Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

As of March 31, 2022, the aggregate market value of Johnson Controls International plc Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $45.5 billion based on the closing sales price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. As of October 31, 2022, 686,703,889 ordinary shares, par value $0.01 per share, were outstanding.

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be delivered to shareholders in connection with the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on March 8, 2023 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS FOR FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Unless otherwise indicated, references to "Johnson Controls," the "Company," "we," "our" and "us" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to Johnson Controls International plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.

The Company has made statements in this document that are forward-looking and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are, or could be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this document, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, synergies and integration opportunities, capital expenditures, debt levels and market outlook are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "forecast," "project" or "plan" and terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The Company cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: The Company’s ability to manage general economic, business and capital market conditions, including the impact of recessions and economic downturns; the ability to manage macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, including global price inflation, shortages impacting the availability of raw materials and component products and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the ability to develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance and meet applicable regulatory requirements; the strength of the U.S. or other economies; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes or uncertainty in laws, regulations, rates, policies or interpretations that impact the Company’s business operations or tax status; changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including economic sanctions, tariffs or trade restrictions; maintaining and improving the capacity, reliability and security of the Company's enterprise information technology infrastructure; the ability to manage the lifecycle cybersecurity risk in the development, deployment and operation of the Company's digital platforms and services; the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights; the Company's ability to manage the impacts of natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the ability of the Company to drive organizational improvement; any delay or inability of the Company to realize the expected benefits and synergies of recent portfolio transactions; the ability to hire and retain senior management and other key personnel; the tax treatment of recent portfolio transactions; significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities associated with such transactions; labor shortages, work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with the labor force; and the cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements. A detailed discussion of risks related to Johnson Controls’ business is included in the section entitled "Risk Factors" (refer to Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K). The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Johnson Controls assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this document.

PART I

Johnson Controls International plc, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is a global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. The Company’s products, services, systems and solutions advance the safety, comfort and intelligence of spaces to serve people, places and the planet. The Company is committed to helping its customers win and creating greater value for all of its stakeholders through its strategic focus on buildings.

Johnson Controls was originally incorporated in the state of Wisconsin in 1885 as Johnson Electric Service Company to manufacture, install and service automatic temperature regulation systems for buildings and was renamed Johnson Controls, Inc. in 1974. In 2005, Johnson Controls acquired York International, a global supplier of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning ("HVAC") and refrigeration equipment and services. In 2014, Johnson Controls acquired Air Distribution Technologies, Inc., one of the largest independent providers of air distribution and ventilation products in North America. In 2015, Johnson Controls formed a joint venture with Hitachi to expand its building related product offerings. In 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. and Tyco International plc ("Tyco") completed their combination (the "Merger"), combining Johnson Controls' portfolio of building efficiency solutions with Tyco’s portfolio of fire and security solutions. Following the Merger, Tyco changed its name to “Johnson Controls International plc.”

In 2016, the Company completed the spin-off of its automotive business into Adient plc, an independent, publicly traded company. In 2019, the Company closed the sale of its Power Solutions business, completing the Company’s transformation into a pure-play building technologies and solutions provider.

The Company is a global leader in engineering, manufacturing and commissioning building products and systems, including residential and commercial HVAC equipment, industrial refrigeration systems, controls, security systems, fire-detection systems and fire-suppression solutions. The Company further serves customers by providing technical services, including maintenance, management, repair, retrofit and replacement of equipment (in the HVAC, industrial refrigeration, security and fire-protection space), and energy-management consulting. In 2020, the Company launched its OpenBlue software platform, enabling enterprises to manage all aspects of their physical spaces by combining the Company's building products and services with cutting-edge technology and digital capabilities to enable data-driven “smart building” services and solutions. The Company partners with customers by leveraging its broad product portfolio and digital capabilities powered by OpenBlue, together with its direct channel service and solutions capabilities, to deliver outcome-based solutions across the lifecycle of a building that address customers’ needs to improve energy efficiency, enhance security, create healthy environments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Company conducts its business through four business segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific and Global Products.

For more information on the Company’s segments, refer to Note 19, "Segment Information," of the notes to consolidated financial statements.

Grinnell®, together with the breadth and depth of the products, systems and solutions offered by the Company, give it what it believes to be the most diverse portfolio in the building technology industry.

The Company has developed software platforms, including on-premises platforms and cloud-based software services, and integrated its products and services with digital capabilities to provide data-driven solutions to create smarter, safer and more sustainable buildings. The Company's OpenBlue platform enables enterprises to manage all aspects of their physical spaces delivering sustainability, new occupant experiences, safety and security by combining the Company’s building expertise with cutting-edge technology, including AI-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, compliance monitoring and advanced risk assessments. The Company leverages its digital and data-driven products and services to offer integrated and customizable solutions focused on delivering outcomes to customers, including OpenBlue Buildings-as-a-Service, OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings-as-a-Service and OpenBlue Healthy Buildings. These services are generally designed to generate recurring revenue for the Company as it supports its customers in achieving their desired outcomes.

In fiscal 2022, approximately 37% of sales originated from product offerings, 39% of sales originated from installations and 24% of sales originated from service offerings.

The Company conducts its operations through a significant number of individual contracts that are either negotiated or awarded on a competitive basis. Key factors in the award of contracts include system and service performance, quality, price, design, reputation, technology, application engineering capability and construction or project management expertise. Competitors for HVAC equipment, security, fire-detection, fire suppression and controls in the residential and non-residential marketplace include many local, regional, national and international providers. Larger competitors include Honeywell International, Inc.; Siemens Smart Infrastructure, an operating group of Siemens AG; Schneider Electric SA; Carrier Global Corporation; Trane Technologies plc; Daikin Industries, Ltd.; Lennox International, Inc.; GC Midea Holding Co, Ltd. and Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. In addition, the Company competes in a highly fragmented building services market. The Company also faces competition from a diverse range of established companies, start-ups and other emerging entrants to the buildings industry in the areas of digital services, software as a service and the Internet of Things. The loss of any individual contract or customer would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

The Company’s business strategy is to sustain and expand its position as a leader in smart and sustainable building solutions by offering a full spectrum of products and solutions for customer buildings across the globe. The Company’s core strategy remains focused on creating growth platforms, driving operational improvements and creating a high-performance culture. The Company has strong positions in attractive and growing end-markets across HVAC, controls, fire, security and services, enhanced by its comprehensive product portfolio and substantial installed base. The Company believes that it is well positioned to capitalize on the emerging and prevalent trends in the buildings industry, including sustainability, healthy buildings/indoor environmental quality and smart buildings. To capitalize on these trends, the Company remains focused on maintaining leading positions in commercial HVAC and building management systems, as well as enabling growth through digital, to develop and leverage new digital technologies and capabilities into outcomes powered by its OpenBlue software platform. In furtherance of these goals, the Company has three strategic priorities:

To realize these priorities, the Company is leveraging its technology leadership, comprehensive product portfolio, global presence, substantial installed base and strong channels to monetize the lifecycle opportunities of install, service, retrofit and replacement which are established and delivered by the Company’s direct field businesses and third-party channels across the globe. The Company is augmenting its strategic priorities with disciplined execution, productivity enhancements and sustainable cost management to create a path to realize expanded margins and enhanced profitability.

The Company’s backlog is applicable to its sales of systems and services. At September 30, 2022, the backlog was $11.7 billion, of which $11.1 billion was attributable to the field business. The backlog amount outstanding at any given time is not necessarily indicative of the amount of revenue to be earned in the upcoming fiscal year.

At September 30, 2022, remaining performance obligations were $17.5 billion, which is $5.8 billion higher than the Company's backlog of $11.7 billion. Differences between the Company’s remaining performance obligations and backlog are primarily due to the following:

The Company will continue to report backlog as it believes it is a useful measure of evaluating the Company's operational performance and relationship to total orders.

Raw Materials

Intellectual Property

Generally, the Company seeks statutory protection for strategic or financially important intellectual property developed in connection with its business. Certain intellectual property, where appropriate, is protected by contracts, licenses, confidentiality or other agreements. From time to time, the Company takes action to protect its businesses by asserting its intellectual property rights against third-party infringers.

The Company owns numerous U.S. and non-U.S. patents (and their respective counterparts), the more important of which cover those technologies and inventions embodied in current products or which are used in the manufacture of those products. While the Company believes patents are important to its business operations and in the aggregate constitute a valuable asset, no single

patent, or group of patents, is critical to the success of the business. The Company, from time to time, grants licenses under its patents and technology and receives licenses under patents and technology of others.

The Company’s trademarks, certain of which are material to its business, are registered or otherwise legally protected in the U.S. and many non-U.S. countries where products and services of the Company are sold. The Company, from time to time, becomes involved in trademark licensing transactions.

Most works of authorship produced for the Company, such as computer programs, catalogs and sales literature, carry appropriate notices indicating the Company’s claim to copyright protection under U.S. law and appropriate international treaties.

Environmental, Health and Safety Matters

Laws addressing the protection of the environment and workers’ safety and health govern the Company’s ongoing global operations. They generally provide for civil and criminal penalties, as well as injunctive and remedial relief, for noncompliance or require remediation of sites where Company-related materials have been released into the environment.

A portion of the Company’s products consume energy and use refrigerants. Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change has resulted in more regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulations tend to be implemented under global, national and sub-national climate objectives or policies, and target the global warming potential (“GWP”) of refrigerants, equipment energy efficiency, and the combustion of fossil fuels as a heating source. The Company continues to invest in its product portfolio to meet emerging emissions regulations and standards.

The Company has expended substantial resources globally, both financial and managerial, to comply with environmental laws and worker safety laws and maintains procedures designed to foster and ensure compliance. Certain of the Company’s businesses are, or have been, engaged in the handling or use of substances that may impact workplace health and safety or the environment. The Company is committed to protecting its workers and the environment against the risks associated with these substances.

The Company’s operations and facilities have been, and in the future may become, the subject of formal or informal enforcement actions or proceedings for noncompliance with environmental laws and worker safety laws or for the remediation of Company-related substances released into the environment. Such matters typically are resolved with regulatory authorities through commitments to compliance, abatement or remediation programs and, in some cases, payment of penalties. See Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further discussion of environmental matters.

The Company's operations are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations, both within and outside the United States, in areas such as consumer protection, government contracts, international trade, environmental protection, labor and employment, tax, licensing and others. For example, most U.S. states and non-U.S. jurisdictions in which the Company operates have licensing laws directed specifically toward the alarm and fire suppression industries. The Company's security businesses currently rely extensively upon the use of wireline and wireless telephone service to communicate signals. Wireline and wireless telephone companies in the U.S. are regulated by the federal and state governments. In addition, government regulation of fire safety codes can impact the Company's fire businesses. The Company’s businesses may also be affected by changes in governmental regulation of refrigerants and energy efficiency standards, noise regulation and product safety regulations, including changes related to hydro fluorocarbons/emissions reduction efforts, energy conservation standards and the regulation of fluorinated gases. These and other laws and regulations impact the manner in which the Company conducts its business, and changes in legislation or government policies can affect the Company's worldwide operations, both favorably and unfavorably. For a more detailed description of the various laws and regulations that affect the Company's business, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

The Company’s efforts to comply with numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to its business and products often results in capital expenditures. The Company makes capital expenditures to design and upgrade its fire and security products to comply with or exceed standards applicable to the alarm, fire suppression and security industries. The Company also makes capital expenditures to meet or exceed energy efficiency standards, including the regulation of refrigerants, hydro fluorocarbons/emissions reductions efforts and the regulation of fluorinated gasses, particularly with respect

to the Company’s HVAC products and solutions. The Company’s ongoing environmental compliance program also results in capital expenditures. Regulatory and environmental considerations are a part of all significant capital expenditure decisions; however, expenditures in fiscal 2022 related solely to regulatory compliance were not material. It is management’s expectation that the amount of any future capital expenditures related to compliance with any individual regulation or grouping of related regulations will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial results or competitive position in any one year. See Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further discussion of environmental matters.

