Sysco (SYY) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by checkmark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes ☑    No ☐

Indicate by checkmark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes ☐    No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ☑    No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑    No ☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes ☐    No ☑

The aggregate market value of the voting stock of the registrant held by stockholders who were not affiliates (as defined by regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission) of the registrant was approximately $39,790,937,593 as of January 1, 2022 (based on the closing sales price on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Tape on December 31, 2021, as reported by The Wall Street Journal (Southwest Edition)). As of August 9, 2022, the registrant had issued and outstanding an aggregate of 506,110,343 shares of its common stock.

Portions of the company’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K are incorporated by reference into Part III.

Unless this Form 10-K indicates otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” “Sysco,” or “the company” as used in this Form 10-K refer to Sysco Corporation together with its consolidated subsidiaries and divisions.

Overview

Sysco Corporation, acting through its subsidiaries and divisions, is the largest global distributor of food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry. Our purpose is “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another.” We provided products and related services to approximately 700,000 customer locations, including restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers during fiscal 2022.

Founded in 1969, Sysco commenced operations as a public company in March 1970 when the stockholders of nine companies exchanged their stock for Sysco common stock. Since our formation, we have grown from $115 million to our all-time high of $68.6 billion in annual sales in fiscal 2022, both through internal expansion of existing operations and through acquisitions.

Sysco’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday nearest to June 30th. This resulted in a 52-week year ended July 2, 2022 for fiscal 2022, a 53-week year ended July 3, 2021 for fiscal 2021 and a 52-week year ended June 27, 2020 for fiscal 2020. We will have a 52-week year ending July 1, 2023 for fiscal 2023.

Reporting Segments

Sysco distributes food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers. Our primary operations are located in North America and Europe. Under the accounting provisions related to disclosures about segments of an enterprise, we have combined certain operations into three reportable segments. “Other” financial information is attributable to our other operations that do not meet the quantitative disclosure thresholds.

Broadline operating sites distribute a full line of food products and a wide variety of non-food products to both traditional and chain restaurant customers, hospitals, schools, hotels, industrial caterers and other venues where foodservice products are served. SYGMA operating sites distribute a full line of food products and a wide variety of non-food products to certain chain restaurant customer locations. Selected financial data for each of our reportable segments, as well as financial

Customers and Products

Sysco’s customers in the foodservice industry include restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and motels, industrial caterers and other similar venues where foodservice products are served.

The products we distribute include:

We also supply a wide variety of non-food items, including:

A comparison of the sales mix in the principal product categories during the last three years is presented below:

Our distribution centers, which we refer to as operating sites, distribute branded merchandise, as well as products packaged under our private brands. Products packaged under our private brands have been manufactured for Sysco according to specifications that have been developed by our quality assurance team. In addition, our quality assurance team certifies the manufacturing and processing plants where these products are packaged, enforces our quality control standards and identifies supply sources that satisfy our requirements.

We believe that prompt and accurate delivery of orders, competitive pricing, customer service and the ability to provide a full array of products and services to assist customers in their foodservice operations are of primary importance in the marketing and distribution of foodservice products to our customers. Our operating sites offer daily delivery to certain customer locations and have the capability of delivering special orders on short notice. Through the sales and marketing representatives and support staff, we stay informed of the needs of our customers and acquaint them with new products and services. We also provide ancillary services relating to foodservice distribution, such as providing customers with product usage reports and other data, menu-planning advice, food safety training and assistance in inventory control, as well as access to various third-party services designed to add value to our customers’ businesses.

No single customer accounted for 10% or more of Sysco’s total sales for the fiscal year ended July 2, 2022.

We estimate that our sales by type of customer during the past three fiscal years were as follows:

We estimate that sales to our customers in the food service management (FSM) sector, which include large customers that service cafeterias in institutions such as universities, hospitals, and sporting venues, accounted for 6% of sales in fiscal 2022 as compared to 5% of sales in fiscal 2021. These sales are reflected within the respective customer types listed in the table above, depending on the type of customer the FSM operator serves.

Sources of Supply

We purchase from thousands of suppliers, both domestic and international, none of which individually accounted for more than 10% of our purchases for fiscal 2022. These suppliers consist generally of large corporations selling brand name and private label merchandise, as well as independent regional brand and private label processors and packers. We also provide specialty and seasonal products from small to mid-sized producers to meet a growing demand for locally sourced products. Our locally sourced products, including produce, meats, cheese and other products, help differentiate our customers’ offerings, satisfy demands for new products, and support local communities. Purchasing is generally carried out through both centrally developed purchasing programs, domestically and internationally, and direct purchasing programs established by our various operating sites.

We administer a consolidated product procurement program designed to develop, obtain and ensure consistent quality food and non-food products. The program covers the purchasing and marketing of branded merchandise, as well as products from a number of national brand suppliers, encompassing substantially all product lines. Some of our products are purchased internationally within global procurement centers in order to build strategic relationships with international suppliers and to optimize our supply chain network. We also focus on increasing profitability by lowering operating costs and by lowering aggregate inventory levels, which reduces future facility expansion needs at our operating sites, while providing greater value to our suppliers and customers.

Working Capital Practices

Our growth is funded through a combination of cash on hand, cash flow from operations, commercial paper issuances and long-term borrowings. See the discussion in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding our liquidity, financial position and sources and uses of funds.

We extend credit terms to some of our customers based on our assessment of each customer’s creditworthiness. We monitor each customer’s account and will suspend shipments if necessary.

A majority of our sales orders are filled within 24 hours of when customer orders are placed. We generally maintain inventory on hand to be able to meet customer demand. The level of inventory on hand will vary by product depending on shelf-life, supplier order fulfillment lead times and customer demand. We also make purchases of additional volumes of certain products based on supply or pricing opportunities.

We take advantage of suppliers’ cash discounts where appropriate. Otherwise, we pay our suppliers according to our payment terms.

Global Support Center

Our Global Support Center (GSC) staff makes available a number of centralized services to our operating sites and our shared services staff performs support activities for employees, suppliers and customers. Members of these group possess experience and expertise in, among other areas, customer and vendor contract administration, accounting and finance, treasury, legal, information technology, payroll and employee benefits, risk management and insurance, sales and marketing, merchandising, inbound logistics, human resources, strategy and tax compliance services. The GSC also makes available supply chain expertise, such as in warehousing, distribution, and omni-channel strategic services, which provide assistance in operational best practices, including space utilization, energy conservation, fleet management and work flow.

Capital Improvements

During fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020, $632.8 million, $470.7 million and $720.4 million, respectively, were invested in facilities, technology, equipment, delivery fleet and other capital asset enhancements. From time to time, we dispose of assets in the normal course of business; we consider proceeds from these asset sales to be an offset to capital expenditures. During fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020, capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sales of assets, were $608.7 million, $411.5 million and $691.7 million, respectively. Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sales of assets, as a percentage of sales during fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020 were 0.9%, 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively. In order to preserve our liquidity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we reduced our capital expenditures by eliminating capital projects that were not critical for our business in fiscal 2021, and in fiscal 2022, our capital expenditures returned to more normal levels. During the three years ended July 2, 2022, capital expenditures were financed primarily by internally generated funds and bank and other borrowings. We expect to finance our fiscal 2023 capital expenditures from cash flows from operations and bank and other borrowings.

Human Capital Resources

We believe engaged and empowered associates drive business success and that attracting, developing and retaining the best talent globally to drive our business success is a key driver of the company’s long-term value. Our diverse associates and inclusive culture create an environment where associates can develop their skills and contribute to our success by driving strong financial performance. As of July 2, 2022, we employed approximately 71,000 employees, including 49,000 U.S. employees and 22,000 employees outside the United States, as compared to approximately 58,000 employees as of July 3, 2021. Also, approximately 98% of our U.S.-based associates are classified as full-time associates, defined as employees who work 30 or more hours per week and approximately 17% of our employees were represented by unions, primarily the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and unions in France and Sweden. Approximately 9.0% of our union employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are subject to renegotiation in fiscal 2023.

A key focus of our Talent Acquisition has been achieving hiring targets for our transportation associates. Throughout our industry, drivers are in short supply and hiring is a challenge. In fiscal 2022, Sysco invested in its first Sysco Driver Academy, enabling us to develop and train our own drivers, which we refer to as Delivery Partners. This program gives our warehouse associate population an opportunity to Delivery Partners. Trainees are paid to attend the academy, and we pay for their licensing and certification fees.

