Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

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 develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance and meet applicable quality and regulatory requirements; the ability to manage general economic, business and capital market conditions, including the impact of recessions, economic downturns and global price inflation; fluctuations in the cost and availability of public and private financing for our customers; the ability to innovate and adapt to emerging technologies, ideas and trends in the marketplace, including the incorporation of technologies such as artificial intelligence; the ability to manage macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, including shortages impacting the availability of raw materials and component products and the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas; managing the risks and impacts of potential and actual security breaches, cyberattacks, privacy breaches or data breaches, including business, service, or operational disruptions, the unauthorized access to or disclosure of data, financial loss, reputational damage, increased response and remediation costs, legal, and regulatory proceedings or other unfavorable outcomes; our ability to remediate our material weakness; 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; changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including economic sanctions, tariffs, foreign exchange and capital controls, import/export controls or other trade restrictions; 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; the ability to adapt to global climate change, climate change regulation and successfully meet the Company's public sustainability commitments; the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights; the Company's ability to manage disruptions caused by catastrophic or geopolitical events, such as natural disasters, armed conflict, political change, climate change, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments; 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.

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 and 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. The Company's OpenBlue digital software platform enables enterprises to better manage 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:

The Building Solutions segments:

The Global Products segment designs, manufactures and sells:

The Company’s segments provide products and services to commercial, institutional, industrial, data center, governmental and residential customers.

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

The Company sells and installs its commercial HVAC equipment and systems, control systems, security systems, fire-detection and fire suppression systems, equipment and services primarily through its extensive direct channel, consisting of a global network of sales and service offices. Significant sales are also generated through global third-party channels, such as

distributors of air-conditioning, controls, security and fire-detection and suppression products. The Company’s large base of current customers leads to significant repeat business for the maintenance, retrofit and replacement markets. The Company is also able to leverage its installed base to generate sales for its service business. Trusted building brands, such as YORK®, Hitachi Air Conditioning, Metasys®, Ansul, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, FM:Systems®, PENN®, Sabroe®, Silent-Aire®, Simplex® and 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 better manage their physical spaces delivering sustainability, new occupant experiences, safety and security by combining the Company’s building expertise with cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, workplace management, 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 2023, products and systems accounted for 76% of sales and services accounted for 24% of sales.

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, availability of financing 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 delivering building products, systems and solutions, 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:

invest in high growth verticals within the markets it serves, including healthcare, commercial offices/campus, education and data centers.

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, 2023, the backlog was $13.6 billion, of which $12.1 billion was attributable to the building solutions (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, 2023, remaining performance obligations were $19.6 billion, which is $6.0 billion higher than the Company's backlog of $13.6 billion. Differences between the Company’s remaining performance obligations and backlog are primarily due to the following:

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

Raw materials used by the Company’s businesses in connection with their operations include steel, aluminum, brass, copper, polypropylene and certain flurochemicals used in fire suppression agents. The Company also uses semiconductors and other electronic components in the manufacture of its products. During fiscal 2022 and portions of fiscal 2023, the Company experienced material cost increases due to global inflation, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, increased demand and other regulatory and macroeconomic factors. The collective impact of these trends were favorable to revenue due to increased demand and price increases to offset inflation, while negatively impacting margins due to supply chain disruptions and cost pressures. However, throughout fiscal 2023, the Company experienced improved margins as supply chain disruptions eased and higher priced backlog was converted to sales, as discussed in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Although the Company has experienced recent improvement in its supply chain, the Company could experience further disruptions, shortages and price inflation in the future, the effect of which will depend on the Company’s ability to successfully mitigate and offset the impact of these events. In fiscal 2024, commodity prices and availability could fluctuate throughout the year and could significantly affect the Company’s results of operations. For a more detailed description of the risks related to the availability of raw materials, components and commodities, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Generally, the Company seeks statutory protection for strategic or financially important intellectual property developed in connection with its business. The Company protects its intellectual property investments in a variety of ways. The Company works actively in the U.S. and internationally to ensure the enforcement of copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other

protections that apply to the Company's products, services, software, solutions, and branding. Certain intellectual property, where appropriate, is protected by contracts, licenses, confidentiality or other agreements.

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. Internal development allows the Company to maintain competitive advantages that come from product differentiation and closer technical control over its products and services. 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.

