UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K 

☒    Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

☐    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 1-225        

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	39-0394230
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

P.O. Box 619100

Dallas, TX

75261-9100

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (972) 281-1200

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-$1.25 par value	KMB	New York Stock Exchange
0.625% Notes due 2024	KMB24	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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" and "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐	Emerging growth company	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).           Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2021 (based on closing stock price on the New York Stock Exchange as of such date) was approximately $45.1 billion.

As of January 31, 2022, there were 336,993,302 shares of Kimberly-Clark common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain information contained in the definitive Proxy Statement for Kimberly-Clark's Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on April 27, 2022 is incorporated by reference into Part III.

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page
Part I
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	4
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	9
Item 2.	Properties	9
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	9
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	9
	Information About Our Executive Officers	10
Part II
Item 5.	Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	12
Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	13
Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	14
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	27
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	30
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	66
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	66
Item 9B.	Other Information	67
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections	67
Part III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	68
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	68
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	68
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	68
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	68
Part IV
Item 15.	Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules	69
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	71
Signatures		72

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

PART I

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

Kimberly-Clark Corporation was incorporated in Delaware in 1928. We are a global company focused on delivering products and solutions that provide better care for a better world through product innovation and building our personal care, consumer tissue and K-C Professional brands. We are principally engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of a wide range of products mostly made from natural or synthetic fibers using advanced technologies in fibers, nonwovens and absorbency. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms "Corporation," "Kimberly-Clark," "K-C," "we," "our" and "us" refer to Kimberly-Clark Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Dollar amounts are reported in millions, except per share dollar amounts, unless otherwise noted.

Description of Kimberly-Clark

We are organized into operating segments based on product groupings. These operating segments have been aggregated into three reportable global business segments as follows:

•Personal Care brands offer our consumers a trusted partner in caring for themselves and their families by delivering confidence, protection and discretion through a wide variety of innovative solutions and products such as disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, and other related products.  Products in this segment are sold under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, Poise and other brand names.

•Consumer Tissue offers a wide variety of innovative solutions and trusted brands that responsibly improve everyday living for families around the world.  Products in this segment include facial and bathroom tissue, paper towels, napkins and related products, and are sold under the Kleenex, Scott, Cottonelle, Viva, Andrex, Scottex, Neve and other brand names.

•K-C Professional partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces, helping to make them healthier, safer and more productive through a range of solutions and supporting products such as wipers, tissue, towels, apparel, soaps and sanitizers. Our brands, including Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech and KleenGuard are well known for quality and trusted to help people around the world work better.

These reportable segments were determined in accordance with how our chief operating decision maker and our executive managers develop and execute our global strategies to drive growth and profitability of our personal care, consumer tissue and K-C Professional operations. These strategies include global plans for branding and product positioning, technology, research and development programs, cost reductions including supply chain management and capacity, and capital investments for each of these businesses.

Products for household use are sold directly to supermarkets, mass merchandisers, drugstores, warehouse clubs, variety and department stores and other retail outlets, as well as through other distributors and e-commerce. Products for away-from-home use are sold through distributors, directly to manufacturing, lodging, office building, food service, and high-volume public facilities, and through e-commerce.

Net sales to Walmart Inc. as a percent of our consolidated net sales were approximately 14 percent in 2021, 15 percent in 2020 and 14 percent in 2019. Net sales to Walmart Inc. were primarily in the Personal Care and Consumer Tissue segments.

On October 1, 2020, we acquired Softex Indonesia, a leader in the fast-growing Indonesian personal care market, in an all-cash transaction for approximately $1.2 billion. This transaction significantly expanded our presence in an important developing and emerging market and is a strong strategic fit with our core business. See Item 8, Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

Patents and Trademarks

We own various patents and trademarks registered domestically and in many foreign countries. We consider the patents and trademarks that we own and the trademarks under which we sell certain of our products to be material to our business. Consequently, we seek patent and trademark protection by all available means, including registration.

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Raw Materials

Cellulose fiber, in the form of kraft pulp or fiber recycled from recovered waste paper, is the primary raw material for our tissue products, and in the form of fluff pulp, is a component of disposable diapers, training and youth pants, feminine pads and incontinence care products.

Polypropylene and other synthetics and chemicals are the primary raw materials for manufacturing nonwoven fabrics, which are used in disposable diapers, training and youth pants, wet wipes, feminine pads, incontinence care products, and away-from-home wipers and apparel. Superabsorbent materials are important components of disposable diapers, training and youth pants and incontinence care products.

Raw materials are purchased from third parties, and we consider the supply to be adequate to meet the needs of our businesses. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors."

Competition

We have several major competitors in most of our markets, some of which are larger and more diversified than us. The principal methods and elements of competition include brand recognition and loyalty, product innovation, quality and performance, price, and marketing and distribution capabilities. For additional discussion of the competitive environment in which we conduct our business, see Item 1A, "Risk Factors."

Foreign Market Risks

We operate and market our products globally, and our business strategy includes targeted growth in Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors" for a discussion of foreign market risks that may affect our financial results.

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Our continued commitment to doing the right thing underpins our social impact and smallest footprint ambitions. Better care for a better world begins with ensuring the health and safety of our customers, consumers, and employees, promoting diversity and inclusion within our business, and protecting the rights of workers across our supply chain. We also believe we can make meaningful contributions to gender equality, clean water and sanitation, climate action and responsible consumption and production. Our sustainability strategy puts our brand, supply chain and innovation teams to work to create shared value by solving global challenges and is focused on addressing impactful climate-related risks and opportunities throughout our value chain, as outlined in our most recent Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") report.

We implement this strategy by considering our sustainability goals during our business and capital planning processes, aligning the priorities of our supply chain, brand and innovation teams, and establishing meaningful performance indicators. Our environmental priorities include reducing our use of new fossil fuel-based plastic, while enabling circular systems to recover the materials in our products and packaging; reducing our products’ use of natural forest fiber, while protecting forest biodiversity and supporting forest dependent communities; reducing greenhouse gas emissions along our value chain, with goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative ("SBTi"); and building resilience to water risk at our facilities and in our communities in water-stressed regions around the world. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are now accepted as the best shared definition of what needs to be done over the next decade, and we have aligned our goals with that framework.

Regulatory Compliance

We are subject to many laws and regulations across all the countries in which we do business, and we are particularly impacted by those relating to product safety, environmental protection and data privacy and protection.

We are obligated to comply with regulations that cover product safety, efficacy, manufacturing, advertising, labeling and safety reporting. These include requirements that we provide a label that highlights perceived concerns about a product or warns consumers of risks of using our products. In some cases, it may be necessary to initiate product recalls if safety risks are considered to exist. All our facilities and other operations are subject to various environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those relating to the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater. We are also subject to various laws and regulations related to data privacy and protection, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which became effective on January 1, 2020.

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Our policy is to abide by all applicable laws and regulations, and we have internal programs in place to manage global compliance with these various requirements. We monitor each of these areas for new or changed regulatory requirements, particularly in the rapidly evolving area of data privacy and protection. We have made, and plan to continue making, necessary expenditures for compliance with applicable laws and regulations; however, total capital expenditures and operating expenses related to compliance are not expected to have a material effect on our total capital and operating expenditures, consolidated earnings or competitive position.

Human Capital Management

We had approximately 45,000 employees as of December 31, 2021 in our consolidated operations. Approximately 30 percent of our employees were located in North America and the remainder were in approximately 60 countries outside of North America. Overall, approximately 60 percent of our workforce was directly involved in manufacturing and distribution operations.