Additionally, through a program titled Sysco Speaks, we conduct annual, confidential engagement surveys of our global workforce that are administered and analyzed by an independent third party.

As of July 2, 2022, in the U.S, women held 24% of management roles (defined as managers of people) and 28% of officer roles (defined as executives and senior level employees within the global support center and field organizations). In the U.S., Hispanic or Latinx, Black or African American, and Asian employees held 13%, 9% and 4% of management roles and 4%, 9%, and 7% of officer roles, respectively.

Our Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) are voluntary, associate-led groups organized to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace at Sysco, and are a critical element of our engagement and DEI efforts at both our headquarters and at operating sites by interested associates.

Competition

A large number of companies are engaged in the distribution of food and non-food products to the foodservice industry. Our customers may choose to purchase products directly from wholesale or retail outlets, including club, cash and carry and grocery stores, online retailers, or negotiate prices directly with our suppliers. We compete with local and regional distributors and some organizations that operate on a multi-region basis. In addition, these local, regional and multi-regional distributors can create purchasing cooperatives and marketing groups to enhance their competitive abilities by expanding their product mix, improving purchasing power and extending their geographic capabilities. Our customers are accustomed to purchasing from multiple suppliers and channels concurrently. Customers can choose from many broadline foodservice distributors, specialty distributors that focus on specific categories such as produce, meat or seafood, other wholesale channels, club stores, cash and carry stores, grocery stores and numerous online retailers. Since switching costs are very low, customers can make supplier and channel changes very quickly. We believe that the principal competitive factors in the foodservice industry are effective customer contacts, the ability to deliver a wide range of quality products and related services on a timely and dependable basis, and competitive prices. There are few barriers to market entry.

We estimate that we serve about 17% of the approximately $300 billion annual foodservice market in the U.S., as estimated by Technomic, Inc., for calendar year 2021. Technomic projects the market size to increase to approximately $345 billion by the end of calendar 2022. We also serve certain international geographies that vary in size and amount of market share. We believe, based upon industry trade data, that our sales to the U.S. and Canada food-away-from-home industry were the highest of any foodservice distributor during fiscal 2022. While comprehensive industry statistics are not available, we believe that, in most instances, our operations in the U.S. and Canada are among the leading distributors of food and related non-food products to foodservice customers in those trading areas. We believe our competitive advantages include our sales consultants; our diversified product base, which includes quality-assured Sysco brand products; our service reliability; the ancillary services we provide to our customers, such as business reviews and menu analysis; and our multi-regional presence in North America and Europe, combined with a large geographical footprint of multi-temperature warehouses, which mitigates some of the impact of regional economic declines that may occur over time.

Government Regulation

Our company is required to comply, and it is our policy to comply, with all applicable laws and regulations in the numerous countries throughout the world in which we do business.

In the U.S., as a marketer and distributor of food products, we are subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA regulates food safety and quality through various statutory and regulatory mandates, including manufacturing and holding requirements for foods through good manufacturing practice regulations, hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) requirements for certain foods, and the food and color additive approval process. The agency also specifies the standards of identity for certain foods,

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has significantly expanded our food safety requirements. We have established and continue to maintain comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply chain that are both verified and validated, as required by FDA regulations implementing FSMA. The FSMA further imposes requirements for food products imported into the U.S. and provides the FDA with mandatory recall authority.

We and our products are also subject to state and local regulation through such measures as the licensing of our facilities; enforcement by state and local health agencies of state and local standards for our products; and regulation of our trade practices in connection with the sale of our products. Our facilities are subject to regulations issued pursuant to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act by the U.S. Department of Labor. These regulations require us to comply with certain manufacturing, health and safety standards to protect our employees from accidents and to establish hazard communication programs to transmit information on the hazards of certain chemicals present in products we distribute. We are also subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the process for collective bargaining between employers and employees and protects the rights of both employers and employees in the workplace.

Our processing and distribution facilities must be registered with the FDA biennially and are subject to periodic government agency inspections by the FDA and USDA. Our facilities are generally inspected at least annually by federal and/or state authorities. We also must establish communication programs to transmit information about the hazards of certain chemicals present in some of the products we distribute. In addition, we must comply with Federal Trade Commission standards with respect to any claims made about our food products in advertising and marketing materials.

Our customers include several departments of the federal government, including the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, as well as certain state and local entities. These customer relationships subject us to additional regulations applicable to government contractors.

We are also subject to regulation by numerous federal, state and local regulatory agencies, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Department of Labor, which sets employment practice standards for workers, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as its agencies, the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which collectively regulate our trucking operations through the regulation of operations, safety, insurance and hazardous materials. We must comply with the safety and fitness regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including those relating to drug and alcohol testing and hours-of service. Such matters as weight and dimension of equipment also fall under federal and state regulations. We are subject to regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration covering items transported by air. In addition, we are subject to the Federal False Claims Act, and similar state statutes, which prohibit knowingly presenting or causing to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the government and the knowing and improper retention of overpayments.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits bribery of public officials to obtain or retain business in foreign jurisdictions. The FCPA also requires us to keep accurate books and records and to maintain internal accounting controls to detect and prevent bribery and to ensure that transactions are properly authorized and recorded. We have implemented and continue to develop a robust anti-corruption compliance program applicable to our global operations to detect and prevent bribery and to comply with these and other anti-corruption laws in countries where we operate.

Our business is subject to competition laws in the various jurisdictions where we operate, including the Sherman Antitrust Act and related federal and state antitrust laws in the U.S. These laws and regulations generally prohibit competitors from fixing prices, boycotting competitors, or engaging in other conduct that unreasonably restrains competition. In many jurisdictions, compliance with these competition laws is of special importance to us, and our operations may come under special scrutiny by competition law authorities, due to our competitive position in those jurisdictions.

Outside the U.S., our business is subject to numerous similar statutes, regulations, and other regulatory requirements. For example, we are subject to legal and regulatory requirements of the European Union (the EU), as well as those of EU countries where we conduct business (including Ireland, France and Sweden), which requirements relate to, among other things, competition, product composition, packaging, labeling, advertisement (including nutrition and health claims) and the safety of food products, as well as the health, safety and working conditions of employees. We are subject to privacy laws in the EU, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires companies to meet certain requirements regarding the handling of personal data. In addition, our business is subject to the U.K. Modern Slavery Act 2015, which requires certain companies that operate in the U.K. to prepare a report describing steps that they have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in their supply chain or business. Our business is also subject to the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, an anti-corruption law that criminalizes the failure by a company to prevent persons associated with that company from offering or paying bribes to government officials or non-government persons in order to obtain or retain business or a business advantage for the company, as well as restricting the offer, payment or receipt of bribes to or from governmental officials and non-governmental persons.

All of our company’s facilities and other operations in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world are subject to various environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those in the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, relating to: (1) the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater; (2) the discharge of pollutants into the air, including vehicle emissions; (3) proper handling, treatment and disposing of solid and hazardous wastes; and (4) protecting against and appropriately investigating and remediating spills and releases. Further, most of our distribution facilities have ammonia-based refrigeration systems and tanks for the storage of diesel fuel and other petroleum products which are subject to laws regulating such systems and storage tanks (including the investigation and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination associated with the use of underground storage tanks). See “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Business and Operational Risks - We may incur significant costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations, and we may be subject to substantial fines, penalties, or third-party claims for non-compliance.”

General

We have numerous trademarks that are of significant importance, including the SYSCO® and Brakes® trademarks, in addition to our privately branded product trademarks that include these trademarks. In fiscal 2022, six of our private brands had sales at or near $1 billion. These trademarks and the private brands on which they are used are widely recognized within the foodservice industry. Both our U.S. and European trademarks are effective for a ten-year period, and we generally renew our trademarks before their expiration dates unless a particular trademark is no longer in use. We believe the loss of the SYSCO® trademark would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We do not have any material patents or licenses.

We are not engaged in material research and development activities relating to the development of new products or the improvement of existing products.

Our sales do not generally fluctuate significantly on a seasonal basis; therefore, our business is not deemed to be seasonal.

As of July 2, 2022, we operated 333 distribution facilities throughout North America and Europe.

The following discussion of “risk factors” identifies the most significant factors that may adversely affect our business, operations, financial position or future financial performance. This information should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in this report. The following discussion of risks is not all inclusive but is designed to highlight what we believe are the most significant factors to consider when evaluating our business. These factors could cause our future results to differ from our expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements identified within “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and from other historical trends.

Industry and General Economic Risks

Our industry is characterized by low margins, and periods of significant or prolonged inflation or deflation affect our product costs and may negatively impact our profitability.

