Itron, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2024

Available Information

Documents we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are available free of charge under the Investors section of our website at www.itron.com (http://www.itron.com) as soon as practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. In addition, these documents are available at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). The information posted on or accessible through our website is not part of or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

General

Itron is a global leader in grid edge intelligence, energy and water management, smart city applications, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and critical infrastructure and related services. For utilities and cities, we build innovative systems, improve operating efficiencies, expand resiliency, enhance safety, and increase resourcefulness by helping our customers make the most of the energy and water they manage. By safeguarding invaluable natural resources, we seek to improve the quality of life for people around the world.

Itron provides an integrated, intelligent portfolio of endpoints (such as sensors, switches, and meters) that collect data, control devices, and take action in the field. Our communication networks harvest that data and deliver it where it's needed; and software and services turn that data into insights for analysis and action. With Itron, our customers achieve more efficient operations, ensure system resilience, better engage consumers, keep pace with demand, and enhance profitability.

We have nearly 50 years of experience supporting utilities and cities in the management of their data and critical infrastructure needs. Incorporated in 1977 with an initial focus on meter reading services and technology, we entered the electricity meter manufacturing business with the acquisition of Schlumberger Electricity Metering in 2004. In 2007, we expanded our presence in global meter manufacturing and systems with the acquisition of Actaris Metering Systems SA. In 2017, we completed our acquisition of Comverge, which enabled us to offer integrated cloud-based demand response, energy efficiency, and customer engagement solutions. In 2018, we strengthened our ability to deliver a broader set of solutions and increased our pace of growth and innovation in the utility, smart city, and broader IIoT markets with the acquisition of Silver Spring Networks, Inc.

Through acquisitions, organic growth, and our focus on innovation, Itron is a leading provider of technology to support better decision making, visibility, and control at the grid edge. By digitizing and automating infrastructure, Itron helps utilities and cities operate more efficiently, increase grid resilience and reliability, integrate distributed energy resources, and provide responsible energy and water management.

We will continue to innovate and support open standards and interoperability with a flexible technology platform that enables our customers to meet their needs directly or via our ecosystem of partners. We support a worldwide network of connected devices and sensors, and we will continue to develop more applications, new opportunities, and value-added outcomes for our customers in the future.

The following is a discussion of our solutions, markets, and operating segments. Refer to Part II, Item 7: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Part II, Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for specific segment results.

Our Business

Protecting our world's energy and water is essential. Balancing supply with growing and changing demand, aging infrastructure, increasing consumer expectations, physical security, cybersecurity of assets, extreme weather, sustainability, and resource efficiency are all challenging our customers' ability to transition to a cleaner energy and water economy - while continuing to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable service.

At Itron, we are committed to creating a more resourceful world—one where energy, water, and city resources are managed more safely, securely, and reliably, to help improve day-to-day life and promote the well-being of people around the world. We facilitate new ways for cities and utilities to work together so they can use data captured by intelligent endpoints, sensors, and systems to cost-effectively leverage their infrastructure to deliver multiple services and applications on a reliable, intelligent platform.

Itron helps our customers adapt to a rapidly changing world and to address a number of macro trends, including:

• Infrastructure – such as aging utility infrastructure, grid complexity, grid security, safety, asset monitoring and management, and incorporating the proliferation of distributed energy resources, such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and storage, into the grid
• Environmental – such as extreme weather, resource scarcity, and societal demand for greater sustainability and decarbonization of energy and power
• Social – such as enhanced customer experience, critical-need consumers, privacy, urbanization, population increase, and the management of data and incorporating IIoT technology into their existing operations

Our solutions include smart networks, software, services, devices, sensors, and data analytics operating upon a technology platform that allows our customers to address the changing macro trends listed above, as well as the pressing industry challenges to better manage and control assets, intelligently benchmark, secure revenue, lower operational costs, improve customer service, develop new business models and revenue streams, improve safety, and enable efficient, sustainable management of valuable resources. We use de-identified data to enhance our solutions, services, and products. By analyzing aggregated, anonymized data, we gain valuable insights that drive innovation and improve customer experiences while protecting the privacy and confidentiality of customers and consumers. Our comprehensive solutions and data analytics also help our customers address operational issues including increasing demand on resources, non-technical loss, leak detection, environmental and regulatory compliance, integrating renewable and distributed energy sources, and improving operational reliability.

Our solutions include technology, software, and services delivered as part of a standalone, one-time purchase or an end-to-end solution over multiple years. The portfolio includes hardware products used for:

• measurement, control, or sensing of electricity, gas, water, and other infrastructure assets
• a combination of endpoints and network infrastructure with embedded intelligence that is designed and sold as a complete solution to acquire and transport application-specific data
• distribution automation - intelligent communication for the modern grid allowing secure, low and medium-voltage distribution-system automation and control
• distributed energy resource management (DERMs) to connect, analyze, and optimize distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar installations and electric vehicles, water operations and management, gas operations and safety applications
• value-added services, software, and products that organize, analyze, and interpret data to gain insights, make decisions, and inform actions

We also offer managed services, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), technical support services, licensed hardware technology, and consulting services.

Industry Drivers

Utilities and municipalities are experiencing rapid change related to demand, affordability, reliability, and sustainability, which is impacting how they operate critical infrastructure, manage scarce resources, address impacts of climate disruption, and interact with their customers. Efficiently managing resources within energy, water, and cities is a global priority, as increasing populations and resource consumption, along with extreme weather events, grid complexity from distributed energy resources, and energy requirements driven by data centers and growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI), increase the stress on aging infrastructure. The growing demand for energy, water, and municipal services coupled with the proliferation of renewable energy sources, smart communicating devices, sensors, and multiple data-producing technologies, as well as the growing need to manage distributed energy resources, is causing providers to rethink how they operate and service their cities. This evolution comes at a time when utilities and municipalities are challenged by cost constraints, regulatory requirements, environmental concerns, safety, and resource scarcity.

To address these challenges, utilities and cities are interested in technological innovations across a networked platform, utilizing grid edge intelligence as a key enabler to build and maintain critical infrastructure that can:

• efficiently and effectively operate energy and water systems that are safe, reliable, and resilient
• reduce the risk and impact of natural disasters
• independently identify if repairs or maintenance are needed, and identify potential problems before they occur
• deliver enhanced, more customized services
• accommodate next-generation services through shared infrastructure between utilities and cities/municipalities
• provide actionable insights for asset management

Our Operating Segments

We operate under the Itron brand worldwide and manage and report under three operating segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The following is a description of each of the three segments:

Device Solutions – This segment primarily includes hardware products used for measurement, control, or sensing that can have communications capability embedded for use with our broader Itron systems, i.e., hardware-based products that may be part of a complete end-to-end solution. Examples from the Device Solutions portfolio include: standard endpoints that are shipped without Itron communications, such as our standard electricity, gas, and water meters for a variety of global markets and adhering to regulations and standards within those markets, as well as our heat and allocation products; communicating meters that may be sold as part of an Itron end-to-end solution and designed to meet market requirements; and the implementation and installation of communicating and non-communicating devices.

Networked Solutions – This segment primarily includes a combination of communicating devices (e.g., smart meters, modules, endpoints, and sensors), network infrastructure, network design services, and associated head-end management and application software designed and sold as a complete solution for acquiring and transporting robust application-specific data. Networked Solutions includes products and software for the implementation, installation, and management of communicating devices and data networks. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions supported by this segment include automated meter reading (AMR); advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for electricity, water, and gas; distributed energy resource management (DERMs); grid edge devices; distribution automation communications; smart street lighting; smart city sensors and applications; and leak detection and applications for both gas and water systems. Our IIoT platform allows utility and smart city applications to be run and managed on a flexible multi-purpose network.

Outcomes – This segment primarily includes our value-added, enhanced software and services in which we enable grid edge intelligence and manage, organize, analyze, and interpret raw, anonymized data using artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistical modeling, and other analytics. This allows us to help utilities improve decision making, maximize operational profitability, engage consumers, enhance resource efficiency, improve grid resiliency and reliability, and deliver value for utilities and smart cities. Outcomes supports high-value use cases, such as data management, grid operations, distributed intelligence, AMI operations, gas distribution and safety, water operations management, revenue assurance, DERMs, energy forecasting, consumer engagement, smart payment, and fleet energy resource management. Utilities leverage these outcomes to unlock the capabilities of their networks and devices, improve the productivity of their workforce, increase the reliability of their operations, manage and optimize the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs), address grid complexity, and enhance the customer experience. Revenue from these offerings are primarily recurring in nature and would include any direct management of Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and other third-parties' products on behalf of our end customers.

Bookings and Backlog of Orders

Bookings for a reported period represent customer contracts and purchase orders received during the period for hardware, software, and services that have met certain conditions, such as regulatory and/or contractual approval. Total backlog represents committed but undelivered products and services for contracts and purchase orders at period-end. Twelve-month backlog represents the portion of total backlog that reflects our understanding of customer's desired deployment over the next 12 months. The actual revenue recognized and timing of revenue earned from backlog will vary based on actual currency rates at the time of shipment, availability of critical supply components, and adjusted customer project timing. Backlog is not a complete measure of our future revenues as we also receive book-and-ship orders and frame contracts. Bookings and backlog vary from period to period primarily due to the timing of large project awards. In addition, annual or multi-year contracts are subject to rescheduling due to the long-term nature of the contracts. Certain of our customers have the right to cancel contracts, but we do not have a history of any significant cancellations. Beginning total backlog, plus bookings, minus revenues, will not equal ending total backlog due to miscellaneous contract adjustments, foreign currency fluctuations, and other factors. Total bookings and backlog include certain contracts with a termination for convenience clause, which will not agree to the total transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations disclosed in Part II, Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17: Revenues.

In millions

Sales and Distribution

We use a combination of direct and indirect sales channels to serve our customers. A direct sales force is utilized for larger utility customers, with which we have long-established relationships. This direct sales force is focused on solution selling, solving problems and business challenges, and delivering valuable outcomes to our utility and smart city customers. For smaller utilities and most municipalities, we often use an indirect sales channel that extends the reach of Itron's solutions by providing trusted partners with the right tools, training, and technology to grow their business, deliver results, and help these customers better manage energy and water. These channels consist of distributors, agents, partners, and meter manufacturer representatives.

No single customer represented more than 10% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022. Our 10 largest customers in each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, accounted for approximately 33%, 36%, and 32% of total revenues.

Manufacturing

Our products require a wide variety of components and materials, which are subject to price, tax/tariff, and supply fluctuations. We enter into standard contracts in the ordinary course of business, which can include purchase orders for specific quantities based on market prices, as well as open-ended agreements that provide for estimated quantities over an extended shipment period, typically up to one year at an established unit cost. Although we have multiple sources of supply for many of our material requirements, certain components and raw materials are supplied by limited or sole-source vendors, and our ability to procure under certain contracts depends on the availability of these materials. Refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors for further discussion related to manufacturing and supply risks.

Our manufacturing facilities are located throughout the world, an overview of which is presented in Item 2: Properties. While we manufacture and assemble a portion of our products, we outsource the manufacturing of some products and sub-assemblies to various manufacturing partners and strive to create an efficient, resilient, and cost-effective structure. This approach allows us to reduce the costs related to our manufacturing overhead and inventory, provides geographic diversity, and allows us to adjust more quickly to changing customer demand. Our manufacturing partners produce our sub-assemblies and products, using design specifications, quality assurance programs, and standards that we establish, and procure components and assemble our products based on demand forecasts. The forecasts represent our estimates of future demand for our products based upon historical trends and analysis from our sales and product management functions, as adjusted for overall market conditions.

Partners

In connection with delivering solutions and systems to our customers, we frequently partner with third-party partners to provide hardware, software, or services, e.g., meter installation and communication network equipment and infrastructure. Due to the interoperable, open-standards based nature of our platform, we have also cultivated a highly diverse and growing ecosystem of partners and third-party developers who can create complementary solutions for our customers that run on the same network and within the same platform framework.

Our ability to perform on our contractual obligations with our customers is dependent on these partners meeting their obligations to us. Refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors for further discussion related to third-party vendors and strategic partners.

Research and Development

Our research and development is focused on both expanding existing technology and developing innovative new technology for critical infrastructure in electricity, natural gas, water, heat, smart city, and DERMs verticals. This includes endpoints, sensing and control devices, data collection software, communication technologies, data warehousing, software applications, and the IIoT. We invested approximately $215 million, $209 million, and $185 million in research and development in 2024, 2023, and 2022, which represented 9% of total revenues for 2024 and 10% of total revenues for 2023 and 2022. Refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors for further discussion related to costs of developing competitive products and services.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2024, we had 5,788 people in our workforce, including 5,040 permanent employees. We have not experienced significant employee work stoppages and our employee relations are deemed to be good.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we promote a culture of inclusion and diversity. We foster this culture through a variety of voluntary programs available to our employees. We offer wages and a range of company-paid benefits we believe are competitive with other companies in our industry and in the markets we serve.

The table below provides the breakdown of our employees by region and self-identified gender:

(1) These numbers do not include contingent workers (748 as of December 31, 2024).

Competition

We enable utilities and cities to safely, securely, and reliably deliver critical infrastructure services to communities around the world. Our portfolio of smart networks, software, services, meters, and sensors help our customers better manage energy, water, and city infrastructure resources for the people they serve. Consequently, we operate within a large and complex competitive landscape, and our competitors range from small companies to large global entities. Some of our competitors have diversified product portfolios and participate in multiple geographic markets, while others focus on specific regional markets and/or certain types of products, including some low-cost suppliers of devices based in Asia. Our primary competitors include LM Ericsson Telephone Company, Landis+Gyr, Advanced Energy Industries, and Xylem, Inc.

We believe that our competitive advantage is based on our in-depth knowledge of the industries we serve, our capacity to innovate, and our ability to provide complete end-to-end integrated solutions at scale. We also differentiate ourselves with an intelligent IIoT platform that is solution, device, and transport agnostic—a platform that can be backwards compatible, able to run a multitude of applications and solutions, is highly secure, is fully integrated into our portfolio, is highly interoperable, captures relays, and leverages high-resolution data for near real-time decision making. The platform involves an ever-growing, diverse ecosystem of partners and third-party developers who can create and deploy specific point solutions creating greater value for our customers.

Refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors for a discussion of the competitive pressures we face.

Strategic Alliances

We pursue strategic alliances with other companies in areas where collaboration can produce product advancement and acceleration of entry into new markets. The objectives and goals of a strategic alliance can include one or more of the following: technology exchange, research and development, joint sales and marketing, or access to new geographic markets. Refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors for a discussion of risks associated with strategic alliances.

