competitive advantage.

The Pool segment provides innovative, energy-efficient pool solutions to help people more sustainably enjoy water. This segment designs, manufactures and sells a complete line of energy-efficient residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories including pumps, filters, heaters, lights, automatic controls, automatic cleaners, maintenance equipment and pool accessories. Applications for our pool products include residential and commercial pool maintenance, pool repair, renovation, service and construction and aquaculture solutions.

One customer in the Pool business represented approximately 15% and 20% of our consolidated net sales in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

We have historically experienced seasonal demand with several end customers and end users. End-user demand for pool equipment follows warm weather trends and historically has been at seasonal highs from April to August. The magnitude of the sales spike has historically been partially mitigated by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts).

Pool faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the vertical markets in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings and required specifications), quality, service and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced. We believe our distribution channels and reputation for quality also provide us a competitive advantage.

We conduct research and development activities primarily in our own facilities. These efforts consist mostly of the development of new products, product applications and manufacturing processes.

The principal materials we use in manufacturing our products are mild steel, stainless steel, electronic components (including drives and motors), plastics (resins, fiberglass, epoxies), metals and paint (powder and liquid). In addition to the purchase of raw materials, we purchase some finished goods for distribution for resale.

Patents, non-compete agreements, proprietary technologies, customer relationships, trademarks, trade names and brand names are important to our business. However, we do not regard our business as being materially dependent upon any single patent, non-compete agreement, proprietary technology, customer relationship, trademark, trade name or brand name.

We believe our success depends on our ability to attract, develop and retain strong employees. We believe a deep-rooted culture energizes our employees to make a difference within and beyond the workplace. We strive to be the destination for top talent, and work hard to develop and retain high performers throughout their career. We also believe our Win Right values, positive culture and commitment to inclusion and diversity foster innovation and curiosity, which, in turn, contribute to us being an industry leader.

To support employees in their career journey, we have developed and shared, through our dedicated development site, a number of tools and resources. We recently rolled out career pathing and development resources for all functions throughout Pentair. We support development annually with a dedicated career week, individual development planning and targeted development experiences supported through live training sessions; on-demand eLearning and virtual classrooms; and downloadable materials. Additionally, our annual talent management process supports employees to set objectives, receive feedback and development, and build development plans with their leaders.

Our talent development efforts span across all levels of our organization, including our early career Leadership Development Program, a 36-month program in which future leaders participate in rotations intended to develop their capabilities through organization-wide exposure, and our Growth Manager development programs that prepare our new and experienced managers to be more effective and inclusive leaders at Pentair.

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity is part of living our Win Right values. Our success also depends on our ability to attract, engage and retain a diverse group of employees. We believe an inclusive and diverse workforce contributes different perspectives and innovative ideas that enable us to improve every day. We believe that every employee should be provided the same opportunity to be heard, respected, have a sense of belonging and contribute to our mission. Race, gender, ethnicity, country of origin, age, personal style, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, life experiences and many more factors contribute to this diversity. Our Business Resource Groups have been put into place to help promote a culture of inclusion through employees providing feedback and sponsoring awareness, education and engagement.

We are committed to providing a safe workplace for all of our employees. We encourage employees to “Stop Work” anytime there is a potential concern regarding worker safety, and promote an open door policy so that all of our employees feel free to speak to their manager if there are any potential health, safety, compliance or sustainability concerns. Additionally, each site maintains a confidential reporting process, and we encourage the use of the Ethics Hotline for employees to report anonymously potential safety concerns. All locations, enterprise wide, must meet and/or exceed regulatory agency standards as applicable to each site’s location.

In the U.S., all non-union full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: short-term and long-term disability insurance; flexible and health savings accounts and wellness programs; health insurance (medical, pharmacy, dental); eight weeks paid parental leave for birth, adoptive and foster parents; two weeks paid caregiver leave; legal services; retirement benefits; stock ownership; tuition reimbursement; holidays; vacation and sick time. Union employee benefits vary by contract.

In 2020, Pentair completed a formal ESG assessment to identify ESG topics of importance to our shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees and communities. Through engagement with these stakeholders, internal business leaders and subject matter experts, we identified key ESG topic areas, which ultimately culminated in Pentair’s Social Responsibility Strategic Targets (“Strategic Targets”), which we announced in 2021. In 2023, Pentair completed a refreshed ESG assessment in alignment with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”). This assessment supported the topics focused on for our Strategic Targets and they remain in effect. We expect to use the results of our updated ESG assessment for continued sustainability strategic planning and risk management, as well as to determine future disclosure requirements under CSRD.

A portion of our property and casualty insurance program is insured through our regulated wholly-owned captive insurance subsidiary, Penwald Insurance Company (“Penwald”). Reserves for policy claims are established based on actuarial projections of ultimate losses. Accruals with respect to liabilities insured by third parties, such as liabilities arising from acquired businesses, pre-Penwald liabilities and those of certain non-U.S. operations, are established.