The foodservice distribution industry is characterized by relatively high inventory turnover with relatively low profit margins. Volatile food costs have a direct impact on our industry. We experienced an elevated inflation rate of approximately 15.0% in our U.S. Broadline operations during fiscal 2022, primarily in the paper and disposables, poultry and meat categories. In periods of significant product cost inflation, if we are unable to pass on all or a portion of such product cost increases to our customers in a timely manner, our results of operations would be adversely affected. In addition, periods of rapidly increasing inflation may adversely affect our business due to the impact of such inflation on discretionary spending by consumers and our limited ability to increase prices in the current, highly competitive environment. Conversely, our business may be adversely affected by periods of product cost deflation, because we make a significant portion of our sales at prices that are based on the cost of products we sell plus a percentage margin, mark-up or fee per case. As a result, our results of operations may be adversely affected during periods of product cost deflation, even though our gross profit percentage may remain relatively constant.

The future success of our operations, including the achievement of our strategic objectives, depends on our ability, and the ability of certain third parties on which we rely, to identify, recruit, develop and retain qualified and talented individuals. As a result, any shortage of qualified labor could significantly adversely affect our business. Any such shortage could decrease our ability to effectively serve our customers and achieve our strategic objectives. In the current operating environment, we are experiencing a shortage of qualified labor in certain geographies, particularly with regard to recruiting and retaining warehouse workers and drivers, resulting in increased costs from certain temporary wage actions, such as hiring and referral and retention bonus programs. See the discussion under “Human Capital Resources” in Item 1, “Business” for additional information regarding our talent acquisition and talent management efforts in the context of these labor shortages. Unsuccessful recruiting and retention efforts as a result of such continuing shortages for a prolonged period of time could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Labor shortages will also likely lead to higher wages for employees and higher costs to purchase the services of third parties. Increases in labor costs, such as increases in minimum wage requirements, wage inflation and/or increased overtime, reduce our profitability and that of our customers. Increases in such labor costs for a prolonged period of time could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Global health developments and economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Public health crises, pandemics and epidemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted our operations directly and may continue to impact us directly, or may continue to disrupt the operations of our business partners, suppliers and customers in ways that could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Fear of such events may further alter consumer confidence, behavior and spending patterns, and could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries (or globally), resulting in an economic downturn that could affect customers’ demand for our products.

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 and its development into a pandemic, governmental authorities in many countries in which we operate, and in which our customers are present and suppliers operate, have, imposed mandatory closures, sought voluntary closures and imposed restrictions on, or advisories with respect to, travel, business operations and public gatherings or interactions. Among other matters, these actions have required or strongly urged various venues where foodservice products are served, including restaurants, schools, hotels and cruise liners, to reduce or discontinue operations, which have adversely affected and will continue to adversely affect demand in the foodservice industry, including demand for our products and services. Mutations of the virus have arisen, and are continuing to arise, some of which have proven to be particularly aggressive variants. As these variants spread, some governmental authorities have reintroduced certain restrictions and others may decide to do so in the future, which could adversely affect demand in the foodservice industry.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, such as those risks relating to our level of indebtedness, and may have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, as well as unfavorable conditions in particular local markets, may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations are susceptible to regional, national and international economic trends and uncertainties. Economic conditions can affect us in the following ways:

The countries in which we operate, have experienced, from time to time, deteriorating economic conditions and heightened uncertainty in financial markets, which have adversely impacted business and consumer confidence and spending and depressed capital investment and economic activity in the affected regions. As reported in July 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. economy experienced its second consecutive quarter of negative economic growth, which may represent a leading indicator of an upcoming recession. A prolonged economic downturn or recession in the U.S. or global economies, and the impact on GDP growth, corporate earnings, consumer confidence, employment rates, income levels and/or personal wealth, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We require significant quantities of fuel for our delivery vehicles and are exposed to the risk associated with fluctuations in the market price for fuel. The price and supply of fuel can fluctuate significantly based on international, political and economic circumstances (such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), as well as other factors outside our control, such as actions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and other oil and gas producers, regional production patterns, weather conditions and environmental concerns, and the resurgence of demand, as travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are scaled back. The cost of fuel affects the prices we pay for products, as well as the costs we incur to deliver products to our customers. Although we have been able to pass along a portion of increased fuel costs to our customers in the past through, among other things, our fuel surcharge program, we may not be able to do so in the future. If fuel costs continue to increase in the future, we may experience difficulties in passing all or a portion of these costs along to our customers, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We routinely enter into fuel hedging arrangements, including fuel derivatives, to hedge our exposure to volatile fuel prices. Nevertheless, our fuel hedging transactions may not be effective in protecting us from changes in fuel prices, and if fuel prices were to decrease significantly, these hedging arrangements would result in our paying higher-than-market costs for a portion of our diesel fuel. In addition, our future use of fuel derivatives would expose us to the risk that any of our counterparties fails to perform its obligations, whether due to its insolvency or otherwise, which could result in financial losses.

Economic and political instability could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our international operations subject us to certain risks, including economic and political instability and potential unfavorable changes in laws and regulations in international markets in which we operate. For example, the U.K. exited the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. Local or regional geopolitical events, such as Brexit and, the “yellow vest” protests in France in 2020, have negatively impacted our operations. Similar future trade or labor disruptions or disputes could have a negative impact on our operations in the EU and other parts of the world.

In addition, military conflicts, such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, can negatively impact global demand. In response to such conflicts, various governments can and have recently imposed export controls on certain products and financial and economic sanctions on certain industry sectors and parties, which actions can have a negative impact on our operations. Although our business has not been materially impacted to date by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our suppliers and customers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflict may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are difficult to predict, but could be substantial. Further escalation of geopolitical tensions related to the military conflict, including increased trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, could result in, among other things, cyberattacks, supply disruptions, lower consumer demand and changes to foreign exchange rates and financial markets. Any or all of these factors could disrupt our business directly and could disrupt the business of our customers, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this Form 10-K.

The foodservice distribution industry is fragmented and highly competitive, with local, regional and multi-regional distributors and specialty competitors. Local and regional companies often align themselves with other smaller distributors through purchasing cooperatives and marketing groups, with the goal of enhancing their geographic reach, private label offerings, overall purchasing power, cost efficiencies and ability to meet customer distribution requirements. These suppliers may also rely on local presence as a source of competitive advantage, and they may have lower costs and other competitive advantages due to geographic proximity. Furthermore, barriers to entry by new competitors, or geographic or product line expansion by existing competitors, are low. Additionally, increased competition from non-traditional sources (such as club stores and commercial wholesale outlets with lower cost structures), online direct food wholesalers and cash and carry operations have served to further increase pressure on the industry’s profit margins, and continued margin pressure within the industry may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Moreover, some of our customers purchase their products from us through group purchasing organizations, or “GPOs,” in an effort to lower the prices paid by these customers on their foodservice orders. GPOs have a relatively larger presence in the healthcare, lodging and foodservice management customer segments. If these GPOs are able to add a significant number of our customers as members, it may negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Finally, demand for food-away-from-home products is volatile and price sensitive, imposing limits on our customers’ ability to absorb cost increases. New and increasing competitive sources may result in increased focus on pricing and on limiting price increases or may require increased discounting or other concessions. Such competition or other industry pressures may result in margin erosion and/or make it difficult for us to attract and retain customers.

If we are unable to effectively differentiate ourselves from our competitors, our results of operations could be adversely impacted. In addition, even if we are able to effectively differentiate ourselves, we may only be able to do so through increased expenditures or decreased prices, which could also adversely impact our results of operations.

Business and Operational Risks

We obtain substantially all of our foodservice and related products from third-party suppliers. Although our purchasing volume can provide benefits when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not be able to provide the foodservice products and supplies that we need due to conditions outside of their control. We are also subject to delays caused by interruptions in production and increases in product costs based on conditions outside of our control. These conditions include shortages of qualified labor for our suppliers, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes or other job actions by employees of suppliers, short-term weather conditions or more prolonged climate change, crop and other agricultural conditions, water shortages, transportation interruptions (such as shortages of ocean cargo containers), unavailability of fuel or increases in fuel costs, product recalls, competitive demands, civil insurrection or social unrest, terrorist attacks or international hostilities (such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia) and natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) or other human or animal disease outbreaks or other catastrophic events (including, but not limited to, foodborne illnesses). Many of these conditions outside of our control could also impair our ability to provide our products and services to our customers or increase the cost of doing so. Our current operating environment continues to adjust in response to COVID-19, placing significant pressure on the food-away-from-home supply chain. Customer demand is currently outpacing available supply in certain

Further, increased frequency or duration of extreme weather conditions, which may be from climate change, could also impair production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain or adversely affect demand for our products. At any time, input costs could increase for a prolonged period for a large portion of the products that we sell. Additionally, we procure products from suppliers outside of the U.S., and we are subject to the risks associated with political or financial instability, military conflict, trade restrictions, tariffs, currency exchange rates, transport capacity and costs and other factors relating to foreign trade, including health and safety restrictions related to epidemics and pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), any or all of which could delay our receipt of products or increase our input costs.