Intellectual Property

Our patents and patent applications cover a range of technologies that relate to standard metering, smart metering solutions and technology, meter data management software, knowledge application solutions, and IIoT. We also rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets to protect our products and technologies. Disputes over the ownership, registration, and enforcement of intellectual property rights arise in the ordinary course of our business. While we believe patents and trademarks are important to our operations and, in aggregate, constitute valuable assets, no single patent or trademark, or group of patents or trademarks, is critical to the success of our business. We license some of our technology to other companies, some of which are our competitors.

Governmental Regulations

In the ordinary course of our business, we are impacted by many governmental regulations, including environmental regulations. We believe that we are materially in compliance with all federal, state, and local governmental laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the operation of our business. There are no known regulations pending that will have a substantial adverse impact on our business, revenue, earnings, or cash flows. However, if new or amended laws or regulations impose significant operational restrictions and compliance requirements upon the Company or its products, the Company's business, capital expenditures, results of operations, financial condition and competitive position could be altered.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Set forth below are the names, ages, and titles of our executive officers as of February 25, 2025.

Thomas L. Deitrich is President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Deitrich was appointed to his current position and to the Board of Directors in August 2019. Mr. Deitrich joined Itron in October 2015, serving as Itron's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until his promotion to CEO. From 2012 to September 2015, Mr. Deitrich was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Digital Networking at Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (Freescale), and he served as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Freescale's RF, Analog, Sensor, and Cellular Products Group from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Deitrich had other roles of increasing responsibility at Freescale from 2006 to 2009. Prior to Freescale, Mr. Deitrich worked for Flextronics, Sony-Ericsson/Ericsson, and GE. Mr. Deitrich is a director of ON Semiconductor Corporation, a NASDAQ listed company.

Joan S. Hooper is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Hooper was appointed to this role in June 2017. Prior to joining Itron, Ms. Hooper was Chief Financial Officer of CHC Helicopter from 2011 to July 2015. Following Ms. Hooper's departure from CHC, CHC filed a voluntary petition of relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in May 2016, and CHC emerged from bankruptcy in March 2017. Prior to CHC, she held several executive finance positions at Dell, Inc. from 2003 to 2010, including Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for its Global Public and Americas business units, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Chief Accounting Officer.

Laurie A. Hahn is Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Ms. Hahn has more than 30 years of experience as a senior human resource professional. Ms. Hahn was promoted to this role in April 2023. In this role, Ms. Hahn is responsible for Itron's HR operations, in-business HR, talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, inclusion and diversity, learning and development, and health, safety, and environment functions. Ms. Hahn joined Itron in February 2016 and has served in several in-business HR positions. Prior to joining Itron, Ms. Hahn held multiple global HR leadership positions with Motorola and Freescale Semiconductor. Ms. Hahn holds a BA in English and a Masters in Instructional Design, both from The University of Texas. Ms. Hahn is a member of the Chancellor's Counsel at the University of Texas, which advocates for higher education and health care.

Justin K. Patrick is Senior Vice President, Device Solutions, where he is responsible for Itron's strategy to become a leading global provider of measurement, safety, and operational devices for utilities and cities. Mr. Patrick joined Itron in January 2020. From 2018 to 2020, Mr. Patrick was Vice President & General Manager, Residential Products at Johnson Controls International (JCI). Before that role, he was Vice President & General Manager, Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems and Ductless from 2014 to 2017, and Director, Channel Strategy and Marketing from 2010 to 2014 at JCI. Prior to his time at JCI, Mr. Patrick held a sales leadership role at the Auer Steel and Heating Supply Company, and at Carrier Corporation he had roles of increasing responsibility culminating in general management. Prior to his civilian career, Mr. Patrick served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy.

John F. Marcolini is Senior Vice President, Networked Solutions, where he is responsible for product development, marketing, and overall strategy for Itron's global networking platforms and smart cities strategy and solutions. Mr. Marcolini was appointed to this role in July 2020. Mr. Marcolini joined Itron in January 2018 as part of Itron's acquisition of SSNI as the Vice President of product management, responsible for product strategy and lifecycle management across Itron's smart energy, smart city and IIoT portfolios. He has more than 20 years of product management, business development, and customer delivery experience with deep technical knowledge of networking, radio frequency technologies, and IIoT. Mr. Marcolini has also spent many years working with utility customers to deliver and implement complex product deployments.

Donald L. Reeves is Senior Vice President, Outcomes, where he is responsible for Itron's software and services offerings, delivery teams, managed services operations, and customer support. Mr. Reeves was appointed to this role in September 2019. Mr. Reeves joined Itron in January 2018 as part of Itron's acquisition of SSNI, and, from 2016 to 2018, he was SSNI's Chief Technology Officer. From 2005 to 2016, Mr. Reeves held several managed services and engineering positions at SSNI. Prior to joining SSNI, Mr. Reeves served as Vice President of Engineering at Black Pearl from 2003 to 2004 and was Vice President of Engineering at Commerce One from 2001 to 2003, and prior to that held leadership positions at several startup technology companies.

Christopher E. Ware is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Ware has more than 25 years of experience as a senior legal advisor and business executive. He joined Itron in March 2021 as Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. In March 2022, he was promoted to Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary and then to Senior Vice President in March 2023. He is responsible for Itron's corporate governance, business legal solutions, compliance and litigation and intellectual property development and protection. Before joining Itron, Mr. Ware served as Executive Director and General Manager - Parts at Johnson Controls International (JCI) from 2018 to 2021. Before that position, Mr. Ware occupied numerous senior legal roles within JCI from 2011 to 2018. He also held roles in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Department of Justice, and several private law firms.

David M. Wright is Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. He was appointed as Chief Accounting Officer in September 2024, and he is responsible for the company's global accounting. Mr. Wright rejoined the Company in September 2018 and has served as Vice President and Corporate Controller beginning in May 2019. He began his career in Deloitte's external audit practice, from 1997 to 2008. He originally joined Itron in October 2008 as Assistant Controller for Technical Accounting followed by roles of increasing responsibility. He served as VP - Accounting, Tax, and External Reporting at Red Lion Hotels Corporation from December 2015 to February 2018 and was interim CFO from April 2016 to April 2017. Mr. Wright is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Washington.

The risks described below could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition. These risk factors do not identify all risks that we face; we could also be affected by other risks that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial. These factors should be carefully reviewed in conjunction with Part II, Item 7: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Many factors affect more than one category, and the factors are not in order of significance or probability of occurrence because they have been grouped by categories.

Business and Industry Risks

Our primary customers are within the utility industry, which has exhibited lengthy sales cycles and irregular capital spending patterns, each of which could cause our operating results to fluctuate significantly.

We derive the majority of our revenues from sales of products and services to utilities. Purchases of our products may be deferred as a result of many factors, including economic downturns, slowdowns in new residential and commercial construction, customers' access to capital, the timing and availability of government subsidies or other incentives, utility specific financial circumstances, mergers and acquisitions, governmental and regulatory decisions, weather conditions, climate disruption, and fluctuating interest rates. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, variability in operating results on an annual and a quarterly basis as a result of these factors.

The industries in which we sell our products and services, in particular the utility industry, are subject to substantial government regulation. For example, regulations have often influenced the frequency of customer meter replacements. Sales cycles for our standalone meter products have typically been based on annual or biennial bid-based agreements. Utilities place purchase orders against these agreements as their inventories decline, which can create fluctuations in our sales volumes.

Sales cycles for smart metering solutions are generally long and unpredictable due to several factors, including budgeting, purchasing, and regulatory approval processes that can take several years to complete. Our utility customers typically issue requests for quotes and proposals, establish evaluation processes, review different technical options with vendors, analyze performance and cost/benefit justifications, and perform a regulatory review, in addition to applying the normal budget approval process. Today, governments around the world are implementing new laws and regulations to promote increased energy efficiency, slow or reverse growth in the consumption of scarce resources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and protect the environment. Many legislative and regulatory initiatives encourage utilities to develop a smart grid infrastructure, and some of these initiatives provide for government subsidies, grants, or other incentives to utilities and other participants in their industry to promote transition to smart grid technologies. If government regulations regarding the smart grid and smart metering are delayed, revised to permit lower or different investment levels in metering infrastructure, or terminated altogether, this could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.

We must continually shift and adapt our products and services mix, which requires substantial judgment and investment.

Our market is characterized by increasing complexity driven by evolving technology including AI, emerging laws and regulation, and the introduction of new competitive products, all of which impact the way our products and services are designed, developed, marketed, and delivered. The shift in, and increasing complexity of, our products and services mix involves judgment and entails risks. In order to successfully design and develop more complex offerings, we must anticipate the right products, solutions, and technologies to meet estimated market demands. These estimates may prove wrong. Additionally, our complex offerings may contain defects when they are first introduced; their release may be delayed due to unforeseen difficulties during product and service design and development; or they may have reliability, quality, or compatibility problems. We may not be able to successfully design workarounds. Any shift in, or increased complexity of, our products and services mix may not be easily understood or adopted by our current or future customers, who may be reluctant to buy, or may delay purchases of, our products and services.

Additionally, our evolving products and services mix could cause us to incur substantial additional costs if we need to materially improve our manufacturing infrastructure, develop new systems to deliver our services, or fundamentally change the way in which we deliver services. Also, if one of our new offerings were competitive to our prior offerings and represented an adequate or superior alternative, customers could decide to abandon prior offerings that produce higher revenue or better margins than the new offering. Therefore, the adaptation to new technologies or standards or the development and launch of new products or services could result in lower revenue, lower margins, and/or higher costs, which could unfavorably impact our financial performance.

Delays in the availability of or shortages in raw materials and component parts used in the manufacture of our products, as well as freight, labor, regulatory compliance, and other ancillary cost increases, could unfavorably impact our revenues and results of operations.

We are impacted by the availability and prices of raw materials and component parts used in the manufacturing process of our products. Raw materials include purchased castings made of metal or alloys (such as brass, which uses copper as its main component, aluminum, stainless steel and cast iron), plastic resins, glass, and other electronic components, such as microprocessors and semiconductors. There are multiple sources for these raw materials and components, but we sometimes rely on single suppliers for certain of these materials. Our inability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials and component parts at favorable prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, including reduced revenue, lower profit margins, and delays in deliveries to customers, which could result in damages or penalties to be paid under the terms of certain of our customer contracts. Since we do not control the production of these raw materials and component parts, there may be delays caused by an interruption in the production or transportation of these materials for reasons that are beyond our control. World commodity markets, inflation, sanctions, tariffs, trade policies, and embargoes may also affect the availability or prices of raw materials or component parts. In addition, there is potential for increased costs on materials to comply with global regulations and other regional requirements. Inflation in our raw materials and component costs, freight charges, sanctions, tariffs, and labor costs may increase above historical levels due to, among other things, the continuing impacts of an uncertain economic environment. Any impacts resulting from tariffs and retaliatory actions by other countries could be substantial. Certain customer arrangements within our backlog may include previously committed pricing, and we may or may not be able to fully recover increased costs through pricing actions with these customers.

Our operations may be adversely impacted if key vendors, strategic partners, and other third parties fail to perform.

Certain of our products, subassemblies, and system components, including most of our circuit boards, are procured from limited or sole sources. We could experience operational difficulties with these sources, including reductions in the availability of production capacity, errors in complying with product specifications, insufficient quality control, failures to meet production deadlines, increases in manufacturing costs, vendors' access to capital, and increased lead times. Additionally, our manufacturers may experience disruptions in their manufacturing operations due to equipment breakdowns, labor strikes or shortages, natural disasters and pandemics, component or material shortages, cybersecurity events (such as ransomware) that lead to extended downtime for the supplier or that lead to Itron intellectual property theft, rogue insiders impacting the quality or integrity of the products, cost increases, or other similar problems. Further, to minimize their inventory risk, our manufacturers may not order components from third-party suppliers with adequate lead time, thereby impacting our ability to meet our demand forecast. If we fail to manage our relationship with our manufacturers effectively, or if they experience operational difficulties, our ability to ship products to our customers and distributors could be impaired, and our competitive position and reputation could be harmed. If we receive shipments of products that fail to comply with our technical specifications, which have been compromised in some manner (specifically integrated circuit chips), or that fail to conform to our quality control standards, and if we are not able to obtain replacement products in a timely manner, we risk revenue losses from the inability to sell those products, increased administrative and shipping costs, and lower profitability. Additionally, if defects are not discovered until after consumers take delivery of our products, those customers could lose confidence in the technical attributes of our products, and our business could be harmed. Although arrangements with these partners may contain provisions for warranty expense reimbursement, we may remain responsible to the customer for warranty service in the event of product defects and could experience an unanticipated product defect or warranty liability. While we rely on partners to adhere to our supplier code of conduct, material violations of the supplier code of conduct could occur.

We have been and could continue to be affected by ongoing global economic impacts, and such impacts could continue to have an adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.

Adverse economic or market conditions, and perceptions or expectations about current or future conditions, such as inflation, rising interest rates, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, recessions, economic sanctions, tariffs, natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics, political instability, wars, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, are beyond our control and could unfavorably affect our business and financial condition. These economic conditions and global events have caused, and may in the future cause, disruptions and volatility in global financial markets, create disruption in customer demand and global supply chains, increase delinquency rates and write offs of customer accounting receivable and other unforeseen consequences. In recent years, our ability to obtain adequate supply of semiconductor components has impacted our ability to service customer demand in a timely manner. Temporary imbalance in supply and demand may create business uncertainties that include costs and availability. Efforts continue with suppliers to improve supply resiliency, including the approval of alternate sources.

Additionally, inflation in our raw materials and component costs, freight charges, sanctions, tariffs, and labor costs may increase above historical levels due to, among other things, the continuing impacts of an uncertain economic environment. We may or may not be able to fully recover these increased costs through pricing actions with our customers. Currently, we have not identified any significant decrease in long-term customer demand for our products and services. Certain of our customer projects have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, delays in deliveries, with revenues originally forecasted in prior periods shifting to future periods.

We face competition, which may result in a loss of market share or price erosion of our products and services.