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. In addition, governments in the United States and internationally have increasingly been regulating perfluorooctane sulfonate ("PFOS"), perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA"), and/or other per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which are contained in certain of the Company's firefighting foam products. These regulations include declining emission standards and limits set as to the presence of certain compounds. 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, PFAS, 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 and comply with applicable regulations, including the regulation of refrigerants, hydro fluorocarbons/emissions reduction 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 2023 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, ensuring that the Company presents an employee value proposition that supports retention and the attraction of external talent. The Governance and Sustainability Committee is the primary overseer of employee health and safety. The Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), the CHRO, the General Counsel, the Vice President of Global Environment Health & Safety, the Vice President of Diversity, Equity 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 future of work, human capital trends, processes and practices, diversity, equity and inclusion, health and safety, talent development, succession planning, and talent and culture best practices. 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.

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 values-based safety initiatives have been deployed within the Company to sustain and further enhance performance.

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 2023, the Company had a TRIR of 0.37 and a LTIR of 0.12.

The Company is dedicated to creating a workplace where diversity is celebrated, where every employee feels included and valued, and where equitable practices are the norm. By prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Company aims to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and respect that drives its success in the global marketplace. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) is a core component of the Company’s strategy to drive a High-Performance Culture, recognized as adding value to the Company’s creation and delivery of innovative high performing products and enabling solutions to its customers’ toughest problems. The Company has recently elevated its focus on ‘equity’ to further enable all employees to have access to the opportunities, resources, support and networks they need to develop and succeed. The Company empowers employees to take an active role in creating a culture that values uniqueness, celebrates creativity and drives innovation. The Company encourages employees to enable an inclusive culture through active participation in Business Resource Groups ("BRGs") - employee-led voluntary organizations of people with similar interests, experiences, or demographic characteristics. The Company continues to increase participation in its BRG chapters worldwide across nine categories: African American, Asia Pacific, LGBTQ+, Emerging Leaders, Hispanic, Disabilities, Veterans, Women and Sustainability. In 2023, the Company established BRGs focused on Wellness and Caregiving in response to feedback through its Voice of the Employee events. Each BRG is open to all employees and sponsored and supported by senior leaders across the enterprise. The Company’s BRG structure includes monthly learning series, an active recruitment platform, an innovation hub, community engagement and feedback sessions. The Company also engages BRGs to support the acquisition and development of diverse talent internally and externally.

As a world leader in building technologies, the Company is committed to enabling employees to bring their authentic selves to work each day, which in turn adds value, fosters creativity, and inspires change across the organization. The Company recognizes that it is its people that make the Company exceptional. The Company has developed robust policies and strategies to support this vision in its operations and its communities, including strategies addressing social impact and employee experience. The Company is committed to the implementation of its DEI mission, vision and roadmap including a focus on employee experience, business resource groups, learning and development and external impact.

The Company recognizes that fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment requires ongoing commitment, accountability, and continuous improvement. The Company regularly assesses its progress, recognizes employee contributions, and holds leaders accountable for driving DEI initiatives. The Company also creates mechanisms for open dialogue and feedback from employees to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard.

The Company has implemented several measures that focus on ensuring accountabilities exist for fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment:

To maintain a High-Performance Culture, the Company must ensure the continued development and advancement of its employees. The Company has adopted a continual improvement approach to talent development, working to support employees’ growth while defining the skills and capabilities the organization will need in future years. To assess current enterprise capabilities and define future needs, 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 its employees to grow their careers, with approximately half of open management positions filled internally during fiscal year 2023.

The Company believes that high performance is an outcome of an employee’s ability to change, adapt, and grow their capabilities throughout their career. This talent development approach includes self and multi-rater assessments, functional and

leadership competency models, providing employees a personalized approach to their development planning and skill acquisition. The Company emphasizes real-life, real-time learning that enables each employee 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.

The Company’s focus on employee development has been structured over the last several years through programs designed to imbed essential skills with employees and reinforce strategic goals aligning with the Company’s culture, including:

In fiscal 2023, the Company offered a robust curriculum of over 197,000 activities that were completed by employees, consisting of videos, courses, e-learning, documentation, articles and books, including over 4,000 active (in person or virtual) learning courses. In fiscal 2023, over 1.26 million learning activities were completed by approximately 86,300 employees. The total learning hours consumed by employees was 1.22 million hours, averaging almost 14 hours per employee including time invested in formal learning and standard time invested in self-paced reading or video consumption.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company employed approximately 100,000 people worldwide, of which approximately 37,000 were employed in the United States and approximately 63,000 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.

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 efficient products, and low GWP refrigerants and technology.

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.

