GXO Logistics, Inc. (GXO) FY 2024 MD&A

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please see “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements.

Also, the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations generally discusses 2024 and 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023. Discussions of 2022 financial condition and year-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022 are not included in this Annual Report and can be found in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Business Overview

GXO Logistics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“GXO,” the “Company,” “our” or “we”), is the largest pure-play contract logistics provider in the world and a foremost innovator in the industry. We provide our customers with high-value-added warehousing and distribution, order fulfillment, e-commerce, reverse logistics and other supply chain services differentiated by our ability to deliver technology-enabled, customized solutions at scale. Our customers rely on us to move their goods with high efficiency through their supply chains — from the moment goods arrive at our warehouses through fulfillment and distribution, and the management of returned products. Our customer base includes many blue-chip leaders in sectors that demonstrate high growth and/or durable demand, with significant growth potential through customer outsourcing of logistics services.

We strive to provide all customers with consistent quality service and cutting-edge automation. We also collaborate with our largest customers on planning and forecasting and assist with network optimization, working with these customers to design or redesign their supply chains to meet specific goals, such as environmental, social and governance. Our multidisciplinary, consultative approach has led to many of our key customer relationships extending for years and expanding in scope.

The most dramatic growth in demand in recent years has been in e-commerce and related sectors, including omnichannel retail and other direct-to-consumer channels. We expect to attract new customers and expand the services we provide to existing customers through new projects, thus earning more of their logistics spending. We use technology to manage advanced automation, labor productivity, sustainability, safety and the complex flow of goods within sophisticated warehouse environments.

Our business model is asset-light and historically resilient in cycles, with high returns, strong free cash flow and visibility into revenue and earnings. The vast majority of our contracts with customers are long-term in nature, and our warehouse lease arrangements generally align with contract length. The Company has both fixed-price contracts (closed book or hybrid contracts) and cost-plus contracts (open book contracts). Most of our customer contracts contain both fixed and variable components. The fixed component is typically designed to cover warehouse, technology and equipment costs, while the variable component is determined based on expected volumes and associated labor costs. Under fixed-price contracts, the Company agrees to perform the specified work for a pre-determined price. To the extent the Company’s actual costs vary from the estimates upon which the price was negotiated, the Company will generate more or less profit. Cost-plus contracts provide for the payment of allowable costs incurred during the performance of the contract plus a specified margin.

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On April 29, 2024, the Company completed the acquisition of Wincanton plc (“Wincanton”), a U.K. logistics provider specializing in both warehousing and transportation solutions (“the Wincanton Acquisition”). On October 23, 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of PFSweb, Inc. (“PFS”), an e-commerce order fulfillment company based in Irving, Texas (the “PFS Acquisition”). Due to the acquisitions of Wincanton in 2024 and PFS in 2023, comparisons in our results of operations between 2024 and 2023 are less meaningful. For additional information regarding our acquisitions, see Note 4. “Acquisitions” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Results of Operations

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Revenue for 2024 increased by 20%, or $1.9 billion, to $11.7 billion compared with $9.8 billion for 2023. The increase primarily reflects $1.6 billion from the acquisitions of Wincanton and PFS. Also, revenue increased in our Continental Europe and U.K. and Ireland businesses, mainly driven by higher pricing. Foreign currency movements increased revenue by $109 million in 2024.

Direct operating expenses comprise both fixed and variable expenses and consist of operating costs related to our warehouse operations, including personnel costs, rent expenses, utility costs, equipment maintenance and repair costs, transportation costs, costs of materials and supplies and information technology expenses. Direct operating expense for 2024 increased by 23%, or $1.8 billion, to $9.9 billion compared with $8.0 billion for 2023. The increase primarily reflects $1.4 billion from the acquisitions of Wincanton and PFS, and higher personnel and temporary labor expenses in the U.K. and Ireland business from growth in the business. Direct operating expense also increased due to foreign currency movement in our U.K. and Ireland and Continental Europe businesses. As a percentage of revenue, direct operating expense was 84.1% and 82.2% in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in Direct operating expense as a percentage of revenue was primarily related to the Wincanton Acquisition.

Selling, general and administrative expense (“SG&A”) primarily consists of salary and benefit costs for executive and certain administration functions, professional fees, bad debt expense and legal costs. SG&A for 2024 increased by 6%, or $63 million, to $1.1 billion, compared with $998 million in 2023. The increase was primarily driven by the acquisitions of Wincanton and PFS.

Depreciation and amortization expense for 2024 increased by $54 million to $415 million compared with $361 million for 2023. Depreciation and amortization expense increased primarily due to the acquisitions of Wincanton and PFS. Depreciation and amortization expense included amortization of intangible assets acquired of $108 million and $71 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

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Transaction and integration costs were $76 million in 2024, compared with $34 million for 2023. Transaction and integration costs in 2024 primarily included $61 million related to the Wincanton Acquisition and $8 million related to the integration of PFS. Transaction and integration costs in 2023 primarily included $20 million related to the integration of Clipper Logistics plc and $12 million related to the PFS Acquisition.

