16. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Guarantees

The Company has provided typical indemnities in connection with sales of certain businesses and assets, including representations and warranties and related indemnities for environmental, health and safety, tax and employment matters. The Company does not have any material liabilities recorded for these indemnifications and is not aware of any claims or other information that would give rise to material payments under such indemnities.

Litigation

A few of the Company's subsidiaries are involved in legal proceedings relating to the cleanup of waste disposal sites identified under federal and state statutes which provide for the allocation of such costs among "potentially responsible parties." In each instance, the extent of the Company's liability appears to be relatively insignificant in relation to the total projected expenditures and the number of other "potentially responsible parties" involved and is anticipated to be immaterial to the Company. In addition, a few of the Company's subsidiaries are involved in ongoing remedial activities at certain current and former plant sites, in cooperation with regulatory agencies, and appropriate estimated liabilities have been established. At December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, these estimated liabilities for environmental and other matters, including private party claims for exposure to hazardous substances that are probable and estimable, were not significant. See Note 10 — Other Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities for additional details.

The Company and some of its subsidiaries are also parties to a number of other legal proceedings incidental to their businesses. These proceedings primarily involve claims by private parties alleging injury arising out of use of the Company's products, patent infringement, employment matters and commercial disputes. Management and legal counsel, at least quarterly, review the probable outcome of such proceedings, the costs and expenses reasonably expected to be incurred and currently accrued to-date and consider the availability and extent of insurance coverage. The Company has estimated liabilities for these other legal matters that are probable and estimable, and at December 31, 2025 and 2024, these estimated liabilities were immaterial. While it is not possible at this time to predict the outcome of these legal actions, in the opinion of management, based on the aforementioned reviews, the Company is not currently involved in any legal proceedings which, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. See also Note 4 — Discontinued and Disposed Operations for details on litigation related to a discontinued operation.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 13, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 14, 2025
2023Feb 9, 2024
2022Feb 10, 2023
2021Feb 11, 2022
2020Feb 12, 2021
2019Feb 14, 2020
2018Feb 15, 2019
2017Feb 9, 2018
2016Feb 10, 2017
2015Feb 12, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.