In addition, as a foodservice distributor, it is necessary for us to maintain an inventory of products. Declines in product pricing levels between the time we purchase a product from our suppliers and the time we sell the product to our customers could reduce our margin on that inventory, adversely affecting our results of operations.

Maintaining a good reputation and public confidence in the safety of the products we distribute is critical to our business. Sysco’s brand names, trademarks and logos and our reputation are powerful sales and marketing tools, and we devote significant resources to promoting and protecting them. Anything that damages our reputation or public confidence in our products, whether or not justified, could tarnish our reputation and diminish the value of our brand, which could adversely affect our results of operations, and require additional resources to rebuild our reputation and restore the value of our brand.

Our relationships with long-term customers may be materially diminished or terminated.

We have long-standing relationships and agreements with a number of our customers. Some of our customer agreements are terminable upon written notice by either us or the customer, which provides some customers with the opportunity to renegotiate their contracts with us on less favorable terms or to award more business to our competitors. Market competition, customer requirements, customer financial condition and customer consolidation through mergers or acquisitions also could adversely affect our ability to continue or expand these relationships. We may not be able to retain or renew existing agreements, maintain relationships with any of our customers on acceptable terms, or at all, or collect amounts that insolvent customers might owe us. The loss of one or more of our major customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our anticipated change to the mix of locally managed customers versus multi-unit customers could reduce our gross and operating margins.

Gross margin from our multi-unit customers is generally lower than that of our locally managed customers because we typically sell higher volumes of products to multi-unit customers and provide a relatively lower level of value-added services than we do to locally managed customers. If sales to our locally managed customers do not grow at the same (or a greater) rate as sales to our multi-unit customers, our operating margins will likely decline. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic generally has negatively affected multi-unit customers less than locally managed customers.

If our sales to multi-unit customers were to continue to increase at a faster pace of growth than sales to our locally managed customers, we will become more dependent on multi-unit customers, as they begin to represent a greater proportion of our total sales. Therefore, a future loss of sales to the larger of these multi-unit customers could have a material negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, as a result of our greater dependence on these customers, they could pressure us to lower our prices and/or offer expanded or additional services at the same prices. In that event, if we were unable to achieve additional cost savings to offset these price reductions and/or cost increases, our results of operations could be

Changes in consumer eating habits could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Changes in consumer eating habits (such as a decline in consuming food away from home, a decline in portion sizes, or a shift in preferences toward restaurants that are not our customers) could reduce demand for our products. Consumer eating habits could be affected by a number of factors, including changes in attitudes regarding diet and health (including shifting preferences for sustainable, organic and locally grown products, as well as alternative proteins) or new information regarding the health effects of consuming certain foods.

Changing consumer eating habits also occur due to generational shifts. Millennials, the largest demographic group in terms of spend, seek new and different, as well as more ethnic, menu options and menu innovation. If consumer eating habits change significantly, we may be required to modify or discontinue sales of certain items in our product portfolio, and we may experience higher costs and/or supply shortages associated with our efforts to accommodate those changes as our suppliers adapt to new eating preferences. Changing consumer eating habits may reduce the frequency with which consumers purchase meals outside of the home. Additionally, changes in consumer eating habits may result in the enactment or amendment of laws and regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of our food products, or laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food products. Compliance with these laws and regulations, as well as others regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our food products, may be costly and time-consuming. We may not be able to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or resulting new laws or regulations or to adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits.

In addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic downturn, many consumers preferred to eat at home rather than consume food away from home. If these preferences return and consumers choose to avoid gathering in public places in large groups, the demand for our products and services could be adversely affected. Moreover, if governmental restrictions were to resume, it is unclear how quickly customers will return to their prior eating habits, which may be a function of continued concerns over safety or depressed consumer sentiment due to adverse economic conditions, including job losses.

An element of our strategy includes further expansion of operations into new markets and the establishment of new procurement organizations. Our ability to successfully operate in these new markets may be adversely affected by political, economic and social conditions beyond our control, public health crises, epidemics and pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), local laws and customs, and legal and regulatory constraints, including compliance with applicable anti-corruption and currency laws and regulations, of the countries or regions in which we currently operate or intend to operate in the future. Risks inherent in such expansion also include, among others, the costs and difficulties of identifying and gaining access to local suppliers, suffering possible adverse tax consequences from changes in tax laws or the unfavorable resolution of tax assessments or audits, maintaining product quality and greater difficulty in enforcing intellectual property rights.

Our business strategy also includes the possibility of expansion into businesses that are closely related or complementary to, but not currently part of, our core foodservice distribution business. Our ability to successfully operate in these complementary business markets may be adversely affected by legal and regulatory constraints, including compliance with regulatory programs to which we become subject. Risks inherent in branching out into such complementary markets also include the costs and difficulties of managing operations outside of our core business, which may require additional skills and competencies, as well as difficulties in identifying and gaining access to suppliers or customers in new markets.

Changes in applicable tax laws or regulations and the resolution of tax disputes could negatively affect our financial results.

As a multinational corporation, we are subject to income taxes, as well as non-income-based taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings may have a significant adverse impact on our effective tax rate. For example, the U.S. and many countries where we do business are actively considering or have recently enacted changes in relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations and interpretations, including changes to tax laws applicable to corporate multinationals.

Further, in the ordinary course of a global business, there are many intercompany transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination could change if tax laws or tax rulings were to be modified. We are also subject to non-income-

Given the unpredictability of possible further changes to the U.S. or foreign tax laws and regulations and their potential interdependency, it is very difficult to predict the cumulative effect of such tax laws and regulations on our results of operations and cash flow, but such laws and regulations (and changes thereto) could adversely impact our financial results.

If our products are alleged to have caused injury or illness, or to have failed to comply with governmental regulations, we may need to recall our products and may experience product liability claims.

We, like any other foodservice distributor, may be subject to product recalls, including voluntary recalls or withdrawals, if the products we distribute are alleged to have caused injury or illness, to have been mislabeled, misbranded, or adulterated or to otherwise have violated applicable governmental regulations. We may also choose to voluntarily recall or withdraw products that we determine do not satisfy our quality standards, in order to protect our brand and reputation. Any future product recall or withdrawal that results in substantial and unexpected expenditures, destruction of product inventory, damage to our reputation and/or lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We also face the risk of exposure to product liability claims if the use of products sold by Sysco is alleged to have caused injury or illness. We cannot be sure that consumption of our products will not cause a health-related illness in the future or that we will not be subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Further, even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused illness or injury could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image. Umbrella liability insurance that we maintain for product liability claims may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost or, if available, may not be adequate to cover all of our liabilities. We generally seek contractual indemnification and insurance coverage from parties supplying our products, but this indemnification or insurance coverage is limited, as a practical matter, to the creditworthiness of the indemnifying party and the insured limits of any insurance provided by suppliers. If we do not have adequate insurance or contractual indemnification available, product liability relating to defective products could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to regulation by various federal, state, provincial, regional and local governments in the countries in which we operate with respect to many aspects of our business, such as food safety and sanitation, ethical business practices, transportation, minimum wage, overtime, wage payment, wage and hour and employment discrimination, immigration, human health and safety, and due to the services we provide in connection with governmentally funded entitlement programs. For a detailed discussion of the laws and regulations to which our business is subject, please refer to “Business – Government Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

From time to time, both federal and state governmental agencies conduct audits of various aspects of our operations, as part of investigations of providers of services under governmental contracts, or otherwise. We also receive requests for information from governmental agencies in connection with these audits. While we attempt to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, we may not be in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations or interpretations of these laws and regulations at all times; moreover, we may not be able to comply with all future laws, regulations or interpretations of these laws and regulations.