The markets for our products and services are geographically diverse and highly competitive. We compete against large and well-established national and global companies, regional and local companies, diversified and pure-play companies, and lower cost manufacturers. Competition may also result from new entrants into the markets we serve offering products and/or services that compete with ours. We compete based on technical expertise, intellectual property, reputation for quality and reliability, timeliness of delivery, previous installation history, contractual terms, service offerings, customer experience and service, and price. Some of our competitors attempt to compete based primarily on price, localized expertise and local relationships, especially with respect to products and applications that do not require a great deal of engineering or technical expertise. In addition, during economic downturns, average selling prices tend to decrease as market participants compete more aggressively on price. Moreover, demand for our products, which impacts profit margins, is affected by changes in customer order patterns, such as changes in the levels of inventory maintained by customers and the timing of customer purchases, adoption of new technology and connected products, and changes in customers’ preferences for our products, including the success of products offered by our competitors. Customer purchasing behavior may also shift by product mix in the market or result in a shift to new distribution channels. If we are unable to continue to differentiate our products, services and solutions or adapt to changes in customer purchasing behavior or shifts in distribution channels, or if we are unable to maintain our desired pricing or forced to incur additional costs to remain competitive, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We operate in global markets that are characterized by customer demand that is often global in scope but localized in delivery. We compete with thousands of smaller regional and local companies that may be positioned to offer products produced at lower cost than ours, or to capitalize on highly localized relationships and knowledge that are difficult for us to replicate. Also, in several emerging markets, potential customers prefer local suppliers, in some cases because of existing relationships and in other cases because of local legal restrictions or incentives that favor local businesses. In addition, we need to be flexible to adapt our products to ever changing customer preferences, including those relating to regulatory, climate change and social

Our business strategy includes acquiring businesses and making investments that complement our existing businesses. We continue to analyze and evaluate the acquisition of strategic businesses or product lines with the potential to strengthen our industry position or enhance our existing set of product, service, and solution offerings. We may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates, obtain financing or have sufficient cash necessary for acquisitions or successfully complete acquisitions in the future. Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses and expenses. Acquisitions involve numerous other risks, including:

In prior years, we experienced inflationary cost increases of raw materials, such as metals, resins, drives and motors, as well as increases in logistics, energy, insurance and labor costs (including wages, pensions and health care benefits), and due to the current volatile nature of the market, we expect inflationary cost increases to continue in 2024. We strive for productivity improvements and implement increases in selling prices to help mitigate cost increases. We continue to implement operational initiatives to mitigate the impacts of inflation and continuously reduce our costs. However, these actions may not be successful in managing our costs or increasing our productivity and we anticipate inflation to continue with respect to raw materials as well as labor and logistics. Continued cost inflation or failure of our initiatives to increase prices, generate cost savings or improve productivity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Sales outside of the U.S. for the year ended December 31, 2023 accounted for 31% of our net sales. Further, most of our businesses obtain some products, components and raw materials from non-U.S. suppliers. Accordingly, our business is subject to the political, regulatory, economic, trade, and other risks that are inherent in operating in, and purchasing from, numerous countries. These risks include:

As a result of changes to U.S. or foreign government administrative policy, there may be changes to existing trade agreements; greater restrictions on free trade generally; significant increases in tariffs on goods including those imported into the U.S., particularly tariffs on products manufactured in Mexico, China, or other countries where we purchase, have operations or manufacture or sell products; prohibitions or restrictions on doing business with certain entities, including those with certain relationships with China; and adverse responses by foreign governments to U.S. trade policy, among other possible changes. It remains unclear what the U.S. administration or foreign governments, including China, will or will not do with respect to tariffs or international trade agreements and policies. A trade war; other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements; changes in U.S. social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently purchase, have operations or manufacture and sell products; and any resulting negative sentiments towards the U.S. as a result of such changes, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Patents, non-compete agreements, proprietary technologies, customer relationships, trademarks, trade names and brand names are important to our business. Intellectual property protections, however, may not preclude competitors from developing products like ours, or from challenging our names or products. Our pending patent, copyright, and trademark registration applications may not be accepted, or competitors may challenge the validity or scope of our patents, copyrights or trademarks. In addition, our patents, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights may not provide us a significant competitive advantage. Furthermore, our business strategy also includes expanding our smart products and Internet of Things offerings and there are many other companies that hold patents in this space. Over the past few years, we have noticed an increasing tendency for participants in our markets, including competitors, to use challenges to intellectual property to compete. Patent and trademark challenges increase our costs to develop, engineer and market our products. We may need to spend significant resources monitoring, enforcing and defending, including through litigation, our intellectual property rights, and we may or may not be able to detect infringement by third parties. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights or register new patents, our competitive position could suffer, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We test goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment on at least an annual basis, and more frequently if circumstances warrant. As of December 31, 2023, our goodwill and intangible assets were $4,317.0 million and represented approximately 66% of our total assets. Declines in fair market value could result in future goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges.

relationship with each of these customers important to our business. Our success is dependent on retaining these customers, which requires us to successfully manage relationships and anticipate the needs of our customers in the channels in which we sell our products. Our customers also may be impacted by economic conditions in the industries of those customers, which could result in reduced demand for or a delay in purchases of our products. In addition, our customers may cancel orders for purchases of our products or may not order products at rates consistent with past order levels, including due to inventory rebalancing or corrections in channels. In addition, we may not be able to timely deliver products to our largest customers due to supply chain interruptions or otherwise. We cannot provide assurance that we will be able to retain our largest customers. In addition, some of our customers may shift their purchases to our competitors in the future. The loss of one or more of our largest customers, any material cancellation, reduction, or delay in purchases by or delivery of products to these customers, or our inability to successfully develop relationships with additional customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We experience seasonal demand with end customers and end users within each of our business segments. Demand for pool equipment in the Pool segment, water solution products in the Water Solutions segment, and residential water supply and agricultural products within the Flow segment follows warm weather trends, with seasonal highs from April to September. While historically we have attempted to mitigate the magnitude of the sales spikes in the Pool segment by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts), we cannot provide assurance that should we use such programs in the future they will be successful. In addition, seasonal effects associated with products within our Flow, Water Solutions and Pool segments may vary from year to year and be impacted by weather patterns, such as temperature, heavy flooding and droughts. Moreover, adverse weather conditions, such as cold or wet weather, may negatively impact demand for, and sales of products within our business segments.

