16. BUSINESS SEGMENTS
The Company has operating segments comprising three strategic business units: EES, CSS and UBS. These operating segments are equivalent to the Company’s reportable segments.
The President and Chief Executive Officer serves as the Company’s Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”). The CODM allocates resources and evaluates the performance of the Company’s reportable segments based on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“adjusted EBITDA”), which is the Company’s measure of segment profit or loss. The CODM considers budget-to-actual and year-over-year variances for net sales and adjusted EBITDA when making decisions about allocating resources to the segments.
The Company incurs corporate costs primarily related to treasury, tax, information technology, legal and other centralized functions. The Company also has various corporate assets. Segment assets may not include jointly used assets, but segment results include depreciation expense or other allocations related to those assets. Interest expense and other non-operating items are either not allocated to the segments or reviewed on a segment basis. Corporate expenses and assets not directly identifiable with a reportable segment are reported in the tables below to reconcile the reportable segments to the consolidated financial statements.
As previously described in Note 2, “Accounting Policies,” the reportable segment information for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 for the EES and CSS reportable segments has been recast to conform to the current year presentation.
The following is a description of each of the Company’s reportable segments and their business activities.
Electrical & Electronic Solutions
The EES segment serves customers in over 50 countries and supplies a broad range of products and solutions primarily to construction, industrial and original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers. The EES product portfolio includes a broad range of electrical equipment and supplies, automation and connected devices (the “Internet of Things” or “IoT”), security, lighting, wire and cable, safety, and maintenance, repair and operating (“MRO”) products from industry-leading manufacturing partners. The EES service portfolio includes solutions to improve project execution, direct and indirect manufacturing supply chain optimization programs, lighting and renewables advisory services, and digital and automation solutions to improve safety and productivity.
Communications & Security Solutions
The CSS segment serves customers in over 50 countries and is a global leader in data center, network infrastructure and security solutions. CSS sells directly to end-users or through an extensive network of channel partners, including data communications contractors, security and network integrators, professional audio/visual integrators, and systems integrators. Beyond its core portfolio, CSS provides a wide range of professional A/V, safety, facilities, and energy management solutions. The full CSS product portfolio is frequently coupled with services designed to enhance efficiency and productivity across all customer segments globally. These services include data center services, advisory, installation enhancement, project deployment, supply chain solutions, and management platforms.
Utility & Broadband Solutions
The UBS segment serves customers primarily in the U.S. and Canada and provides products and services to investor owned utilities, electric power cooperatives and municipalities, as well as global service providers, wireless providers, broadband operators and the contractors that service these customers. The products sold include wire and cable, transformers, transmission and distribution hardware, switches, protective devices, connectors, lighting, conduit, fiber and power cable, connectivity products, pole line hardware, racks, cabinets, safety and MRO products, and point-to-point wireless devices. The UBS segment also offers a complete set of service solutions to improve customer supply chain efficiencies.
The following tables present information about the Company’s reportable segments and reconcile adjusted EBITDA by segment, which is the Company’s measure of segment profit or loss, to income before income taxes on a consolidated basis for the periods presented:
Year Ended December 31, 2025
(In millions)EESCSSUBSReportable Segments Total
Net sales$8,955.5$9,101.0$5,454.4$23,510.9
Less:
Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation and amortization)6,877.07,185.04,476.918,538.9
Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses(1)(3)
885.1683.7236.11,804.9
Other segment items(2)
475.8432.9178.61,087.3
Adjusted EBITDA$717.6$799.4$562.8$2,079.8
Adjusted EBITDA margin %8.0 %8.8 %10.3 %
Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA
Depreciation and amortization160.8
Other expense, net
77.8
Stock-based compensation expense(3)
11.2
Unallocated amounts (Corporate):
Selling, general and administrative expenses638.0
Interest expense, net(4)
386.7
Depreciation and amortization36.8
Other income, net(87.4)
Income before income taxes$855.9
(1) Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses includes salaries, benefits, commissions, incentives, temporary labor, and other payroll expenses.
(2) Other segment items primarily includes allocated expenses (which includes employee-related allocations), transportation costs, facility costs (including rent and utilities), employee expenses (including travel and entertainment), credit losses, real estate and personal property taxes, professional and consulting fees, supplies, and sales promotion expenses.
(3) Stock-based compensation expense is excluded from selling, general and administrative payroll expenses, as this is an adjustment to calculate adjusted EBITDA.
(4) The reportable segments do not incur interest expense as these costs are centrally controlled through the Corporate treasury function.
Year Ended December 31, 2024
(In millions)EESCSSUBSReportable Segments Total
Net sales$8,391.7$7,692.1$5,735.0$21,818.8
Less:
Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation and amortization)6,401.06,035.24,670.017,106.2
Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses(1)(3)
842.1626.6244.91,713.6
Other segment items(2)
448.8391.5176.71,017.0
