THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. (TMO)

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

Reference is made throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which begin on page 29 of this report. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for 2022 is included in Item 7 of the company’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company refers to various amounts or measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). These non-GAAP measures are further described and reconciled to their most directly comparable amount or measure under the section “Non-GAAP Measures” later in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Amounts and percentages reported within this Annual Report on Form 10-K are presented and calculated based on underlying unrounded amounts. As a result, the sum of components may not equal corresponding totals due to rounding.

Overview

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. enables customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by helping them accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, increase laboratory productivity, and improve patient health through diagnostics and the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies. Markets served include pharmaceutical and biotech, academic and government, industrial and applied, as well as healthcare and diagnostics. The company’s operations fall into four segments (Note 11): Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

Consolidated Results

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Organic Revenue Growth

Since 2020, the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments as well as the laboratory products business have supported COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Additionally, our pharma services business has provided our pharma and biotech customers with the services they needed to develop and produce vaccines and therapies globally. Since the company’s acquisition of PPD in December 2021, the clinical research business has continued to play a leading role in supporting the clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. These positive impacts continued at much lower levels in 2024 as customer testing as well as therapy and vaccine demand declined. Sales of products related to COVID-19 testing were $0.10 billion and $0.33 billion in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

During 2024, all of our end markets were negatively impacted by a more muted macroeconomic environment and low economic activity in China. Revenues from pharma and biotech and diagnostics and healthcare customers were also negatively impacted by reduced demand for COVID-19 related products and services. As a result, revenues in these end markets declined slightly in the year. Revenues in the academic and government and industrial and applied markets increased slightly as we saw the benefits of our investments into high-impact innovation. During 2024, all geographies were negatively impacted by the more muted macroeconomic environment. Sales grew slightly in Asia-Pacific, including China. Sales growth in Europe was flat and sales in North America declined slightly due to decreased demand for COVID-19 related products. Contributions to organic revenue during 2024 from the Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics, and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segments were offset by declines in the Life Sciences Solutions segment.

The company continues to execute its proven growth strategy which consists of three pillars:

•High-impact innovation,

•Our trusted partner status with customers, and

•Our unparalleled commercial engine.

GAAP operating income margin and adjusted operating income margin decreased in 2024 due primarily to unfavorable business mix and strategic investments, partially offset by productivity improvements. The decreases in GAAP operating income margin during 2024 were more than offset by lower levels of amortization expense. We estimate that charges for restructuring and related actions incurred for headcount reductions and facility consolidations, which resulted in charges of approximately $0.3 billion in 2024 and $0.3 billion in 2023, will realize annual cost savings of approximately $0.2 billion and $0.6 billion, respectively, primarily due to reduced employee and facility expenses.

The company’s references to strategic investments generally refer to targeted spending for enhancing commercial capabilities, including expansion of geographic sales reach and e-commerce platforms, marketing initiatives, expanded service and operational infrastructure, research and development projects and other expenditures to enhance the customer experience, as well as incentive compensation and recognition for employees. The company’s references throughout this discussion to productivity improvements generally refer to improved cost efficiencies from its Practical Process Improvement (PPI) business system to address inflation, including reduced costs resulting from implementing continuous improvement methodologies, global sourcing initiatives, a lower cost structure following restructuring actions including headcount reductions and consolidation of facilities, and low cost region manufacturing.

Notable Recent Acquisitions

On January 3, 2023, the company acquired, within the Specialty Diagnostics segment, The Binding Site Group, a U.K.-based provider of specialty diagnostic assays and instruments to improve the diagnosis and management of blood cancers and immune system disorders. The acquisition expands the segment’s portfolio with the addition of pioneering innovation in diagnostics and monitoring for multiple myeloma.

On August 14, 2023, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, CorEvitas, LLC, a U.S.-based provider of regulatory-grade, real-world evidence for approved medical treatments and therapies. The acquisition expands the segment’s portfolio with the addition of highly complementary real-world evidence solutions to enhance decision-making as well as the time and cost of drug development.

On July 10, 2024, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, Olink Holding AB (publ), a Swedish-based provider of next-generation proteomics solutions. The acquisition enhances the segment’s capabilities in the high-growth proteomics market with the addition of highly differentiated solutions. It also complements the existing life sciences and mass

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spectrometry offerings, accelerating protein biomarker discovery and providing strong synergy opportunities.

Segment Results

The company’s management evaluates segment operating performance using operating income before certain charges/credits as defined in Note 11. Accordingly, the following segment data are reported on this basis.

The decrease in organic revenues in 2024 was primarily due to moderation in COVID-19 related revenue. The increase in segment income margin resulted primarily from exceptionally strong productivity improvements, partially offset by unfavorable volume mix and strategic investments.

The increase in organic revenues in 2024 was due to very strong growth in the electron microscopy business, partially offset by declines in the other instrumentation businesses. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from unfavorable business mix and strategic investments, largely offset by strong productivity improvements.

The increase in organic revenues in 2024 was driven by growth in the immunodiagnostics and transplant diagnostics businesses, as well as in the healthcare market channel, partially offset by decreased demand for products addressing diagnosis of COVID-19. The increase in segment income margin was due to productivity improvements, partially offset by strategic investments.

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Organic revenues were flat in 2024 due to growth in the research and safety channel and clinical research business, offset by decreased demand in COVID-19 vaccines and therapies-related activity. The decrease in segment income margin was primarily due to unfavorable business mix and strategic investments, partially offset by productivity improvements.

Non-operating Items

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) decreased due primarily to higher cash, and cash equivalents and short-term investments balances, as well as higher interest rates on these balances when compared to 2023. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. In 2024 and 2023, the company’s net interest expense was reduced by approximately $264 million and $116 million, respectively, as a result of its interest rate swap and cross-currency interest rate swap arrangements (Note 10).

GAAP other income/(expense) and adjusted other income/(expense) includes currency transaction gains/losses on non-operating monetary assets and liabilities, and net periodic pension benefit cost/(income), excluding the service cost component. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2024 and 2023 also includes $20 million and $(45) million, respectively, of net gains/(losses) on investments.

The GAAP tax rate in 2024 was impacted by $176 million of expense, net, for a provision associated with a tax audit. The company’s 2024 GAAP and adjusted tax rates were also impacted by tax benefits of $459 million, primarily in jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized due to forecasted income.

The GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2023 were impacted by changes in valuation allowances, including a $183 million release in a jurisdiction where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized, and, to a lesser extent, by a decrease in pre-tax earnings compared to 2022. The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2023 were also impacted by tax planning initiatives, including a tax benefit of $127 million for U.S. tax credits and the revaluation of net operating loss carryforwards due to higher tax rates as a result of its tax return resubmissions, a tax benefit of $91 million, net of related tax expenses, from a foreign exchange loss on an intercompany debt refinancing transaction, and $233 million of tax benefits resulting from intra-entity transactions. The effective tax rates in both 2024 and 2023 were also affected by relatively significant earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. Due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization for tax purposes, the company’s cash payments for income taxes were higher than its income tax expense for financial reporting purposes. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

The company expects its GAAP effective tax rate in 2025 will be between 9% and 11% based on currently forecasted rates of profitability in the countries in which the company conducts business and expected generation of foreign tax credits. The effective tax rate can vary significantly from period to period as a result of discrete income tax factors and events. The company expects its adjusted tax rate will be approximately 11.5% in 2025.

The company has operations and a taxable presence in approximately 70 countries outside the U.S. Some of these countries have lower tax rates than the U.S. The company’s ability to obtain a benefit from lower tax rates outside the U.S. is dependent on its relative levels of income in countries outside the U.S. and on the statutory tax rates in those countries. Based on the dispersion of the company’s non-U.S. income tax provision among many countries, the company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate in any individual country is not likely to materially affect the company’s income tax provision or net income.

Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities was impacted by an $88 million impairment of an equity method investment in 2024.

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Weighted average diluted shares decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 due to share repurchases, net of option dilution.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company’s proven growth strategy has enabled it to generate free cash flow as well as access the capital markets. The company deploys its capital primarily via mergers and acquisitions and secondarily via share buybacks and dividends.

Approximately half of the company’s cash balances and cash flows from operations are from outside the U.S. The company uses its non-U.S. cash for needs outside of the U.S. including acquisitions, capacity expansion, and repayment of third-party foreign debt by foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the company also transfers cash to the U.S. using non-taxable intercompany transactions, including loans and returns of capital, as well as dividends where the related U.S. dividend received deduction or foreign tax credit equals any tax cost arising from the dividends. As a result of using such means of transferring cash to the U.S., the company does not expect any material adverse liquidity effects from its significant non-U.S. cash balances for the foreseeable future.

The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents and its future cash flow from operations together with available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of its existing businesses for the foreseeable future, including at least the next 24 months.

As of December 31, 2024, the company’s short-term obligations and current maturities of long-term obligations totaled $2.21 billion. The company has a revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (Note 3). If the company borrows under this facility, it intends to leave undrawn an amount equivalent to outstanding commercial paper to provide a source of funds in the event that commercial paper markets are not available. As of December 31, 2024, no borrowings were outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, although available capacity was reduced by immaterial outstanding letters of credit.

Operating Activities

During 2024, net income provided substantially all cash from operating activities. Changes in working capital were not significant. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.83 billion during 2024.

During 2023, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. A decrease in inventories provided cash of $0.60 billion. A decrease in accounts payable used cash of $0.50 billion, and changes in other assets and liabilities used cash of $0.80 billion primarily due to the timing of payments for compensation and income taxes. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.48 billion during 2023.

The company is contingently liable with respect to certain legal proceedings and related matters. An unfavorable outcome that differs materially from current accrual estimates, if any, for one or more of the matters described under the heading “Product Liability, Workers Compensation and Other Personal Injury Matters” in Note 5 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial position as well as its results of operations and cash flows.