Sales outside of the U.S. for the year ended December 31, 2023 accounted for approximately 31% of our net sales. Our financial statements reflect translation of items denominated in non-U.S. currencies to U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the U.S. dollar strengthens in relation to the principal non-U.S. currencies from which we derive revenue as compared to a prior period, our U.S. dollar reported revenue and income will effectively be decreased to the extent of the change in currency valuations, and vice-versa. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, most notably the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, could have a material adverse effect on our reported revenue in future periods. In addition, currency variations could have a material adverse effect on margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the U.S. and margins on sales of products that include components obtained from suppliers located outside of the U.S.

Certain of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or represented by works councils. Although we believe that our relations with the labor unions and works councils that represent our employees are generally good and we have experienced no material work stoppages recently, no assurances can be made that we will not experience these and other types of conflicts with labor unions, works councils, other groups representing employees or our employees generally in the future, or that any future negotiations with these groups will not result in significant increases in our cost of labor. In addition, an important aspect of attracting and retaining qualified personnel is continuing to offer competitive wages, employee healthcare, retirement and other benefits. The expenses we record for our employee benefit plans depend on factors such as changes in market interest rates and healthcare cost inflation, and significant unfavorable changes in these factors could increase our

expenses and funding requirements. An inability to control costs and funding requirements related to employee benefits could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.

We rely extensively on information systems and technology to operate and manage our business and summarize operating results. We are in the process of a multi-year implementation of an updated global enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system in connection with moving to digital processes under our Transformation Program. Ultimately, this ERP system will update our existing operating and transactional financial systems. The ERP system is designed to accurately maintain our financial records, enhance operational functionality and provide timely information to our management team related to the operation of the business. The ERP system implementation process has required, and will continue to require, the investment of significant personnel and financial resources. We may not be able to successfully implement the ERP system without experiencing delays, increased costs and other difficulties. If we are unable to successfully design and implement the updated ERP system as planned, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted. Additionally, if we do not effectively implement the ERP system as planned or the ERP system does not operate as intended, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected or our ability to assess those controls adequately could be further delayed.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $2,006.8 million of total debt outstanding on a consolidated basis. We and our subsidiaries may incur additional indebtedness in the future, including in connection with acquisitions, subject to restrictions in our debt agreements. Our increased level of indebtedness and any future increases in our level of indebtedness may have important effects on our future operations, including, without limitation:

Our credit agreements and indentures contain customary financial covenants, including those that limit the amount of our debt, which may restrict the operations of our business and our ability to incur additional debt to finance acquisitions. Our ability to meet the financial covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot provide assurance that we will meet those tests. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under our credit agreements or indentures. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under any of our credit facilities or indentures, the lenders or trustees could elect to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be immediately due and payable and, in the case of credit facility lenders, terminate all

commitments to extend further credit. If the lenders or trustees accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot provide assurance that we will have sufficient assets to repay our credit facilities and our other indebtedness. Furthermore, acceleration of any obligation under any of our material debt instruments will permit the holders of our other material debt to accelerate their obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $2,006.8 million of total debt outstanding on a consolidated basis. We may increase our debt or raise additional capital in the future, subject to restrictions in our debt agreements. If our cash flow from operations is less than we anticipate, if our cash requirements are more than we expect, or if we intend to finance acquisitions, we may require more financing. However, debt or equity financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we incur additional debt or raise equity through the issuance of additional capital shares, the terms of the debt or capital shares issued may give the holders rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our ordinary shares, particularly in the event of liquidation. The terms of the debt may also impose additional and more stringent restrictions on our operations than we currently have. If we raise funds through the issuance of additional equity, the percentage ownership of existing shareholders in our company would decline. If we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, our financial condition could be adversely affected.

