Service Corporation International (SCI) 10-K2019 FY Annual report

The following terms are common to the deathcare industry, are used throughout this report, and have the following meanings:

As used herein, “SCI”, “Company”, “we”, “our”, and “us” refer to Service Corporation International and companies owned directly or indirectly by Service Corporation International, unless the context requires otherwise. Management published a white paper on the corporate website for further understanding of accounting for preneed sales. You can view the white paper at http://investors.sci-corp.com under Featured Documents.

We are North America’s largest provider of deathcare products and services, with a network of funeral service locations and cemeteries unequaled in geographic scale. At December 31, 2019, we operated 1,471 funeral service locations and 482 cemeteries (including 290 funeral service/cemetery combination locations), which are geographically diversified across 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

We were incorporated in Texas in July of 1962. Our original business plan was based on efficiencies of scale, specifically reducing overhead costs by sharing resources such as preparation services, back office administration support, transportation, and personnel among funeral service locations in a business “cluster.” After proving the plan’s effectiveness in Houston in the early 1960s, we set out to apply this operating strategy through the acquisition of deathcare businesses in other markets over the next three decades. Beginning in 1993, we expanded beyond North America, acquiring major deathcare companies in Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, plus smaller holdings in other European countries and South America.

In late 2006, having arrived at a position of financial stability and improved operating efficiency, we acquired the then second largest company in the North American deathcare industry, Alderwoods Group. In early 2010, we acquired the then fifth largest company in the North American deathcare industry, Keystone North America. In June of 2011, we acquired 70% of the outstanding shares of The Neptune Society, Inc. (Neptune), which is the nation's largest direct cremation organization, now known as SCI Direct. Subsequently, in 2013 and 2014, we acquired the remaining 30% of the outstanding shares of Neptune. In December 2013, we purchased Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (Stewart), the then second largest operator of funeral service locations and cemeteries in North America. We continue to pursue strategic acquisitions, some of which can be meaningful, such as the fifteen funeral homes and seven cemeteries we acquired in June of 2018.

Our funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other related businesses. See Note 13 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, for financial information about our business segments and geographic areas.

We have the largest number of combination locations in North America. Funeral service/cemetery combination locations are businesses in which a funeral service location is physically located within or adjoining a cemetery that we own. Combination locations allow certain facility, personnel, and equipment costs to be shared between the funeral service location and cemetery locations. Such combination facilities typically can be more cost competitive and have higher gross margins than funeral and cemetery operations that are operated separately. Combination locations also create synergies between funeral and cemetery preneed sales force personnel and give families added convenience to purchase both funeral and cemetery merchandise and services at a single location.

Funeral service locations provide all professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, cremations, memorialization, and catering. Funeral merchandise, including burial caskets and related accessories, urns and other cremation receptacles, outer burial containers, flowers, online and video tributes, stationery products, casket and cremation memorialization products, travel protection, and other ancillary merchandise, is sold at funeral service locations.

Our cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including developed lots, lawn crypts, mausoleum spaces, niches, and other cremation memorialization and interment options. Cemetery merchandise and services, including memorial markers and bases, outer burial containers, flowers and floral placement, other ancillary merchandise, graveside services, merchandise installation, and interments, are sold at our cemeteries.

We also sell cemetery property interment rights and funeral and cemetery merchandise and services whereby a customer contractually agrees to the terms of certain products and services to be delivered and performed in the future. We define these sales as preneed sales. As a result of such preneed sales, our preneed backlog of unfulfilled funeral and cemetery contracts was $12.0 billion and $11.1 billion at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The following table at December 31, 2019 provides the number of our funeral service locations and cemeteries by country, and by state, territory, or province:

We believe we have satisfactory title to the properties owned and used in our business, subject to various liens, encumbrances, and easements that are incidental to ownership rights and uses and do not materially detract from the value of the property. At December 31, 2019, we owned approximately 87% of the real estate and buildings used at our facilities, and the remainder of the facilities were leased under both finance and operating leases. At December 31, 2019, our 482 cemeteries contained a total of approximately 35,500 acres, of which approximately 66% was developed.

Our corporate headquarters are located at 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas 77019. The property consists of approximately 160,000 square feet of office space and 185,000 square feet of parking space on approximately seven acres. We also lease approximately 35,000 square feet of office space in Houston, Texas, which we utilize for corporate activities. We own a building in Jefferson, Louisiana with approximately 96,200 square feet of office space that we use, in part, for corporate activities.

A map of our locations in North America is presented below:

Although there are several public companies that own funeral service locations and cemeteries, the majority of deathcare businesses in North America are locally-owned, independent operations. We estimate that our funeral and cemetery market share in North America is approximately 15%-16% based on estimated total industry revenue. The position of a single funeral service location or cemetery in any community is a function of the name, reputation, and location of that funeral service location or cemetery, although competitive pricing, professional service and attention, and well-maintained locations are also important.

Our three core strategies continue to grow the Company and enhance shareholder value and while we see a changing consumer, we believe these strategies are still the core of our foundation: 1) grow revenue, 2) leverage our unparalled scale, and 3) deploy capital.

markets to remain relevant with our customer. This investment in our future will allow us to continue to create cemetery offerings that appeal to varying preferences in those markets for many years to come.

At December 31, 2019, we employed 16,320 individuals on a full-time basis and 8,274 individuals on a part-time basis. Of the full-time associates, 14,029 were employed in the funeral and cemetery operations and 2,291 were employed in corporate or other overhead activities and services. All eligible associates in the United States who so elect are covered by our group health and life insurance plans. Associates covered by a collective bargaining agreement are typically covered by union health plans and therefore do not participate in our health insurance plan. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, there were 9,528 and 9,362 associates, respectively, who had elected to participate in our group health insurance plans. Eligible associates in the United States are covered by retirement plans of SCI or various subsidiaries, while international associates are covered by other SCI (or SCI subsidiary) defined contribution or government-mandated benefit plans. Approximately 2.5% of our associates are represented by unions. Although labor disputes occur from time to time, relations with associates are generally considered favorable.

Our funeral operations are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) under the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices (the “Funeral Rule”), which went into effect in 1984. The Funeral Rule defines certain acts or practices as unfair or deceptive and contains certain requirements to prevent these acts or practices. The preventive measures require a funeral provider to give consumers accurate, itemized price information and various other disclosures about funeral merchandise and services and prohibit a funeral provider from: 1) misrepresenting legal, crematory, and cemetery requirements; 2) embalming for a fee without permission; 3) requiring the purchase of a casket for direct cremation; and 4) requiring consumers to buy certain funeral merchandise or services as a condition for furnishing other funeral merchandise or services.

