UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

____________________________________

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

OR

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period from         to

Commission File Number: 001-08089

DANAHER CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		59-1995548
(State of Incorporation)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 800W		20037-1701
Washington,	DC
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 202-828-0850

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, $0.01 par value	DHR	New York Stock Exchange
4.75% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, Series A, without par value	DHR.PRA	New York Stock Exchange
Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2022	DHR F 06/30/22	New York Stock Exchange
1.700% Senior Notes due 2022	DHR 1.7 01/04/22	New York Stock Exchange
2.500% Senior Notes due 2025	DHR 2.5 07/08/25	New York Stock Exchange
0.200% Senior Notes due 2026	DHR 0.2 03/18/26	New York Stock Exchange
1.200% Senior Notes due 2027	DHR 1.2 06/30/27	New York Stock Exchange
0.450% Senior Notes due 2028	DHR 0.45 03/18/28	New York Stock Exchange
0.750% Senior Notes due 2031	DHR 0.75 09/18/31	New York Stock Exchange
1.350% Senior Notes due 2039	DHR 1.35 09/18/39	New York Stock Exchange
1.800% Senior Notes due 2049	DHR 1.8 09/18/49	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

NONE

(Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes   ☒     No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes   ☐     No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.     Yes   ☒     No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).     Yes   ☒     No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer	☒	Accelerated Filer	☐
Non-accelerated Filer	☐	Smaller Reporting company	☐
Emerging Growth Company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes   ☐     No  ☒

As of February 6, 2020, the number of shares of Registrant’s common stock outstanding was 696,237,113. The aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 28, 2019 was $91.1 billion, based upon the closing price of the Registrant’s common stock as quoted on the New York Stock Exchange on such date.

 ____________________________________

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III incorporates certain information by reference from the Registrant’s proxy statement for its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after Registrant’s fiscal year-end. With the exception of the sections of the 2020 Proxy Statement specifically incorporated herein by reference, the 2020 Proxy Statement is not deemed to be filed as part of this Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

			PAGE
INFORMATION RELATING TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			1
PART I
	Item 1.	Business	1
	Item 1A.	Risk Factors	12
	Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	29
	Item 2.	Properties	29
	Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	30
	Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	30
		Information About Our Executive Officers	30
PART II
	Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	32
	Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	33
	Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	34
	Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	58
	Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	59
	Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	120
	Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	120
	Item 9B.	Other Information	120
PART III
	Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	120
	Item 11.	Executive Compensation	120
	Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	121
	Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	121
	Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	121
PART IV
	Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	122
	Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	122

INFORMATION RELATING TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report, in other documents we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in our press releases, webcasts, conference calls, materials delivered to shareholders and other communications, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. All statements other than historical factual information are forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding: projections of revenue, expenses, profit, profit margins, tax rates, tax provisions, cash flows, pension and benefit obligations and funding requirements, our liquidity position or other projected financial measures; management’s plans and strategies for future operations, including statements relating to anticipated operating performance, cost reductions, restructuring activities, new product and service developments, competitive strengths or market position, acquisitions and the integration thereof, divestitures, spin-offs, split-offs or other distributions, strategic opportunities, securities offerings, stock repurchases, dividends and executive compensation; growth, declines and other trends in markets we sell into; new or modified laws, regulations and accounting pronouncements; future regulatory approvals and the timing and conditionality thereof; outstanding claims, legal proceedings, tax audits and assessments and other contingent liabilities; future foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; general economic and capital markets conditions; the anticipated timing of any of the foregoing; assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and any other statements that address events or developments that Danaher intends or believes will or may occur in the future. Terminology such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “should,” “could,” “intend,” “will,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “target,” “may,” “possible,” “potential,” “forecast” and “positioned” and similar references to future periods are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements are accompanied by such words. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties set forth under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from the results, developments and business decisions contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the report, document, press release, webcast, call, materials or other communication in which they are made. Except to the extent required by applicable law, we do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.

In this Annual Report, the terms “Danaher” or the “Company” refer to Danaher Corporation, Danaher Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries or the consolidated subsidiaries of Danaher Corporation, as the context requires. Unless otherwise indicated, all financial data in this Annual Report refer to continuing operations only.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures and markets professional, medical, industrial and commercial products and services, which are typically characterized by strong brand names, innovative technology and major market positions. We are committed to innovating and developing forward-looking technologies that solve our customers’ most complex challenges. Danaher’s research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative facilities are located in more than 60 countries. Our business consists of three segments: Life Sciences; Diagnostics; and Environmental & Applied Solutions. Danaher strives to create shareholder value primarily through three strategic priorities:

• enhancing its portfolio in attractive science and technology markets through strategic capital allocation;

• strengthening its competitive advantage through consistent application of the DANAHER BUSINESS SYSTEM (“DBS”) tools; and

• consistently attracting and retaining exceptional talent.

Danaher measures its progress against these strategic priorities over the long-term based primarily on financial metrics relating to revenue growth, profitability, cash flow and capital returns.

The Company’s businesses use a set of growth, lean and leadership tools and processes, known as the DANAHER BUSINESS SYSTEM, which are designed to continuously improve business performance in the critical areas of quality, delivery, cost,

1

growth and innovation. Within the DBS framework, the Company pursues a number of ongoing strategic initiatives relating to customer insight generation, product development and commercialization, global sourcing of materials and services, manufacturing improvement and sales and marketing impact.

To further these objectives, the Company also acquires businesses and makes investments that either strategically fit within its existing business portfolio or expand its portfolio into a new and attractive business area. Given the rapid pace of technological development and the specialized expertise typical of Danaher’s served markets, acquisitions, strategic alliances and investments provide the Company access to important new technologies and domain expertise. Danaher believes there are many acquisition and investment opportunities available within its targeted markets. The extent to which Danaher consummates and effectively integrates appropriate acquisitions and investments will affect its overall growth and operating results. Danaher also continually assesses the strategic fit of its existing businesses and may dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with its strategic plan or are not achieving the desired return on investment.

Danaher Corporation, originally DMG, Inc., was organized in 1969 as a Massachusetts real estate investment trust. In 1978 it was reorganized as a Florida corporation under the name Diversified Mortgage Investors, Inc. which in a second reorganization in 1980 became a subsidiary of a newly created holding company named DMG, Inc. DMG, Inc. adopted the name Danaher in 1984 and was reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1986.

In the third quarter of 2019, Danaher transferred its Dental businesses to Envista Holdings Corporation (“Envista”) and divested a portion of its interest in Envista through an initial public offering of a portion of Envista’s common stock. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Danaher divested its remaining ownership of Envista’s common stock through a split-off exchange offer (the “Split-Off”).

Sales in 2019 by geographic destination (geographic destination refers to the geographic area where the final sale to the Company’s unaffiliated customer is made) as a percentage of total 2019 sales were: North America, 39% (including 37% in the United States); Western Europe, 23%; other developed markets, 6% and high-growth markets, 32%. The Company defines high-growth markets as developing markets of the world experiencing extended periods of accelerated growth in gross domestic product and infrastructure which include Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia (with the exception of Japan, Australia and New Zealand). The Company defines developed markets as all markets of the world that are not high-growth markets.

LIFE SCIENCES

The Company’s Life Sciences segment offers a broad range of research tools that scientists use to study the basic building blocks of life, including genes, proteins, metabolites and cells, in order to understand the causes of disease, identify new therapies and test new drugs and vaccines.  The segment is also a leading provider of filtration, separation and purification technologies to the biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, medical, aerospace, microelectronics and general industrial sectors. Sales in 2019 for this segment by geographic destination (as a percentage of total 2019 sales) were: North America, 38%; Western Europe, 27%; other developed markets, 8% and high-growth markets, 27%.

Danaher established the life sciences business in 2005 through the acquisition of Leica Microsystems and has expanded the business through numerous subsequent acquisitions, including the acquisitions of AB Sciex and Molecular Devices in 2010, Beckman Coulter in 2011, Pall in 2015, Phenomenex in 2016, and IDT in 2018. The Life Sciences segment consists of the following businesses:

Filtration—The filtration, separation and purification technologies business is a leading provider of products used to remove solid, liquid and gaseous contaminants from a variety of liquids and gases, primarily through the sale of filtration consumables and to a lesser extent systems that incorporate filtration consumables and associated hardware. The business’ core materials and technologies can be applied in many ways to solve complex fluid separation challenges, and are sold across a wide array of applications in two primary business groups:

• Life Sciences. The business’ life sciences technologies facilitate the process of drug discovery, development, regulatory validation and production and are sold to biopharmaceutical, food and beverage and medical customers. In the biopharmaceutical area, the business sells a broad line of filtration and purification technologies, single use bioreactors and associated accessories, hardware and engineered systems primarily to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies for use in the development and commercialization of chemically synthesized and biologically derived drugs, plasma and vaccines. Biotechnology drugs, plasma and biologically derived vaccines in particular are filtration and purification intensive and represent a significant opportunity for growth for the business in the biopharmaceutical area. The business also serves the filtration needs of the food and beverage markets, helping customers ensure the quality and safety of their products while lowering operating costs and minimizing waste. In the medical area, hospitals use the Company’s breathing circuit and intravenous filters and water filters to help control the

2

spread of infections.

• Industrial. Virtually all of the raw materials, process fluids and waste streams that flow through industry are candidates for multiple stages of filtration, separation and purification. In addition, most of the machines used in complex production processes require filtration to protect sensitive parts from degradation due to contamination. The business’ industrial technologies enhance the quality and efficiency of manufacturing processes and prolong equipment life in applications such as semiconductor equipment, airplanes, oil refineries, power generation turbines, petrochemical plants, municipal water plants and mobile mining equipment. Within these end-markets, demand is driven by end-users and original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”) seeking to improve product performance, increase production and efficiency, reduce operating costs, extend the life of their equipment, conserve water and meet environmental regulations.

Mass Spectrometry—The mass spectrometry business is a leading global provider of high-end mass spectrometers as well as related consumable chromatography columns and sample preparation extraction products. Mass spectrometry is a technique for identifying, analyzing and quantifying elements, chemical compounds and biological molecules, individually or in complex mixtures. The mass spectrometers utilize various combinations of quadrupole, time-of-flight and ion trap technologies. The business’ mass spectrometer systems and related products are used in numerous applications such as drug discovery and clinical development of therapeutics as well as in basic research, clinical testing, food and beverage quality testing and environmental testing. The business’ global services network provides implementation, validation, training and maintenance to support customer installations around the world. Typical users of these mass spectrometry and related products include molecular biologists, bioanalytical chemists, toxicologists and forensic scientists as well as quality assurance and quality control technicians. The business also provides high-performance bioanalytical measurement systems, including microplate readers, automated cellular screening products and associated reagents and imaging software. Typical users of these products include biologists and chemists engaged in research and drug discovery, who use these products to determine electrical or chemical activity in cell samples.

Cellular Analysis, Lab Automation and Centrifugation—The business offers workflow instruments and consumables that help researchers analyze genomic, protein and cellular information. Key product areas include sample preparation equipment such as centrifugation and capillary electrophoresis instrumentation and consumables; liquid handling automation instruments and associated consumables; flow cytometry instrumentation and associated antibodies and reagents; and particle characterization instrumentation. Researchers use these products to study biological function in the pursuit of basic research, as well as therapeutic and diagnostic development. Typical users include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, medical schools and research institutions and in some cases industrial manufacturers.

Microscopy—The microscopy business is a leading global provider of professional microscopes designed to capture, manipulate and preserve images and enhance the user’s visualization and analysis of microscopic structures. The Company’s microscopy products include laser scanning (confocal) microscopes, compound microscopes and related equipment, surgical and other stereo microscopes and specimen preparation products for electron microscopy. Typical users of these products include research, medical and surgical professionals operating in research and pathology laboratories, academic settings and surgical theaters.

Genomics Consumables—The genomics consumables business is a leading provider of custom nucleic acid products for the life sciences industry, primarily through the manufacture of custom DNA and RNA oligonucleotides and gene fragments utilizing a proprietary manufacturing ecosystem.  The business has developed proprietary technologies for genomics applications such as next generation sequencing, CRISPR genome editing, qPCR, and RNA interference.  The business also manufactures products used in diagnostic tests for many forms of cancer, as well as inherited and infectious diseases.  Typical users of these products include professionals in the areas of academic and commercial research, agriculture, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical development.

Customers served by the Life Sciences segment select products based on a number of factors, including product quality and reliability, the product’s capacity to enhance productivity, innovation (particularly productivity and sensitivity improvements), product performance and ergonomics, access to a service and support network and the other factors described under “—Competition.” The life sciences business generally markets its products under the BECKMAN COULTER, IDT, LEICA MICROSYSTEMS, MOLECULAR DEVICES, PALL, PHENOMENEX and SCIEX brands. Manufacturing facilities are located in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The business sells to customers through direct sales personnel and independent distributors.

On February 25, 2019, the Company entered into an Equity and Asset Purchase Agreement (the “GE Biopharma Purchase Agreement”) with General Electric Company (“GE”) to acquire the Biopharma Business of GE Life Sciences (the “GE Biopharma Business”) for a cash purchase price of approximately $21.0 billion, subject to certain adjustments, and the

3

assumption of approximately $0.4 billion of pension liabilities (the “GE Biopharma Acquisition”). The business is a leading provider of instruments, software and consumables that help pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and academic and hospital-based researchers and clinicians identify and modify genes, cells and proteins to better understand the dynamics of a disease pathway and then design, develop and manufacture therapies intended to target that disease. The business offers products that support its customers across the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical value chain, from the earliest stages of drug discovery and research, to product and process development, clinical trials, therapy manufacturing and clinical use. Based on preliminary unaudited financial information provided by GE, the GE Biopharma Business generated revenues of approximately $3.3 billion in 2019. The Company expects to include the GE Biopharma Business within the Life Sciences segment. The GE Biopharma Acquisition is expected to provide additional sales and earnings growth opportunities for the Company’s Life Sciences segment by expanding the business’ geographic and product line diversity, including new product and service offerings that complement the Company’s current biologics workflow solutions. As a condition to obtaining certain regulatory approvals for the closing of the transaction, the Company expects it will be required to divest certain of its existing product lines that in the aggregate generated revenues of approximately $170 million in 2019. Though the timing of obtaining the final regulatory approvals necessary to close the GE Biopharma Acquisition is uncertain, the Company continues to make progress with respect thereto and expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2020.

DIAGNOSTICS

The Company’s Diagnostics segment offers analytical instruments, reagents, consumables, software and services that hospitals, physicians’ offices, reference laboratories and other critical care settings use to diagnose disease and make treatment decisions. Sales in 2019 for this segment by geographic destination (as a percentage of total 2019 sales) were: North America, 39%; Western Europe, 17%; other developed markets, 6% and high-growth markets, 38%.

Danaher established the diagnostics business in 2004 through the acquisition of Radiometer and expanded the business through numerous subsequent acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Vision Systems in 2006, Genetix in 2009, Beckman Coulter in 2011, Iris International and Aperio Technologies in 2012, HemoCue in 2013, Devicor Medical Products in 2014, the clinical microbiology business of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics in 2015 and Cepheid in 2016. The Diagnostics segment consists of the following businesses:

Clinical Lab Diagnostics—The clinical lab business is a leading manufacturer and marketer of biomedical testing instruments, systems and related consumables that are used to evaluate and analyze samples made up of body fluids, cells and other substances. The information generated is used to diagnose disease, monitor and guide treatment and therapy, assist in managing chronic disease and assess patient status in hospital, outpatient and physicians’ office settings. The business offers the following products:

• chemistry systems use electrochemical detection and chemical reactions with patient samples to detect and quantify substances of diagnostic interest in blood, urine and other body fluids. Commonly performed tests include glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, electrolytes, proteins and enzymes, as well as tests to detect urinary tract infections and kidney and bladder disease.