In order to recruit, retain, develop, protect and fairly compensate our employees, we focus on four key areas: inclusion and diversity, health and safety, development and employee engagement, and compensation and benefits.

•Inclusion and diversity – We believe our business success is intricately tied to creating workplaces, communities and experiences where inclusion and diversity are evident and thriving. We prioritize the need to cultivate a workforce where all are included and empowered to do their best work. Employing people from disparate backgrounds, cultures, and experiences amplifies our ability to gather insights, foster innovation and understand the culture, context, and mindset of consumers around the world. As a company who serves consumers and communities, it is essential that our workforce is comprised of people who look, think, and behave like the people who use our products – now and in the future. As such, we support workforce inclusion and diversity and consider it a fundamental business strategy. We continue to make progress on our short-and long-term goals for women and U.S. People of Color in all management roles. This commitment is evidenced by having the Management Development and Compensation Committee (“MDC”) of the Board of Directors responsible for reviewing the diversity and inclusion strategy and related metrics.

•Health and safety – We are committed to the health and safety of our employees. We create and administer company-wide policies and processes to protect our employees and to comply with applicable safety regulations. Health and safety training is regularly provided to our employees. We review and monitor our performance closely to drive continuous improvement in our safety programs.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we provided enhanced benefits and implemented additional workplace safety programs and processes in all our facilities. As the circumstances and impacts of COVID-19 evolve, we continue to evaluate our response and adapt to protect the health and safety of our employees.

•Development and employee engagement – Developing talent and leaders at all levels of the organization and engaging our employees is critical to our long-term success. We maintain talent and succession planning processes and have leadership and management development programs as well as broad learning opportunities for all employees to support their career growth and advance their skills.

We also offer employees the opportunity to join Employee Resource Groups ("ERGs"). These groups foster professional development, social connectivity, and celebrate diversity throughout our company. Current ERGs provide community and insights into the perspectives and experiences of those with African, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian ancestry, women, and LGBTQ+, as well as parents, caregivers, people with disabilities, military veterans, and new employees. Our ERGs promote career development by allowing employees to connect with and learn from one another and help amplify our inclusion and diversity efforts.

Further, in regard to employee engagement, we hold regular Town Hall meetings where any employee can ask questions of executives and make their voice heard. We also host global conversations about racism, bias and other important topics. We engage in continuous listening via global surveys, on an ongoing basis, that offer our employees the ability to provide feedback and valuable insight to help address potential issues and identify opportunities to improve and support employee engagement.

•Compensation and benefits – We provide market-based competitive compensation through our salary, annual incentive and long-term incentive programs and robust benefits packages that promote employee well-being across all aspects of

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their lives. Eligible employees are compensated for their contributions to our goals with both short-term cash incentives and long-term equity-based incentives. We also provide a variety of resources and services to help our employees plan for retirement. We believe the structure of our compensation packages provides the appropriate incentives to attract, retain and motivate our employees.

The MDC is responsible for establishing and administering the policies governing annual compensation and long-term compensation to ensure that the policies are designed to align compensation with our overall business strategy and performance.

Available Information

We make financial information, news releases and other information available on our corporate website at www.kimberly-clark.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge on this website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file these reports and amendments with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The information contained on or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the SEC. Stockholders may also contact Stockholder Services, P.O. Box 612606, Dallas, Texas 75261-2606 or call 972-281-5317 to obtain a hard copy of these reports without charge.

ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

Our business faces many risks and uncertainties that we cannot control. Any of the risks discussed below, as well as factors described in other places in this Form 10-K, or in our other filings with the SEC, could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, these items could cause our future results to differ from those in any of our forward-looking statements. These risks are not the only ones we face. Other risks that we do not presently know about or that we presently believe are not material could also adversely affect us.

Business Operations

We face various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks, which may have material adverse effects on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business and financial results may be negatively impacted by health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could have negative impacts on our business, including causing significant volatility in demand for our products, changes in consumer behavior and preference, disruptions in our manufacturing and supply chain operations, disruptions to our cost saving programs, limitations on our employees’ ability to work and travel, significant changes in the economic or political conditions in markets in which we operate and related currency and commodity volatility. Despite our efforts to manage these impacts, their ultimate impact also depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of any such outbreak and actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate its public health effects.

Cyber-attacks, privacy breaches, data breaches or a failure of key information technology systems could disrupt our business operations and cause us financial and reputational damage.

Increased cyber-security threats and computer crime pose a potential risk to the security of our information technology systems, including those of third-party service providers with whom we have contracted, as well as the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data stored on those systems. Further, data privacy is subject to frequently changing rules and regulations regarding the handling of personal data, such as the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Any breach in our information technology security systems could result in the disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, including sensitive customer, supplier, employee or investor information maintained in the ordinary course of our business. Any such event, or any failure to comply with these data privacy requirements or other laws in this area, could cause damage to our reputation, loss of valuable information or loss of revenue and could result in legal liability, or regulatory or other penalties. In addition, we may incur large expenditures to investigate or remediate, to recover data, to repair or replace networks or information systems, or to protect against similar future events.

Our information technology systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third parties, serve an important role in the efficient and effective operation and administration of our business. These systems could be damaged or cease to function properly due to any number of causes, such as catastrophic events, power outages, security breaches, computer viruses or cyber-based attacks. The risk of cyber-based attacks is heightened with many of our employees working and accessing our

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technology infrastructure remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we have contingency plans in place to prevent or mitigate the impact of these events, if they were to occur and our disaster recovery plans do not effectively address the issues on a timely basis, we could suffer interruptions in our ability to manage our operations, which may adversely affect our business and financial results.

We are in the process of upgrading our enterprise resource planning system (known as SAP) to enhance operating efficiencies and provide more effective management of our business operations. The upgrade poses several challenges, including training of personnel, communication of new rules and procedures, migration of data, and the potential instability of the new system. Moreover, there is no assurance that the new system will meet our current and future business needs or that it will operate as designed. Any significant failure or delay in the system upgrade could cause an interruption to our business and adversely affect our operations and financial results.

Significant increases in prices for raw materials, energy, transportation or other necessary supplies or services, without corresponding increases in our selling prices, could adversely affect our financial results.

Increases in the cost and availability of raw materials, including pulp and petroleum-based materials, the cost of energy, transportation and other necessary services, supplier constraints, supplier consolidation which could limit our sources of supply for these items, an inability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relations or an inability to avoid disruptions in production output could have an adverse effect on our financial results.

Cellulose fiber, in the form of kraft pulp or recycled fiber from recovered waste paper, is used extensively in our tissue products and is subject to significant price fluctuations. Cellulose fiber, in the form of fluff pulp, is a key component in our personal care products. In past years, pulp prices have experienced significant volatility. Increases in pulp prices or limits in the availability of recycled fiber could adversely affect our earnings if selling prices for our finished products are not adjusted or if these adjustments significantly trail the increases in pulp prices. In some instances, we utilize negotiated short-term contract structures to reduce pulp price volatility, but we have not used derivative instruments to manage these risks.

A number of our products, such as diapers, training and youth pants, feminine pads, incontinence care products and disposable wipes, contain certain materials that are principally derived from petroleum. These materials are subject to price fluctuations based on changes in petroleum prices, availability and other factors, with these prices experiencing significant volatility in recent years. We purchase these materials from a number of suppliers. Significant increases in prices for these materials could adversely affect our earnings if selling prices for our finished products are not adjusted, if these adjustments significantly trail the increases in prices for these materials, or if we do not utilize lower priced substitutes for these materials.