We face competitive pressures from a variety of companies in each of the markets we serve. Some of our present and potential future competitors have, or may have, substantially greater financial, marketing, technical, or manufacturing resources and, in some cases, have greater name recognition, customer relationships, and experience. These competitors may sell products and services at lower prices in order to gain or grow market share, be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies including AI and changes in customer requirements and may have made or make strategic acquisitions or establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that enhance their ability to address the needs of our prospective customers. Other companies may also drive technological innovation and develop products and services that are equal in quality and performance or superior to our products and services, which could reduce our market position, reduce our overall sales, and require us to invest additional funds in new technology development. In addition, our products and services may experience price erosion if low-cost providers expand their presence in our markets, improve their quality, or form alliances or cooperative relationships with our competitors, or if our products and services become commoditized. For example, some utilities may purchase meters separately from the technology and components that enable network connectivity. The specifications for such meters may require interchangeability, which could lead to further commoditization of the meter, which could unfavorably impact prices and margins. Other events outside our control may also drive pressure on prices, including movement away from manually read meters, government programs, and new construction. Should we fail to compete successfully with current or future competitors or to adequately manage pricing pressure, we could experience material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

If we cannot continue to invest in developing competitive products and services, we may not be able to compete effectively.

Our future success could depend, in part, on our ability to continue to develop, design and manufacture competitive products and services, enhance and sustain our existing products and services, keep pace with technological advances and changing customer requirements, gain international market acceptance, and manage other factors in the markets in which we sell our products and services. AI technology is rapidly evolving and can present additional risks and challenges. Product and service development may require continued investment to maintain our competitive position, and the periods in which we incur significant research and development costs may drive variability in our results of operations. We may not have the necessary capital, or access to capital at acceptable terms, to make these investments. We have made, and expect to continue to make, substantial investments in technology development. However, we may experience unforeseen problems in the development or performance of our technologies or products, which can prevent us from meeting our research and development schedules. New products often require certifications or regulatory approvals before the products can be used, and we cannot be certain our new products will be approved in a timely manner, or at all. Finally, we may not achieve market acceptance of our new products and services.

If we are unable to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, demand for our products and services could suffer.

We believe our success depends on our ability to understand and address our customers' requirements and concerns. This includes our ability to effectively articulate and demonstrate to customers how our products and services meet their needs and to deliver our products timely as committed, with a sufficient level of quality. We face concerns about the security of our products and services and our ability to adequately protect our customers' data and their customers' data, specifically regarding detailed energy usage information. In addition, we continue to work toward easing general concerns about the safety and perceived health risks of using radio frequency communications, as well as privacy concerns of monitoring home appliance energy usage, which have had some adverse publicity in the past. If we were unable to overcome these real and perceived risks, we could face customer dissatisfaction, dilution of our brand, decreased overall demand for our services, and loss of revenue. In addition, our inability to meet customer performance, safety, and service expectations may damage our reputation and could consequently limit our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers, which would adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and unfavorably impact our operating results.

Product defects could disrupt our operations and result in harm to our reputation and financial position.

Our products are complex and may contain defects or experience failures due to any number of issues in design, materials, deployment, and/or use. If any of our products contain a defect, a compatibility or interoperability issue, or other types of errors, we may have to devote significant time and resources to identify and correct the issue. We provide product warranties for varying lengths of time and establish allowances in anticipation of warranty expenses. In addition, we recognize contingent liabilities for additional product-failure related costs. These warranty and related product-failure allowances may be inadequate due to product defects and unanticipated component failures, as well as higher than anticipated material, labor, and other costs we may incur to replace projected product failures. A product recall or a significant number of product returns could be expensive; damage our reputation and relationships with utilities, meter and communication vendors, other third-party vendors, or regulatory entities; result in the loss of business to competitors; or result in litigation. We may incur additional warranty expenses in the future with respect to new or established products, which could materially and adversely affect our operations and financial position.

Business interruptions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our worldwide operations could be subject to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics, geopolitical instability, cybersecurity attacks, including ransomware, business email compromise, and distributed denial of service (DDoS), or other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our key manufacturing facilities are concentrated, and, in the event of a significant interruption in production at any of our manufacturing facilities, considerable expense, time, and effort could be required to establish alternative production lines to meet contractual obligations, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Asset impairment could result in significant changes that would adversely impact our future operating results.

We have inventory, intangible assets, long-lived assets, and goodwill that are susceptible to valuation adjustments as a result of changes in various factors or conditions, which could impact our results of operations and financial condition. Factors that could trigger an impairment of such assets include the following:

• reduction in the net realizable value of inventory, which becomes obsolete or exceeds anticipated demand
• changes in our organization or management reporting structure, which could result in additional reporting units, requiring greater aggregation or disaggregation in our analysis by reporting unit and potentially alternative methods/assumptions of estimating fair values
• underperformance relative to projected future operating results
• changes in the manner or use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business
• unfavorable industry or economic trends
• decline in our stock price for a sustained period or decline in our market capitalization below net book value

Failure to attract and retain key personnel who are critical to the success of our business could unfavorably impact our ability to operate or grow our business.

Our success depends in large part on the efforts of our highly qualified technical and management personnel and highly skilled individuals in all disciplines. The loss of one or more of these employees and the inability to attract and retain qualified replacements could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, as our products and services become more technologically complex, it could become especially difficult to recruit or retain personnel with unique in-demand skills and knowledge, whom we would expect to become recruiting targets for our competitors and for other companies relying on similar talent. There is no assurance that we will be able to recruit or retain qualified personnel, and this failure could diminish our ability to develop and deliver new products and services, which could cause our operations and financial results to be unfavorably impacted.

Changes in accounting principles and guidance could result in unfavorable accounting charges or effects.

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These principles are subject to interpretation by the SEC and various bodies formed to create and interpret appropriate accounting principles and guidance. A change in these principles or guidance, or in their interpretations, may have a material effect on our reported results, as well as our processes and related controls, and may retroactively affect previously reported results.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Organization

Our indebtedness could restrict our operational flexibility and prevent us from raising additional capital or meeting our obligations under our debt instruments.

As of December 31, 2024, our total outstanding indebtedness was $1.3 billion as described under Liquidity and Capital Resources. Our current credit facility, originally entered on January 5, 2018 (as amended, the 2018 credit facility) allows us to draw on a $500.0 million revolving line of credit. This indebtedness could have important consequences to us, including:

• increasing our vulnerability to general economic and industry conditions
• requiring a substantial portion of our cash flow used in operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest, therefore reducing our liquidity and our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, and future business opportunities
• requiring us to meet specified financial ratios, a failure of which may result in restrictions on us and our subsidiaries to take certain actions or result in the declaration of an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could require acceleration of required payments against such indebtedness and result in cross defaults under our other indebtedness
• exposing us to the risk of increased market interest rates, and corresponding increased interest expense, as unhedged borrowings under the 2018 credit facility would be at variable rates of interest
• limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions, and general corporate or other purposes

Our 2018 credit facility places restrictions on our ability, and the ability of many of our subsidiaries, dependent on meeting specified financial ratios, to, among other things:

Our ability to make scheduled payments on and/or to refinance our indebtedness depends on, and is subject to, our financial and operating performance, which is influenced in part by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, counterparty business, and other risks that are beyond our control, including the availability of financing in the U.S. banking system and capital markets. We cannot be certain that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our debt, to refinance our debt, or to fund our other liquidity needs on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

If we were unable to meet our debt service obligations or to fund our other liquidity needs, we would need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, which could cause us to default on our debt obligations and impair our liquidity. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Even if refinancing indebtedness were available, any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants that could further restrict our business operations.

Moreover, in the event of a default under any of our indebtedness, the holders of the defaulted debt could elect to declare all the funds borrowed to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, which in turn could result in cross defaults under our other indebtedness. The lenders under the 2018 credit facility could also elect to terminate their commitments thereunder and cease making further loans, and such lenders could institute foreclosure proceedings against their collateral, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we breach our covenants under the 2018 credit facility, we would be in default thereunder. Such lenders could exercise their rights, as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Although our debt instruments contain certain restrictions, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, including that certain trade payables do not constitute indebtedness. Additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. To the extent we incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, the risks described above and others described herein may increase.

The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions and capped call transactions may affect the value our common stock.

In connection with the issuance in 2021 of the 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the 2021 Notes), we entered into convertible note hedge transactions with certain financial institutions, which we refer to as "hedge counterparties". We also entered into warrant transactions with the hedge counterparties pursuant to which we sold warrants for the purchase of our common stock. The convertible note hedge transactions are generally designed to reduce the potential dilution upon any conversion of the 2021 Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be. The warrant transactions would separately have a dilutive effect to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds the strike price of any warrants unless, subject to the terms of the warrant transactions, we elect to cash settle the warrants.

In connection with the issuance in 2024 of the 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due 2030 (the 2024 Notes), we entered into capped call transactions with certain financial institutions, which we refer to as the option counterparties and, together with the hedge counterparties, the counterparties. The capped call transactions are generally designed to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of the 2024 Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.

The counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the 2021 Notes and/or the 2024 Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of convertible notes or following any repurchase of convertible notes by us in connection with any fundamental change repurchase date or otherwise). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock.

The potential effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the convertible notes will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time. Any of these activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock.

We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of the convertible notes or to repurchase the convertible notes upon a fundamental change.

Noteholders may require us to repurchase their convertible notes following a fundamental change (as defined in the indenture for such convertible notes) at a cash repurchase price generally equal to the principal amount of the convertible notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid special and additional interest, if any. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make purchases of convertible notes surrendered therefor or convertible notes being converted. In addition, applicable law, regulatory authorities, and the agreements governing our other indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the convertible notes or pay any cash amounts due upon conversion.

Future sales of our stock in the public market, or the issuance of stock upon conversion of the convertible notes, could cause our stock price to decline.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of shares of our common stock or the availability of shares for sale will have on the prevailing trading price of our common stock from time to time. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock could cause the price of our common stock to decline. In addition, a substantial number of shares of our common stock will be reserved for issuance upon conversion of the convertible notes. We may in the future also issue shares of common stock for financings, acquisitions, or equity incentives. If we issue additional shares of common stock in the future, such issuances would have a dilutive effect on the economic interest of our common stock.

Our strategy may lead to acquisitions, divestitures, and investments, which we may not be able to execute or integrate successfully.

In pursuing our business strategy, we may conduct discussions, evaluate companies, and enter into agreements regarding possible acquisitions, divestitures, or equity investments. We have completed acquisitions and may make investments in the future, both within and outside of the United States. We may also execute divestitures. Acquisitions, investments, and divestitures involve numerous risks such as the diversion of senior management's attention; unsuccessful integration of the acquired or disintegration of the divested entity's personnel, operations, technologies, and products; unidentified or identified but non-indemnified pre-closing liabilities that we may be responsible for; incurrence of significant expenses to meet an acquiree's customer contractual commitments; lack of market acceptance of new services and technologies; undiscovered cybersecurity breaches; difficulties in operating businesses in international legal jurisdictions; or transaction-related or other litigation, and other liabilities. Failure to adequately address these issues could result in the diversion of resources and adversely impact our ability to manage our business. In addition, acquisitions and investments in third parties may involve the assumption of obligations and liabilities, significant write-offs, or other charges associated with the acquisition or investment. Impairment of an investment, goodwill, or an intangible asset may result if these risks were to materialize. For investments in entities that are not wholly owned by Itron, such as joint ventures, a loss of control as defined by GAAP could result in a significant change in accounting treatment and a change in the carrying value of the entity. There can be no assurance that an acquired business may perform as expected, accomplish our strategic objectives, or generate significant revenues, profits, or cash flows. Any divestiture could result in disruption to other parts of our business, potential loss of employees or customers, exposure to unanticipated liabilities, or result in ongoing obligations and liabilities following any such divestiture. For example, in connection with a divestiture, we may enter into transition services agreements or other strategic relationships, including long-term commercial arrangements, sales arrangements, or agree to provide certain indemnities to the purchaser in any such transaction, which may result in additional expense and may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our customer contracts are complex and contain provisions that could cause us to incur penalties, be liable for damages, and/or incur unanticipated expenses with respect to the functionality, deployment, operation, and availability of our products and services.

In addition to the risk of unanticipated warranty or recall expenses, our customer contracts may contain provisions that could cause us to incur penalties, be liable for damages including liquidated damages, or incur other expenses if we experience difficulties with respect to the functionality, deployment, operation, security, or availability of our products and services. Some of these contracts contain long-term commitments to a set schedule of delivery or performance and require us to deliver standby letters of credit or bonds as a guarantee to the customer for our future performance. If we fail in our estimated schedule or we fail in our management of the project, this may cause delays in completion. In the event of late deliveries, late or improper installations or operations, failure to meet product or performance specifications or other product defects, or interruptions or delays in our managed service offerings, our customer contracts may expose us to penalties, liquidated damages, and other liabilities. In the event we were to incur contractual penalties, such as liquidated damages or other related costs that exceed our expectations, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, if we were to determine that products and/or services to be delivered under a specific component of a customer contract would result in a loss due to expected revenues estimated to be less than expected costs, we could be required to recognize a reduction of revenue in the period we made such determination, and such reduction could be material to our results of operations.

We are subject to international business uncertainties, obstacles to the repatriation of earnings, and foreign currency fluctuations.

A portion of our revenue is derived from operations conducted outside the United States. International sales and operations may be subjected to risks such as the imposition of government controls, government expropriation of facilities, lack of a well-established system of laws and enforcement of those laws, access to a legal system free of undue influence or corruption, political instability, terrorist activities, restrictions on the import or export of critical technology, or adverse tax burdens.

Our business is also subject to foreign currency exchange rates fluctuations, particularly with respect to the euro, Canadian dollar, Indonesian rupiah, and Pound sterling, as well as various other currencies. Change in the value of currencies of the countries in which we do business relative to the value of the U.S. dollar or euro could affect our ability to sell products competitively and control our cost structure, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, we are subject to foreign exchange translation risk due to changes in the value of foreign currencies in relation to our reporting currency, the U.S. dollar. The translation risk is primarily concentrated in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro. As the U.S. dollar fluctuates against other currencies in which we transact business, revenue and income can be impacted, include revenue decreases due to unfavorable foreign currency impacts. Strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the euro and the currencies of the other countries in which we do business, could materially and adversely affect our ability to compete in international markets and our sales growth in future periods.

Other risks related to our international operations include lack of availability of qualified third-party financing, generally longer receivable collection periods than those commonly practiced in the United States, trade restrictions, changes in tariffs, sanctions, labor disruptions, difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, difficulties in imposing and enforcing operational and financial controls at international locations, potential insolvency of international distributors, preference for local vendors, burdens of complying with different permitting standards and a wide variety of foreign laws, and obstacles to the repatriation of earnings and cash.