The responsibility to develop and maintain a High-Performance Culture is owned, embedded and executed throughout the Company. The Chief Human Resources Officer ("CHRO") is responsible for establishing the Company’s strategy to drive a High-Performance Culture and ensuring its execution across the Company. The Compensation and Talent Development Committee of the Board of Directors is the primary overseer of the Company’s High-Performance Culture strategy and execution. The Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), the CHRO, the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion and other senior leaders within the Company are responsible for the execution of the strategy and engage with the Compensation and Talent Development Committee, the Governance and Sustainability Committee and the full Board of Directors on the critical components driving the Company’s High-Performance Culture, including discussions of human capital trends, practices and operations, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, leadership development and succession planning. Key components driving the Company’s High-Performance Culture include:

Health and Wellness, Safety and Environment are the three pillars of the Company’s Zero Harm vision. The Company’s health and safety programs are designed around global standards with appropriate variations addressing multiple jurisdictions and regulations, specific hazards and unique working environments of the Company’s manufacturing, service and install, and headquarter operations. In its continuous efforts to ensure the health, safety and well-being of its employees and workplaces, during fiscal 2022, the Company created new Zero Harm Well-Being and Zero Harm Sustainability Behaviors, each of them consisting of ten guiding principles to protect employees and the environment. In addition, the Company launched a vehicle telematics program to identify unsafe driving practices and further reduce the occurrence of motor vehicle accidents. Today, the Company’s focus on employee well-being continues with the utilization of global and regional well-being councils, addressing physical, mental, social and financial aspects of employee well-being.

The Company requires each of its locations to perform regular safety audits to ensure proper safety policies, program procedures, analyses and training are in place. In addition, the Company engages an independent third-party conformity assessment and certification vendor to audit selected operations for adherence to its global health and safety standards. Safety culture and behavior-based safety initiatives have been deployed within the Company, including a multi-faceted policy focused on preventing distracted driving and the design and rollout of a new style of platform ladder built to provide a safe working platform for employees. One safety policy that applies to all employees around the globe, regardless of rank, is every individual worker’s right to apply the “Stop Work” principle when uncertain about the health and safety of a particular task.

The Company utilizes a mixture of leading and lagging indicators to assess the health and safety performance of its operations. Lagging indicators include the OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate ("TRIR") and the Lost Time (or Lost Workday) Incident Rate ("LTIR") based upon the number of incidents per 100 employees (or per 200,000 work hours). In fiscal 2022, the Company had a TRIR of 0.40 and a LTIR of 0.14.

Diversity and inclusion are embedded throughout the Company’s strategy to drive a High-Performance Culture. The Company recognizes that an inclusive culture that is diverse adds value to the Company and its customers through: the creation and delivery of innovative and outstanding products, services and outcomes; the cultivation of an engaged and empowered environment where employee productivity drives company growth; and the onboarding of high-performing talent into the

The Company has implemented several measures that focus on ensuring accountabilities exist for making progress in diversity:

To maintain a High-Performance Culture, the Company must ensure the continued development and advancement of its people. Strategic talent reviews and succession planning occur on a planned cadence annually – globally and across all business areas. The Company continues to provide opportunities for the Company's employees to grow their careers, with approximately half of open management positions filled internally during fiscal year 2022.

The Company believes that high performance is an outcome of a person’s ability to change, adapt, and grow their capabilities throughout their career. The Company emphasizes real-life, real-time learning that enables a person to meet the demands of challenging and changing work and focuses on reinforcing key principles that are designed to support an individual’s effectiveness in his or her current job and in their future development. The Company provides technical and leadership training to employees, customers and suppliers who work for or with the Company’s products and services. In particular, the Company’s focus on employee development has been structured over the last several years through programs designed to imbed essential skills and reinforce strategic goals that are aligned to the Company’s culture, including:

In fiscal 2022, the Company offered a robust curriculum of over 232,000 learning activities available to employees, consisting of videos, courses, e-learning, documentation, articles and books, including over 4,000 active (in person or virtual) learning courses. In fiscal 2022, over 1.25 million learning activities were completed by approximately 93,000 employees. The total

learning hours consumed by employees was 1.02 million hours, averaging almost 11 hours per employee including time invested in formal learning and standard time invested in self-paced reading or video consumption.

As of September 30, 2022, the Company employed approximately 102,000 people worldwide, of which approximately 38,000 were employed in the United States and approximately 64,000 were outside the United States. Approximately 22,000 employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils and the Company believes that its relations with its labor unions are generally positive.

Certain of the Company's sales are seasonal as the demand for residential air conditioning equipment and services generally increases in the summer months. This seasonality is mitigated by the other products and services provided by the Company that have no material seasonal effect.

Research and Development Expenditures

Refer to Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for research and development expenditures. The Company has committed to invest a substantial portion of its new product research and development in climate-related innovation to develop sustainable products and services. The Company invests in enhancements to the capabilities of its product lines and services to support its strategy, meet consumer preferences and achieve regulatory compliance. This includes investments in the development of the Company’s OpenBlue platform and related service offerings, digital product capabilities, energy efficiency and low GWP refrigerants and technology.

Available Information

The Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, definitive proxy statements on Schedule 14A, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are made available free of charge through the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Internet website at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. Copies of any materials the Company files with the SEC can also be obtained free of charge through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company also makes available, free of charge, its Code of Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Board of Directors committee charters and other information related to the Company on the Company’s Internet website or in printed form upon request. The Company is not including the information contained on the Company’s website as a part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Provided below is a cautionary discussion of what we believe to be the most important risk factors applicable to the Company. Discussion of these factors is incorporated by reference into and considered an integral part of Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations.” The disclosure of a risk should not be interpreted to imply that such risk has not already materialized. Additional risks not currently known to the Company or that the Company currently believes are immaterial may also impair the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Macroeconomic and Political Conditions

We compete around the world in various geographic regions and product markets. Global economic and political conditions affect each of our primary businesses and the businesses of our customers and suppliers. Recessions, economic downturns, price instability, inflation, slowing economic growth and social and political instability in the industries and/or markets where we compete could negatively affect our revenues and financial performance in future periods, result in future restructuring charges, and adversely impact our ability to grow or sustain our business. For example, current macroeconomic and political instability caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, global supply chain disruptions, inflation and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, have and could continue to adversely impact our results of operations. Other potential consequences arising from the Russia/Ukraine conflict and its effect on our business and results of operations as well as the global economy, cannot be predicted. This may include further sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, geopolitical shifts, energy instability, potential retaliatory action by the Russian government, increased cybersecurity attacks, increased tensions among countries in which we operate.

The capital and credit markets provide us with liquidity to operate and grow our business beyond the liquidity that operating cash flows provide. A worldwide economic downturn and/or disruption of the credit markets could reduce our access to capital necessary for our operations and executing our strategic plan. If our access to capital were to become significantly constrained, or if costs of capital increased significantly due to lowered credit ratings, prevailing industry conditions, the volatility of the capital markets or other factors; then our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to adequately react to negative economic impacts that decrease demand for our products and services and/or negative movements in capital markets our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity could be adversely affected.

Much of the demand for installation of HVAC, security products, and fire detection and suppression solutions is driven by commercial and residential construction and industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects. Commercial and residential construction projects are heavily dependent on general economic conditions, localized demand for commercial and residential real estate and availability of credit. Commercial and residential real estate markets are prone to significant fluctuations in supply and demand. In addition, most commercial and residential real estate developers rely heavily on project financing in order to initiate and complete projects. Declines in real estate values and increases in prevailing interest rates could lead to significant reductions in the demand for and availability of project financing, even in markets where demand may otherwise be sufficient to support new construction. These factors could in turn temper demand for new HVAC, fire detection and suppression and security installations.

Levels of industrial capital expenditures for facility expansions and maintenance are dependent on general economic conditions, economic conditions within specific industries we serve, expectations of future market behavior and available financing. The businesses of many of our industrial customers are to varying degrees cyclical and have experienced periodic downturns. During such economic downturns, customers in these industries tend to delay major capital projects, including greenfield construction, maintenance projects and upgrades. Additionally, demand for our products and services may be affected by volatility in energy, component and commodity prices, commodity and component availability and fluctuating demand forecasts, as our customers may be more conservative in their capital planning, which may reduce demand for our products and services as projects are postponed or cancelled. Although our industrial customers tend to be less dependent on project financing than real estate developers, increases in prevailing interest rates or disruptions in financial markets and banking systems could make credit and capital markets difficult for our customers to access and could significantly raise the cost of new debt for our customers. Any difficulty in accessing these markets and the increased associated costs can have a negative effect

on investment in large capital projects, including necessary maintenance and upgrades, even during periods of favorable end-market conditions.

Many of our customers inside and outside of the industrial and commercial sectors, including governmental and institutional customers, have experienced budgetary constraints as sources of revenue have been negatively impacted by adverse or stagnant economic conditions. These budgetary constraints have in the past, and may in the future, reduce demand for our products and services among governmental and institutional customers.

Reduced demand for our products and services could result in the delay or cancellation of existing orders or lead to excess capacity, which unfavorably impacts our absorption of fixed costs. This reduced demand may also erode average selling prices in the industries we serve. Any of these results could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Increases in commodity costs can negatively impact the profitability of orders in backlog as prices on such orders are typically fixed; therefore, in the short-term, our ability to adjust for changes in certain commodity prices is limited. In these cases, if we are not able to recover commodity cost increases through price increases to our customers on new orders, then such increases will have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In cases where commodity price risk cannot be naturally offset or hedged through supply-based fixed-price contracts, we use commodity hedge contracts to minimize overall price risk associated with our anticipated commodity purchases. Unfavorability in our hedging programs during a period of declining commodity prices could result in lower margins as we reduce prices to match the market on a fixed commodity cost level. Additionally, to the extent we do not or are unable to hedge certain commodities and the commodity prices substantially increase, such increases will have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We have significant operations in a number of countries outside the U.S., some of which are located in emerging markets. Long-term economic and geopolitical uncertainty in any of the regions of the world in which we operate, such as Asia, South America, the Middle East, Europe and emerging markets, could result in the disruption of markets and negatively affect cash flows from our operations to cover our capital needs and debt service requirements.

In addition, as a result of our global presence, a significant portion of our revenues and expenses is denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We are therefore subject to non-U.S. currency risks and non-U.S. exchange exposure. While we employ financial instruments to hedge some of our transactional foreign exchange exposure, these activities do not insulate us completely from those exposures. Exchange rates can be volatile and a substantial weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar could reduce our profit margin in various locations outside of the U.S. and adversely impact the comparability of results from period to period. During 2022, we experienced a reduction in revenue and profits as a result of the significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies. The continued strength of the U.S. dollar could continue to adversely impact our revenue and profit in non-U.S. jurisdictions.

There are other risks that are inherent in our non-U.S. operations, including the potential for changes in socio-economic conditions, laws and regulations, including anti-trust, import, export, labor and environmental laws, and monetary and fiscal policies; the ability to enforce rights, collect revenues and protect assets in foreign jurisdictions; protectionist measures that may prohibit acquisitions or joint ventures, or impact trade volumes; unsettled or unstable political conditions; international conflict; government-imposed plant or other operational shutdowns; backlash from foreign labor organizations related to our restructuring actions; corruption; natural and man-made disasters, hazards and losses; violence, civil and labor unrest, and possible terrorist attacks.