If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations or encounter disagreements with respect to our contracts subject to governmental regulations, including those referred to above, we may be subject to investigations, criminal sanctions or civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, prohibitions on exporting, or seizures or debarments from contracting with such government. The cost of compliance or the consequences of non-compliance, including debarments, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, governmental units may make changes in the regulatory frameworks within which we operate that may require us to incur substantial increases in costs in order to comply with such laws and regulations.

We may incur significant costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations, and we may be subject to substantial fines, penalties or third-party claims for non-compliance.

Our operations are subject to various federal, state, provincial, regional and local laws, rules and regulations in the various countries in which we operate relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing:

In the course of our operations, we operate, maintain and fuel fleet vehicles; store fuel in on-site above and underground storage tanks; operate refrigeration systems; and use and dispose of hazardous substances and food wastes. We could incur substantial costs, including fines or penalties and third-party claims for property damage or personal injury, as a result of any violations of environmental or workplace safety laws and regulations or releases of regulated materials into the environment. In addition, we could incur substantial investigation, remediation or other costs related to environmental conditions at our currently or formerly owned or operated properties.

For example, most of our distribution facilities have ammonia-based refrigeration systems and tanks for the storage of diesel fuel and other petroleum products, which are subject to laws regulating such systems and storage tanks (including the investigation and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination associated with the use of underground storage tanks). Certain of these laws and regulations in the EU may impose liability for costs of investigation or remediation of contamination (which could be material), regardless of fault or the legality of the original disposal, even if such contamination was present prior to the commencement of our operations at the site and was not caused by our activities. In addition, many of our facilities have propane and battery-powered forklifts. Proposed or recently enacted legal requirements, such as those requiring the phase-out of certain ozone-depleting substances, and proposals for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, may require us to upgrade or replace equipment, or may increase our transportation or other operating costs.

Historically, a portion of our growth has come through acquisitions. If we are unable to integrate acquired businesses successfully or realize anticipated economic, operational and other benefits and synergies in a timely manner, our earnings per share may be materially adversely affected. For example, we encountered operational challenges in fiscal 2019 related to our efforts to integrate two businesses in France acquired in connection with the Brakes Group acquisition, which integration efforts have adversely affected our ability to drive growth in sales and will continue to be managed into fiscal 2023. Integration of an acquired business may be more difficult when we acquire a business in a market in which we have limited expertise, or with a culture different from Sysco’s.

A significant expansion of our business and operations, in terms of geography or magnitude, could strain our administrative and operational resources. Significant acquisitions may also require the issuance of material additional amounts of debt or equity, which could materially alter our debt-to-equity ratio, increase our interest expense and decrease earnings per share, and make it difficult for us to obtain favorable financing for other acquisitions or capital investments. In addition, our failure to implement effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures with respect to a significant acquired business could result in material weaknesses and/or a failure to file our periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a timely basis.

We use technology in substantially all aspects of our business operations, and our ability to serve customers most effectively depends on the reliability of our technology systems. We use software and other technology systems, among other things, to generate and select orders, to load and route trucks, to make purchases, to manage our warehouses and to monitor and manage our business on a day-to-day basis. We also use mobile devices, social networking and other online platforms to connect with our employees, suppliers, business partners and customers. Further, our business involves the storage and transmission of numerous classes of sensitive and/or confidential information and intellectual property, including customers’ and suppliers’ personal information, private information about employees and financial and strategic information about the

These technology systems and the operation thereof are vulnerable to disruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failures, security breaches, espionage, cyber-attacks, viruses, theft and inadvertent release of information. We and our third-party providers experience cybersecurity incidents of varying degrees from time-to-time, including ransomware and phishing attacks, as well as distributed denial of service attacks and the theft of data. To date, these have not had a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity; however, there is no assurance that there will not be a material adverse effect in the future, especially if the amount of insurance coverage we maintain is not sufficient to cover claims or liabilities relating to an incident.

Potential consequences of a future material cybersecurity incident include business disruption; disruption to systems; theft, destruction, loss, corruption, misappropriation or unauthorized release of sensitive and/or confidential information or intellectual property (including personal information in violation of one or more privacy laws); reputational and brand damage; and potential liability, including litigation or other legal actions against us or the imposition by governmental authorities of penalties, fines, fees or liabilities, which, in turn, could cause us to incur significantly increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs and the loss of customers.

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many of our employees, contractors and other corporate partners working remotely, we must increasingly rely on information technology systems that are outside our direct control. These systems are potentially vulnerable to cyber-based attacks and security breaches. In addition, cyber criminals are increasing their attacks on individual employees with business email compromise scams designed to trick victims into transferring sensitive data or funds, or steal credentials that compromise information systems.

The actions and controls we have implemented and are implementing to date, or which we seek to cause or have caused third-party providers to implement, may be insufficient to protect our systems, information or other intellectual property. Further, we anticipate devoting significant additional resources to upgrade our security measures generally, including those we employ to protect personal information against these cybersecurity threats.

Further, as we pursue our strategy to grow through acquisitions and to pursue new initiatives that improve our operations and cost structure, we are also expanding and improving our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. Failure to adequately assess and identify cybersecurity risks associated with acquisitions and new initiatives would increase our vulnerability to such risks.

Sysco’s efforts to prevent security breaches and cybersecurity incidents, and to implement effective disaster recovery plans, may not be entirely effective to insulate us from technology disruption that could result in adverse effects on our results of operations. Additionally, information technology systems continue to evolve and, in order to remain competitive, we must implement new technologies in a timely and efficient manner. Our failure to implement timely new technologies may adversely affect our competitiveness and, consequently, our results of operations.

There are new and emerging data privacy laws, as well as frequent updates and changes to existing data privacy laws, in most jurisdictions in which Sysco operates. Given the complexity of these laws and the often-onerous requirements they place on businesses regarding handling personal data, it is important for Sysco to understand their impact and respond accordingly. Failure to comply with data privacy laws can result in substantial fines or penalties, legal liability and / or reputational damage. In the UK and Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in 2018, places stringent requirements on companies when handling personal data and there continues to be a growing trend of other countries adopting similar laws, including Canada. Since 2020, five US states (i.e., California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah and Connecticut) have enacted stringent consumer privacy laws. In January 2023, we expect significant changes to come into effect in California, which will further enhance and extend an individual’s rights over their personal data and the obligations placed on companies that handle this data, with the adoption of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Most notably, it is expected that employee and business data will be brought into scope, which raises the compliance requirements for Sysco significantly, in terms of internal controls, processes and governance requirements. Continued state by state introduction of privacy laws could lead to significantly greater complexity in our compliance requirements globally, which could result in complaints from data subjects and/or action from regulators. If Sysco does not provide sufficient resources to ensure it is able to respond, adapt and implement the necessary requirements to respond to the various forthcoming changes, which could include federal data privacy requirements in the US, while continuing to maintain our compliance with global data privacy laws, this could adversely impact our reputation and Sysco could face exposure to fines levied by regulators, which could have a significant financial impact on our business.

As described in Note 12, “Debt and Other Financing Arrangements,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, as of July 2, 2022, we had approximately $10.6 billion of total indebtedness. This amount included senior notes, and we have the ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility, which supports our U.S. commercial paper program.

Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences for us, including:

Our indebtedness may increase from time to time for various reasons, including fluctuations in operating results, working capital needs, capital expenditures, potential acquisitions, joint ventures and/or share repurchase programs. Our level of indebtedness and the ultimate cost of such indebtedness could have a negative impact on our liquidity, cost of future debt financing and financial results, and our credit ratings may be adversely affected as a result of the incurrence of additional indebtedness. A significant downgrade in our credit ratings or adverse conditions in the capital markets may increase the cost of borrowing for us or limit our access to capital. In the future, our cash flow and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and any alternative financing measures available may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations.