Our operations are also subject to regulation, supervision, and licensing under numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations as well as Canadian and provincial laws and regulations. For example, state laws impose licensing requirements for funeral service locations and funeral directors and regulate preneed sales including our preneed trust activities. Our facilities are subject to environmental, health, and safety regulations. We take various measures to comply with the Funeral Rule and all laws and regulations. For example, we have established and maintain policies, procedures, and business practices; we engage in training of our personnel; and we carry out ongoing reviews of our compliance efforts. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with the Funeral Rule and all laws and regulations.

Federal, state, and local legislative bodies and regulatory agencies (including Canadian legislative bodies and agencies) frequently propose new laws and regulations, some of which could have a material effect on our operations and on the deathcare industry in general. We cannot accurately predict the outcome of any proposed legislation or regulation or the effect that any such legislation or regulation might have on us.

We make available free of charge, on or through our website, our annual, quarterly, and current reports and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such reports with the Securities

The statements in this Form 10-K that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be accompanied by words such as “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “expect”, “anticipate”, or “predict” that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however, many important factors could cause our actual consolidated results in the future to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of, the Company. These factors are discussed below. We assume no obligation and make no undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by the Company, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

In connection with our preneed merchandise and service sales and our cemetery property sales, most affiliated trust funds own investments in equity securities, fixed income securities, commingled funds, money market funds, and mutual funds. The fair value of these investments and our earnings and investment gains and losses on these securities and funds are affected by financial market conditions that are beyond our control. Additionally, we may not choose the optimal mix of securities for any particular market condition.

The following table summarizes our investment returns (realized and unrealized), excluding certain fees, on our trust funds:

Generally, earnings or gains and losses on our trust investments are recognized and we withdraw cash when the underlying merchandise is delivered, service is performed, or upon contract cancellation. Our cemetery perpetual care trusts recognize earnings, and in certain states, capital gains and losses or fixed percentage distributions. We withdraw allowable cash when we incur qualifying cemetery maintenance costs.

If the investments in our trust funds experience significant declines in 2020 or subsequent years, there could be insufficient funds in the trusts to cover the costs of delivering merchandise and services or maintaining cemeteries in the future. We may be required to cover any such shortfall with cash flows from operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. For more information related to our trust investments, see Note 3 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

If the fair value of these trusts, plus any other amount due to us upon delivery of the associated contracts, were to decline below the estimated costs to deliver the underlying products and services, we would record a charge to earnings to record a liability for the expected losses on the delivery of the associated contracts. As of December 31, 2019, no such charge was required in any reported period.

In certain states and provinces, we have withdrawn allowable distributable earnings, including unrealized gains, prior to the maturity or cancellation of the related contract. Additionally, some states have laws that either require replenishment of investment losses under certain circumstances or impose various restrictions on withdrawals of future earnings when trust fund values drop below certain prescribed amounts. In the event of market declines that result in a severe decrease in trust fund value, we may be required to replenish amounts in the respective trusts in some future period. As of December 31, 2019, we had unrealized losses of $12.0 million in the various trusts within these states. See Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements, Contractual Obligations, and Commercial and Contingent Commitments in Part II, Item 7.

Our strategic plan is focused on growing our revenue, leveraging our scale, and deploying our capital. Many of the factors that impact our ability to execute our strategic plan, such as the number of deaths and general economic conditions, are beyond our control. Changes in operating conditions, such as supply disruptions and labor disputes, could negatively impact our operations. Our inability to leverage scale to drive cost savings, productivity improvements, preneed production, or earnings growth anticipated by management could affect our financial performance. Our inability to identify acquisition candidates and to complete acquisitions, divestitures, or strategic alliances as planned or to successfully integrate acquired businesses and realize expected synergies and strategic benefits could impact our financial performance. Our inability to deploy capital to maximize shareholder value could impact our financial performance. We cannot give assurance that we will be able to execute any or all of our strategic plan. Failure to execute any or all of our strategic plan could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Our Bank Credit Facility contains, among other things, various affirmative and negative covenants that may prevent us from engaging in certain transactions that might otherwise be considered beneficial to us. The covenants limit, among other things, our and our subsidiaries’ ability to:

Our Bank Credit Facility requires us to maintain certain leverage and interest coverage ratios. These covenants and coverage ratios may require us to take actions to reduce our indebtedness or act in a manner contrary to our strategic plan and business objectives. In addition, events beyond our control, including changes in general economic and business conditions, may affect our ability to satisfy these covenants. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default of our indebtedness. If we breach certain affirmative covenants or any negative covenants contained in our Bank Credit Facility, then, immediately upon notice from the administrative agent, an event of default will have occurred and the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder, together with accrued interest, immediately due and payable. If we breach any of the other affirmative covenants contained in our Bank Credit Facility, and such breach continues unremedied for 30 days after receipt of notice thereof, then an event of default will have occurred and the lenders party thereto could elect to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder, together with accrued interest, immediately due and payable. Any such declaration would also result in an event of default under our Senior Indenture governing our various senior notes. For additional information, see Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources in Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Note 6 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

We have entered into arrangements with certain surety companies whereby such companies agree to issue surety bonds on our behalf as financial assurance or as required by existing state and local regulations. The surety bonds are used for various business purposes; however, the majority of the surety bonds issued and outstanding have been issued to support our preneed funeral and cemetery activities. In the event all of the surety companies canceled or did not renew our surety bonds, which generally have twelve-month renewal periods, we would be required to either obtain replacement coverage or fund approximately $153.8 million into state-mandated trust accounts as of December 31, 2019. There can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain replacement coverage at a similar cost or at all.