• immunoassay systems also detect and quantify biochemicals of diagnostic interest (such as proteins and hormones) in body fluids, particularly in circumstances where more specialized diagnosis is required. Commonly performed immunoassay tests assess thyroid function, screen and monitor for cancer and cardiac risk and provide important information in fertility and reproductive testing.

• hematology products are used for cellular analysis. The business’ hematology systems use principles of physics, optics, electronics and chemistry to separate cells of diagnostic interest and then quantify and characterize them, allowing clinicians to study formed elements in blood (such as red and white blood cells and platelets).

• microbiology systems are used for the identification of bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility testing (ID/AST) from human clinical samples, to detect and quantify bacteria related to microbial infections in urine, blood, and other body fluids, and to detect infections such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia and wound infections. The business’ technology enables direct testing of clinical isolates to ensure reliable detection of resistance to antibiotics.

• automation systems reduce manual operation and associated cost and errors from the pre-analytical through post-analytical stages including sample barcoding/information tracking, centrifugation, aliquotting, storage and conveyance. These systems along with the analyzers described above are controlled through laboratory level software that enables laboratory managers to monitor samples, results and lab efficiency.

4

• molecular diagnostics products, including biomedical testing instruments, systems and related consumables, enable DNA-based testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases in both clinical and non-clinical markets. These products integrate and automate the complicated and time-intensive steps associated with DNA-based testing (including sample preparation and DNA amplification and detection) to allow the testing to be performed in both laboratory and non-laboratory environments with minimal training and infrastructure. These products also include systems which commonly test for health care-associated infections, respiratory disease, sexual health and virology.

Typical users of the segment’s clinical lab products include hospitals, physician’s offices, reference laboratories and pharmaceutical clinical trial laboratories.

Critical Care Diagnostics—The critical care diagnostics business is a leading worldwide provider of instruments, software and related consumables and services that are used in both laboratory and point-of-care environments to rapidly measure critical parameters, including blood gases, electrolytes, metabolites and cardiac markers, as well as for anemia and high-sensitivity glucose testing. Typical users of these products include hospital central laboratories, intensive care units, hospital operating rooms, hospital emergency rooms, physician’s office laboratories and blood banks.

Anatomical Pathology Diagnostics—The anatomical pathology diagnostics business is a leader in the anatomical pathology industry, offering a comprehensive suite of instrumentation and related consumables used across the entire workflow of a pathology laboratory. The anatomical pathology diagnostics products include chemical and immuno-staining instruments, reagents, antibodies and consumables; tissue embedding, processing and slicing (microtomes) instruments and related reagents and consumables; slide coverslipping and slide/cassette marking instruments; imaging instrumentation including slide scanners, microscopes and cameras; software solutions to store, share and analyze pathology images digitally and minimally invasive, vacuum-assisted breast biopsy collection instruments. Typical users of these products include pathologists, lab managers and researchers.

Customers in the diagnostics industry select products based on a number of factors, including product quality and reliability, the scope of tests that can be performed, the accuracy and speed of the product, the product’s ability to enhance productivity, ease of use, total cost of ownership and access to a highly qualified service and support network as well as the other factors described under “—Competition.” The diagnostics business generally markets its products under the APERIO, BECKMAN COULTER, CEPHEID, HEMOCUE, IRIS, LEICA BIOSYSTEMS, MAMMATOME, RADIOMETER and SURGIPATH brands. Manufacturing facilities are located in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The business sells to customers primarily through direct sales personnel and, to a lesser extent, through independent distributors.

ENVIRONMENTAL & APPLIED SOLUTIONS

The Company’s Environmental & Applied Solutions segment offers products and services that help protect important resources and keep global food and water supplies safe. Sales in 2019 for this segment by geographic destination (as a percentage of total 2019 sales) were: North America, 43%; Western Europe, 24%; other developed markets, 3% and high-growth markets, 30%. The Company’s Environmental & Applied Solutions segment consists of the following businesses:

Water Quality—The Company’s water quality business provides instrumentation, consumables, software, services and disinfection systems to help analyze, treat and manage the quality of ultra-pure, potable, industrial, waste, ground, source and ocean water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial and natural resource applications. Danaher entered the water quality sector in the late 1990’s through the acquisitions of Dr. Lange and Hach Company, and has enhanced the geographic coverage and capabilities of its products and services through subsequent acquisitions, including the acquisition of Trojan Technologies Inc. in 2004 and ChemTreat, Inc. in 2007. The water quality business designs, manufactures and markets:

• a wide range of analytical instruments, related consumables, software and services that detect and measure chemical, physical and microbiological parameters in ultra-pure, potable, industrial, waste, ground, source and ocean water;

• ultraviolet disinfection systems, consumables and services, which disinfect billions of gallons of municipal, industrial and consumer water every day; and

• industrial water treatment solutions, including chemical treatment solutions intended to address corrosion, scaling and biological growth problems in boiler, cooling water and industrial wastewater applications as well as associated analytical services.

Typical users of these products and services include professionals in municipal drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, industrial process and discharge water facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, third-party testing laboratories and environmental operations. Customers in these industries choose suppliers based on a number of factors including the customer’s existing supplier relationships, application expertise, product performance and ease of use, the comprehensiveness of the supplier’s solutions offering, after-sales service and support and the other factors described under “—Competition.” The

5

water quality business provides products under a variety of brands, including AGUASIN, AQUAFINE, CHEMTREAT, HACH, LIPESA, MCCROMETER, OTT HYDROMET, PALL WATER, SEA-BIRD, TROJAN TECHNOLOGIES and VIQUA. Manufacturing facilities are primarily located in North America, Europe and Asia. Sales are made through the business’ direct sales personnel, e-commerce, independent representatives and independent distributors.

Product Identification—The Company’s product identification business provides equipment, software, services and consumables for various color and appearance management, packaging design and quality management, packaging converting, printing, marking, coding and traceability applications for consumer, pharmaceutical and industrial products. Danaher entered the product identification market through the acquisition of Videojet in 2002, and has expanded the product and geographic coverage through various subsequent acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Willett International Limited in 2003, Linx Printing Technologies PLC in 2005, EskoArtwork in 2011, X-Rite in 2012, Laetus in 2015, Advanced Vision Technology Limited (“AVT”) in 2017 and Blue Software in 2018. The product identification businesses design, manufacture, and market the following products and services:

• the business provides innovative color and appearance solutions through standards, software, measurement devices and related services. The business’ expertise in inspiring, virtualizing, selecting, specifying, formulating and measuring color and appearance helps users improve the quality and relevance of their products and reduces costs.

• the business is a leading global provider of software for online collaboration, three-dimensional virtualization, workflow automation, quality approvals and prepress processes to manage structural design, artwork creation, color and product information for branded packaging and marketing materials. Its packaging solutions help consumer goods manufacturers improve their business processes, shorten time to market and reduce costs across internal departments and external suppliers.

• the business provides flexographic computer-to-plate imaging equipment, solutions for print process control, press control, quality assurance and digital finishing systems for the packaging, labels and commercial print industries. Its automation, print process and press control solutions help packaging manufacturers reduce lead time and satisfy their customers’ demands for smaller, more frequent print jobs.

• the business provides a variety of equipment and solutions used to give products unique identities by printing date, lot and bar codes and other information on primary and secondary packaging, applying high-quality alphanumeric codes, logos and graphics to a wide range of surfaces at a variety of production line speeds, angles and locations on a product or package. Its vision inspection and track-and-trace solutions also help pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturers safeguard the authenticity of their products through supply chains.

Typical users of these products include manufacturers of consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, paints, plastics and textiles, retailers, graphic design firms and packaging printers and converters. Customers in these industries choose suppliers based on a number of factors, including domain experience, speed and accuracy, ease of connection to the internet and other software systems, equipment uptime and reliable operation without interruption, ease of maintenance, service coverage and the other factors described under “—Competition.” The product identification products are primarily marketed under the AVT, BLUE, ESKO, LAETUS, LINX, MEDIABEACON, PANTONE, VIDEOJET and X-RITE brands. Manufacturing and software development facilities are located in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Sales are generally made through the business’ direct sales personnel, independent distributors and e-commerce.

************************************

The following discussion includes information common to all of Danaher’s segments.

Materials

The Company’s manufacturing operations employ a wide variety of raw materials, including metallic-based components, electronic components, chemicals, plastics and other petroleum-based products. Prices of oil and gas also affect the Company’s costs for freight and utilities. The Company purchases raw materials from a large number of independent sources around the world. No single supplier is material, although for some components that require particular specifications or regulatory or other qualifications there may be a single supplier or a limited number of suppliers that can readily provide such components. The Company utilizes a number of techniques to address potential disruption in and other risks relating to its supply chain, including in certain cases the use of safety stock, alternative materials and qualification of multiple supply sources. During 2019, the Company had no raw material shortages that had a material effect on the business. For a further discussion of risks related to the materials and components required for the Company’s operations, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

6

Intellectual Property

The Company owns numerous patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and licenses to intellectual property owned by others. Although in aggregate the Company’s intellectual property is important to its operations, the Company does not consider any single patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or license (or any related group of any such items) to be of material importance to any segment or to the business as a whole. From time to time the Company engages in litigation to protect its intellectual property rights. For a discussion of risks related to the Company’s intellectual property, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” All capitalized brands and product names throughout this document are trademarks owned by, or licensed to, Danaher.

Competition

Although the Company’s businesses generally operate in highly competitive markets, the Company’s competitive position cannot be determined accurately in the aggregate or by segment since none of its competitors offer all of the same product and service lines or serve all of the same markets as the Company, or any of its segments, does. Because of the range of the products and services the Company sells and the variety of markets it serves, the Company encounters a wide variety of competitors, including well-established regional competitors, competitors who are more specialized than it is in particular markets, as well as larger companies or divisions of larger companies with substantial sales, marketing, research and financial capabilities. The Company is facing increased competition in a number of its served markets as a result of the entry of new, large companies into certain markets, the entry of competitors based in low-cost manufacturing locations, and increasing consolidation in particular markets. The number of competitors varies by product and service line. Management believes that the Company has a market leadership position in many of the markets it serves. Key competitive factors vary among the Company’s businesses and product and service lines, but include the specific factors noted above with respect to each particular business and typically also include price, quality, performance, delivery speed, application expertise, service and support, technology and innovation, distribution network, breadth of product, service and software offerings and brand name recognition. For a discussion of risks related to competition, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Working Capital

The Company maintains an adequate level of working capital to support its business needs. There are no unusual industry practices or requirements relating to working capital items in any of our operating segments. In addition, the Company’s sales and payment terms are generally similar to those of its competitors.

Backlog

The Company defines backlog as firm orders from customers for products and services where the order will be fulfilled in the next 12 months. Backlog as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 was approximately $3.1 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively. The Company expects that a large majority of the backlog as of December 31, 2019 will be delivered to customers within three to four months of such date. Given the relatively short delivery periods and rapid inventory turnover that are characteristic of most of the Company’s products and the shortening of product life cycles, the Company believes that backlog is indicative of short-term revenue performance but not necessarily a reliable indicator of medium or long-term revenue performance.

Employee Relations

As of December 31, 2019, the Company employed approximately 60,000 persons, of whom approximately 21,000 were employed in the United States and approximately 39,000 were employed outside of the United States. Of the United States employees, approximately 300 were hourly-rated, unionized employees. Outside the United States, the Company has government-mandated collective bargaining arrangements and union contracts in certain countries, particularly in Europe where many of the Company’s employees are represented by unions and/or works councils. For a discussion of risks related to employee relations, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Research and Development (“R&D”)

The Company conducts R&D activities for the purpose of developing new products, enhancing the functionality, effectiveness, ease of use and reliability of its existing products and expanding the applications for which uses of its products are appropriate. The Company’s R&D efforts include internal initiatives and those that use licensed or acquired technology, and we work with a number of leading research institutions, universities and clinicians around the world to develop, evaluate and clinically test our products. The Company conducts R&D activities primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia and generally on a business-by-business basis, although it does conduct certain R&D activities on a centralized basis. The Company anticipates that it will continue to make significant expenditures for R&D as it seeks to provide a continuing flow of innovative products and services

7

to maintain and improve its competitive position. For a discussion of the risks related to the need to develop and commercialize new products and product enhancements, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Government Contracts

Although the substantial majority of the Company’s revenue in 2019 was from customers other than governmental entities, each of Danaher’s segments has agreements relating to the sale of products to government entities. As a result, the Company is subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with governments. For a discussion of risks related to government contracting requirements, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” No material portion of Danaher’s business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of contracts at the election of a government entity.

Regulatory Matters

The Company faces extensive government regulation both within and outside the United States relating to the development, manufacture, marketing, sale and distribution of its products and services. The following sections describe certain significant regulations that the Company is subject to. These are not the only regulations that the Company’s businesses must comply with. For a description of the risks related to the regulations that the Company’s businesses are subject to, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Medical Device Regulations

Many of our products are classified as medical devices and are subject to restrictions under domestic and foreign laws, rules, regulations, self-regulatory codes, circulars and orders, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FDCA”). The FDCA requires these products, when sold in the United States, to be safe and effective for their intended uses and to comply with the regulations administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). The FDA regulates the design, development, research, preclinical and clinical testing, introduction, manufacture, advertising, labeling, packaging, marketing, distribution, import and export and record keeping for such products. Many medical device products are also regulated by comparable agencies in non-U.S. countries in which they are produced or sold.

Unless an exemption applies, the FDA requires that a manufacturer introducing a new medical device or a new indication for use of an existing medical device obtain either a Section 510(k) premarket notification clearance or a premarket approval (“PMA”) before introducing it into the U.S. market. The type of marketing authorization is generally linked to the classification of the device. The FDA classifies medical devices into one of three classes (Class I, II or III) based on the degree of risk the FDA determines to be associated with a device and the level of regulatory control deemed necessary to ensure the device’s safety and effectiveness.

The process of obtaining a Section 510(k) clearance generally requires the submission of performance data and clinical data, which in some cases can be extensive, to demonstrate that the device is “substantially equivalent” to a device that was on the market before 1976 or to a device that has been found by the FDA to be “substantially equivalent” to such a pre-1976 device. A predecessor device is referred to as “predicate device.” As a result, FDA clearance requirements may extend the development process for a considerable length of time.

Medical devices can be marketed only for the indications for which they are cleared or approved. After a device has received 510(k) clearance for a specific intended use, any change or modification that significantly affects its safety or effectiveness, such as a significant change in the design, materials, method of manufacture or intended use, may require a new 510(k) clearance or PMA approval and payment of an FDA user fee. The determination as to whether or not a modification could significantly affect the device’s safety or effectiveness is initially left to the manufacturer using available FDA guidance; however, the FDA may review this determination to evaluate the regulatory status of the modified product at any time and may require the manufacturer to cease marketing and recall the modified device until 510(k) clearance or PMA approval is obtained.

Any medical devices we manufacture and distribute are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA and certain state and non-U.S. agencies. These include product listing and establishment registration requirements, which help facilitate inspections and other regulatory actions. As a medical device manufacturer, our manufacturing facilities are subject to inspection on a routine basis by the FDA. We are required to adhere to the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (“CGMP”) requirements, as set forth in the Quality Systems Regulation (“QSR”), which require manufacturers, including third-party manufacturers, to follow stringent design, testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance procedures during all phases of the design and manufacturing process.

We must also comply with post-market surveillance regulations, including medical device reporting, or MDR, requirements which require that we review and report to the FDA any incident in which our products may have caused or contributed to a

8

death or serious injury. We must also report any incident in which our product has malfunctioned if that malfunction would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if it were to recur.

Labeling and promotional activities are subject to scrutiny by the FDA and, in certain circumstances, by the Federal Trade Commission. Medical devices approved or cleared by the FDA may not be promoted for unapproved or uncleared uses, otherwise known as “off-label” promotion. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses.

