Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Income taxes consisted of the following:

	Year Ended September 30,
	2023			2022			2021
Current:
Federal	$	41,195		$	21,869		$	15,109
State		2,641			2,310			853
Foreign		39,719			27,577			34,354
Deferred:
Federal		(38,136	)		(13,216	)		(8,369	)
State		(10,006	)		(8,623	)		(2,658	)
Foreign		7,987			(1,717	)		(2,139	)
	$	43,400		$	28,200		$	37,150

Earnings Before Income Taxes by Geographical Area

Earnings before income taxes by geographical area consisted of the following:

	Year Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2021
United States	$	122,389	$	99,427	$	136,280
Other countries		153,379		100,471		109,519
	$	275,768	$	199,898	$	245,799

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Significant components of deferred income taxes presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are related to the following:

	September 30, 2023			September 30, 2022
Deferred tax assets:
Defined benefit plans, other postretirement	$	3,769		$	4,144
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards		3,748			3,449
Inventory		68,034			57,102
Stock-based and other compensation		51,099			42,428
Deferred revenue net of unbilled receivables		46,283			49,491
Other reserves		8,244			8,017
Tax credits and incentives		28,319			25,623
Lease obligations		6,103			7,150
Other		4,476			3,402
Capitalized research and development costs		37,328			—
Valuation allowance		(3,827	)		(2,537	)
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance		253,576			198,269
Deferred tax liabilities:
Goodwill and intangibles - net		(194,891	)		(187,988	)
Property, plant and equipment		(99,547	)		(100,215	)
Right of use assets		(5,948	)		(7,013	)
Defined benefit plans, pension		(9,892	)		(3,969	)
Other		(17,568	)		(2,832	)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(327,846	)		(302,017	)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(74,270	)	$	(103,748	)

Reconciliation of U.S. Statutory Tax Rate to Effective Tax Rate

The following is a reconciliation of the U.S. Federal statutory tax 21% in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, September 30, 2022, and September 30, 2021 to Woodward’s effective income tax rate:

	Year Ending September 30,
	2023			2022			2021
Percent of pretax earnings
Statutory tax rate		21.0	%		21.0	%		21.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit		(1.6	)		(2.5	)		(0.5	)
Taxes on international activities		(0.6	)		0.8			(0.1	)
Research credit		(3.9	)		(4.5	)		(3.1	)
Net excess income tax benefit from stock-based compensation		(3.7	)		(2.5	)		(4.2	)
Adjustments of prior period tax items		(1.3	)		—			0.4
Compensation and benefits		0.6			0.3			0.5
Distributable foreign earnings		4.6			—			—
Other items, net		0.6			1.5			1.1
Effective tax rate		15.7	%		14.1	%		15.1	%

Reconciliation of the Beginning and Ending Amounts of Gross Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits follows:

	Year Ending September 30,
	2023			2022			2021
Beginning balance	$	11,938		$	15,199		$	9,851
Additions to current year tax positions		3,933			1,783			2,289
Reductions to prior year tax positions		(141	)		(963	)		—
Additions to prior year tax positions		—			112			3,166
Lapse of applicable statute of limitations		(4,618	)		(4,193	)		(107	)
Ending balance	$	11,112		$	11,938		$	15,199