We sell price-guaranteed preneed contracts through various programs providing for future services at prices prevailing when the agreements are signed. For preneed contracts funded through life insurance or annuity contracts, we receive in cash a general agency commission from a third-party insurance company that typically averages approximately 25% of the total sale. Additionally, we receive an increasing death benefit associated with the contract of approximately 1% per year in cash at the time the service is performed. There is no guarantee that the increasing death benefit will cover future increases in the cost of providing a price-guaranteed service, and any such excess cost could be materially adverse to our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Where permitted by state law, customers may arrange their preneed contract by purchasing a life insurance or annuity policy from third-party insurance companies. The customer/policy holder assigns the policy benefits to us as payment for their preneed contract at the time of need. If the financial condition of the third-party insurance companies were to deteriorate materially because of market conditions or otherwise, there could be an adverse effect on our ability to collect all or part of the proceeds of the life insurance policy, including the annual increase in the death benefit, if we fulfill the preneed contract at the time of need. Failure to collect such proceeds could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

As discussed in Note 9 of Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, we are subject to a variety of claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of our business. Adverse outcomes in some or all of the pending cases may result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief against us, as litigation and other claims are subject to inherent uncertainties. Any such adverse outcomes, in pending cases or other lawsuits that may arise in the future, could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Since our operations relate to life events involving emotional stress for our client families, our business is dependent on customer trust and confidence. Unfavorable publicity about our business generally or in relation to any specific location could affect our reputation and customers’ trust and confidence in our products and services, thereby having an adverse impact upon our sales and financial results.

Our insurance coverage is subject to deductibles, self-insured retentions, limits of liability, and similar provisions that we believe are prudent based on our operations. Because we self-insure a significant portion of expected losses under our workers' compensation, auto, and general and professional liability insurance programs, unanticipated changes in any applicable actuarial assumptions, trends and interpretations, or management estimates underlying our recorded liabilities for these losses, including potential increases in costs, could result in materially different amounts of expense than expected under these programs. These unanticipated changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

We make judgments regarding the utilization of existing income tax credits and the potential tax effects of various financial transactions and results of operations to estimate our obligations to taxing authorities. Tax obligations include income, franchise, real estate, sales and use, and employment-related taxes. These judgments include reserves for potential adverse outcomes regarding tax positions that have been taken. Changes in federal, state, or local tax laws, adverse tax audit results, or adverse tax rulings on positions taken could have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

In addition to an annual review, we assess the impairment of goodwill and/or other intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may be greater than fair value. Factors that could trigger an interim impairment review include, but are not limited to, a significant decline in our stock price, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results, and significant negative industry or economic trends. If any of these factors occur, we may have a triggering event, which could result in an impairment of our goodwill and/or other intangible assets. If economic conditions worsen causing deterioration in our operating revenue, operating margins, and cash flows, we may have a triggering event that could result in an impairment of our goodwill and/or other intangible assets. Our cemetery segment, which has a goodwill balance of $328.9 million as of December 31, 2019, is more sensitive to market conditions and goodwill impairments because it is more reliant on preneed sales, which are impacted by customer discretionary spending. For additional information, see Critical Accounting Policies, Recent Accounting Pronouncements, and Accounting Changes in Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

In the ordinary course of our business, we and our vendors receive and retain certain personal information, in both physical and electronic formats, about our customers, their loved ones, our associates, and our vendors, and there is an expectation that we will adequately protect that information. In addition, our online operations at our websites depend upon the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks, including information permitting electronic payments. The U.S. regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding. New laws and regulations governing data privacy, security, cybersecurity and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, including recent California legislation, pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate our costs. Any failure by us to comply with these laws and regulations, including as a result of a security or privacy breach, could result in significant penalties and liabilities for us. A significant theft, loss or fraudulent use of the personally identifiable information we maintain or failure of our vendors to use or maintain such data in accordance with contractual provisions could result in significant costs, fines, litigation. Additionally, if we acquire a company that has violated or is not in compliance with applicable data protection laws, we may incur significant liabilities and penalties as a result.

We maintain substantial security measures and data backup systems to protect, store, and prevent unauthorized access to such information. Nevertheless, it is possible that computer hackers and others (through cyberattacks, which are rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly sophisticated, or by other means) might defeat our security measures in the future and obtain the personal information of customers, their loved ones, our associates, and our vendors that we hold. Further, our associates, contractors, or third parties with whom we do business may attempt to circumvent our security measures to misappropriate such information and may purposefully or inadvertently cause a breach, corruption, or data loss involving such information. A breach of our security measures or failure in our backup systems could adversely affect our reputation with our customers and their loved ones, our associates, and our vendors; as well as our operations, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows; and could result in litigation against us or the imposition of penalties. Moreover, a security breach could require that we expend significant additional resources to upgrade further the security measures that we employ to guard such important personal information against cyberattacks and other attempts to access such information and could result in a disruption of our operations.

Our Canadian operations represent a significant portion of our revenue. Our ability to successfully conduct operations in Canada is affected by many of the same risks we face in our U.S. operations, as well as unique costs and difficulties of managing Canadian operations. Our Canadian operations may be adversely affected by local laws, customs, and regulations, as well as political and economic conditions. Significant fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness, which could have important consequences, including the following:

Any of the above listed factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

In addition to our high level of indebtedness, we also have significant rental and other obligations under our operating and finance leases for funeral service locations, cemetery operating and maintenance equipment, and transportation equipment. These obligations could further increase the risks described above.

The accuracy of our financial reporting depends on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements and may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations. If we do not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or implement controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of our financial statements, we could be unable to file accurate financial reports on a timely basis, and our results of operations, investor confidence, and stock price could be materially adversely affected.

In the ordinary course, our businesses have sold preneed funeral and cemetery contracts for decades. To the extent these contracts will not be funded with the assignment of the proceeds of life insurance policies, depending on applicable state laws, we could be responsible for escheatment of the portion of the funds paid that relate to contracts which we are unlikely to fulfill. For additional information, see Unclaimed Property Audit in Note 9 in Item 1 of Part 1 of this Form 10-K. The application of unclaimed property laws could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, cash flows, and financial results.

In North America, the funeral and cemetery industry is characterized by a large number of locally-owned, independent operations. To compete successfully, our funeral service locations and cemeteries must maintain good reputations and high professional standards, as well as offer attractive products and services at competitive prices. In addition, we must market ourselves in such a manner as to distinguish us from our competitors. We have historically experienced price competition from independent funeral service location and cemetery operators, monument dealers, casket retailers, low-cost funeral providers, and other nontraditional providers of merchandise and services. If we are unable to successfully compete, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

If the number of deaths in our markets declines, the number of funeral services and interments performed by us could decrease and our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. Changes in the number of deaths may vary from quarter to quarter and across local markets, and those variations are not predictable. Variations in the death rate and seasonality of deaths throughout each year may also cause revenue to fluctuate between quarters or years.

