Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (“Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report may be forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the Company’s future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, including, among others, statements regarding the Company’s expected growth and future capital expenditures are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “likely,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue” and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions (although not all forward-looking statement may contain such words). The Company cautions you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
There are or will be important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following:
•any failure on the Company’s part to protect and maintain its brand and reputation, or the impact on its brand or reputation of third-party events or actions outside of its control;
•risks associated with the Company’s information technology and software, including those relating to any future data breach or other cybersecurity incident;
•the potential disruption of the TIC or S&A industries by technological advances in artificial intelligence;
•the Company’s ability to innovate, adapt to changing customer needs and successfully introduce new products and services in response to changes in the Company’s industries and technological advances;
•the Company’s ability to compete in its industries and the effects of increased competition from its competitors;
•risks associated with conducting business outside the United States, including those relating to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; enhanced trade, import or export restrictions; and global, regional or political instability;
•risks associated with the Company’s operations in China, which subject the Company and UL-CCIC Company Limited, the Company’s joint venture with the China Certification & Inspection (Group) Co., Ltd. (“CCIC”), to China’s complex and rapidly evolving laws, which may be interpreted, applied or enforced inconsistently or in ways inconsistent with its current operations, as well as risks associated with the fact that the Chinese government has the power to exercise significant oversight and discretion over, and intervene in and influence, its business operations in China;
•the relationship between the United States and China and between the Company and CCIC, as well as changes in U.S. and Chinese regulations affecting the Company’s business operations in China;
•any failure on the Company’s part to attract, hire or retain its key employees, including its senior leadership and its skilled and trained engineering, technical and professional personnel;
•the level of the Company’s customers’ satisfaction and any failure on its part to properly and timely perform its services, meet its contractual obligations or fulfil its customers’ needs;
•changes to the relevant regulatory frameworks or private sector requirements, including any requirement that the Company accept third-party test results or certifications of components, end products, processes or systems or any changes that result in a reduction in required inspections, tests or certifications or harmonized international or cross-industry benchmarks and standards;
•the Company’s ability to adequately maintain, protect and enhance its intellectual property, including its registered UL-in-a-circle certification mark and other certification marks;
•the Company’s ability to implement its growth strategies and initiatives successfully;
•the Company’s reliance on third parties, including subcontractors and outside laboratories;
•the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain the requisite licenses, approvals, accreditations and delegations of authority necessary to conduct its business;
•the outcomes of current and future legal proceedings;
•the Company’s level of indebtedness and future cash needs;
•failure to generate sufficient cash to service the Company’s indebtedness;
•a change in the assumptions the Company uses to value its goodwill or intangible assets, or the impairment of its goodwill or intangible assets;
•constraints imposed on the Company’s ability to operate its business or make necessary capital investments due to the Company’s outstanding indebtedness;
•the increased expenses and responsibilities associated with being a public company;
•the significant influence that UL Standards & Engagement has over the Company, including pursuant to its rights under the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the Stockholder Agreement with UL Standards & Engagement;
•natural disasters and other catastrophic events, including pandemics and the rapid spread of contagious illnesses;
•changes in tax laws in jurisdictions in which we operate or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our or our affiliates tax returns; and
•the other factors discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in the “Risk Factors” in Part I Item 1A of this Annual Report.
The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with the other cautionary statements included in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I Item 1A of this Annual Report and the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the Company’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what the Company anticipates. Many of the important factors that will determine these results are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as otherwise required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. If the Company updates one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict which will arise. In addition, the Company cannot assess the impact of each factor on the Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company, or others acting on the Company’s behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.
In addition, statements that “the Company believes” and similar statements reflect the Company’s beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this Annual Report, and while the Company believes such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and the Company’s statements should not be read to indicate that the Company has conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
You should read this Annual Report and the documents that the Company references in this Annual Report with the understanding that the Company’s actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what the Company expects.
Our Company
UL Solutions Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “UL Solutions”, the “Company”, “we”, “our”, and “us”) is a global safety science leader that provides Testing, Inspection and Certification (“TIC”) services and related software and advisory offerings to customers worldwide. We work for a safer world. Our mission drives our actions, inspires our employees and is the key to our success. We strive to be our customers’ most trusted science-based safety, security and sustainability partner. Our history dates back to our founding in 1894 as part of the nonprofit Underwriters Electrical Bureau, a predecessor to Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (“UL Research Institutes”), ULSE Inc. (“UL Standards & Engagement”) and UL Solutions. UL Research Institutes is the sole member of UL Standards & Engagement, which controls the majority of the voting power of our common stock.
As the largest TIC services provider headquartered in North America (by revenue) with a global network of laboratories, we provided a comprehensive set of product safety, security and sustainability solutions to more than 80,000 customers across over 110 countries in 2024. Our distinguished heritage and our long history of operating at the forefront of safety science enables us to achieve and maintain more than 650 technical accreditations and 76 commercial software solutions, and to remain active in over 1,300 standards panels and technical committees globally, which underpins the expertise we offer to our customers. Furthermore, we offer over 400 independent third-party conformity assessment services around the world and are capable of testing and certifying against over 4,000 global standards, which affords us vast insight into the safety of products across a wide range of end markets and geographies. We are the owner of the iconic UL Mark that appears on billions of products around the world. We offer our customers global market access services that help them ensure the safety and quality of their products while also supporting their efforts to manage the broader risks they face throughout their product lifecycle processes.
The outsourced product TIC market, where we currently focus, is served by our Industrial and Consumer segments, which provide comprehensive testing, inspection and certification services to customers across a broad array of end markets. Our Software and Advisory (“S&A”) segment is a global provider of software, data and advisory solutions, enabling our customers to manage complex regulatory requirements, deliver supply chain transparency and operationalize sustainability. We generate revenue in these segments and the following service categories: Certification Testing; Ongoing Certification Services; Non-certification Testing and Other Services; and Software. As the global economy continues to evolve and becomes more digital and inter-connected, our customers continue to seek ways to bridge traditional TIC needs with next generation cloud-based software and services to better mitigate risk and enhance their business performance.