Investing Activities

During 2024, the acquisition of Olink Holding AB (publ) used cash of $3.13 billion. The company’s investing activities also included net purchases of investments of $1.63 billion, primarily to provide additional interest income, as well as $1.40 billion of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

During 2023, acquisitions of The Binding Site Group and CorEvitas, LLC used cash of $2.70 billion and $0.91 billion, respectively. The company’s investing activities also included purchases of $1.48 billion of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

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The company expects that for all of 2025, expenditures for property, plant and equipment, net of disposals, will be between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion.

Financing Activities

During 2024, issuance of debt provided $1.20 billion of cash. Repayment of debt used cash of $3.61 billion. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $4.00 billion of the company’s common stock (7.4 million shares) and the payment of $0.58 billion in cash dividends. On November 15, 2024, the Board of Directors announced that it replaced the existing authorization to repurchase the company’s common stock, of which $1.00 billion was remaining, with a new authorization to repurchase up to $4.00 billion of the company’s common stock.

Early in the first quarter of 2025, the company repurchased $2.00 billion (3.6 million shares) of the company's common stock. At February 20, 2025, $1.00 billion was available for future repurchases of the company’s common stock under this authorization.

In the first quarter of 2025, the company issued Fr.1.15 billion of Swiss franc-denominated debt (Note 3).

During 2023, issuance of debt provided $5.94 billion of cash. Repayment of debt and net commercial paper activity used cash of $5.78 billion and $0.32 billion, respectively. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $3.00 billion of the company's common stock (5.2 million shares) and the payment of $0.52 billion in cash dividends.

In addition to the obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2024, which include, but are not limited to pension obligations (Note 14), unrecognized tax benefits (Note 7), debt (Note 3), operating leases (Note 13), and contingent consideration (Note 4), the company also has unconditional purchase obligations in the ordinary course of business that include agreements to purchase goods, services or fixed assets, pay royalties, and fund capital commitments pursuant to investments held by the company (Note 5).

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures such as organic revenue growth, which is reported revenue growth, excluding the impacts of revenues from acquired/divested businesses and the effects of currency translation. We report organic revenue growth because Thermo Fisher management believes that in order to understand the company’s short-term and long-term financial trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of acquisitions/divestitures and foreign currency translation on revenues. Thermo Fisher management uses organic revenue growth to forecast and evaluate the operational performance of the company as well as to compare revenues of current periods to prior periods.

We report adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted other income/(expense), adjusted tax rate, and adjusted EPS. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the company’s core operating performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods, forecasts, and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by management in their financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. To calculate these measures we exclude, as applicable:

•Certain acquisition-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition, significant transaction/acquisition-related costs, including changes in estimates of contingent acquisition-related consideration, and other costs associated with obtaining short-term financing commitments for pending/recent acquisitions. We exclude these costs because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Costs/income associated with restructuring activities and large-scale abandonments of product lines, such as reducing overhead and consolidating facilities. We exclude these costs because we believe that the costs related to restructuring activities and large-scale abandonment of product lines are not indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities; impairments of long-lived assets; and certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, including gains/losses on investments, the sale of businesses, product lines, and real estate, significant litigation-related matters, curtailments/settlements of pension plans, and the early retirement of debt. We exclude these items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

•The expense associated with the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because a significant portion of the purchase price for acquisitions may be allocated to intangible assets that have lives of up to 20 years. Exclusion of the amortization expense allows comparisons of operating results that are consistent over time for both our newly acquired and long-held businesses and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

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•The noncontrolling interest and tax impacts of the above items and the impact of significant tax audits or events (such as changes in deferred taxes from enacted tax rate/law changes), the latter of which we exclude because they are outside of our normal operations and difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We report free cash flow, which is operating cash flow excluding net capital expenditures, to provide a view of the continuing operations’ ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. The company also uses this measure as an indication of the strength of the company. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures of the company’s results of operations and cash flows included in this Form 10-K are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the company’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth within the “Consolidated Results” and “Segment Results” sections and below.

(a)Adjusted results in 2024 and 2023 exclude charges for inventory write-downs associated with large-scale abandonment of product lines, accelerated depreciation on manufacturing assets to be abandoned due to facility consolidations, and charges for the sale of inventory revalued at the date of acquisition.

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(b)Adjusted results in 2024 and 2023 exclude certain third-party expenses, principally transaction/integration costs related to recent acquisitions, charges/credits for changes in estimates of contingent acquisition consideration, and charges associated with product liability litigation. Adjusted results in 2024 also exclude $7 million of accelerated depreciation on fixed assets to be abandoned due to facility consolidations.

(c)Adjusted results in 2024 and 2023 exclude restructuring and other costs consisting principally of severance, impairments of long-lived assets, charges for environmental-related matters, net charges for pre-acquisition litigation and other matters, net gains/losses on the sale of real estate, and abandoned facility and other expenses of headcount reductions and real estate consolidations. Adjusted results in 2023 also exclude $26 million of contract termination costs associated with facility closures.

(d)Adjusted results exclude net gains/losses on investments.

(e)Adjusted results in 2024 and 2023 exclude incremental tax impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income, incremental tax impacts as a result of tax rate/law changes and the tax impacts from audit settlements. Adjusted results in 2023 also exclude $14 million of net charges for pre-acquisition matters.

(f)Adjusted results exclude the incremental impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The company’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations is based upon its financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an on-going basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to acquisition-related measurements and income taxes. Management believes the most complex and sensitive judgments, because of their significance to the consolidated financial statements, result primarily from the need to make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, current market and economic conditions and other assumptions that management believes are reasonable. The results of these estimates form the basis for judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities where the values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The company believes the following represent its critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of its financial statements:

Acquisition-related Measurements

Business Combinations

The company uses assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations. The determinations of the fair value of intangible assets, which represent a significant portion of the purchase price in many of the company’s acquisitions, require the use of significant judgment with regard to (i) the fair value and (ii) whether such intangibles are amortizable or non-amortizable and, if the former, the period and the method by which the intangible asset will be amortized. The company estimates the fair value of acquisition-related intangible assets principally based on projections of cash flows that will arise from identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses, which include estimates of customer attrition and technology obsolescence rates, among others. The projected cash flows are discounted to determine the present value of the assets at the dates of acquisition. See Note 12 for additional information about our recent business combinations.

Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets

The company evaluates goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually and when events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of an asset below its carrying amount. Events or circumstances that might require an interim evaluation include unexpected adverse business conditions, economic factors, unanticipated technological changes or competitive activities, loss of key personnel and acts by governments and courts, among others. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $45.85 billion and $1.24 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2024 (see Note 2 for additional information). Estimates of discounted future cash flows require assumptions related to revenue and operating income margin growth rates, discount rates and other factors. For the goodwill impairment tests, the company also considers (i) peer revenues and earnings trading multiples from companies that have operational and financial characteristics that are similar to the respective reporting units and (ii) estimated weighted average costs of capital. Different assumptions from those made in the company’s analysis could materially affect projected cash flows and the company’s evaluation of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment.

The company performed the quantitative goodwill impairment test for all of its reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets. Determinations of fair value based on projections of discounted cash flows, which generally increased from the prior year projections primarily due to lower discount rates, and based on peer revenues and earnings trading multiples, which also

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generally increased from the prior year, were sufficient to conclude that no impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets existed at the end of the tenth fiscal month of 2024, the date of the company’s annual impairment testing. There were no interim impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets in 2024. There can be no assurance, however, that adverse events or conditions will not cause the fair values of these assets to decline. Should the fair values of the company’s reporting units or indefinite-lived intangible assets decline because of reduced operating performance, market declines, or other indicators of impairment, or as a result of changes in the discount rates, charges for impairment may be necessary.

Definite-lived Intangible Assets

Definite-lived intangible assets totaled $14.30 billion at December 31, 2024 (see Note 2 for additional information). Certain definite-lived intangible assets have largely independent cash flows. The company reviews these definite-lived intangible assets for impairment individually when indication of potential impairment exists, such as a significant reduction in cash flows associated with the assets. Actual cash flows arising from a particular intangible asset could vary from projected cash flows, which could imply different carrying values from those established at the dates of acquisition and which could result in impairment of such asset. Most of the company’s definite-lived intangible assets are used in conjunction with other assets, such as property, plant and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets. In these situations, the company considers the asset groups to be the units of account for impairment testing. The company recorded definite-lived intangible asset impairments of $0.01 billion in 2023.

Income Taxes

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

In the ordinary course of business there is inherent uncertainty in quantifying the company’s income tax positions. The company assesses income tax positions and records tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date. For those tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, the company has recorded the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the financial statements. Should tax return positions that the company expects are sustainable not be sustained upon audit, the company could be required to record an incremental tax provision for such taxes. The company’s liability for these unrecognized tax benefits totaled $0.52 billion at December 31, 2024, compared to $0.54 billion at December 31, 2023, primarily as a result of audit settlements and reductions of prior year tax positions (Note 7).

The company operates in numerous countries under many legal forms and, as a result, is subject to the jurisdiction of numerous domestic and non-U.S. tax authorities, as well as to tax agreements and treaties among these governments. Determination of taxable income in any jurisdiction requires the company to interpret the related tax laws and regulations and the use of estimates and assumptions regarding significant future events, such as the amount, timing and character of deductions, permissible revenue recognition methods under the tax law and the sources and character of income and tax credits. Changes in tax laws, regulations, agreements and treaties, currency exchange restrictions or the company’s level of operations or profitability in each taxing jurisdiction could have an impact upon the amount of current and deferred tax balances and hence the company’s net income.

Valuation Allowances

The company estimates the degree to which tax assets will result in a benefit, after consideration of all positive and negative evidence, and provides a valuation allowance for tax assets that it believes will more likely than not go unused. In situations in which the company has been able to determine that its deferred tax assets will be realized, that determination generally relies on future reversals of taxable temporary differences and expected future taxable income. If it becomes more likely than not that a tax asset will be used, the company reverses the related valuation allowance. Any such reversals are recorded as a reduction of the company’s tax provision. The company’s tax valuation allowance totaled $1.04 billion and $1.32 billion at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively (Note 7). Should the company’s actual future taxable income by tax jurisdiction vary from estimates, additional allowances or reversals thereof may be necessary.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A description of recently issued accounting standards is included under the heading “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1.