Future market share, revenue, and profit will depend in part on our ability to anticipate, identify, and respond to changing consumer preferences. We may not correctly anticipate or identify trends in consumer preferences, or we may identify them later than our competitors do. In addition, any strategies we may implement to address these trends may prove incorrect or ineffective.

There is a continuing upward trend in the number of cremations performed in North America as an alternative to traditional funeral service dispositions. In our operations during 2019, 56.8% of the comparable services we performed were cremation cases compared to 55.1% and 53.5% performed in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Our average revenue for cremations is lower than that for traditional burials. If we are unable to continue to expand our cremation memorialization products and services, and cremations remain or increase as a significant percentage of our services, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

The majority of our operations are managed in groups called “markets”. Markets are geographical groups of funeral service locations and cemeteries that share common resources such as operating personnel, preparation services, clerical staff, motor vehicles, and preneed sales personnel. We must incur many of these costs regardless of the number of services or interments performed. Because we cannot immediately decrease these costs when we experience lower sales volumes, a sales decline may cause our margin percentages to decline at a greater rate than the decline in revenue.

Our operations are subject to regulation, supervision, and licensing requirements under numerous foreign, federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations, including extensive regulations concerning trust funds, preneed sales of funeral and cemetery merchandise and services, and various other aspects of our business. For example, the funeral industry is regulated at the federal level by the FTC, which requires funeral service locations to take actions designed to protect consumers. State law regulates preneed sales and imposes licensing requirements. Accordingly, we are subject to audits of preneed sales practices and state trust funds. Our facilities are also subject to stringent health, safety and environmental regulations. In particular, cremation and embalming facilities are subject to stringent health and environmental regulations, compliance with which is burdensome, and there are associated risks of costly and burdensome investigations from regulatory authorities or incidental non-compliance with such regulations. Our pay practices, including wage and hour overtime pay, are subject to federal and state regulations. Violations of applicable laws could result in fines or sanctions against us.

In addition, from time to time, governments and agencies propose to amend or add regulations or reinterpret existing regulations, which could increase costs and decrease cash flows. For example, foreign, federal, state, local, and other regulatory agencies have considered and may enact additional legislation or regulations that could affect the deathcare industry. These include regulations that require more liberal refund and cancellation policies for preneed sales of products and services, limit or eliminate our ability to use surety bonding, require the escheatment of trust funds, increase trust requirements, require the deposit of funds or collateral to offset unrealized losses of trusts, and/or prohibit the common ownership of funeral service locations and cemeteries in the same market. Similarly, more stringent permitting or other environmental regulations, if adopted, could increase our costs. If adopted by the regulatory authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate, these and other possible proposals could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Compliance with laws, regulations, industry standards, and customs concerning burial procedures and the handling and care of human remains is critical to the continued success of our business and any operations we may acquire. Litigation and regulatory proceedings regarding these issues could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

None.

Information regarding properties is set forth in Part I, Item 1. Business.

Information regarding legal proceedings is set forth in Note 9 of Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

Not applicable.

The following table sets forth as of February 18, 2020, the name and age of each executive officer of the Company, the office held, and the year first elected an officer.

Mr. Ryan was elected Chairman of the Board of SCI effective in January 2016 and, previously, he had been appointed Chief Executive Officer in February 2005 and President in 2019. He joined the Company in 1996 and served in a variety of financial management roles until November 2000, when he was asked to serve as Chief Executive Officer of European Operations based in Paris, France. In July 2002, Mr. Ryan returned to the United States where he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of SCI. Before joining SCI, Mr. Ryan was a certified public accountant with Coopers & Lybrand LLP for eight years. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Ryan serves as a member of the University of Texas McCombs Business School Advisory Council. Mr. Ryan is a member of the Board of Trust Managers of Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI) and the Board of Directors of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK).

Mr. Waring, Senior Vice President, is responsible for North American Operations. He joined SCI in 1996 as Area Vice President of Operations when SCI acquired his family's funeral business. He was appointed President of the Northeast Region in 1999 and President of the Pacific Region in September 2001. In September 2002, Mr. Waring was appointed Vice President, Western Operations, a position he held until May 2004 when he was appointed Vice President, Major Market Operations. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2006. In May 2015, Mr. Waring's responsibilities were expanded to include all operations in North America. Mr. Waring holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Stetson University, a degree in mortuary science from Mount Ida College, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Mr. Waring serves on the Board of Directors of BankFive and the Board of Trustees of Tabor Academy. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team for the Houston chapter of the American Heart Association.

Mr. Tanzberger was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2006 and also served as Treasurer from July 2007 to February 2017. Mr. Tanzberger joined the Company in August 1996 and held various management positions prior to being promoted to Corporate Controller in August 2002. Before joining SCI, Mr. Tanzberger served as Assistant Corporate Controller at Kirby Marine Transportation Corp., an inland waterway barge and tanker company. He was also a certified public accountant with Coopers and Lybrand LLP. Mr. Tanzberger holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. He serves on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Trustees for the United Way of Greater Houston and the National Funeral Directors Association Funeral Service Foundation.

Mr. Sangalis joined the Company in 2007 as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. In 2012, his responsibilities were expanded to include Human Resources. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Law and Administration for Team Inc., a leading provider of specialty industrial maintenance and construction services. Prior to that, Mr. Sangalis served as Managing Director and General Counsel of Main Street Equity Ventures II, a private equity investment firm, and as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Waste Management, Inc., the leading provider of waste management services in North America.  Mr. Sangalis holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Indiana University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota. He earned his juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he graduated Cum Laude.

Ms. Nash was named Senior Vice President of Operations Services in 2010 and is currently responsible for a variety of support functions, including information technology, supply chain, and program management. Prior to that she was Vice President of Process Improvement and Technology, where she led the redefinition of our field and home office processes and systems. Before joining SCI, Ms. Nash served in various senior management accounting and financial positions with

Pennzoil Corp. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting from Texas A&M University. Ms. Nash serves on the Board of Directors of Genesys Works.