In the normal course of our business, we may access credit markets for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of indebtedness, acquisitions, additions to working capital, repurchase of shares, capital expenditures and investments in our subsidiaries. Although we expect to have sufficient liquidity to meet our foreseeable needs, our access to and the cost of capital could be negatively impacted by disruptions in the credit markets, including due to failures of financial institutions, which have occurred in the past and made financing terms for borrowers unattractive or unavailable. These factors may make it more difficult or expensive for us to access credit markets if the need arises. In addition, these factors may make it more difficult for our suppliers to meet demand for products or for customers to purchase products or commence new projects, as suppliers and customers may experience increased costs of debt financing or difficulties in obtaining debt financing. Disruptions in the financial markets have had adverse effects on other areas of the economy and have led to a slowdown in general economic activity that may continue to adversely affect our businesses. One or more of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), U.K. Bribery Act, and other anti-corruption laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials or other persons for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Recent years have seen a substantial increase in anti-bribery law enforcement activity, with more frequent and aggressive investigations and enforcement proceedings by both the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC, increased enforcement activity by non-U.S. regulators and increases in criminal and civil proceedings brought against companies and individuals. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that are recognized as having governmental and commercial corruption and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. We cannot assure that our internal control policies and procedures will always protect us from negligent, reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or third-party intermediaries. In the event that we believe or have reason to believe that our employees, customers, or agents have or may have violated applicable anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, we may be required to investigate the relevant facts and circumstances, which can be expensive and require significant time and attention from senior management. Violations of these laws may require self-disclosure to government agencies and result in criminal or civil sanctions, which could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our global operations require importing and exporting goods and technology across international borders on a regular basis. Certain of the products we sell are “dual use” products, which are products that may have both civil and military applications, or may otherwise be involved in weapons proliferation, and are often subject to more stringent export controls. From time to time, we obtain or receive information alleging improper activity in connection with imports or exports. Our policies mandate strict compliance with U.S. and non-U.S. trade laws applicable to our products. However, even when we are in strict compliance with law and our policies, we may suffer reputational damage if certain of our products are sold through various intermediaries to sanctioned entities or to entities operating in sanctioned countries. When we receive information alleging improper activity, our policy is to investigate that information and respond appropriately, including, if warranted, reporting our findings to relevant governmental authorities. Nonetheless, our policies and procedures may not always protect us from actions that would violate U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws. Any improper actions could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, including material monetary fines, or other adverse actions including denial of import or export privileges, and could damage our reputation and business prospects.

We are subject to U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. laws and regulations governing protection of the environment and worker health and safety. Compliance with these environmental, health and safety regulations could require us to satisfy environmental liabilities, increase the cost of manufacturing our products or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Any violations of these laws by us could cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities. We are also required to comply with various environmental laws and maintain permits, many of which are subject to renewal from time to time, for many of our businesses, and we could be adversely impacted if we are unable to renew existing permits or to obtain any additional permits that may be required. Compliance with environmental requirements also could require significant operating or capital expenditures or result in significant operational restrictions. We cannot provide assurance that we have been or will be at all times in compliance with environmental and health and safety laws. If we violate these laws, we could be fined, criminally charged or otherwise sanctioned by regulators.

Certain environmental laws impose liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances at their properties or at properties at which they have disposed of hazardous substances. We have projects underway at several current and former manufacturing facilities to investigate and remediate environmental contamination resulting from our past operations or by the operations of divested or acquired businesses or other businesses that previously owned or used the properties. The cost of remediation and other environmental liabilities can be difficult to accurately predict and is typically excluded by insurance. In addition, environmental requirements change and tend to become more stringent over time. Our eventual environmental remediation costs and liabilities could exceed the amount of our current reserves.

Our subsidiaries, along with numerous other companies, are named as defendants in a substantial number of lawsuits based on alleged exposure to asbestos-containing materials, substantially all of which relate to our discontinued operations. These cases typically involve product liability claims based primarily on allegations of manufacture, sale or distribution of industrial products that either contained asbestos or were attached to or used with asbestos-containing components manufactured by third parties or to which asbestos insulation was applied after installation. In addition, some cases brought against us involve the presence of asbestos at facilities that we own or used to own. Each case typically names a large number of product manufacturers, service providers and premises owners. Historically, our subsidiaries have been identified as defendants in asbestos-related claims. Our strategy has been, and continues to be, to mount a vigorous defense aimed at having unsubstantiated suits dismissed, and settling claims before trial only where appropriate. As of December 31, 2023, there were approximately 590 claims pending against our subsidiaries, substantially all of which relate to our discontinued operations. We cannot predict with certainty the extent to which we will be successful in litigating or otherwise resolving lawsuits in the future, and we continue to evaluate different strategies related to asbestos claims filed against us including the possibility of entity restructuring. Unfavorable rulings, judgments or settlement terms could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, while most of the asbestos claims against us are covered

by liability insurance policies from many years ago, not all claims are insured. As our insurers resolve claims relating to past policy periods, the aggregate coverage provided by those policies erodes. If we exhaust our coverage under those policies, we will be exposed to potential uninsured losses. Over time, the uninsured portion of our asbestos docket may increase, which may require us to set greater reserves to resolve future asbestos cases.