We engage in restructuring actions as part of our ongoing efforts to best use our resources and infrastructure. These costs are primarily related to severance, including projects to optimize human resources, finance and information technology activities, and are not associated with customer attrition. Restructuring costs and other were $27 million for 2024, compared with $32 million for 2023. Restructuring costs and other in 2024 related to a restructuring plan designed to centralize certain finance, human resource and IT functions. Restructuring costs and other for 2023 included $16 million related to severance, $11 million for impairment charges, and $5 million associated with the exit of a non-core businesses in Asia.

Litigation expense in 2024 related to a settlement agreement dated June 14, 2024. We recognized $59 million for the settlement, associated legal fees, and other related expenses. For additional information regarding our legal matters see Note 18. “Commitments and Contingencies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Other income, net increased due to higher pension income and foreign currency movements. In 2024, pension income primarily increased due to a defined benefit plan assumed in connection with the Wincanton Acquisition.

In 2024, the Company recorded a gain of $8 million in connection with a real estate transaction.

Other income, net was as follows:

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Interest expense, net increased due to the debt incurred for the Wincanton Acquisition. Interest expense, net was as follows:

Income before income taxes for 2024 decreased by $120 million, to $146 million, compared with $266 million for 2023. The decrease was mainly driven by higher transaction and integration costs, litigation expense, and interest expense, partially offset by higher other income, net. Income before income taxes for our domestic operations was a pre-tax loss of $88 million for 2024, compared with $97 million of pre-tax income in 2023. The decrease from income to a loss in 2024 was primarily driven by higher transaction and integration costs, litigation expense and

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interest expense for debt incurred for the Wincanton Acquisition. Income before income taxes for our foreign operations was $234 million for 2024 compared with $169 million in 2023. The increase in 2024 was primarily driven by growth in the business and other income, net.

Income tax expense was $8 million in 2024, compared with $33 million in 2023. Our effective tax rate was 5.6% in 2024 and 12.4% in 2023. The decrease in our effective income tax rate was driven by income tax benefits from the release of valuation allowances in 2024.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Our ability to fund our operations and anticipated capital needs is reliant upon the generation of cash from operations, supplemented as necessary by periodic utilization of our revolving credit facility and factoring programs. Our principal uses of cash in the future will be primarily to fund our operations, working capital needs, capital expenditures, repayment of borrowings and strategic business development transactions. The timing and magnitude of our new contract start-ups can vary and may positively or negatively impact our cash flows. We continually evaluate our liquidity requirements and capital structure in light of our operating needs, growth initiatives and capital resources.

As of December 31, 2024, we held cash and cash equivalents of $413 million, restricted cash of $72 million recorded in Other long-term assets, and we had $999 million of borrowing capacity available, net of letters of credit under our revolving credit facilities. During 2024, we deposited €68 million ($70 million as of December 31, 2024) of restricted cash in relation to a contingency, and in January 2025, the Company deposited an additional amount of €16 million ($17 million).

We believe that our cash and cash equivalents on hand, our cash flows from operations, the borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facilities, and the use of our factoring programs will provide sufficient liquidity to operate our business and fund our current and assumed obligations for at least the next 12 months.

For additional information regarding our cash requirements from contractual obligations, indebtedness and lease obligations, and legal matters, see Note 18. “Commitments and Contingencies,” Note 10. “Debt and Financing Arrangements” and Note 9. “Leases” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Capital Expenditures

Our future capital spending includes fulfillment costs and investments in technology and automation to improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment and the resiliency of our supply chains. The level and the timing of the Company’s capital expenditures within these categories can vary as a result of a variety of factors outside our control, such as the timing of new contracts, availability of labor and materials and foreign currency fluctuations. We believe that we have significant discretion over the amount and timing of our capital expenditures as we are not subject to any agreement that would require significant capital expenditures on a designated schedule or upon the occurrence of designated events.

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Financial Condition

The following table summarizes our asset and liability balances as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:

Total assets and liabilities increased from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024 primarily due to the Wincanton Acquisition. Total liabilities also increased due to issuance of $1.1 billion of unsecured notes to fund the Wincanton Acquisition.

Cash Flow Activity

Our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities, as reflected on our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, were summarized as follows:

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Operating Activities

Cash flows provided by operating activities for 2024 decreased by $9 million compared to 2023. This decline was driven by decreased net income after adjustments for non-cash items, offset by benefits from working capital activity compared to the prior year.

Investing Activities

Investing activities used $1.2 billion of cash in 2024 compared with $410 million in 2023. During 2024, we used $863 million, net of cash received, to fund the Wincanton Acquisition, used $359 million of cash to purchase property and equipment, partially offset by $61 million of proceeds from the sales of property and equipment and $4 million in net proceeds from the settlement of cross-currency swap agreements, excluding accrued interest. During 2023, we used $274 million of cash for capital expenditures, used $149 million in connection with the PFS Acquisition and $3 million in settlement of cross-currency swap agreements, excluding accrued interest, partially offset by $18 million of proceeds from the sales of property and equipment.