These and other factors may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Vaccine mandates and testing requirements have been implemented in some jurisdictions where we operate. In addition, a number of our customers have issued vaccine requirements with respect to our employees who provide on-site service at customer facilities. Our efforts to comply with these or other mandates could result in increased labor attrition and disruption, as well as difficulty securing future labor needs, and could materially impact our ability to deliver services to our customers, which could in turn adversely impact our results of operations.

We may also experience impacts from market forces and changes in consumer behavior related to pandemic fears as a result of COVID-19. Challenges in achieving sufficient vaccination levels and the introduction of new variants of COVID-19 have and could continue to negatively impact our results of operations due to the extension or reinstitution of lockdowns and similar restrictive measures, limited access to customer sites to perform installation and service work, the delay or abandonment of projects on which we provide products and/or services, and the general adverse impacts on demand and sales volumes from industries that are sensitive to economic downturns and volatility in commodity prices. For example, the Company has experienced, and could continue to experience, disruptions to its business in China due to the application of lockdowns and other restrictive measures under China's "zero-COVID" policy. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic could result in permanent changes in the behaviors of our customers, including the increased prevalence of remote work and a corresponding decline in demand for the construction and maintenance of commercial buildings. Any of these impacts could adversely affect our results of operations.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the resurgence of COVID-19 and its variants, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and the speed at which populations are vaccinated, impacts on economic activity and regulatory actions taken to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations

We use a wide range of materials (primarily steel, copper and aluminum) and components (including semiconductors and other electronic components) in the global production of our products, which come from numerous suppliers around the world. Because not all of our business arrangements provide for guaranteed supply and some key parts may be available only from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers, we are subject to supply and pricing risk. Our operations and those of our suppliers are subject to disruption for a variety of reasons, including supplier plant shutdowns or slowdowns, transportation delays, work stoppages, labor relations, labor shortages, global geopolitical instability, price inflation, governmental regulatory and enforcement actions, intellectual property claims against suppliers, financial issues such as supplier bankruptcy, information technology failures, and hazards such as fire, earthquakes, flooding, or other natural disasters. For example, we expect to continue to be impacted by the following supply chain issues, due to economic, political and other factors largely beyond our control: increased input material costs and component shortages; supply chain disruptions and delays and cost inflation, all of which could continue or escalate in the future. In addition, some of our subcontractors have also experienced supply chain and labor disruptions, which have continued to impact our ability to timely complete projects and convert our backlog. Such disruptions have and could continue to interrupt our ability to manufacture or obtain certain products and components, thereby adversely impacting our ability to provide products to customers, convert our backlog into revenue and realize expected profit margins. Any significant disruption could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Material supply shortages and delays in deliveries, along with other factors such as price inflation, can also result in increased pricing. While many of our customers permit quarterly or other periodic adjustments to pricing based on changes in component prices and other factors, we may bear the risk of price increases that occur between any such repricing or, if such repricing is not permitted, during the balance of the term of the particular customer contract. The inability to timely convert our backlog due

to supply chain disruptions subjects us to pricing risk due to cost inflation occurring between the generation of backlog and its conversion into revenue. If we are unable to effectively manage the impacts of price inflation and timely convert our backlog, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could materially and adversely be affected.

Our future success depends on our ability to develop or acquire, manufacture and bring competitive, and increasingly complex, products and services to market quickly and cost-effectively. Our ability to develop or acquire new products, services and technologies requires the investment of significant resources. These acquisitions and development efforts divert resources from other potential investments in our businesses, and they may not lead to the development of new technologies, products or services on a timely basis. Moreover, as we introduce new products, we may be unable to detect and correct defects in the design of a product or in its application to a specified use, which could result in loss of sales or delays in market acceptance. Even after introduction, new or enhanced products may not satisfy customer preferences and product failures may cause customers to reject our products. As a result, these products may not achieve market acceptance and our brand image could suffer. We must also attract, develop and retain individuals with the requisite technical expertise and understanding of customers’ needs to develop new technologies and introduce new products, particularly as we increase investment in our digital services and solutions business and our OpenBlue software platform. The laws and regulations applicable to our products, and our customers’ product and service needs, change from time to time, and regulatory changes may render our products and technologies noncompliant. We must also monitor disruptive technologies and business models. In addition, the markets for our products, services and technologies may not develop or grow as we anticipate. The failure of our technology, products or services to gain market acceptance due to more attractive offerings by our competitors, the introduction of new competitors to the market with new or innovative product offerings or the failure to address any of the above factors could significantly reduce our revenues, increase our operating costs or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We rely upon the capacity, reliability and security of our IT and data security infrastructure and our ability to expand and continually update this infrastructure in response to the changing needs of our business. As we implement new systems or integrate existing systems, they may not perform as expected. We also face the challenge of supporting our older systems and implementing necessary upgrades. In addition, we are relying on our IT infrastructure to support our employees’ ability to work remotely. If we experience a problem with the functioning of an important IT system as a result of increased burdens placed on our IT infrastructure or a security breach of our IT systems, the resulting disruptions could have an adverse effect on our business.

Global cybersecurity threats and incidents can range from uncoordinated individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to IT systems to sophisticated and targeted measures known as advanced persistent threats directed at the Company, its products, its customers and/or its third-party service providers, including cloud providers. These threats and incidents originate from many sources globally and include malwares that take the form of computer viruses, ransomware, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, rogue software, and programs that act against the computer user. While we have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, these types of threats and incidents, none of them to date has been material to the Company. Our customers, including the U.S. government, are increasingly requiring cybersecurity protections and mandating cybersecurity standards in our products, and we may incur additional costs to comply with such demands. We seek to deploy comprehensive measures to deter, prevent, detect, respond to and mitigate these threats, including identity and access controls, data protection, vulnerability assessments, product software designs which we believe are less susceptible to cyber-attacks, continuous monitoring of our IT networks and systems, maintenance of backup and protective systems and the incorporation of cybersecurity design throughout the lifecycle of our products. Despite these efforts, cybersecurity incidents, depending on their nature and scope, could potentially result in the misappropriation, destruction, corruption or unavailability of critical data and confidential or proprietary information (our own or that of third parties) and the disruption of business operations. Such incidents could remain undetected for an extended period of time, and the losses arising from such incidents could exceed our available insurance coverage for such matters.

An increasing number of our products, services and technologies, including our OpenBlue software platform, are delivered with digital capabilities and accompanying interconnected device networks, which include sensors, data, building management systems and advanced computing and analytics capabilities. If we are unable to manage the lifecycle cybersecurity risk in development, deployment and operation of our digital platforms and services, they could become susceptible to cybersecurity

incidents and lead to third-party claims that our product failures have caused damages to our customers. This risk is enhanced by the increasingly connected nature of our products and the role they play in managing building systems.

The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include financial loss, reputational damage, adverse health, safety, and environmental consequences, exposure to legal claims or enforcement actions, theft of intellectual property, fines levied by the Federal Trade Commission or other governmental organizations, diminution in the value of our investment in research, development and engineering, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our competitiveness and results of operations.

We collect, store, have access to and otherwise process certain confidential or sensitive data, including proprietary business information, personal data or other information that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations and/or customer-imposed controls. Despite our efforts to protect such data, our business and our products may be vulnerable to material security breaches, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming errors, or errors that could potentially lead to compromising such data, improper use of our products, systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions. A significant actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, employee or other data, whether by us, our suppliers, channel partners, customers or other third parties, as a result of employee error or malfeasance, or as a result of the imaging, software, security and other products we incorporate into our products, as well as non-compliance with applicable industry standards or our contractual or other legal obligations or privacy and information security policies regarding such data, could result in costs, fines, litigation or regulatory actions, or could lead customers to select the products and services of our competitors. Any such event could harm our reputation, cause unfavorable publicity or otherwise adversely affect certain potential customers’ perception of the security and reliability of our services as well as our credibility and reputation, which could result in lost sales. In addition, we operate in an environment in which there are different and potentially conflicting data privacy laws in effect in the various U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate and we must understand and comply with each law and standard in each of these jurisdictions while ensuring the data is secure. For example, proposed regulations restricting the use of biometric security technology could impact the products and solutions offered by our security business. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and violations of data privacy laws can result in fines, reputational damage and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows are dependent upon our ability to drive organizational improvement. We seek to drive improvements through a variety of actions, including integration activities, digital transformation, business portfolio reviews, productivity initiatives, functionalization, executive management changes, and business and operating model assessments. Risks associated with these actions include delays in execution, additional unexpected costs, realization of fewer than estimated productivity improvements, and adverse effects on employee morale. We may not realize the full operational or financial benefits we expect, the recognition of these benefits may be delayed, and these actions may potentially disrupt our operations. In addition, our failure to effectively manage organizational changes may lead to increased attrition and harm our ability to attract and retain key talent.

We rely on a combination of trademarks, trade secrets, patents, copyrights, know-how, confidentiality provisions and licensing arrangements to establish and protect our proprietary rights. We cannot guarantee, however, that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights or misappropriation or theft of our technology, trade secrets or know-how. For example, effective patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in some of the countries in which we operate. In addition, while we generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties to protect our trade secrets, know-how, business strategy and other proprietary information, such confidentiality agreements could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and know-how related to the design, manufacture or operation of our products. From time to time we resort to litigation to protect our intellectual property rights. Such proceedings can be burdensome and costly, and we may not prevail. Further, adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. Finally, for those products in our portfolio that rely on patent protection, once a patent has expired, the

product is generally open to competition. Products under patent protection usually generate significantly higher revenues than those not protected by patents. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could suffer, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, we are, from time to time, subject to claims of intellectual property infringement by third parties, including practicing entities and non-practicing entities. Regardless of the merit of such claims, responding to infringement claims can be expensive and time-consuming. The litigation process is subject to inherent uncertainties, and we may not prevail in litigation matters regardless of the merits of our position. Intellectual property lawsuits or claims may become extremely disruptive if the plaintiffs succeed in blocking the trade of our products and services and they may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Unlike many of our competitors, we rely on a direct sales channel for a substantial portion of our revenue. The direct channel provides for the installation of fire and security solutions, and HVAC equipment manufactured by us. This represents a significant distribution channel for our products, creates a large installed base of our fire and security solutions and HVAC equipment, and creates opportunities for longer term service and monitoring revenue. If we are unable to maintain or grow this installation business, whether due to changes in economic conditions, a failure to anticipate changing customer needs, a failure to introduce innovative or technologically advanced solutions, or for any other reason, our installation revenue could decline, which could in turn adversely impact our product pull-through and our ability to grow service and monitoring revenue.

Our ability to sustain and grow our business requires us to hire, retain and develop a high-performance, customer-centric and diverse management team and workforce. Continuous efficient and timely customer service, customer support and customer intimacy are essential to enabling customer loyalty and driving our financial results. Our growth strategies require that we pivot to new talent capability investments and build the workforce of the future, with an emphasis on developing skills in digital and consultative, outcome-based selling. Failure to ensure that we have the leadership and talent capacity with the necessary skillset and experience could impede our ability to deliver our growth objectives, execute our strategic plan and effectively transition our leadership. Any unplanned turnover or inability to attract and retain key employees could have a negative effect on our results of operations.

Our ability to convert backlog into revenue requires us to maintain a labor force that is sufficiently large enough to support our manufacturing operations to meet customer demand, as well as provide on-site services and project support for our customers. This includes recruiting, hiring and retaining skilled trade workers to support our direct channel field businesses. Recently, we have experienced the impacts of shortages for both skilled and unskilled labor. While we have taken measures to mitigate the impact of these shortages, we can provide no assurance that such efforts will be successful. The impacts of labor shortages could limit our ability to convert backlog into revenue and negatively impact our results of operations.

