GENUINE PARTS COGPC
GENUINE PARTS CO Commitments Disclosure
Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Matters
We are subject to various claims and lawsuits, principally in the United States, and regulatory proceedings worldwide. The liabilities recognized on these claims and other matters are based on the best available information and assumptions that we believe are reasonable. While litigation of any type contains an element of uncertainty, we believe that our insurance coverage and our defense, and ultimate resolution of pending and reasonably anticipated claims will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Asbestos-Related Product Liability and Insurance Receivable
We maintain a liability for probable and estimable claims and settlements associated with our distribution and sales of asbestos-containing brake and friction products sold primarily before 1991. These claims and settlements are unrelated to our ongoing operations, revenue generating activities, and business strategy.
We regularly conduct a comprehensive legal review of our asbestos liability. We review recent and historical claims data, including, (i) the number of pending claims filed, (ii) the nature and mix of those claims (e.g., disease type, plaintiff type, geography), (iii) the costs to resolve pending claims, and (iv) trends in filing rates and in costs to resolve claims (collectively, the “Claims Data”). We also consider the known latency periods for common asbestos diseases when projecting future filing trends and claims. We provide the Claims Data to a third-party actuarial specialist with expertise in determining the impact of Claim Data on future filing trends and costs. The actuarial specialist assists us in estimating the number of future claims and costs to resolve pending and future claims. We use this analysis to develop our estimate of probable liability on a discounted basis, using risk-free interest rates derived from market data about monetary assets with maturities comparable to those of the projected liability.
Developments may occur that could affect our estimate of asbestos-related product liability and actual results may differ under different assumptions or conditions. These developments include, but are not limited to, significant changes in (i) the key assumptions underlying the estimate, including the number of future claims, the nature and mix of those claims, and the average cost of resolving claims (ii) trial and appellate outcomes, (iii) the law and
procedure applicable to these claims, and (iv) the financial viability of other codefendants and insurers. Complaints nearly always assert claims against multiple defendants where the damages alleged are typically not attributed to individual defendants so that a defendant’s share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability, which can vary by state. Our estimate has been impacted by adverse inflation trends, a backlog of claims building up from court closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and an evolving legal and product liability environment.
As a result of our comprehensive legal review, including our evaluation of recent claim activity trends and our updated actuarial analysis, we increased the liability by $107 million in 2025. This change in estimate resulted from new information related to our estimated number of future claims, the estimated cost of resolving claims, as well as the impacts of discount rate changes. We have 3,274 pending asbestos lawsuits as of December 31, 2025. The amount accrued for pending and future claims was $317 million as of December 31, 2025, which represented our best estimate of the liability within our calculated range of $258 million to $397 million, discounted using a discount rate of 4.18%. The amount accrued for pending and future claims was $256 million as of December 31, 2024, which represented our best estimate of the liability within our calculated range of $219 million to $313 million, discounted using a discount rate of 4.58%. Our undiscounted product liability was $398 million and $336 million as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
We hold insurance policies that cover some asbestos settlements and defense costs. Annually, we conduct an insurance exhaustion study to model expected recoveries for pending and future claims, and we adjust the insurance receivable balance to reflect the present value of these recoveries. Our receivable for estimated insurance recoveries related to pending and future claims was $38 million and $44 million as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
Environmental Liabilities
Item 103 of SEC Regulation S-K requires disclosure of certain environmental matters when a governmental authority is a party to the proceedings and such proceedings involve potential monetary sanctions that we reasonably believe will exceed an applied threshold not to exceed $1 million. Applying this threshold, there are no environmental matters to disclose for this period.Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 20, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 21, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 22, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 23, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 17, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 19, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 21, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 25, 2019 | |
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.