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. Further, we must continue to effectively adapt our products and services to a changing technological and regulatory environment to drive growth and defend against disruption caused by competitors, regulators or other external forces impacting our business and operations. If we are unable to be agile and responsive to disruption in the development of new products, services and technologies, including technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

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. Further, as we integrate emerging and rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning into our products and services, we may not be able to anticipate or identify vulnerabilities, design flaws or security threats resulting from the use of such technology and develop adequate protection measures. 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 or result in new or enhanced regulatory scrutiny. 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.

Product and service quality issues could harm customer confidence in our company and our brands. If certain of our product and service offerings do not meet applicable safety standards or our customers’ expectations regarding quality, safety or performance, we could experience lost sales and increased costs and we could be exposed to legal, financial and reputational risks. In addition, when our products fail to perform as expected, we are exposed to warranty, product liability, personal injury and other claims. We have experienced such quality issues in the past and may experience such issues in the future.

We cannot be certain that our quality controls and procedures will reveal defects in our products or their raw materials, which may not become apparent until after the products have been placed in use in the market. Accordingly, there is a risk that products will have defects, which could require a product recall or field corrective action. Such remedial actions can be expensive to implement and may damage our reputation, customer relationships and market share. We have conducted product recalls and field corrective actions in the past and may do so again in the future.

In many jurisdictions, product liability claims are not limited to any specified amount of recovery. If any such claims or contribution requests or requirements exceed our available insurance or if there is a product recall, there could be an adverse impact on our results of operations. In addition, a recall or claim could require us to review some or all of our product portfolio to assess whether similar issues are present in other products, which could result in a significant disruption to our business and which could have a further adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. There can be no assurance that we will not experience any material warranty or product liability claims in the future, that we will not incur significant costs to defend such claims or that we will have adequate reserves to cover any recall, repair and replacement costs.

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 restructuring and 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, increased change fatigue, organizational strain 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.

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 malware that takes the form of computer viruses, ransomware, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, rogue software, and programs that act against the computer user. Techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or to sabotage, IT systems or networks are constantly evolving and may not be recognized until launched against a

target. We and third parties we utilize as vendors to support our business and operations have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, these types of threats and incidents. We and our third-party service providers have experienced and expect to continue to experience threats from sophisticated nation-state actors and organized criminal groups who engage in attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions) that add to the risks to our IT systems (including our cloud services providers’ systems), internal networks, our customers’ systems and the information that they store and process. 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 deploy countermeasures 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, 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, the Company has experienced, and will likely continue to experience, attacks and resulting breaches or breakdowns of the Company’s, or its third-party service providers’, databases or systems. Cybersecurity incidents, depending on their nature and scope, have resulted, and may in the future 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 have remained, and could in the future remain, undetected for an extended period of time, and the losses arising from such incidents could exceed our available insurance coverage for such matters. In addition, security breaches impacting our IT systems have in certain cases resulted in, and in the future could result in, a risk of loss or unauthorized disclosure or theft of information, which could lead to enforcement actions, litigation, regulatory or governmental audits, investigations and possible liability.

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.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we experienced a cybersecurity incident that disrupted portions of our internal information technology infrastructure and applications consisting of unauthorized access by a third party, exfiltration of data and the deployment of ransomware, which in turn caused disruptions and limitation of access to portions of our business applications that support aspects of our operations and corporate functions. As a result of this incident, we experienced disruptions to our normal operations which had an adverse impact on our financial performance, as discussed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We have and may continue to incur significant costs in connection with the cybersecurity incident and any future cybersecurity incidents, including infrastructure investments or remediation efforts. Further, we could experience other additional consequences in the future as a result of the incident, including, reputational damage, exposure to legal claims or enforcement actions and fines levied by governmental organizations, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, limitations on our ability to analyze and investigate the incident due to limitations on the availability of historical logs and other forensic data may impact our ability to identify all of the impacts and root causes of the cybersecurity incident. There can be no assurance that additional unauthorized access or cyber incidents will not occur or that we will not suffer material losses in the future. Unauthorized access or cyber incidents could occur more frequently and on a more significant scale to those we have suffered to date. We could also experience similar consequences as a result of future cybersecurity incidents. Other potential consequences of future cybersecurity incidents could include the theft of intellectual property and the diminution in the value of our investment in research, development and engineering, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our competitiveness and results of operations.