If our operations, particularly at our monitoring facilities and/or manufacturing facilities, were to be disrupted as a result of significant equipment failures, natural disasters, climate change, cybersecurity breaches, power outages, fires, explosions, terrorism, sabotage, adverse weather conditions, public health crises (including COVID-19 related shutdowns), labor disputes, labor shortages or other reasons, we may be unable to effectively respond to alarm signals, fill customer orders, convert our backlog and otherwise meet obligations to or demand from our customers, which could adversely affect our financial performance. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced disruptions in certain of our manufacturing facilities resulting from government-mandated shutdowns and labor shortages. The continuation or recurrence of either of these trends could adversely affect our financial performance.

Interruptions to production could increase our costs and reduce our sales. Any interruption in production capability could require us to make substantial capital expenditures or purchase alternative material at higher costs to fill customer orders, which could negatively affect our profitability and financial condition. We maintain property damage insurance that we believe to be adequate to provide for reconstruction of facilities and equipment, as well as business interruption insurance to mitigate losses resulting from significant production interruption or shutdown caused by an insured loss. However, any recovery under our insurance policies may not offset the lost sales or increased costs that may be experienced during the disruption of operations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We employ approximately 102,000 people worldwide. Approximately 22% of these employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or 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 strikes or work stoppages recently, no assurances can be made that we will not experience in the future these and other types of conflicts with labor unions, works councils, other groups representing employees or our employees generally, or that any future negotiations with our labor unions will not result in significant increases in our cost of labor. Additionally, a work stoppage at one of our suppliers could materially and adversely affect our operations if an alternative source of supply were not readily available. Work stoppages by employees of our customers could also result in reduced demand for our products.

Risks Related to Government Regulations

Due to the international scope of our operations, the system of laws and regulations to which we are subject is complex and includes regulations issued by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and various non U.S. governmental agencies, including applicable export controls, anti-trust, customs, currency exchange control and transfer pricing regulations, laws regulating the foreign ownership of assets, and laws governing certain materials that may be in our products. No assurances can be made that we will continue to be found to be operating in compliance with, or be able to detect violations of, any such laws or regulations.

Existing free trade laws and regulations, provide certain beneficial duties and tariffs for qualifying imports and exports, subject to compliance with the applicable classification and other requirements. Changes in laws or policies governing the terms of foreign trade, and in particular increased trade restrictions, tariffs or taxes on imports from countries where we manufacture products or from where we import products or raw materials (either directly or through our suppliers) could have an impact on our competitive position, business and financial results. For example, the U.S., China and other countries continue to implement restrictive trade actions, including tariffs, export controls, sanctions, legislation favoring domestic investment and other actions impacting the import and export of goods, foreign investment and foreign operations in jurisdictions in which we operate. Additional measures imposed by such countries on a broader range of imports or economic activity, or retaliatory trade measures taken by other countries in response, could increase the cost of our products, create disruptions to our supply chain and impair our ability to effectively operate and compete in such countries.

We cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

The effects of climate change create financial risks to our business. For example, the effects of climate change could disrupt our operations by impacting the availability and cost of materials needed for manufacturing, exacerbate existing risks to our supply chain and increase insurance and other operating costs. These factors may impact our decisions to construct new facilities or maintain existing facilities in areas most prone to physical climate risks. We could also face indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain and disruptions that could result in increased prices for our products and the resources needed to produce them.

Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change has resulted in more regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulations tend to be implemented under global, national and sub-national climate objectives or policies, and target the global warming potential (“GWP”) of refrigerants, equipment energy efficiency, and the combustion of fossil fuels as a heating source. Many of our products consume energy and use refrigerants. Regulations which seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions present a risk to our global products business, predominantly our HVAC business, if we do not adequately prepare our product portfolio. As a result, we may be required to make increased research and development and other capital expenditures to improve our product portfolio in order to meet new regulations and standards. Further, our customers and the markets we serve may impose emissions or other environmental standards through regulation, market-based emissions policies or consumer preference that we may not be able to timely meet due to the required level of capital investment or technological advancement. While we have been committed to continuous improvements to our product portfolio to meet and exceed anticipated regulations and preferences, there can be no assurance that our commitments will be successful, that our products will be accepted by the market, that proposed regulation or deregulation will not have a negative competitive impact or that economic returns will reflect our investments in new product development.

We are subject to emerging and competing climate regulations. There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. Such regulatory uncertainty extends to incentives, which if discontinued, could adversely impact the demand for energy efficient buildings, and could increase costs of compliance. These factors may impact the demand for our products, obsolescence of our products and our results of operations.

As of the date of this filing, we have made several public commitments regarding our intended reduction of carbon emissions, including commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and the establishment of science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions from our operations and the operations of our customers. Although we intend to meet these commitments, we may be required to expend significant resources to do so, which could increase our operational costs. Further, there can be no assurance of the extent to which any of our commitments will be achieved, or that any future investments we make in furtherance of achieving such targets and goals will meet investor expectations or any binding or non-binding legal standards regarding sustainability performance. Moreover, we may determine that it is in the best interest of our company and our shareholders to prioritize other business, social, governance or sustainable investments over the achievement of our current commitments based on economic, regulatory and social factors, business strategy or pressure from investors, activist groups or other stakeholders. If we are unable to meet these commitments, then we could incur adverse publicity and reaction from investors, activist groups and other stakeholders, which could adversely impact the perception of our brand and our products and services by current and potential customers, as well as investors, which could in turn adversely impact our results of operations.

We are subject to numerous federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, solid and hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal, and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. There are significant capital, operating and other costs associated with compliance with these environmental laws and regulations. Environmental laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future, which could increase costs of compliance or require us to manufacture with alternative technologies and materials. For example, proposed federal, state and European Union legislative action concerning the use and clean-up of fire-fighting foam products, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to designate perfluorooctane sulfonate ("PFOS") and perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, could negatively impact our fire-fighting business and our results of operations, thereby enhancing the risks to our business described under “Potential liability for environmental contamination could result in substantial costs” below.

Federal, state and local authorities also regulate a variety of matters, including, but not limited to, health, safety laws governing employee injuries, and permitting requirements in addition to the environmental matters discussed above. If we are unable to adequately comply with applicable health and safety regulations and provide our employees with a safe working environment, we may be subject to litigation and regulatory action, in addition to negatively impacting our ability to attract and retain talented employees. New legislation and regulations may require us to make material changes to our operations, resulting in significant increases to the cost of production. Additionally, violations of environmental, health and safety laws are subject to civil, and, in some cases, criminal sanctions. As a result of these various uncertainties, we may incur unexpected interruptions to operations, fines, penalties or other reductions in income which could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA"), the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery 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. 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 local customs and practices that can be inconsistent with anti-bribery laws. We cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures will preclude 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 or agents have or may have violated applicable anti-corruption laws, or if we are subject to allegations of any such violations, we will investigate the allegations and may engage outside counsel 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 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. In addition, we could be subject to commercial impacts such as lost revenue from customers who decline to do business with us as a result of such compliance matters, which also could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our customers include many U.S. federal, state and local government authorities. Doing business with the U.S. federal, state and local governments subjects us to certain particular risks, including dependence on the level of government spending and compliance with and changes in governmental procurement and security regulations. Agreements relating to the sale of products to government entities may be subject to termination, reduction or modification, either at the convenience of the government or for failure to perform under the applicable contract. We are subject to potential government investigations of business practices and compliance with government procurement and security regulations, which can be expensive and burdensome. If we were charged with wrongdoing as a result of an investigation, we could be suspended from bidding on or receiving awards of new government contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, various U.S. federal and state legislative proposals have been made in the past that would deny governmental contracts to U.S. companies that have moved their corporate location abroad. We are unable to predict the likelihood that, or final form in which, any such proposed legislation might become law, the nature of regulations that may be promulgated under any future legislative enactments, or the effect such enactments and increased regulatory scrutiny may have on our business.

Risks Related to Litigation

Potential liability for environmental contamination could result in substantial costs.

We have projects underway at multiple current and former manufacturing and testing facilities to investigate and remediate environmental contamination resulting from past operations by us or by other businesses that previously owned or used the properties, including our Fire Technology Center and Stanton Street manufacturing facility located in Marinette, Wisconsin. These projects relate to a variety of activities, including arsenic, solvent, oil, metal, lead, PFOS, PFOA and/or other per- and polyfluorinated substances ("PFAS") and other hazardous substance contamination cleanup; and structure decontamination and demolition, including asbestos abatement. Because of uncertainties associated with environmental regulation and environmental remediation activities at sites where we may be liable, future expenses that we may incur to remediate identified sites and resolve outstanding litigation could be considerably higher than the current accrued liability on our consolidated statements of financial position, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, we have been named, along with others, in a number of class action and other lawsuits relating to the use of fire-fighting foam products by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. military and others for fire suppression purposes and related training exercises. It is difficult to predict the outcome or ultimate financial exposure, if any, represented by these matters, and there can be no assurance that any such exposure will not be material. Such claims may also negatively affect our reputation. See Note 21, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information on these matters.

We and certain of our subsidiaries, along with numerous other third parties, are named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits based on alleged exposure to asbestos containing materials. 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 used with asbestos containing components. We cannot predict with certainty the extent to which we will be successful in litigating or otherwise resolving lawsuits on satisfactory terms in the future and we continue to evaluate different strategies related to asbestos claims filed against us including entity restructuring and judicial relief. Unfavorable rulings, judgments or settlement terms could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See Note 21, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information on these matters.

We are currently, and may in the future, become subject to legal proceedings and commercial or contractual disputes. These are typically claims that arise in the normal course of business including, without limitation, commercial or contractual disputes with our suppliers or customers, intellectual property matters, third party liability, including product liability claims, and employment claims. In addition, we may be exposed to greater risks of liability for employee acts or omissions, or system failure, in our fire and security businesses than may not be inherent in other businesses. In particular, because many of our fire and security products and services are intended to protect lives and real and personal property, we may have greater exposure to litigation risks than other businesses. The nature of the services we provide exposes us to the risks that we may be held liable for employee acts or omissions or system failures. As a result, such employee acts or omissions or system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Relating to Strategic Transactions

We expect acquisitions of businesses and assets, as well as joint ventures (or other strategic arrangements), to play a role in our future growth and our ability to build capabilities in our products and services. We cannot be certain that we will be able to identify attractive acquisition or joint venture targets, obtain financing for acquisitions on satisfactory terms, successfully acquire identified targets or form joint ventures, or manage the timing of acquisitions with capital obligations across our businesses.

Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses and expenses. Acquisitions and investments may be dilutive to earnings. Acquisitions involve numerous other risks, including: the diversion of management attention to integration matters; difficulties in integrating operations and systems; challenges in conforming standards, controls, procedures and accounting and other policies, business cultures and compensation structures; difficulties in assimilating employees and in attracting and retaining key personnel; challenges in successfully integrating and operating businesses with different characteristics than our current core businesses; challenges in keeping existing customers and obtaining new customers; difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, business opportunities and growth prospects; contingent liabilities (including contingent tax liabilities and earn-out obligations) that are larger than expected; and potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with acquired companies.

The goodwill and intangible assets recorded with past acquisitions were significant and impairment of such assets could result in a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Competition for acquisition opportunities may rise, thereby increasing our costs of making acquisitions or causing us to refrain from making further acquisitions.