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

Reference is made throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which begin on page 29 of this report. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for 2021 is included in Item 7 of the company’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company refers to various amounts or measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). These non-GAAP measures are further described and reconciled to their most directly comparable amount or measure under the section “Non-GAAP Measures” later in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Overview

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. enables customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by helping them accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, increase laboratory productivity, and improve patient health through diagnostics and the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies. Markets served include pharmaceutical and biotech, academic and government, industrial and applied, as well as healthcare and diagnostics. The company’s operations fall into four segments (Note 4): Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

Consolidated Results

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Organic Revenue Growth

*    Results may not sum due to rounding.

Since 2020, the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments as well as the laboratory products business have supported COVID-19 diagnostic testing, scaling and evolving their molecular diagnostics solutions and plastic consumables businesses to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biosciences and bioproduction businesses have expanded their capacity to meet the needs of pharma and biotech customers as they have expanded their own production volumes to meet global vaccine manufacturing requirements. Additionally, our pharma services business has provided our pharma and biotech customers with the services they needed to develop and produce vaccines and therapies globally. Since the company’s acquisition of PPD in December 2021, the clinical research business has continued to play a leading role in supporting the clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. These positive impacts continued at much lower levels in 2023 as customer testing as well as therapy and vaccine demand declined. Sales of products related to COVID-19 testing were $0.33 billion and $3.11 billion in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

During 2023, growth from pharma and biotech customers slightly declined. Over the past few years, the company has played a meaningful role in the production of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. In 2023, reduced demand for our products and services that support COVID-19 vaccines and therapies was partially offset through strong commercial execution as a result of our trusted partner status with customers in this market. We saw broad based strength across the academic and government market as we saw the benefits of our accelerated investments into high impact innovation with great customer adoption and strong demand globally. The industrial and applied market was strong, driven by the relevance of our analytical instrument technologies serving our semiconductor and materials science customers. The diagnostics and healthcare market declined due to decreased demand for COVID-19 testing products. During 2023, sales growth in all major regions declined due to decreased demand for COVID-19 related products, as well as a challenging macroeconomic environment and low economic activity in China. Contributions to organic revenue during 2023 from the Analytical Instruments and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segments were more than offset by declines in the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments.

The company continues to execute its proven growth strategy which consists of three pillars:

•High-impact innovation,

•Our trusted partner status with customers, and

•Our unparalleled commercial engine.

GAAP operating income margin and adjusted operating income margin decreased in 2023 due primarily to lower COVID-19 related revenue. This was partially offset by strong productivity improvements and strong pricing realization to address higher inflation. GAAP operating income margin in 2023 was also impacted by restructuring and other charges incurred for headcount reductions and facility consolidations in an effort to streamline operations and limit the impact of expected lower revenue (Note 16). We estimate that restructuring actions resulting in charges of approximately $0.2 billion in 2023 will realize annual cost savings of approximately $0.5 billion, primarily due to reduced employee expenses.

The company’s references to strategic growth investments generally refer to targeted spending for enhancing commercial capabilities, including expansion of geographic sales reach and e-commerce platforms, marketing initiatives, expanded service and operational infrastructure, research and development projects and other expenditures to enhance the customer experience, as well as incentive compensation and recognition for employees. The company’s references throughout this discussion to productivity improvements generally refer to improved cost efficiencies from its Practical Process Improvement (PPI) business system including reduced costs resulting from implementing continuous improvement methodologies, global sourcing initiatives, a lower cost structure following restructuring actions including headcount reductions and consolidation of facilities, and low cost region manufacturing.

Notable Recent Acquisitions

On January 3, 2023, the company acquired, within the Specialty Diagnostics segment, The Binding Site Group, a U.K.-based provider of specialty diagnostic assays and instruments to improve the diagnosis and management of blood cancers and immune system disorders. The acquisition expands the segment’s portfolio with the addition of pioneering innovation in diagnostics and monitoring for multiple myeloma.

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On August 14, 2023, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, CorEvitas, LLC, a U.S.-based provider of regulatory-grade, real-world evidence for approved medical treatments and therapies. The acquisition expands the segment’s portfolio with the addition of highly complementary real-world evidence solutions to enhance decision-making as well as the time and cost of drug development.

Segment Results

The company’s management evaluates segment operating performance using operating income before certain charges/credits as defined in Note 4. Accordingly, the following segment data are reported on this basis.

The decrease in organic revenues in 2023 was primarily due to moderation in COVID-19 related revenue. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from significantly lower COVID-19 related revenue and unfavorable volume pull-through, partially offset by exceptionally strong productivity improvements and favorable price realization.

The increase in organic revenues in 2023 was due to increased demand across all the segment’s businesses, with particular strength in the electron microscopy and chromatography and mass spectrometry businesses. The increase in segment income margin resulted primarily from strong productivity, strong pricing realization to address higher inflation and strong volume pull-through, offset in part by the effects of currency translation and strategic growth investments.

The decrease in organic revenues in 2023 was due to decreased demand, primarily driven by products addressing diagnosis of COVID-19, partially offset by underlying growth in the immunodiagnostics, microbiology, and transplant diagnostics businesses. The increase in segment income margin was due to favorable business mix, strong pricing realization to address higher inflation, and strong productivity improvements, partially offset by the impact of lower COVID-19 testing volume.

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The increase in organic revenues in 2023 was primarily due to higher sales in the clinical research and pharma services businesses. The increase in segment income margin was primarily due to very strong productivity improvements and strong pricing realization to address higher inflation.

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

Non-operating Items

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) increased due primarily to the increase in debt for general corporate purposes and the company’s capital deployment initiatives, which included financing stock buybacks, paying dividends and acquiring The Binding Site Group and CorEvitas, LLC (Note 2). These increases were partially offset by higher cash and cash equivalents balances as well as higher interest rates on these balances when compared to 2022. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. In 2023 and 2022 the company’s net interest expense was reduced by approximately $116 million and $16 million, respectively, as a result of its interest rate swap and cross-currency interest rate swap arrangements (Note 14).

GAAP other income/(expense) and adjusted other income/(expense) includes currency transaction gains/losses on non-operating monetary assets and liabilities, and net periodic pension benefit cost/income, excluding the service cost component. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2023 also includes $45 million of net losses on investments. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2022 also includes $160 million of net losses on investments and $26 million of losses on the early extinguishment of debt (Note 10), partially offset by $67 million of net gains on derivative instruments to address certain foreign currency risks.

The GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2023 were impacted by changes in valuation allowances, including a $183 million release in a jurisdiction where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized, and, to a lesser extent, by a decrease in pre-tax earnings compared to 2022. The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2023 were also impacted by tax planning initiatives, including a tax benefit of $127 million for U.S. tax credits and the revaluation of net operating loss carryforwards due to higher tax rates as a result of its tax return resubmissions, a tax benefit of $91 million, net of related tax expenses, from a foreign exchange loss on an intercompany debt refinancing transaction, and $233 million of tax benefits resulting from intra-entity transactions. The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates in 2022 were impacted by releases of valuation allowances of $189 million in jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized. The company’s 2022 GAAP tax rate was also impacted by a net benefit of $208 million resulting from tax audit settlements (Note 8). The effective tax rates in both 2023 and 2022 were also affected by relatively significant earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. Due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization for tax purposes, the company’s cash payments for income taxes were higher than its income tax expense for financial reporting purposes. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

The company expects its GAAP effective tax rate in 2024 will be between 4% and 6% based on currently forecasted rates of profitability in the countries in which the company conducts business and expected generation of foreign tax credits. The effective tax rate can vary significantly from period to period as a result of discrete income tax factors and events. The company expects its adjusted tax rate will be approximately 10.5% in 2024.

The company has operations and a taxable presence in approximately 70 countries outside the U.S. Some of these countries have lower tax rates than the U.S. The company’s ability to obtain a benefit from lower tax rates outside the U.S. is dependent on its relative levels of income in countries outside the U.S. and on the statutory tax rates in those countries. Based on the

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dispersion of the company’s non-U.S. income tax provision among many countries, the company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate in any individual country is not likely to materially affect the company’s income tax provision or net income, aside from any resulting one-time adjustment to the company’s deferred tax balances to reflect a new rate.

Weighted average diluted shares decreased in 2023 compared to 2022 due to share repurchases, net of option dilution.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company’s proven growth strategy has enabled it to generate free cash flow as well as access the capital markets. The company deploys its capital primarily via mergers and acquisitions and secondarily via share buybacks and dividends.

Approximately half of the company’s cash balances and cash flows from operations are from outside the U.S. The company uses its non-U.S. cash for needs outside of the U.S. including acquisitions, capacity expansion, and repayment of third-party foreign debt by foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the company also transfers cash to the U.S. using non-taxable intercompany transactions, including loans and returns of capital, as well as dividends where the related U.S. dividend received deduction or foreign tax credit equals any tax cost arising from the dividends. As a result of using such means of transferring cash to the U.S., the company does not expect any material adverse liquidity effects from its significant non-U.S. cash balances for the foreseeable future.

The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents and its future cash flow from operations together with available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of its existing businesses for the foreseeable future, including at least the next 24 months.

As of December 31, 2023, the company’s short-term debt totaled $3.61 billion. The company has a revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (Note 10). If the company borrows under this facility, it intends to leave undrawn an amount equivalent to outstanding commercial paper to provide a source of funds in the event that commercial paper markets are not available. As of December 31, 2023, no borrowings were outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, although available capacity was reduced by immaterial outstanding letters of credit.

Operating Activities

During 2023, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. A decrease in inventories provided cash of $0.60 billion. A decrease in accounts payable used cash of $0.50 billion, and changes in other assets and other liabilities used cash of $0.80 billion primarily due to the timing of payments for compensation and income taxes. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.48 billion during 2023.