As a result of the cybersecurity incident experienced beginning in September 2023, and as disclosed in Part II, Item 9A of this report, we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to not maintaining sufficient information technology (“IT”) controls to prevent or detect, on a timely basis, unauthorized access to certain of the Company’s financial reporting systems. Accordingly, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of September 30, 2023. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or if we are otherwise unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, then our ability to record, process and report financial information accurately, and to prepare financial statements within required time periods, could be adversely affected. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be in violation of covenants contained in the agreements governing our debt

and other borrowings. We could also be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our shares are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business. These outcomes could subject us to litigation, civil or criminal investigations or enforcement actions requiring the expenditure of financial resources and diversion of management time, could negatively affect investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial statements and could also adversely impact our stock price and our access to the capital markets. Moreover, while we are implementing measures designed to help ensure that control deficiencies contributing to the material weakness are remediated as soon as possible, these measures will result in additional costs, including third-party expenditures engaging security specialists and implementing certain new IT access, security and recovery measures, and such costs could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We collect, store, have access to and otherwise process certain confidential or sensitive data, including proprietary business information, customer data, 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 security incidents, 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. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we experienced a cybersecurity event consisting of unauthorized access, data exfiltration and deployment of ransomware by a third party to a portion of our internal IT infrastructure. We are currently in the process of analyzing the data accessed, exfiltrated or otherwise impacted during the cybersecurity incident. The actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, employee or other data as a result of the cybersecurity incident, 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. We could face similar consequences in the future if we, our suppliers, channel partners, customers or other third parties experience the actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of data, including 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. Such an event could lead customers to select the products and services of our competitors. Both the cybersecurity incident and similar future incidents 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.

Some of our contracts do not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. While we maintain general liability insurance coverage and coverage for errors or omissions, such coverage might not be adequate or otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to claims alleging compromises of customer data, that such coverage will continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), could have an adverse effect on our business.

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.

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 have and may be in the future 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 financial condition and results of operations.

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 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.

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, pandemics, climate change, cybersecurity incidents, power outages, fires, explosions, abrupt political change, armed conflict, terrorism, sabotage, adverse weather conditions, public health crises, labor disputes, labor shortages or other reasons, we may be unable to effectively respond to alarm signals, fill customer orders, convert our backlog, collect revenue and otherwise meet obligations to or demand from our customers, which could adversely affect our financial performance. These events may also cause us to experience increased costs and reduced productivity. For example, our recent cybersecurity incident caused disruptions to our operations, adversely affecting our financial performance. For more information on the impact of the cybersecurity incident, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The occurrence or reoccurrence of regional epidemics or a global pandemic, such as COVID-19, may adversely affect our operations, financial condition, and results of operations. The extent to which global pandemics impact our business going forward will depend on factors such as the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business, and individuals' actions in response to the pandemic; and the impact on economic activity, including the possibility of recession or financial market instability. Measures to contain a global pandemic may intensify other risks described in these Risk Factors.

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, cybersecurity insurance to mitigate losses resulting from cybersecurity incidents, 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.

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. 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, including continued increases in interest rates. 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.

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 rising interest rates, global supply chain disruptions, inflation, ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine as well as Israel and Hamas, geopolitical tensions 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 conflicts, the further escalation of geopolitical tensions globally and their effect on our business and results of operations as well as the global economy, cannot be predicted. This may include further economic sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, geopolitical shifts, regional or international expansion of current conflicts, energy instability, potential retaliatory action by governments, supply chain disruptions, disruption to local markets, increased cybersecurity attacks against us, our third-party service providers and customers, collateral consequences from cyber conflicts between nation-states or other politically motivated actors targeting critical technology infrastructure. and increased tensions among countries in which we operate. Our failure to adequately react to these and other political and economic conditions could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

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. In addition, we have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, increased capital costs due to increases in global interest rates. If our access to capital were to become significantly constrained, or if costs of capital increased significantly due to increased interest rates, 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.

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 each of 2022 and 2023, 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, 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.

Geopolitical tensions and trade disputes can disrupt supply chains and increase the cost of our products. This could cause our products to be more expensive for customers, which could reduce the demand for or attractiveness of such products. In addition, a geopolitical conflict in a region where we operate could disrupt our ability to conduct business operations in that region. Countries also could adopt restrictive trade measures, such as laws and regulations concerning investments and limitations on foreign ownership of businesses, taxation, foreign exchange controls, capital controls, employment regulations and the repatriation of earnings and controls on imports or exports of goods, technology, or data, any of which could adversely affect our operations and supply chain and limit our ability to offer our products and services as intended. 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 operations 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. These kinds of restrictions could be adopted with little to no advanced notice, and we may not be able to effectively mitigate the adverse impacts from such measures. Political uncertainty surrounding trade or other international disputes also could have a negative impact on customer confidence and willingness to spend money, which could impair our future growth. Any of these events could increase the cost of our products, create disruptions to our supply chain and impair our ability to effectively operate and compete in the countries where we do business.