Our manufacturing operations utilize electricity, natural gas and petroleum-based fuels. To ensure we use all forms of energy efficiently and cost-effectively, we maintain energy efficiency improvement programs at our manufacturing sites. Our contracts with energy suppliers vary as to price, payment terms, quantities and duration. Our energy costs are also affected by various market factors including the availability of supplies of particular forms of energy, energy prices and local and national regulatory decisions (including actions taken to address climate change and related market responses). There can be no assurance that we will be fully protected against substantial changes in the price or availability of energy sources.

There can be no assurance that our efforts to minimize the impact of increased costs, including increasing selling prices, in response to the increased costs will be successful.

Our international operations are subject to foreign market risks, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates, currency restrictions and political, social and economic instability, which may adversely affect our financial results.

Our strategy includes operations growth outside the U.S., especially in developing markets such as China, Eastern Europe, ASEAN and Latin America. About half of our net sales come from markets outside the U.S. We and our equity companies have manufacturing facilities in 33 countries and sell products in a substantial majority of countries around the world. Our results may be substantially affected by a number of foreign market risks:

•Exposure to the movement of various currencies against each other and the U.S. dollar. A portion of the exposures, arising from transactions and commitments denominated in non-local currencies, is systematically managed through

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foreign currency forward and swap contracts where available and economically advantageous. We do not generally hedge our income statement translation exposure with respect to foreign operations.

•Increases in currency exchange restrictions. These restrictions could limit our ability to repatriate earnings from outside the U.S. or obtain currency exchange for U.S. dollar inputs to continue operating in certain countries.

•Adverse political conditions. Risks related to political instability, expropriation, new or revised legal or regulatory constraints, difficulties in enforcing contractual and intellectual property rights, and potentially adverse tax consequences could adversely affect our financial results.

•Increases in dollar-based input costs for operations outside the U.S. due to weaker foreign exchange rates versus the U.S. dollar. There can be no assurance that we will be protected against substantial foreign currency fluctuations.

•Greater economic volatility and vulnerability to infrastructure and labor disruptions.

The inability to effectively manage foreign market risk could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") and Item 8, Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding our adoption of highly inflationary accounting in Argentina.

Damage to the reputation of Kimberly-Clark or to one or more of our brands could adversely affect our business.

Developing and maintaining our reputation, as well as the reputation of our brands, is a critical factor in our relationship with consumers, customers, suppliers and others. Our inability to address adverse publicity or other issues, including concerns about product safety, quality, efficacy, environmental impacts (including packaging, energy and water use and waste management), inclusion and diversity, human rights and other sustainability or similar matters, or breaches of consumer, customer, supplier, employee or other confidential information, real or perceived, could negatively impact sentiment towards us and our products and brands, and our business and financial results could suffer. In addition, our products could face withdrawal, recall or other quality issues. Consumers increasing use and reliance on social media for information could increase the risk of adverse publicity, potentially with negative perception of our products or brands. Our business and results could also be negatively impacted by the effects of product-related litigation, allegations of product tampering or contamination, or the distribution and sale of counterfeit products.

Disruption in our supply chain or our manufacturing or distribution operations could adversely affect our business.

Our ability to manufacture, distribute and sell products is critical to our operations. These activities are subject to inherent risks such as natural disasters, power outages, fires or explosions, labor strikes, terrorism, epidemics, pandemics (including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), import restrictions, regional economic, business, environmental or political events, governmental regulatory requirements or nongovernmental voluntary actions in response to global climate change or other concerns regarding the sustainability of our business, which could disrupt our supply chain and impair our ability to manufacture or sell our products. This interruption, if not mitigated in advance or otherwise effectively managed, could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to address.

In addition, third parties manufacture some of our products and provide certain administrative services. Disruptions or delays at these third-party manufacturers or service providers due to the reasons above or the failure of these manufacturers or service providers to otherwise satisfactorily perform, could adversely impact our operations, sales, payments to our suppliers, employees, and others, and our ability to report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis.

There is no guarantee that our ongoing efforts to reduce costs will be successful.

We continue to implement plans to improve our competitive position by achieving cost reductions in our operations, including implementing restructuring programs in functions or areas of our business where we believe such opportunities exist. In addition, we expect ongoing cost savings from our continuous improvement activities. We anticipate these cost savings will result from reducing material costs and manufacturing waste and realizing productivity gains, distribution efficiencies and overhead reductions in each of our business segments and in our corporate functions. Any negative impact these plans have on our relationships with employees, suppliers or customers or any failure to generate the anticipated efficiencies and savings could adversely affect our financial results.

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We may acquire or divest product lines or businesses, which could impact our results.

We may pursue acquisitions of product lines or businesses from third parties, including our acquisition of Softex Indonesia in October 2020. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the operations, technologies, services and products of the acquired product lines or businesses, estimation and assumption of liabilities and contingencies, personnel turnover and the diversion of management's attention from other business concerns. We may be unable to successfully integrate and manage product lines or businesses that we may acquire in the future, or be unable to achieve anticipated benefits or cost savings from acquisitions in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all.

We may periodically divest product lines or businesses. These divestitures may adversely impact our results if we are unable to offset the dilutive impacts from the loss of revenue associated with the divested products or businesses, or mitigate overhead costs allocated to those businesses. Furthermore, the divestitures could adversely affect our ongoing business operations, including by enhancing our competitors' positions or reducing consumer confidence in our ongoing brands and products.

The inability to effectively and efficiently manage acquisitions and divestitures with the results we expect or in the timeframe we anticipate could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Climate change and other sustainability matters may adversely affect our business and operations.

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. We have transition risk where we may be subjected to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water and other raw materials as a result of such change, which could impact our manufacturing and distribution operations. Moreover, we have physical risk where natural disasters and extreme weather conditions may disrupt the productivity of our facilities or the operation of our supply chain. In addition, concern over climate change may result in new legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment. Despite our sustainability efforts, any failure to achieve our sustainability goals, including those aimed to reduce our impact on, improve or preserve the environment, or the perception (whether or not valid) that we have failed to act responsibly with respect to such matters or to effectively respond to new legal or regulatory requirements regarding climate change, could adversely affect our business and reputation.

There is also increased focus, including by governmental and non-governmental organizations, investors, customers, consumers, our employees and other stakeholders on these and other sustainability matters, including responsible sourcing and deforestation, the use of plastic, energy and water, the recyclability or recoverability of packaging, including single-use and other plastic packaging and ingredient transparency. Our reputation could be damaged if we do not (or are perceived not to) act responsibly with respect to sustainability matters, which could adversely affect our business.

Marketing and Competition

Increasing dependence on key retailers in Developed Markets and the emergence of new sales channels may adversely affect our business.

Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace, which continues to experience increased concentration and the growing presence of large-format retailers, discounters and e-tailers. With the consolidation of retail trade, both traditional retailers and e-tailers, we are increasingly dependent on key customers, and some of these customers, including large-format retailers and large e-tailers, may have significant bargaining power. They may use this leverage to demand higher trade discounts or allowances which could lead to reduced profitability. We may also be negatively affected by changes in the policies of our retail trade customers, such as inventory destocking, limitations on access to shelf space, delisting of our products, additional requirements related to safety, environmental, social and other sustainability issues, and other conditions. If we lose a significant customer or if sales of our products to a significant customer materially decrease, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Intense competition for sales of our products, changes in consumer purchasing patterns and the inability to innovate or market our products effectively could have an adverse effect on our financial results.