International expansion and market acceptance depend on our ability to modify our technology to take into account such factors as the applicable regulatory and business environment, labor costs, and other economic conditions. In addition, the laws of certain countries do not protect our products or technologies in the same manner as the laws of the United States. Further, foreign regulations or restrictions, e.g., opposition from unions or works councils, could delay, limit, or disallow significant operating decisions made by our management, including decisions to exit certain businesses, close certain manufacturing locations, or other restructuring actions. There can be no assurance that these factors will not have a material adverse effect on our future international sales and, consequently, on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not achieve the anticipated savings and benefits from current or any future restructuring projects and such activities could cause us to incur additional charges in our efforts to improve profitability.

We have implemented multiple restructuring projects to improve our cost structure, and we may engage in similar restructuring activities in the future. These restructuring activities reduce our available employee talent, assets, and other resources, which could slow research and development, impact ability to respond to customers, increase quality issues, temporarily reduce manufacturing efficiencies, and limit our ability to increase production quickly. In addition, delays in implementing restructuring projects, unexpected costs, unfavorable negotiations with works councils or matters involving third-party service providers, our failure to retain key employees, changes in governmental policies or regulatory matters, adverse market conditions, or failure to meet targeted improvements could change the timing or reduce the overall savings realized from the restructuring project.

The successful implementation and execution of our restructuring projects are critical to achieving our expected cost savings as well as effectively competing in the marketplace and positioning us for future growth. If our restructuring projects were not executed successfully, it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, cash flow, and results of operations.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, prevent fraud, or maintain investor confidence.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable and accurate financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We have devoted significant resources and time to comply with the internal control over financial reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, Section 404 under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that our auditors attest to the operating effectiveness of our controls over financial reporting. Our compliance with the annual internal control report requirement for each fiscal year will depend on the effectiveness of our financial reporting, data systems, and controls across our operating subsidiaries. Furthermore, an important part of our growth strategy has been, and may continue to be, the acquisition of complementary businesses, and we expect these systems and controls to become increasingly complex to the extent that we integrate acquisitions and our business grows. Likewise, the complexity of our transactions, systems, and controls may become more difficult to manage. In addition, new accounting standards may have a significant impact on our financial statements in future periods, requiring new or enhanced controls. We cannot be certain that we won't experience deficiencies in the design, implementation, and maintenance of adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future, especially for acquisition targets that may not have been required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act prior to the date of acquisition.

Failure to implement new controls or enhancements to controls, difficulties encountered in control implementation or operation, or difficulties in the assimilation of acquired businesses into our control system could result in additional errors, material misstatements, or delays in our financial reporting obligations. Inadequate internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have an unfavorable effect on the trading price of our stock and our access to capital.

We may encounter strikes or other labor disruptions that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have significant operations throughout the world. In a number of countries outside the U.S., our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. As the result of various social, corporate, or operational actions, which our management has undertaken or may be made in the future, we could encounter labor disruptions. These disruptions may be subject to local media coverage, which could damage our reputation. Additionally, the disruptions could delay our ability to meet customer orders and could adversely affect our results of operations. Any labor disruptions could also have an impact on our other employees. Employee morale and productivity could suffer, and we may lose valued employees whom we wish to retain.

We may not realize the expected benefits from strategic alliances, which could adversely affect our operations.

We have several strategic alliances with large, complex organizations and other companies with which we work to offer complementary products and services. There can be no assurance we will realize the expected benefits from these strategic alliances. If successful, these relationships may be mutually beneficial and result in shared growth. However, alliances carry an element of risk because, in most cases, we must both compete and collaborate with the same company from one market to the next. Should our strategic partnerships fail to perform, we could experience delays in research and development or experience other operational difficulties.

We are exposed to counterparty default risks with our financial institutions and insurance providers.

If one or more of the depository institutions in which we maintain significant cash balances were to fail, our ability to access these funds might be temporarily or permanently limited, and we could face material liquidity problems and financial losses.

The counterparties of the capped call transactions relating to the 2024 Notes and the hedge and warrant transactions relating to our 2021 Notes are financial institutions or affiliates of financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that one or more of such counterparties may default under the transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. If any counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under the transaction with such counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, the increase in our exposure will be correlated to the increase in our common stock market price and in the volatility of the market price of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by the counterparty, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurance as to the financial stability or viability of any counterparty.

The lenders of our 2018 credit facility include several participating financial institutions. Our revolving line of credit allows us to provide letters of credit in support of our obligations for customer contracts and provides additional liquidity. If our lenders were unable to honor their line of credit commitments due to the loss of a participating financial institution or other circumstance, we would need to seek alternative financing, which may not be under acceptable terms, and therefore could adversely impact our ability to successfully bid on future sales contracts and adversely impact our liquidity and ability to fund some of our internal initiatives or future acquisitions.

Risks Related to Our Technology and Intellectual Property

If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, we may need to expend significant resources to enforce our rights or suffer competitive injury.

While we believe our patents and other intellectual property have significant value, it is uncertain that this intellectual property or any intellectual property acquired or developed by us in the future will provide meaningful competitive advantages. There can be no assurance our patents or pending applications will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by competitors or that rights granted thereunder will provide meaningful proprietary protection. Moreover, competitors may infringe on our patents or successfully avoid them through design innovation. To combat infringement or unauthorized use of our intellectual property, we may initiate litigation, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding a court may decide that a patent or other intellectual property right of ours is not valid or is unenforceable or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology or other intellectual property right at issue on the grounds that it is non-infringing or the legal requirements for an injunction have not been met. We could also lose our right to use marks and brand names, which might diminish our ability to compete in the United States and other markets. Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and expensive, and we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to prevent misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries that do not protect such rights in the same manner as in the United States.

We may face losses associated with alleged unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property.

We may be subject to claims or inquiries regarding alleged unauthorized use of a third-party's intellectual property. An adverse outcome in any intellectual property litigation or negotiation could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require us to license technology or other intellectual property rights from others, require us to comply with injunctions to cease marketing or the use of certain products or brands, or require us to redesign, re-engineer, or rebrand certain products or packaging, any of which could affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. If we are required to seek licenses under patents or other intellectual property rights of others, we may not be able to acquire these licenses at acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, the cost of responding to an intellectual property infringement claim, in terms of legal fees, expenses, and the diversion of management resources, whether or not the claim is valid, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If our products infringe the intellectual property rights of others, we may be required to indemnify our customers for any damages they suffer. We generally indemnify our customers with respect to infringement by our products of the proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may assert infringement claims against our customers. These claims may require us to initiate or defend protracted and costly litigation on behalf of our customers, regardless of the merits of these claims. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay damages on behalf of our customers or may be required to obtain licenses for the products they use. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our customers may be forced to stop using our products.

If we were unable to protect our information technology infrastructure and network against data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network security incidents caused by unauthorized access, we could be exposed to an increased risk of customer liability and reputational damage.

We rely on various information technology systems to capture, process, store, and report data and interact with customers, vendors, and employees. Despite taking steps to secure all information and transactions, our information technology systems, and those of our third-party providers, may be subject to corruption from cyber-attacks or other network security incidents. In addition to threats from traditional computer hackers, we also face threats from sophisticated organized crime, nation-state, and nation-state-supported actors who engage in attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions) that add to the risk to our systems (including those hosted by third-party providers) and internal networks. Ransomware and cyber extortion attacks, including those perpetrated by organized crime, nation-state, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and could lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Increased use of AI in products and in the workplace could lead to risks and challenges. Any unauthorized access to our systems could result in misappropriation of the data or disruption of operations. In addition, hardware, operating system software, software libraries, and applications that we procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacturing that could interfere with the operation of the systems or include security vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers to compromise our systems and data. Misuse of internal applications; theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, or other corporate assets; and inappropriate disclosure of confidential or personal information could stem from such incidents.

In addition, an increasing number of our products and services connect to and are part of the IIoT, the internet, telecommunications networks, and public cloud services. As such, the products and services we offer may involve the transmission of large amounts of sensitive and proprietary information over public and private communications networks, as well as the processing and storage of confidential and personal customer data. While we attempt to provide adequate security measures to safeguard our products and services, techniques used to gain unauthorized access to or to sabotage systems are constantly evolving and therefore may not be recognized before they take effect. Unauthorized access, remnant data exposure, computer viruses, DDoS attacks, accidents, employee error or malfeasance, intentional misconduct by computer hackers, and other disruptions may occur. This could lead to gaps in infrastructure, hardware and software vulnerabilities, and security controls. The exposed or unprotected data could be compromised and (i) interfere with the delivery of services to our customers, (ii) impede our customers' ability to do business, or (iii) expose information to unauthorized third parties. Like many companies, we are the target of cyber-attacks of varying degrees of severity. We have not incurred any material cyber-attacks or incidents, nor have we had any material adverse effects on our operating results or financial condition. However, there can be no assurance of a similar result in future security incidents.

As a company that processes confidential information related to our clients, vendors, and employees, including customer data and personally identifiable information, we are subject to compliance obligations under federal, state and foreign privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity-related laws, including federal, state and foreign security breach notification laws applicable to such data. These laws, which include the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA), impact our data processing activities and obligations as both a data controller and data processor.

Complying with privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity laws and requirements, including the enhanced obligations imposed by the GDPR and state privacy laws such as the CPRA, may result in significant increases to our business costs and impact our business practices. Failing to comply with privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity laws and regulations could have a materially adverse effect on our reputation, results of operations or financial condition, or other adverse consequences.

The occurrence of security incidents could expose us to an increased risk of lawsuits, loss of existing or potential customers, harm to our reputation, and increases in our security costs. Depending on the jurisdiction, security incidents could trigger notice requirements to impacted individuals and regulatory investigations leading to penalties and increased reputational harm. As public awareness of data security events and privacy violations by other companies increases, actual or perceived concerns about our privacy and data security compliance measures may damage our reputation, whether such concerns are valid or invalid.

The future enactment of more restrictive laws, rules or regulations and future enforcement actions or investigations could have materially adverse impacts, such as increased costs and restrictions on our businesses.

Any such operational disruption and/or misappropriation of information could result in lost sales, unfavorable publicity, product recalls, or business delays and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on information technology systems that may fail to operate effectively, require upgrades and replacements, or experience breaches.

Our industry requires the continued operation of sophisticated information technology systems and network infrastructures, which may be subject to disruptions arising from events that are beyond our control. We are dependent on information technology systems, including, but not limited to, networks, applications, and outsourced services. We continually enhance and implement new systems and processes throughout our global operations.

We offer managed services and software utilizing several data center facilities located worldwide. Any damage to, or failure of, these systems could result in interruptions in the services we provide to our utility customers. As we continue to add capacity to our existing and future data centers, we may move or transfer data. Despite precautions taken during this process, any delayed or unsuccessful data transfers may impair the delivery of our services to our utility customers. We also sell vending and pre-payment systems with security features that, if compromised, may lead to claims against us.

We have a primary enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that maintains sales and transactional information to facilitate processes. This system may require updates and upgrades periodically that could be expensive and time consuming undertakings. Successful upgrades and updates provide many benefits, while unsuccessful upgrades and updates may cost us significant time and resources.

The failure of these systems to operate effectively, problems with transitioning to upgraded or replacement systems, or a breach in security of these systems due to computer viruses, hacking, acts of terrorism, and other causes could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations by harming our ability to accurately forecast sales demand, manage our supply chain and production facilities, achieve accuracy in the conversion of electronic data and records, and report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis. In addition, due to the systemic internal control features within ERP systems, we may experience difficulties that could affect our internal control over financial reporting.

Financial and Market Risks

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to fluctuate.

The 2018 credit facility bears, and other indebtedness we may incur in the future may bear, interest at a variable rate. As a result, at any given time interest rates on the 2018 credit facility and any other variable rate debt could be higher or lower than current levels. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness may increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same, and therefore net income and associated cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, may correspondingly decrease. While we continually monitor and assess our interest rate risk relative to the value of related debt and have previously entered into derivative instruments to manage such risk, these instruments could be ineffective at mitigating all or a part of our risk, including changes to the applicable margin under our 2018 credit facility. At December 31, 2024, there were no outstanding loan balances under the 2018 credit facility.

The recent adoption of Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) may adversely affect our borrowing costs.

In line with requirements following the discontinuation of LIBOR as a reference rate, the 2018 credit facility was amended in the fourth quarter of 2022 to replace LIBOR with SOFR plus a credit spread of 10 basis points. Certain Itron interest rate derivatives and a portion of Itron indebtedness bear interest at variable interest rates, primarily now based on SOFR, which is subject to regulatory guidance and/or reform that could cause interest rates under our current or future debt agreements to perform differently than in the past or cause other unanticipated consequences. Also, the use of SOFR based rates is relatively new, and there could be unanticipated difficulties or disruptions with the calculation and publication of SOFR based rates. In particular, if the agent under the 2018 credit facility determines that SOFR Rates cannot be determined or the agent or the lenders determine that SOFR based rates do not adequately reflect the cost of funding the SOFR Loans, outstanding SOFR Loans will be converted into Replacement Rate Loans. This could result in increased borrowing costs for the Company if we utilize the credit facility. At December 31, 2024, there were no outstanding loan balances under the 2018 credit facility.

We have pension benefit obligations, which could have a material impact on our earnings, liabilities, and shareholders' equity and could have significant adverse impacts in future periods.

We sponsor both funded and unfunded defined benefit pension plans for our international employees, primarily in Germany, France, India, and Indonesia. Our general funding policy for these qualified pension plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to satisfy regulatory funding standards of the respective countries for each plan.

The determination of pension plan expense, benefit obligation, and future contributions depends heavily on market factors such as the discount rate and the actual return on plan assets. We estimate pension plan expense, benefit obligation, and future contributions to these plans using assumptions with respect to these and other items. Changes to those assumptions could have a significant effect on future contributions, as well as on our annual pension costs and/or result in a significant change to shareholders' equity.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Changes in tax laws, valuation allowances, and unanticipated tax liabilities could adversely affect our effective income tax rate and profitability.

We are subject to income tax in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. During the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We establish reserves for tax-related uncertainties based on estimates of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes will be due. These reserves may be established when we believe that certain positions might be challenged despite our belief that our tax return positions are fully supportable. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve positions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as valuation allowances when we determine it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset cannot be realized. In addition, future changes in tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate could have a material impact on our effective income tax rate and profitability. We regularly assess these matters to determine the adequacy of our tax provision, which is subject to significant judgment.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidance under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative aims to minimize perceived tax abuses and modernize global tax policy, including the implementation of a global minimum effective tax rate of 15%. In December 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted OECD Pillar 2 for implementation by European Union member states by December 31, 2023. The resulting legislation in most countries where Itron has significant operations is taking effect for calendar year 2024. The OECD continues to release more guidance on these rules and framework and we are evaluating the impact to our financial position. These enactments or amendments could adversely affect our tax rate and ultimately result in a negative impact on our operating results and cash flows. Based upon preliminary calculations for calendar year 2024, the Company anticipates it will meet the safe harbors in most jurisdictions, and any remaining top-up tax should be immaterial.