Many of these factors are outside of our control, and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreased expected revenues and diversion of management time and energy, which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have entered into several joint ventures and we may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. Our joint venture partners may at any time have economic, business or legal interests or goals that are inconsistent with our goals or with the goals of the joint venture. In addition, we may compete against our joint venture partners in certain of our other markets. Disagreements with our business partners may impede our ability to maximize the benefits of our partnerships. Our joint venture arrangements may require us, among other matters, to pay certain costs or to make certain capital investments or to seek our joint venture partner’s consent to take certain actions. In addition, our joint venture partners may be unable or unwilling to meet their economic or other obligations under the operative documents, and we may be required to either fulfill those obligations alone to ensure the ongoing success of a joint venture or to dissolve and liquidate a joint venture. These risks could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

We continually evaluate the performance and strategic fit of all of our businesses and may sell businesses or product lines. Divestitures involve risks, including difficulties in the separation of operations, services, products and personnel, the diversion of management's attention from other business concerns, the disruption of our business, the potential loss of key employees and the retention of uncertain environmental or other contingent liabilities related to the divested business. Some divestitures may be dilutive to earnings. In addition, divestitures may result in significant asset impairment charges, including those related to goodwill and other intangible assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In the event we are unable to successfully divest a business or product line, we may be forced to wind down such business or product line, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that we encounter in divesting a business or product line, and any divestiture we undertake could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and may also result in a diversion of management attention, operational difficulties and losses.

Risks Related to Tax Matters

Legislative and regulatory action may be taken in the U.S. and other jurisdictions in which we operate, which, if ultimately enacted, could override tax treaties upon which we rely, or broaden the circumstances under which we would be considered a U.S. resident, each of which could materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific legislative or regulatory proposals and such changes could have a prospective or retroactive application. However, if proposals were enacted that had the effect of disregarding our incorporation in Ireland or limiting Johnson Controls International plc’s ability, as an Irish company, to take advantage of tax treaties with the U.S., we could be subject to increased taxation, potentially significant expense, and/or other adverse tax consequences.

The U.S. enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) in August 2022, which, among other sections, creates a new book minimum tax of at least 15% of consolidated GAAP pre-tax income for corporations with average book income in excess of $1 billion. The book minimum tax will first apply to us in fiscal 2024. We do not expect the IRA to have a material impact on our effective tax rate, however, it is possible that the U.S. Congress could advance other tax legislation proposals in the future that could have a material impact on our tax rate. In addition, in October 2021, 136 out of 140 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("IF"), including Ireland, politically committed to potentially fundamental changes to the international corporate tax system, including the potential implementation of a global minimum corporate tax rate. While the details of these pronouncements remain unclear and timing of implementation uncertain, the impact of local country IF adoption could have a material impact on our effective tax rate. It is also possible that jurisdictions in which we do business could react to such IF developments unilaterally by enacting tax legislation that could adversely affect us or our affiliates. There is also general uncertainty regarding the tax policies of the jurisdictions where we operate, and if changes are enacted, there could be a resulting increase in our effective tax rate.

Under current U.S. federal tax law, a corporation is generally considered to be a tax resident in the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation. Because Johnson Controls International plc is an Irish incorporated entity, it would generally be classified as a non-U.S. corporation (and, therefore, a non-U.S. tax resident) under these rules. However, Section 7874 of the Code ("Section 7874") provides an exception to this general rule under which a non-U.S. incorporated entity may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Under Section 7874, if (1) former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders owned (within the meaning of Section 7874) 80% or more (by vote or value) of our ordinary shares after the Merger by reason of holding Johnson Controls, Inc. common stock (such ownership percentage the "Section 7874 ownership percentage"), and (2) our "expanded affiliated group" did not have "substantial business activities" in Ireland ("the substantial business activities test"), we will be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes. If the Section 7874 ownership percentage of the former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders after the Merger was less than 80% but at least 60%, and the substantial business activities test was not met, we and our U.S. affiliates (including the U.S. affiliates historically owned by Tyco) may, in some circumstances, be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal

income tax rules (which, among other things, could limit their ability to utilize certain U.S. tax attributes to offset U.S. taxable income or gain resulting from certain transactions). The application of these rules could result in significant additional U.S. tax liability and limit our ability to restructure or access cash earned by certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries, in each case, without incurring substantial U.S. tax liabilities.

Based on the terms of the Merger, the rules for determining share ownership under Section 7874 and certain factual assumptions, we believe that former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders owned (within the meaning of Section 7874) less than 60% (by both vote and value) of our ordinary shares after the Merger by reason of holding shares of Johnson Controls, Inc. common stock. Therefore, under current law, we believe that we should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes and that Section 7874 should otherwise not apply to us or our affiliates as a result of the Merger.

However, the determination of the Section 7874 ownership percentage is complex and is subject to factual and legal uncertainties. Thus, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with the position that we should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes or that Section 7874 does not otherwise apply as a result of the Merger.

Regardless of any application of Section 7874, we are treated as an Irish tax resident for Irish tax purposes. Consequently, if we were to be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes under Section 7874, we could be liable for both U.S. and Irish taxes, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes to the U.S. model income tax treaty could adversely affect us.

On February 17, 2016, the U.S. Treasury released a revised U.S. model income tax convention (the "new model"), which is the baseline text used by the U.S. Treasury to negotiate tax treaties. If any or all of the modifications to the model treaty are adopted in the main jurisdictions in which we do business, they could, among other things, cause double taxation, increase audit risk and substantially increase our worldwide tax liability. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific modifications to the model treaty, and we cannot provide assurance that any such modifications will not apply to us.

Negative or unexpected tax consequences could adversely affect our results of operations.

Adverse changes in the underlying profitability and financial outlook of our operations in several jurisdictions could lead to additional changes in our valuation allowances against deferred tax assets and other tax reserves on our statement of financial position, and the future sale of certain businesses could potentially result in the reversal of outside basis differences that could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, changes in tax laws in the U.S., Ireland or in other countries where we have significant operations could materially affect deferred tax assets and liabilities on our consolidated statements of financial position and our income tax provision in our consolidated statements of income.

We are also subject to tax audits by governmental authorities. Negative unexpected results from one or more such tax audits could adversely affect our results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Jurisdiction of Incorporation

It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in the U.S. against us in Ireland based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws. In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons based on those laws. We have been advised that the U.S. currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any U.S. federal or state court based on civil liability, whether or not based solely on U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Ireland.

As an Irish company, Johnson Controls is governed by the Irish Companies Acts, which differ in some material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits. Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an Irish company generally are owed to the company only. Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal right of action against directors or officers of the company and may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the company only in limited circumstances. Accordingly, holders of Johnson Controls International plc securities may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would holders of securities of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the U.S.

For the majority of transfers of Johnson Controls ordinary shares, there is no Irish stamp duty. However, Irish stamp duty is payable for certain share transfers. A transfer of Johnson Controls ordinary shares from a seller who holds shares beneficially (i.e., through the Depository Trust Company ("DTC")) to a buyer who holds the acquired shares beneficially is not subject to Irish stamp duty (unless the transfer involves a change in the nominee that is the record holder of the transferred shares). A transfer of Johnson Controls ordinary shares by a seller who holds shares directly (i.e., not through DTC) to any buyer, or by a seller who holds the shares beneficially to a buyer who holds the acquired shares directly, may be subject to Irish stamp duty (currently at the rate of 1% of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired, if higher) payable by the buyer. A shareholder who directly holds shares may transfer those shares into his or her own broker account to be held through DTC without giving rise to Irish stamp duty provided that the shareholder has confirmed to Johnson Controls transfer agent that there is no change in the ultimate beneficial ownership of the shares as a result of the transfer and, at the time of the transfer, there is no agreement in place for a sale of the shares.

We currently intend to pay, or cause one of our affiliates to pay, stamp duty in connection with share transfers made in the ordinary course of trading by a seller who holds shares directly to a buyer who holds the acquired shares beneficially. In other cases, Johnson Controls may, in its absolute discretion, pay or cause one of its affiliates to pay any stamp duty. Johnson Controls Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that, in the event of any such payment, Johnson Controls (i) may seek reimbursement from the buyer, (ii) may have a lien against the Johnson Controls ordinary shares acquired by such buyer and any dividends paid on such shares and (iii) may set-off the amount of the stamp duty against future dividends on such shares. Parties to a share transfer may assume that any stamp duty arising in respect of a transaction in Johnson Controls ordinary shares has been paid unless one or both of such parties is otherwise notified by Johnson Controls.

Dividends paid by us may be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax.

In certain circumstances, as an Irish tax resident company, we will be required to deduct Irish dividend withholding tax (currently at the rate of 25%) from dividends paid to our shareholders. Shareholders that are residents in the U.S., European Union countries (other than Ireland) or other countries with which Ireland has signed a tax treaty (whether the treaty has been ratified or not) generally should not be subject to Irish withholding tax so long as the shareholder has provided certain Irish dividend withholding tax forms. However, some shareholders may be subject to withholding tax, which could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.

Dividends received by you could be subject to Irish income tax.

Dividends paid in respect of Johnson Controls ordinary shares generally are not subject to Irish income tax where the beneficial owner of these dividends is exempt from dividend withholding tax, unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls shareholders who receive their dividends subject to Irish dividend withholding tax generally will have no further liability to Irish income tax on the dividend unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in Johnson Controls.

General Risk Factors

We are exposed to the risk that third parties to various arrangements who owe us money or goods and services, or who purchase goods and services from us, will not be able to perform their obligations or continue to place orders due to insolvency or financial distress. If third parties fail to perform their obligations under arrangements with us, we may be forced to replace the underlying commitment at current or above market prices or on other terms that are less favorable to us. In such events, we may incur losses, or our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity could otherwise be adversely affected.

Significant changes in actual investment return on defined benefit plan assets, discount rates, mortality assumptions and other factors could adversely affect our results of operations and the amounts of contributions we must make to our defined benefit plans in future periods. Because we mark-to-market our defined benefit plan assets and liabilities on an annual basis, large non-

cash gains or losses could be recorded in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or when a remeasurement event occurs. Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. require that we calculate income or expense for the plans using actuarial valuations. These valuations reflect assumptions about financial markets and interest rates, which may change based on economic conditions. Funding requirements for our defined benefit plans are dependent upon, among other factors, interest rates, underlying asset returns and the impact of legislative or regulatory changes related to defined benefit funding obligations.

Unfavorable changes in the ratings that rating agencies assign to our debt may ultimately negatively impact our access to the debt capital markets and increase the costs we incur to borrow funds in the market or under our existing credit agreements. If ratings for our debt fall below investment grade, our access to the debt capital markets would become restricted and the price we pay to issue debt could increase. Historically, we have relied on our ability to issue commercial paper rather than to draw on our credit facility to support our daily operations, which means that a downgrade in our ratings or volatility in the financial markets causing limitations to the debt capital markets could have an adverse effect on our business or our ability to meet our liquidity needs.

Further, an increase in the level of our indebtedness may increase our vulnerability to adverse general economic and industry conditions and may affect our ability to obtain additional financing.

Any of the following could materially and adversely impact the results of operations of our business: loss of, changes in, or failure to perform under guaranteed performance contracts with our major customers; cancellation of, or significant delays in, projects in our backlog; delays or difficulties in new product development; our ability to recognize the expected benefits of our restructuring actions, products and services that we are unable to pass on to the market; changes in energy costs or governmental regulations that would decrease the incentive for customers to update or improve their building control systems; and natural or man-made disasters or losses that impact our ability to deliver products and services to our customers.

The Company has no unresolved written comments regarding its periodic or current reports from the staff of the SEC.

The Company has properties in over 60 countries throughout the world, with its world headquarters located in Cork, Ireland and its North American operational headquarters located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. The Company’s wholly- and majority-owned facilities primarily consist of manufacturing, sales and service offices, research and development facilities, monitoring centers, and assembly and/or warehouse centers. At September 30, 2022, these properties totaled approximately 40 million square feet of floor space of which 12 million square feet are owned and 28 million square feet are leased. The Company considers its facilities to be suitable for their current uses and adequate for current needs. The majority of the facilities are operating at normal levels based on capacity. The Company does not anticipate difficulty in renewing existing leases as they expire or in finding alternative facilities.