We operate in highly competitive domestic and international markets against well-known, branded products and low-cost or private label products. Inherent risks in our competitive strategy include uncertainties concerning trade and consumer acceptance, the effects of consolidation within retailer and distribution channels, a growing e-commerce marketplace, and customers' and competitors' actions. Our competitors for these markets include global, regional and local manufacturers, including private label manufacturers. Some of these competitors may have better access to financial resources and greater

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market penetration, which enable them to offer a wider variety of products and services at more competitive prices. Alternatively, some of these competitors may have significantly lower product development and manufacturing costs, particularly with respect to private label products, allowing them to offer products at a lower price. E-commerce potentially intensifies competition by simplifying distribution and lowering barriers to entry. The actions of these competitors could adversely affect our financial results. In order to stay competitive, it may be necessary for us to lower prices on our products and increase spending on advertising and promotions, which could adversely affect our financial results.

We may be unable to anticipate or adequately respond to changes in consumer demand for our products. Demand for our products may change based on many factors, including shifting consumer purchasing patterns to lower cost options such as private-label products and mid to lower-tier value products, low birth rates in certain countries due to slow economic growth or other factors, negative customer or consumer response to pricing actions, consumer shifts in distribution from traditional retailers to e-tailers, subscription services and direct to consumer businesses, changing consumer preferences due to increased concerns in regard to post-consumer waste and packaging materials and their impact on environmental sustainability, or other changes in consumer trends or habits. If we experience lower sales due to changes in consumer demand for our products, our earnings could decrease.

Our ability to develop new products is affected by whether we can successfully anticipate consumer needs and preferences, develop and fund technological innovations, and receive and maintain necessary patent and trademark protection. In addition, we incur substantial development and marketing costs in introducing new and improved products and technologies. The introduction of a new consumer product (whether improved or newly developed) usually requires substantial expenditures for advertising and marketing to gain recognition in the marketplace. If a product gains consumer acceptance, it normally requires continued advertising and promotional support to maintain its relative market position. Some of our competitors may spend more aggressively on advertising and promotional activities, introduce competing products more quickly and respond more effectively to changing business and economic conditions. We may not be successful in developing new or improved products and technologies necessary to compete successfully in the industry, and we may not be successful in advertising, marketing, timely launching and selling our products. Also, if we fail to perfect or successfully assert our intellectual property rights, we may be less competitive, which could adversely affect our business, financial results and financial condition.

Legal and Regulatory

Government regulations and enforcement, and potential litigation, could have an adverse effect on our financial results.

As a global company, we are subject to many laws and governmental regulations across all of the countries in which we do business, including laws and regulations involving marketing, antitrust, anti-bribery or anti-corruption, product liability, environmental, intellectual property or other matters, as well as potential litigation or administrative actions.

If we are unable to comply with all laws and regulations, it could negatively impact our reputation and our business results. We cannot provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures, and ethics and compliance program will always protect us from acts committed by our employees or agents. While it is our policy and practice to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to our business, a finding that we are in violation of, or out of compliance with, applicable laws or regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, damages, injunctions or product recalls, or criminal sanctions, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Even if a claim is unsuccessful, is without merit or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding such assertions regarding our products, processes or business practices could adversely affect our reputation and brand image.

In addition, new or revised laws or regulations may alter the environment in which we do business which could adversely impact our financial results. For example, new legislation or regulations may result in increased costs to us, directly for our compliance, or indirectly to the extent suppliers increase prices of goods and services because of increased compliance costs, excise taxes or reduced availability of raw materials.

New or revised tax regulations could have an adverse effect on our financial results.

We are subject to income tax requirements in various jurisdictions in the U.S. and internationally. Tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the law are issued or applied. Some jurisdictions have unpredictable enforcement activity. Increases in applicable tax rates, implementation of new taxes, changes in applicable tax laws and interpretations of these tax laws and actions by tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate could reduce our after tax income and have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

8 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2021, we own or lease:

•our principal executive office located in the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area;

•four operating segment and geographic headquarters at two U.S. and two international locations; and

•four global business service centers at one U.S. and three international locations.

The locations of our and our equity affiliates' principal production facilities by major geographic areas of the world are as follows: 

Geographic Area:	Number of Facilities
North America (in 14 states in the U.S.)	29
Outside North America	54
Total (in 33 countries)	83

Many of these facilities produce multiple products, some across multiple segments. Consumer tissue and K-C Professional products are produced in 48 facilities and personal care products are produced in 48 facilities. We believe that our and our equity affiliates' facilities are suitable for their purpose, adequate to support their businesses and well maintained.

ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Item 8, Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements, which is incorporated in this Item 3 by reference, for information on legal proceedings.

ITEM 4.    MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

9 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The names and ages of our executive officers as of February 10, 2022, together with certain biographical information, are as follows:

Ehab Abou-Oaf, 55, was elected President of K-C Professional in January 2022. He is responsible for our global business to business operations which provide a deep range of essential commercial products and services, including tissue and surface wipers, skin care, safety and do-it-yourself products. Previously, he served as Vice President, Middle East & Africa since 2020. Mr. Abouf-Oaf joined Kimberly-Clark from Mars, Inc., a manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products, where he had a number of positions with increasing responsibility over 19 years, including Regional President, Asia, Middle East & Africa Confectionery from 2017 to 2019 and Regional President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Northern Africa Chocolate from 2016 to 2017. Prior to joining Mars, he spent ten years with The Procter & Gamble Company in packaging, product development and marketing roles. He also serves on the board of trustees of the American University in Cairo, on the board of directors of the Singapore American School and as an adjunct professor at the School of Business, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore.

Shane Azzi, 49, was elected Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer in July 2021. He is responsible for manufacturing, procurement, logistics, safety and sustainability. He also leads the company’s supply chain transformation program. Prior to that, Mr. Azzi served as Vice President of Global Logistics from 2015 to July 2021. Mr. Azzi joined K-C from Mars Incorporated, where he served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Vice President of Global Logistics of Mars Petcare.

Doug Cunningham, 50, was elected President, K-C Europe, Middle East & Africa ("EMEA") in September 2021. He is responsible for our consumer business in our EMEA region. Prior to that, he served as Vice President and Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand since 2019. Mr. Cunningham joined Kimberly-Clark from Johnson & Johnson, a health care products company, where he served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Managing Director, Johnson & Johnson Pacific.

Maria Henry, 55, was elected Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2015. Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Ms.  Henry served as Chief Financial Officer of Hillshire Brands Company from 2012 to 2014, and Chief Financial Officer of Sara Lee Corporation’s North America Retail and Food Service business from 2011 to 2012. Prior to joining Sara Lee (the predecessor to Hillshire Brands) in 2011, Ms. Henry was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Culligan International, where she was responsible for finance, strategy, business development and information technology. Before Culligan, Ms. Henry served as Chief Financial Officer of Vastera, Inc. She began her career at General Electric. She also serves on the board of directors of General Mills, Inc.

Michael D. Hsu, 57, has served as Chairman of the Board since 2020 and as Chief Executive Officer since 2019. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 2017, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of our business units, along with our global innovation, marketing and supply chain functions. He served as Group President, K-C North America from 2013 to 2016, where he was responsible for our consumer business in North America, as well as leading the development of new business strategies for global nonwovens. From 2012 to 2013, his title was Group President, North America Consumer Products. He has been a director of Kimberly-Clark since 2017. Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Hsu served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Kraft Foods, Inc., from January 2012 to July 2012, as President of Sales, Customer Marketing and Logistics from 2010 to 2012 and as President of its grocery business unit from 2008 to 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Hsu served as President and Chief Operating Officer, Foodservice at H. J. Heinz Company. He also serves on the board of directors of Texas Instruments Incorporated.