Adjusted EBITDA$699.8$638.8$643.4$1,982.0
Adjusted EBITDA margin %8.3 %8.3 %11.2 %
Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA
Depreciation and amortization146.8
Other income, net
(50.9)
Stock-based compensation expense(3)
14.1
Unallocated amounts (Corporate):
Selling, general and administrative expenses561.5
Interest expense, net(4)
364.9
Depreciation and amortization36.4
Other income, net(41.8)
Income before income taxes$951.0
(1) Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses includes salaries, benefits, commissions, incentives, temporary labor, and other payroll expenses.
(2) Other segment items primarily includes allocated expenses (which includes employee-related allocations), transportation costs, facility costs (including rent and utilities), employee expenses (including travel and entertainment), credit losses, professional and consulting fees, supplies, real estate and personal property taxes, sales promotion expenses, and gains (losses) on the sale, disposal, or abandonment of property and equipment.
(3) Stock-based compensation expense is excluded from selling, general and administrative payroll expenses, as this is an adjustment to calculate adjusted EBITDA.
(4) The reportable segments do not incur interest expense as these costs are centrally controlled through the Corporate treasury function.
Year Ended December 31, 2023
(In millions)EESCSSUBSReportable Segments Total
Net sales$8,449.8$7,312.7$6,622.7$22,385.2
Less:
Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation and amortization)6,455.75,645.15,440.717,541.5
Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses(1)(3)
861.0605.2275.51,741.7
Other segment items(2)
426.9357.4167.2951.5
Adjusted EBITDA$706.2$705.0$739.3$2,150.5
Adjusted EBITDA margin %8.4 %9.6 %11.2 %
Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA
Depreciation and amortization140.0
Other expense, net
82.9
Stock-based compensation expense(3)
14.2
Unallocated amounts (Corporate):
Selling, general and administrative expenses548.6
Interest expense, net(4)
389.3
Depreciation and amortization41.3
Other income, net
(57.8)
Income before income taxes$992.0
(1) Selling, general and administrative payroll expenses includes salaries, benefits, commissions, incentives, temporary labor, and other payroll expenses.
(2) Other segment items primarily includes allocated expenses (which includes employee-related allocations), transportation costs, facility costs (including rent and utilities), employee expenses (including travel and entertainment), credit losses, professional and consulting fees, supplies, real estate and personal property taxes, sales promotion expenses, and gains (losses) on the sale, disposal, or abandonment of property and equipment.
(3) Stock-based compensation expense is excluded from selling, general and administrative payroll expenses, as this is an adjustment to calculate adjusted EBITDA.
(4) The reportable segments do not incur interest expense as these costs are centrally controlled through the Corporate treasury function.
The following table sets forth depreciation and amortization by reportable segment for the periods presented:
Year Ended December 31,
(In millions)202520242023
EES$50.5$46.4$42.9
CSS77.771.972.1
UBS32.628.525.0
Reportable segments total
160.8146.8140.0
Corporate36.836.441.3
Total$197.6$183.2$181.3
The following table sets forth other (income) expense, net by reportable segment for the periods presented, which primarily consists of net foreign currency exchange (gains) losses and the gain on the divestiture of the WIS business for the year ended December 31, 2024:
Year Ended December 31,
(In millions)202520242023
EES$16.0$9.1$10.1
CSS64.461.274.2
UBS(2.6)(121.2)(1.4)
Reportable segments total
77.8(50.9)82.9
Corporate(87.4)(41.8)(57.8)
Total$(9.6)$(92.7)$25.1
The following table sets forth capital expenditures by reportable segment for the periods presented:
Year Ended December 31,
(In millions)202520242023
EES$6.0$4.5$10.3
CSS8.119.27.9
UBS18.315.819.5
Reportable segments total
32.439.537.7
Corporate67.455.254.6
Total$99.8$94.7$92.3
The following table sets forth total assets by reportable segment for the periods presented:
As of December 31,
(In millions)20252024
EES$4,860.8 $4,431.8 
CSS6,827.0 6,034.7 
UBS3,798.6 3,497.5 
Reportable segments total
15,486.4 13,964.0 
Corporate(1)
1,008.5 1,097.4 
Total$16,494.9 $15,061.4 
(1)Total assets for Corporate primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents, deferred income taxes, property, buildings and equipment, capitalized cloud computing arrangement costs and pension assets.
The following table sets forth tangible long-lived assets, which include property, buildings and equipment, and operating lease assets, by geographic area:
As of December 31,
20252024
(In millions)  
United States$1,046.9 $893.9 
Canada167.3 177.5 
Other International(1)
140.9 106.6 
Total $1,355.1 $1,178.0 
(1)    No individual other international country’s tangible long-lived assets are material.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 13, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 14, 2025
2023Feb 20, 2024
2022Feb 21, 2023
2021Feb 25, 2022
2020Mar 1, 2021
2019Feb 24, 2020
2018Feb 27, 2019
2017Feb 22, 2018
2016Feb 22, 2017
2015Feb 22, 2016

About Segments Disclosures

Segment disclosures break a company into its reportable operating units, revealing revenue, profit, and asset allocation that consolidated financial statements obscure. Under ASC 280, segments must match how the chief operating decision maker views the business, providing a window into internal management structure and resource allocation priorities.

Key signals: compare segment margins to identify which units drive profitability and which destroy value. Watch for changes in the number of reportable segments — segment aggregation or disaggregation often coincides with strategic shifts or attempts to obscure declining performance. Intersegment elimination patterns reveal internal pricing practices. The reconciliation between segment totals and consolidated figures exposes corporate overhead allocation and unallocated items. Geographic revenue concentration highlights regulatory and currency exposure. Compare segment-level capital expenditure against segment revenue to assess where management is investing for future growth versus harvesting existing assets.