Motorola Solutions, Inc.MSI
Motorola Solutions, Inc. Commitments Disclosure
Commitments and Contingencies
Purchase Obligations
During the normal course of business, in order to manage manufacturing lead times and help ensure adequate component supply, the Company enters into agreements with contract manufacturers and suppliers that either allow it to procure inventory based upon criteria as defined by the Company or establish the parameters defining the Company’s requirements. In addition, we have entered into software license agreements which are firm commitments and are not cancellable.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had entered into firm, non-cancelable, and unconditional commitments under such arrangements through 2033. The Company expects to make total payments of $771 million under these arrangements as follows: $250 million in 2026, $197 million in 2027, $127 million in 2028, $108 million in 2029, $46 million in 2030 and $43 million thereafter.
Legal Matters
Hytera Civil Litigation
In 2017, the Company filed a complaint against Hytera Communications Corporation Limited of Shenzhen, China; Hytera America, Inc.; and Hytera Communications America (West), Inc. (collectively, "Hytera"), in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois (the "District Court"), alleging trade secret theft and copyright infringement, and seeking injunctive relief. In 2020, a jury decided in the Company's favor and awarded the Company $543.7 million, plus $51.1 million in pre-judgment interest and $2.6 million in costs, as well as $34.2 million in attorneys' fees.
Subsequently, the District Court ordered Hytera to pay the Company a forward-looking reasonable royalty on products ("I-Series") that use the Company’s stolen trade secrets, setting royalty rates for Hytera's sale of relevant products from July 1, 2019 forward. In 2024, amounts paid into escrow of approximately $61 million were released to the Company and recorded as a gain within Other charges within the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Hytera made quarterly de minimis royalty payments related to the I-Series products directly to the Company in 2025.
Following the initial District Court judgment in the Company's favor, both parties appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (the "Court of Appeals"). On July 2, 2024, the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's award of $407.4 million in damages under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, directed the District Court to recalculate and reduce its award of $136.3 million in copyright infringement damages, and instructed the District Court to reconsider its denial of the Company's request for an injunction. In all other respects, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court. On October 4, 2024, the Court of Appeals denied Hytera's motion for rehearing. The case was remanded to the District Court for further action per the Court of Appeals' decision. On January 2, 2025, Hytera filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States, which was subsequently denied on February 24, 2025. The issues of copyright recalculation, turnover of Hytera assets to the Company, and injunction are currently briefed. On October 14-15, 2025, the District Court held hearings on these issues, but has not yet issued any rulings.
In 2025, Hytera made payments towards amounts awarded to the Company and owed by Hytera pursuant to court orders related to I-Series products. In 2025, Hytera made payments of $157 million, of which the Company received $141 million, net of withholding taxes. Subsequent to year-end, in January 2026, Hytera made a payment of $40 million, of which the Company received $36 million, net of withholding taxes. These payments were recorded as a gain within Other charges within the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The Company continues to seek collection of the judgment through the ongoing legal process.
In 2024, the parties engaged in competing litigation in the District Court and a court in China related to the possible continued use by Hytera of the Company’s trade secrets in Hytera’s currently shipping products ("H-Series"). On April 2, 2024, the District Court held Hytera in civil contempt, and issued a worldwide sales injunction of certain H-Series products and a daily fine for Hytera's failure to withdraw its competing litigation in China. On April 16, 2024, the Court of Appeals granted Hytera's motion for an emergency stay of the contempt sanctions, pending its review of the District Court's various orders related to the competing litigation and contempt sanctions.
The District Court held hearings in August 2024, concerning whether Hytera's currently shipping H-Series products continue to misuse the Company's trade secrets and copyrighted source code. On August 25, 2025, the District Court held Hytera in civil contempt for violation of the District Court’s royalty order and ordered Hytera to pay the Company approximately $70 million for unpaid royalties and interest for Hytera’s continued use of the Company’s trade secrets and copyrighted source code in Hytera's H-Series products. The District Court subsequently ordered Hytera to pay additional royalties of $31 million accrued from the August 2024 hearings and the August 25, 2025 order. Hytera has appealed the District Court’s order to the Court of Appeals. Hytera’s appeal does not automatically stay its obligation to pay the $101 million. On October 14-15, 2025, the District Court heard arguments on whether Hytera must pay the $101 million into escrow, or directly to the Company as a payment towards amounts awarded to the Company and owed by Hytera pursuant to prior court orders, but has not yet issued a ruling.
Hytera Criminal Litigation
On January 13, 2025, Hytera pleaded guilty to one federal felony count of conspiracy to steal the Company's trade secrets in a criminal action brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against Hytera and several of its employees in the District Court. On November 24-25, December 15, 2025, and January 29, 2026, the District Court held hearings related to Hytera's sentencing. The District Court is expected to issue its ruling on March 5, 2026. Pursuant to the plea agreement reached between Hytera and the government, it is expected that Hytera's sentence may include a fine to be paid to the government and restitution to be paid to the Company in an amount to be determined by the District Court.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 12, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 14, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 15, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 16, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 16, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 12, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 14, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 15, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 16, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 21, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 23, 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.