On August 16, 2016, a putative class action lawsuit, Gumm v. Molinaroli, et al., Case No. 16-cv-1093, was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, naming Johnson Controls, Inc., the individual members of its board of directors at the time of the merger with the Company’s merger subsidiary and certain of its officers, the Company and the Company’s merger subsidiary as defendants. The complaint asserted various causes of action under the federal securities laws, state law and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, including that the individual defendants allegedly breached their fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched themselves by structuring the merger among the Company, Tyco and the merger subsidiary in a manner that would result in a United States federal income tax realization event for the putative class of certain Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders and allegedly result in certain benefits to the defendants, as well as related claims regarding alleged misstatements in the proxy statement/prospectus distributed to the Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders, conversion and breach of contract. The complaint also asserted that Johnson Controls, Inc., the Company and the Company’s merger subsidiary aided and abetted the individual defendants in their breach of fiduciary duties and unjust enrichment. The complaint seeks, among other things,

disgorgement of profits and damages. On September 30, 2016, approximately one month after the closing of the merger, plaintiffs filed a preliminary injunction motion seeking, among other items, to compel Johnson Controls, Inc. to make certain intercompany payments that plaintiffs contend will impact the United States federal income tax consequences of the merger to the putative class of certain Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders and to enjoin Johnson Controls, Inc. from reporting to the Internal Revenue Service the capital gains taxes payable by this putative class as a result of the closing of the merger. The court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion on January 4, 2017, and on January 25, 2017, the judge denied the plaintiffs' motion. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on February 15, 2017, and the Company filed a motion to dismiss on April 3, 2017. On October 17, 2019, the court heard oral arguments on the motion to dismiss and took the matter under advisement. On November 3, 2021, the court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint. Plaintiffs appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Briefing and oral argument has been completed. The court has yet to issue a ruling.

Refer to Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for discussion of environmental, asbestos, insurable liabilities and other litigation matters, which is incorporated by reference herein and is considered an integral part of Part I, Item 3, "Legal Proceedings."

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, the following list of executive officers of the Company as of November 15, 2022 is included as an unnumbered Item in Part I of this report in lieu of being included in the Company’s Proxy Statement relating to the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on March 8, 2023.

There are no family relationships, as defined by the instructions to this item, among the Company’s executive officers.

PART II

The shares of the Company’s ordinary shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JCI."

In March 2021, the Company's Board of Directors approved a $4.0 billion increase to the Company's share repurchase authorization, adding to the $2.0 billion remaining as of December 31, 2020 under the prior share repurchase authorization approved in 2019. The share repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and may be amended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time without prior notice. During fiscal 2022, the Company repurchased approximately $1.4 billion of its ordinary shares on an open market. As of September 30, 2022, approximately $3.6 billion remains available under the share repurchase authorization.

The following table presents information regarding the repurchase of the Company’s ordinary shares by the Company as part of the publicly announced program during the three months ended September 30, 2022.

During the three months ended September 30, 2022, acquisitions of shares by the Company from certain employees in order to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements in connection with the vesting of restricted shares were not material.

Equity compensation plan information is incorporated by reference from Part III, Item 12, "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters," of this document and should be considered an integral part of this Item 5.

The following information in Item 5 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 ("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 or the Exchange Act, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such a filing.

The line graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company's ordinary shares with the cumulative total return of companies on the Standard & Poor’s ("S&P’s") 500 Stock Index and the companies on the S&P 500 Industrials Index. This graph assumes the investment of $100 on September 30, 2017 and the reinvestment of all dividends since that date.

General

Johnson Controls International plc, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is a global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. The Company’s products, services, systems and solutions advance the safety, comfort and intelligence of spaces to serve people, places and the planet. The Company is committed to helping its customers win and creating greater value for all of its stakeholders through its strategic focus on buildings.

The Company is a global leader in engineering, manufacturing and commissioning building products and systems, including residential and commercial HVAC equipment, industrial refrigeration systems, controls, security systems, fire-detection systems and fire-suppression solutions. The Company further serves customers by providing technical services, including maintenance, management, repair, retrofit and replacement of equipment (in the HVAC, industrial refrigeration, security and fire-protection space), energy-management consulting and data-driven “smart building” services and solutions. The Company partners with customers by leveraging its broad product portfolio and digital capabilities, including its OpenBlue platform,

together with its direct channel service and solutions capabilities, to deliver outcome-based solutions across the lifecycle of a building that address customers’ needs to improve energy efficiency, enhance security, create healthy environments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Much of the demand for installation of the Company’s products and solutions is driven by commercial and residential construction and industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects. Commercial and residential construction projects are heavily dependent on general economic conditions, localized demand for commercial and residential real estate and availability of credit. Positive or negative fluctuations in commercial and residential construction, industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects and other capital investments in buildings could have a corresponding impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

As a result of the Company’s global presence, a significant portion of its revenues and expenses is denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Company is therefore subject to non-U.S. currency risks and non-U.S. exchange exposure. While the Company employs financial instruments to hedge some of its transactional foreign exchange exposure, these activities do not insulate it completely from those exposures. In addition, the currency exposure from the translation of non-U.S. dollar functional currency subsidiaries are not able to be hedged. Exchange rates can be volatile and a substantial weakening or strengthening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar could increase or reduce the Company’s profit margin, respectively, and impact the comparability of results from period to period. During fiscal 2022, revenue and profits were adversely impacted due to the significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies. The continued strength of the U.S. dollar could continue to adversely impact the Company's results.

The Company continues to observe trends demonstrating increased interest and demand for its products and services that enable smart, safe, efficient and sustainable buildings. This demand is driven in part by government tax incentives, building performance standards and other regulations designed to limit emissions and combat climate change. In particular, legislative and regulatory initiatives such as the U.S. Climate Smart Buildings Imitative, U.S. Inflection Reduction Act and EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive include provisions designed to fund and encourage investment in decarbonization and digital technologies for buildings. This demand is supplemented by an increase in commitments in both the public and private sectors to reduce emissions and/or achieve net zero emissions. The Company seeks to capitalize on these trends to drive growth by developing and delivering technologies and solutions to create smart, sustainable and healthy buildings. The Company is investing in new digital and product capabilities, including its OpenBlue platform, to enable it to deliver sustainable, high-efficiency products and tailored services to enable customers to achieve their sustainability goals. The Company is leveraging its install base, together with data-driven products and services to offer outcome-based solutions to customers with a focus on generating accelerated growth in services and recurring revenue.

The Company has experienced, and expects to continue to experience, increased input material cost inflation and component shortages, as well as disruptions and delays in its supply chain, as a result of global macroeconomic trends, including increased global demand, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, government-mandated actions in response to COVID-19, particularly in China, and labor shortages. Actions taken by the Company to mitigate supply chain disruptions and inflation, including expanding and redistributing its supplier network, supplier financing, price increases and productivity improvements, have generally been successful in offsetting some, but not all, of the impact of these trends. The collective impact of these trends has been to positively impact revenue due to increased demand and price increases to offset inflation, while negatively impacting margins due to supply chain disruptions and cost pressures. The Company has also experienced delays in converting its backlog due to continued supply chain disruptions, negatively impacting both revenues and margins. Although the Company has experienced recent improvement in its supply chain, the Company expects that these trends will continue to impact its results into fiscal 2023. Therefore, the Company could experience further disruptions, shortages and cost increases in the future, the effect of which will depend on the Company’s ability to successfully mitigate and offset the impact of these events.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company suspended its operations in Russia in response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Although this decision has not had and is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s

operating results, the broader consequences of this conflict, including heightened supply chain disruption, inflation, economic instability and other factors have and could continue to adversely impact the Company’s results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact aspects of the Company's operations and results. During fiscal 2022, the Company's facilities generally operated at normal levels, however, the Company has experienced some disruptions to its business in China due to government-mandated lockdowns in several major cities.

The Company has experienced increases in demand as governments have distributed vaccines and lifted COVID-19-related restrictions, leading to increases in retrofit activity and commercial building construction. As a result of the pandemic, the Company has seen an increase in demand for its products and solutions that promote building health and optimize customers’ infrastructure.

However, the Company continues to be influenced by COVID-19-related trends impacting site access and the labor force, which have and may continue to negatively impact the Company’s revenues and margins. Challenges in reaching sufficient vaccination levels and the introduction of new variants of COVID-19 have caused some governments to extend or reinstitute lockdowns and similar restrictive measures, which, in some cases, have limited the Company’s ability to access customer sites to install and maintain its products and deliver services. In addition, the Company has experienced and continues to experience labor shortages at certain facilities as the Company expands its production capacity to meet increased customer demand. Although the Company is mitigating these shortages through focused recruitment efforts and competitive compensation packages, the Company could continue to experience such shortages in the future.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. See Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for an additional discussion of risks related to COVID-19.

Restructuring and Cost Optimization Initiatives

To better align its resources with its growth strategies and reduce the cost structure of its global operations in certain underlying markets, the Company commits to restructuring plans as necessary. In fiscal 2021, the Company announced its plans to optimize its cost structure through broad-based SG&A actions focused on simplification, standardization and centralization, with the intent to deliver annualized savings of $300 million by fiscal 2023 (the “2021 Plan”). Additionally, the Company announced cost of sales actions to drive $250 million in annual run rate savings by fiscal 2023. The Company believes it is on track to deliver and exceed the productivity savings by fiscal 2023. For more information on the Company’s restructuring plans, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Restructuring.”

FISCAL YEAR 2022 COMPARED TO FISCAL YEAR 2021

Net Sales

The increase in net sales was due to higher organic sales ($2,033 million), incremental sales from acquisitions ($356 million) and the impact of prior year nonrecurring purchase accounting adjustments ($6 million), partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($741 million) and lower sales due to business divestitures ($23 million). Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, business acquisitions and divestitures and nonrecurring adjustments, consolidated net sales increased 9% as compared to the prior year, attributable to higher volumes and increased pricing in response to inflation pressures. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of net sales by segment.

Cost of Sales / Gross Profit

Cost of sales and gross profit both increased and gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased by 110 basis points. Gross profit increased due to organic sales growth and business acquisitions, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($229 million), supply chain inefficiencies, price/cost pressures and the unfavorable year-over-year impact of net pension mark-to-market adjustments ($121 million). Gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased as the benefit of volume leverage was more than offset by supply chain inefficiencies and price/cost pressures. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment earnings before interest, taxes and amortization ("EBITA").

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A") increased by $687 million, and SG&A as a percentage of sales increased by 130 basis points. The increase in SG&A on a percentage basis was primarily due to the current year environmental remediation charge and related reserves ($255 million), the unfavorable year-over-year impact of net mark-to-market adjustments on pension plans ($154 million), the unfavorable year-over-year impact of net mark-to-market adjustments on restricted asbestos investments ($93 million), the absence of certain one-time cost mitigation actions and current year business acquisitions, partially offset by a favorable earn-out liability adjustment ($43 million) and favorable foreign currency translation ($141 million). Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

Restructuring and Impairment Costs

* Measure not meaningful

Restructuring and impairment costs in fiscal 2022 included $419 million impairment costs related to businesses classified as held-for-sale, $75 million impairment of goodwill attributable to the Silent-Aire reporting unit, $45 million impairment of long-lived assets in the Building Solutions Asia Pacific segment reclassified from held for sale and $182 million in severance, long-lived asset impairments and other costs associated with the 2021 Plan. All of the fiscal 2021 restructuring and impairment costs were related to the 2021 Plan.

Refer to "Note 3, "Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale & Discontinued Operations," Note 8, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets," and Note 17, "Significant Restructuring and Impairment Costs," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further disclosure related to the Company's restructuring plans and impairment costs.

Net Financing Charges

Refer to Note 10, "Debt and Financing Arrangements," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further disclosure related to the Company's net financing charges.