In the European Union (“EU”), our products are subject to the medical device laws of the various member states, which are currently based on a Directive of the European Commission. However, the EU has adopted the EU Medical Device Regulation (the “EU MDR”) and the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (the “EU IVDR”), each of which impose stricter requirements for the marketing and sale of medical devices, including in the area of clinical evaluation requirements, quality systems and post-market surveillance. Manufacturers of currently approved medical devices will have until May 2020 to meet the requirements of the EU MDR and until May 2022 to meet the EU IVDR. Complying with the EU MDR and EU IVDR requires modifications to our quality management systems, additional resources in certain functions and updates to technical files, among other changes, which cost less than $15 million in 2019 and we anticipate will cost approximately $30 million in 2020.

Other Healthcare Laws

We are also subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and various health care related laws regulating fraud and abuse, research and development, pricing and sales and marketing practices, and the privacy and security of health information, including the U.S. federal regulations described below. Many states, foreign countries and supranational bodies have also adopted laws and regulations similar to, and in some cases more stringent than, the U.S. federal regulations discussed above and below, including the UK Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws.

• The U.S. Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration (including any kickback or bribe), directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing or arranging for a good or service, for which payment may be made in whole or in part under a federal health care program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) prohibits knowingly and willfully (1) executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any health care benefit program, including private payors, or (2) falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services. In addition, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, also restricts the use and disclosure of patient identifiable health information, mandates the adoption of standards relating to the privacy and security of patient identifiable health information and requires the reporting of certain security breaches with respect to such information. Similar to the U.S. Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the healthcare fraud statute implemented under HIPAA or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

• The False Claims Act imposes liability on any person or entity that, among other things, knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment by a federal health care program, knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim, or knowingly makes a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the U.S. federal government. The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act allow a private individual to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging that the defendant has submitted a false claim to the federal government, and to share in any monetary recovery. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the U.S. Federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the civil False Claims Act.

• The federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law prohibits, among other things, the offering or transferring of remuneration to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular supplier of Medicare or Medicaid payable items or services.

• The Open Payments Act requires manufacturers of medical devices covered under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program with specific exceptions to record payments and other transfers of value to a broad range of healthcare providers and teaching hospitals and to report this data as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians described above and their immediate family members to the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) for subsequent public disclosure. Similar reporting requirements have also been enacted on

9

the state level, and an increasing number of countries either have adopted or are considering similar laws requiring transparency of interactions with health care professionals.

In addition, some of the in vitro diagnostic drugs-of-abuse assays and reagents sold by the Company’s subsidiaries contain small amounts of controlled substances, and as a result some of the Company’s facilities are inspected periodically by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to ensure that the Company properly handles, stores and disposes of controlled substances in the manufacture of those products.

Federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers. Analogous U.S. state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, also may apply to our business practices, including but not limited to, research, distribution, sales and marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including private insurers. Further, there are state laws that require medical device manufacturers to comply with the voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the U.S. federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; state laws and regulations that require manufacturers to file reports relating to pricing and marketing information, which requires tracking gifts and other remuneration and items of value provided to healthcare professionals and entities; state and local laws requiring the registration of sales representatives; and state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA.

For a discussion of risks related to regulation by the FDA and comparable agencies of other countries, and the other regulatory regimes referenced above, please refer to section entitled “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Healthcare Reform

In the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system. There is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality or expanding access. For example, in the United States, in March 2010, the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act) (collectively, the “PPACA”) was signed into law, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers and significantly affected the healthcare industry. Since its enactment, there have been judicial, Congressional and executive challenges to certain aspects of the PPACA, and there may be additional challenges and amendments to the PPACA in the future.

Moreover, there has recently been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted legislation designed, among other things, to bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for medical products. Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in implementing regulations designed to control product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures and, in some cases, mechanisms to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

Coverage and Reimbursement

For products where third-party coverage and reimbursement is available, sales will depend, in part, on the extent to which such product will be covered by third-party payors, such as federal, state and foreign government healthcare programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations, and the level of reimbursement for such product by third-party payors. Decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided are made on a plan-by-plan basis. These third-party payors are increasingly reducing reimbursements for medical products and services and, in international markets, many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. Price ceilings, decreases in third-party reimbursement for any product or a decision by a third-party payor not to cover a product could reduce usage and patient demand for the product.

10

Data Privacy and Security Laws

As a global organization, we are subject to data privacy and security laws, regulations, and customer-imposed controls in numerous jurisdictions as a result of having access to and processing confidential, personal and/or sensitive data in the course of our business. For example, in the United States, HIPAA privacy and security rules require certain of our operations to maintain controls to protect the availability and confidentiality of patient health information, individual states regulate data breach and security requirements and multiple governmental bodies assert authority over aspects of the protection of personal privacy. In particular, there is a new, broad privacy law in California, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which came into effect in January 2020. The CCPA has some of the same features as the GDPR (discussed below), and has already prompted several other states to follow with similar laws. The EU General Data Protection Regulation that became effective in May 2018 (“GDPR”) has imposed significantly stricter requirements in how we collect, transmit, process and retain personal data, including, among other things, in certain circumstances a requirement for almost immediate notice of data breaches to supervisory authorities and prompt notice to data subjects with significant fines for non-compliance. Several other countries such as China and Russia have passed, and other countries are considering passing, laws that require personal data relating to their citizens to be maintained on local servers and impose additional data transfer restrictions.

Environmental Laws and Regulations

For a discussion of the environmental laws and regulations that the Company’s operations, products and services are subject to and other environmental contingencies, refer to Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report. For a discussion of risks related to compliance with environmental and health and safety laws and risks related to past or future releases of, or exposures to, hazardous substances, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Antitrust Laws

The U.S. federal government, most U.S. states and many other countries have laws that prohibit certain types of conduct deemed to be anti-competitive. Violations of these laws can result in various sanctions, including criminal and civil penalties. Private plaintiffs also could bring civil lawsuits against us in the United States for alleged antitrust law violations, including claims for treble damages.

Export/Import Compliance

The Company is required to comply with various U.S. export/import control and economic sanctions laws, including:

• the International Traffic in Arms Regulations administered by the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which, among other things, imposes license requirements on the export from the United States of defense articles and defense services listed on the U.S. Munitions List;

• the Export Administration Regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, which, among other things, impose licensing requirements on the export, in-country transfer and re-export of certain dual-use goods, technology and software (which are items that have both commercial and military, or proliferation applications);

• the regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, which implement economic sanctions imposed against designated countries, governments and persons based on United States foreign policy and national security considerations; and

• the import regulatory activities of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. government agencies.

Other nations’ governments have implemented similar export/import control and economic sanction regulations, which may affect the Company’s operations or transactions subject to their jurisdictions. For a discussion of risks related to export/import control and economic sanctions laws, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

International Operations

The Company’s products and services are available worldwide, and its principal markets outside the United States are in Europe and Asia. The Company also has operations around the world, and this geographic diversity allows the Company to draw on the skills of a worldwide workforce, provides greater stability to its operations, allows the Company to drive economies of scale, provides revenue streams that may help offset economic trends that are specific to individual economies and offers the Company an opportunity to access new markets for products. In addition, the Company believes that future growth depends in part on its ability to continue developing products and sales models that successfully target high-growth markets.

11

The manner in which the Company’s products and services are sold outside the United States differs by business and by region. Most of the Company’s sales in non-U.S. markets are made by its subsidiaries located outside the United States, though the Company also sells directly from the United States into non-U.S. markets through various representatives and distributors and, in some cases, directly. In countries with low sales volumes, the Company generally sells through representatives and distributors.

In a referendum on June 23, 2016, voters approved for the United Kingdom (“UK”) to exit the EU (“Brexit”). The UK formally withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020 with a transition period through December 31, 2020. During the transition period, the UK will continue to follow EU law and will negotiate with the EU on the terms of its relationship post-2020. With the terms and the nature of the UK’s future relationship with the EU still being decided, the Company continues to monitor the status of the negotiations and plan for potential impacts. To mitigate the potential impact of Brexit on the import and export of goods to and from the UK, the Company has increased its warehouse capacity and the level of inventory within the UK. For goods the Company manufactures within the UK and exports to other countries, the Company has manufactured and shipped additional goods for storage in countries outside the UK in an effort to maintain inventory required to meet customer demand in the event of disruption in shipments from the UK. The ultimate impact of Brexit on the Company’s financial results is uncertain. The Company has seven manufacturing facilities in the UK, and for the year ended December 31, 2019, less than 5% of our sales were derived from customers located in the UK; however, the impact of Brexit could also impact our sales outside the UK.

Information about the effects of foreign currency fluctuations on the Company’s business is set forth in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“MD&A”) included in this Annual Report. For a discussion of risks related to the Company’s non-U.S. operations and foreign currency exchange, refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Major Customers

No customer accounted for more than 10% of consolidated sales in 2019, 2018 or 2017.

Available Information

The Company maintains an internet website at www.danaher.com. The Company makes available free of charge on the website its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material with, or furnishing such material to, the SEC. Danaher’s internet site and the information contained on or connected to that site are not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with the information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents we file with the SEC. The risks and uncertainties described below are those that we have identified as material, but are not the only risks and uncertainties facing us. Our business is also subject to general risks and uncertainties that affect many other companies, such as market conditions, economic conditions, geopolitical events, changes in laws, regulations or accounting rules, fluctuations in interest rates, terrorism, wars or conflicts, major health concerns including epidemics, natural disasters or other disruptions of expected business conditions. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial also may impair our business, including our results of operations, liquidity, financial condition and stock price.

We may not complete the GE Biopharma Acquisition within the time frame we anticipate or at all; regulatory approval of the GE Biopharma Acquisition is subject to conditions; and the GE Biopharma Acquisition could negatively impact our business, financial statements and stock price.

• If the GE Biopharma Acquisition is not completed on the anticipated timetable or at all, or if regulatory approval of the acquisition is subject to additional conditions, we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the GE Biopharma Acquisition on the anticipated timetable or at all.

• The GE Biopharma Business could under-perform relative to our expectations and the price that we pay or not perform in accordance with our anticipated timetable, or we could fail to operate such business profitably.

• The GE Biopharma Acquisition could cause our financial results to differ from our own or the investment community’s expectations in any given period, or over the long-term.

12

• Pre-closing and post-closing earnings charges related to the GE Biopharma Acquisition could adversely impact operating results in any given period, and the impact may be substantially different from period-to-period.

• The GE Biopharma Acquisition could create demands on our management, operational resources and financial and internal control systems that we are unable to effectively address.

• The GE Biopharma Acquisition will divert management’s attention and other resources, which could have a negative impact on our ability to manage existing operations or pursue other strategic transactions.

• We could experience difficulty or greater-than-anticipated costs in integrating the personnel, operations and financial and other controls and systems of GE Biopharma, and could experience difficulty attracting and retaining key employees and customers.

• We may be unable to achieve anticipated cost savings or other synergies on the timetable we expect or at all.

• We may assume unknown liabilities, known contingent liabilities that become realized, known liabilities that prove greater than anticipated, internal control deficiencies or exposure to regulatory sanctions resulting from GE Biopharma’s activities and the realization of any of these liabilities or deficiencies may increase our expenses, adversely affect our financial position or cause us to fail to meet our public financial reporting obligations.

• The GE Biopharma Purchase Agreement includes provisions relating to purchase price adjustments, which may have unpredictable financial results.

• As a result of the GE Biopharma Acquisition, we expect to record significant goodwill and other assets on our balance sheet and if we are not able to realize the value of these assets, we may be required to incur impairment charges.

The GE Biopharma Acquisition discussed above would constitute Danaher’s largest acquisition to date based on purchase price, would expand Danaher’s business into new fields and involves a number of financial, accounting, managerial, operational, legal, compliance and other risks and challenges. Any of these risks or challenges could adversely affect our business, financial statements and stock price.

Our outstanding debt has increased significantly in anticipation of the GE Biopharma Acquisition, and we expect to incur additional debt in the future. Our existing and future indebtedness may limit our operations and our use of our cash flow and negatively impact our credit ratings; and any failure to comply with the covenants that apply to our indebtedness could adversely affect our liquidity and financial statements.

As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $21.7 billion in outstanding indebtedness, including approximately $10.8 billion of long-term debt we issued in 2019 to fund a portion of the purchase price of the GE Biopharma Acquisition. In addition, we had the ability to incur approximately $4.9 billion of additional indebtedness in direct borrowings or under our outstanding commercial paper facility based on the amounts available under the Company’s 2020 Credit Facilities which were not being used to backstop outstanding commercial paper balances. We expect to incur approximately $2.0 billion of additional indebtedness (additional to indebtedness incurred as of December 31, 2019) to fund a portion of the purchase price of the GE Biopharma Acquisition.

Our debt level and related debt service obligations can have negative consequences, including (1) requiring us to dedicate significant cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, which reduces the funds we have available for other purposes such as acquisitions and other investments; (2) reducing our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and market conditions; and (3) exposing us to interest rate risk since a portion of our debt obligations are at variable rates.

We anticipate that the indebtedness we have incurred and expect to incur in connection with the GE Biopharma Acquisition will result in a negative change to our credit ratings compared to our credit rating prior to the public announcement of the GE Biopharma Acquisition. The recent bonds issued by DH Europe Finance II S.a.r.l. (“Danaher International II”) and guaranteed by Danaher Corporation were rated BBB+ by Standard & Poors and Baa1 by Moody’s, each two notches below Danaher’s current long-term unsecured debt credit rating. Upon closing the GE Biopharma Acquisition we expect Danaher’s long-term unsecured debt credit rating to be downgraded to mirror that of the bonds issued by Danaher International II. This anticipated reduction in our credit ratings may limit our ability to borrow at interest rates consistent with the interest rates that have been available to us prior to the GE Biopharma Acquisition. If our credit ratings are further downgraded or put on watch for a further potential downgrade, we may not be able to sell additional debt securities or borrow money in the amounts, at the times or interest rates or upon the more favorable terms and conditions that might be available if our current credit ratings were maintained.

13

Our 2020 Credit Facilities and long-term debt obligations also impose certain restrictions on us, including certain restrictions on our ability to incur liens on our assets, and a requirement under the 2020 Credit Facilities to maintain a consolidated leverage ratio (the ratio of consolidated indebtedness to consolidated indebtedness plus shareholders’ equity) of 0.65 to 1.0 or less. If we breach any of these restrictions and cannot obtain a waiver from the lenders on favorable terms, subject to applicable cure periods, the outstanding indebtedness (and any other indebtedness with cross-default provisions) could be declared immediately due and payable, which would adversely affect our liquidity and financial statements.

If we incur additional debt in the future, the risks described above would increase.

Conditions in the global economy, the particular markets we serve and the financial markets may adversely affect our business and financial statements.

Our business is sensitive to general economic conditions. Slower global economic growth, actual or anticipated default on sovereign debt, volatility in the currency and credit markets, high levels of unemployment or underemployment, reduced levels of capital expenditures, changes or anticipation of potential changes in government trade, fiscal, tax and monetary policies, changes in capital requirements for financial institutions, government deficit reduction and budget negotiation dynamics, sequestration, austerity measures and other challenges that affect the global economy have in the past adversely affected, and may in the future adversely affect, the Company and its distributors, customers and suppliers, including having the effect of:

• reducing demand for our products and services (in this Annual Report, references to products and services also includes software), limiting the financing available to our customers and suppliers, increasing order cancellations and resulting in longer sales cycles and slower adoption of new technologies;

• increasing the difficulty in collecting accounts receivable and the risk of excess and obsolete inventories;

• increasing price competition in our served markets;

• supply interruptions, which could disrupt our ability to produce our products;

• increasing the risk of impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets, and the risk that we may not be able to fully recover the value of other assets such as real estate and tax assets;

• increasing the risk that counterparties to our contractual arrangements will become insolvent or otherwise unable to fulfill their contractual obligations which, in addition to increasing the risks identified above, could result in preference actions against us; and

• adversely impacting market sizes and growth rates.