A significant number of our products are affected by the availability and regulation of radio spectrum and could be affected by interference with the radio spectrum that we use.

A significant number of our products use radio spectrum, which are subject to regulation by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC may adopt changes to the rules for our licensed and unlicensed frequency bands that are incompatible with our business. In the past, the FCC has adopted changes to the requirements for equipment using radio spectrum, and it is possible that the FCC or the U.S. Congress will adopt additional changes.

Although radio licenses are generally required for radio stations, Part 15 of the FCC's rules permits certain low-power radio devices (Part 15 devices) to operate on an unlicensed basis. Part 15 devices are designed for use on frequencies used by others. These other users may include licensed users, which have priority over Part 15 users. Part 15 devices may not cause harmful interference to licensed users and must be designed to accept interference from licensed radio devices. In the United States, our smart metering solutions are typically Part 15 devices that transmit information to (and receive information from, if applicable) handheld, mobile, or fixed network systems pursuant to these rules.

We depend upon sufficient radio spectrum to be allocated by the FCC for our intended uses. As to the licensed frequencies, there is some risk that there may be insufficient available frequencies in some markets to sustain our planned operations. The unlicensed frequencies are available for a wide variety of uses and may not be entitled to protection from interference by other users who operate in accordance with FCC rules. The unlicensed frequencies are also often the subject of proposals to the FCC requesting a change in the rules under which such frequencies may be used. If the unlicensed frequencies become crowded to unacceptable levels, restrictive, or subject to changed rules governing their use, our business could be materially adversely affected.

We have committed, and will continue to commit, significant resources to the development of products that use particular radio frequencies. Action by the FCC could require modifications to our products. The inability to modify our products to meet such requirements, the possible delays in completing such modifications, and the cost of such modifications all could have a material adverse effect on our future business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Outside of the United States, certain of our products require the use of RF and are subject to regulations in those jurisdictions where we have deployed such equipment. In some jurisdictions, radio station licensees are generally required to operate a radio transmitter, and such licenses may be granted for a fixed term and must be periodically renewed. In other jurisdictions, the rules permit certain low power devices to operate on an unlicensed basis. Our smart metering solutions typically transmit to (and receive information from, if applicable) handheld, mobile, or fixed network reading devices in license-exempt bands pursuant to rules regulating such use. In Europe, we generally use the 169 megahertz (MHz), 433/4 MHz, and 868 MHz bands. In the rest of the world, we primarily use the 433/4 MHz, 920 MHz and 2.4000-2.4835 gigahertz (GHz) bands, as well as other local license-exempt bands. To the extent we introduce new products designed for use in the United States or another country into a new market, such products may require significant modification or redesign to meet frequency requirements and other regulatory specifications. In some countries, limitations on frequency availability or the cost of making necessary modifications may preclude us from selling our products in those jurisdictions. In addition, new consumer products may create interference with the performance of our products, which could lead to claims against us.

Changes in environmental regulations, violations of such regulations, or future environmental liabilities could cause us to incur significant costs and could adversely affect our operations.

Our business and our facilities are subject to numerous laws, regulations, and ordinances governing, among other things, the storage, discharge, handling, emission, generation, manufacture, disposal, remediation of and exposure to toxic or other hazardous substances, and certain waste products. Many of these environmental laws and regulations subject current or previous owners or operators of land to liability for the costs of investigation, removal, or remediation of hazardous materials. In addition, these laws and regulations typically impose liability regardless of whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of any hazardous materials and regardless of whether the actions that led to the presence were conducted in compliance with the law. In the ordinary course of our business, we use metals, solvents, and similar materials, which are stored on-site. The waste created by the use of these materials is transported off-site on a regular basis by unaffiliated waste haulers. Many environmental laws and regulations require generators of waste to take remedial actions at, or in relation to, the off-site disposal location even if the disposal was conducted in compliance with the law. The requirements of these laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, and could become more stringent in the future. Failure to comply with current or future environmental regulations could result in the imposition of substantial fines, suspension of production, alteration of our production processes, cessation of operations, or other actions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. There can be no assurance that a claim, investigation, or liability would not arise with respect to these activities or that the cost of complying with governmental regulations in the future, either for an individual claim or in aggregate of multiple claims, would not have a material adverse effect on us.

In addition, we are or may become subject to various new and proposed climate-related and other sustainability-related laws and regulations, including, for example, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Additional regulations may require us to incur significant additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens, including the implementation of additional internal controls processes and procedures, and impose increased oversight obligations on our management and board of directors, as well as require us to retain third-party experts. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, enforcement actions, fines or litigation, which could unfavorably impact our business, operating results or financial condition.

Failure or perceived failure to meet our ESG goals or expectations or those set by growing public interest and government regulation of ESG topics could result in reputational harm or adversely affect our business.

There is focus from certain investors, customers, employees, other stakeholders and regulators concerning environmental, social and governance matters (ESG). We announce initiatives and goals related to ESG matters from time to time, including renewable energy and net zero emissions commitments. These statements reflect our current plans and aspirations and our ability to balance and achieve any ESG objective is subject to numerous risks, many of which are outside of our control, including the availability and cost of alternative energy sources; the evolving regulatory and reporting requirements affecting ESG practices and disclosures; the locations and usage of our products. Our actual or perceived failure to achieve our ESG-related initiatives, goals, or commitments or to accurately track and report on these initiatives, goals and commitments on a timely basis could unfavorably impact our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.

Our international sales and operations are subject to complex laws relating to foreign corrupt practices and anti-bribery laws, among many others, and a violation of, or change in, these laws could adversely affect our operations.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requires U.S. companies to comply with an extensive legal framework to prevent bribery of foreign officials. The laws are complex and require that we closely monitor local practices of our overseas offices. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to heighten enforcement of these laws. In addition, other countries continue to implement similar laws that may have extra-territorial effect. In the United Kingdom, where we have operations, the U.K. Bribery Act imposes significant oversight obligations on us and could impact our operations outside the United Kingdom. The costs for complying with these and similar laws may be significant and could require significant management time and focus. Any violation of these or similar laws, intentional or unintentional, could result in fines and/or criminal penalties and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Further, we operate in some parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption, and, in certain circumstances, local customs and practice might not be consistent with the requirements of anti-corruption laws. We remain subject to the risk that our employees, third party partners, or agents could engage in business practices that are prohibited by our policies and violate such laws and regulations.

In order to address cybersecurity risks and threats, we have in place teams, processes, and programs for protecting company and customer information. We have an Information Security Steering Committee (ISSC), whose purpose is to oversee the overall information security program as well as product security and data protection. The ISSC consists of senior executives, including our CEO and CFO. The ISSC meets quarterly to discuss strategy and general updates and is advised by company personnel with expertise and experience in cybersecurity risk management.

We have a risk management process utilizing a Governance, Risk, and Compliance system. Our security program uses a "defense in depth" philosophy, meaning that multiple controls must be breached for an attack to be successful. We maintain a series of both protective and detective controls to enable breakdown or bypass of protection mechanisms to be detected and escalated for response. We perform logging and monitoring across systems, directed to a centralized, secure logging system operated by the Information Security team. Significant events are assessed systematically on a case-by-case basis for their potential impact and whether they could potentially become material.

We maintain a cybersecurity incident policy, which provides guidelines for informing our Board of Directors (the Board) of material cybersecurity incidents and events, including potential ransomware payments. We also hold insurance with the intent to cover cybersecurity incidents. In the event of a significant cybersecurity or data privacy incident, the ISSC members are notified and updated on the status of the incident by an Incident Response Team (IRT). The IRT utilizes a process to evaluate the potential materiality of an incident. This process guides the IRT to provide information to executive leadership for materiality determination.

To address risk related to third-party service providers, we have multiple processes in place to safeguard company and customer information. Upon obtaining a new vendor, we complete a risk assessment that is reviewed at least every three years. We maintain a Supplier Code of Conduct that outlines vendor expectations in areas including network security, data protection, and security breach notifications. In the case where a contract with a vendor relates to our service to customers, the contractual terms for certain cybersecurity parameters are passed down to the vendor. We hold certifications to meet the requirements of our customers and regulators, such as ISO 27001, IEC62443, and others. In addition, Itron maintains SOC 1 and SOC 2 attestations for the majority of our customer-facing managed services businesses.

Through third-party incident response experts, we conduct incident response tabletop exercises each year with both the technical teams and ISSC designed to improve our systems and processes, and we have included our Board in a similar exercise.

The Board provides oversight for cybersecurity within the Company and includes one director with cybersecurity expertise. Executive management reports on the status of the ISSC to the Board on a regular basis. At each Board meeting, a summary is provided covering the periodic assessment of Itron's Information Security Program. Semiannually, the Director of Information Security presents to the Board about the status of Itron's overall security program, internal response preparedness, and assessments of risks. At each Board meeting, information regarding the current maturity level of the program, as measured against the National Institutes of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, is presented. Due to the nature of our business, a material security incident could have a significant impact on both our brand reputation and our ability to deliver services to our clients.

As of the date of this report, we do not believe any risks from cybersecurity incidents have materially affected us or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. There can be no guarantee that the actions and controls we and our third-party service providers have implemented and are implementing will be sufficient to protect our systems, information or other property. For a description of the risks from cybersecurity threats that may materially affect us, see our risk factors under Part 1. Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report.

We own our headquarters facility, which is located in Liberty Lake, Washington.

The following table lists our major manufacturing facilities by region and location as of December 31, 2024:

(O) - Manufacturing facility is owned

(L) - Manufacturing facility is leased

As of the end of 2024, the manufacturing facilities in Chasseneuil, France and Waseca, Minnesota have ceased production operations and are being closed.

We believe our properties are generally in good condition, well maintained and are suitable and adequate to carry on our business at capacity for the foreseeable future.

In addition to our manufacturing facilities, we have numerous sales offices, research and development facilities, and distribution centers, which are located throughout the world.

SEC regulations require us to disclose certain information about proceedings arising under federal, state or local environmental provisions if we reasonably believe that such proceedings may result in monetary sanctions above a stated threshold. Pursuant to the SEC regulations, Itron uses a threshold of $1 million or more for purposes of determining whether disclosure of any such environmental proceedings is required.

In conjunction with the Actaris S.p.A. (Actaris) acquisition in April 2007, Itron assumed Actaris's environmental cleanup liability and the related legal recourse for the Frosinone site in Italy. This site was originally owned and operated by Schlumberger before Schlumberger contributed it to Actaris in the course of the spin-off of Actaris from Schlumberger Industries S.p.A on August 1, 2001. Since 2001, Schlumberger has fully reimbursed Actaris and Itron, as successor to Actaris's interests, for the Frosinone site remediation costs pursuant to an indemnification agreement. In December 2022, Itron was presented with a remediation plan, which addressed the water contamination issues, with an estimated cost of $1.9 million. Due to increased remediation work and costs associated with the required cleanup activities, Itron recognized an additional $0.9 million in costs during the fourth quarter of 2023. The remediation plan proposal was approved by the Italian Authorities Higher Institute of Health (ISS) in September 2024. Itron recognized an additional $0.6 million in costs during the fourth quarter of 2024 related to the increase in forecasted provision required by the approved plan. Schlumberger, pursuant to the indemnification agreement, reimburses Itron for all remediation costs.

In 2007-2008, Itron acquired an industrial site located at 1310 Emerald Road, Greenwood, South Carolina. Previous site owners used various chlorinated solvents and potential contaminants at the site. In 2013, Itron entered into a voluntary cleanup contract with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Itron completed that process in 2019. In October 2021, DHEC sent Itron and three other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) a proposed site remediation plan with an estimated cost of $3.7 million. Itron objected to the proposed plan at a public hearing on November 4, 2021, and again in a letter to DHEC dated January 13, 2022. Given that the contamination arose from activities prior to Itron's ownership of the property and past remediation efforts, Itron has disputed its responsibility for any alleged contamination and suggested alternative proposals. Itron will continue to seek a reasonable resolution with DHEC and the other PRPs.

The following discussion and analysis compares the change in the consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2024 and 2023 and should be read in conjunction with Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. For comparisons of fiscal years 2023 and 2022, see our Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 26, 2024, and incorporated herein by reference.

The objective of Management's Discussion and Analysis is to provide our assessment of the financial condition and results of operations, including an evaluation of our liquidity and capital resources along with material events occurring during the year. The discussion and analysis focuses on material events and uncertainties known to management that are reasonably likely to cause reported financial information not to be necessarily indicative of future operating results or of future financial condition. In addition, we address matters that are reasonably likely, based on management's assessment, to have a material impact on future operations. We expect the analysis will enhance a reader's understanding of our financial condition, cash flows, and other changes in financial condition and results of operations.

Overview

We are a technology, solutions, and service company, and we are a leader in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). We offer solutions that enable utilities and municipalities to safely, securely, and reliably operate their critical infrastructure. Our solutions include the deployment of smart networks, software, services, devices, sensors, and data analytics that allow our customers to manage assets, secure revenue, lower operational costs, improve customer service, improve safety, and enable efficient management of valuable resources. Our comprehensive solutions and data analytics address the unique challenges facing the energy, water, and municipality sectors, including increasing demand on resources, non-technical loss, leak detection, environmental and regulatory compliance, and improved operational reliability.

We operate under the Itron brand worldwide and manage and report under three operating segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The product and operating definitions of the three segments are as follows:

Device Solutions – This segment primarily includes hardware products used for measurement, control, or sensing that can have communications capability embedded for use with our broader Itron systems, i.e., hardware-based products that may be part of a complete end-to-end solution. Examples from the Device Solutions portfolio include: standard endpoints that are shipped without Itron communications, such as our standard electricity, gas, and water meters for a variety of global markets and adhering to regulations and standards within those markets, as well as our heat and allocation products; communicating meters that may be sold as part of an Itron end-to-end solution and designed to meet market requirements; and the implementation and installation of communicating and non-communicating devices.