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.

Our operations and employees are subject to various U.S. federal, state and local licensing laws, codes and standards and similar foreign laws, codes, standards and regulations. Changes in laws or regulations could require us to change the way we operate or to utilize resources to maintain compliance, which could increase costs or otherwise disrupt operations. In addition, failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations could result in substantial fines or revocation of our operating permits and licenses. Competition or other regulatory investigations can continue for several years, be costly to defend and can result in substantial fines. If laws and regulations were to change or if we or our products failed to comply, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

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.

We are also subject to a complex network of tax laws and tax treaties that impact our effective tax rate. For more information on risks related to tax regulation, see “Risks Related to Tax Matters” below.

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.

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, decrease demand for our products, create reputational harm or require us to manufacture with alternative technologies and materials. For example, our subsidiary Tyco Fire Protection Products announced it will discontinue the production and sale of fluorinated firefighting foams by June 2024, including Aqueous Film-Forming Foam ("AFFF") and related products, and will transition to non-fluorinated foam alternatives.

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, and require that companies maintain accurate books and records. Our policies mandate compliance with these 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 provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will preclude reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees

or third-party intermediaries. Where 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 have and will investigate the allegations and from time to time as necessary 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.

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. Governments in the United States and internationally have increasingly been regulating PFAS, which is contained in certain of the Company's firefighting foam products. These regulations include declining emission standards and limits set as to the presence of certain compounds. 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.

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. Competition for acquisition opportunities may rise, thereby increasing our costs of making acquisitions or causing us to refrain from making further acquisitions.

Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses and expenses and 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.

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 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.

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, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD")/G20 inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Inclusive Framework) published a statement updating and finalizing the key components of a two-pillar plan on global tax reform which has now been agreed upon by the majority of OECD members. Pillar One allows countries to reallocate a portion of residual profits earned by multinational enterprises ("MNE"), with an annual global revenue exceeding €20 billion and a profit margin over 10%, to other market jurisdictions. The adoption of Pillar One and its potential effective date remain uncertain. Pillar Two requires MNEs with an annual global revenue exceeding €750 million to pay a global minimum tax of 15%. On December 15, 2022, the Council of the EU formally adopted Directive (EU) 2022/2523 (the “Pillar Two Directive”) to achieve a coordinated implementation of Pillar Two in EU Member States consistent with EU law. On October 19, 2023, the Irish Minster of Finance published Irish Finance (No.2) Bill 2023, which includes implementation of the 15% Pillar Two global minimum tax. The bill, subject to amendment during the legislative process, is expected to be signed into law by late December. The Pillar Two legislation is anticipated to be effective for our fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the Pillar Two Framework, pending legislative adoption by individual countries, as such changes could result in an increase in our effective tax rate.

Because Johnson Controls International plc is organized under the laws of Ireland, it would generally be classified as a foreign corporation under the general rule that a corporation is considered tax resident in the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. 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. The IRS may assert that, as a result of the Merger, Johnson Controls International plc should be treated as a U.S. corporation (and, therefore, a U.S. tax resident) for U.S. federal income tax purposes pursuant to Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS may also assert that the ability of our U.S. affiliates to utilize U.S. tax attributes, such as net operating losses and certain tax credits, to offset U.S. taxable income resulting from certain transactions may be limited under Section 7874. The application of these rules could result in significant additional U.S. tax liability. In addition, a retroactive change to U.S. tax laws in this area could change the tax classification of Johnson Controls International plc. If it were to be treated as a U.S. corporation for federal tax purposes, we could be subject to substantially greater U.S. tax liability than currently contemplated as a non-U.S. corporation.

Based on the terms of the Merger, we currently expect that Section 7874 does not apply to us or our affiliates as a result of the Merger. However, determining the applicability of Section 7874 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 Johnson Controls International plc should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes or that Section 7874 does not otherwise apply.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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, downgrades in the ratings of our debt, material increases to our level of indebtedness, 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.

Requirement not yet applicable to the Company.

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, 2023, 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. On November 6, 2023, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court.

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."

Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, the following list of executive officers of the Company as of December 14, 2023 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 13, 2024.

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

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

As of September 30, 2023, approximately $3.0 billion remains available under the share repurchase program which was authorized by the Company's Board of Directors in March 2021. 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 2023, the Company repurchased $625 million of its ordinary shares on the open market.