Financing Activities

Financing activities generated $636 million of cash in 2024 and used $186 million in 2023. The primary source of cash from financing activities in 2024 was the issuance of long-term debt of $1.1 billion, partially offset by cash used to repay $408 million of debt, $45 million to repay finance lease obligations and $8 million in payments for employee taxes on net settlement of equity awards. The primary use of cash from financing activities in 2023 was

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$140 million in repayment of debt, $29 million to repay finance lease obligations and $12 million in payments for employee taxes on net settlement of equity awards.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not engage in any off-balance sheet financial arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

Contractual Obligations

As of December 31, 2024, our outstanding obligations under operating and finance leases were $2.5 billion and $276 million, respectively. For additional information see Note 9. “Leases” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As of December 31, 2024, we had a total of $1.9 billion of Unsecured Notes outstanding, consisting of $1.1 billion Unsecured Notes with interest payable semiannually on May 6 and November 6 of each year and $800 million Unsecured Notes with interest payable semiannually on January 15 and July 15 of each year. We also have $450 million of variable-rate term loans outstanding with interest payable in arrears at our option monthly, quarterly, or semiannually. For additional information see Note 10. “Debt and Financing Arrangements” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In addition, we have obligations for agreements to purchase goods or services entered into in the ordinary course of business that are enforceable and legally binding.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP. We make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect our reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, gains and losses. Material changes in these assumptions, estimates and/or judgments have the potential to materially alter our results of operations. We have identified the following accounting policies to be the most critical as they are important to our financial condition and results of operations and require significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in their application.

Business Combinations

We record tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations under the purchase method of accounting. We allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is allocated to goodwill.

Accounting for business combinations requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially at the acquisition date with respect to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. We use our best estimates and assumptions to accurately assign fair value to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date as well as the useful lives of those acquired intangible assets. Significant assumptions utilized in the allocation of the purchase price related to intangible assets include future expected cash flows from acquired intangibles and discount rates.

Our estimates of fair value are based upon reasonable assumptions but are inherently uncertain and unpredictable, and as a result, actual results may differ from these estimates. During the measurement period, which is up to one year from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings. For additional information see Note 4. “Acquisitions” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Evaluation of Goodwill

We allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. Goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level, which is an operating segment or one level below, on an annual basis and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. We have three reporting units: i) Americas and Asia-Pacific, ii) United Kingdom and Ireland and iii) Continental Europe.

For each reporting unit, we first assess qualitative factors that are specific to the reporting unit as well as industry and macroeconomic factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test. The qualitative factors could include a significant change in the business climate, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition or the sale or disposition of a significant portion of a reporting unit. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that an impairment exists, then a quantitative assessment is performed.

A quantitative goodwill impairment test, when performed, includes estimating the fair value of a reporting unit using the income and/or market approach. The income approach of determining fair value is based on the present value of estimated future cash flows, which requires us to make various assumptions, including assumptions about the timing and amount of future cash flows, growth rates and discount rates. The discount rates reflect management’s judgment and are based on a risk-adjusted weighted-average cost of capital utilizing industry market data of businesses similar to the reporting units. Inherent in our preparation of cash flow projections are assumptions and estimates derived from a review of our operating results, business plans, expected growth rates, cost of capital and tax rates. Our forecasts also reflect expectations concerning future economic conditions, interest rates and other market data. The market approach of determining fair value is based on comparable market multiples for companies engaged in similar businesses, as well as recent transactions within our industry. We believe using these valuation techniques yields the most appropriate evidence of the reporting unit’s fair value.

Many of the factors used in assessing fair value are outside the control of management, and these assumptions and estimates may change in future periods. Changes in assumptions or estimates could materially affect the estimate of the fair value of a reporting unit and therefore could affect the likelihood and amount of any potential impairment.

Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor various retirement plans, with the most significant plans held in the U.K. (the “U.K. Retirement Plans”). Assumptions used in the accounting for these employee benefit plans include the discount rate and expected return on plan assets. Assumptions are determined based on company data and appropriate market indicators and are evaluated each year at December 31. A change in any of these assumptions would have an effect on the net periodic pension cost reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The discount rate is determined based on the yield on a portfolio of high-quality bonds, constructed to provide cash flows necessary to meet our pension plans’ expected future benefit payments, as determined for the accumulated benefit obligation. A 50-basis-point decrease in the discount rate of the U.K. Retirement Plans would result in an estimated increase in the accumulated benefit obligation of approximately $91 million. The expected return on plan assets assumption is derived using the current and expected asset allocation of the pension plan assets and considering historical as well as expected returns on various classes of plan assets. An increase or decrease of 50 basis points in the expected return on plan assets for the U.K. Retirement Plans would have decreased or increased our net periodic pension cost by approximately $9 million in 2025. For additional information see Note 15. “Employee Benefit Plans” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

New Accounting Standards

Information related to new accounting standards is included in Note 2. “Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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