During 2022, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable and inventories used cash of $0.43 billion and $0.83 billion, respectively, primarily to support growth in sales. An increase in accounts payable provided cash of $0.65 billion. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.23 billion during 2022.

The company is contingently liable with respect to certain legal proceedings and related matters. An unfavorable outcome that differs materially from current accrual estimates, if any, for one or more of the matters described under the heading “Product Liability, Workers Compensation and Other Personal Injury Matters” in Note 12 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial position as well as its results of operations and cash flows.

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Investing Activities

During 2023, acquisitions of The Binding Site Group and CorEvitas, LLC used cash of $2.70 billion and $0.91 billion, respectively. The company’s investing activities also included purchases of $1.48 billion of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

During 2022 the company’s investing activities were principally for the purchase of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

The company expects that for all of 2024, expenditures for property, plant and equipment, net of disposals, will be between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion.

Financing Activities

During 2023, issuance of senior notes provided $5.94 billion of cash. Repayment of senior notes and net commercial paper activity used cash of $5.78 billion and $0.32 billion, respectively. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $3.00 billion of the company’s common stock (5.2 million shares) and the payment of $0.52 billion in cash dividends. On November 14, 2023, the Board of Directors announced that it replaced the existing authorization to repurchase the company’s common stock, of which $1.00 billion was remaining, with a new authorization to repurchase up to $4.00 billion of the company’s common stock.

Early in the first quarter of 2024, the company repurchased $3.00 billion (5.5 million shares) of the company's common stock. At February 22, 2024, $1.00 billion was available for future repurchases of the company’s common stock under this authorization.

During 2022, issuance of senior notes provided $3.19 billion of cash. Repayment of senior notes and net commercial paper activity used cash of $0.38 billion and $2.16 billion, respectively. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $3.00 billion of the company's common stock (5.3 million shares) and the payment of $0.46 billion in cash dividends.

In addition to the obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2023, which include, but are not limited to pension obligations (Note 7), unrecognized tax benefits (Note 8), debt (Note 10), operating leases (Note 11), and contingent consideration (Note 14), the company has also entered into an agreement to acquire Olink (Note 2). The company also has unconditional purchase obligations in the ordinary course of business that include agreements to purchase goods, services or fixed assets, pay royalties, and fund capital commitments pursuant to investments held by the company (Note 12).

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures such as organic revenue growth, which is reported revenue growth, excluding the impacts of revenues from acquired/divested businesses and the effects of currency translation. We report organic revenue growth because Thermo Fisher management believes that in order to understand the company’s short-term and long-term financial trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of acquisitions/divestitures and foreign currency translation on revenues. Thermo Fisher management uses organic revenue growth to forecast and evaluate the operational performance of the company as well as to compare revenues of current periods to prior periods.

We report adjusted operating income, adjusted operating income margin, adjusted other income/(expense), adjusted tax rate, and adjusted EPS. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the company’s core operating performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods, forecasts, and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by management in their financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. To calculate these measures we exclude, as applicable:

•Certain acquisition-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition, significant transaction/acquisition-related costs, including changes in estimates of contingent acquisition-related consideration, and other costs associated with obtaining short-term financing commitments for pending/recent acquisitions. We exclude these costs because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Costs/income associated with restructuring activities and large-scale abandonments of product lines, such as reducing overhead and consolidating facilities. We exclude these costs because we believe that the costs related to restructuring activities and large-scale abandonment of product lines are not indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities; impairments of long-lived assets; and certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, including gains/losses on

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investments, the sale of businesses, product lines, and real estate, significant litigation-related matters, curtailments/settlements of pension plans, and the early retirement of debt. We exclude these items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

•The expense associated with the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because a significant portion of the purchase price for acquisitions may be allocated to intangible assets that have lives of up to 20 years. Exclusion of the amortization expense allows comparisons of operating results that are consistent over time for both our newly acquired and long-held businesses and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

•The noncontrolling interest and tax impacts of the above items and the impact of significant tax audits or events (such as changes in deferred taxes from enacted tax rate/law changes), the latter of which we exclude because they are outside of our normal operations and difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We report free cash flow, which is operating cash flow excluding net capital expenditures, to provide a view of the continuing operations’ ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. The company also uses this measure as an indication of the strength of the company. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures of the company’s results of operations and cash flows included in this Form 10-K are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the company’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth within the “Consolidated Results” and “Segment Results” sections and below.

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(a) Adjusted results in 2023 and in 2022 exclude charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition and charges for inventory write-downs associated with large-scale abandonment of product lines. Adjusted results in 2023 also exclude $13 million of accelerated depreciation on manufacturing assets to be abandoned due to facility consolidations.

(b) Adjusted results in 2023 and 2022 exclude certain third-party expenses, principally transaction/integration costs related to recent acquisitions, charges/credits for changes in estimates of contingent acquisition consideration, and charges associated with product liability litigation.

(c) Adjusted results in 2023 and 2022 exclude restructuring and other costs consisting principally of severance, impairments of long-lived assets, charges for environmental-related matters, abandoned facility and other expenses of headcount reductions and real estate consolidations. Adjusted results in 2023 also exclude $26 million of contract termination costs associated with facility closures, $19 million of net charges for pre-acquisition litigation and other matters, and $11 million of gains on the sale of real estate. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude $14 million of gain on the sale of intellectual property.

(d) Adjusted results exclude net gains/losses on investments. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude $67 million of net gains on derivative instruments to address certain foreign currency risks and $26 million of losses on the early extinguishment of debt.

(e) Adjusted results in 2023 and 2022 exclude incremental tax impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income, incremental tax impacts as a result of tax rate/law changes and the tax impacts from audit settlements (including a $658 million benefit from an audit settlement in 2022). Adjusted results in 2023 also exclude $14 million of charges for pre-acquisition matters. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude a $423 million charge for the impact of deferred tax realizability assessments as a result of audit settlements.

(f) Adjusted results exclude the incremental impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The company’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations is based upon its financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an on-going basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to acquisition-related measurements and income taxes. Management believes the most complex and sensitive judgments, because of their significance to the consolidated financial statements, result primarily from the need to make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, current market and economic conditions and other assumptions that management believes are reasonable. The results of these estimates form the basis for judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities where the values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The company believes the following represent its critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of its financial statements:

Acquisition-related Measurements

Business Combinations

The company uses assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. The determination of the fair value of intangible assets, which represent a significant portion of the purchase price in many of the company’s acquisitions, requires the use of significant judgment with regard to (i) the fair value and (ii) whether such intangibles are amortizable or non-amortizable and, if the former, the period and the method by which the intangible asset will be amortized. The company estimates the fair value of acquisition-related intangible assets principally based on projections of cash flows that will arise from identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses, which include estimates of customer attrition and technology obsolescence rates. The projected cash flows are discounted to determine the present value of the assets at the dates of acquisition. See Note 2 for additional information about our recent business combinations.

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Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets

The company evaluates goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually and when events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of an asset below its carrying amount. Events or circumstances that might require an interim evaluation include unexpected adverse business conditions, economic factors, unanticipated technological changes or competitive activities, loss of key personnel and acts by governments and courts, among others. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $44.02 billion and $1.24 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2023 (see Note 1 for additional information). Estimates of discounted future cash flows require assumptions related to revenue and operating income growth rates, discount rates and other factors. For the goodwill impairment tests, the company also considers (i) peer revenues and earnings trading multiples from companies that have operational and financial characteristics that are similar to the respective reporting units and (ii) estimated weighted average costs of capital. Different assumptions from those made in the company’s analysis could materially affect projected cash flows and the company’s evaluation of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment.

The company performed the quantitative goodwill impairment test for all of its reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets. Determinations of fair value based on projections of discounted cash flows, which decreased from the prior year projections primarily due to higher discount rates, and based on peer revenues and earnings trading multiples, which also decreased from the prior year, were sufficient to conclude that no impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets existed at the end of the tenth fiscal month of 2023, the date of the company’s annual impairment testing. There were no interim impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets in 2023. There can be no assurance, however, that adverse events or conditions will not cause the fair values of these assets to decline. Should the fair values of the company’s reporting units or indefinite-lived intangible assets decline because of reduced operating performance, market declines, or other indicators of impairment, or as a result of changes in the discount rates, charges for impairment may be necessary.

During its annual 2023 goodwill impairment assessments, the company determined that the excess of fair value over carrying value for one of the clinical research business’s reporting units had increased to 4%. Despite this favorable increase, given that the fair value of the reporting unit was not substantially in excess of its carrying value as of the annual 2023 assessment date, relatively small decreases in future cash flows versus anticipated results, decreases in peer trading multiples and/or increases in weighted average costs of capital could result in impairment of goodwill. The reporting unit had $3.95 billion of goodwill, and an overall carrying value of $5.54 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Definite-lived Intangible Assets

Definite-lived intangible assets totaled $15.44 billion at December 31, 2023 (see Note 1 for additional information). Certain definite-lived intangible assets have largely independent cash flows. The company reviews these definite-lived intangible assets for impairment individually when indication of potential impairment exists, such as a significant reduction in cash flows associated with the assets. Actual cash flows arising from a particular intangible asset could vary from projected cash flows, which could imply different carrying values from those established at the dates of acquisition and which could result in impairment of such asset. Most of the company’s definite-lived intangible assets are used in conjunction with other assets, such as property, plant and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets. In these situations, the company considers the asset groups to be the units of account for impairment testing. The company recorded definite-lived intangible asset impairments of $0.01 billion and $0.12 billion in 2023 and 2021, respectively (Note 16).

Income Taxes

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

In the ordinary course of business there is inherent uncertainty in quantifying the company’s income tax positions. The company assesses income tax positions and records tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date. For those tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, the company has recorded the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the financial statements. Should tax return positions that the company expects are sustainable not be sustained upon audit, the company could be required to record an incremental tax provision for such taxes. The company’s liability for these unrecognized tax benefits totaled $0.54 billion at December 31, 2023, compared to $0.57 billion at December 31, 2022, primarily as a result of an audit settlement (Note 8).