Climate change is receiving ever increasing attention worldwide. Many scientists, legislators and others attribute global warming to increased levels of greenhouse gases, which has led to significant legislative and regulatory efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has published findings that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) present an endangerment to public health and the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to the warming of the earth’s atmosphere and other climate changes. Based on these findings, the EPA has implemented regulations that require reporting of GHG emissions, or that limit emissions of GHGs from certain mobile or stationary sources. In addition, the U.S. Congress and federal and state regulatory agencies have considered other legislation and regulatory proposals to reduce emissions of GHGs, and many states have already taken legal measures to reduce emissions of GHGs, primarily through the development of GHG inventories, GHG permitting and/or regional GHG cap-and-trade programs. It is uncertain whether, when and in what form a federal mandatory carbon dioxide emissions reduction program, or other state programs, may be adopted. Similarly, certain countries have adopted the Kyoto Protocol and, in 2021, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Accord. These and other existing or potential international initiatives and regulations could affect our international operations. To the extent our customers, particularly our energy and industrial customers, are subject to any of these or other similar proposed or newly enacted laws and regulations, we are exposed to risks that the additional costs by customers to comply with such laws and regulations could impact their ability or desire to continue to operate at similar levels in certain jurisdictions as historically seen or as currently anticipated, which could negatively impact their demand for our products and services. As customers become increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases, if we fail to keep up with changing regulations or innovate or operate in ways that minimize the energy use of our products or operations, customers may choose more energy efficient or sustainable alternatives. These actions could also increase costs associated with our operations, including costs for raw materials and transportation. We may also be subject to consumer lawsuits or enforcement actions by governmental authorities if our ESG claims relating to product marketing are inaccurate. It is uncertain what new laws will be enacted and therefore we cannot predict the potential impact of such laws on our future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The laws and regulations regarding ESG disclosures and requirements are rapidly evolving and could have an adverse effect on our operations and the costs of compliance with, and the other burdens imposed by, these and other laws or regulatory actions may increase our operational costs.

We rely upon information technology systems and networks in connection with a variety of business activities, some of which are managed by third parties. As our business increasingly interfaces with employees, customers, dealers and suppliers using information technology systems and networks, we are subject to an increased risk to the secure operation of these systems and networks. Our evolution into smart products and Internet of Things subjects us to increased cyber and technology risks. The secure operation of our information technology systems and networks is critical to our business operations and strategy. Cybersecurity threats from user error to attacks designed to gain unauthorized access to our systems, networks and data are increasing in frequency and sophistication. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the data we process and maintain. Establishing systems and processes to address these threats may increase our costs. We have experienced cybersecurity incidents, and, although we have determined such cybersecurity incidents to be immaterial and such incidents have not had a material adverse effect on our business strategy, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, there can be no assurance of similar results in the future. Should future attacks succeed, it could expose us and our employees, customers, dealers and suppliers to the theft of assets, misuse of information or systems, compromises of confidential information, manipulation and destruction of data, product failures, production downtimes and operations disruptions. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. While we maintain cybersecurity insurance, the costs related to cybersecurity threats or incidents may not be fully insured, and future cybersecurity coverage may become more expensive if we experience a cybersecurity incident. In addition, such cybersecurity incidents could result in litigation, regulatory action and potential liability and the costs and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures. For information on our cybersecurity risk management, strategy and governance, see ITEM 1C.- Cybersecurity.

We collect and store data that is sensitive to us and our employees, customers, dealers and suppliers. A variety of state, national, foreign and international laws and regulations apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, security, disclosure, transfer and other processing of personal and other data. Many foreign data privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) in the European Union, are more stringent than federal regulations in the United States. Within the United States, many states are considering adopting, or have already adopted privacy regulations, including, for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act. These laws and regulations are rapidly evolving and changing, and could have an adverse effect on our operations. Companies’ obligations and requirements under these laws and regulations are subject to uncertainty in how they may be interpreted by courts and governmental authorities. The costs of compliance with, and the other burdens imposed by, these and other laws or regulatory actions may increase our operational costs, and/or result in interruptions or delays in the availability of systems. In the case of non-compliance with these laws, including the GDPR, regulators have the authority to levy significant fines. In addition, if there is a breach of privacy, we may be required to make notifications under data privacy laws or regulations, or could become subject to litigation. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are currently, and may in the future become, subject to litigation and other claims. These legal proceedings are typically claims that relate to our products or services or to the conduct of our business and include, without limitation, claims relating to commercial regulatory or contractual disputes with suppliers, authorities, customers or parties to acquisitions and divestitures; intellectual property matters; environmental, asbestos, safety and health matters; product quality and liability matters; matters arising from the use or installation of our products; consumer protection matters; and employment and labor matters. The outcome of such legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and some may be disposed of unfavorably to us. Insurance coverage is not available for some of our claims and may be disputed by carriers in others. While we currently maintain what we believe to be suitable product liability insurance, we may not be able to maintain this insurance on our preferred terms or at an acceptable cost. Further, this insurance may not provide adequate protection against potential or previously existing liabilities. In addition, we self-insure a portion of product liability claims and must satisfy deductibles on other insured claims. Further, some of our business involves the sale of our products to customers that are constructing large and complex systems, facilities or other capital projects, and while we generally try to limit our exposure to liquidated damages, consequential damages and other potential damages in the contracts for these projects, we could be exposed to significant monetary damages and other liabilities in connection with the sale of our products for these projects for a variety of reasons. In addition, some of our businesses, customers, and dealers are subject to various laws and regulations regarding consumer

protection and advertising and sales practices, and we have been named, and may be named in the future, as a defendant in litigation, including class action complaints, arising from alleged violation of these laws and regulations. In addition, our indemnification obligations relating to the purchase or sale of businesses could result in litigation or claims of unknown amounts. Successful claims or litigation against us for significant amounts could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

