QuidelOrtho CorpQDEL
QuidelOrtho Corp Commitments Disclosure
Commitments and Contingencies
Purchase Obligations
The Company had $236.9 million of purchase obligations as of December 28, 2025, the majority of which is expected to be purchased in the next year. These purchase obligations include agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms, including (i) fixed or minimum quantities to be purchased, (ii) fixed, minimum or variable price provisions and (iii) the approximate timing of the transaction, as well as amounts for planned inventory purchases under contractual arrangements.
Litigation and Other Legal Proceedings
On April 12, 2024, a purported stockholder of the Company filed a putative class action complaint under the federal securities laws against the Company and three of its current and former executives. The complaint, which is captioned Bristol County Retirement System v. QuidelOrtho Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-02804-JAV (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Bristol County Complaint”), asserts claims for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder related to statements regarding sales of the Company’s COVID-19 diagnostic tests and the 510(k) submission for its SAVANNA RVP4 assay. The Bristol County Complaint seeks a judgment determining that the lawsuit can be maintained as a class action and awarding the plaintiff and putative class damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ and experts’ fees, and costs. On December 16, 2024, the court appointed Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Fund and Teamsters Local 710 Pension Fund (“Teamsters Funds”) as lead plaintiffs in the action, and approved their selection of lead counsel. Teamsters Funds filed an amended complaint on February 7, 2025, and added as additional defendants three current and former executives of the Company not previously named in the Bristol County Complaint. On April 4, 2025, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint.
On April 25, 2024, and June 21, 2024, two purported stockholders of the Company filed separate stockholder derivative complaints, purportedly on behalf of the Company, against the current and certain former members of the Board and three of the Company’s current and former executives. The complaints, which are captioned Matthew Whitfield v. Kenneth F. Buechler, Ph.D., et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-03176-JAV (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Whitfield Complaint”), and Steven Pinkney v. Douglas Bryant, et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-4753-JAV (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Pinkney Complaint”), assert claims for violations of Sections 10(b), 14(a), and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 14a-9 promulgated thereunder, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, and waste of corporate assets related to statements regarding sales of the Company’s COVID-19 diagnostic tests and the 510(k) submission for its SAVANNA RVP4 assay. The Whitfield and Pinkney Complaints seek judgments awarding compensatory and punitive damages against the individual defendants, directing an accounting by the individual defendants, directing the Company and the individual defendants to take actions to improve the Company’s governance and procedures, and awarding the costs and disbursements of the action, including attorneys’ fees, accountants’ and experts’ fees, costs, and expenses. On December 16, 2024, the court consolidated the Whitfield and Pinkney Complaints into a single action and stayed the consolidated derivative action.
The Company disputes the allegations of wrongdoing and intends to defend itself vigorously in these matters. The Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss that may result from these lawsuits or to determine whether such loss, if any, would have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
From time to time, the Company is involved in litigation and other legal proceedings, including matters related to product liability claims, commercial disputes and intellectual property claims, as well as regulatory, employment, and other claims related to its business. The Company accrues for legal claims when, and to the extent that, amounts associated with the claims become probable and are reasonably estimable. If the reasonable estimate of a known or probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of a loss to be recorded. Estimates of probable losses resulting from these matters are inherently difficult to predict. The actual costs of resolving legal claims may be substantially higher or lower than the amounts accrued for those claims. For those matters as to which the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss, the Company is not able to determine whether the loss will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
During the third quarter of 2025, a final judgment was entered relating to a dispute with a potential supplier for COVID-19 pandemic raw materials and services, which required the Company to pay monetary damages of $10.8 million, which was paid in full in the fourth quarter of 2025. Consistent with ASC 450, for the three months ended April 2, 2023, the Company accrued reserves of $1.4 million for this matter, representing the minimum amount in the then-estimable range of loss. The Company accrued additional reserves of $9.4 million for this matter in the third quarter of 2025. Following the payment of $10.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, there was no remaining accrual for this matter as of fiscal year ended 2025.
Management believes that all current legal actions, to which the Company is able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss, in the aggregate, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company. However, the resolution of, or increase in any accruals for, one or more matters may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and cash flows.
Licensing Arrangements
The Company has entered into various licensing and royalty agreements, which largely require payments by the Company based on specified product sales, as well as the achievement of specified milestones. The Company had royalty and license expenses relating to those agreements of approximately $14.0 million, $18.5 million and $21.8 million for fiscal years ended 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 19, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 29, 2024 | |
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.