Mr. Faulk was named Senior Vice President of Revenue and Business Development in 2018. He joined SCI in March 2010 as Vice President, Business Development, to oversee the Company's strategic growth, including mergers and acquisitions, real estate and construction. His promotion in 2018 expanded his role to include setting direction for the company’s pricing and cemetery development functions. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Faulk worked for Bain & Company, Inc. where he helped Fortune 500 Companies and specialty retailers identify profit growth opportunities and achieve strong operating results. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Tidwell joined SCI as Vice President, Main Street Market Operations, in March 2010 and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising in 2012. As a co-founder of Keystone North America, Inc., Mr. Tidwell served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2007 until it was acquired by SCI in March 2010. In his role, Mr. Tidwell worked closely with Keystone's Senior Leadership Team to develop and implement organic growth strategies as well as external growth and acquisition strategies. He began his career as a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Nashville, Tennessee, and has been actively involved in the funeral, and cemetery profession for over thirty-seven years. He holds an associate of arts degree from John A. Gupton College and has attended Executive Management and Leadership programs at the Harvard Business School, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Mrs. Moore joined the Company in August 2002 as Manager of Financial Reporting. She was promoted to Director of Financial Reporting in 2004 and Managing Director and Assistant Controller in June 2006. In February 2010, she was promoted to Vice President and Corporate Controller and oversees trust, general accounting, internal and external reporting, customer service, and strategic planning and analysis. Prior to joining the Company, Mrs. Moore was a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Our common stock has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since May 14, 1974. On December 31, 2019, there were 3,552 holders of record of our common stock. In calculating the number of stockholders, we consider clearing agencies and security position listings as one stockholder for each agency or listing. At December 31, 2019, we had 181,184,963 shares outstanding, net of 3,915,826 treasury shares.

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SCI.

Stock Performance Graph. The following graph assumes the total return on $100 invested on December 31, 2014, in SCI Common Stock, the S&P 500 Index, and a peer group selected by the Company (the “Peer Group”).The Peer Group comprises Carriage Services, Inc., Hillenbrand Inc., and Matthews International Corp. Total return data assumes reinvestment of dividends.

Under our share repurchase program, during the year ended December 31, 2019, we repurchased 2,908,850 shares at an aggregate cost of $129.6 million, which is an average cost per share of $44.55. During the year ended December 31, 2018, we repurchased 7,347,838 shares at an aggregate cost of $277.6 million, which is an average cost per share of $37.78.

In August 2019, our Board of Directors increased our repurchase authorization for up to $400.0 million. The remaining dollar value of shares authorized to be purchased under the share repurchase program was $312.0 million at December 31, 2019. As discussed in Item 1A, our Bank Credit Facility contains covenants that may restrict our ability to repurchase our common stock.

Subsequent to December 31, 2019, we repurchased 475,476 shares for $22.2 million at an average cost per share of $46.69.

We are North America’s largest provider of deathcare products and services, with a network of funeral service locations and cemeteries unequaled in geographic scale and reach. At December 31, 2019, we operated 1,471 funeral service locations and 482 cemeteries (including 290 funeral service/cemetery combination locations), which are geographically diversified across 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Our funeral and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other related businesses, which enable us to serve a wide array of customer needs. We sell cemetery property and funeral and cemetery merchandise and services at the time of need and on a preneed basis.

Our financial position is enhanced by our $12.0 billion backlog of future revenue from both trust and insurance-funded preneed sales at December 31, 2019. Preneed selling provides us with a strategic opportunity to gain future market share. We also believe it adds to the stability and predictability of our revenue and cash flows. While revenue on the majority of preneed merchandise and service sales is deferred until the time of need, sales of preneed cemetery property provide opportunities for full current revenue recognition to the extent that the property is developed and available for use.

We have adequate liquidity and a favorable debt maturity profile, which allow us to return capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.

Factors affecting our operating results include: demographic trends in terms of population growth and average age, which impact death rates and number of deaths; establishing and maintaining leading market share positions supported by strong local heritage and relationships; effectively responding to increasing cremation trends by selling complementary services and merchandise; controlling salary and merchandise costs; and exercising pricing leverage related to our atneed revenue. The average revenue per funeral contract is influenced by the mix of traditional and cremation services because our average revenue for cremations is lower than that for traditional burials. To further enhance revenue opportunities, we continue to focus on our cremation customer’s preferences and remaining relevant by developing additional memorialization merchandise and services that specifically appeal to cremation customers.  We believe the presentation of these additional merchandise and services through our customer-facing technology enhances our customer’s experience by reducing administrative burdens and allowing them to visualize the product offerings and services, which will help drive increases in the average revenue for a cremation in future periods.

For further discussion of our key operating metrics, see our "Cash Flow" and “Results of Operations” sections below. For a discussion of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 20, 2019.

We rely on cash flow from operations as a significant source of liquidity. Our cash flow from operating activities provided $628.8 million in 2019. In addition, as of December 31, 2019, we have $671.0 million in excess borrowing capacity under our Bank Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2019, we have $69.8 million in long-term debt current maturities, which primarily consist of current amounts due on the term loan and finance leases.

We believe we have the financial strength and flexibility to reward shareholders through share repurchases and dividends while maintaining a prudent capital structure and pursuing new opportunities for profitable growth.

We believe that our unencumbered cash on hand, future operating cash flows, and the available capacity under our bank credit agreement will give us adequate liquidity to meet our short-term needs as well as our long-term financial obligations. Due to cash balances residing in Canada and minimum operating cash requirements, a portion of our cash on hand is encumbered.

We consistently evaluate the best uses of our cash flow that will yield the highest value and return on capital. Our capital deployment strategy is prioritized as follows:

We believe our ability to generate strong operating cash flow is one of our fundamental financial strengths and provides us with substantial flexibility in meeting operating and investing needs.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $628.8 million, and $615.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

Excluding the above items, cash flow from operations increased $25.0 million for 2019 versus 2018. The 2019 increase over 2018 comprises:

Cash flows from investing activities used $278.5 million, and $414.6 million, in 2019, and 2018, respectively. The $136.1 million decrease from 2019 over 2018 is primarily due to the following:

Financing activities used $319.1 million in 2019 compared to using $329.2 million in 2018. The $10.1 million decrease from 2019 over 2018 is primarily due to:

We have assumed various financial obligations and commitments in the ordinary course of conducting our business. We have contractual obligations requiring future cash payments under existing contractual arrangements, such as debt maturities, interest on long-term debt, operating lease agreements, and employment, consulting, and non-competition agreements. We also have commercial and contingent obligations that result in cash payments only if certain events occur requiring our performance pursuant to a funding commitment.