Although we have been able to access the commercial paper and other capital markets through the date of this report, there can be no assurances that such markets will remain available to us or that the lenders participating in our revolving credit facility will be able to provide financing in accordance with their contractual obligations.

If growth in the global economy or in any of the markets we serve slows for a significant period, if there is significant deterioration in the global economy or such markets or if improvements in the global economy do not benefit the markets we serve, our business and financial statements could be adversely affected.

Significant developments or uncertainties stemming from the U.S. administration, including changes in U.S. trade policies, tariffs and the reaction of other countries thereto, particularly China, can have an adverse effect on our business.

Changes, potential changes or uncertainties in U.S. social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, and development and investment in the territories and countries where we or our customers operate, or governing the health care system and drug prices, can adversely affect our business and financial statements. For example, the U.S. administration has increased tariffs on certain goods imported into the United States, raised the possibility of imposing significant, additional tariff increases and called for substantial changes to trade agreements. In particular, trade tensions between the United States and China have escalated and each country has imposed significant, additional tariffs on a wide range of goods imported from the other country. China accounted for approximately 13% of our sales in 2019. These factors have adversely affected, and in the future could further adversely affect, our business and financial statements.

14

Our growth could suffer if the markets into which we sell our products and services decline, do not grow as anticipated or experience cyclicality.

Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve, and visibility into our markets is limited (particularly for markets into which we sell through distribution). Our quarterly sales and profits depend substantially on the volume and timing of orders received during the fiscal quarter, which are difficult to forecast. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our financial statements. Certain of our businesses operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns. In addition, in certain of our businesses demand depends on customers’ capital spending budgets as well as government funding policies, and matters of public policy and government budget dynamics as well as product and economic cycles can affect the spending decisions of these entities. Demand for our products and services is also sensitive to changes in customer order patterns, which may be affected by announced price changes, marketing or promotional programs, new product introductions, the timing of industry trade shows and changes in distributor or customer inventory levels due to distributor or customer management thereof or other factors. Any of these factors could adversely affect our growth and results of operations in any given period.

We face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may experience decreased demand and decreased market share. Even if we compete effectively, we may be required to reduce prices for our products and services.

Our businesses operate in industries that are intensely competitive and have been subject to increasing consolidation. Because of the range of the products and services we sell and the variety of markets we serve, we encounter a wide variety of competitors; refer to “Item 1. Business—Competition” for additional details. In order to compete effectively, we must retain longstanding relationships with major customers and continue to grow our business by establishing relationships with new customers, continually developing new products and services to maintain and expand our brand recognition and leadership position in various product and service categories and penetrating new markets, including high-growth markets. In addition, significant shifts in industry market share have occurred and may in the future occur in connection with product problems, safety alerts and publications about products, reflecting the competitive significance of product quality, product efficacy and quality systems in our industry. Our failure to compete effectively and/or pricing pressures resulting from competition may adversely impact our financial statements, and our expansion into new markets may result in greater-than-expected risks, liabilities and expenses. In addition, the Company’s competitors and customers have from time to time introduced, and may in the future introduce, private label, generic or low-cost products that compete with the Company’s products at lower price points. Competitors’ products can capture significant market share or lead to a decrease in market prices overall, resulting in an adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements.

Our growth depends in part on the timely development and commercialization, and customer acceptance, of new and enhanced products and services based on technological innovation.

We generally sell our products and services in industries that are characterized by rapid technological changes, frequent new product introductions and changing industry standards. If we do not develop innovative new and enhanced products and services on a timely basis, our offerings will become obsolete over time and our competitive position and financial statements will suffer. Our success will depend on several factors, including our ability to:

• correctly identify customer needs and preferences and predict future needs and preferences;

• allocate our R&D funding to products and services with higher growth prospects;

• anticipate and respond to our competitors’ development of new products and services and technological innovations;

• differentiate our offerings from our competitors’ offerings and avoid commoditization;

• innovate and develop new technologies and applications, and acquire or obtain rights to third-party technologies that may have valuable applications in our served markets;

• obtain adequate intellectual property rights with respect to key technologies before our competitors do;

• successfully commercialize new technologies in a timely manner, price them competitively and cost-effectively manufacture and deliver sufficient volumes of new products of appropriate quality on time;

• obtain necessary regulatory approvals of appropriate scope (including with respect to medical device products by demonstrating satisfactory clinical results where applicable, as well as achieving third-party reimbursement); and

• stimulate customer demand for and convince customers to adopt new technologies.

15

If we fail to accurately predict future customer needs and preferences or fail to produce viable technologies, we may invest heavily in R&D of products and services that do not lead to significant revenue, which would adversely affect our profitability. Even when we successfully innovate and develop new and enhanced products and services, we often incur substantial costs in doing so, and our profitability may suffer. In addition, promising new offerings may fail to reach the market or realize only limited commercial success because of real or perceived efficacy or safety concerns, failure to achieve positive clinical outcomes, uncertainty over third-party reimbursement or entrenched patterns of clinical practice. Competitors may also develop after-market services and parts for our products which attract customers and adversely affect our return on investment for new products.

Our reputation, ability to do business and financial statements can be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents or business partners.

We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems, including our Code of Conduct, always protect us from acts committed by employees, agents or business partners of ours (or of businesses we acquire or partner with) that violate U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and false claims, pricing, sales and marketing practices, conflicts of interest, competition, employment practices and workplace behavior, export and import compliance, economic and trade sanctions, money laundering and data privacy. In particular, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, and we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree. Any such improper actions or allegations of such acts could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the United States and in other jurisdictions and related shareholder lawsuits, could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. In addition, the government may seek to hold us liable for violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire. We also rely on our suppliers to adhere to our supplier code of conduct, and material violations of such code of conduct could occur that could have a material effect on our business, reputation and financial statements.

Certain of our businesses are subject to extensive regulation by the U.S. FDA and by comparable agencies of other countries, as well as laws regulating fraud and abuse in the health care industry and the privacy and security of health information. Failure to comply with those regulations could adversely affect our reputation, ability to do business and financial statements.

Certain of our products are medical devices and other products that are subject to regulation by the U.S. FDA, by other federal and state governmental agencies, by comparable agencies of other countries and regions, by certain accrediting bodies and by regulations governing hazardous materials and drugs-of abuse (or the manufacture and sale of products containing any such materials). The global regulatory environment has become increasingly stringent and unpredictable. Several countries that did not have regulatory requirements for medical devices have established such requirements in recent years, and other countries have expanded, or plan to expand, their existing regulations. Please see “Regulatory Matters—Medical Device Regulations” for more information. Failure to meet these requirements adversely impacts our business in the applicable geographies.

To varying degrees, these regulators require us to comply with laws and regulations governing the development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, marketing, distribution and post-marketing surveillance of our products. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain regulatory clearance (such as 510(k) clearance) or approvals for our new products or modifications to (or additional indications or uses of) existing products within our anticipated timeframe or at all, and if we do obtain such clearance or approval it may be time-consuming, costly and subject to restrictions. Our ability to obtain such regulatory clearances or approvals will depend on many factors, for example our ability to obtain the necessary clinical trial results, and the process for obtaining such clearances or approvals could change over time and may require the withdrawal of products from the market until such clearances are obtained. Even after initial regulatory clearance or approval, we are subject to periodic inspection by these regulatory authorities, and if safety issues arise we can be required to amend conditions for use of a product, such as providing additional warnings on the product’s label or narrowing its approved intended use, which could reduce the product’s market acceptance. Failure to obtain required regulatory clearances or approvals before marketing our products (or before implementing modifications to or promoting additional indications or uses of our products), other violations of these regulations, failure to remediate inspectional observations to the satisfaction of these regulatory authorities, real or perceived efficacy or safety concerns or trends of adverse events with respect to our products (even after obtaining clearance for distribution) and unfavorable or inconsistent clinical data from existing or future clinical trials can lead to FDA Form 483 Inspectional Observations, warning letters, notices to customers, declining sales, loss of customers, loss of market share, remediation and increased compliance costs, recalls, seizures of adulterated or misbranded products, injunctions, administrative detentions, refusals to permit importations, partial or total shutdown of production facilities or the implementation of operating restrictions, narrowing of permitted uses for a product, suspension or withdrawal of approvals and pre-market notification rescissions. We are also subject to various laws regulating fraud and abuse, research and development, pricing and sales and

16

marketing practices, the privacy and security of health information as well as manufacturing and quality standards, including the federal regulations described in “Item 1. Business—Regulatory Matters.”

Ensuring that our internal operations and business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable laws and regulations involves substantial costs. It is also possible that government authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations, agency guidance or case law.

Noncompliance with the laws and regulations referenced above can result in, among other things, fines, expenses, injunctions, civil penalties, recalls or seizures of products, total or partial suspension of production, refusal of the government to grant 510(k) clearance of devices, withdrawal of marketing approvals, criminal prosecutions and other adverse effects referenced below under “Our businesses are subject to extensive regulation; failure to comply with those regulations could adversely affect our financial statements and our business, including our reputation.” Further, defending against any such actions can be costly and time-consuming and may require significant personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions brought against us, our business may be impaired.

Our products are subject to clinical trials, the results of which may be unexpected, or perceived as unfavorable by the market, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

As a part of the regulatory process of obtaining marketing clearance for certain new products and new indications for certain existing products, we conduct and participate in numerous clinical trials with a variety of study designs, patient populations and trial endpoints. Unexpected or inconsistent clinical data from existing or future clinical trials, or a regulator’s or the market’s perception of this clinical data, can adversely impact our ability to obtain product approvals, our position in, and share of, the markets in which we participate and our business and financial statements.

Off-label marketing of our products could result in substantial penalties.

The FDA strictly regulates the promotional claims that may be made about approved or cleared products. In particular, any clearances we may receive only permit us to market our products for the uses indicated on the labeling cleared by the FDA. We may request additional label indications for our current products, and the FDA may deny those requests outright, require additional expensive performance or clinical data to support any additional indications or impose limitations on the intended use of any cleared products as a condition of clearance. If the FDA determines that we have marketed our products for off-label use, we can be subject to fines, injunctions or other penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action if they consider our business activities to constitute promotion of an off-label use, which could result in significant penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, substantial monetary penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, and/or the curtailment of our operations. Any of these events could significantly harm our business and financial statements.

Certain modifications to our products may require new 510(k) clearances or other marketing authorizations and may require us to recall or cease marketing our products.

Once a medical device is permitted to be legally marketed in the United States pursuant to a 510(k) clearance, a manufacturer may be required to notify the FDA of certain modifications to the device. Manufacturers determine in the first instance whether a change to a product requires a new 510(k) clearance or premarket submission, but the FDA may review any manufacturer’s decision. The FDA may not agree with our decisions regarding whether new clearances are necessary. We have made modifications to our products in the past and have determined based on our review of the applicable FDA regulations and guidance that in certain instances new 510(k) clearances or other premarket submissions were not required. We may make similar modifications or add additional features in the future that we believe do not require a new 510(k) clearance. If the FDA disagrees with our determinations and requires us to submit new 510(k) notifications, we may be required to cease marketing or to recall the modified product until we obtain clearance, and we may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.

The health care industry and related industries that we serve have undergone, and are in the process of undergoing, significant changes in an effort to reduce costs, which could adversely affect our financial statements.

The health care industry and related industries that we serve have undergone, and are in the process of undergoing, significant changes in an effort to reduce costs, including the following:

• many of our customers, and the end-users to whom our customers supply products, rely on government funding of and reimbursement for health care products and services and research activities. The PPACA, health care austerity measures in other countries and other potential health care reform changes and government austerity measures have reduced and may further reduce the amount of government funding or reimbursement available to customers or end-users of our products and services and/or the volume of medical procedures using our products and services. For

17

example, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, or PAMA, introduced a multi-year pricing program for services payable under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (“CLFS”) that is designed to bring Medicare allowable amounts in line with the amounts paid by private payers.  It is still unclear whether and to what extent these new rates will affect overall pricing and reimbursement for clinical laboratory testing services, but to the extent our customers conclude that Medicare reimbursement for these services is inadequate, it can in turn adversely impact the prices at which we sell our products. Other countries, as well as some private payors, also control the price of health care products, directly or indirectly, through reimbursement, payment, pricing or coverage limitations, tying reimbursement to outcomes or (in the case of governmental entities) through compulsory licensing. Global economic uncertainty or deterioration can also adversely impact government funding and reimbursement.

• governmental and private health care providers and payors around the world are increasingly utilizing managed care for the delivery of health care services, centralizing purchasing, limiting the number of vendors that may participate in purchasing programs, forming group purchasing organizations and integrated health delivery networks and pursuing consolidation to improve their purchasing leverage and using competitive bid processes to procure health care products and services.

These changes as well as other impacts from market demand, government regulations, third-party coverage and reimbursement policies and societal pressures are changing the way healthcare is delivered, reimbursed and funded and have in the past and could in the future cause participants in the health care industry and related industries that we serve to purchase fewer of our products and services, reduce the prices they are willing to pay for our products or services, reduce the amounts of reimbursement and funding available for our products and services from governmental agencies or third-party payors, heighten clinical data requirements, reduce the volume of medical procedures that use our products and services, affect the acceptance rate of new technologies and products and increase our compliance and other costs. In addition, we may be excluded from important market segments or unable to enter into contracts with group purchasing organizations and integrated health networks on terms acceptable to us, and even if we do enter into such contracts they may be on terms that negatively affect our current or future profitability. All of the factors described above can adversely affect our business and financial statements.

Any inability to consummate acquisitions at our historical rate and at appropriate prices, and to make appropriate investments that support our long-term strategy, could negatively impact our growth rate and stock price.

Our ability to grow revenues, earnings and cash flow at or above our historic rates depends in part upon our ability to identify and successfully acquire and integrate businesses at appropriate prices and realize anticipated synergies, and to make appropriate investments that support our long-term strategy. We may not be able to consummate acquisitions at rates similar to the past, which could adversely impact our growth rate and our stock price. Promising acquisitions and investments are difficult to identify and complete for a number of reasons, including high valuations, competition among prospective buyers, the availability of affordable funding in the capital markets and the need to satisfy applicable closing conditions and obtain applicable antitrust and other regulatory approvals on acceptable terms. In addition, competition for acquisitions and investments has resulted and may result in higher purchase prices. Changes in accounting or regulatory requirements or instability in the credit markets could also adversely impact our ability to consummate acquisitions and investments.

Our acquisition of businesses, investments, joint ventures and other strategic relationships could negatively impact our financial statements.

As part of our business strategy we acquire businesses, make investments and enter into joint ventures and other strategic relationships in the ordinary course, and we also from time to time complete more significant transactions; refer to MD&A for additional details. Acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and strategic relationships involve a number of financial, accounting, managerial, operational, legal, compliance and other risks and challenges, including the following, any of which could adversely affect our business and our financial statements:

• businesses, technologies, services and products that we acquire or invest in sometimes under-perform relative to our expectations and the price that we paid or fail to perform in accordance with our anticipated timetable, resulting in a failure to operate any such business profitably.

• we from time to time incur or assume significant debt in connection with our acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or strategic relationships, which can also cause a deterioration of Danaher’s credit ratings, result in increased borrowing costs and interest expense and diminish our future access to the capital markets.

• acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or strategic relationships can cause our financial results to differ from our own or the investment community’s expectations in any given period, or over the long-term.

18

• pre-closing and post-closing earnings charges can adversely impact operating results in any given period, and the impact may be substantially different from period-to-period.

• acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or strategic relationships can create demands on our management, operational resources and financial and internal control systems that we are unable to effectively address.