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, 2023.

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, 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, 2018 and the reinvestment of all dividends since that date.

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, commissioning and retrofitting 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, controls, security and fire-protection space), energy-management consulting and data-driven “smart building” services and solutions powered by its OpenBlue software platform and capabilities. 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's fiscal year ends on September 30. Unless otherwise stated, references to years in this report relate to fiscal years rather than calendar years. This discussion summarizes the significant factors affecting the consolidated operating results, financial condition and liquidity of the Company for the year ended September 30, 2023. This discussion should be read in conjunction with Item 8, the consolidated financial statements and the notes to consolidated financial statements. A detailed discussion of the 2022 to 2021 year-over-year changes are not included herein and can be found in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed November 15, 2022 under the heading "Fiscal year 2022 compared to fiscal year 2021" which is incorporated herein by reference.

Much of the demand for the Company’s products and solutions is driven by construction, facility expansion, retrofit and maintenance projects within the commercial, institutional, industrial, data center, governmental and residential sectors. Construction projects are heavily dependent on general economic conditions, localized demand for real estate and the availability of credit, public funding or other financing sources. Positive or negative fluctuations in construction, industrial facility expansion, retrofit activity, maintenance projects and other capital investments in buildings within the sectors that the Company serves, as well as availability of credit, financing or funding for such projects, could have a corresponding impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The economic conditions in China, specifically challenges in real estate, began negatively impacting the Building Solutions Asia Pacific segment in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. The Company expects continued softening in China in fiscal 2024.

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 2023, revenue and profits were adversely impacted due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies.

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 Initiative, U.S. Inflation 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 extent to which the Company’s results of operations and financial condition are impacted by these and other factors in the future will depend on 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.

During the weekend of September 23, 2023, the Company experienced a cybersecurity incident impacting its internal information technology ("IT") infrastructure and applications. The incident was detected shortly after receiving reports of outages to certain of the Company’s systems. Promptly after detecting the issue, the Company implemented its incident management and response plan and business continuity plans, including implementing remediation measures to mitigate the impact of the incident and restore affected systems and functions. The Company also engaged leading cybersecurity experts and other specialized consultants to assist in its investigation and remediation of the incident, as well as the restoration of impacted applications and systems. The Company’s investigation and remediation efforts remain ongoing, including the analysis of data accessed, exfiltrated or otherwise impacted during the cybersecurity incident. Based on the information reviewed to date, the Company believes the unauthorized activity has been contained and has not observed evidence of any impact to its digital products, services and solutions, including OpenBlue and Metasys.

The cybersecurity incident consisted of unauthorized access, data exfiltration and deployment of ransomware by a third party to a portion of the Company’s internal IT infrastructure. The incident caused disruptions and limitation of access to portions of the Company’s business applications supporting aspects of the Company’s operations and corporate functions, which disruptions and limitations continued into the early portion of the first quarter of fiscal 2024. To date, the Company has largely restored the impacted applications and systems.

Lost and deferred revenues and expenses related to the cybersecurity incident adversely impacted fiscal 2023 net income by approximately $30 million, or approximately $0.04 per diluted share. This was primarily attributable to order processing and logistics disruptions and delays, and expenses associated with the response to, and remediation of, the incident.

The Company has incurred and expects to incur additional expenses associated with the response to, and remediation of, the incident in fiscal 2024, most of which the Company expects to incur in the first half of the year. These expenses include third-party expenditures, including IT recovery and forensic experts and others performing professional services to investigate and remediate the incident, as well as incremental operating expenses incurred from the resulting disruption to the Company’s business operations. Further, the cybersecurity incident caused disruptions to certain of the Company’s billing systems, which is expected to negatively impact cash provided from continuing operations during the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The overall impact of the cybersecurity incident in fiscal 2024 is not expected to be material to net income, net of insurance recoveries, or cash flows from continuing operations; however, the timing of recognizing the insurance recoveries may differ from the timing of recognizing the associated expenses.

The Company maintains insurance covering certain losses associated with cybersecurity incidents. The Company did not recognize any insurance recoveries related to the cybersecurity incident in the three months ended September 30, 2023. The Company currently expects that a substantial portion of its direct costs incurred related to containing, investigating and remediating the incident, as well as business interruption losses, will be reimbursed through insurance recoveries.