We contribute to several multiemployer defined benefit pension plans based on obligations arising under collective bargaining agreements covering union-represented employees. In fiscal 2022, our total contributions to these plans were approximately $45.5 million. The costs of providing benefits through such plans have increased in recent years. The amount of any increase or decrease in our required contributions to these multiemployer plans will depend upon many factors, including collective bargaining negotiations, actions taken by trustees who manage the plans, government regulations, changes in the funded status of these plans and the potential payment of a withdrawal liability if we, for any reason, cease to have an ongoing obligation to contribute to a given plan. Based upon the information available to us from the administrators of these plans, none of these plans have assets sufficient to fully pay their liabilities, and therefore all such plans have unfunded vested benefits. Increases in the unfunded liabilities of these plans may result in increased future contribution obligations imposed on us and on other participating employers. Under federal law, significant underfunding experienced by a given plan generally results in increased contribution obligations in the form of surcharges and supplemental contribution obligations. Our risk of such increased payments may be greater if any of the participating employers in these underfunded plans withdraws from a given plan due to insolvency and is not able to contribute an amount sufficient to fund the unfunded liabilities associated with its participants in the plan. We could also be treated as partially withdrawing from participation in one of these plans if the number of our employees participating in a given plan is reduced to a certain percentage over a certain period of time, or if we cease to have an obligation to contribute under one or more, but fewer than all, of the collective bargaining agreements that require us to make contributions to a particular plan. Such reductions in the number of employees participating in these plans could occur as a result of changes in our business operations, such as facility closures or consolidations. Based on the latest information available from plan administrators, we estimate our share of the aggregate withdrawal liability on the multiemployer plans in which we participate could have been as much as $156.2 million as of August 13, 2022. A significant increase to funding requirements could adversely affect the company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We had a sizable pension obligation of $3.5 billion, as compared to assets totaling $3.6 billion, as of July 2, 2022, both of which have sensitivity to financial market factors that could impact our funding requirements. See Note 14, “Company-Sponsored Employee Benefit Plans” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for a discussion of the funded status of the U.S. Retirement Plan. At the end of fiscal 2012, we decided to freeze future benefit accruals under the company-sponsored qualified pension plan (U.S. Retirement Plan) as of December 31, 2012 for all U.S.-based salaried and non-union hourly employees. Effective January 1, 2013, these employees were eligible for additional contributions under an enhanced, defined contribution plan.

The amount of our annual contribution to the U.S. Retirement Plan is dependent upon, among other things, the returns on the U.S. Retirement Plan’s assets and discount rates used to calculate the plan’s liability. In fiscal 2018, we made voluntary contributions of $380 million to the U.S. Retirement Plan, allowing us to set an investment strategy that more closely aligns the duration of the U.S. Retirement Plan’s assets with the duration of its liabilities. As a result, our U.S. Retirement Plan holds a greater amount of investments in fixed income securities, but also holds equity securities. Fluctuations in asset values can cause the amount of our anticipated future contributions to the plan to increase. The projected liability of the U.S. Retirement Plan will be impacted by the fluctuations of interest rates on high quality bonds in the public markets as these are inputs in determining our minimum funding requirements.

As of July 2, 2022, we had approximately 71,000 employees, approximately 17% of whom were represented by unions, primarily the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and unions in France and Sweden. Approximately 9% of our union employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are subject to renegotiation in fiscal 2023. Failure to effectively renegotiate these contracts could result in work stoppages. We believe our operating sites have good relationships with their unions, but a work stoppage due to failure of multiple operating subsidiaries to renegotiate union contracts could have a material adverse effect on us.

Organization and Common Stock Risks

Under our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Sysco’s Board of Directors is authorized to issue up to 1,500,000 shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval. Issuance of these shares could make it more difficult for anyone to acquire Sysco without approval of the Board of Directors, depending on the rights and preferences of the stock issued. In addition, if anyone attempts to acquire Sysco without approval of the Board of Directors of Sysco, the existence of this undesignated preferred stock could allow the Board of Directors to adopt a shareholder rights plan without obtaining stockholder approval, which could result in substantial dilution to a potential acquirer. As a result, hostile takeover attempts that might result in an acquisition of Sysco, which could otherwise have been financially beneficial to our stockholders, could be deterred.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, except for any action (A) as to which such court determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of such court (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of such court within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than such court, or (C) for which such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction.

This provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in any action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

None.

The table below shows the number of distribution facilities occupied by Sysco in each country and the aggregate square footage devoted to cold and dry storage as of July 2, 2022.

We own approximately 40,700,000 square feet of our distribution facilities (or 75.5% of the total square feet), and the remainder is occupied under leases expiring at various dates from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 3012, exclusive of renewal options.

Within our Latin American operations, we operate 17 cash and carry facilities and 5 warehouse and storage facilities in Costa Rica and 4 cash and carry facilities and 1 warehouse and storage facility in Panama.

We own our approximately 634,000 square foot headquarters office complex in Houston, Texas. In fiscal 2021, we sold our complex in Cypress, TX which previously housed our shared business services and other services, and began performing all corporate and shared service operations from our headquarters.

We are currently constructing expansions or build-outs for various distribution facilities in the United States. The various operating sites under construction, in the aggregate, contributed 12% of fiscal 2022 sales.

As of July 2, 2022, our fleet of approximately 15,000 delivery vehicles consisted of tractor and trailer combinations, vans and panel trucks, most of which are either wholly or partially refrigerated for the transportation of frozen or perishable foods. We own approximately 94% of these vehicles and lease the remainder.

From time to time, we may be party to legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. We do not believe there are any pending legal proceedings that, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Item 103 of SEC Regulation S-K requires disclosure of certain environmental matters in which a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings and when such proceedings either (i) involve the potential for monetary sanctions that Sysco’s management reasonably believes will exceed a specified threshold or (ii) are material to its business or financial condition. Pursuant to recent SEC amendments to this item, Sysco has chosen a reporting threshold for such proceedings of $1 million. Applying this threshold, there are no environmental matters to disclose for this period, nor does the company expect a material adverse effect on its business or financial condition.

Not applicable.

The principal market for Sysco’s common stock (SYY) is the New York Stock Exchange. The number of record owners of Sysco’s common stock as of August 9, 2022 was 7,669.

We currently expect that comparable quarterly cash dividends will continue to be paid in the future; however, future declarations of dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to the final determination of our Board of Directors.

We made the following share repurchases during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022:

In May 2021, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program to authorize the repurchase of up to $5.0 billion of the company’s common stock, which will remain available until fully utilized. We commenced our share repurchase program during the second quarter of fiscal 2022.

We repurchased 6,698,991 shares for $499.8 million during fiscal 2022. As of July 2, 2022, we had a remaining authorization of approximately $4.5 billion. We purchased 3,099,268 additional shares under our authorization through August 9, 2022.

Stock Performance Graph

The following stock performance graph compares the performance of Sysco’s Common Stock to the S&P 500 Index and to the S&P 500 Food/Staple Retail Index for Sysco’s last five fiscal years.

The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our Common Stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Food/Staple Retail Index was $100 on the last trading day of fiscal 2017, and that all dividends were reinvested. Performance data for Sysco, the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Food/Staple Retail Index is provided as of the last trading day of each of our last five fiscal years.

The following discussion and analysis of Sysco’s financial condition, results of operations and liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal years ended July 2, 2022 and July 3, 2021 should be read as a supplement to our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes contained in Item 8 of this report, and in conjunction with the “Forward-looking Statements” section set forth in Part II and the “Risk Factors” section set forth in Item 1A of Part I. All discussion of changes in our results of operations from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2021 has been omitted from this Form 10-K, but may be found in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Form 10-K for the year ended July 3, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 30, 2021.

Overview

Sysco distributes food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers. Our primary operations are located in North America and Europe. Under the accounting provisions related to disclosures about segments of an enterprise, we have combined certain operations into three reportable segments. “Other” financial information is attributable to our other operations that do not meet the quantitative disclosure thresholds.

We estimate that we serve about 17% of an approximately $300 billion annual foodservice market in the U.S. based on industry data obtained from Technomic, Inc. as of the end of calendar 2021. Technomic projects the market size to increase to approximately $345 billion by the end of calendar 2022. From time to time, Technomic may revise the methodology used to calculate the size of the foodservice market and, as a result, our percentage can change not only from our sales results, but also from such revisions. We also serve certain international geographies that vary in size and amount of market share.

According to industry sources, the foodservice, or food-away-from-home, market represents approximately 53% of the total dollars spent on food purchases made at the consumer level in the U.S. as of the end of calendar year 2021, which is consistent with pre-pandemic levels as of the end of calendar year 2019.

Our fiscal 2022 results were strong, reflecting growth in volumes and sales, effective management of inflation and improved profitability. Our market share gains in the U.S. segments continued to accelerate through the fiscal year and demonstrated the impact of our Recipe for Growth strategy on our business, advancing our capabilities in supply chain and sales. As a result, Sysco achieved an all-time record for annual sales. Additionally, our teams made significant improvements in operating expense leverage, with lower business recovery costs, as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued re-investments in our supply chain and operations productivity performance to drive profitable growth. See below for a comparison of our fiscal 2022 results to our fiscal 2021 results, both including and excluding Certain Items (as defined below).