• we can experience difficulty in integrating personnel, operations and financial and other controls and systems and retaining key employees and customers.

• we may be unable to achieve cost savings or other synergies anticipated in connection with an acquisition, investment, joint venture or strategic relationship.

• we have assumed and may assume unknown liabilities, known contingent liabilities that become realized, known liabilities that prove greater than anticipated, internal control deficiencies or exposure to regulatory sanctions resulting from the acquired company’s or investee’s activities and the realization of any of these liabilities or deficiencies can increase our expenses, adversely affect our financial position or cause us to fail to meet our public financial reporting obligations.

• in connection with acquisitions and joint ventures, we often enter into post-closing financial arrangements such as purchase price adjustments, earn-out obligations and indemnification obligations, which can have unpredictable financial results.

• as a result of our acquisitions and investments, we have recorded significant goodwill and other assets on our balance sheet and if we are not able to realize the value of these assets, or if the fair value of our investments declines, we are required to incur impairment charges.

• we may have interests that diverge from those of our joint venture partners or other strategic partners and we may not be able to direct the management and operations of the joint venture or other strategic relationship in the manner we believe is most appropriate, exposing us to additional risk.

• investing in or making loans to early-stage companies often entails a high degree of risk, and we do not always achieve the strategic, technological, financial or commercial benefits we anticipate; we may lose our investment or fail to recoup our loan; or our investment may be illiquid for a greater-than-expected period of time.

The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies may not fully protect us and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities.

Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the acquired company before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. We cannot assure you that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our financial statements.

Divestitures or other dispositions could negatively impact our business, and contingent liabilities from businesses that we or our predecessors have sold could adversely affect our financial statements.

We continually assess the strategic fit of our existing businesses and may divest, spin-off, split-off or otherwise dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with our strategic plan or are not achieving the desired return on investment. For example, in 2015, Danaher separated and split-off to Danaher shareholders the majority of its former communications business in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction with NetScout Systems, Inc. (the “Communications Disposition”), in 2016 Danaher separated and spun-off to Danaher shareholders its former Test & Measurement segment, Industrial Technologies segment (excluding the product identification businesses) and retail/commercial petroleum business (collectively known as Fortive Corporation) (the “Fortive Disposition”), and in 2019 Danaher consummated the separation and initial public offering (“IPO”) and subsequent split-off of its Dental segment, known as Envista Holdings Corporation (the “Envista Disposition”). Transactions such as these pose risks and challenges that could negatively impact our business and financial statements. For example, when we decide to sell or otherwise dispose of a business or assets, we may be unable to do so on satisfactory terms within our anticipated timeframe or at all, and even after reaching a definitive agreement to sell or dispose a business the sale is typically subject to satisfaction of pre-closing conditions which may not become satisfied. In addition, divestitures or other dispositions can dilute the Company’s earnings per share, have other adverse financial, tax and accounting impacts and distract management, and disputes can arise with buyers. In addition, we have retained responsibility for and/or have agreed to indemnify buyers against some known and unknown contingent liabilities related to a number of businesses we or our predecessors have sold or

19

disposed. The resolution of these contingencies has not had a material effect on our financial statements but we cannot be certain that this favorable pattern will continue.

We could incur significant liability if any of the 2015 separation and split-off of our communications business, the 2016 separation and spin-off of Fortive or the 2019 separation, IPO and split-off of Envista is determined to be a taxable transaction.

We have received opinions from outside tax counsel to the effect that each of the Communications Disposition, the Fortive Disposition and the Envista Disposition qualifies as a transaction that is described in Sections 355(a) and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code. These opinions rely on certain facts, assumptions, representations and undertakings regarding the past and future conduct of the companies’ respective businesses and other matters. If any of these facts, assumptions, representations or undertakings are incorrect or not satisfied, our stockholders and we may not be able to rely on the respective opinion of tax counsel and could be subject to significant tax liabilities. Notwithstanding the opinion of tax counsel, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could determine on audit that any such transactions are taxable if it determines that any of these facts, assumptions, representations or undertakings are not correct or have been violated or if it disagrees with the conclusions in the respective opinion. If any such transaction is determined to be taxable for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our stockholders that are subject to U.S. federal income tax and we could incur significant U.S. federal income tax liabilities.

Potential indemnification liabilities pursuant to the 2015 separation and split-off of our communications business, the 2016 separation and spin-off of Fortive or the 2019 separation, IPO and split-off of Envista could materially and adversely affect our business and financial statements.

With respect to each of the Communications Disposition, the Fortive Disposition and the Envista Disposition, we entered into a separation agreement and related agreements to govern the separation and related transactions and the relationship between the respective companies going forward. These agreements provide for specific indemnity and liability obligations of each party that can lead to disputes between us and the respective counterparty. If we are required to indemnify any of the other parties under the circumstances set forth in these agreements, we may be subject to substantial liabilities. In addition, with respect to the liabilities for which the other parties have agreed to indemnify us under these agreements, there can be no assurance that the indemnity rights we have against such other parties will be sufficient to protect us against the full amount of the liabilities, or that such other parties will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. It is also possible that a court could disregard the allocation of assets and liabilities agreed to between Danaher and such other parties and require Danaher to assume responsibility for obligations allocated to such other parties. Each of these risks could negatively affect our business and financial statements.

A significant disruption in, or breach in security of, our information technology systems or data or violation of data privacy laws could adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

We rely on information technology systems, some of which are provided and/or managed by third-parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information and personally identifiable data relating to employees, customers, other business partners and patients), and to manage or support a variety of critical business processes and activities (such as receiving and fulfilling orders, billing, collecting and making payments, shipping products, providing services and support to customers and fulfilling contractual obligations). In addition, some of our remote monitoring products and services incorporate software and information technology that house personal data and some products or software we sell to customers connect to our systems for maintenance or other purposes. These systems, products and services (including those we acquire through business acquisitions) may be damaged, disrupted or shut down due to attacks by computer hackers, computer viruses, ransomware, human error or malfeasance, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication or utility failures, catastrophes or other unforeseen events, and in any such circumstances our system redundancy and other disaster recovery planning may be ineffective or inadequate. Attacks may also target hardware, software and information installed, stored or transmitted in our products after such products have been purchased and incorporated into third-party products, facilities or infrastructure. Security breaches of systems provided or enabled by us, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to a vulnerability in our products or services, or security breaches of third party systems we rely on to process, store or transmit electronic information, could result in the misappropriation, destruction or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or personal data belonging to us or to our employees, partners, customers, patients or suppliers. Like most multinational corporations, our information technology systems have been subject to computer viruses, malicious codes, unauthorized access and other cyber-attacks and we expect the sophistication and frequency of such attacks to continue to increase. Unauthorized tampering, adulteration or interference with our products may also adversely affect product functionality and result in loss of data, risk to patient safety and product recalls or field actions. Any of the attacks, breaches or other disruptions or damage described above could interrupt our operations or the operations of our customers and partners, delay production and shipments, result in theft of our and our customers’ intellectual property and trade secrets, damage customer, patient, business partner and employee relationships and our reputation or result in defective products or services,

20

legal claims and proceedings, liability and penalties under privacy laws and increased costs for security and remediation, in each case resulting in an adverse effect on our business, reputation and financial statements.

If we are unable to maintain reliable information technology systems and appropriate controls with respect to global data privacy and security requirements and prevent data breaches, we may suffer adverse regulatory consequences, business consequences and litigation. As a global organization, we are subject to data privacy and security laws, regulations, and customer-imposed controls in numerous jurisdictions as a result of having access to and processing confidential, personal and/or sensitive data in the course of our business. Please see “Regulatory Matters - Data Privacy and Security Laws” for additional information. Entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA as the result of a breach of unsecured patient health information, a complaint about privacy practices or an audit by the HHS, may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations if required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS to settle allegations of HIPAA non-compliance. Failure to comply with the requirements of GDPR and the applicable national data protection laws of the EU member states may result in fines of up to €20 million or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, and other administrative penalties. Several other countries such as China and Russia have passed, and other countries are considering passing, laws that require personal data relating to their citizens to be maintained on local servers and impose additional data transfer restrictions. There is also a new, broad privacy law in California, the CCPA, which came into effect in January 2020. The CCPA has some of the same features as the GDPR, and has already prompted several other states to follow with similar laws. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and data breaches or violations of data privacy laws can result in fines, reputational damage and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements. In addition, compliance with the varying data privacy regulations across the United States and around the world has required significant expenditures and may require additional expenditures, and may require further changes in our products or business models that increase competition or reduce revenue.

Our operations, products and services expose us to the risk of environmental, health and safety liabilities, costs and violations that could adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Our operations, products and services are subject to environmental laws and regulations, which impose limitations on the discharge of pollutants into the environment, establish standards for the use, generation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes and impose end-of-life disposal and take-back programs. We must also comply with various health and safety regulations in the United States and abroad in connection with our operations. We cannot assure you that our environmental, health and safety compliance program (or the compliance programs of businesses we acquire) have been or will at all times be effective. Failure to comply with any of these laws can result in civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and damage to our reputation. In addition, we cannot provide assurance that our costs of complying with current or future environmental protection and health and safety laws will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial statements.

In addition, we from time to time incur costs related to remedial efforts or alleged environmental damage associated with past or current waste disposal practices or other hazardous materials handling practices. We are also from time to time party to personal injury, property damage or other claims brought by private parties alleging injury or damage due to the presence of or exposure to hazardous substances. We can also become subject to additional remedial, compliance or personal injury costs due to future events such as changes in existing laws or regulations, changes in agency direction or enforcement policies, developments in remediation technologies, changes in the conduct of our operations and changes in accounting rules. For additional information regarding these risks, refer to Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report. We cannot assure you that our liabilities arising from past or future releases of, or exposures to, hazardous substances will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our reputation and financial statements or that we will not be subject to additional claims for personal injury or remediation in the future based on our past, present or future business activities. However, based on the information we currently have we do not believe that it is reasonably possible that any amounts we may be required to pay in connection with environmental matters in excess of our reserves as of December 31, 2019 will have a material effect on our financial statements.

Our businesses are subject to extensive regulation; failure to comply with those regulations could adversely affect our financial statements and our business, including our reputation.

In addition to the environmental, health, safety, health care, medical device, anticorruption, data privacy and other regulations noted elsewhere in this Annual Report, our businesses are subject to extensive regulation by U.S. and non-U.S. governmental and self-regulatory entities at the supranational, federal, state, local and other jurisdictional levels, including the following:

• we are required to comply with various import laws and export control and economic sanctions laws, which may affect our transactions with certain customers, business partners and other persons and dealings between our

21

employees and between our subsidiaries. In certain circumstances, export control and economic sanctions regulations may prohibit the export of certain products, services and technologies. In other circumstances, we may be required to obtain an export license before exporting the controlled item. Compliance with the various import laws that apply to our businesses can restrict our access to, and increase the cost of obtaining, certain products and at times can interrupt our supply of imported inventory. In addition, from time to time, certain of our subsidiaries have limited business dealings in countries subject to comprehensive sanctions. These business dealings represent an insignificant amount of our consolidated revenues and income, but expose us to a heightened risk of violating applicable sanctions regulations. We have established policies and procedures designed to assist with our compliance with such laws and regulations. However, there can be no assurance that our policies and procedures have prevented and will prevent violations of these regulations and any violation can adversely affect our reputation, business and financial statements.

• we also have agreements to sell products and services to government entities and are subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with government entities (less than 5% of our 2019 sales were made to the U.S. federal government). The laws governing government contracts differ from the laws governing private contracts. For example, many government contracts contain pricing and other terms and conditions that are not applicable to private contracts. Our agreements with government entities are in some cases subject to termination, reduction or modification at the convenience of the government or in the event of changes in government requirements, reductions in federal spending and other factors, and we may underestimate our costs of performing under the contract.  In certain cases, a governmental entity may require us to pay back amounts it has paid to us. Government contracts that have been awarded to us following a bid process can become the subject of a bid protest by a losing bidder, which could result in loss of the contract. We are also subject to investigation and audit for compliance with the requirements governing government contracts.

These are not the only regulations that our businesses must comply with. The regulations we are subject to have tended to become more stringent over time and can be inconsistent across jurisdictions. We, our representatives and the industries in which we operate are at times under review and/or investigation by regulatory authorities. Failure to comply (or any alleged or perceived failure to comply) with the regulations referenced above or any other regulations can result in import detentions, fines, damages, civil and administrative penalties, injunctions, suspensions or losses of regulatory approvals, recall or seizure of products, operating restrictions, refusal of the government to approve product export applications or allow us to enter into supply contracts, disbarment from selling to certain governmental agencies or exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid or similar programs in other countries or jurisdictions, integrity oversight and reporting obligations to resolve allegations of non-compliance, disruption of our business, limitation on our ability to manufacture, import, export and sell products and services, loss of customers, significant legal and investigatory fees, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, reputational harm, contractual damages, diminished profits, curtailment or restricting of business operations, criminal prosecution and other monetary and non-monetary penalties. Compliance with these and other regulations can also affect our returns on investment, require us to incur significant expenses or modify our business model or impair our flexibility in modifying product, marketing, pricing or other strategies for growing our business. Our products and operations are also often subject to the rules of industrial standards bodies such as the International Standards Organization, and failure to comply with these rules can result in withdrawal of certifications needed to sell our products and services and otherwise adversely impact our business and financial statements. For additional information regarding these risks, refer to “Item 1. Business—Regulatory Matters.”

Our restructuring actions can have long-term adverse effects on our business.

In recent years, we have implemented significant restructuring activities across our businesses to adjust our cost structure, and we may engage in similar restructuring activities in the future. These restructuring activities and our regular ongoing cost reduction activities (including in connection with the integration of acquired businesses) reduce our available talent, assets and other resources and can slow improvements in our products and services, adversely affect our ability to respond to customers, limit our ability to increase production quickly if demand for our products increases and trigger adverse public attention. In addition, delays in implementing planned restructuring activities or other productivity improvements, unexpected costs or failure to meet targeted improvements may diminish the operational or financial benefits we expect to realize from such actions. Moreover, we may not succeed in implementing present or future restructuring activities or cost reduction activities. Realizing the anticipated benefits from these initiatives, if any benefits are achieved at all, can take several years, and we may be unable to achieve our targeted cost efficiencies and profit margin improvements. Additionally, we may have insufficient access to capital to fund investments in these strategic initiatives, or our business strategy may change from time to time, which could delay our ability to implement initiatives that we believe are important to our business. Any of the circumstances described above could adversely impact our business and financial statements.

22

We may be required to recognize impairment charges for our goodwill and other intangible assets.

As of December 31, 2019, the net carrying value of our goodwill and other intangible assets totaled approximately $32.5 billion. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we periodically assess these assets to determine if they are impaired. Significant negative industry or economic trends, disruptions to our business, inability to effectively integrate acquired businesses, unexpected significant changes or planned changes in use of our assets, changes in the structure of our business, divestitures, market capitalization declines, or increases in associated discount rates can impair our goodwill and other intangible assets. Any charges relating to such impairments adversely affect our results of operations in the periods recognized.

Foreign currency exchange rates can adversely affect our financial statements.

Sales and purchases in currencies other than the U.S. dollar expose us to fluctuations in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and may adversely affect our financial statements. Increased strength of the U.S. dollar increases the effective price of our products sold in U.S. dollars into other countries, which can from time to time require us to lower our prices or adversely affect sales to the extent we do not increase local currency prices. Decreased strength of the U.S. dollar adversely affects the cost of materials, products and services we purchase overseas. Sales and expenses of our non-U.S. businesses are also translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar generally results in unfavorable translation effects. In addition, certain of our businesses invoice customers in a currency other than the business’ functional currency, and movements in the invoiced currency relative to the functional currency can also result in unfavorable translation effects. The Company also faces exchange rate risk from its investments in subsidiaries owned and operated in foreign countries.

Changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional income tax liabilities or assessments can affect our profitability. In addition, audits by tax authorities can result in additional tax payments for prior periods.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and in numerous non-U.S. jurisdictions.  On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was enacted.  The TCJA significantly revised the U.S. federal corporate income tax law by, among other things, lowering the corporate income tax rate to 21.0%, implementing a quasi-territorial tax system, and imposing a one-time tax on unremitted cumulative non-U.S. earnings of foreign subsidiaries (“Transition Tax”). 

Due to the potential for changes to tax laws and regulations or changes to the interpretation thereof (including regulations and interpretations pertaining to the TCJA), the ambiguity of tax laws and regulations, the subjectivity of factual interpretations, the complexity of our intercompany arrangements, uncertainties regarding the geographic mix of earnings in any particular period, and other factors, our estimates of effective tax rate and income tax assets and liabilities can be incorrect and our financial statements could be adversely affected; please refer to MD&A for a discussion of additional factors that may adversely affect our effective tax rate and decrease our profitability in any period.  The impact of these factors referenced in the first sentence of this paragraph may be substantially different from period-to-period. 

In addition, the amount of income taxes we pay is subject to ongoing audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by non-U.S. tax authorities, such as the audits described in MD&A and the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.  If audits result in payments or assessments different from our reserves, our results can include unfavorable adjustments to our tax liabilities and our financial statements can be adversely affected.  In particular, the IRS’ proposed adjustments to certain of the Company’s historical taxable income with respect to the deferral of tax on certain premium income related to the Company’s self-insurance programs, and the Danish tax authority’s assessments purporting to impose withholding tax relating to interest accrued in Denmark on historical borrowings from certain of the Company’s subsidiaries (each as further discussed in MD&A and the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements), each could take many years to resolve and could ultimately result in a material, adverse impact to the Company’s financial statements, including its cash flows and effective tax rates. Any further significant changes to the tax system in the United States or in other jurisdictions (including changes in the taxation of international income as further described below) could also adversely affect our financial statements.

Changes in tax law relating to multinational corporations could adversely affect our tax position.

The U.S. Congress, government agencies in non-U.S. jurisdictions where we and our affiliates do business, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) have recently focused on issues related to the taxation of multinational corporations. One example is in the area of “base erosion and profit shifting,” where profits are claimed to be earned for tax purposes in low-tax jurisdictions, or payments are made between affiliates from a jurisdiction with high tax rates to a jurisdiction with lower tax rates. The OECD has released several components of its comprehensive plan to create an agreed set of international rules to address base erosion and profit shifting. As a result, the tax laws in the United States and other countries in which we do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could adversely affect our business and financial statements.

23

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings in the course of our business that can adversely affect our business and financial statements.

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings incidental to our business (or the business operations of previously owned entities), including claims or counterclaims for damages arising out of the use of products or services and claims relating to intellectual property matters, employment matters, tax matters, commercial disputes, breach of contract claims, competition and sales and trading practices, environmental matters, personal injury, insurance coverage and acquisition or divestiture-related matters, as well as regulatory subpoenas, requests for information, investigations and enforcement. We also from time to time become subject to lawsuits as a result of past or future acquisitions or as a result of liabilities retained from, or representations, warranties or indemnities provided in connection with, businesses divested by us or our predecessors. The types of claims made in lawsuits include claims for compensatory damages, punitive and consequential damages (and in some cases, treble damages) and/or injunctive relief. The defense of these lawsuits can divert our management’s attention, we from time to time incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits, and we can be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to equitable remedies that adversely affect our operations and financial statements. Moreover, any insurance or indemnification rights that we may have may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against such losses. In addition, developments in proceedings in any given period can require us to adjust the loss contingency estimates that we have recorded in our financial statements, record estimates for liabilities or assets previously not susceptible of reasonable estimates or pay cash settlements or judgments. Any of these developments can adversely affect our financial statements in any particular period. We cannot assure you that our liabilities in connection with current and future litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial statements and business. However, based on our experience, current information and applicable law, we do not believe that it is reasonably possible that any amounts we may be required to pay in connection with litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings in excess of our reserves as of December 31, 2019 will have a material effect on our financial statements.

From time to time, we become aware through our internal audits and other internal control procedures, employees or other parties of possible compliance matters, such as complaints or concerns relating to accounting, internal controls, financial reporting, auditing or ethical matters or relating to compliance with laws. When we become aware of such possible compliance matters, we investigate internally and take appropriate corrective action. Internal investigations can lead to the assertion of claims or the commencement of legal or regulatory proceedings against us and adversely affect our financial statements.

If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, or if third-parties infringe our intellectual property rights, we may suffer competitive injury or expend significant resources enforcing our rights. These risks are particularly pronounced in countries in which we do business that do not have levels of protection of intellectual property comparable to the United States.

Many of the markets we serve are technology-driven, and as a result intellectual property rights play a significant role in product development and differentiation. We own numerous patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property and licenses to intellectual property owned by others, which in aggregate are important to our business. The intellectual property rights that we obtain, however, are not always sufficiently broad and do not always provide us a significant competitive advantage, and patents may not be issued for pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us. In addition, the steps that we and our licensors have taken to maintain and protect our intellectual property do not always prevent it from being challenged, invalidated, circumvented, designed-around or becoming subject to compulsory licensing. In some circumstances, enforcement is not available to us because an infringer has a dominant intellectual property position or for other business reasons. We also rely on nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that these agreements adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third-parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights. Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage, adequately protect our intellectual property or detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property and the cost of enforcing our intellectual property rights can adversely impact our business, including our competitive position, and financial statements.

These risks are particularly pronounced in countries in which we do business that do not have levels of protection of corporate proprietary information, intellectual property, technology and other assets comparable to the United States. The risks we encounter in such countries include the following:

• Joint ventures that we participate in can include restrictions that could compromise our control over the intellectual property, technology and proprietary information of the joint venture;

24

• As we expand our operations globally, increasing amounts of our data, intellectual property and technology is used and stored in countries outside the United States, and regulations in certain countries require data to be stored locally. These factors increase the risk that such data, intellectual property and technology could be stolen or otherwise compromised;

• Certain of our products have been counterfeited and we may encounter additional and/or increased levels of counterfeiting in the future;

• Governmental entities may adopt regulations or other requirements that give them rights to certain of our intellectual property, technology and/or proprietary information, such as through compulsory licensing or foreign ownership restrictions or requirements;

• In certain countries, we do not have the same ability to enforce intellectual property rights as we do in the United States;

• Governmental regulations relating to state secrecy or other topics limit our ability to transfer data or technology out of certain jurisdictions;

• Risks, costs and challenges of operating in a particular jurisdiction can result in a decision to relocate or divert operations to a different jurisdiction, potentially at higher cost.

Any of these risks can adversely impact our business, including our competitive position, and financial statements. Refer to “—International economic, political, legal, compliance and business factors could negatively affect our financial statements” for a discussion of additional risks relating to our international operations.

Third-parties from time to time claim that we are infringing or misappropriating their intellectual property rights and we could suffer significant litigation expenses, losses or licensing expenses or be prevented from selling products or services.

From time to time, we receive notices from third parties alleging intellectual property infringement or misappropriation of third parties’ intellectual property and cannot be certain that the conduct of our business does not and will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of others. Disputes or litigations regarding intellectual property can be costly and time-consuming to defend due to the complexity of many of our technologies and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation. Our intellectual property portfolio may not be useful in asserting a counterclaim, or negotiating a license, in response to a claim of infringement or misappropriation. In addition, as a result of such claims of infringement or misappropriation, we could lose our rights to critical technology, be unable to license critical technology or sell critical products and services, be required to pay substantial damages or license fees with respect to the infringed rights, be required to license technology or other intellectual property rights from others, be required to cease marketing, manufacturing or using certain products or be required to redesign, re-engineer or re-brand our products at substantial cost, any of which could adversely impact our business, including our competitive position, and financial statements. Third-party intellectual property rights may also make it more difficult or expensive for us to meet market demand for particular product or design innovations. When we are required to seek licenses under patents or other intellectual property rights of others, we are not always able to acquire these licenses on acceptable terms, if at all. Even if we successfully defend against claims of infringement or misappropriation, we may incur significant costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business and financial statements.

The U.S. government has certain rights to use and disclose some of the intellectual property that we license and could exclusively license it to a third-party if we fail to achieve practical application of the intellectual property.

Certain technology licensed by us under agreements with third-party licensors is subject to government rights. Government rights in inventions conceived or reduced to practice under a government-funded program can include a nonexclusive, royalty-free worldwide license to practice or have practiced such inventions for any governmental purpose. In addition, the U.S. government has the right to require us or our licensors (as applicable) to grant licenses which would be exclusive under any of such inventions to a third-party if they determine that: (1) adequate steps have not been taken to commercialize such inventions in a particular field of use; (2) such action is necessary to meet public health or safety needs; or (3) such action is necessary to meet requirements for public use under federal regulations. Further, the government rights include the right to use and disclose, without limitation, technical data relating to licensed technology that was developed in whole or in part at government expense.

Defects and unanticipated use or inadequate disclosure with respect to our products or services, or allegations thereof, can adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Manufacturing or design defects or “bugs” in, unanticipated use of, safety or quality issues (or the perception of such issues) with respect to, “off label” use of, or inadequate disclosure of risks relating to the use of products and services that we make or

25

sell (including items that we source from third-parties) can lead to personal injury, death, property damage, loss of profits or other liability. These events can lead to recalls or safety alerts, result in the removal of a product or service from the market and result in product liability or similar claims being brought against us. Recalls, removals and product liability and similar claims (regardless of their validity or ultimate outcome) result in significant costs, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products and services. Our business can also be affected by studies of the utilization, safety and efficacy of medical device products and components that are conducted by industry participants, government agencies and others. Any of the above can result in the discontinuation of marketing of such products in one or more countries and give rise to claims for damages from persons who believe they have been injured as a result of product issues, including claims by individuals or groups seeking to represent a class.

The manufacture of many of our products is a highly exacting and complex process, and if we directly or indirectly encounter problems manufacturing products, our reputation, business and financial statements could suffer.

The manufacture of many of our products is a highly exacting and complex process, due in part to strict regulatory requirements. Problems can arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with raw materials, natural disasters and environmental factors, and if not discovered before the product is released to market can result in recalls and product liability exposure. Because of the time required to approve and license certain regulated manufacturing facilities and other stringent regulations of the FDA and similar agencies regarding the manufacture of certain of our products, an alternative manufacturer is not always available on a timely basis to replace such production capacity. Any of these manufacturing problems could result in significant costs, liability and lost revenue, loss of market share as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products.

Adverse changes in our relationships with, or the financial condition, performance, purchasing patterns or inventory levels of, key distributors and other channel partners can adversely affect our financial statements.

Certain of our businesses sell a significant amount of their products to or through key distributors and other channel partners that have valuable relationships with customers and end-users. Some of these distributors and other partners also sell our competitors’ products or compete with us directly, and if they favor competing products for any reason they may fail to market our products effectively. Adverse changes in our relationships with these distributors and other partners, reduction or discontinuation of their purchases from us or adverse developments in their financial condition, performance or purchasing patterns, can adversely affect our business and financial statements. The levels of inventory maintained by our distributors and other channel partners, and changes in those levels, also impacts our results of operations in any given period. In addition, the consolidation of distributors and customers in certain of our served industries can adversely impact our business and financial statements.

Certain of our businesses rely on relationships with collaborative partners and other third-parties for development, supply and marketing of certain products and potential products, and such collaborative partners or other third-parties could fail to perform sufficiently.

We believe that for certain of our businesses, success in penetrating target markets depends in part on their ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with other companies. Relying on collaborative relationships is risky because, among other things, our collaborative partners may (1) not devote sufficient resources to the success of our collaborations; (2) fail to obtain regulatory approvals necessary to continue the collaborations in a timely manner; (3) be acquired by other companies and terminate our collaborative partnership or become insolvent; (4) compete with us; (5) disagree with us on key details of the collaborative relationship; (6) have insufficient capital resources; and (7) decline to renew existing collaborations on acceptable terms. Because these and other factors may be beyond our control, the development or commercialization of our products involved in collaborative partnerships may be delayed or otherwise adversely affected. If we or any of our collaborative partners terminate a collaborative arrangement, we may be required to devote additional resources to product development and commercialization or we may need to cancel some development programs, which could adversely affect our business and financial statements.

Our financial results are subject to fluctuations in the cost and availability of commodities that we use in our operations.

As discussed in “Item 1. Business—Materials,” our manufacturing and other operations employ a wide variety of components, raw materials and other commodities, including metallic-based components, electronic components, chemicals, plastics and other petroleum-based products. Prices for and availability of these components, raw materials and other commodities have fluctuated significantly in the past. Any sustained interruption in the supply of these items could adversely affect our business. In addition, due to the highly competitive nature of the industries that we serve, the cost-containment efforts of our customers and the terms of certain contracts we are party to, when commodity prices rise we are not always able to pass along cost increases through higher prices. If we are unable to fully recover higher commodity costs through price increases or offset

26

these increases through cost reductions, or if there is a time delay between the increase in costs and our ability to recover or offset these costs, our margins and profitability could decline and our financial statements could be adversely affected.

If we cannot adjust our manufacturing capacity or the purchases required for our manufacturing activities to reflect changes in market conditions and customer demand, our profitability may suffer. In addition, our reliance upon sole or limited sources of supply for certain materials, components and services can cause production interruptions, delays and inefficiencies.

We purchase materials, components and equipment from third-parties for use in our manufacturing operations, including metallic-based components, electronic components, chemicals, plastics and other petroleum-based products. Our profitability could be adversely impacted if we are unable to adjust our purchases to reflect changes in customer demand and market fluctuations, including those caused by seasonality or cyclicality. During a market upturn, suppliers from time to time extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices. If we cannot purchase sufficient products at competitive prices and quality and on a timely enough basis to meet increasing demand, we may not be able to satisfy market demand, product shipments may be delayed, our costs may increase or we may breach our contractual commitments and incur liabilities. Conversely, in order to secure supplies for the production of products, we sometimes enter into noncancelable purchase commitments with vendors, which can impact our ability to adjust our inventory to reflect declining market demands. If demand for our products is less than we expect, we may experience additional excess and obsolete inventories and be forced to incur additional charges and our profitability may suffer.

In addition, some of our businesses purchase certain requirements from sole or limited source suppliers for reasons of quality assurance, regulatory requirements, cost effectiveness, availability or uniqueness of design. If these or other suppliers encounter financial, operating or other difficulties or if our relationship with them changes, we might not be able to quickly establish or qualify replacement sources of supply. The supply chains for our businesses can also be disrupted by supplier capacity constraints, bankruptcy or exiting of the business for other reasons, decreased availability of key raw materials or commodities and external events such as natural disasters, pandemic health issues, war, terrorist actions, governmental actions and legislative or regulatory changes. Any of these factors can result in production interruptions, delays, extended lead times and inefficiencies.

Because we cannot always immediately adapt our production capacity and related cost structures to changing market conditions, at times our manufacturing capacity exceeds or falls short of our production requirements. Any or all of these problems can result in the loss of customers, provide an opportunity for competing products to gain market acceptance and otherwise adversely affect our financial statements.

Changes in governmental regulations can reduce demand for our products or services or increase our expenses.