The increase in net sales was due to higher organic sales ($1,997 million) and the favorable net impact of acquisitions and divestitures ($113 million), partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($616 million). Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation and business acquisitions and divestitures, consolidated net sales increased 8% over the prior year, attributable to 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 and gross profit both increased and gross profit as a percentage of sales increased by 50 basis points. Gross profit increased due to organic sales growth and favorable price/cost, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($192 million) and the unfavorable year-over-year impact of net pension mark-to-market adjustments ($42 million). Gross profit as a percentage of sales increased primarily due to favorable price/cost. 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 ("SG&A") increased by $236 million, and SG&A as a percentage of sales improved by 40 basis points. The increase in SG&A was primarily due to certain investments to support growth, one-time transaction and separation costs, the unfavorable year-over-year impact of net mark-to-market adjustments ($84 million) and a loss associated with a fire at a leased warehouse facility ($40 million), partially offset by non-recurring environmental remediation charges in the prior year ($255 million) and favorable foreign currency translation ($118 million). Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

Restructuring and impairment costs in fiscal 2023 includes $498 million of impairment charges related to businesses classified or previously classified as held for sale, $276 million in severance and other charges resulting from restructuring initiatives, $184 million of goodwill impairment charges related to the Silent-Aire reporting unit, and $106 million of impairment charges for various long-lived assets.

Restructuring and impairment costs in fiscal 2022 includes $359 million of impairment charges related to the North America and Global Retail business which was previously held for sale, $182 million in severance and other charges resulting from restructure initiatives, $105 million of impairments for a business and assets previously held for sale, and $75 million of goodwill impairment charges related to the Silent-Aire reporting unit.

Refer to "Note 3, "Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale & Discontinued Operations," Note 7, "Property, Plant and Equipment," Note 8, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets," and Note 17, "Restructuring and Related Costs," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further disclosure related to the Company's restructuring plans and impairment costs.

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

The increase in equity income was primarily due to higher income at certain partially-owned affiliates of the Johnson Controls - Hitachi joint venture. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

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

For fiscal 2023, the effective tax rate for continuing operations was (19)% and was lower than the statutory tax rate primarily due to the favorable tax impacts of intellectual property tax adjustments, tax reserve adjustments as the result of tax audit resolutions and remeasurements, valuation allowance adjustments and the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of impairment and restructuring charges.

For fiscal 2022, the effective tax rate for continuing operations was (1)% and was lower than the statutory tax rate primarily due to favorable impact of 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 unfavorable impact of impairment and restructuring charges, valuation allowance adjustments, and 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.

The fiscal 2023 effective tax rate was lower than fiscal 2022 primarily due to tax reserve adjustments as the result of tax audit resolutions, valuation allowance adjustments and the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives, partially offset by the impact of impairment and restructuring charges. 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 the Company in fiscal 2024. The Company does not expect the IRA to have a material impact on its 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 the Company's tax rate. In addition, in October 2021, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD")/G20 inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Inclusive Framework) published a statement updating and finalizing the key components of a two-pillar plan on global tax reform which has now been agreed upon by the majority of OECD members. Pillar One allows countries to reallocate a portion of residual profits earned by multinational enterprises ("MNE"), with an annual global revenue exceeding €20 billion and a profit margin over 10%, to other market jurisdictions. The adoption of Pillar One and its potential effective date remain uncertain. Pillar Two requires MNEs with an annual global revenue exceeding €750 million to pay a global minimum tax of 15%. On December 15, 2022, the Council of the EU formally adopted Directive (EU) 2022/2523 (the “Pillar Two Directive”) to achieve a coordinated implementation of Pillar Two in EU Member States consistent with EU law. On October 19, 2023, the Irish Minster of Finance published Irish Finance (No.2) Bill 2023, which includes implementation of the 15% Pillar Two global minimum tax. The bill, subject to amendment during the legislative process, is expected to be signed into law by late December. The Pillar Two legislation is anticipated to be effective for the Company with the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024. The Company is continuing to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the Pillar Two Framework, pending legislative adoption by individual countries, as such changes could result in an increase in its effective tax rate.

The decrease in income attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily due to lower net income at certain partially-owned affiliates within the Global Products segment.

The increase in net income attributable to Johnson Controls was primarily due to higher gross profit and higher income tax benefits, partially offset by higher restructuring and impairment costs and higher SG&A. Diluted earnings per share attributable to Johnson Controls was $2.69 for the year ended September 30, 2023 compared to $2.19 for the year ended September 30, 2022.

The increase in comprehensive income attributable to Johnson Controls was due to an increase in other comprehensive income attributable to Johnson Controls ($433 million) resulting primarily from reductions in foreign currency translation expense and an increase in net income attributable to Johnson Controls ($317 million).