Equity Income

The decrease in equity income was primarily due to lower income at certain partially-owned affiliates of the Johnson Controls - Hitachi joint venture and at certain partially-owned affiliates within the Building Solutions North America segment. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

Income Tax Provision

The statutory tax rate in Ireland of 12.5% is being used as a comparison since the Company is domiciled in Ireland.

For fiscal 2022, the effective tax rate for continuing operations was (1)% and was lower than the statutory tax rate primarily due to tax reserve adjustments as the result of expired statute of limitations for certain tax years and the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives, partially offset by the income tax effects of impairment and restructuring charges, valuation allowance adjustments, the establishment of a deferred tax liability on the outside basis difference of the Company's investment in certain subsidiaries as a result of the planned divestitures and tax rate differentials.

For fiscal 2021, the effective tax rate for continuing operations was 33% and was higher than the statutory tax rate primarily due to the tax impacts of an intercompany transfer of certain of the Company’s intellectual property rights, valuation allowance adjustments, the income tax effects of mark-to-market adjustments and tax rate differentials, partially offset by the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives.

The fiscal 2022 effective tax rate decreased as compared to fiscal 2021 primarily due to the income tax effects of mark-to-market adjustments, tax reserve adjustments as the result of expired statute of limitations for certain tax years and the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives, partially offset by valuation allowance adjustments, the establishment of a deferred tax liability on the outside basis difference of the Company's investment in certain subsidiaries as a result of the planned divestitures, impairment and restructuring charges and tax rate differentials. Refer to Note 18, "Income Taxes," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further details.

The U.S. enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) in August 2022, which, among other sections, creates a new book minimum tax of at least 15% of consolidated GAAP pre-tax income for corporations with average book income in excess of $1 billion. The book minimum tax will first apply to us in fiscal 2024. We do not expect the IRA to have a material impact on our effective tax rate. In addition, in October 2021, 136 out of 140 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("IF"), including Ireland, politically committed to potentially fundamental changes to the international corporate tax system, including the potential implementation of a global minimum corporate tax rate. While the details of these pronouncements presently remain unclear and timing of implementation uncertain, the impact of local country IF adoption could have a material impact on the Company's effective tax

rate in future periods. It is also possible that jurisdictions in which the Company does business could react to such IF developments unilaterally by enacting tax legislation that could adversely affect the Company or its affiliates.

Income From Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax

Refer to Note 3, "Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale & Discontinued Operations," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further information.

Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests

The decrease in income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily due to lower net income at certain partially-owned affiliates of the Johnson Controls - Hitachi joint venture.

Net Income Attributable to Johnson Controls

The decrease in net income attributable to Johnson Controls was primarily due to higher SG&A, higher restructuring and impairment costs and the non-recurrence of prior year income from discontinued operations, partially offset by lower income tax provision and higher gross profit. Diluted earnings per share attributable to Johnson Controls was $2.19 for the year ended September 30, 2022 compared to $2.27 for the year ended September 30, 2021.

Comprehensive Income Attributable to Johnson Controls

The decrease in comprehensive income attributable to Johnson Controls was due to a decrease in other comprehensive income attributable to Johnson Controls ($819 million) resulting primarily from foreign currency translation adjustments and lower net income attributable to Johnson Controls ($105 million). The year-over-year unfavorable foreign currency translation adjustments were primarily driven by the weakening of the British pound, euro and Canadian dollar in the current year compared to strengthening of the British pound, Canadian dollar and Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar in the prior year.

SEGMENT ANALYSIS

Management evaluates the performance of its business units based primarily on segment EBITA, which represents income from continuing operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests, excluding general corporate expenses, intangible asset amortization, net financing charges, restructuring and impairment costs, and net mark-to-market adjustments related to pension and postretirement plans and restricted asbestos investments.

Effective October 1, 2021, the Company's marine businesses previously included in the Building Solutions Asia Pacific and Global Products reportable segments are now part of the Building Solutions EMEA/LA reportable segment. Historical

information has been re-cast to present the comparative periods on a consistent basis. This change was not material to the segment presentation. Refer to Note 19, “Segment Information,” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Working Capital

Cash Flows From Continuing Operations

In fiscal 2021, the Company announced plans to optimize its cost structure through broad-based SG&A actions focused on simplification, standardization and centralization, with the intent to deliver annualized savings of $300 million by fiscal 2023. Additionally, the Company announced cost of sales actions intended to drive $250 million in annual run rate savings by fiscal 2023. The one-time pre-tax costs associated with these actions were originally expected to be approximately $385 million across all segments and at Corporate through fiscal 2023. The Company has incurred and exceeded these costs during fiscal 2022 due to certain restructuring actions and expenses planned for fiscal 2023 being accelerated into fiscal 2022, which also resulted in incremental savings. During the year ended September 30, 2022, the Company recorded $182 million and in total, the Company has recorded $424 million of costs resulting from the 2021 restructuring plan, which is the total amount expected to be incurred for this restructuring plan. The Company has outstanding restructuring reserves of $82 million at September 30, 2022, all of which is expected to be paid in cash.

Co-Issued Securities: Summarized Financial Information

TFSCA is a wholly-owned consolidated subsidiary of the Company that is 99.996% owned directly by the Parent Company and 0.004% owned by TFSCA’s sole general partner and manager, Tyco Fire & Security S.à r.l., which is itself wholly-owned by the Company. The Notes are the Parent Company’s and TFSCA’s unsecured, unsubordinated obligations. The Parent Company is incorporated and organized under the laws of Ireland and TFSCA is incorporated and organized under the laws of Luxembourg. The bankruptcy, insolvency, administrative, debtor relief and other laws of Luxembourg or Ireland, as applicable, may be materially different from, or in conflict with, those of the United States, including in the areas of rights of creditors, priority of governmental and other creditors, ability to obtain post-petition interest and duration of the proceeding. The

application of these laws, or any conflict among them, could adversely affect noteholders’ ability to enforce their rights under the Notes in those jurisdictions or limit any amounts that they may receive.

The following tables set forth summarized financial information of the Parent Company and TFSCA (collectively, the “Obligor Group”) on a combined basis after intercompany transactions have been eliminated, including adjustments to remove the receivable and payable balances, investment in, and equity in earnings from, those subsidiaries of the Parent Company other than TFSCA (collectively, the "Non-Obligor Subsidiaries").

The following table presents summarized income statement information for the year ended September 30, 2022 (in millions):

Excluded from the table above are the intercompany transactions between the Obligor Group and Non-Obligor Subsidiaries as follows (in millions):

The following table presents summarized balance sheet information (in millions):

Excluded from the table above are the intercompany balances between the Obligor Group and Non-Obligor Subsidiaries as follows (in millions):

The same accounting policies as described in Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements are used by the Parent Company and each of its subsidiaries in connection with the summarized financial information presented above.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The Company prepares its consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). This requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and related disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following estimates are considered by management to be the most critical to the understanding of the Company's consolidated financial statements as they require significant judgments that could materially impact the Company’s results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue from certain long-term contracts on an over time basis, with progress towards completion measured using a cost-to-cost input method based on the relationship between actual costs incurred and total estimated costs at completion. Total estimated costs at completion are based primarily on estimated purchase contract terms, historical performance trends and other economic projections. Factors that may result in a change to these estimates include unforeseen engineering problems, construction delays, cost inflation, the performance of subcontractors and major material suppliers, and weather conditions. As a result, changes to the original estimates may be required during the life of the contract. Such estimates are reviewed monthly and any adjustments to the measure of completion are recognized as adjustments to sales and gross profit using the cumulative catch-up method. Estimated losses are recorded when identified.

For agreements with multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the transaction price of the contract to each performance obligation using the best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. In order to estimate relative selling price, market data and transfer price studies are utilized. If the standalone selling price is not directly observable, the Company estimates the standalone selling price using an adjusted market assessment approach or expected cost plus margin approach.

The Company considers the contractual consideration payable by the customer and assesses variable consideration that may affect the total transaction price, including discounts, rebates, refunds, credits or other similar sources of variable consideration, when determining the transaction price of each contract. The Company includes variable consideration in the estimated transaction price when it is probable that significant reversal of revenue recognized would not occur when the uncertainty associated with variable consideration is subsequently resolved. These estimates are based on the amount of consideration that the Company expects to be entitled to.

Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

The Company reviews goodwill for impairment annually as of July 31 or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the asset might be impaired. The Company performs impairment reviews for its reporting units, which have been determined to be the Company’s reportable segments or one level below the reportable segments in certain instances, using a fair value method based on management’s judgments and assumptions or third party valuations. The fair value of a reporting unit refers to the price that would be received to sell the unit as a whole in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In estimating the fair value, the Company uses the multiples of earnings approach based on the average of published multiples of earnings of comparable entities with similar operations and economic characteristics that are applied to the Company's average of historical and future financial results. In certain instances, the Company uses discounted cash flow analyses or estimated sales price to further support the fair value estimates. The assumptions included in the impairment tests require judgment, and changes to these inputs could impact the results of the calculations. The key assumptions used in the impairment tests were management's projections of future cash flows, weighted-average cost of capital and long-term growth rates. Although the Company's cash flow forecasts are based on assumptions that are considered reasonable by management and consistent with the plans and estimates management is using to operate the underlying businesses, there are significant judgments in determining the expected future cash flows attributable to a reporting unit.

During its fiscal 2022 annual impairment test, the Company determined that its Silent-Aire reporting unit's goodwill was impaired by $75 million. No other reporting unit was determined to be at risk of failing the goodwill impairment test.

Indefinite-lived intangible assets are also subject to at least annual impairment testing. Indefinite-lived intangible assets primarily consist of trademarks and trade names and are tested for impairment using a relief-from-royalty method. A considerable amount of management judgment and assumptions are required in performing the impairment tests. The key assumptions used in the impairment tests were long-term revenue growth projections, weighted-average cost of capital, the royalty rate and general industry, market and macro-economic conditions.

The Company continuously monitors for events and circumstances that could negatively impact the key assumptions in determining fair value. While the Company believes the judgments and assumptions used in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment tests are reasonable, different assumptions or changes in general industry, market and macro-economic conditions could change the estimated fair values and, therefore, future impairment charges could be required, which could be material to the consolidated financial statements.

Refer to Note 8, "Goodwill and other Intangible Assets," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for information regarding the results of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets impairment testing performed in fiscal 2022 and 2021.

Pension Plans

The Company provides a range of benefits to its employees and retired employees, including pensions. Plan assets and obligations are measured annually, or more frequently if there is a significant remeasurement event, based on the Company’s measurement date utilizing various actuarial assumptions such as discount rates, assumed rates of return and compensation increases as of that date. The Company reviews its actuarial assumptions on an annual basis and makes modifications to the assumptions based on current rates and trends when appropriate.

The Company utilizes a mark-to-market approach for recognizing pension expenses, including measuring the market related value of plan assets at fair value and recognizing actuarial gains and losses in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or at the date of a remeasurement event. Refer to Note 16, "Retirement Plans," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for disclosure of the Company's pension plans.

U.S. GAAP requires that companies recognize in the statement of financial position a liability for plans that are underfunded or unfunded, or an asset for plans that are over funded. U.S. GAAP also requires that companies measure the benefit obligations and fair value of plan assets that determine a benefit plan’s funded status as of the date of the employer’s fiscal year end.