We compete in markets in which we and our customers must comply with supranational, federal, state, local and other jurisdictional regulations, such as regulations governing health and safety, the environment, food and drugs, privacy and electronic communications. We develop, configure and market our products and services to meet customer needs created by these regulations. These regulations are complex, change frequently, have tended to become more stringent over time and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. Any significant change in any of these regulations (or in the interpretation or application thereof) can reduce demand for, increase our costs of producing or delay the introduction of new or modified products and services, or restrict our existing activities, products and services. For example, a number of our products and services are marketed to the pharmaceutical and related industries for use in discovering and developing drugs and therapies. Changes in the U.S. FDA’s regulation of the drug discovery and development process can have an adverse effect on the demand for these products and services. In addition, in certain of our markets our growth depends in part upon the introduction of new regulations. In these markets, the delay or failure of governmental and other entities to adopt or enforce new regulations, the adoption of new regulations which our products and services are not positioned to address or the repeal of existing regulations, can adversely affect demand. In addition, regulatory deadlines can result in substantially different levels of demand for our products and services from period-to-period.

Work stoppages, union and works council campaigns and other labor disputes could adversely impact our productivity and results of operations.

Certain of our U.S. and non-U.S. employees are subject to collective labor arrangements. We are subject to potential work stoppages, union and works council campaigns and other labor disputes, any of which could adversely impact our financial statements and business, including our productivity and reputation.

27

International economic, political, legal, compliance and business factors could negatively affect our financial statements.

In 2019, approximately 63% of our sales were derived from customers outside the United States. In addition, many of our manufacturing operations, suppliers and employees are located outside the United States. Since our growth strategy depends in part on our ability to further penetrate markets outside the United States and increase the localization of our products and services, we expect to continue to increase our sales and presence outside the United States, particularly in the high-growth markets. Our international business (and particularly our business in high-growth markets) is subject to risks that are customarily encountered in non-U.S. operations, including:

• interruption in the transportation of materials to us and finished goods to our customers;

• differences in terms of sale, including payment terms;

• local product preferences and product requirements;

• changes in a country’s or region’s political or economic conditions, such as the devaluation of particular currencies;

• trade protection measures, embargoes and import or export restrictions and requirements;

• unexpected changes in laws or regulatory requirements, including changes in tax laws;

• capital controls and limitations on ownership and on repatriation of earnings and cash;

• the potential for nationalization of enterprises;

• changes in medical reimbursement policies and programs;

• limitations on legal rights and our ability to enforce such rights;

• difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations;

• differing labor regulations;

• difficulties in implementing restructuring actions on a timely or comprehensive basis;

• differing protection of intellectual property; and

• greater uncertainty, risk, expense and delay in commercializing products in certain foreign jurisdictions, including with respect to product and other regulatory approvals.

International business risks have in the past and may in the future negatively affect our financial statements, business, growth rate, competitive position, and financial condition.

For example, in 2019 we generated approximately 13% of our sales from China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition and results of operations can be adversely influenced by political, economic and social conditions in China generally. Additionally, China’s government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies, and it maintains control over China’s economic growth through setting monetary policy and determining treatment of particular industries or companies. Further, considerable uncertainty exists regarding the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. Uncertainty or adverse changes to economic conditions in China or the policies of China’s government or its laws and regulations can have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China and can impact our business and operating results, reducing demand for our products and adversely affecting our financial statements, business, growth rate and competitive position and financial condition.

In addition, our global operations expose us to risks associated with public health crises and epidemics, such as the novel strain of coronavirus that recently originated in China (COVID-19), which could adversely impact our operations, supply chains and distribution systems and reduce demand for our products and services.  While we believe the coronavirus may have a negative impact on our financial results, the impact is difficult to assess at this time.

Significant developments stemming from the UK’s referendum decision to exit the EU could have an adverse effect on us.

In a referendum on June 23, 2016, voters in the UK voted for the UK to exit the EU. The UK formally withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020 with a transition period through December 31, 2020. During the transition period, the UK will continue to follow EU law and will negotiate with the EU on the terms of its relationship. As it stands, the terms and the nature of the

28

UK’s future relationship with the EU post-2020 are still being decided. This referendum and withdrawal has caused and may continue to cause political and economic uncertainty, including significant volatility in global stock markets and currency exchange rate fluctuations. If no agreement is reached by December 31, 2020, the UK’s membership in the EU could terminate under a so-called “hard Brexit”. The effects of Brexit will depend on many factors, including any agreements that the UK makes to retain access to EU markets either during a transitional period or more permanently.  Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the UK determines which EU laws to replace or replicate. In a “hard Brexit” scenario, there could be increased costs from re-imposition of tariffs on trade between the UK and EU, shipping delays because of the need for customs inspections and procedures, and temporary shortages of certain goods. In addition, trade and investment between the UK, the EU, the United States and other countries will be impacted by the fact that the UK currently operates under the EU’s tax treaties. The UK will need to negotiate its own tax and trade treaties with countries all over the world, which could take years to complete. We have manufacturing facilities in the UK, and, depending on the terms of Brexit, we could become subject to export tariffs and regulatory restrictions that could increase the costs and time related to doing business in Europe. Additionally, Brexit could result in the UK or the EU significantly altering its regulations affecting the clearance or approval of our products that are developed or manufactured in the UK. Any new regulations could add time and expense to the conduct of our business, as well as the process by which our products receive regulatory approval in the UK, the EU and elsewhere. Any of these factors could adversely affect customer demand, our relationships with customers and suppliers and our business and financial statements. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had seven manufacturing facilities in the UK and the Company’s net investment in plant, property and equipment in the UK was $163 million. For the year ended December 31, 2019, less than 5% of our sales were derived from customers located in the UK, however, the impact of Brexit could also impact our sales and operations outside the UK.

If we suffer loss to our facilities, supply chains, distribution systems or information technology systems due to catastrophe or other events, our operations could be seriously harmed.

Our facilities, supply chains, distribution systems and information technology systems are subject to catastrophic loss due to fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, public health crisis (including epidemics), war, terrorism or other natural or man-made disasters, such as the damage caused to our facilities by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in September 2017. If any of these facilities, supply chains or systems were to experience a catastrophic loss, it could disrupt our operations, delay production and shipments, result in defective products or services, damage customer relationships and our reputation and result in legal exposure and large repair or replacement expenses. The third-party insurance coverage that we maintain will vary from time to time in both type and amount depending on cost, availability and our decisions regarding risk retention, and may be unavailable or insufficient to protect us against such losses.

Our defined benefit pension plans are subject to financial market risks that could adversely affect our financial statements.

The performance of the financial markets and interest rates impact our defined benefit pension plan expenses and funding obligations. Significant changes in market interest rates, decreases in the fair value of plan assets, investment losses on plan assets and changes in discount rates can increase our funding obligations and adversely impact our financial statements. In addition, upward pressure on the cost of providing health care coverage to current employees and retirees can increase our future funding obligations and adversely affect our financial statements.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had facilities in over 60 countries, including approximately 212 significant administrative, sales, research and development, manufacturing and distribution facilities. 93 of these facilities are located in the United States in over 20 states and 119 are located outside the United States in over 30 other countries, primarily in Europe and to a lesser extent in Asia, South America, the rest of North America and Australia. These facilities cover approximately 18 million square feet, of which approximately 8 million square feet are owned and approximately 10 million square feet are leased. Particularly outside the United States, facilities often serve more than one business segment and may be used for multiple purposes. In addition to three significant corporate locations, the number of significant facilities by business segment is:

• Life Sciences, 72;

• Diagnostics, 80; and

• Environmental & Applied Solutions, 57.

29

The Company considers its facilities suitable and adequate for the purposes for which they are used and does not anticipate difficulty in renewing existing leases as they expire or in finding alternative facilities. The Company believes its properties and equipment have been well-maintained. Refer to Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information with respect to the Company’s lease commitments.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

For information regarding legal proceedings, refer to the section titled “Legal Proceedings” in MD&A.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Set forth below are the names, ages, positions and experience of Danaher’s executive officers as of February 6, 2020. All of Danaher’s executive officers hold office at the pleasure of Danaher’s Board of Directors. Unless otherwise stated, the positions indicated are Danaher positions.

Name	Age	Position	Officer Since
Steven M. Rales	68	Chairman of the Board	1984
Mitchell P. Rales	63	Chairman of the Executive Committee	1984
Thomas P. Joyce, Jr.	59	Chief Executive Officer and President	2002
Matthew R. McGrew	48	Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	2019
Rainer M. Blair	55	Executive Vice President	2014
Daniel L. Comas	56	Executive Vice President	1996
William K. Daniel II	55	Executive Vice President	2006
Joakim Weidemanis	50	Executive Vice President	2017
Brian W. Ellis	53	Senior Vice President – General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer	2016
William H. King	52	Senior Vice President – Strategic Development	2005
Angela S. Lalor	54	Senior Vice President – Human Resources	2012
Robert S. Lutz	62	Senior Vice President – Chief Accounting Officer	2002
Daniel A. Raskas	53	Senior Vice President – Corporate Development	2004

Steven M. Rales is a co-founder of Danaher and has served on Danaher’s Board of Directors since 1983, serving as Danaher’s Chairman of the Board since 1984. He was also CEO of the Company from 1984 to 1990. Mr. Rales is also a member of the board of directors of Fortive Corporation, and is a brother of Mitchell P. Rales.

Mitchell P. Rales is a co-founder of Danaher and has served on Danaher’s Board of Directors since 1983, serving as Chairman of the Executive Committee of Danaher since 1984. He was also President of the Company from 1984 to 1990.  Mr. Rales is also a member of the board of directors of Colfax Corporation and of Fortive Corporation, and is a brother of Steven M. Rales.

Thomas P. Joyce, Jr. has served on Danaher’s Board of Directors and as Danaher’s President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2014.

Matthew R. McGrew has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2019, after serving as Group CFO of Danaher from 2012 until December 2018.

Rainer M. Blair has served as Executive Vice President since January 2017 after serving as Vice President – Group Executive from March 2014 until January 2017 and as President of Danaher’s Sciex business from January 2011 to March 2014.

Daniel L. Comas has served as Executive Vice President since January 2019, after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2005 until December 2018.

William K. Daniel II has served as Executive Vice President since 2008.

30

Joakim Weidemanis has served as Executive Vice President since December 2017 after serving as Vice President – Group Executive from March 2014 until December 2017 and as Group President – Marking and Coding from January 2013 to March 2014.

Brian W. Ellis has served as Senior Vice President – General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer since joining Danaher in January 2016. Prior to joining Danaher, Mr. Ellis served for over five years in progressively more responsible positions in the legal department of Medtronic, Inc., a medical device company, including most recently as Vice President and General Counsel of Medtronic’s Restorative Therapies Group.

William H. King has served as Senior Vice President – Strategic Development since May 2014.

Angela S. Lalor has served as Senior Vice President – Human Resources since joining Danaher in April 2012.

Robert S. Lutz has served as Senior Vice President – Chief Accounting Officer since February 2010.

Daniel A. Raskas has served as Senior Vice President – Corporate Development since February 2010.

31

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DHR. As of February 6, 2020, there were approximately 2,431 holders of record of Danaher’s common stock.

Any future payments of dividends on the Company’s common stock will be determined by Danaher’s Board of Directors and will depend on business conditions, Danaher’s earnings and other factors Danaher’s Board deems relevant.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Company’s repurchases of its equity securities during the fourth quarter of 2019 are listed below in the following table:

Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased (1)	Average Share Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)(2)	Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (2)
September 28, 2019 - October 27, 2019	—	—		—	20,000,000
October 28, 2019 - November 26, 2019	—	—		—	20,000,000
November 27, 2019 - December 31, 2019	22,921,984	(1	)	22,921,984	20,000,000
Total	22,921,984	(1	)	22,921,984	20,000,000

⁽¹⁾ On December 18, 2019, Danaher completed the disposition of the remaining 80.6% ownership of Envista Holdings Corporation common stock through a split-off exchange offer, which resulted in Danaher’s repurchase of 22.9 million shares of the Company’s common stock in exchange for the remaining shares of Envista held by Danaher. Danaher common shareholders who participated in the exchange offer received in aggregate approximately 127.9 million shares of Envista common stock in exchange for all of the Danaher common shares exchanged.

⁽²⁾ On July 16, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a repurchase program (the “Repurchase Program”) authorizing the repurchase of up to 20 million shares of the Company’s common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. There is no expiration date for the Repurchase Program, and the timing and amount of any shares repurchased under the program will be determined by the Company’s management based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. The Repurchase Program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Any repurchased shares will be available for use in connection with the Company’s equity compensation plans (or any successor plan) and for other corporate purposes. As of December 31, 2019, 20 million shares remained available for repurchase pursuant to the Repurchase Program. The Company expects to fund any future stock repurchases using the Company’s available cash balances or proceeds from the issuance of debt.

Except in connection with the Envista Split-Off in 2019, neither the Company nor any “affiliated purchaser” repurchased any shares of Company common stock during 2019, 2018 or 2017.

Recent Issuances of Unregistered Securities

During the fourth quarter of 2019, holders of certain of the Company’s Liquid Yield Option Notes due 2021 (“LYONs”) converted such LYONs into an aggregate of 44 thousand shares of Danaher common stock, par value $0.01 per share. In each case, the shares of common stock were issued solely to existing security holders upon conversion of the LYONs pursuant to the exemption from registration provided under Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

32

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

($ in millions, except per share information)

	2019				2018			2017			2016			2015
Sales	$	17,911.1			$	17,048.5		$	15,518.8		$	14,097.0		$	11,697.4
Operating profit	3,269.4				3,055.1			2,572.3			2,300.9			1,771.9
Net earnings from continuing operations	2,432.3				2,406.3			2,172.2		(a)(b)	1,863.5		(c)(d)	1,428.7		(f)
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	575.9			(n)	244.6			319.9			690.2			1,928.7		(e)
Net earnings	3,008.2				2,650.9			2,492.1		(a)(b)	2,553.7		(c)(d)	3,357.4		(e)(f)
Mandatory convertible preferred stock (“MCPS”) dividends	(68.4		)		—			—			—			—
Net earnings attributable to common stockholders	$	2,939.8			$	2,650.9		$	2,492.1	(a)(b)	$	2,553.7	(c)(d)	$	3,357.4	(e)(f)
Net earnings per common share from continuing operations (m):
Basic	$	3.31			$	3.43		$	3.12	(a)(b)	$	2.70	(c)(d)	$	2.05	(f)
Diluted	$	3.26			$	3.39		$	3.08	(a)(b)	$	2.67	(c)(d)	$	2.02	(f)
Net earnings per common share from discontinued operations:
Basic	$	0.81		(n)	$	0.35		$	0.46		$	1.00		$	2.76	(e)
Diluted	$	0.79		(n)	$	0.34		$	0.45		$	0.99		$	2.72	(e)
Net earnings per common share:
Basic	$	4.11		*	$	3.78		$	3.58	(a)(b)	$	3.69	(c)(d) *	$	4.81	(e)(f)
Diluted	$	4.05			$	3.74	*	$	3.53	(a)(b)	$	3.65	(c)(d) *	$	4.74	(e)(f)
Dividends declared per common share	$	0.68		(g)	$	0.64	(h)	$	0.56	(i)	$	0.57	(j)	$	0.54	(k)
Dividends declared per share of MCPS	$	41.43		(l)	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Total assets	$	62,081.6			$	47,832.5		$	46,648.6		$	45,295.3		$	48,222.2
Total debt	$	21,729.1			$	9,740.3		$	10,522.1		$	12,269.0		$	12,870.4

^(a)  Includes $73 million ($46 million after-tax or $0.06 per diluted share) gain on sale of certain marketable equity securities. Refer to Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.

^(b)  Includes $146 million ($0.21 per diluted share) of discrete tax benefits associated with the resolution of uncertain tax positions as well as the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities and the Transition Tax from the TCJA. Refer to Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.

^(c)  Includes $223 million ($140 million after-tax or $0.20 per diluted share) gain on sale of certain marketable equity securities. Refer to Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.

^(d)  Includes $179 million ($112 million after-tax or $0.16 per diluted share) loss on extinguishment of borrowings, net of certain deferred gains. Refer to Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information.

^(e)  Includes $767 million after-tax gain ($1.08 per diluted share) on disposition of the Company’s communications business.