Networked Solutions – This segment primarily includes a combination of communicating devices (e.g., smart meters, modules, endpoints, and sensors), network infrastructure, network design services, and associated head-end management and application software designed and sold as a complete solution for acquiring and transporting robust application-specific data. Networked Solutions includes products and software for the implementation, installation, and management of communicating devices and data networks. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions supported by this segment include automated meter reading (AMR); advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for electricity, water, and gas; distributed energy resource management (DERMs); grid edge devices; distribution automation communications; smart street lighting; smart city sensors and applications; and leak detection and applications for both gas and water systems. Our IIoT platform allows utility and smart city applications to be run and managed on a flexible multi-purpose network.

Outcomes – This segment primarily includes our value-added, enhanced software and services in which we enable grid edge intelligence and manage, organize, analyze, and interpret raw, anonymized data using artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistical modeling, and other analytics. This allows us to help utilities improve decision making, maximize operational profitability, engage consumers, enhance resource efficiency, improve grid resiliency and reliability, and deliver value for utilities and smart cities. Outcomes supports high-value use cases, such as data management, grid operations, distributed intelligence, AMI operations, gas distribution and safety, water operations management, revenue assurance, DERMs, energy forecasting, consumer engagement, smart payment, and fleet energy resource management. Utilities leverage these outcomes to unlock the capabilities of their networks and devices, improve the productivity of their workforce, increase the reliability of their operations, manage and optimize the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs), address grid complexity, and enhance the customer experience. Revenue from these offerings are primarily recurring in nature and would include any direct management of Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and other third-parties' products on behalf of our end customers.

We have three measures of segment performance: revenues, gross profit (margin), and operating income (margin). Intersegment revenues are minimal. Certain operating expenses are allocated to the operating segments based upon internally established allocation methodologies. Interest income, interest expense, other income (expense), the income tax provision (benefit), and certain corporate operating expenses are neither allocated to the segments nor included in the measures of segment performance.

Non-GAAP Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP), we use certain adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP operating expense, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS), adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and constant currency. We provide these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they provide greater transparency and represent supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. We exclude certain costs in our non-GAAP financial measures as we believe the net result is a measure of our core business. We believe these measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by eliminating potential differences caused by the existence and timing of certain expense items that would not otherwise be apparent on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP performance measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We strongly encourage investors and shareholders to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from those reported by other companies.

In our discussions of the operating results below, we may refer to the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, which are references to the differences between the foreign currency exchange rates we use to convert operating results from local currencies into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes. We also use the term "constant currency", which represents results adjusted to exclude foreign currency exchange rate impacts. We calculate the constant currency change as the difference between the current period results translated using the current period currency exchange rates and the comparable prior period's results restated using current period currency exchange rates. We believe the reconciliations of changes in constant currency provide useful supplementary information to investors in light of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section below on pages 43-46 for information about these non-GAAP measures and the detailed reconciliation of items that impacted non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow in the periods presented.

Total Company Highlights

Highlights and significant developments for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared with the year ended December 31, 2023

• Revenues were $2.4 billion compared with $2.2 billion last year, an increase of $267.2 million, or 12%
• Gross margin was 34.4% compared with 32.8% last year
• Operating expenses decreased $9.8 million, or 2%, compared with 2023
• Net income attributable to Itron, Inc. was $239.1 million compared with net income of $96.9 million in 2023
• GAAP diluted EPS was $5.18 compared with $2.11 in 2023
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Itron, Inc. was $259.8 million compared with $153.8 million in 2023
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $5.62 compared with $3.36 in 2023
• Adjusted EBITDA increased $98.0 million, or 43%, to $323.6 million compared with $225.6 million in 2023
• Total backlog was $4.7 billion and twelve-month backlog was $1.8 billion at December 31, 2024, compared with $4.5 billion and $2.0 billion at December 31, 2023

Stock Repurchase Programs

Effective September 19, 2024, Itron's Board of Directors authorized a repurchase up to $100 million of our common stock over an 18-month period (the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program). The repurchase program is intended to comply with Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We repurchased no shares under the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program.

In June 2024, we repurchased 971,534 shares under the 2023 Stock Repurchase Program at an average price of $102.93 (excluding commissions) for a total of $100.0 million. This repurchase was completed in conjunction with the issuance of the 2024 convertible notes.

Amendment to the 2018 credit facility

We entered into our credit facility on January 5, 2018 (the 2018 credit facility). On June 14, 2024, we entered into an eighth amendment of the 2018 credit facility. In contemplation of the issuance of the 2024 convertible notes, this amendment to the Credit Agreement removed the $500 million maximum amount of convertible notes we could offer. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 6: Debt for further details.

Convertible Notes

On June 21, 2024, we closed the sale of $805 million of convertible notes (the 2024 Notes) in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers, resulting in net proceeds to us of $784 million. The 2024 Notes accrue interest at a rate of 1.375% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year, beginning on January 15, 2025. The 2024 Notes mature on July 15, 2030, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted in accordance with their terms. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 6: Debt, and Note 14: Shareholders' Equity for further details.

Business Acquisition

On March 1, 2024, we completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Elpis2, Inc. (Elpis Squared), a privately held software and services company. This acquisition provides value to Itron through the leverage of Elpis Squared's utility grid analytics, services, and operational software platforms to enhance Itron's Outcomes offerings. The acquisition was deemed a business acquisition. The sales, results of operations, and acquisition-related costs associated with the acquisition were not material. The purchase price for this acquisition is $34.1 million. The purchase price was allocated to assets acquired and liabilities assumed, primarily $15.0 million in finite-lived intangible assets and $19.3 million in goodwill. Since this was a stock acquisition, none of the goodwill is deductible for tax purposes. The purchase was funded through cash on hand. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 4: Intangible Assets and Liabilities, Note 5: Goodwill, and Note 18: Business Combination for further details.

Total Company GAAP and Non-GAAP Highlights and Endpoints Under Management:

In thousands, except margin and per share data

(1) These measures exclude certain expenses that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating results. See pages 43-46 for information about these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures.

Definition of an Endpoint Under Management

An "endpoint under management" is a unique endpoint, or data from that endpoint, which Itron manages via our networked platform or a third party's platform that is connected to one or multiple types of endpoints. Itron's management of an endpoint occurs when on behalf of our client, we manage one or more of the physical endpoints, operating system, data, application, data analytics, and/or outcome deriving from this unique endpoint. Itron has the ability to monitor and/or manage endpoints or the data from the endpoints via Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and/or a licensed offering at a remote location designated by our client. Our offerings typically, but not exclusively, provide an Itron product or Itron certified partner product to our clients that has the capability of one-way communication or two-way communication of data that may include remote product configuration and upgradability. Examples of these offerings include our Temetra, OpenWay®, OpenWay® Riva and Gen X.

This metric primarily includes Itron or third-party endpoints deployed within the electricity, water, and gas utility industries, as well as within cities and municipalities around the globe. Endpoints under management also include smart communication modules and network interface cards (NICs) within Itron's platforms. At times, these NICs are communicating modules that were sold separately from an Itron product directly to our customers or to third party manufacturers for use in endpoints such as electric, water, and gas meters; streetlights and other types of IIoT sensors and actuators; sensors and other capabilities that the end customer would like Itron to connect and manage on its behalf.

The endpoints under management metric only accounts for the specific, unique endpoint itself, though that endpoint may have multiple applications, services, outcomes, and higher margin recurring offerings associated with it. This metric does not reflect the multi-application value that can be derived from the individual endpoint itself. Additionally, this metric excludes those endpoints that are non-communicating, non-Itron system hardware component sales or licensed applications for which Itron does not manage the unit or the data from that unit directly.

While the one-time sale of the platform and endpoints is primarily delivered via our Networked Solutions segment, our enhanced solutions, on-going monitoring, maintenance, software, analytics, and distributed intelligent applications are predominantly recognized in our Outcomes segment. We anticipate the opportunity to increase our penetration of Outcomes applications, software, and managed applications will increase as our endpoints under management increases. Management believes using the endpoints under management metric enhances insight of the strategic and operational direction of our Networked Solutions and Outcomes segments to serve clients for years following their one-time installation of an endpoint.

A summary of our endpoints under management is as follows:

Units in thousands

Results of Operations

Revenues and Gross Margin

The actual results of and effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on revenues and gross profit were as follows:

In thousands

Revenues

Revenues increased $267.2 million in 2024 compared with 2023. Product revenues increased $267.9 million in 2024, and service revenues decreased $0.7 million. Device Solutions increased by $20.9 million; Networked Solutions increased by $199.8 million; and Outcomes increased by $46.6 million when compared with the same period last year.

No single customer represented more than 10% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Our 10 largest customers accounted for 33% of total revenues in 2024 and 36% of total revenues in 2023.

Gross Margin

Gross margin was 34.4% for 2024, compared with 32.8% in 2023. We were favorably impacted by product and solution mix and manufacturing efficiencies from increased volumes. Product sales gross margin increased to 32.9% in 2024 from 30.7% in 2023. Gross margin on service revenues decreased to 44.6% from 46.0%.

Refer to Operating Segment Results section below for further detail on total company revenues and gross margin.

Operating Expenses

The actual results of and effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on operating expenses were as follows:

In thousands

Operating expenses decreased $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared with the same period in 2023. This was primarily the result of a $41.3 million decrease in restructuring costs, as well as a $1.1 million decrease in amortization of intangible assets. The decrease was partially offset by $26.3 million increase in sales, general and administrative expenses and a $6.3 million increase in research and development expenses. The increases in sales, general and administrative and research and development expenses were primarily driven by increased labor costs. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 4: Intangible Assets and Liabilities, and Note 13: Restructuring for more details.

Other Income (Expense)

The following table shows the components of other income (expense):

In thousands

Total other income (expense) for the year ended December 31, 2024 was net income of $20.4 million compared with net expense of $1.5 million in 2023. The net increase was driven by a $25.3 million increase in interest income primarily due to interest earned from the cash proceeds of the 2024 Notes, as well increased other income due to a $3.1 million foreign currency loss recognized in 2023 compared with a gain of $1.1 million in 2024. This increase was offset by an increase in other interest expense driven by a $5.8 million interest accrual for the 2024 Notes recognized in 2024 and a $1.8 million increase in amortization of prepaid debt fees.

Income Tax Provision

Our income tax expense was $43.4 million and $29.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Our tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 differed from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 21% due to changes in valuation allowances, the level of profit or losses in domestic and international jurisdictions, stock-based compensation, tax credits, settlement of tax audits, and uncertain tax positions.

For additional discussion related to income taxes, refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 11: Income Taxes.

Operating Segment Results

For a description of our operating segments, refer to Part I, Item 1: Business, Our Operating Segments included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Overview section above. The following tables and discussion highlight significant changes in trends or components of each operating segment:

In thousands

33

Device Solutions

The effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the constant currency changes in certain Device Solutions segment financial results were as follows:

In thousands

Revenues

Revenues increased by $20.9 million in 2024, or 5%, compared with 2023. The 2024 increase in revenues was driven primarily by increased smart water product sales. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates favorably impacted revenues by $0.6 million.

Gross Margin

Gross margin was 25.9% in 2024 compared with 23.2% in 2023. The 270 basis point increase over the prior year was primarily due to an improved product mix and manufacturing efficiencies.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses decreased $10.3 million, or 26%, in 2024 compared with 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower product development costs.

Networked Solutions

The effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the constant currency changes in certain Networked Solutions segment financial results were as follows:

In thousands

Revenues

Revenues increased by $199.8 million, or 14%, in 2024 compared with 2023. The increase was primarily from product revenues due to the ramp of new projects and ongoing deployments, slightly offset by $1.1 million in unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate changes.

Gross Margin

Gross margin was 36.2% in 2024 compared with 34.5% in 2023. The 170 basis point increase was primarily related to favorable product and solutions volumes and mix as well as improved operational efficiencies.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased by $10.3 million, or 8%, in 2024 compared with 2023. The increase was primarily related to higher product development costs.

Outcomes

The effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the constant currency changes in certain Outcomes segment financial results were as follows:

In thousands

Revenues

Revenues increased $46.6 million, or 17%, in 2024 compared with 2023. This increase was driven by software licenses, services, and the Elpis Squared acquisition. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates favorably impacted revenues by $0.5 million.

Gross Margin

Gross margin decreased to 37.6% in 2024 compared with 40.5% for last year. The 290 basis point decrease was driven by increased services cost and mix in the current period.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased $8.4 million, or 15%, in 2024 compared with 2023. This was primarily related to increased product development investment.

Corporate unallocated

Operating expenses not directly associated with an operating segment are classified as Corporate unallocated. These expenses decreased $18.3 million in 2024 as compared with 2023. This was due to a decrease of $41.3 million in restructuring, as well as a $1.1 million decrease in amortization of intangible assets. The decreases were partially offset by a $23.5 million increase in sales, general and administrative expenses as compared with 2023. The increase in sales, general, and administrative expenses was primarily driven by increased labor costs. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 4: Intangible Assets and Liabilities and Note 13: Restructuring for more details.

Financial Condition

Cash Flow Information

In thousands

Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2024 was $1.05 billion compared with $302.0 million at December 31, 2023. The $749.2 million increase in cash and cash equivalents in the 2024 period was primarily the net proceeds provided by the 2024 convertible notes issuance and net cash provided by operating activities as a result of higher earnings, partially offset by cash used in investing activities for the acquisition of Elpis Squared and a slight increase in cash paid for acquisition of property, plant, and equipment.

Operating activities

Cash provided by operating activities in 2024 was $113.2 million higher than in 2023. This increase was primarily due to increased earnings and working capital conversion, partially offset by higher restructuring and variable compensation payments in 2024.

Investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities in 2024 was $63.4 million, compared with net cash used in investing activities in 2023 of $23.3 million. This movement was primarily related to net cash used for the acquisition of Elpis Squared for $34.1 million along with $3.7 million increased purchases of property, plant, and equipment in 2024.

Financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities during 2024 was $579.6 million, compared with $3.5 million used in 2023. In 2024, cash provided by financing activities is due primarily to the issuance of the 2024 convertible notes, net of total debt issuance cost, totaling $784 million, partially offset by the purchase of the capped call for the convertible offering of $109.0 million and common stock repurchased totaling $100.0 million.

Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents

The effect of exchange rates on the cash balances of currencies held in foreign denominations resulted in a decrease of $5.1 million in 2024 and an increase of $1.9 million in 2023. Our foreign currency exposure relates to non-U.S. dollar denominated balances in our international subsidiary operations.