The Company considers the expected benefit payments on a plan-by-plan basis when setting assumed discount rates. As a result, the Company uses different discount rates for each plan depending on the plan jurisdiction, the demographics of participants and the expected timing of benefit payments. For the U.S. pension plans, the Company uses a discount rate provided by an independent third party calculated based on an appropriate mix of high quality bonds. For the non-U.S. pension plans, the Company consistently uses the relevant country specific benchmark indices for determining the various discount rates. The Company’s weighted average discount rate on U.S. pension plans was 5.08% and 2.50% at September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company’s weighted average discount rate on non-U.S. pension plans was 4.36% and 1.80% at September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Beginning in fiscal 2023, the Company believes the long-term rate of return will approximate 8.25% for U.S. pension plans and 3.70% for non-U.S. pension plans. Any differences between actual investment results and the expected long-term asset returns will be reflected in net periodic benefit costs in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or at the date of a significant remeasurement event. If the Company’s actual returns on plan assets are less than the Company’s expectations, additional contributions may be required.

In fiscal 2022, total employer contributions to the defined benefit pension plans were $93 million, none of which were voluntary contributions made by the Company. The Company expects to contribute approximately $38 million in cash to its defined benefit pension plans in fiscal 2023.

Based on information provided by its independent actuaries and other relevant sources, the Company believes that the assumptions used are reasonable; however, changes in these assumptions could impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Mark-to-market adjustments represent actuarial gains (losses) arising from changes in actuarial assumptions and actuarial experiences different from those assumed that are used to value the plan assets and the benefit obligations. The primary factors contributing to actuarial gains (losses) are changes in the discount rate used to value benefit obligations and the difference between expected and actual returns on plan assets. Mark-to-market adjustments are highly volatile and are difficult to forecast. Refer to Note 16, "Retirement Plans," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further details.

The following chart illustrates the estimated increases (decreases) in projected benefit obligation and future ongoing pension expense, which excludes any potential mark-to-market adjustments, assuming an increase of 25 basis points in the key assumptions for the Company's pension plans (in millions):

Accruals are recorded for various contingencies including legal proceedings, environmental matters, 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 actuarially determined estimates. Additionally, the Company records receivables from third party insurers when recovery has been determined to be probable.

The Company is subject to laws and regulations relating to protecting the environment. It is difficult to estimate the Company’s ultimate level of liability at many remediation sites due to the large number of other parties that may be involved, the complexity of determining the relative liability among those parties, the uncertainty as to the nature and scope of the investigations and remediation to be conducted, the uncertainty in the application of law and risk assessment, the various choices and costs associated with diverse technologies that may be used in corrective actions at the sites, and the often quite lengthy periods over which eventual remediation may occur. It is possible that technological, regulatory or enforcement developments, the results of additional environmental studies or other factors could change the Company's expectations with respect to future charges and cash outlays, and such changes could be material to the Company's future results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. Nevertheless, the Company does not currently believe that any claims, penalties or costs in addition to the amounts accrued will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The Company provides for expenses associated with environmental remediation obligations when such amounts are probable and can be reasonably estimated. During fiscal 2022, the Company increased its accrual for environmental remediation liabilities by $228 million. Refer to Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements.

The Company records liabilities for its workers' compensation, product, general and auto liabilities. The determination of these liabilities and related expenses is dependent on claims experience. For most of these liabilities, claims incurred but not yet reported are estimated by utilizing actuarial valuations based upon historical claims experience. The Company records receivables from third party insurers when recovery has been determined to be probable. The Company maintains captive insurance companies to manage its insurable liabilities.

Asbestos-Related Contingencies and Insurance Receivables

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries along with numerous other companies are named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits based on alleged exposure to asbestos-containing materials. The Company's estimate of the liability and corresponding insurance recovery for pending and future claims and defense costs is based on the Company's historical claim experience, and estimates of the number and resolution cost of potential future claims that may be filed and is discounted to present value from 2068 (which is the Company's reasonable best estimate of the actuarially determined time period through which asbestos-related claims will be filed against Company affiliates). Estimated asbestos-related defense costs are included in the asbestos liability. The Company's legal strategy for resolving claims also impacts these estimates. The Company considers various trends and developments in evaluating the period of time (the look-back period) over which historical claim and settlement experience is used to estimate and value claims reasonably projected to be made through 2068. Annually, the Company assesses the

sufficiency of its estimated liability for pending and future claims and defense costs by evaluating actual experience regarding claims filed, settled and dismissed, and amounts paid in settlements. In addition to claims and settlement experience, the Company considers additional quantitative and qualitative factors such as changes in legislation, the legal environment, and the Company's defense strategy. The Company also evaluates the recoverability of its insurance receivable on an annual basis. The Company evaluates all of these factors and determines whether a change in the estimate of its liability for pending and future claims and defense costs or insurance receivable is warranted.

In connection with the recognition of liabilities for asbestos-related matters, the Company records asbestos-related insurance recoveries that are probable. The Company's estimate of asbestos-related insurance recoveries represents estimated amounts due to the Company for previously paid and settled claims and the probable reimbursements relating to its estimated liability for pending and future claims discounted to present value. In determining the amount of insurance recoverable, the Company considers available insurance, allocation methodologies, solvency and creditworthiness of the insurers. Refer to Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for a discussion on management's judgments applied in the recognition and measurement of asbestos-related assets and liabilities.

Income Taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and other loss carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The Company records a valuation allowance that primarily represents non-U.S. operating and other loss carryforwards for which realization is uncertain. Management judgment is required in determining the Company’s provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and the valuation allowance recorded against the Company’s net deferred tax assets.

The Company reviews the realizability of its deferred tax assets and related valuation allowances on a quarterly basis, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that a review is required. In determining the requirement for a valuation allowance, the historical and projected financial results of the legal entity or consolidated group recording the net deferred tax asset are considered, along with any other positive or negative evidence. Since future financial results may differ from previous estimates, periodic adjustments to the Company’s valuation allowances may be necessary. At September 30, 2022, the Company had a valuation allowance of $6.0 billion for continuing operations, of which $5.5 billion relates to net operating loss carryforwards primarily in France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and the U.S. for which sustainable taxable income has not been demonstrated; and $0.5 billion for other deferred tax assets.

The Company’s federal income tax returns and certain non-U.S. income tax returns for various fiscal years remain under various stages of audit by the IRS and respective non-U.S. tax authorities. Although the outcome of tax audits is always uncertain, management believes that it has appropriate support for the positions taken on its tax returns and that its annual tax provisions included amounts sufficient to pay assessments, if any, which may be proposed by the taxing authorities. At September 30, 2022, the Company had recorded a liability of $2.5 billion for its best estimate of the probable loss on certain of its tax positions, the majority of which is included in other noncurrent liabilities in the consolidated statements of financial position. Nonetheless, the amounts ultimately paid, if any, upon resolution of the issues raised by the taxing authorities may differ materially from the amounts accrued for each year.

The Company does not generally provide additional U.S. or non-U.S. income taxes on outside basis differences of consolidated subsidiaries included in shareholders’ equity attributable to Johnson Controls International plc, except in limited circumstances including anticipated taxation on planned divestitures. The reduction of the outside basis differences via the sale or liquidation of these subsidiaries and/or distributions could create taxable income. The Company’s intent is to reduce the outside basis differences only when it would be tax efficient.  Refer to "Capitalization" within the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section for discussion of U.S. and non-U.S. cash projections.

Refer to Note 18, "Income Taxes," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for the Company's income tax disclosures.

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Refer to the "New Accounting Pronouncements" section within Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Company selectively uses derivative instruments to reduce market risk associated with changes in foreign currency, commodities, stock-based compensation and interest rates. All hedging transactions are authorized and executed pursuant to clearly defined policies and procedures, which strictly prohibit the use of financial instruments for speculative purposes. At the inception of the hedge, the Company assesses the effectiveness of the hedge instrument and designates the hedge instrument as either (1) a hedge of a recognized asset or liability or of a recognized firm commitment (a fair value hedge), (2) a hedge of a forecasted transaction or of the variability of cash flows to be received or paid related to an unrecognized asset or liability (a cash flow hedge) or (3) a hedge of a net investment in a non-U.S. operation (a net investment hedge). The Company performs hedge effectiveness testing on an ongoing basis depending on the type of hedging instrument used. All other derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815, "Derivatives and Hedging," are revalued in the consolidated statements of income.

For all foreign currency derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges, retrospective effectiveness is tested on a monthly basis using a cumulative dollar offset test. The fair value of the hedged exposures and the fair value of the hedge instruments are revalued, and the ratio of the cumulative sum of the periodic changes in the value of the hedge instruments to the cumulative sum of the periodic changes in the value of the hedge is calculated. The hedge is deemed as highly effective if the ratio is between 80% and 125%. For commodity derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedges, effectiveness is tested using a regression calculation. Ineffectiveness is minimal as the Company aligns most of the critical terms of its derivatives with the supply contracts.

For net investment hedges, the Company assesses its net investment positions in the non-U.S. operations and compares it with the outstanding net investment hedges on a quarterly basis. The hedge is deemed effective if the aggregate outstanding principal of the hedge instruments designated as the net investment hedge in a non-U.S. operation does not exceed the Company’s net investment positions in the respective non-U.S. operation.

Equity swaps and any other derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815 require no assessment of effectiveness.

A discussion of the Company’s accounting policies for derivative financial instruments is included in Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements, and further disclosure relating to derivatives and hedging activities is included in Note 11, "Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities," and Note 12, "Fair Value Measurements," of the notes to consolidated financial statements.

The Company has manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities around the world and thus makes investments and enters into transactions denominated in various foreign currencies. In order to maintain strict control and achieve the benefits of the Company’s global diversification, foreign exchange exposures for each currency are netted internally so that only its net foreign exchange exposures are, as appropriate, hedged with financial instruments.

The Company hedges 70% to 90% of the nominal amount of each of its known foreign exchange transactional exposures. The Company primarily enters into foreign currency exchange contracts to reduce the earnings and cash flow impact of the variation of non-functional currency denominated receivables and payables. Gains and losses resulting from hedging instruments offset the foreign exchange gains or losses on the underlying assets and liabilities being hedged. The maturities of the forward exchange contracts generally coincide with the settlement dates of the related transactions. Realized and unrealized gains and losses on these contracts are recognized in the same period as gains and losses on the hedged items. The Company also selectively hedges anticipated transactions that are subject to foreign exchange exposure, primarily with foreign currency exchange contracts, which are designated as cash flow hedges in accordance with ASC 815.

Interest Rates

Substantially all of the Company's outstanding debt has fixed interest rates, and, therefore, any fluctuation in market interest rates is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's results of operations. A 20 basis point increase/decrease in the average interest rate on the Company's variable rate debt would have an immaterial impact on interest expense.

The Company uses commodity hedge contracts in the financial derivatives market in cases where commodity price risk cannot be naturally offset or hedged through supply base fixed price contracts. Commodity risks are systematically managed pursuant to policy guidelines. As a cash flow hedge, gains and losses resulting from the hedging instruments offset the gains or losses on purchases of the underlying commodities that will be used in the business. The maturities of the commodity hedge contracts coincide with the expected purchase of the commodities.

ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY AND OTHER MATTERS

The Company’s global operations are governed by environmental laws and worker safety laws. Under various circumstances, these laws impose civil and criminal penalties and fines, as well as injunctive and remedial relief, for noncompliance and require remediation at sites where Company-related substances have been released into the environment.

The Company has expended substantial resources globally, both financial and managerial, to comply with applicable environmental laws and worker safety laws and to protect the environment and workers. The Company believes it is in substantial compliance with such laws and maintains procedures designed to foster and ensure compliance. However, the Company has been, and in the future may become, the subject of formal or informal enforcement actions or proceedings regarding noncompliance with such laws or the remediation of Company-related substances released into the environment. Such matters typically are resolved with regulatory authorities through commitments to compliance, abatement or remediation programs and in some cases payment of penalties. Historically, neither such commitments nor penalties imposed on the Company have been material.

Refer to Note 21, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information.

See "Risk Management" included in Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Change in Accounting Principle

Basis for Opinions

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Critical Audit Matters