Not included in the above table are potential funding obligations related to our merchandise and service trusts. In certain states and provinces, we have withdrawn allowable distributable earnings including unrealized gains prior to the maturity or cancellation of the related contract. Additionally, some states have laws that either require replenishment of investment losses under certain circumstances or impose various restrictions when trust fund values drop below certain prescribed amounts. In the event that our trust investments do not recover from market declines, we may be required to deposit portions or all of these amounts into the respective trusts in some future period. As of December 31, 2019, we had unrealized losses of $12.0 million in the various trusts within these states.

When selling preneed contracts, we may post surety bonds where allowed by state law. We post the surety bonds in lieu of trusting a certain amount of funds received from the customer. The $262.5 million in bonds supporting preneed funeral and cemetery obligations differs from the $153.8 million potential funding obligation disclosed in our “Commercial and Contingent Obligations” table above because the amount of the bond posted is generally determined by the total amount of the preneed contract that would otherwise be required to be trusted, in accordance with applicable state law, at the time we enter into the contract. We would only be required to fund the trust for the portion of the preneed contract for which we have received payment from the customer, less any applicable retainage, in accordance with state law. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, we had $24.2 million, $23.4 million, and $22.6 million, respectively, of cash receipts from sales attributable to bonded contracts. These amounts do not consider reductions associated with taxes, obtaining costs, or other costs.

Surety bond premiums are paid annually and the bonds are automatically renewable until maturity of the underlying preneed contracts, unless we are given prior notice of cancellation. Except for cemetery pre-construction bonds (which are irrevocable), the surety companies generally have the right to cancel the surety bonds at any time with appropriate notice. In the event a surety company were to cancel the surety bond, we are required to obtain replacement surety assurance from another surety company or fund a trust for an amount generally less than the posted bond amount. Management does not expect that we will be required to fund material future amounts related to these surety bonds due to a lack of surety capacity or surety company non-performance.

In addition to selling our products and services to client families at the time of need, we enter into price-guaranteed preneed contracts, which provide for future funeral or cemetery merchandise and services. Because preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise or services will generally not be provided until sometime in the future, most states and provinces require that all or a portion of the funds collected from customers on preneed contracts be deposited into merchandise and service trusts until the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. In certain situations, as described above, where permitted by state or provincial laws, we may post a surety bond as financial assurance for a certain amount of the preneed contract in lieu of placing funds into trust accounts. Alternatively, we may sell a life insurance or annuity policy from third-party insurance companies.

The fair value of our trust investments was based on a combination of quoted market prices, observable inputs such as interest rates or yield curves and appraisals. As of December 31, 2019, the difference between the backlog and asset market amounts represents $0.23 billion related to contracts for which we have posted surety bonds as financial assurance in lieu of trusting, $0.07 billion collected from customers that were not required to be deposited into trusts, and $0.22 billion in allowable cash distributions from trust assets. As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the total backlog comprised $3.17 billion related to cemetery contracts and $8.82 billion related to funeral contracts. As of December 31, 2019, the fair value of the assets associated with the backlog of trust-funded deferred revenue comprised $2.93 billion related to cemetery contracts and $2.17 billion related to funeral contracts.

In addition to selling our products and services to client families at the time of need, we enter into price-guaranteed preneed funeral and cemetery contracts, which provide for future funeral or cemetery merchandise and services. Since preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise or services will generally not be provided until sometime in the future, most states and provinces require that all or a portion of the funds collected from customers on preneed funeral and cemetery contracts be paid into trusts and/or escrow accounts until the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. Investment earnings associated with the trust investments are expected to mitigate the inflationary costs of providing the preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and services in the future at the prices that were guaranteed at the time of sale.Also, we are required by state and provincial law to pay a portion of the proceeds from the preneed or atneed sale of cemetery property interment rights into perpetual care trusts. For these investments, the original corpus generally remains in the trust in perpetuity and the earnings or elected distributions are withdrawn as allowed to defray the expense to maintain the cemetery property. While many states require that net capital gains or losses be retained and added to the corpus, certain states allow the net realized capital gains and losses to be included in the earnings that are distributed. Additionally, some states allow a total return distribution that may contain elements of income, capital appreciation, and principal.

Independent trustees manage and invest the majority of the funds deposited into the funeral and cemetery merchandise and services trusts as well as the cemetery perpetual care trusts. The majority of the trustees are selected based on their respective geographic footprint and qualifications per state and provincial regulations. Most of the trustees engage the same independent investment managers. These trustees, with input from SCI's wholly-owned registered investment advisor, establish an investment policy that serves as an operating document to guide the investment activities of the trusts including asset allocation and manager selection. The investments are also governed by state and provincial guidelines. All of the trusts seek to control risk and volatility through a combination of asset classes, investment styles, and a diverse mix of investment managers.

Asset allocation is based on the liability structure of each funeral, cemetery, and perpetual care trust. Based on the various criteria set forth in the investment policy, the investment advisor recommends investment managers to the trustees. The primary investment objectives for the funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts include 1) preserving capital within acceptable levels of volatility and risk and 2) achieving growth of principal over time sufficient to preserve and increase the purchasing power of the assets. Preneed funeral and cemetery contracts generally take several years to mature; therefore, the funds associated with these contracts are often invested through several market cycles.

Historically, the cemetery perpetual care trusts' investment objectives, in accordance with state and provincial regulations, have emphasized providing a steady stream of current investment income with some capital appreciation in order to provide for the maintenance and beautification of cemetery properties. However, during 2016, SCI worked with several state legislatures to adjust laws and regulations to allow for a fixed distribution rate from cemetery perpetual care trusts' assets regardless of the level of ordinary income, similar to university endowments. As a result, beginning in 2017, a significant portion of our cemetery perpetual care trust assets were liquidated and reinvested in a more growth-oriented asset allocation with investment objectives similar to the funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts. As of December 31, 2019, the asset allocation is almost evenly split between income and growth orientations. We expect this asset allocation shift to enhance asset growth and provide further protection to our customers. Additionally, we expect more states to adopt total return distribution legislation in the coming years.

As of December 31, 2019 approximately 88% of our trusts were under the control and custody of three large financial institutions. The U.S. trustees primarily use four managed limited liability companies (LLCs), one for each merchandise and service trust type and two for the cemetery perpetual care trust type, each with an independent trustee as custodian. Each financial institution acting as trustee manages its allocation of trust assets in accordance with the investment policy through the purchase of the appropriate LLCs' units. For those accounts not eligible for participation in the LLCs or where a particular state's regulations contain other investment restrictions, the trustee utilizes institutional mutual funds that comply with our investment policy or with such state restrictions. The U.S. trusts include a modest allocation to alternative investments. These alternative investments are held in vehicles structured as LLCs and are managed by certain trustees. The trusts that are eligible to allocate a portion of their investments to alternative investments purchase units of the respective alternative investment LLCs.