The discussion of our results includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, that we believe provide important perspective with respect to underlying business trends. Other than free cash flow, any non-GAAP financial measures will be denoted as adjusted measures to remove the impact of (A) restructuring and transformational project costs consisting of (1) restructuring charges, (2) expenses associated with our various transformation initiatives and (3) facility closure and severance charges; acquisition-related costs consisting of: (1) intangible amortization expense and (2) acquisition costs and due diligence costs related to our acquisitions; and (B) the reduction of bad debt expense previously recognized in fiscal 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the collectability of our pre-pandemic trade receivable balances. Our results for fiscal 2022 were also impacted by (1) a write-down of COVID-related personal protection equipment inventory due to the reduction in the net realizable value of inventory; (2) debt extinguishment costs; and (3) the increase in reserves for uncertain tax positions. Our results for fiscal 2021 were also impacted by the reduction of bad debt expense previously recognized in fiscal 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the collectability of our pre-pandemic trade receivable balances, as well as non-operating gains and losses including (1) losses on the extinguishment of debt, (2) losses on the sale of businesses and (3) gains on the sale of property.

The fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 items discussed above are collectively referred to as “Certain Items.” The results of our foreign operations can be impacted by changes in exchange rates applicable to converting from local currencies to U.S. dollars. We measure our total Sysco and our International Foodservice Operations results on a constant currency basis. Our discussion below of our results includes certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe provide important perspective with respect to underlying business trends. Other than free cash flow, any non-GAAP financial measures will be denoted as adjusted measures and exclude the impact from Certain Items, and certain metrics are stated on a constant currency basis.

Management believes that adjusting its operating expenses, operating income, interest expense, other (income) expense, net, net earnings and diluted earnings per share to remove these Certain Items, provides an important perspective with respect to our underlying business trends and results and provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors that (1) is indicative of the performance of the company’s underlying operations, (2) facilitates comparisons on a year-over-year basis and (3) removes those items that are difficult to predict and are often unanticipated and that, as a result, are difficult to include in analysts’ financial models and our investors’ expectations with any degree of specificity.

The company uses these non-GAAP measures when evaluating its financial results, as well as for internal planning and forecasting purposes. These financial measures should not be used as a substitute for GAAP measures in assessing the company’s results of operations for periods presented. An analysis of any non-GAAP financial measure should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. Any metric within this section referred to as “adjusted” will reflect the applicable impact of Certain Items. More information on the rationale for the use of these measures and reconciliations to GAAP numbers can be found under “Non-GAAP Reconciliations.”

Key Performance Indicators

Sysco seeks to meet its strategic goals by continually measuring its success in its key performance metrics that drive stakeholder value through sales growth and capital allocation and deployment. We believe the following are our most significant performance metrics in our current business environment:

We use these financial metrics and related computations, as well as sales and gross profit growth, to evaluate our business and to plan for near-and long-term operating and strategic decisions. We believe it is useful to provide investors with

EBITDA represents net earnings (loss) plus (1) interest expense, (2) income tax expense and benefit, (3) depreciation and (4) amortization. The net earnings (loss) component of our EBITDA calculation is impacted by Certain Items that we do not consider representative of our underlying performance. As a result, in the non-GAAP reconciliations below for each period presented, adjusted EBITDA is computed as EBITDA plus the impact of Certain Items, excluding Certain Items related to interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Sysco’s management considers growth in this metric to be a measure of overall financial performance that provides useful information to management and investors about the profitability of the business, as it facilitates comparison of performance on a consistent basis from period to period by providing a measurement of recurring factors and trends affecting our business. Additionally, it is a commonly used component metric used to inform on capital structure decisions.

Case volume represents the volume of product sold to customers during a period of time, and improvements in this metric are a primary driver of Sysco’s top line performance. We define a case, specifically for our U.S. Broadline operations, as the lowest level of packaged products that are sold from our warehouses, with one case potentially containing several pieces of a product packaged in bulk. Case size does not generally vary by location or from period to period, due to the design of our warehouses. Case volume growth is calculated by dividing the change in the volume of cases sold year-over-year by the volume of cases sold in the prior year. Sysco management considers case volume growth within its U.S. Broadline operations to be a measure that provides useful information to management and investors in evaluating sales performance and as an indicator of gross margin performance. Management monitors case volume growth by customer type, with bifurcation between local customers and national customers, as this provides a measure of gross profit performance due to the pricing strategies attached to each customer type. Local customers are primarily street customers, such as independent restaurants that do not have long-term contracts, or locally managed customers, such as local chain restaurants, while national customers are the multi-unit customers requiring national coverage from a customer-centric view and are managed centrally from the Corporate office. Sysco management seeks to drive higher case volume growth to local customers, which allows more favorable pricing terms for our U.S. Broadline operations and generates higher gross margins as a result. National customers benefit from purchasing power, as they are able to negotiate pricing agreements across multiple businesses, reducing our gross profit potential, but reducing our overall cost per case, as national customers have bigger drop sizes. While overall case volume growth reflects a key component of sales growth, local customer case growth provides additional context around gross profit performance.

Sysco management considers Sysco brand penetration to be a measure that provides useful information to management and investors in evaluating the gross profit performance of the company’s U.S. Broadline operations. Sysco offers an assortment of Sysco-branded products that can be differentiated from privately branded products, which enables us to achieve higher gross margin by administering and leveraging a consolidated product procurement program for quality food and non-

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow represents net cash provided from operating activities, less purchases of plant and equipment, plus proceeds from sales of plant and equipment. Sysco management considers free cash flow to be a non-GAAP liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business after the purchases and sales of buildings, fleet, equipment and technology, which may potentially be used to pay for, among other things, strategic uses of cash, including dividend payments, share repurchases and acquisitions. However, free cash flow may not be available for discretionary expenditures, as it may be necessary that we use it to make mandatory debt service or other payments. Free cash flow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, consolidated net income as a measure of our performance and net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for discussions of GAAP metrics, including net cash provided by operating activities and our reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure.

Trends

The food-away-from-home sector experienced an overall recovery in fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021. In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company experienced disruptions from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which negatively impacted consumer demand and our customers due to the reintroduction of significant restrictions on their businesses. We experienced a strong market rebound beginning in late February, which continued into the fourth quarter, and we achieved an all-time record for quarterly and annual sales at Sysco. While the company has experienced macroeconomic pressures from major waves of COVID-19, double-digit inflation, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia impacting the food supply, we have delivered profitable growth. While we anticipate that recent macroeconomic pressures may continue to create challenges in fiscal 2023, the food away from home industry has demonstrated its resilience and importance over the past few years, and we expect top-line growth in fiscal 2023 of at least 10% over fiscal year 2022.

Our sales and gross profit performance can be influenced by multiple factors, including price, volume, customer mix, product mix and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest factor affecting performance in fiscal 2022 was volume growth, as we experienced strong results from both independent and chain customers, driven by a 10.3% improvement in local case volume and a 15.4% improvement in total case volume within our U.S. Broadline operations, in each instance as compared to fiscal 2021. Sysco continues to lead the industry in supporting our customers during this challenging supply chain period, including converting our supply chain to a full six-day work week. This growth enabled us to gain market share during fiscal 2022 at a rate of over 1.3 times the industry, which exceeded our stated goal for the year and contributed to Sysco achieving an all-time record for annual sales. That rate of growth is expected to accelerate across the three years of our long-range plan, and we intend to deliver 1.5 times the market growth by the end of our fiscal 2024.

Product cost inflation has also been a driver of our sales and gross profit performance. We experienced inflation in our U.S. Broadline operations, at a rate of 15.3% and 15.0% in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2022, respectively, primarily driven by inflation in the dairy, poultry and fresh produce categories. We have been successful in managing our inflation, resulting in an increase in gross profit dollars. Gross margin increased 10 basis points in the fourth quarter and decreased 29 basis points for fiscal 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior year periods, largely due to the impact of product cost inflation. We are expecting mid-single digit inflation for fiscal 2023 on an enterprise basis across all categories, with elevated rates in the first quarter that are expected to moderate over the course of the year; we are not planning for a deflationary environment, though some categories may be individually deflationary. We are continuing to take actions to mitigate the long-term effect of elevated inflation, including actively working to improve our cost of goods sold to Sysco, so that we can pass along value to our customers. However, the relative price of eating out has been less impacted by inflation than the cost of food at the grocery store, and we believe that the food away from home industry will prove resilient.