While we believe that we should be able to maintain a worldwide effective corporate tax rate that is competitive in our industry, we cannot give any assurance as to what our effective tax rate will be in the future because of, among other things, uncertainty regarding tax policies of the jurisdictions where we operate. Also, the tax laws and treaties of the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and other jurisdictions could change in the future, and such changes could cause a material change in our worldwide effective corporate tax rate. For example, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Pillar Two Model Rules (“Pillar Two”) for a global 15.0% minimum tax, are in the process of being adopted by a number of jurisdictions in which we operate. In particular, the U.K. has completed passage of legislation to comply with the Pillar Two framework, which became effective at the start of 2024. We expect Pillar Two to have a negative 1.0% to 1.5% impact to our effective tax rate in 2024. That impact could change in the future as we continue to evaluate the enacted legislative changes and as new guidance becomes available. In addition, legislative action could be taken by the U.S., the U.K., Ireland or the European Union that could override tax treaties or modify tax statutes or regulations upon which we expect to rely and adversely affect our effective tax rate. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific legislative proposals. If proposals were enacted that had the effect of disregarding our incorporation in Ireland or limiting our ability as an Irish company to maintain tax residency in the U.K., we could be subject to increased taxation and/or be required to take action to maintain our effective tax rate, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or our effective tax rate in future reporting periods.

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.

Under Irish law, we must have authority from our shareholders to issue any ordinary shares, including shares that are part of our authorized but unissued share capital. In addition, unless otherwise authorized by its shareholders or constitutional document, when an Irish company issues shares for cash to new shareholders, it is required first to offer those shares on the same or more favorable terms to existing shareholders on a pro-rata basis. If we are unable to obtain these authorizations from our shareholders, or are otherwise limited by the terms of our authorizations, our ability to issue ordinary shares under our equity compensation plans and, if applicable, to facilitate funding acquisitions or otherwise raise capital could be adversely affected.

Transfers of our ordinary shares effected by means of the transfer of book entry interests in the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) will not be subject to Irish stamp duty. However, if you hold your ordinary shares directly rather than beneficially through DTC, any transfer of your ordinary shares could be subject to Irish stamp duty (currently at the rate of 1% of the higher of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired). Payment of Irish stamp duty is generally a legal obligation of the transferee.

We cannot predict the prices at which our shares may trade. The market price of our shares may fluctuate widely, depending on many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

Our cybersecurity program is focused on the following areas:

We have established processes to assess, identify and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. Annual risk assessments are performed and incorporated as part of our ERM organizational process. Strategic and operational cybersecurity risks are assessed, identified and managed by our cybersecurity team, which is led by our Chief Information Security Officer (the “CISO”). Our cybersecurity team shares information regarding such risks with our Security Steering Committee, which consists of our Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer, and our ERM function, both of which support the Board’s oversight of cybersecurity risk.

We deploy technical safeguards that are designed to protect our systems from cybersecurity threats, including firewalls, anti-malware software, and authentication and authorization controls. Ongoing enhancements are integrated into our security roadmap, as informed by our security audits and assessments.

We have in place an incident response plan to identify, protect, detect, respond to and recover from cybersecurity threats and incidents. The CISO, the Security Steering Committee, our Chief Executive Officer and the Board are notified of any material cybersecurity incidents through an established escalation process.

We maintain a risk-based third-party risk management process to identify, assess and manage risks presented by service providers, vendors and other third parties that access our systems or that process or store our data.

We provide ongoing security awareness and training to educate internal users on how to identify and report potential issues. Professional-level employees receive mandatory cybersecurity education and training. Employee phishing tests are conducted on a regular basis. Employees who do not follow protocol are redirected for additional training. We also provide periodic updates to employees on emerging cybersecurity trends and ways to protect themselves and our company.

We perform periodic security audits and assessments to test our cybersecurity program. These efforts span across our cybersecurity program, including but not limited to audits, assessments, tabletop exercises, vulnerability scanning and penetration tests. We regularly engage third parties to assess our cybersecurity program, including cybersecurity maturity assessments, penetration testing, and independent review of our security control environment and operating effectiveness. The results of the assessments are included for review by the Security Steering Committee and the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board. We believe our cybersecurity program is enhanced with the results of the audits, assessments and reviews performed.

The CISO has over 20 years of cybersecurity and technology experience and has previously held Chief Information Security Officer positions at a large public retail company, as well as at a public technology company and services organization. The CISO has an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems. Members of our cybersecurity team have, combined, over 100 years of cybersecurity experience, have degrees including Bachelors in Information Systems, Management Information Systems and/or Masters in Security Technologies, and hold professional certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Global Information Assurance Certification Security Essentials, Certified Cloud Security Professional, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Expert and/or Certified Digital Forensics Examiner. Our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel each hold degrees in their respective fields, and each have over 25 years of experience managing risks at the Company and at similar companies, including risks arising from cybersecurity threats.

Current executive officers of Pentair plc, their ages, current position and their business experience during at least the past five years are as follows:

The following information under the caption “Share Performance Graph” in this ITEM 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.

The following table provides information with respect to purchases we made of our ordinary shares during the fourth quarter of 2023:

This report contains statements that we believe to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words “targets,” “plans,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “likely,” “may,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “positioned,” “strategy,” or “future” or words, phrases, or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the overall global economic and business conditions impacting our business, including the strength of housing and related markets and conditions relating to international hostilities; supply, demand, logistics, competition and pricing pressures related to and in the markets we serve; the ability to achieve the benefits of our restructuring plans, cost reduction initiatives and Transformation Program; the impact of raw material, logistics and labor costs and other inflation; volatility in currency exchange rates and interest rates; failure of markets to accept new product introductions and enhancements; the ability to successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate acquisitions; risks associated with operating foreign businesses; the impact of seasonality of sales and weather conditions; our ability to comply with laws and regulations; the impact of changes in laws, regulations and administrative policy, including those that limit U.S. tax benefits or impact trade agreements and tariffs; the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; and the ability to achieve our long-term strategic operating and ESG goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Pentair assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update the information contained in this report.