The company operates in numerous countries under many legal forms and, as a result, is subject to the jurisdiction of numerous domestic and non-U.S. tax authorities, as well as to tax agreements and treaties among these governments. Determination of taxable income in any jurisdiction requires the company to interpret the related tax laws and regulations and the use of estimates and assumptions regarding significant future events, such as the amount, timing and character of deductions, permissible

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revenue recognition methods under the tax law and the sources and character of income and tax credits. Changes in tax laws, regulations, agreements and treaties, currency exchange restrictions or the company’s level of operations or profitability in each taxing jurisdiction could have an impact upon the amount of current and deferred tax balances and hence the company’s net income.

Valuation Allowances

The company estimates the degree to which tax assets will result in a benefit, after consideration of all positive and negative evidence, and provides a valuation allowance for tax assets that it believes will more likely than not go unused. In situations in which the company has been able to determine that its deferred tax assets will be realized, that determination generally relies on future reversals of taxable temporary differences and expected future taxable income. If it becomes more likely than not that a tax asset will be used, the company reverses the related valuation allowance. Any such reversals are recorded as a reduction of the company’s tax provision. The company’s tax valuation allowance totaled $1.32 billion at both December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 (Note 8). Should the company’s actual future taxable income by tax jurisdiction vary from estimates, additional allowances or reversals thereof may be necessary.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A description of recently issued accounting standards is included under the heading “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1.

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

Reference is made throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which begin on page F-1 of this report. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for 2020 is included in Item 7 of the company’s 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company refers to various amounts or measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). These non-GAAP measures are further described and reconciled to their most directly comparable amount or measure under the section “Non-GAAP Measures” later in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Overview

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. enables customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by helping them accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, increase laboratory productivity, and improve patient health through

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diagnostics and the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies. Markets served include pharmaceutical and biotech, academic and government, industrial and applied, as well as healthcare and diagnostics. The company’s operations fall into four segments (Note 4): Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

Consolidated Results

Organic Revenue Growth

*    Results may not sum due to rounding.

Since 2020, the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments as well as the laboratory products business have supported COVID-19 diagnostic testing, scaling and evolving their molecular diagnostics solutions and plastic consumables businesses to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The biosciences and bioproduction businesses have expanded their capacity to meet the needs of pharma and biotech customers as they have expanded their own production volumes to meet global vaccine manufacturing requirements. Additionally, our pharma services business has provided our pharma and biotech customers with the services they needed to develop and produce vaccines and therapies globally. While these positive impacts are expected to continue through 2023, the duration and extent of future revenues from such sales are uncertain and dependent primarily on customer testing as well as therapy and vaccine demand. Sales of products related to COVID-19 testing were $3.11 billion and $7.26 billion in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

During 2022 demand from pharma and biotech customers was very strong, driven by our differentiated customer value proposition and trusted partner status. We saw good growth in the academic and government market as we remain well positioned to meet customer needs. The industrial and applied market was strong, driven by robust demand for our analytical instruments serving our semi-conductor and materials science customers. The diagnostics and healthcare market declined due to decreased demand for COVID-19 testing products. During 2022, robust sales growth in North America and the Asia Pacific region, including China, was partially offset by a decline in COVID-19 testing demand. In Europe, strong sales were more than offset during 2022 due to lower COVID-19 testing demand. Contributions to organic revenue during 2022 were driven by the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services and Analytical Instruments segments, as offset by the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments.

The company continues to execute its proven growth strategy which consists of three pillars:

•Developing high-impact, innovative new products,

•Leveraging our scale in high-growth and emerging markets, and

•Delivering a unique value proposition to our customers.

GAAP operating income margin and adjusted operating income margin decreased in 2022 due primarily to lower COVID-19 testing volumes, continued strategic growth investments, and the expected impact of incorporating recent acquisitions. This was partially offset by strong pricing realization across all segments to address higher inflation while also driving strong productivity. GAAP operating income margin in 2022 was also impacted by higher amortization expense as a result of 2021 acquisitions.

The company’s references to strategic growth investments generally refer to targeted spending for enhancing commercial capabilities, including expansion of geographic sales reach and e-commerce platforms, marketing initiatives, expanded service and operational infrastructure, research and development projects and other expenditures to enhance the customer experience, as well as incentive compensation and recognition for employees. The company’s references throughout this discussion to

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productivity improvements generally refer to improved cost efficiencies from its Practical Process Improvement (PPI) business system including reduced costs resulting from implementing continuous improvement methodologies, global sourcing initiatives, a lower cost structure following restructuring actions, including headcount reductions and consolidation of facilities, and low cost region manufacturing.

Notable Recent Acquisitions

On January 15, 2021, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, the Belgium-based European viral vector manufacturing business of Groupe Novasep SAS. The European viral vector manufacturing business provides manufacturing services for vaccines and therapies to biotechnology companies and large biopharma customers. The acquisition expands the segment’s capabilities for cell and gene vaccines and therapies.

On February 25, 2021, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, Mesa Biotech, Inc., a U.S.-based molecular diagnostic company. Mesa Biotech has developed and commercialized a PCR based rapid point-of-care testing platform available for detecting infectious diseases including COVID-19. The acquisition enables the company to accelerate the availability of reliable and accurate advanced molecular diagnostics at the point of care.

On September 30, 2021, the company assumed operating responsibility, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, of a new state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in Lengnau, Switzerland from CSL Limited to perform pharma services for CSL with capacity to serve other customers as well.

On December 8, 2021, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, PPD, Inc., a U.S.-based global provider of clinical research services to the pharma and biotech industry. The addition of PPD’s clinical research services enhances our offering to biotech and pharma customers by enabling them to accelerate innovation and increase their productivity within the drug development process.

On December 30, 2021, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, PeproTech, Inc., a U.S.-based developer and manufacturer of recombinant proteins. PeproTech provides bioscience reagents known as recombinant proteins, including cytokines and growth factors. The acquisition expands the segment’s bioscience offerings.

On January 3, 2023, the company acquired, within the Specialty Diagnostics segment, The Binding Site Group, a U.K.-based provider of specialty diagnostic assays and instruments to improve the diagnosis and management of blood cancers and immune system disorders. The acquisition expands the segment’s portfolio with the addition of pioneering innovation in diagnostics and monitoring for multiple myeloma.

Segment Results

The company’s management evaluates segment operating performance using operating income before certain charges/credits as defined in Note 4. Accordingly, the following segment data are reported on this basis.

The decrease in organic revenues in 2022 was primarily due to lower revenue in the genetic sciences business, driven by moderation in testing demand to diagnose COVID-19, partially offset by growth in the bioproduction business. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from business mix and strategic growth investments, partially offset by productivity improvements.

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The increase in organic revenues in 2022 was due to increased demand across all the segment’s businesses, with particular strength in the electron microscopy and chromatography and mass spectrometry businesses. The increase in segment income margin resulted primarily from profit on higher sales, productivity improvements and business mix, offset in part by strategic growth investments.

The decrease in organic revenues in 2022 was primarily driven by products addressing diagnosis of COVID-19, partially offset by growth in the immunodiagnostics and transplant diagnostics businesses. The decrease in segment income margin was primarily due to lower COVID-19 testing volume, largely offset by productivity improvements and positive business mix. Segment income margin in 2021 was also impacted by a $13 million credit to cost of product revenue as a result of changing the method of accounting for inventories.

The increase in organic revenues in 2022 was primarily due to higher sales across each of the segment’s businesses, with particular strength in the pharma services business and research and safety market channel. PPD, the company’s clinical research business, contributed $7.11 billion of revenue during 2022. The increase in segment income margin was primarily due to the benefit of recent acquisitions, profit on higher sales, and productivity improvements, offset in part by strategic growth investments. Segment income margin in 2021 was also impacted by a $20 million credit to cost of product revenue as a result of changing the method of accounting for inventories.

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

Non-operating Items

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) decreased due primarily to lower average interest rates on debt and higher average interest rates on cash balances, partially offset by the increase in debt to finance the acquisition of PPD and for general corporate purposes. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

GAAP other income/(expense) and adjusted other income/(expense) includes currency transaction gains, losses on non-operating monetary assets and liabilities, and net periodic pension benefit cost/income, excluding the service cost component. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2022 also includes $160 million of net losses on investments, $26 million of losses on the

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early extinguishment of debt (Note 10), partially offset by $67 million of net gains on derivative instruments to address certain foreign currency risks and $2 million of net settlement gains on pension plans. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2021 also includes $767 million of losses on the early extinguishment of debt and $36 million of financing costs associated with obtaining bridge financing commitments in connection with the agreement to acquire PPD (Note 2), offset in part by $66 million of net gains on investments.

The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates decreased in 2022 compared to 2021 primarily due to releases of valuation allowances of $87 million in 2022 in jurisdictions where the deferred tax assets are now expected to be realized. The company’s 2022 GAAP tax rate was also impacted by changes in tax rates and higher amortization expense as a result of 2021 acquisitions, as well as a net benefit of $208 million resulting from tax audit settlements (see Note 8). The company’s 2021 GAAP and adjusted tax rates were also impacted by income tax benefits on intra-entity transactions totaling $284 million.

The effective tax rate in both 2022 and 2021 was also affected by relatively significant earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. Due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization for tax purposes, the company’s cash payments for income taxes were higher than its income tax expense for financial reporting purposes and totaled $1.23 billion and $2.18 billion in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The company expects its GAAP effective tax rate in 2023 will be between 7% and 9% based on currently forecasted rates of profitability in the countries in which the company conducts business and expected generation of foreign tax credits. The effective tax rate can vary significantly from period to period as a result of discrete income tax factors and events. The company expects its adjusted tax rate will be approximately 11% in 2023.