Total operating expenses increased 26.0% during fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, driven by the variable costs associated with significantly increased volumes, our transformation initiatives under our Recipe for Growth strategy, investments in business recovery costs and expenses due to lower productivity resulting from newer associates. Our operating results in fiscal 2022 included $183 million of operating expense investments for our Recipe for Growth strategy, with supply chain investments ramping up significantly in the fourth quarter. We have made a purposeful response to the COVID-19 generated labor and safety environment in which we are operating, with $193 million in business recovery operating investments, such as recruiting costs, hiring marketing, vaccination promotion, contract labor and sign-on and retention bonuses during fiscal 2022. During the fourth quarter, we returned to employment levels higher than fiscal 2019, but continued to experience overtime costs to address growing demand and lower productivity of the new staff. Productivity and overtime costs were approximately $40 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, which is higher than the approximately $30 million for these same costs in the third quarter of fiscal 2022. We expect elevated operating expenses during fiscal 2023, as we continue to deal with a hiring environment that is still recovering, productivity issues that we expect to improve over the course of this year and continued investments for our transformation, all partially offset by our cost-out efforts. We are making these necessary investments to ensure that we can serve our customers, which enables us to continue increasing market share, profitably, at the national and local level. Even with those significant business recovery and transformation operating expense investments, partially offset by the continued benefit of our cost-savings efforts, we leveraged our adjusted operating expense structure.

In assessing our financial performance through the business recovery, Sysco’s management compared our results in fiscal 2022 against our corresponding fiscal 2019 results.

Comparisons of results from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2019 are presented below:

Key items impacting the comparability of Sysco’s results in fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2019 included the impact of operation during COVID-19, particularly the Omicron variant, one-time and on-going expenses associated with the business recovery and the operating expense investments made in support of our Recipe for Growth strategy.

We continue to focus on mergers and acquisitions as a part of our growth strategy. We plan to reinforce our existing businesses, while cultivating new channels, new segments and new capabilities. We have completed the following acquisitions in fiscal 2022:

Strategy

Our purpose is “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another.” Purpose driven companies are believed to perform better and we believe our purpose will assist us to grow substantially faster than the foodservice distribution industry and deliver profitable growth through our “Recipe for Growth” transformation. This growth transformation is supported by strategic pillars that we believe will allow us to better serve our customers, including:

The following table sets forth the components of our consolidated results of operations expressed as a percentage of sales for the periods indicated:

The following table sets forth the change in the components of our consolidated results of operations expressed as a percentage increase or decrease over the comparable period in the prior year:

Segment Results

In fiscal 2022, U.S. Foodservice Operations and International Foodservice Operations represented approximately 70.7% and 17.2%, respectively, of Sysco’s overall sales, compared to 69.6% and 16.3%, respectively, in fiscal 2021. In fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021, U.S. Foodservice Operations represented approximately 96.5% and 107.9%, respectively, of the total segment operating income. This illustrates that these segments represent a substantial majority of our total segment results when

Cost of sales primarily includes our product costs, net of vendor consideration, and includes in-bound freight. Operating expenses include the costs of facilities, product handling, delivery, selling and general and administrative activities. Fuel surcharges are reflected within sales and gross profit; fuel costs are reflected within operating expenses. Along with sales, operating income is the most relevant measure for evaluating segment performance and allocating resources, as operating income includes cost of goods sold, as well as the costs to warehouse and deliver goods, which are significant and relevant costs when evaluating a distribution business.

In fiscal 2022, the U.S. Foodservice Operations operating results represented approximately 70.7% of Sysco’s overall sales and 96.5% of the aggregated operating income of Sysco’s reporting segments. Several factors contributed to these higher operating results as compared to the other operating segments. We have invested substantial amounts in assets, operating methods, technology and management expertise in this segment. The breadth of its sales force, geographic reach of its distribution area and its purchasing power enable this segment to generate its relatively stronger results of operations.

The following table sets forth a summary of the components of operating income and adjusted operating income expressed as a percentage increase or decrease over the prior year:

The following table sets forth the percentage and dollar value increase or decrease in sales over the prior year in order to demonstrate the cause and magnitude of change.

The primary driver of the sales increase in fiscal 2022 was the significant improvement in case volume in our U.S. Broadline operations as a result of two factors: (a) the ongoing business recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) the impact of our Recipe for Growth initiatives. Case volumes from our U.S. Broadline operations increased 15.4% in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021 and 17.9% on a comparable 52-week basis. This included a 10.3% improvement in local customer case growth and a 22.0% increase in national customer case volume in fiscal 2022. The increases in U.S. Broadline case volumes represent organic growth.

The increase in operating income for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, was driven by gross profit dollar growth and partially offset by an increase in operating expenses.

The increase in operating expenses for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, was primarily driven by variable costs associated with increased volumes and largely from increased investments associated with the ongoing business recovery, including increases in costs for associates, such as recruiting costs, overtime costs, hiring costs, marketing, vaccination promotion, contract labor and sign-on and retention bonuses. We have also experienced an increase in operating expenses due to investments for our Recipe for Growth strategy in fiscal 2022. Additionally, we experienced a $115.0 million unfavorable comparison of bad debt expense in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, which included a net bad debt benefit due to the significant reduction of reserves on pre-pandemic receivables that were collected in fiscal 2021. Excluding the impact of these pre-pandemic receivables, our year-over-year change in bad debt expense was not material.

In fiscal 2022, the International Foodservice Operations operating results represented approximately 17.2% of Sysco’s overall sales. 

The following table sets forth a summary of the components of operating income and adjusted operating income expressed as a percentage increase or decrease over the prior year:

The following table sets forth the percentage and dollar value increase or decrease in sales over the comparable prior year period in order to demonstrate the cause and magnitude of change.

Sales in fiscal 2022 were higher primarily due to the significant improvement in volume as a result of the business recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the easing of restrictions across our European, Canadian and Latin American businesses during the fiscal year. The impact of our Recipe for Growth initiatives also contributed to volume growth.

Our International Foodservice Operations segment returned to profitability in fiscal 2022. The $334.7 million increase in operating income for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, was primarily a result of an increased sales volumes attributable to the business recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with specific efforts to optimize our gross profit, while effectively managing our operating expenses.

The increase in gross profit dollars in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, was attributable to the increase in sales volume and effectively managing inflation, along with specific efforts to optimize our gross profit dollars.

The increase in operating expenses for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, was primarily due to an increase in costs for associates, including overtime and hiring associates to manage the ongoing business recovery. Additionally, we had an unfavorable comparison of bad debt expense, as fiscal 2021 included a reduction of reserves on pre-pandemic receivables. Excluding the impact of these pre-pandemic receivables, our year-over-year change in bad debt expense was not material.

For SYGMA, sales were 11.5% higher in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, primarily from an increase in case volume driven by the success of national and regional quick service restaurants, and inflation and fee increases, partially offset by a decrease in volume due to the planned exit of a large regional customer. Operating income decreased by $56.3 million in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, as our increased investments in business recovery staffing drove an increase in operating expenses in excess of our gross profit dollar growth from increased case volume. SYGMA operated at a loss for the first half of fiscal 2022, primarily due to higher than expected labor costs, but returned to profitability in the second half of the year.

Included in Global Support Center expenses are Certain Items that totaled $146.8 million in fiscal 2022, as compared to $62.9 million in fiscal 2021. Certain Items impacting fiscal 2022 were primarily expenses associated with our business technology transformation initiatives and expenses associated with acquisitions. Certain Items impacting fiscal 2021 were primarily expenses associated with our business transformation initiatives.

Interest expense decreased $256.5 million for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, primarily attributable to lower debt volume, partially offset by a loss on extinguishment of debt of $115.6 million for the redemption of $1.25 billion in combined aggregate principal amount of senior notes.

Net earnings increased 159.2% in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, due primarily to the items noted above for operating income and interest expense, as well as items impacting our income taxes that are discussed in Note 19, “Income Taxes,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. Adjusted net earnings, excluding Certain Items, increased 126.0% in fiscal 2022, primarily due to a significant increase in sales volume, partially offset by an unfavorable tax expense compared to the prior year.

Basic earnings per share in fiscal 2022 were $2.66, a 158.3% increase from the comparable prior year period amount of $1.03 per share. Diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2022 were $2.64, a 158.8% increase from the comparable prior year period amount of $1.02 per share. Adjusted diluted earnings per share, excluding Certain Items (which is a non-GAAP financial measure for which a reconciliation is provided in “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” below), in fiscal 2022 were $3.25, a 125.7% increase from the comparable prior year period amount of $1.44 per share. These results were primarily attributable to the factors discussed above related to net earnings in fiscal 2022.