Pentair plc and its consolidated subsidiaries (“we,” “us,” “our,” “Pentair” or the “Company”) is a pure play water industrial manufacturing company comprised of three reporting segments: Flow (formerly named the Industrial & Flow Technologies segment), Water Solutions and Pool. We classify our operations into business segments based primarily on types of products offered and markets served. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Flow, Water Solutions and Pool segments represented approximately 38%, 29% and 33% of total revenues, respectively.

The following trends and uncertainties affected our financial performance in 2023, and are reasonably likely to impact our results in the future:

The components of the consolidated net sales change were as follows:

A discussion of changes in our consolidated results of operations, segment results of operations for the Flow (formerly named Industrial & Flow Technologies) segment and liquidity and capital resources from the year ended December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2021 can be found in Part II, ITEM 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on February 21, 2023. However, such discussion is not incorporated by reference into, and does not constitute a part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The net sales and segment income for Flow were as follows:

The components of the change in Flow net sales were as follows:

The net sales and segment income for Water Solutions were as follows:

The components of the change in Water Solutions net sales were as follows:

The net sales and segment income for Pool were as follows:

The components of the change in Pool net sales were as follows:

In 2023, net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations primarily reflects net income from continuing operations, net of non-cash depreciation, definite-lived intangible amortization, asset impairment and deferred income taxes, of $653.1 million. Additionally, we had a cash outflow of $61.3 million as a result of changes in net working capital, primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable and decreases in accounts payable and other current liability balances, partially offset by lower inventory compared to December 31, 2022. Decreases in inventory and accounts payable were primarily related to supply chain efficiencies and improved lead times.

In 2022, net cash provided by financing activities primarily relates to net borrowings of revolving long-term debt of $124.5 million, net proceeds received from the Term Loan Facility and issuance of the 2032 Senior Notes of $1,391.3 million used to finance the Manitowoc Ice acquisition and net cash receipts upon the settlement of cross currency swaps of $12.3 million, partially offset by dividend payments of $138.6 million, repayment of $88.3 million senior fixed notes, share repurchases of $50.0 million and payments of debt issuance costs of $15.8 million.

The following table is a reconciliation of free cash flow:

In December 2020, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of our ordinary shares up to a maximum dollar limit of $750.0 million. This authorization expires on December 31, 2025.

The Parent Company Guarantor is a holding company established to own directly and indirectly substantially all of its operating and other subsidiaries. The Subsidiary Issuer is a holding company formed to own directly and indirectly substantially all of its operating and other subsidiaries and to issue debt securities, including the senior notes. The Parent Company Guarantor’s principal source of cash flow, including cash flow to make payments on the senior notes pursuant to the guarantees, is dividends from its subsidiaries. The Subsidiary Issuer’s principal source of cash flow is interest income from its subsidiaries. None of the subsidiaries of the Parent Company Guarantor or the Subsidiary Issuer is under any direct obligation to pay or otherwise fund amounts due on the senior notes or the guarantees, whether in the form of dividends, distributions, loans or other payments. In addition, there may be statutory and regulatory limitations on the payment of dividends from certain subsidiaries of the Parent Company Guarantor or the Subsidiary Issuer. If such subsidiaries are unable to transfer funds to the Parent Company Guarantor or the Subsidiary Issuer and sufficient cash or liquidity is not otherwise available, the Parent Company Guarantor or the Subsidiary Issuer may not be able to make principal and interest payments on their outstanding debt, including the senior notes or the guarantees.

The following table presents summarized financial information as of December 31, 2023 for the Parent Company Guarantor and Subsidiary Issuer on a combined basis after elimination of (i) intercompany transactions and balances among the guarantors and issuer and (ii) equity in earnings from and investments in any subsidiary that is a non-Guarantor or issuer.

We expect to continue to have sufficient cash and borrowing capacity to support working capital needs and capital expenditures, to pay interest and service debt and to pay dividends to shareholders quarterly. We believe we have the ability to meet our short-term and long-term cash requirements by using available cash and internally generated funds and to borrow under our committed and uncommitted credit facilities. The following summarizes our material cash requirements from significant contractual obligations and purchase commitments that impact our liquidity as of December 31, 2023:

We are subject to various product liability lawsuits and personal injury claims. A substantial number of these lawsuits and claims are insured and accrued for by Penwald, our captive insurance subsidiary. See discussion in ITEM 1 and ITEM 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements — Insurance subsidiary. Penwald records a liability for these claims based on actuarial projections of ultimate losses. For all other claims, accruals covering the claims are recorded, on an undiscounted basis, when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated based on existing information. The accruals are adjusted periodically as additional information becomes available. We have not experienced significant unfavorable trends in either the severity or frequency of product liability lawsuits or personal injury claims.

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquired businesses over the net of the fair value of identifiable tangible net assets and identifiable intangible assets purchased and liabilities assumed.

Assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination are recorded at their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. Goodwill is recorded when the purchase price exceeds the estimated fair value of the net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired. Estimates of intangible asset fair value represent management’s best estimate of assumptions and about future events and uncertainties, including significant judgments related to future cash flows, discount rates, margin and revenue growth assumptions, royalty rates, customer attrition rates, useful lives and others. Inputs used are generally obtained from historical data supplemented by current and anticipated market conditions and growth rates. If the actual results differ from the estimates and judgments used in these fair values, the amounts recorded in the consolidated financial statements could result in a possible impairment of the intangible assets and goodwill or require acceleration of the amortization expense of finite-lived intangible assets.

We sponsor U.S. and non-U.S. defined-benefit pension and other post-retirement plans. The amounts recognized in our consolidated financial statements related to our defined-benefit pension and other post-retirement plans are determined from actuarial valuations. Inherent in these valuations are assumptions, including: expected return on plan assets, discount rates, rate of increase in future compensation levels and health care cost trend rates. These assumptions are updated annually and are disclosed in ITEM 8, Note 11 to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Differences in actual experience or changes in assumptions may affect our pension and other post-retirement obligations and future expense.

The expected rate of return is designed to be a long-term assumption that may be subject to considerable year-to-year variance from actual returns. In developing the expected long-term rate of return, we considered our historical returns, with consideration given to forecasted economic conditions, our asset allocations, input from external consultants and broader long-term market indices.

A 100 basis point increase or decrease in the discount rates used to measure our U.S. defined-benefit pension and other post-retirement plans would result in an approximately $7 million increase or $6 million decrease in our total projected benefit obligation. A 100 basis point increase or decrease in the assumed rate of return on pension assets or discount rates for our U.S. pension and other post-retirement benefit plans would result in an immaterial change in our ongoing pension expense. These estimates exclude any potential mark-to-market adjustments.

Accruals are recorded for various contingencies including legal proceedings, self-insurance and other claims that arise in the normal course of business. The accruals are based on judgment, the probability of losses and, where applicable, the consideration of opinions of internal and/or external legal counsel and actuarial estimates. Additionally, we record receivables from third party insurers when recovery has been determined to be probable.

In determining taxable 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 certain of the deferred tax assets, which arise from temporary differences between the tax 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 future taxable income. In estimating future taxable income, we develop assumptions including the amount of future pre-tax operating income, the reversal of temporary differences and the implementation of feasible and prudent tax planning strategies. These assumptions require significant judgment about the forecasts of future taxable income and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage the underlying businesses.

Our debt portfolio as of December 31, 2023, was comprised of debt denominated in U.S. dollars. This debt portfolio is comprised of 41% fixed-rate debt and 59% variable-rate debt. Changes in interest rates have different impacts on the fixed and variable-rate portions of our debt portfolio. A change in interest rates on the fixed portion of the debt portfolio impacts the fair value, but has no impact on interest incurred or cash flows. A change in interest rates on the variable portion of the debt portfolio impacts the interest incurred and cash flows but does not impact the net financial instrument position.

At December 31, 2023, we had outstanding cross currency swap agreements with a combined notional amount of $940.2 million. The cross currency swap agreements are accounted for as either cash flow hedges to hedge foreign currency fluctuations on certain intercompany debt, or as net investment hedges to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the Euro-U.S. Dollar exchange rate. The currency risk related to the cross currency swap agreements is measured by estimating the potential impact of a 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro. A 10% appreciation or a 10% depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro would result in a change in accumulated other comprehensive income of approximately $73 million. However, the change in other comprehensive income would be offset by decreases or increases in the hedged items on our balance sheet.

February 20, 2024

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

The UTP analysis is complex as it includes numerous tax jurisdictions and varying applications of tax laws. Given the multiple jurisdictions in which the Company operates and the complexity of tax regulations, auditing the completeness of UTPs involved a high degree of auditor judgment, and an increased extent of audit effort, including the need to involve our tax specialists.

February 20, 2024

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1977.

Our fiscal year ends on December 31. We report our interim quarterly periods on a calendar quarter basis.

When determining whether the customer has obtained control of the goods or services, we consider any future performance obligations. Generally, there is no post-shipment obligation on product sold other than warranty obligations in the normal and ordinary course of business. In the event significant post-shipment obligations were to exist, revenue recognition would be deferred until Pentair has substantially accomplished what it must do to be entitled to the benefits represented by the revenue.

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer, and is the unit of account for purposes of revenue recognition. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The majority of our contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and, therefore, not distinct. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, standalone selling price is generally readily observable.

Pricing is established at or prior to the time of sale with our customers, and we record sales at the agreed-upon net selling price. However, one of our businesses allows customers to apply for a refund of a percentage of the original purchase price if they can demonstrate sales to a qualifying end customer. We use the expected value method to estimate the anticipated refund to be paid based on historical experience and reduce sales for the probable cost of the discount. The cost of these refunds is recorded as a reduction of the transaction price.

Contract assets and liabilities consisted of the following:

We disaggregate our revenue from contracts with customers by segment, geographic location and vertical market, as we believe these best depict how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of our revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. Refer to Note 14 for revenue disaggregated by segment.

We conduct research and development (“R&D”) activities primarily in our own facilities, which mostly consist of development of new products, product applications and manufacturing processes. We expense R&D costs as incurred. R&D expenditures during 2023, 2022 and 2021 were $99.8 million, $92.2 million and $85.9 million, respectively.