Each financial institution, acting as trustee, manages its allocation of trust assets in compliance with the investment policy primarily through the purchase of one of four managed LLCs, matched to their trust type and each with a different, independent trustee acting as custodian. The managed LLCs use the following structures for investments:

Canadian government fixed income securities are investments in Canadian federal and provincial government instruments. In many cases, regulatory restrictions mandate that the funds from the sales of preneed funeral and cemetery contracts sold in certain Canadian jurisdictions must be invested in these instruments.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index increased 31.5% and the Barclay’s Aggregate Index increased 8.7%. This compares to the SCI trusts that increased 19.2% during the same year-end period, which have a diversified allocation of approximately 55% equities, 30% fixed income securities, 10% alternative and other investments with remaining 5% available in cash.

SCI, the trustees, and the investment advisor monitor the capital markets and the trusts on an on-going basis. The trustees, with input from the investment advisor, take prudent action as needed to achieve the investment goals and objectives of the trusts.

In addition to the above items, the 2019 growth can be attributed to higher expenses in the prior year for our long-term incentive compensation plan that is tied to increases in total shareholder return. Increased interest expense related to refinancing activities were offset by the favorable impact from a lower share count in 2019. We also had a favorable tax rate compared to the prior year.

Consolidated revenue from funeral operations was $1,923.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to $1,898.0 million for the same period in 2018. This increase is primarily attributable to the $25.8 million increase in revenue contributed by acquired and newly constructed properties and the $7.6 million increase in comparable revenue as described below, partially offset by the loss of $7.5 million in revenue contributed by properties that have been subsequently divested.

Comparable revenue from funeral operations was $1,877.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $1,869.6 million for the same period in 2018. This increase was primarily attributable to the $12.7 million increase in recognized preneed revenue and a $4.8 million increase in comparable general agency revenue. These increases helped mitigate against flat comparable services performed and a slight decline in the average revenue per funeral service compared to the prior year.

Average revenue per funeral service decreased 0.6% for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. Organic growth at the customer level of 1.6% was largely offset by the increase in our cremation mix. Our total comparable cremation rate increased to 56.8% in 2019 from 55.1% in 2018 as a result of an increase in both direct cremations and cremations with service.

Consolidated funeral gross profit increased $3.0 million, or 0.8%, in 2019 compared to 2018. This increase is primarily attributable to a $3.3 million increase in gross profit contributed by acquired and newly constructed properties and a $1.5 million increase in gross profit contributed by properties that have been subsequently divested, partially offset by a decrease in comparable funeral gross profit of $1.8 million. Comparable funeral gross profit decreased $1.8 million to $371.2 million and the gross profit percentage decreased 20 basis points to 19.8% primarily as a result of the revenue increases described above that were more than offset by investments in our preneed sales program in support of growing our backlog to secure future revenue.

Consolidated revenue from our cemetery operations increased $14.7 million, or 1.1%, in 2019 compared to 2018 primarily attributable to the $9.3 million in revenue contributed by acquired properties and $6.3 million increase in comparable revenue. The comparable revenue growth over the prior year is due to increased recognized preneed property revenue from sales into existing developed cemetery property projects and higher other revenue (primarily endowment care trust fund income) partially offset by lower recognized preneed merchandise revenue.

Consolidated cemetery gross profit decreased $2.8 million, or 0.7%, in 2019 compared to 2018 which is primarily attributable to the decrease in comparable gross profit of $2.2 million, or 0.6%. Comparable cemetery gross profit decreased $2.2 million to $385.8 million and the gross profit percentage decreased 30 basis points to 30.0% driven by the increase in revenue described above more than offset by expected increases in our maintenance and field administrative expenses.

We recognized a $32.9 million and a $15.9 million net pre-tax gain on asset divestitures and impairments in 2019 and 2018, respectively, primarily as the result of asset divestitures associated with non-strategic funeral and cemetery locations in the United States and Canada, partially offset by impairment losses.

The 2019 consolidated effective tax rate was a tax expense of 20.4%, compared to a tax benefit of 1.3% in 2018. The effective tax rate for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 was lower than the federal statutory tax rate of 21% primarily due to the reduction in tax liability as a result of the expiration of statute of limitations and higher excess tax benefits on the increased exercises of stock options, The effective tax rate for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 was lower than the federal statutory tax rate of 21% primarily due to the reduction in uncertain tax positions as a result of the expiration of statutes of limitations. For further information on the impacts of the Tax Act, see Note 5 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding was 185.5 million in 2019, compared to 187.0 million in 2018, The decrease in all years primarily reflects the impact of shares repurchased under our share repurchase program.

Our consolidated financial statements are impacted by the accounting policies used and the estimates and assumptions made by management during their preparation. See Note 2 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, for more information. Estimates and assumptions affect the carrying values of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date. Actual results could differ from such estimates due to uncertainties associated with the methods and assumptions underlying our critical accounting measurements. The following is a discussion of our critical accounting policies pertaining to revenue recognition, valuation of goodwill, valuation of intangible assets, fair value measurements, and the use of estimates.

Revenue is recognized when control of the merchandise or services is transferred to the customer. Our performance obligations include the delivery of funeral and cemetery merchandise and services and cemetery property interment rights. Control transfers when merchandise is delivered or services are performed. For cemetery property interment rights, control transfers to the customer when the property is developed and the interment right has been sold and can no longer be marketed or sold to another customer.

On our atneed contracts, we generally deliver the merchandise and perform the services at the time of need. Personalized marker merchandise and marker installation services sold on atneed contracts are recognized when control is transferred to the customer, generally when the marker is delivered and installed in the cemetery.

We also sell price-guaranteed preneed contracts through various programs providing for future merchandise and services at prices prevailing when the agreements are signed. Revenue associated with sales of preneed contracts is deferred until control of the merchandise or the services is transferred to the customer, which is upon delivery of the merchandise or as services are performed, generally at the time of need. On certain preneed contracts, we sell memorialization merchandise, which consists of urns and urn-related products, that we deliver to the customer at the time of sale. Revenue is recognized at the time of delivery when control of the memorialization merchandise is transferred.