Sandra R.A. Karrmann, 56, was elected Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer in 2020. She is responsible for the design and implementation of all human capital strategies for Kimberly-Clark, including global compensation and benefits, talent management, diversity and inclusion, organizational effectiveness and labor/employee relations. Ms. Karrmann joined Kimberly-Clark from Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a diversified healthcare services company, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since 2019 and Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since 2017 and Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for their ambulatory surgery business, United Surgical Partners International, since 2013.

10 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Alison Lewis, 54, was elected Chief Growth Officer in 2019. Ms. Lewis joined Kimberly-Clark from Johnson & Johnson, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer of the Global Consumer business since 2013. Prior to her role at Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Lewis served as Chief Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President, North America at The Coca-Cola Company.

Robert Long, 64, was elected Chief Research and Development Officer in March 2021. He has global responsibility for the company's research and development, quality and regulatory functions, and is charged with accelerating growth through innovation that addresses opportunities to elevate Kimberly-Clark’s trusted brands. Mr. Long joined Kimberly-Clark from the Coca-Cola Company where he served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Senior Vice President for Global R&D and Chief Innovation Officer from 2016 to March 2021.

Jeffrey Melucci, 51, was elected Chief Business Development and Legal Officer in November 2020. From April 2020 to November 2020, he served as Senior Vice President, Business Development and General Counsel and from September 2017 to April 2020, he served as Senior Vice President - General Counsel. From January 2017 to September 2017, he served as Vice President, Senior Deputy General Counsel and General Counsel of Kimberly-Clark’s Global Operations. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. He also served as Chief Transformation Officer from November 2020 to October 2021, Corporate Secretary from 2014 to 2017 and General Counsel of Kimberly-Clark International from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Melucci joined Kimberly-Clark from General Electric, where he served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as General Counsel - Aviation Systems and Aviation Business Development.

Paula S. Vaz Ramos, 42, was elected Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer in October 2021. From March 2021 to October 2021 she served as Chief Strategy Officer. She has global responsibility for our enterprise strategy and transformation activities. Ms. Ramos joined Kimberly-Clark from McKinsey where she served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility over 18 years, most recently as a Partner.

Russell Torres, 50, was elected Group President, K-C North America in April 2021. He is responsible for our consumer business in North America. From 2020 to April 2021, he served as President of K-C Professional. Mr. Torres joined Kimberly-Clark from Newell Brands Inc., a consumer goods company, where he served as Group President since 2018 and as Chief Transformation Officer from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining Newell Brands, Mr. Torres was a partner at Bain & Company from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Torres served as a senior executive at Mondelēz International in its North America Business Unit from 2011 to 2013.

Gonzalo Uribe, 50, was elected President, K-C Latin America in 2020. He is responsible for our consumer business in our Latin America region. From 2018 to 2020 he served as Vice President, North Latin America and from 2017 to 2018 he served as Vice President, Andean Region. Mr. Uribe joined Kimberly-Clark from Mondelēz International, where he served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Western Andean, Central America and Caribbean General Manager.

Tristram Wilkinson, 53, was elected President, K-C Asia Pacific in August 2021. He is responsible for our consumer business in our Asia Pacific region. From 2018 to August 2021, he served as President, K-C EMEA. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Vice President and Managing Director, Central & Eastern Europe. Prior to that, Mr. Wilkinson held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within our EMEA operations, including Vice President and Managing Director, United Kingdom & Ireland. Mr. Wilkinson joined Kimberly-Clark in 1995.

11 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

PART II

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

Kimberly-Clark common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The ticker symbol is KMB.

Quarterly dividends have been paid continually since 1935. Dividends have been paid on or about the second business day of January, April, July and October.

As of January 31, 2022, we had 17,502 holders of record of our common stock.

For information relating to securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans, see Part III, Item 12 of this Form 10-K.

We repurchase shares of Kimberly-Clark common stock from time to time pursuant to publicly announced share repurchase programs. During 2021, we repurchased 3.0 million shares of our common stock at a cost of $400 through a broker in the open market.

The following table contains information for shares repurchased during the fourth quarter of 2021. None of the shares in this table were repurchased directly from any of our officers or directors.

Period (2021)	Total Number of Shares Purchased(a)	Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Maximum Number of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs(b)
October 1 to October 31	52,800	$	132.04	38,309,583	41,690,417
November 1 to November 30	—	—		38,309,583	41,690,417
December 1 to December 31	—	—		38,309,583	41,690,417
Total	52,800

(a)Share repurchases were made pursuant to a share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors on November 13, 2014. This program allows for the repurchase of 40 million shares in an amount not to exceed $5 billion (the "2014 Program").

(b)Includes shares under the 2014 Program, as well as available shares under a share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors on January 22, 2021 that allows for the repurchase of 40 million shares in an amount not to exceed $5 billion.

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ITEM 6.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Intentionally Omitted

13 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

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

Introduction

This MD&A is intended to provide investors with an understanding of our recent performance, financial condition and prospects. This discussion and analysis compares 2021 results to 2020. For a discussion that compares our 2020 results to 2019, see Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The reference to "N.M." indicates that the calculation is not meaningful. In addition, we provide commentary regarding organic sales growth, which describes the impact of changes in volume, product mix and net selling prices on net sales. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates, acquisitions and exited businesses also impact the year-over-year change in net sales. Dollar amounts are reported in millions, except per share dollar amounts, unless otherwise noted.

The following will be discussed and analyzed:

•Overview of Business

•Overview of 2021 Results

•Business Environment and Trends

•Results of Operations and Related Information

•Liquidity and Capital Resources

•Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

•New Accounting Standards

•Information Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Throughout this MD&A, we refer to financial measures that have not been calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S., or GAAP, and are therefore referred to as non-GAAP financial measures. These measures include adjusted gross and operating profit, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted other (income) and expense, net, and adjusted effective tax rate. We believe these measures provide our investors with additional information about our underlying results and trends, as well as insight to some of the financial measures used to evaluate management.

Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, and they should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.  There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items being excluded.  We compensate for these limitations by using these non-GAAP financial measures as a supplement to the GAAP measures and by providing reconciliations of the non-GAAP and comparable GAAP financial measures.

The non-GAAP financial measures exclude the following items for the relevant time periods as indicated in the reconciliations included later in this MD&A:

•2018 Global Restructuring Program - In 2018, we initiated a restructuring program to reduce our structural cost base by streamlining and simplifying our manufacturing supply chain and overhead organization. The restructuring actions were completed in 2021. See Item 8, Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

•Softex Indonesia Acquisition-Related Costs - Transaction and integration costs associated with the acquisition of Softex Indonesia. See Item 8, Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

•Brazil Business Tax Credits - In the fourth quarter of 2020, we received a favorable legal ruling that resolved certain matters related to prior years' business taxes in Brazil. See Item 8, Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

14 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Overview of Business

We are a global company focused on delivering products and solutions that provide better care for a better world, with manufacturing facilities in 33 countries, including our equity affiliates, and products sold in more than 175 countries and territories. Our products are sold under well-known brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend. We have three reportable business segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and K-C Professional. These business segments are described in greater detail in Item 8, Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements.