Free cash flow (Non-GAAP)

To supplement our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows presented on a GAAP basis, we use the non-GAAP measure of free cash flow to analyze cash flows generated from our operations. The presentation of non-GAAP free cash flow is not meant to be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income as an indicator of our performance, or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. We calculate free cash flows, using amounts from our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, as follows:

In thousands

Free cash flow increased due to higher operating cash flow, partially offset by higher spending for property, plant, and equipment. See the cash flow discussion of operating and investing activities above.

Off-balance sheet arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet financing agreements or guarantees as defined by Item 303 of Regulation S-K at December 31, 2024 and 2023 that we believe could reasonably likely have a current or future effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity are cash flows from operations, borrowings, and the sale of our common stock. Cash flows may fluctuate and are sensitive to many factors including changes in working capital and the timing and magnitude of capital expenditures and payments of debt. Working capital, which represents current assets less current liabilities, continues to be in a net favorable position. We expect existing cash, cash flows from operations, and access to capital markets to continue to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and cash commitments, such as material capital expenditures and debt obligations, for at least the next 12 months and into the foreseeable future.

Borrowings

We originally entered into our credit facility on January 5, 2018 (together with the subsequent eight amendments, the 2018 credit facility). The 2018 credit facility provides a multicurrency revolving line of credit (the revolver) with a principal amount of up to $500 million. The revolver also contains a $300 million standby letter of credit sub-facility and a $50 million swingline sub-facility. At December 31, 2024, no amount was outstanding under the 2018 credit facility, and $46.0 million was utilized by outstanding standby letters of credit, resulting in $454.0 million available for borrowing. At December 31, 2024,

$254.0 million was available for additional standby letters of credit under the letter of credit sub-facility, and no amounts were outstanding under the swingline sub-facility. Amounts borrowed under the revolver may be repaid and reborrowed until the revolver's maturity on October 18, 2026, at which time all outstanding loans together with all accrued and unpaid interest must be repaid. However, that date may be advanced to December 14, 2025 if Itron does not settle or extend a sufficient portion of the outstanding 2021 convertible notes, as detailed in the seventh amendment.

On March 12, 2021, we closed the sale of $460 million in convertible notes (the 2021 Notes) in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. These convertible notes do not bear regular interest, and the principal amount does not accrete. The convertible notes will mature on March 15, 2026, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted in accordance with their terms.

On June 21, 2024, we closed the sale of $805 million in convertible notes (the 2024 Notes) in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. These convertible notes accrue interest at a rate of 1.375% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year, beginning on January 15, 2025. The notes will mature on July 15, 2030, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted in accordance with their terms.

For further description of our borrowings, refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 6: Debt. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 2: Earnings Per Share and Note 14: Shareholders' Equity for further details of the convertible note hedge transactions and warrant transactions.

For a description of our letters of credit and performance bonds, and the amounts available for additional borrowings or letters of credit under our lines of credit, including the revolver that is part of our 2018 credit facility, refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 12: Commitments and Contingencies.

Restructuring

On October 29, 2021, our Board of Directors approved a restructuring plan (the 2021 Projects), which in conjunction with the announcement of the sale of certain Gas product lines from our Device Solutions manufacturing and business operations in Europe and North America to Dresser Utility Solutions, includes activities to drive reductions in certain locations and functional support areas. These projects were substantially complete at the end of 2024, with an estimated $12.8 million in cash payments remaining as of December 31, 2024 with cash outflows expected through 2027.

On February 23, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a restructuring plan (the 2023 Projects). The 2023 Projects include activities that continue Itron's efforts to optimize its global supply chain and manufacturing operations, sales and marketing organizations, and other overhead. These projects are expected to be substantially complete by early 2025, with an estimated $28.5 million in cash payments remaining as of December 31, 2024 with cash outflows expected through 2027.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, we paid out $32.0 million related to all our restructuring projects. As of December 31, 2024, $41.3 million was accrued for these restructuring projects, of which $24.3 million is expected to be paid within the next 12 months.

For further details regarding our restructuring activities, refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 13: Restructuring.

Stock Repurchase Programs

Effective September 19, 2024, Itron's Board of Directors authorized a repurchase up to $100 million of our common stock over an 18-month period (the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program). The repurchase program is intended to comply with Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We repurchased no shares under the 2024 Stock Repurchase Program.

Other contractual obligations and commitments

Operating lease obligations are disclosed in Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 19: Leases and do not include common area maintenance charges, real estate taxes, and insurance charges for which we are obligated. Amounts due under operating lease liabilities during 2025 are $15.9 million and are $27.6 million for 2026 and beyond.

We regularly enter into standard purchase orders in the ordinary course of business that may obligate us to purchase materials and other items but may not yet qualify for recognition in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Purchase orders and other purchase obligations can include open-ended agreements that provide for estimated quantities over an extended delivery period. At December 31, 2024, purchase orders and other purchase obligations were $641.4 million, which includes capital expenditures of $13.0 million. The purchase orders may include durations longer than one year, but these long-term agreements generally contain termination clauses that could require payment if the commitments were canceled, and as such the total above is considered short-term as of December 31, 2024.

Other long-term liabilities consist of warranty obligations, estimated pension benefit payments, and other obligations. Estimated pension benefit payments include amounts to be paid from our assets for unfunded plans and reflect expected future service. The following table summarizes our known obligations to make future payments pursuant to certain contracts as of December 31, 2024.

In thousands

The period of cash settlement for long-term unrecognized tax benefits, which include accrued interest and penalties, cannot be reasonably estimated with the respective taxing authorities. For further information on defined benefit pension plans, income taxes, warranty obligations, and unearned revenue for extended warranties, refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 8: Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Note 11: Income Taxes, Note 12: Commitments and Contingencies, and Note 17: Revenues.

Income Tax

Our tax provision as a percentage of income before tax typically differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21%. Changes in our actual tax rate are subject to several factors, including fluctuations in operating results, new or revised tax legislation and accounting pronouncements, changes in the level of business in domestic and foreign jurisdictions, research and development tax credits, state income taxes, adjustments to valuation allowances, settlement of tax audits, and uncertain tax positions, among other items. Changes in tax laws, valuation allowances, and unanticipated tax liabilities could significantly impact our tax rate.

Our cash income tax payments were as follows:

In thousands

Based on current projections, we expect to pay, net of refunds, approximately $67 million in U.S. federal and state taxes and $14 million in foreign and local income taxes in 2025.

As of December 31, 2024, there was $46.1 million of cash and short-term investments held by certain foreign subsidiaries in which we are permanently reinvested for tax purposes. As a result of recent changes in U.S. tax legislation, any repatriation in the future would not result in U.S. federal income tax. Accordingly, there is no provision for U.S. deferred taxes on this cash. If this cash were repatriated to fund U.S. operations, additional withholding tax costs may be incurred. Tax is only one of the many factors that we consider in the management of global cash. Accordingly, the amount of taxes that we would need to accrue and pay to repatriate foreign cash could vary significantly.

Other Liquidity Considerations

In certain of our consolidated international subsidiaries, we have joint venture partners who are minority shareholders. Although these entities are not wholly-owned by Itron, Inc., we consolidate them because we have a greater than 50% ownership interest and/or because we exercise control over the operations. The noncontrolling interest balance in our Consolidated Balance Sheets represents the proportional share of the equity of the joint venture entities, which is attributable to the minority shareholders. At December 31, 2024, $3.6 million of our consolidated cash balance was held in our joint venture entities. As a result, the minority shareholders of these entities have rights to their proportional share of this cash balance, and there may be limitations on our ability to repatriate cash to the United States from these entities.

As of December 31, 2024, we expect to make cash payments of approximately $64 million for variable compensation during the first quarter of 2025.

General Liquidity Overview

We expect to grow through a combination of internal new research and development, licensing technology from and to others, distribution agreements, partnering arrangements, and acquisitions of technology or other companies. We expect these activities to be funded with existing cash, cash flow from operations, borrowings, or the sale of our common stock or other securities. We believe existing sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our existing operations and obligations for the next 12 months and into the foreseeable future, but offer no assurances. Our liquidity could be affected by the stability of the electricity, gas, and water utility industries, competitive pressures, our dependence on certain key vendors and components, changes in estimated liabilities for product warranties and/or litigation, supply constraints, future business combinations, capital market fluctuations, international risks, and other factors described under Part I, Item 1A: Risk Factors, as well as Item 7A: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Contingencies

Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 12: Commitments and Contingencies.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Preparing consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are affected by management's application of accounting policies. Our critical accounting policies include revenue recognition, warranty, restructuring, income taxes, goodwill and intangible assets, defined benefit pension plans, contingencies, and stock-based compensation. Refer to Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for further disclosures regarding accounting policies and new accounting pronouncements.

Revenue Recognition

Many of our revenue arrangements involve multiple performance obligations, consisting of hardware, software, and professional services such as implementation, project management, installation, consulting services, cloud services, and SaaS. These arrangements require us to determine the standalone selling price of the promised goods or services underlying each performance obligation and then allocate the total arrangement consideration among the separate performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling price. Revenues for each performance obligation are then recognized upon transfer of control to the customer at a point in time as products are shipped or received by a customer, or over time as services are delivered. The majority of our revenue is recognized at a point in time when products are shipped to or received by a customer. Certain contracts that contain multiple performance obligations may contain customer-specific terms and conditions that govern service level commitments, transfer of control, and variable consideration that may involve complex accounting considerations.

Professional services revenues are recognized over time. We measure progress towards satisfying these performance obligations using input methods, most commonly based on the costs incurred in relation to the total expected costs to provide the service. The estimate of expected costs to provide services requires judgment. Cost estimates take into consideration past history and the specific scope requested by the customer and are updated quarterly. Other variables impacting our estimate of costs to complete include length of time to complete, changes in wages, subcontractor performance, supplier information, and business volume assumptions. Changes in underlying assumptions and estimates may adversely or favorably affect financial performance.

If we estimate that the completion of a performance obligation will result in a loss, then the loss is recognized in the period in which the loss becomes evident. We reevaluate the estimated loss through the completion of the performance obligation and adjust the estimated loss for changes in facts and circumstances.

Many of our contracts with customers include variable consideration, which can include liquidated damage provisions, rebates and volume and early payment discounts, or software licenses sold where the amount of consideration is dependent on the number of endpoints deployed. We estimate variable consideration using the expected value method, taking into consideration contract terms, historical customer behavior, and historical sales. Some of our contracts with customers contain clauses for liquidated damages related to the timing of delivery or milestone accomplishments, which could become material in the event of failure to meet the contractual deadlines. At the inception of the arrangement and on an ongoing basis, we evaluate the probability of having to pay liquidated damages and the magnitude of such damages. In the case of liquidated damages, we also take into consideration progress towards meeting contractual milestones, including whether milestones have not been achieved, specified rates, if applicable, stated in the contract, and history of paying liquidated damages to the customer or similar customers.

Certain of our revenue arrangements include an extended or customer-specific warranty provision that covers all or a portion of a customer's replacement or repair costs beyond the standard warranty period. Whether or not the extended warranty is separately priced in the arrangement, a portion of the arrangement's total consideration is allocated to this extended warranty deliverable. This revenue is deferred and recognized over the extended warranty coverage period. Extended or customer-specific warranties do not represent a significant portion of our revenue.

We allocate consideration to each performance obligation in an arrangement based on its relative standalone selling price. For goods or services where we have observable standalone sales, the observable standalone sales are used to determine the standalone selling price. For the majority of our goods and services, we do not have observable standalone sales. As a result, we estimate the standalone selling price using either the adjusted market assessment approach or the expected cost plus a margin approach. Approaches used to estimate the standalone selling price for a given good or service maximize the use of observable inputs and consider several factors, including our pricing practices, costs to provide a good or service, the type of good or service, and availability of other transactional data, among others.

We determine the estimated standalone selling prices of goods or services used in our allocation of arrangement consideration on an annual basis or more frequently if there is a significant change in our business or if we experience significant variances in our transaction prices.

Our contracts may be modified to add, remove, or change existing performance obligations or change the contract price. The accounting for modifications to our contracts involves assessing whether the products or services added to an existing contract are distinct and whether the pricing is at the standalone selling price. Products or services added that are not distinct are accounted for as if it were part of the existing contract. The effect of the modification on the transaction price and on the measure of progress is recognized as an adjustment to revenue as of the date of the modification (i.e., on a cumulative catch-up basis). Those products or services that are distinct are accounted for prospectively, either as a separate contract if the additional services are priced at the standalone selling price, or as a termination of the existing contract and creation of a new contract if not priced at the standalone selling price.

Warranty

We offer standard warranties on our hardware products and large application software products. We accrue the estimated cost of product warranties based on historical and projected product performance trends and costs during the warranty period. Testing of new products in the development stage helps identify and correct potential warranty issues prior to manufacturing. Quality control efforts during manufacturing reduce our exposure to warranty claims. When testing or quality control efforts fail to detect a fault in our products, we may experience an increase in warranty claims. We track warranty claims to identify potential warranty trends. If an unusual trend is identified, an additional warranty accrual would be recognized if a failure event is probable and the cost can be reasonably estimated. When new products are introduced, our process relies on historical averages of similar products until sufficient data are available. As actual experience on new products becomes available, it is used to modify the historical averages to ensure the expected warranty costs are within a range of likely outcomes. Management regularly evaluates the sufficiency of the warranty provisions and makes adjustments when necessary. The warranty allowances may fluctuate due to changes in estimates for material, labor, and other costs we may incur to repair or replace projected product failures, and we may incur additional warranty and related expenses in the future with respect to new or established products, which could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

Restructuring

We recognize a liability for costs associated with an exit or disposal activity under a restructuring project at its fair value in the period in which the liability is incurred. Employee termination benefits considered post-employment benefits are accrued when the obligation is probable and estimable, such as benefits stipulated by human resource policies and practices or statutory requirements. If the employee must provide future service, such benefits are recognized ratably over the future service period. For contract termination costs, we recognize a liability upon the later of when we terminate a contract in accordance with the contract terms or when we cease using the rights conveyed by the contract, whichever occurs later.

Asset impairments associated with a restructuring project are determined at the asset group level. An impairment may be recognized for assets that are to be abandoned, are to be sold for less than net book value, or are held for sale in which the estimated proceeds are less than the net book value less costs to sell. We may also recognize impairment on an asset group, which is held and used, when the carrying value is not recoverable and exceeds the asset group's fair value. If an asset group is considered a business, a portion of our goodwill balance is allocated to it based on relative fair value. If the sale of an asset group under a restructuring project results in proceeds that exceed the net book value of the asset group, the resulting gain is recognized within restructuring expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

In determining restructuring charges, we analyze our future operating requirements, including the required headcount by business functions and facility space requirements. Our restructuring costs and any resulting accruals involve significant estimates using the best information available at the time the estimates are made. Our estimates involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control, including real estate market conditions and local labor and employment laws, rules, and regulations. If the amounts and timing of cash flows from restructuring activities are significantly different from what we have estimated, the actual amount of restructuring and asset impairment charges could be materially different, either higher or lower, than those we have recognized.