For personalized marker merchandise sold on a preneed contract, we will:

We recognize revenue and record the cost of sales when control is transferred for the merchandise, which occurs upon delivery to the third-party storage facility or installation of the merchandise at the cemetery.

Pursuant to state or provincial law, all or a portion of the proceeds from funeral and cemetery merchandise or services sold on a preneed basis may be required to be paid into trust funds. We defer investment earnings related to these merchandise and service trusts until the associated merchandise is delivered or services are performed. Fees charged by our wholly-owned registered investment advisor are also included in revenue in the period in which they are earned.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of cemetery property interment rights is required by state or provincial law to be paid by us into perpetual care trust funds to maintain the cemetery. This portion of the proceeds is not recognized as revenue. Investment earnings from these trusts are distributed to us regularly and recognized in current cemetery revenue.

For more information related to revenue, see Notes 2, 3, and 12 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

We record the excess of purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired in business combinations as goodwill. Goodwill is tested annually during the fourth quarter for impairment by assessing the fair value of each of our reporting units.

Our goodwill impairment test involves certain estimates and management judgment. In the first step of our goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. We determine fair value of each reporting unit using both a market and income approach. The income approach, which is a discounted cash flow method, uses projections of future cash flows and includes assumptions concerning future operating performance and economic conditions that may differ from actual future cash flows. We do not record an impairment of goodwill in instances where the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount. If the aggregate fair value is less than the related carrying amount for a reporting unit, we compare the implied fair value of goodwill to the carrying amount of goodwill. If the carrying amount of reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

For more information related to goodwill, see Notes 2 and 4 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

Our intangible assets include covenants-not-to-compete, customer relationships, trademarks and tradenames, and other intangible assets primarily resulting from acquisitions. Certain of our trademark and tradenames and other intangible assets are considered to have an indefinite life and are not subject to amortization. We test for impairment of intangible assets annually during the fourth quarter.

Our intangible asset impairment tests involve estimates and management judgment. For trademark and tradenames, our test uses the relief from royalty method whereby we determine the fair value of the assets by discounting the cash flows that represent a savings over having to pay a royalty fee for use of the trademark and tradenames. The discounted cash flow valuation uses projections of future cash flows and includes assumptions concerning future operating performance and economic conditions that may differ from actual future cash flows.

For more information related to intangible assets, see Notes 2 and 4 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

We measure the securities held by our funeral merchandise and service, cemetery merchandise and service, and cemetery perpetual care trusts at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. We utilize a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date. The three levels are defined as follows:

An asset’s or liability’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Certain available-for-sale securities held by our funeral merchandise and service, cemetery merchandise and service, and cemetery perpetual care trusts have been classified as Level 3 of the hierarchy due to the significant management judgment required as a result of the absence of quoted market prices, inherent lack of liquidity, or the long-term nature of the securities. For more information related to our fair value measurements, see Notes 2, 3, and 7 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP) requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the carrying values of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date. Actual results could differ from such estimates due to uncertainties associated with the methods and assumptions underlying our critical accounting measurements. Key estimates used by management include:

As of December 31, 2019, foreign withholding taxes have not been provided on the estimated $259.8 million of undistributed earnings and profits ("E&P") of our foreign subsidiaries as we intend to permanently reinvest these foreign E&P in those businesses outside the U.S.  However, if we were to repatriate such foreign E&P, the foreign withholding tax liability is estimated to be $13.4 million. 

We file income tax returns, including tax returns for our subsidiaries, with federal, state, local, and foreign jurisdictions. We consider the United States to be our most significant jurisdiction; however, all tax returns are subject to routine compliance review by the taxing authorities in the jurisdictions in which we file tax returns in the ordinary course of business.

In March 2017, we received from the IRS Office of Appeals the fully executed Form 870-AD for the years 1999-2005, which effectively settled the issues under audit for those years. The federal statutes of limitations have expired for all tax years prior to 2016 and we are not currently under audit by the IRS. Various state jurisdictions are auditing years 2013 through 2017. There are currently no federal or provincial audits in Canada; however years subsequent to 2014 remain open and could be subject to examination. It is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits may change within the next twelve months. However, given the number of years that remain subject to examination and the number of matters being examined, an estimate of the range of the possible increase or decrease cannot be made.

For discussion of recent accounting pronouncements and accounting changes, see Note 2 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The market risk inherent in our financial instruments and positions includes the price risk associated with the marketable equity and debt securities included in our portfolio of trust investments, the interest rate risk associated with our floating rate debt, and the currency risk associated with our Canadian operations. Our market-sensitive instruments and positions are considered to be “other-than-trading”. Our exposure to market risk as discussed below includes forward-looking statements and represents an estimate of possible changes in fair value or future earnings that might occur, assuming hypothetical changes in equity markets, interest rates, and currencies. Our views on market risk are not necessarily indicative of actual results that may occur, and they do not represent the maximum possible gains or losses that may occur. Actual fair value movements related to changes in equity markets, interest rates, and currencies, along with the timing of such movements, may differ from those estimated.

In connection with our preneed funeral operations and preneed cemetery merchandise and service sales, the related funeral and cemetery trust funds own investments in equity and debt securities and mutual funds, which are sensitive to current market prices.

Cost and market values as of December 31, 2019 are presented in Note 3 in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. Also, see Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Financial Conditions, Liquidity, and Capital Resources, for discussion of trust investments.

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, approximately 69% and 66%, respectively, of our total debt consisted of fixed rate debt at a weighted average rate of 4.72% and 4.99%, respectively. A hypothetical 10% increase in interest rates associated with our floating rate debt would increase our interest expense by $3.5 million. See Notes 6 and 7 in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, for additional information.

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, our foreign currency exposure was primarily associated with the Canadian dollar. A hypothetical 10% adverse change in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to our foreign currency instruments would have negatively affected our income from our continuing operations, on an annual basis, by $3.3 million and $5.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

At December 31, 2019, approximately 5% of our stockholders’ equity and debt and 6% of our operating income was denominated in the Canadian dollar. Approximately 4% of our stockholders’ equity and debt and 10% of our operating income was denominated in foreign currencies, primarily the Canadian dollar, at December 31, 2018. We do not have an investment in foreign operations considered to be in highly inflationary economies.

All other schedules have been omitted because the required information is not applicable or is not present in amounts sufficient to require submission or because the information required is included in the consolidated financial statements or the related notes thereto.

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Service Corporation International

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

(See notes to consolidated financial statements)

(See notes to consolidated financial statements)