In operating our business, we seek to:

•grow our portfolio of brands through innovation, category development and commercial execution,

•leverage our cost and financial discipline to fund growth and improve margins, and

•allocate capital in value-creating ways.

We describe our business outside North America in two groups – Developing and Emerging Markets ("D&E") and Developed Markets. D&E Markets comprise Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, excluding Australia and South Korea. Developed Markets consist of Western and Central Europe, Australia and South Korea.

On October 1, 2020, we acquired Softex Indonesia, a leader in the fast-growing Indonesian personal care market, in an all-cash transaction for approximately $1.2 billion. This transaction significantly expanded our presence in an important developing and emerging market and is a strong strategic fit with our core business. See Item 8, Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

In 2018, we initiated our 2018 Global Restructuring Program to reduce our structural cost base by streamlining and simplifying our manufacturing supply chain and overhead organization. The restructuring impacted all of our business segments and our organizations in all major geographies. The restructuring actions were completed in 2021. Savings from this initiative were $140 in 2021, bringing cumulative annual savings to $560 versus the 2017 baseline.

Overview of 2021 Results

•Net sales of $19.4 billion increased 2 percent. Organic sales decreased 1 percent. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates increased sales by 1 percent, and the net impact of the Softex Indonesia acquisition and business exits in conjunction with the 2018 Global Restructuring Program increased sales approximately 1 percent.

•In North America, organic sales decreased 5 percent in consumer products and increased 1 percent in K-C Professional.

•Outside North America, organic sales increased 5 percent in D&E Markets and decreased 3 percent in Developed Markets.

•Operating Profit and Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark were $2,561 and $1,814 in 2021, respectively.

•Diluted earnings per share were $5.35 in 2021 compared to $6.87 in 2020. Results in 2021 and 2020 include net charges of $0.83 and $0.94, respectively, related to the 2018 Global Restructuring Program. Results in 2020 also include acquisition-related costs of $0.08 associated with the acquisition of Softex Indonesia and a benefit of $0.15 related to the resolution of certain business tax matters in Brazil.

•We continue to focus on generating cash flow and allocating capital to shareholders. Cash provided by operations was $2.7 billion in 2021. We raised our dividend in 2021 by 6.5 percent, the 49th consecutive annual increase in our dividend. Altogether, share repurchases and dividends in 2021 amounted to $1.9 billion.

In 2022, we plan to continue to execute our strategies for long-term success which include delivering balanced, sustainable growth by growing our brands in-line with or ahead of category growth, leveraging our cost and financial discipline to fund growth and improve margins, and allocating capital in value-creating ways. Our growth strategy is built on two pillars. Elevate our core business is our first pillar and is driven by delivering value-added innovations and driving category opportunities. Expanding our markets is our second pillar and emphasizes Personal Care with Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa as our priority markets. Both strategies are enabled by our focus on accelerating and investing in our

15 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

commercial capabilities through digital marketing, revenue growth management, consumer-inspired innovation and strong in-market execution.

Our strong legacy of financial discipline supports our growth strategy by driving ongoing supply chain productivity through our FORCE (Focused On Reducing Costs Everywhere) program, controlling discretionary spending, driving down working capital and maintaining the top-tier return on invested capital. Our capital allocation strategy is consistent with our historical approach of disciplined capital spending, payment of a top tier dividend, evaluation of acquisition opportunities and allocation of excess cash flow to share repurchases.

We are subject to risks and uncertainties, which can affect our business operations and financial results. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in this Form 10-K for additional information.

Business Environment and Trends

Our results of operations have been, and we expect them to continue to be, affected by the following factors and key trends, which may cause our future results of operations to differ from our historical results discussed under “Results of Operations and Related Information.”

COVID-19 - The macro business environment experienced unprecedented volatility in 2021 related to the continuing effect the global COVID-19 pandemic has had on supply and demand dynamics.

We participate in fixed consumption categories where demand is generally very stable. Over the last two years, our sales have fluctuated, especially in Consumer Tissue and K-C Professional, because of COVID-19-related demand spikes, inventory destocking, and consumer usage pattern disruption. Additionally, consumer incomes have been negatively impacted by the pandemic leading to lower usage, trade-down on price tiers and slower entry into some of our categories. COVID-19 outbreaks and patterns are difficult to predict and therefore volatility of demand for our products may continue in the near term.

The pandemic has significantly disrupted supply chains across the globe. A steep drop in aggregate demand at the beginning of the pandemic caused aggregate supply to sharply contract. When demand for goods resumed at the end of 2020, supply shortages led to record levels of inflation in commodities and other costs. In addition to inflation, logistics and distribution networks, especially in the U.S., have been severely impacted by container and truck shortages and significant labor supply issues. These effects have caused challenges getting input materials into our production facilities, production delays, and delays and meaningfully higher costs to get products from our production facilities to our customers. The net effect of the global supply chain disruption led to an unprecedented increase in costs in 2021. The underlying causes of the disruption and higher costs will take time to be resolved.

Birth Rate Trends - Sales of our baby and child care products are highly correlated with birth rate trends. In recent years, birth rate declines in key countries, including China, South Korea, Russia, and the U.S., have pressured category volume growth rates. To help mitigate the effects of birth rate declines, we aim to drive sales growth at or ahead of category growth rates through innovation, premiumization, strong brand building plans and digital marketing investment as part of our Elevate and Expand growth strategy.

Competition - Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace. Our competitors include global, regional and local manufacturers, including private label manufacturers which offer products that are typically sold at lower prices. In particular, private label market share has been increasing in the tissue category. Increased purchases of private label products could reduce net sales of our higher-margin products which would negatively impact our profitability. While the global marketplace in which we operate has always been highly competitive, we continue to experience increased concentration and the growing presence of large-format retailers, discounters and e-tailers. This market environment has resulted in increased pressure on pricing and other competitive factors, and we expect these pressures to continue in the coming year.

Pricing - Our net sales growth and profitability may be affected as we adjust prices to address market conditions. We adjust our product prices based on a number of variables including demand, the competitive environment, technological improvements and changes in our raw material, distribution, energy and other input costs. We increased our prices in 2021 in response to record inflation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, we anticipate changing market conditions to continue to impact pricing. Price changes may affect net sales, earnings and market share in the near term as the market adjusts to new pricing and other market conditions.

16 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Operating Costs - Our operating costs include raw materials, labor, selling, general and administrative expenses, taxes, currency impacts and financing costs. We manage these costs through cost saving and productivity initiatives, sourcing and hedging programs, and pricing actions. To remain competitive on our operating structure, we continue to work on programs to expand our profitability, such as our FORCE program. In 2021, our results were impacted by an unprecedented increase in our costs, particularly for pulp, resin, distribution and energy, primarily related to COVID-19 pandemic driven effects. We expect the higher cost environment will continue in 2022.

Evolving Consumer Product and Shopping Preferences - The retail landscape in many of our markets continues to evolve due to the rapid growth of eCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the increased presence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-consumer businesses. Changing consumer preferences also include increased concerns in regard to post-consumer waste and packaging materials and their impact on environmental sustainability. If we experience lower sales due to changes in consumer demand for our products, our earnings could decrease. We believe our strategic growth focus, sustainability initiatives and continued investment in eCommerce capabilities has us well positioned relative to these changing dynamics.