The company has operations and a taxable presence in approximately 70 countries outside the U.S. Some of these countries have lower tax rates than the U.S. The company’s ability to obtain a benefit from lower tax rates outside the U.S. is dependent on its relative levels of income in countries outside the U.S. and on the statutory tax rates in those countries. Based on the dispersion of the company’s non-U.S. income tax provision among many countries, the company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate in any individual country is not likely to materially affect the company’s income tax provision or net income, aside from any resulting one-time adjustment to the company’s deferred tax balances to reflect a new rate.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company’s proven growth strategy has enabled it to generate free cash flow as well as access the capital markets. The company deploys its capital primarily via mergers and acquisitions and secondarily via share buybacks and dividends.

Approximately half of the company’s cash balances and cash flows from operations are from outside the U.S. The company uses its non-U.S. cash for needs outside of the U.S. including acquisitions, capacity expansion, and repayment of third-party foreign debt by foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the company also transfers cash to the U.S. using non-taxable returns of capital as well as dividends where the related U.S. dividend received deduction or foreign tax credit equals any tax cost arising from the dividends. As a result of using such means of transferring cash to the U.S., the company does not expect any material adverse liquidity effects from its significant non-U.S. cash balances for the foreseeable future.

The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents and its future cash flow from operations together with available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of its existing businesses for the foreseeable future, including at least the next 24 months.

As of December 31, 2022, the company’s short-term debt totaled $5.58 billion. The company has a revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (Note 10). If the company borrows under this facility, it intends to leave undrawn an amount equivalent to outstanding commercial paper to provide a source of funds in the event that commercial paper markets are not available. As of December 31, 2022, no borrowings were outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, although available capacity was reduced by immaterial outstanding letters of credit.

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Operating Activities

During 2022, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable and inventories used cash of $0.43 billion and $0.83 billion, respectively, primarily to support growth in sales. An increase in accounts payable provided cash of $0.65 billion. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.23 billion during 2022.

During 2021, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable and inventories used cash of $0.20 billion and $1.07 billion, respectively, primarily to support growth in sales. An increase in accounts payable provided cash of $0.48 billion. Changes in other assets and other liabilities used cash of $0.72 billion primarily due to the timing of tax and incentive compensation payments. Cash payments for income taxes were $2.18 billion during 2021.

The company is contingently liable with respect to certain legal proceedings and related matters. An unfavorable outcome that differs materially from current accrual estimates, if any, for one or more of the matters described under the heading “Product Liability, Workers Compensation and Other Personal Injury Matters,” in Note 12 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial position as well as its results of operations and cash flows.

Investing Activities

During 2022, acquisitions used cash of $0.04 billion. The company’s investing activities were principally for the purchase of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments.

During 2021, acquisitions used cash of $19.40 billion. The company’s investing activities also included the purchase of $2.52 billion of property, plant and equipment.

The company expects that for all of 2023, expenditures for property, plant and equipment, net of disposals, will be approximately $2.0 billion.

Financing Activities

During 2022, issuance of senior notes provided $3.19 billion in cash. Repayment of senior notes and net commercial paper activity used cash of $0.38 billion and $2.16 billion, respectively. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $3.00 billion of the company’s common stock (5.3 million shares) and the payment of $0.46 billion in cash dividends. On September 23, 2021, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $3.00 billion of the company’s common stock. All of the shares of common stock repurchased by the company during the fourth quarter of 2022 were purchased under this program, depleting the 2021 authorization. On November 10, 2022, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $4.00 billion of the company’s common stock. Early in the first quarter of 2023, the company repurchased $3.00 billion of the company's common stock (5.2 million shares). At February 23, 2023, authorization remained for $1.00 billion of future repurchases of the company’s common stock.

During 2021, issuance of senior notes provided $18.14 billion of cash. A net increase in commercial paper obligations provided cash of $2.51 billion. Repayment of debt used cash of $11.74 billion, including $4.30 billion to repay the debt assumed in the acquisition of PPD. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $2.00 billion of the company's common stock (4.1 million shares) and the payment of $0.40 billion in cash dividends.

In addition to the obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2022, which include, but are not limited to, debt (Note 10), unrecognized tax benefits (Note 8), operating leases (Note 11), pension obligations (Note 7) and contingent consideration (Note 14), the company has entered into unconditional purchase obligations, in the ordinary course of business, that include agreements to purchase goods, services or fixed assets and to pay royalties (Note 12).

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures such as organic revenue growth, which is reported revenue growth, excluding the impacts of revenues from acquired/divested businesses and the effects of currency translation. We report organic revenue growth because Thermo Fisher management believes that in order to understand the company’s short-term and long-term financial trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of acquisitions/divestitures and foreign currency translation on

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revenues. Thermo Fisher management uses organic revenue growth to forecast and evaluate the operational performance of the company as well as to compare revenues of current periods to prior periods.

We report adjusted operating income, adjusted operating income margin, adjusted other income/(expense), adjusted tax rate, and adjusted EPS. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the company’s core operating performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods, forecasts, and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by management in their financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. To calculate these measures we exclude, as applicable:

•Certain acquisition-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition, significant transaction/acquisition-related costs, including changes in estimates of contingent acquisition-related consideration, and other costs associated with obtaining short-term financing commitments for pending/recent acquisitions. We exclude these costs because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Costs/income associated with restructuring activities and large-scale abandonments of product lines, such as reducing overhead and consolidating facilities. We exclude these costs because we believe that the costs related to restructuring activities and large-scale abandonment of product lines are not indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Equity in earnings/losses of unconsolidated entities; impairments of long-lived assets; and certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, including gains/losses on investments, the sale of businesses, product lines, and real estate, significant litigation-related matters, curtailments/settlements of pension plans, and the early retirement of debt. We exclude these items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

•The expense associated with the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because a significant portion of the purchase price for acquisitions may be allocated to intangible assets that have lives of up to 20 years. Exclusion of the amortization expense allows comparisons of operating results that are consistent over time for both our newly acquired and long-held businesses and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

•The tax impacts of the above items and the impact of significant tax audits or events (such as changes in deferred taxes from enacted tax rate/law changes), the latter of which we exclude because they are outside of our normal operations and difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We report free cash flow, which is operating cash flow excluding net capital expenditures, to provide a view of the continuing operations’ ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. The company also uses this measure as an indication of the strength of the company. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures of the company’s results of operations and cash flows included in this Form 10-K are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the company’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth within the “Overview” and “Results of Operations” sections and below.

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(a) Adjusted results exclude charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude $27 million of inventory write-downs associated with large-scale abandonment of product lines.

(b) Adjusted results exclude certain third-party expenses, principally transaction/integration costs related to recent acquisitions, charges/credits for changes in estimates of contingent acquisition consideration, and charges associated with product liability litigation.

(c) Adjusted results exclude restructuring and other costs consisting principally of severance, impairments of long-lived assets, charges/credits for environmental-related matters, abandoned facility and other expenses of headcount reductions within several businesses and real estate consolidations. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude $14 million of gain on the sale of intellectual property. Adjusted results in 2021 also exclude $122 million of charges for impairments of acquired intangible assets and $35 million of charges for compensation due to employees at recently acquired businesses at the date of acquisition.

(d) Adjusted results exclude net gains/losses on investments and losses on the early extinguishment of debt. Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude $67 million of net gains on derivative instruments to address certain foreign currency risks and $2 million of net settlement gains for pension plans. Adjusted results in 2021 also exclude $36 million of charges for amortization of bridge loan commitment fees related to a pending acquisition.

(e) Adjusted provision for income taxes excludes incremental tax impacts for the reconciling items between GAAP and adjusted net income, incremental tax impacts as a result of tax rate/law changes and the tax impacts from audit settlements (including a $658 million benefit from an audit settlement in 2022). Adjusted results in 2022 also exclude a $423 million charge for the impact of deferred tax realizability assessments as a result of audit settlements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The company’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations is based upon its financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an on-going basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to acquisition-related measurements and income taxes. Management believes the most complex and sensitive judgments, because of their significance to the consolidated financial statements, result primarily from the need to make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, current market and economic conditions and other assumptions that management believes are reasonable. The results of these estimates form the basis for judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities where the values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

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The company believes the following represent its critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of its financial statements:

Acquisition-related Measurements

Business Combinations

The company uses assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. The determination of the fair value of intangible assets, which represent a significant portion of the purchase price in many of the company’s acquisitions, requires the use of significant judgment with regard to (i) the fair value and (ii) whether such intangibles are amortizable or non-amortizable and, if the former, the period and the method by which the intangible asset will be amortized. The company estimates the fair value of acquisition-related intangible assets principally based on projections of cash flows that will arise from identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses, which include estimates of customer attrition and technology obsolescence rates. The projected cash flows are discounted to determine the present value of the assets at the dates of acquisition. See Note 2 for additional information about our recent business combinations.

Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets

The company evaluates goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually and when events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of an asset below its carrying amount. Events or circumstances that might require an interim evaluation include unexpected adverse business conditions, economic factors, unanticipated technological changes or competitive activities, loss of key personnel and acts by governments and courts, among others. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets totaled $41.20 billion and $1.24 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2022 (see Note 1 for additional information). Estimates of discounted future cash flows require assumptions related to revenue and operating income growth rates, discount rates and other factors. For the goodwill impairment tests, the company also considers (i) peer revenues and earnings trading multiples from companies that have operational and financial characteristics that are similar to the respective reporting units and (ii) estimated weighted average costs of capital. Different assumptions from those made in the company’s analysis could materially affect projected cash flows and the company’s evaluation of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment.

Except as described below, the company performed the quantitative goodwill impairment test for all of its reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets. Determinations of fair value based on projections of discounted cash flows, which decreased from the prior year projections primarily due to higher discount rates, and based on peer revenues and earnings trading multiples, which also decreased from the prior year, were sufficient to conclude that no impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets existed at the end of the tenth fiscal month of 2022, the date of the company’s annual impairment testing. There were no interim impairments of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets in 2022. There can be no assurance, however, that adverse events or conditions will not cause the fair values of these assets to decline. Should the fair values of the company’s reporting units or indefinite-lived intangible assets decline because of reduced operating performance, market declines, or other indicators of impairment, or as a result of changes in the discount rates, charges for impairment may be necessary.