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.

The following information is provided in compliance with Rule 13-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to the following unsecured, unsubordinated senior notes (collectively, ("the Notes) which were issued by Johnson Controls International plc ("Parent Company") and Tyco Fire & Security Finance S.C.A. (“TFSCA”):

The tables below 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, 2023 (in millions):

The following table presents summarized balance sheet information as of September 30, 2023 (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.

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.

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 relative standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. In order to estimate relative standalone 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 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.

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 and applies the multiples to the Company's average of historical and future financial results for each reporting unit. 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.

Management completed its fiscal 2023 annual impairment test as of July 31. The fair value of all reporting units substantially exceeded their carrying values, with the exception of one reporting unit with $455 million of goodwill whose fair value in excess of its carrying value was approximately 10%. For this reporting unit, a 1% increase in the discount rate, or a 1.5% decrease in the revenue growth rates, would cause the fair value to be less than the carrying value. While no impairment was recorded, it is possible that future changes in circumstances could result in a non-cash impairment charge.

During fiscal 2023, the Company impaired $184 million of goodwill in its Silent-Aire reporting unit.

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 2023 and 2022.

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 5.48% and 5.08% at September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company’s weighted average discount rate on non-U.S. pension plans was 4.72% and 4.36% at September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

In estimating the expected return on plan assets, the Company considers the historical returns on plan assets, adjusted for forward-looking considerations, inflation assumptions and the impact of the active management of the plans’ invested assets. Reflecting the relatively long-term nature of the plans’ obligations, approximately 14% of the plans’ assets are invested in equity securities and 63% in fixed income securities, with the remainder primarily invested in alternative investments. The expected long-term return on U.S. pension plan assets used to determine net periodic benefit cost was 8.25% and 7.00% for the years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The weighted average expected long-term return on non-U.S. pension plan assets was 5.02% and 3.70% for the years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The actual rate of return on both U.S and non-U.S pension plans was below expected rates in both fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022.

For fiscal 2024, the Company believes the long-term rate of return will approximate 8.50% for U.S. pension plans and 5.26% 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 actual returns on plan assets are less than the Company’s expectations, additional contributions may be required.

In fiscal 2023, total employer contributions to the defined benefit pension plans were $55 million, none of which were voluntary contributions made by the Company. The Company expects to contribute approximately $24 million in cash to its defined benefit pension plans in fiscal 2024.

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 actuarial 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. 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.

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 actuarial 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. At least 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.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected 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, 2023, the Company had a valuation allowance of $6.4 billion for continuing operations, of which $5.6 billion relates to net operating loss carryforwards primarily in Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. for which sustainable taxable income has not been demonstrated; and $0.8 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, 2023, the Company had recorded a liability of $2.2 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.

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

The Company selectively uses derivative instruments to reduce market risk associated with changes in foreign currency, commodities, 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 a hedge of one of the following:

The Company performs hedge effectiveness testing on an ongoing basis depending on the type of hedging instrument used. All 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.

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.

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 100 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.

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.

The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in management’s report referred to above. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

As described in Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, management has excluded FM:Systems from its assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2023 because it was acquired by the Company in a purchase business combination in July 2023. We have also excluded FM:Systems from our audit of internal

control over financial reporting. FM:Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary whose total assets and total revenues excluded from management’s assessment and our audit of internal control over financial reporting represent less than 1% of each of the related consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended September 30, 2023.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

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

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to revenue recognition from certain contracts with customers is a critical audit matter are a high degree of auditor effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence related to the revenue recognized on certain of the Company's over time and point in time contracts with customers.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to the revenue recognition process for the Company’s over time and point in time contracts with customers. These procedures also included, among others, evaluating the appropriateness of the timing and amount of revenue recognized for a sample of over time and point in time contracts with customers. Evaluating the appropriateness of the timing and amount of revenue recognized for certain over time contracts with customers involved (i) obtaining and inspecting source documents, such as contracts or service tickets, change orders, and evidence of progress towards completion or services delivered; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the over time revenue recognition methods; (iii) testing, on a sample basis for certain over time contracts, the costs incurred to date; and (iv) performing a comparison of estimated gross margin in the prior year to gross margin at

completion of the arrangement in the current year for certain over time contracts with customers. Evaluating the appropriateness of the timing and amount of revenue recognized for certain point in time contracts with customers involved (i) obtaining and inspecting source documents, such as contracts or purchase orders, evidence of goods delivered, and consideration received in exchange for those goods and (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the point in time revenue recognition method.