Volatility of Global Markets - Our growth strategy depends in part on our ability to expand our operations, including in D&E markets. Some D&E markets have greater political, economic and currency volatility and greater vulnerability to infrastructure and labor disruptions. Volatility in these markets affects our production costs and the demand for our products. Volatility in global consumer, commodity and foreign currency exchange rates increased significantly during 2021 and is expected to continue in the near term.

Climate Change - We operate in many regions around the world where our businesses could be disrupted by climate change. Our climate change risk categories include risks related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy (“Transition Risks”) and risks related to the physical impacts of climate change (“Physical Risks”). Transition Risks include increased costs of raw materials, increased cost of capital, shifts in customer/consumer values and other legal, regulatory and technological risks. Physical Risks include the risk of direct damage to assets or supply chain disruption caused by severe weather events such as floods, storms, wildfires and droughts. We continue to progress toward our 2030 Sustainability Goals which include elements that aim for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, use of natural forest fibers, use of plastics and use of water in water-stressed regions.

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Results of Operations and Related Information

This section presents a discussion and analysis of net sales, operating profit and other information relevant to an understanding of 2021 results of operations.

Consolidated

Selected Financial Results	Year Ended December 31
	2021		2020		Change 2021 vs. 2020
Net Sales:
North America	$	10,052	$	10,394	-3	%
Outside North America	9,697		9,018		+8	%
Intergeographic sales	(309)		(272)		+14	%
Total Net Sales	19,440		19,140		+2	%
Operating Profit:
North America	2,066		2,689		-23	%
Outside North America	1,082		1,221		-11	%
Corporate & Other(a)	(559)		(720)		N.M.
Other (income) and expense, net(a)	28		(54)		N.M.
Total Operating Profit	2,561		3,244		-21	%
Provision for income taxes	(479)		(676)		-29	%
Share of net income of equity companies	98		142		-31	%
Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation	1,814		2,352		-23	%
Diluted Earnings per Share	5.35		6.87		-22	%

(a)    Corporate & Other and Other (income) and expense, net includes income and expenses not associated with the business segments, including adjustments as indicated in the Non-GAAP Reconciliations.

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations of Selected Financial Results

	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2021
	As Reported			2018 Global Restructuring Program		As Adjusted Non-GAAP
Cost of products sold	$	13,452		$	154	$	13,298
Gross Profit	5,988			(154)		6,142
Marketing, research and general expenses	3,399			111		3,288
Other (income) and expense, net	28			10		18
Operating Profit	2,561			(275)		2,836
Nonoperating expense	(86)			(79)		(7)
Provision for income taxes	(479)			75		(554)
Effective tax rate	21.5		%	—		21.5		%
Share of net income of equity companies	98			(7)		105
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(30)			5		(35)
Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation	1,814			(281)		2,095
Diluted Earnings per Share(a)	5.35			(0.83)		6.18

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	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020
	As Reported			2018 Global Restructuring Program		Softex Indonesia Acquisition-Related Costs		Brazil Business Tax Credits		As Adjusted Non-GAAP
Cost of products sold	$	12,318		$	283	$	—	$	—	$	12,035
Gross Profit	6,822			(283)		—		—		7,105
Marketing, research and general expenses	3,632			109		32		—		3,491
Other (income) and expense, net	(54)			(9)		—		(77)		32
Operating Profit	3,244			(383)		(32)		77		3,582
Nonoperating expense	(70)			(36)		—		—		(34)
Provision for income taxes	(676)			94		5		(26)		(749)
Effective tax rate	23.1		%	—		—		—		22.7		%
Share of net income of equity companies	142			(1)		—		—		143
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(44)			3		—		—		(47)
Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation	2,352			(323)		(27)		51		2,651
Diluted Earnings per Share(a)	6.87			(0.94)		(0.08)		0.15		7.74

(a)    "As Adjusted Non-GAAP" may not equal "As Reported" plus "Adjustments" as a result of rounding.

Analysis of Consolidated Results

Net Sales	Percent Change	Adjusted Operating Profit	Percent Change
	2021 vs. 2020		2021 vs. 2020
Volume	(4)	Volume	(11)
Net Price	2	Net Price	10
Mix/Other	1	Input Costs	(42)
Acquisition/Exited Businesses(e)	1	Cost Savings(c)	15
Currency	1	Currency Translation	2
Total(a)	2	Other(d)	5
Organic(b)	(1)	Total	(21)

(a)    Total may not equal the sum of volume, net price, mix/other, acquisition/exited businesses and currency due to rounding.

(b)     Combined impact of changes in volume, net price and mix/other.

(c)     Combined benefits of the FORCE program and 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

(d)    Includes impact of changes in product mix, marketing, research and general expenses, foreign currency transaction effects and other manufacturing costs.

(e)     Combined impact of the acquisition of Softex Indonesia and exited businesses in conjunction with the 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

Net sales of $19.4 billion increased 2 percent compared to the year ago period. Operating profit was $2,561 in 2021 and $3,244 in 2020. Adjusted operating profit was $2,836 in 2021, down 21 percent compared to $3,582 in 2020. Results were impacted by lower sales volumes, $1,490 of higher input costs, driven by pulp and polymer-based materials, distribution and energy costs, and elevated other manufacturing costs. Results benefited from higher net selling prices, $410 of FORCE savings, $140 of cost savings from the 2018 Global Restructuring Program and lower marketing, research and general expenses.

Other (income) and expense, net was $28 of expense in 2021. Other (income) and expense, net was $54 of income in 2020 which primarily reflected tax credits recognized related to a favorable legal ruling that resolved certain matters related to prior years' business taxes in Brazil. Adjusted other (income) and expense, net was $18 and $32 of expense in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The effective tax rate of 21.5 percent in 2021 decreased compared to the effective tax rate of 23.1 percent in 2020. The adjusted effective tax rate was 21.5 percent in 2021 compared to 22.7 percent in 2020.

19 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Our share of net income of equity companies was $98 in 2021 and $142 in 2020. Results were negatively impacted by input cost inflation and 2018 Global Restructuring Program charges.

Diluted earnings per share were $5.35 in 2021 and $6.87 in 2020. Adjusted earnings per share of $6.18 in 2021 decreased 20 percent compared to $7.74 in 2020. The decrease was driven by lower adjusted operating profit and lower net income from equity companies, partially offset by a lower share count and a lower adjusted effective tax rate.

Business Segments

Personal Care

	2021		2020			2021		2020
Net Sales	$	10,267	$	9,339	Operating Profit	$	1,856	$	1,933

Net Sales	Percent Change	Operating Profit	Percent Change
	2021 vs. 2020		2021 vs. 2020
Volume	2	Volume	1
Net Price	2	Net Price	10
Mix/Other	2	Input Costs	(34)
Acquisition/Exited Businesses(e)	3	Cost Savings(c)	11
Currency	1	Currency Translation	1
Total(a)	10	Other(d)	7
Organic(b)	6	Total	(4)

(a)    Total may not equal the sum of volume, net price, mix/other, acquisition/exited businesses and currency due to rounding.

(b)     Combined impact of changes in volume, net price and mix/other.

(c)     Combined benefits of the FORCE program and 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

(d)    Includes impact of changes in product mix, marketing, research and general expenses, foreign currency transaction effects and other manufacturing costs.

(e)     Combined impact of the acquisition of Softex Indonesia and exited businesses in conjunction with the 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

Net sales in North America increased 5 percent. Changes in net selling prices and product mix increased sales by 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Volumes increased 1 percent, and changes in foreign currency exchange rates also increased sales 1 percent. Exited businesses decreased sales by 1 percent.