With the completion of the PPD acquisition in December 2021, the company established two new reporting units that solely consist of the legacy PPD businesses, the book carrying values of which equaled their fair values as of the acquisition date. During its annual 2022 goodwill impairment assessments, the company performed qualitative assessments of these reporting units and determined that no events had occurred and no circumstances had changed that would more-likely-than-not reduce the fair values of the reporting units below their carrying amounts. As a result, the company did not perform the quantitative goodwill impairment tests for these reporting units. Given that the fair values of the reporting units were unlikely to be substantially in excess of their carrying values as of the annual 2022 assessment date, relatively small decreases in future cash flows versus anticipated results, decreases in peer trading multiples and/or increases in weighted average costs of capital could result in impairment of goodwill. The reporting units consisting of the legacy PPD businesses had $13.41 billion of goodwill, and an overall carrying value of $19.30 billion as of December 31, 2022.

Definite-lived Intangible Assets

Definite-lived intangible assets totaled $16.21 billion at December 31, 2022 (see Note 1 for additional information). Certain definite-lived intangible assets have largely independent cash flows. The company reviews these definite-lived intangible assets for impairment individually when indication of potential impairment exists, such as a significant reduction in cash flows associated with the assets. Actual cash flows arising from a particular intangible asset could vary from projected cash flows, which could imply different carrying values from those established at the dates of acquisition and which could result in impairment of such asset. Most of the company’s definite-lived intangible assets are used in conjunction with other assets, such as property, plant and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets. In these situations, the company considers

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the asset groups to be the units of account for impairment testing. The company recorded impairments of $0.12 billion in 2021 (see Note 16).

Income Taxes

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

In the ordinary course of business there is inherent uncertainty in quantifying the company’s income tax positions. The company assesses income tax positions and records tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date. For those tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, the company has recorded the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the financial statements. Should tax return positions that the company expects are sustainable not be sustained upon audit, the company could be required to record an incremental tax provision for such taxes. The company’s liability for these unrecognized tax benefits totaled $0.57 billion at December 31, 2022, compared to $1.12 billion at December 31, 2021, primarily as a result of an audit settlement (see Note 8).

The company operates in numerous countries under many legal forms and, as a result, is subject to the jurisdiction of numerous domestic and non-U.S. tax authorities, as well as to tax agreements and treaties among these governments. Determination of taxable income in any jurisdiction requires the company to interpret the related tax laws and regulations and the use of estimates and assumptions regarding significant future events, such as the amount, timing and character of deductions, permissible revenue recognition methods under the tax law and the sources and character of income and tax credits. Changes in tax laws, regulations, agreements and treaties, currency exchange restrictions or the company’s level of operations or profitability in each taxing jurisdiction could have an impact upon the amount of current and deferred tax balances and hence the company’s net income.

Valuation Allowances

The company estimates the degree to which tax assets will result in a benefit, after consideration of all positive and negative evidence, and provides a valuation allowance for tax assets that it believes will more likely than not go unused. In situations in which the company has been able to determine that its deferred tax assets will be realized, that determination generally relies on future reversals of taxable temporary differences and expected future taxable income. If it becomes more likely than not that a tax asset will be used, the company reverses the related valuation allowance. Any such reversals are recorded as a reduction of the company’s tax provision. The company’s tax valuation allowance totaled $1.32 billion at December 31, 2022, compared to $0.97 billion at December 31, 2021, primarily driven by the assessment of additional tax assets resulting from an audit settlement during the year (see Note 8). Should the company’s actual future taxable income by tax jurisdiction vary from estimates, additional allowances or reversals thereof may be necessary.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A description of recently issued accounting standards is included under the heading “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1.

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

Reference is made throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which begin on page F-1 of this report. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for 2019 is included in Item 7 of the company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company refers to various amounts or measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). These non-GAAP measures are further described and reconciled to their most directly comparable amount or measure under the section “Non-GAAP Measures” later in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”

Overview

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. enables customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer by helping them accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and therapies, and increase laboratory productivity. Markets served include pharmaceutical and biotech, academic and government, industrial and applied, as well as healthcare and diagnostics. The company’s operations fall into four segments (Note 4): Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

Financial Highlights - 2021 Compared With 2020

Organic Revenue Growth

*    Results may not sum due to rounding.

The company mobilized in early 2020 to support the COVID-19 pandemic response with products and services that help analyze, diagnose and protect from the virus. However, as a result of the pandemic’s impact on various markets, the company saw a significant reduction in customer activity in several businesses by late March 2020 that materially adversely affected primarily the 2020 results of the Analytical Instruments segment and, to a lesser extent, some businesses within the company’s other three segments. The negative impact significantly lessened in 2021, but could worsen in 2022 dependent on the success of global efforts to control and unwind from the pandemic and economic activity ramping up. During 2021, the Life Sciences Solutions and Specialty Diagnostics segments as well as the laboratory products business continued to support COVID-19 diagnostic testing, scaling and evolving their molecular diagnostics solutions and plastic consumables businesses to respond to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The biosciences and bioproduction businesses also expanded their capacity to meet the needs of pharma and biotech customers as they rapidly expanded their own production volumes to meet global vaccine manufacturing requirements. Additionally, through our pharma services business, we provided our pharma and biotech customers with the services they needed to develop and produce vaccines and therapies globally. While these positive impacts are expected to continue through 2022, the duration and extent of future revenues from such sales are uncertain and dependent primarily on customer testing as well as therapy and vaccine demand. Sales of products related to COVID-19 response were $9.23 billion and $6.63 billion in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Conditions were strong in each of the company’s end markets during 2021. Revenues were particularly strong in pharma and biotech driven by strong market dynamics and the company’s role in supporting customers across a wide range of therapeutic areas, including our role in supporting COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. Customers in the academic and

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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview (continued)

government market increased demand as a result of positive funding trends around the globe and a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity. Customer activity in the industrial and applied market returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Revenues from customers in the diagnostics and healthcare market were driven by growth in COVID-19 testing-related products as the company continued to support the societal response to the pandemic. Sales growth was strong across all geographic regions during 2021. The company continues to execute its proven growth strategy which consists of three pillars:

•Developing high-impact, innovative new products,

•Leveraging our scale in high-growth and emerging markets, and

•Delivering a unique value proposition to our customers.

GAAP operating income margin and adjusted operating income margin increased in 2021 due primarily to profit on higher sales and sales mix, offset in part by strategic growth investments to support the company’s near and long-term growth.

The company’s references to strategic growth investments generally refer to targeted spending for enhancing commercial capabilities, including expansion of geographic sales reach and e-commerce platforms, marketing initiatives, expanded service and operational infrastructure, research and development projects and other expenditures to enhance the customer experience, as well as incentive compensation and recognition for employees. The company’s references throughout this discussion to productivity improvements generally refer to improved cost efficiencies from its Practical Process Improvement (PPI) business system including reduced costs resulting from implementing continuous improvement methodologies, global sourcing initiatives, a lower cost structure following restructuring actions, including headcount reductions and consolidation of facilities, and low cost region manufacturing. Productivity improvements are calculated net of inflationary cost increases.

Notable Recent Acquisitions

On January 15, 2021, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, the Belgium-based European viral vector manufacturing business of Groupe Novasep SAS for $830 million in net cash consideration. The European viral vector manufacturing business provides manufacturing services for vaccines and therapies to biotechnology companies and large biopharma customers. The acquisition expands the segment’s capabilities for cell and gene vaccines and therapies.

On February 25, 2021, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, Mesa Biotech, Inc., a U.S.-based molecular diagnostic company, for $407 million in net cash consideration and contingent consideration with an initial fair value of $65 million due upon the completion of certain milestones. Mesa Biotech has developed and commercialized a PCR based rapid point-of-care testing platform available for detecting infectious diseases including COVID-19. The acquisition enables the company to accelerate the availability of reliable and accurate advanced molecular diagnostics at the point of care.

On September 30, 2021, the company assumed operating responsibility, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, of a new state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in Lengnau, Switzerland from CSL Limited to perform pharma services for CSL with capacity to serve other customers as well. The company expects to make fixed lease payments aggregating to $555 million (excluding renewals) from 2021 to 2041, with additional amounts dependent on the extent of revenues from customers of the facility other than CSL.

On December 8, 2021, the company acquired, within the Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, PPD, Inc., a U.S.-based global provider of clinical research services to the pharma and biotech industry, for $15.99 billion in net cash consideration and $43 million of equity awards exchanged. The addition of PPD’s clinical research services enhances our offering to biotech and pharma customers by enabling them to accelerate innovation and increase their productivity within the drug development process. In 2020, PPD generated revenues of $4.68 billion.

On December 30, 2021, the company acquired, within the Life Sciences Solutions segment, PeproTech, Inc., a U.S. based developer and manufacturer of recombinant proteins, for $1.86 billion in net cash consideration. PeproTech provides bioscience reagents known as recombinant proteins, including cytokines and growth factors. The acquisition expands the segment’s bioscience offerings.

Results of Operations

The company’s management evaluates segment operating performance using operating income before certain charges/credits as defined in Note 4. Accordingly, the following segment data are reported on this basis.

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Results of Operations (continued)

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

The increase in segment revenues at existing businesses in 2021 was driven by a combination of increased demand for testing to diagnose COVID-19 with higher sales of biosciences products and strong demand in each of the segment’s businesses. The decrease in segment income margin resulted primarily from strategic growth investments, offset in part by profit on higher sales.

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

The increase in segment revenues at existing businesses in 2021 was due to increased demand for products sold by each of the segment’s primary businesses with particular strength in electron microscopy instruments as well as chromatography and mass spectrometry instruments. The increase in segment income margin was primarily due to profit on higher sales and, to a lesser extent, a $108 million charge in 2020 related to a long-term supply contract (discussed in Note 12), offset in part by strategic growth investments.