^(f)  Includes $12 million ($8 million after-tax or $0.01 per diluted share) gain on sale of certain marketable equity securities.

^(g) The Company increased its quarterly dividend rate in 2019 to $0.17 per share.

^(h)  The Company increased its quarterly dividend rate in 2018 to $0.16 per share.

⁽ⁱ⁾  The Company increased its quarterly dividend rate in 2017 to $0.14 per share.

^(j)  The Company increased its quarterly dividend rate in the first quarter of 2016 to $0.16 per share and subsequently reduced its quarterly dividend rate to $0.125 per share in the third quarter of 2016 as a result of the Fortive Disposition.

^(k) The Company increased its quarterly dividend rate in 2015 to $0.135 per share.

^(l) The company declared dividends of $17.681 per MCPS in the second quarter of 2019 and $11.875 per MCPS in both the third and fourth quarters of 2019.

^(m) Refer to Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on the calculation of net earnings per share from continuing operations.

⁽ⁿ⁾  Includes $451 million after-tax gain ($0.62 per diluted share) on disposition of Envista Holdings Corporation common stock.

* Net earnings per share amount does not add due to rounding.

33

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is designed to provide a reader of Danaher’s financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of Company management. The Company’s MD&A is divided into five sections:

• Overview

• Results of Operations

• Liquidity and Capital Resources

• Critical Accounting Estimates

• New Accounting Standards

This discussion and analysis should be read along with Danaher’s audited financial statements and related Notes thereto as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019 included in this Annual Report.

Unless otherwise indicated, all financial results in this report refer to continuing operations.

OVERVIEW

General

Refer to “Item 1. Business—General” for a discussion of Danaher’s strategic objectives and methodologies for delivering long-term shareholder value. Danaher is a multinational business with global operations. During 2019, approximately 63% of Danaher’s sales were derived from customers outside the United States. As a diversified, global business, Danaher’s operations are affected by worldwide, regional and industry-specific economic and political factors. Danaher’s geographic and industry diversity, as well as the range of its products, software and services, help limit the impact of any one industry or the economy of any single country on its consolidated operating results. The Company’s individual businesses monitor key competitors and customers, including to the extent possible their sales, to gauge relative performance and the outlook for the future.

As a result of the Company’s geographic and industry diversity, the Company faces a variety of opportunities and challenges, including rapid technological development (particularly with respect to computing, automation, artificial intelligence, mobile connectivity, communications and digitization) in most of the Company’s served markets, the expansion and evolution of opportunities in high-growth markets, trends and costs associated with a global labor force, consolidation of the Company’s competitors and increasing regulation. The Company operates in a highly competitive business environment in most markets, and the Company’s long-term growth and profitability will depend in particular on its ability to expand its business in high-growth geographies and high-growth market segments, identify, consummate and integrate appropriate acquisitions, develop innovative and differentiated new products and services with higher gross profit margins, expand and improve the effectiveness of the Company’s sales force, continue to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency and quality, and effectively address the demands of an increasingly regulated global environment. The Company is making significant investments, organically and through acquisitions, to address the rapid pace of technological change in its served markets and to globalize its manufacturing, research and development and customer-facing resources (particularly in high-growth markets) in order to be responsive to the Company’s customers throughout the world and improve the efficiency of the Company’s operations.

Business Performance

Consolidated sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased 5.0% as compared to 2018. While differences exist among the Company’s businesses, on an overall basis, demand for the Company’s products and services increased on a year-over-year basis in 2019 as compared to 2018. This demand, together with the Company’s continued investments in sales growth initiatives and the other business-specific factors discussed below, contributed to year-over-year core sales growth of 6.0% (for the definition of “core sales,” refer to “—Results of Operations” below). Geographically, both high-growth and developed markets contributed to year-over-year core sales growth during 2019. Core sales in high-growth markets grew at a high-single digit rate in 2019 as compared to 2018 led by strength in China. High-growth markets represented approximately 32% of the Company’s total sales in 2019. Core sales in developed markets grew at a mid-single digit rate in 2019 as compared to 2018 and were driven by North America and Western Europe.

The Company’s net earnings from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 totaled approximately $2.4 billion, or $3.26 per diluted share, compared to approximately $2.4 billion, or $3.39 per diluted share for the year ended

34

December 31, 2018. Net earnings attributable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2019 totaled approximately $2.9 billion or $4.05 per diluted share compared to approximately $2.7 billion or $3.74 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2018. The gain on the disposition of Envista, partially offset by the tax-related charges discussed below in “—Results of Operations—Income Taxes” are the primary reasons for the year-over-year increase in net earnings attributable to common stockholders and diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2019; refer to “—Results of Operations” for further discussion of year-over-year changes in net earnings and diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2019. Refer to “Results of Operations—Discontinued Operations” for further discussion of the disposition of Envista.

Acquisitions and Dispositions

On February 25, 2019, the Company entered into the GE Biopharma Purchase Agreement with GE to acquire the GE Biopharma Business for a cash purchase price of approximately $21.0 billion, subject to certain adjustments, and the assumption of approximately $0.4 billion of pension liabilities. The GE Biopharma Business, to be known as Cytiva following the closing of the acquisition, is a leading provider of instruments, consumables and software that support the research, discovery, process development and manufacturing workflows of biopharmaceutical drugs. Based on preliminary unaudited financial information provided by GE, the GE Biopharma Business generated revenues of approximately $3.3 billion in 2019. Though the timing of obtaining the final regulatory approvals necessary to close the GE Biopharma Acquisition is uncertain, the Company continues to make progress with respect thereto and expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2020. The acquisition is expected to provide additional sales and earnings growth opportunities for the Company’s Life Sciences segment by expanding the business’ geographic and product line diversity, including new product and service offerings that complement the Company’s current biologics workflow solutions. As a condition to obtaining certain regulatory approvals for the closing of the transaction, the Company expects it will be required to divest certain of its existing product lines that in the aggregate generated revenues of approximately $170 million in 2019.

The Company plans to finance the GE Biopharma Acquisition with approximately $3.0 billion of proceeds from the March 1, 2019 underwritten public offerings of its Common Stock and MCPS, approximately $10.8 billion of proceeds from the issuance of euro-denominated and U.S. dollar-denominated long-term debt in the second half of 2019, and approximately $7.2 billion from the aggregate of cash on hand and proceeds from commercial paper borrowings. Refer to Note 11 in the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to the issuance of debt and to Note 19 for additional information related to the March 1, 2019 public offerings.

During 2019, the Company acquired five businesses for total consideration of $331 million in cash, net of cash acquired. The businesses acquired complement existing units of each of the Company’s three segments. The aggregate annual sales of these five businesses at the time of their respective acquisitions, in each case based on the company’s revenues for its last completed fiscal year prior to the acquisition, were $72 million. In addition, in 2019 the Company invested $241 million in non-marketable equity securities and a partnership.

For a discussion of the Company’s 2018 and 2017 acquisition and disposition activity, refer to “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Investing Activities”.

Envista Disposition

On September 20, 2019, Envista completed an underwritten IPO of 30.8 million shares of its common stock, (the “IPO”), which represented 19.4% of Envista’s outstanding shares at the time of the offering, at a public offering price of $22.00 per share. Envista realized net proceeds of $643 million from the IPO, after deducting underwriting discounts and deal expenses.

In connection with the completion of the IPO, through a series of equity and other transactions, the Company transferred its dental businesses to Envista (the “Separation”). In exchange, Envista transferred consideration of approximately $2.0 billion to the Company, which consisted primarily of the net proceeds from the IPO and approximately $1.3 billion of proceeds from Envista’s term debt financing. The excess of the net proceeds from the IPO over the net book value of the business transferred to Envista was $60 million and was recorded in additional paid-in capital.

On December 18, 2019, Danaher completed the disposition of its remaining 80.6% ownership of Envista common stock through a split-off exchange offer, which resulted in Danaher’s repurchase of 22.9 million shares of Danaher common stock in exchange for the remaining shares of Envista common stock held by Danaher (the “Split-Off”). The IPO, Separation and Split-Off are collectively referred to as the “Envista Disposition”. As a result, the Company recognized a gain on the disposition of $451 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 equal to the difference between the fair value of the Danaher common stock tendered in the exchange offer and the carrying value of Envista common stock. The accounting requirements for reporting Envista as a discontinued operation were met when the Split-Off was completed. Accordingly, the Consolidated Financial Statements for all periods presented reflect this business as a discontinued operation. For each period presented, the Company allocated a portion of the consolidated interest expense to discontinued operations based on the ratio of the discontinued business’ net assets to the

35

Company’s consolidated net assets. Envista had revenues of approximately $2.6 billion in 2019 prior to the Envista Disposition and approximately $2.8 billion in 2018.

To effect the Envista Disposition, the Company incurred $69 million in costs during the year ended December 31, 2019 which are reflected in earnings from discontinued operations, net of income taxes in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Earnings. These costs primarily relate to professional fees associated with preparation of regulatory filings and activities within finance, tax, legal and information technology functions as well as certain investment banking fees and tax costs.

Refer to Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion.

UK’s referendum decision to exit the EU

In a referendum on June 23, 2016, voters approved for the UK to exit the EU. The UK formally withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020 with a transition period through December 31, 2020. During the transition period, the UK will continue to follow EU law and will negotiate with the EU on the terms of its relationship post-2020. Failure to complete negotiations by the implementation deadline of December 31, 2020 relating to Brexit could result in the UK reverting to undesirable and adverse trade agreements with the EU. The nature of the UK’s future relationship with the EU is still uncertain. The Company continues to monitor the status of Brexit and plan for potential impacts. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had seven manufacturing facilities in the UK and the Company’s net investment in plant, property and equipment in the UK was $163 million. For the year ended December 31, 2019, less than 5% of the Company’s sales were derived from customers located in the UK, however, the impact of Brexit could also impact the Company’s sales and operations outside the UK. To mitigate the potential impact of Brexit on the import of goods to the UK, the Company has increased its level of inventory within the UK. The ultimate impact of Brexit on the Company’s financial results is uncertain. For additional information, refer to the “Item 1A—Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report.

Coronavirus

For information on the potential impact of the coronavirus to the Company’s operations, refer to the “Item 1A—Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

In this report, references to the non-GAAP measure of core sales (also referred to as core revenues or sales/revenues from existing businesses) refer to sales from continuing operations calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) but excluding:

• sales from acquired businesses; and

• the impact of currency translation.

References to sales or operating profit attributable to acquisitions or acquired businesses refer to sales or operating profit, as applicable, from acquired businesses recorded prior to the first anniversary of the acquisition less the amount of sales and operating profit, as applicable, attributable to divested product lines not considered discontinued operations. The portion of revenue attributable to currency translation is calculated as the difference between:

• the period-to-period change in revenue (excluding sales from acquired businesses); and

• the period-to-period change in revenue (excluding sales from acquired businesses) after applying current period foreign exchange rates to the prior year period.

Core sales growth should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, sales, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Management believes that reporting the non-GAAP financial measure of core sales growth provides useful information to investors by helping identify underlying growth trends in Danaher’s business and facilitating comparisons of Danaher’s revenue performance with its performance in prior and future periods and to Danaher’s peers. Management also uses core sales growth to measure the Company’s operating and financial performance, and uses it as one of the performance measures in the Company’s executive short-term cash incentive program. The Company excludes the effect of currency translation from core sales because currency translation is not under management’s control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends, and excludes the effect of acquisitions and divestiture-related items because the nature, size, timing and number of acquisitions and divestitures can vary dramatically from period-to-period and between the Company and its peers and can also obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.

Throughout this discussion, references to sales volume refer to the impact of both price and unit sales and references to productivity improvements generally refer to improved cost efficiencies resulting from the ongoing application of DBS.

36

Core Revenue

	2019 vs. 2018		2018 vs. 2017
Total sales growth (GAAP)	5.0	%	10.0	%
Impact of:
Acquisitions and other	(1.0	)%	(2.0	)%
Currency exchange rates	2.0	%	(1.0	)%
Core revenue growth (non-GAAP)	6.0	%	7.0	%

Core sales grew on a year-over-year basis in both 2019 and 2018. Sales from acquired businesses increased on a year-over-year basis in both 2019 and 2018, primarily due to the acquisition of IDT in the second quarter of 2018. The impact of currency translation reduced reported sales on a year-over-year basis in 2019 as the U.S. dollar was, on average, stronger against other major currencies. Currency translation increased reported sales on a year-over-year basis in 2018, primarily due to the U.S. dollar weakening against other major currencies in the first half of 2018, partially offset by the U.S. dollar strengthening in the second half of 2018.

Operating profit margins were 18.3% for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to 17.9% in 2018. The following factors impacted year-over-year operating profit margin comparisons.

2019 vs. 2018 operating profit margin comparisons were favorably impacted by:

• Higher 2019 core sales volumes and incremental year-over-year cost savings associated with the continued productivity improvement initiatives taken in 2019 and 2018, net of incremental year-over-year costs associated with various new product development and sales, service and marketing growth investments and the impact of foreign exchange rates - 100 basis points

• Acquisition-related transaction costs and fair value adjustments to inventory related to the acquisition of IDT in the second quarter of 2018 - 10 basis points

2019 vs. 2018 operating profit margin comparisons were unfavorably impacted by:

• The incremental net dilutive effect in 2019 of acquired businesses - 15 basis points

• Transaction costs and integration preparation costs related to the anticipated acquisition of the GE Biopharma Business - 50 basis points

• Second quarter 2018 gain on resolution of acquisition-related matters - 5 basis points

Operating profit margins were 17.9% for the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to 16.6% in 2017. The following factors impacted year-over-year operating profit margin comparisons.

2018 vs. 2017 operating profit margin comparisons were favorably impacted by:

• Higher 2018 core sales volumes and incremental year-over-year cost savings associated with the continued productivity improvement initiatives taken in 2018 and 2017, net of incremental year-over-year costs associated with various product development, sales and marketing growth investments and the impact of foreign exchange rates - 120 basis points

• Restructuring, impairment and other related charges related to discontinuing a product line in the second quarter of 2017 related to the Diagnostic segment - 45 basis points

2018 vs. 2017 operating profit margin comparisons were unfavorably impacted by:

• The incremental net dilutive effect in 2018 of acquired businesses - 25 basis points

• Acquisition-related transaction costs and fair value adjustments to inventory related to the acquisition of IDT in the second quarter of 2018 - 10 basis points

37

Business Segments

Sales by business segment for the years ended December 31 are as follows ($ in millions):

	2019		2018		2017
Life Sciences	$	6,951.1	$	6,471.4	$	5,710.1
Diagnostics	6,561.5		6,257.6		5,839.9
Environmental & Applied Solutions	4,398.5		4,319.5		3,968.8
Total	$	17,911.1	$	17,048.5	$	15,518.8

LIFE SCIENCES

The Company’s Life Sciences segment offers a broad range of research tools that scientists use to study the basic building blocks of life, including genes, proteins, metabolites and cells, in order to understand the causes of disease, identify new therapies and test new drugs and vaccines.  The segment is also a leading provider of filtration, separation and purification technologies to the biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, medical, aerospace, microelectronics and general industrial sectors.

Life Sciences Selected Financial Data

	Year Ended December 31
($ in millions)	2019			2018			2017
Sales	$	6,951.1		$	6,471.4		$	5,710.1
Operating profit	1,401.4			1,229.3			1,004.3
Depreciation	130.5			127.4			119.0
Amortization	356.6			343.8			308.9
Operating profit as a % of sales	20.2		%	19.0		%	17.6		%
Depreciation as a % of sales	1.9		%	2.0		%	2.1		%
Amortization as a % of sales	5.1		%	5.3		%	5.4		%

Core Revenue

	2019 vs. 2018		2018 vs. 2017
Total sales growth (GAAP)	7.5	%