Income Taxes

We estimate income tax expense in each of the taxing jurisdictions in which we operate. Changes in our actual tax rate are subject to several factors, including fluctuations in operating results, new or revised tax legislation and accounting pronouncements, changes in the level of business in domestic and foreign jurisdictions, research and development tax credits, state income taxes, adjustments to valuation allowances, settlement of tax audits, and uncertain tax positions, among other items. Changes in tax laws, valuation allowances, and unanticipated tax liabilities could significantly impact our tax rate.

We recognize valuation allowances to reduce deferred tax assets to the extent we believe it is more likely than not that a portion of such assets will not be realized. In making such determinations, we consider all available favorable and unfavorable evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies, and our ability to carry back losses to prior years. We are required to make assumptions and judgments about potential outcomes that lie outside our control. Our most sensitive and critical factors are the projection, source, and character of future taxable income. Although realization is not assured, management believes it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance, will be realized. The amount of deferred tax assets considered realizable, however, could be reduced in the near term if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward periods are reduced.

We are subject to audits in multiple taxing jurisdictions in which we operate. These audits may involve complex issues, which may require an extended period of time to resolve. We believe we have recognized adequate income tax provisions and reserves for uncertain tax positions.

In evaluating uncertain tax positions, we consider the relative risks and merits of positions taken in tax returns filed and to be filed, considering statutory, judicial, and regulatory guidance applicable to those positions. We make assumptions and judgments about potential outcomes that lie outside management's control. To the extent the tax authorities disagree with our conclusions and depending on the final resolution of those disagreements, our actual tax rate may be materially affected in the period of final settlement with the tax authorities.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets may result from our business acquisitions. Intangible assets may also result from the purchase of assets and intellectual property where we do not acquire a business. We use estimates, including estimates of useful lives of intangible assets, the amount and timing of related future cash flows, and fair values of the related operations, in determining the value assigned to goodwill and intangible assets. Our finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives based on estimated discounted cash flows. Fully amortized finite-lived intangible assets are removed from the presentation of gross intangible assets along with the related accumulated amortization. In-process research and development is considered an indefinite-lived intangible asset and is not subject to amortization until the associated projects are completed or terminated. Finite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at the asset group level when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually, when events or changes in circumstances indicate the asset may be impaired, or when their useful lives are determined to be no longer indefinite.

Goodwill is assigned to our reporting units based on the expected benefit from the synergies arising from each business combination, determined by using certain financial metrics, including the forecast discounted cash flows associated with each reporting unit. Each reporting unit corresponds with its respective operating segment.

We test goodwill for impairment each year as of October 1, or more frequently should a significant impairment indicator occur. As part of the impairment test, we may elect to perform an assessment of qualitative factors. If this qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit, including goodwill, is less than its carrying amount, or if we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment, we would then proceed with the impairment test. The impairment test involves comparing the fair values of the reporting units to their carrying amounts. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we first evaluate the long-lived assets within the reporting unit for impairment and then recognize a goodwill impairment loss in an amount equal to any excess.

Determining the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We forecast discounted future cash flows at the reporting unit level using risk-adjusted discount rates and estimated future revenues and operating costs, which take into consideration factors such as existing backlog, expected future orders, supplier contracts, and expectations of competitive, business and economic environments. We also identify similar publicly traded companies and develop a correlation, referred to as a multiple, to apply to the operating results of the reporting units. These combined fair values are then reconciled to the aggregate market value of our common stock on the date of valuation, while considering a reasonable control premium.

Changes in market demand, fluctuations in the markets in which we operate, the volatility and decline in the worldwide equity markets, and a decline in our market capitalization could unfavorably impact the remaining carrying value of our goodwill, which could have a significant effect on our current and future results of operations and financial position.

Defined Benefit Pension Plans

We sponsor both funded and unfunded defined benefit pension plans for our international employees, primarily in Germany, France, India, and Indonesia. We recognize a liability for the projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets or an asset for plan assets in excess of the projected benefit obligation. We also recognize the funded status of our defined benefit pension plans on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and recognize as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) (OCI), net of tax, the actuarial gains or losses and prior service costs or credits, if any, which arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost.

Several economic assumptions and actuarial data are used in calculating the expense and obligations related to these plans. The assumptions are updated annually at December 31 and include the discount rate, the expected remaining service life, the expected rate of return on plan assets, and the rate of future compensation increases. The discount rate is a significant assumption used to value our pension benefit obligation. We determine a discount rate for our plans based on the estimated duration of each plan's liabilities. For euro denominated defined benefit pension plans, which represent 80% of our projected benefit obligation, we use discount rates with consideration of the duration of each of the plans, using a hypothetical yield curve developed from euro-denominated AA-rated corporate bond issues. These bonds are assigned different weights to adjust their relative influence on the yield curve, and the highest and lowest yielding 10% of bonds are excluded within each maturity group. The discount rate used, depending on the duration of the plans, were between 3.00% and 3.50%. The weighted average discount rate used to measure the projected benefit obligation for all of the plans at December 31, 2024 was 4.04%. A change of 100 basis points in the discount rate would change our projected benefit obligation by approximately $9.0 million. The financial and actuarial assumptions used at December 31, 2024 may differ materially from actual results due to changing market and economic conditions and other factors. These differences could result in a significant change in the amount of pension expense recognized in future periods.

Contingencies

A loss contingency is recognized if it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. We evaluate, among other factors, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and our ability to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of the ultimate loss. Loss contingencies that we determine to be reasonably possible, but not probable, are disclosed but not recognized. Changes in these factors and related estimates could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. Legal costs to defend against contingent liabilities are recognized as incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation

We grant various stock-based compensation awards to our officers, employees, and Board of Directors with service, performance, and market vesting conditions, including restricted stock units, phantom stock units, and unrestricted stock units (awards). Prior to December 31, 2020, stock options were also granted as part of the stock-based compensation awards. We measure and recognize compensation expense for all awards based on estimated fair values. For awards with only a service condition, we expense stock-based compensation using the straight-line method over the requisite service period for the entire award. For awards with service and performance conditions, if vesting is probable, we expense the stock-based compensation on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award. For awards with a market condition, we expense the fair value over the requisite service period.

We measure and recognize compensation expense for all stock-based compensation based on estimated fair values. The fair value of unrestricted stock awards with no market conditions is the market close price of our common stock on the date of grant. For restricted stock units with market conditions, the fair value is estimated at the date of award using a Monte Carlo simulation model, which includes assumptions for dividend yield and expected volatility for our common stock and the common stock for companies within the Russell 3000 index, as well as the risk-free interest rate and expected term of the awards. For phantom stock units, fair value is the market close price of our common stock at the end of each reporting period. For stock options, the fair value was estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which included assumptions for the expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, expected term and dividend yield.

In valuing our restricted stock units with a market condition and stock options, significant judgment is required in determining the expected volatility of our common stock and the expected life that individuals will hold their stock options prior to exercising. The volatility for our restricted stock units with a market condition is based on the historical volatility of our own stock and the stock for companies comprising the market index within the market condition. The expected volatility for stock options was based on the historical and implied volatility of our own common stock. The expected life of stock option grants was derived from the historical actual term of option grants and an estimate of future exercises during the remaining contractual period of the option. While volatility and estimated life are assumptions that do not bear the risk of change subsequent to the grant date, these assumptions may be difficult to measure as they represent future expectations based on historical experience. Further, our expected volatility and expected life may change in the future, which could substantially change the grant-date fair value of future awards and ultimately the expense we recognize. Actual results and future estimates may differ substantially from our current estimates.

Non-GAAP Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP operating expense, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and constant currency. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, and other companies may define such measures differently. For a reconciliation of each non-GAAP measure to the most comparable financial measure prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, please see the table captioned Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the Most Directly Comparable GAAP Financial Measures.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and/or as a means for determining executive compensation. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and ability to service debt by excluding certain expenses that may not be indicative of our recurring core operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures facilitate management's internal comparisons to our historical performance, as well as comparisons to our competitors' operating results. Our executive compensation plans exclude non-cash charges related to amortization of intangibles and certain discrete cash and non-cash charges, such as restructuring, loss on sale of business, strategic initiative expenses, or acquisition and integration related expenses. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors because they provide greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making and because they are used by our institutional investors and the analyst community to analyze the health of our business.

Non-GAAP operating expenses and non-GAAP operating income – We define non-GAAP operating expenses as operating expenses excluding certain expenses related to the amortization of intangible assets, restructuring, loss on sale of business, strategic initiative expenses, and acquisition and integration related expenses. We define non-GAAP operating income as operating income excluding the expenses related to the amortization of intangible assets, restructuring, loss on sale of business, strategic initiative expenses, and acquisition and integration related expenses. Acquisition and integration related expenses include costs, which are incurred to affect and integrate business combinations, such as professional fees, certain employee retention and salaries related to integration, severances, contract terminations, travel costs related to knowledge transfer, system conversion costs, and asset impairment charges. We consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors because they exclude the effect of expenses that are not related to our core operating results. By excluding these expenses, we believe that it is easier for management and investors to compare our financial results over multiple periods and analyze trends in our operations. For example, in certain periods, expenses related to amortization of intangible assets may decrease, which would improve GAAP operating margins, yet the improvement in GAAP operating margins due to this lower expense is not necessarily reflective of an improvement in our core business. There are some limitations related to the use of non-GAAP operating expenses and non-GAAP operating income versus operating expenses and operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information about the GAAP amounts excluded from non-GAAP operating expense and non-GAAP operating income and evaluating non-GAAP operating expense and non-GAAP operating income together with GAAP operating expense and operating income.

Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS – We define non-GAAP net income as net income attributable to Itron, Inc. excluding the expenses associated with amortization of intangible assets, amortization of debt placement fees, restructuring, loss on sale of business, strategic initiative expenses, acquisition and integration related expenses, and the tax effect of excluding these expenses. We define non-GAAP diluted EPS as non-GAAP net income divided by diluted weighted-average shares outstanding during the period calculated on a GAAP basis and then reduced to reflect any anti-dilutive impact of the convertible notes hedge transactions. We consider these financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors for the same reasons that we use non-GAAP operating income. The same limitations described above regarding our use of non-GAAP operating income apply to our use of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from these non-GAAP measures and evaluating non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS together with GAAP net income attributable to Itron, Inc. and GAAP diluted EPS.

Adjusted EBITDA – We define adjusted EBITDA as net income (a) minus interest income, (b) plus interest expense, depreciation and amortization, restructuring, loss on sale of business, strategic initiative expenses, acquisition and integration related expenses, and (c) excluding income tax provision or benefit. Management uses adjusted EBITDA as a performance measure for executive compensation. A limitation to using adjusted EBITDA is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period and the measure includes some non-cash items and excludes other non-cash items. Additionally, the items that we exclude in our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may differ from the items that our peer companies exclude when they report their results. We compensate for these limitations by providing a reconciliation of this measure to GAAP net income.

Free cash flow – We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less cash used for acquisitions of property, plant and equipment. We believe free cash flow provides investors with a relevant measure of liquidity and a useful basis for assessing our ability to fund our operations and repay our debt. The same limitations described above regarding our use of adjusted EBITDA apply to our use of free cash flow. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts in the reconciliation.

Constant currency – We refer to the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations in our discussions of financial results, which references the differences between the foreign currency exchange rates used to translate operating results from the entity's functional currency into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. We also use the term "constant currency", which represents financial results adjusted to exclude changes in foreign currency exchange rates as compared with the rates in the comparable prior year period. We calculate the constant currency change as the difference between the current period results and the comparable prior period's results restated using current period foreign currency exchange rates.

Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the Most Directly Comparable GAAP Financial Measures

The tables below reconcile the non-GAAP financial measures of operating expenses, operating income, net income, diluted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

In thousands, except per share data

45

In thousands

(1) The income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments is calculated using the statutory tax rates for the relevant jurisdictions if no valuation allowance exists. If a valuation allowance exists, there is no tax impact to the non-GAAP adjustment.

In the normal course of business, we are exposed to interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate risks that could impact our financial position and results of operations. As part of our risk management strategy, we may use derivative financial instruments to hedge certain foreign currency and interest rate exposures. Our objective is to offset gains and losses resulting from these exposures with losses and gains on the derivative contracts used to hedge them, therefore reducing the impact of volatility on earnings or protecting the fair values of assets and liabilities. We use derivative contracts only to manage existing underlying exposures. Accordingly, we do not use derivative contracts for trading or speculative purposes.

Interest Rate Risk

We may be exposed to interest rate risk through variable rate debt instruments, namely the multicurrency revolving line of credit. At December 31, 2024, we had no outstanding variable rate debt.

We continually monitor and assess our interest rate risk and may institute additional interest rate swaps or other derivative instruments to manage such risk in the future if we were to have variable rate debt outstanding.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

We conduct business in a number of countries. Revenues denominated in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar were 22% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared with 24% for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 30% for the year ended December 31, 2022. These transactions expose our account balances to movements in foreign currency exchange rates that could have a material effect on our financial results. Our primary foreign currency exposure relates to non-U.S. dollar denominated transactions in our international subsidiary operations, the most significant of which is the euro.

We are exposed to foreign exchange risk when we enter into non-functional currency transactions, both intercompany and third party. At each period-end, non-functional currency monetary assets and liabilities are revalued with the change recognized within other income (expense) in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. We enter into monthly foreign exchange forward contracts, which are not designated for hedge accounting, with the intent to reduce earnings volatility associated with currency exposures. As of December 31, 2024, a total of 35 contracts were offsetting our exposures from the euro, pound sterling, Indonesian rupiah, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, and various other currencies, with notional amounts ranging from $104,000 to $32.3 million.

In future periods, we may use additional derivative contracts to protect against foreign currency exchange rate risks.

Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures

An evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our Company's management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. Based on that evaluation, the Company's management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that as of December 31, 2024, the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure the information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

Management's Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control— Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 Framework). Based on our evaluation under the 2013 Framework, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report that is included in this Annual Report.

Changes in internal controls over financial reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended December 31, 2024 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, internal control over financial reporting.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Itron, Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Itron, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, of the Company and our report dated February 25, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

Basis for Opinion

The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's Annual Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Seattle, Washington

February 25, 2025