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

The increase in segment revenues at existing businesses in 2021 was due to higher demand primarily driven by products addressing treatment of COVID-19, with particular strength in sales of products sold through the segment's healthcare market channel, immunodiagnostics and clinical diagnostics products. The decrease in segment income margin was primarily due to sales mix and strategic investments, offset in part by profit on higher sales and, to a lesser extent, a $13 million credit to cost of product revenue as a result of changing the method of accounting for inventories (discussed in Note 1).

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AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Results of Operations (continued)

*    Results may not sum due to rounding

The increase in segment revenues at existing businesses in 2021 was primarily due to increased demand in each of the segment’s principal businesses with particular strength in products sold through its pharma services business and research and safety market channel and, to a lesser extent, laboratory products businesses. The increase in segment income margin was primarily due to profit on higher sales and sales mix, and, to a lesser extent, acquisitions and a $20 million credit to cost of product revenue as a result of changing the method of accounting for inventories (discussed in Note 1), offset in part by strategic growth investments.

Non-operating Items

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) increased due primarily to the increase in debt to finance the acquisition of PPD and for general corporate purposes, offset in part by lower average interest rates. See additional discussion under the caption “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

GAAP other income/(expense) and adjusted other income/(expense) includes currency transaction gains and losses on non-operating monetary assets and liabilities and net periodic pension benefit cost/income, excluding the service cost component. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2021 also includes $767 million of losses on the early extinguishment of debt (Note 10) and $36 million of financing costs associated with obtaining bridge financing commitments in connection with the agreement to acquire PPD (Note 2), offset in part by $66 million of net gains on investments. GAAP other income/(expense) in 2020 includes $81 million of financing costs for a terminated acquisition, primarily for loan commitment fees and entering into hedging contracts and $42 million of expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive items related to a hedge arrangement (Note 14), offset in part by $10 million of net gains on investments.

The company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates increased in 2021 compared to 2020, primarily due to higher profits at different marginal rates, offset in part by the benefits of our tax planning initiatives. The company’s 2021 GAAP and adjusted tax rates were also impacted by income tax benefits on intra-entity transactions totaling $284 million. In 2020, the company’s GAAP and adjusted tax rates were impacted by foreign tax credit planning in Sweden which resulted in $96 million of foreign tax credits, with no related incremental U.S. income tax expense; a net income tax benefit of $51 million from a domestication transaction involving the transfer of non-U.S. subsidiaries to the U.S.; and a $47 million income tax benefit related to a foreign exchange loss for tax purposes on certain intercompany financing arrangements. Additionally, the 2020 GAAP tax rate included a $27 million tax benefit from tax audit settlements.

The effective tax rate in both 2021 and 2020 was also affected by relatively significant earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. Due primarily to the non-deductibility of intangible asset amortization for tax purposes, the company’s cash payments for income taxes were higher than its income tax expense for financial reporting purposes and totaled $2.18 billion and $1.32 billion in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The company expects its GAAP effective tax rate in 2022 will be between 9% and 11% based on currently forecasted rates of profitability in the countries in which the company conducts business and expected generation of foreign tax credits. The effective tax rate can vary significantly from period to period as a result of discrete income tax factors and events. The company expects its adjusted tax rate will be approximately 13% in 2022.

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Results of Operations (continued)

The company has operations and a taxable presence in approximately 50 countries outside the U.S. Some of these countries have lower tax rates than the U.S. The company’s ability to obtain a benefit from lower tax rates outside the U.S. is dependent on its relative levels of income in countries outside the U.S. and on the statutory tax rates in those countries. Based on the dispersion of the company’s non-U.S. income tax provision among many countries, the company believes that a change in the statutory tax rate in any individual country is not likely to materially affect the company’s income tax provision or net income, aside from any resulting one-time adjustment to the company’s deferred tax balances to reflect a new rate.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company’s proven growth strategy has enabled it to generate free cash flow as well as access the capital markets. The company deploys its capital primarily via mergers and acquisitions and secondarily via share buybacks and dividends.

Approximately half of the company’s cash balances and cash flows from operations are from outside the U.S. The company uses its non-U.S. cash for needs outside of the U.S. including acquisitions, capacity expansion, and repayment of third-party foreign debt by foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the company also transfers cash to the U.S. using non-taxable returns of capital as well as dividends where the related U.S. dividend received deduction or foreign tax credit equals any tax cost arising from the dividends. As a result of using such means of transferring cash to the U.S., the company does not expect any material adverse liquidity effects from its significant non-U.S. cash balances for the foreseeable future.

The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents and its future cash flow from operations together with available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to meet the cash requirements of its existing businesses for the foreseeable future, including at least the next 24 months.

As of December 31, 2021, the company’s short-term debt totaled $2.54 billion. On January 7, 2022, the company replaced its prior credit facility with a new revolving credit facility with a bank group that provides up to $5.00 billion of unsecured multi-currency revolving credit (Note 10). If the company borrows under this facility, it intends to leave undrawn an amount equivalent to outstanding commercial paper to provide a source of funds in the event that commercial paper markets are not available. As of December 31, 2021, no borrowings were outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, although available capacity was reduced by approximately $4 million as a result of outstanding letters of credit.

During 2021, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable and inventories used cash of $204 million and $1.07 billion, respectively, primarily to support growth in sales. An increase in accounts payable provided cash of $479 million. Changes in other assets and other liabilities used cash of $724 million primarily due to the timing of tax and incentive compensation payments. Cash payments for income taxes were $2.18 billion during 2021.

During 2020, cash provided by income was offset in part by investments in working capital. Increases in accounts receivable and inventories used cash of $1.30 billion and $508 million, respectively, primarily to support growth in sales. Changes in other assets and other liabilities provided cash of $1.45 billion primarily due to the timing of incentive compensation payments and, to a lesser extent, customer billings. Cash payments for income taxes were $1.32 billion during 2020.

During 2021, acquisitions used cash of $19.40 billion. The company's investing activities also included the purchase of $2.52 billion of property, plant and equipment for capacity and capability investments. During 2020, the company’s investing activities were principally for the purchase of property, plant and equipment.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources (continued)

During 2021, issuance of senior notes provided $18.14 billion of cash. A net increase in commercial paper obligations provided cash of $2.51 billion. Repayment of debt used cash of $11.74 billion, including $4.30 billion to repay the debt assumed in the acquisition of PPD. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $2.00 billion of the company's common stock (4.1 million shares) and the payment of $395 million in cash dividends. On September 23, 2021, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $3.00 billion of the company’s common stock. Early in the first quarter of 2022, the company repurchased $2.00 billion of the company's common stock (3.3 million shares). At February 24, 2022, authorization remained for $1.00 billion of future repurchases of the company’s common stock. As discussed in Note 10, in the first quarter of 2022 the company redeemed its 3.650% Senior Notes due 2025 for a total cash outlay of $375 million.

During 2020, issuance of senior notes provided cash of $3.46 billion. Repayment of senior notes used cash of $710 million. The company’s financing activities also included the repurchase of $1.50 billion of the company’s common stock (4.5 million shares) and the payment of $337 million in cash dividends.

The company expects that for all of 2022, expenditures for property, plant and equipment, net of disposals, will be between $2.5 and $2.7 billion.

In addition to the obligations on the balance sheet at December 31, 2021, which include, but are not limited to, debt (Note 10), unrecognized tax benefits (Note 8), operating leases (Note 11) pension obligations (Note 7) and contingent consideration (Note 14), the company has entered into unconditional purchase obligations, in the ordinary course of business, that include agreements to purchase goods, services or fixed assets and to pay royalties (Note 12).

The company is contingently liable with respect to certain legal proceedings and related matters. An unfavorable outcome that differs materially from current accrual estimates, if any, for one or more of the matters described under the heading “Product Liability, Workers Compensation and Other Personal Injury Matters,” in Note 12 could have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial position as well as its results of operations and cash flows.

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures such as organic revenue growth, which is reported revenue growth, excluding the impacts of revenues from acquired/divested businesses and the effects of currency translation. We report organic revenue growth because Thermo Fisher management believes that in order to understand the company’s short-term and long-term financial trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of acquisitions and foreign currency translation on revenues. Thermo Fisher management uses organic revenue growth to forecast and evaluate the operational performance of the company as well as to compare revenues of current periods to prior periods.

We report adjusted operating income, adjusted operating income margin, adjusted other income/(expense), adjusted tax rate, and adjusted EPS. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the company’s core operating performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods, forecasts, and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by management in their financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. To calculate these measures we exclude, as applicable:

•Certain acquisition-related costs, including charges for the sale of inventories revalued at the date of acquisition, significant transaction/acquisition-related costs, including changes in estimates of contingent acquisition-related consideration, and other costs associated with obtaining short-term financing commitments for pending/recent acquisitions. We exclude these costs because we do not believe they are indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Costs/income associated with restructuring activities, such as reducing overhead and consolidating facilities. We exclude these costs because we believe that the costs related to restructuring activities are not indicative of our normal operating costs.

•Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities; impairments of long-lived assets; and certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, including gains/losses on investments, the sale of businesses, product lines, and real estate, significant litigation-related matters, curtailments/settlements of pension plans, and the early retirement of debt. We exclude these items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

•The expense associated with the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because a significant portion of the purchase price for acquisitions may be allocated to intangible assets that have lives of up to 20 years. Exclusion of

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Non-GAAP Measures (continued)

the amortization expense allows comparisons of operating results that are consistent over time for both our newly acquired and long-held businesses and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

•The tax impacts of the above items and the impact of significant tax audits or events (such as changes in deferred taxes from enacted tax rate changes), the latter of which we exclude because they are outside of our normal operations and difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We report free cash flow, which is operating cash flow, excluding net capital expenditures to provide a view of the continuing operations’ ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. The company uses this measure as an indication of the strength of the company and its ability to generate cash for use in acquisitions and other investing and financing activities. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt service that are not deducted from the measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s results of operations and cash flows included in this Form 10-K are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth within the “Overview” and “Results of Operations” sections and below.