Net sales in D&E Markets increased 17 percent. The Softex Indonesia acquisition increased sales by 10 percent. Volumes increased 3 percent led by growth in China and Eastern Europe. Changes in product mix and net selling prices increased sales by 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. The improvements in product mix were primarily in China. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased sales by 1 percent.

Net sales in Developed Markets outside North America increased 11 percent. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates increased sales by 6 percent, and volumes increased 4 percent led by growth in Australia. Changes in net selling prices and product mix each increased sales by approximately 1 percent.

Operating profit of $1,856 decreased 4 percent. The comparison was negatively impacted by higher input costs, partially offset by organic sales growth, cost savings, and lower marketing, research and general expenses.

20 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Consumer Tissue

	2021		2020			2021		2020
Net Sales	$	6,034	$	6,718	Operating Profit	$	888	$	1,448

Net Sales	Percent Change	Operating Profit	Percent Change
	2021 vs. 2020		2021 vs. 2020
Volume	(11)	Volume	(21)
Net Price	—	Net Price	—
Mix/Other	(1)	Input Costs	(36)
Currency	1	Cost Savings(c)	19
Total(a)	(10)	Currency Translation	2
		Other(d)	(3)
Organic(b)	(11)	Total	(39)

(a)    Total may not equal the sum of volume, net price, mix/other and currency due to rounding.

(b)     Combined impact of changes in volume, net price and mix/other.

(c)     Combined benefits of the FORCE program and 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

(d)    Includes impact of changes in product mix, marketing, research and general expenses, foreign currency transaction effects and other manufacturing costs.

Net sales in North America decreased 16 percent. Volumes decreased 15 percent, and changes in product mix decreased sales by 1 percent. The volume comparison reflects elevated shipments in North America in the year-ago period to support higher consumer and customer demand related to COVID-19.

Net sales in D&E Markets increased 1 percent. The Softex Indonesia acquisition increased sales by 3 percent. Changes in product mix and net selling prices each increased sales by 1 percent. Volumes decreased 4 percent, primarily driven by Latin America.

Net sales in Developed Markets outside North America decreased 6 percent. Volumes decreased 7 percent, primarily driven by Western and Central Europe and South Korea. Exited businesses associated with the 2018 Global Restructuring Program decreased sales by 3 percent, and changes in net selling prices decreased sales by 1 percent. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates increased sales by 5 percent.

Operating profit of $888 decreased 39 percent. The comparison was negatively impacted by higher input costs, a decline in organic sales, and higher other manufacturing costs, partially offset by cost savings and lower marketing, research and general expenses.

21 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

K-C Professional

	2021		2020			2021		2020
Net Sales	$	3,072	$	3,019	Operating Profit	$	404	$	528

Net Sales	Percent Change	Operating Profit	Percent Change
	2021 vs. 2020		2021 vs. 2020
Volume	(6)	Volume	(21)
Net Price	5	Net Price	31
Mix/Other	1	Input Costs	(57)
Currency	1	Cost Savings(c)	11
Total(a)	2	Currency Translation	2
		Other(d)	11
Organic(b)	—	Total	(23)

(a)    Total may not equal the sum of volume, net price, mix/other and currency due to rounding.

(b)     Combined impact of changes in volume, net price and mix/other.

(c)     Combined benefits of the FORCE program and 2018 Global Restructuring Program.

(d)    Includes impact of changes in product mix, marketing, research and general expenses, foreign currency transaction effects and other manufacturing costs.

Net sales in North America increased 2 percent. Changes in net selling prices and product mix increased sales by 6 percent and 1 percent, respectively, and changes in foreign currency exchange rates was slightly favorable. Volumes decreased 6 percent, reflecting continuing lower away from home demand and challenging business conditions following the outbreak of COVID-19.

Net sales in D&E Markets increased 5 percent. Changes in net selling prices increased sales by 3 percent, and volumes increased 2 percent led by Latin America.

Net sales in Developed Markets outside North America were even with the prior year. Volumes decreased 11 percent, reflecting continuing lower away from home demand and challenging business conditions following the outbreak of COVID-19, primarily in Western and Central Europe. Changes in net selling prices and foreign currency exchange rates increased sales by 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively, also in Western and Central Europe, while changes in product mix increased sales slightly.

Operating profit of $404 decreased 23 percent. The comparison was negatively impacted by higher input costs and volume declines, partially offset by increases in net selling prices, cost savings, and lower marketing, research and general expenses and other manufacturing costs.

2018 Global Restructuring Program

In 2018, we initiated our 2018 Global Restructuring Program to reduce our structural cost base by streamlining and simplifying our manufacturing supply chain and overhead organization. The restructuring actions were completed in 2021. We closed or sold 11 manufacturing facilities and expanded production capacity at several others. We exited or divested some lower-margin businesses that generated approximately 1 percent of our net sales. Workforce reductions were approximately 6,000. The restructuring impacted all of our business segments and our organizations in all major geographies. Savings from this initiative were $140 in 2021, bringing cumulative annual savings to $560 versus the 2017 baseline. See Item 8, Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash Provided by Operations

Cash provided by operations was $2.7 billion in 2021 compared to $3.7 billion in 2020. The decrease was driven by lower earnings and less cash provided by working capital.

22 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Obligations

The following table presents our total contractual obligations for which cash flows are fixed or determinable. 

	Total		2022		2023		2024		2025		2026		2027+
Long-term debt	$	8,469	$	317	$	473	$	574	$	558	$	407	$	6,140
Interest payments on long-term debt	3,377		262		256		250		238		222		2,149
Operating lease liabilities	558		142		119		93		76		64		64
Unconditional purchase obligations	2,539		1,530		729		96		94		34		56
Open purchase orders	2,766		2,170		555		27		9		3		2
Total contractual obligations	$	17,709	$	4,421	$	2,132	$	1,040	$	975	$	730	$	8,411

•The unconditional purchase obligations are for the purchase of raw materials, primarily superabsorbent materials, pulp and utilities. Although we are primarily liable for payments on the above operating leases and unconditional purchase obligations, based on historic operating performance and forecasted future cash flows, we believe exposure to losses, if any, under these arrangements is not material.

•The open purchase orders displayed in the table represent amounts for goods and services we have negotiated for delivery.

The table does not include amounts where payments are discretionary or the timing is uncertain. The following payments are not included in the table:

•We will fund our defined benefit pension plans to meet or exceed statutory requirements and currently expect to contribute approximately $25 to these plans in 2022.

•Other postretirement benefit payments are estimated using actuarial assumptions, including expected future service, to project the future obligations. Based upon those projections, we anticipate making annual payments for these obligations of approximately $55 through 2031.

•Accrued income tax liabilities for uncertain tax positions, deferred taxes and noncontrolling interests.

Investing

Our capital spending was $1.0 billion in 2021 and $1.2 billion in 2020, including incremental spending related to the 2018 Global Restructuring Program. Acquisition, net of cash acquired of $1.1 billion in 2020 reflected the purchase of Softex Indonesia. We expect capital spending to be approximately $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion in 2022.

Financing

We issue long-term debt in the public market periodically. Proceeds from the offerings are used for general corporate purposes, including repayment of maturing debt or outstanding commercial paper indebtedness. See Item 8, Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

Our short-term debt, which consists of U.S. commercial paper with original maturities up to 90 days and/or other similar short-term debt issued by non-U.S. subsidiaries, was $118 as of December 31, 2021 (included in debt payable within one year on the consolidated balance sheet). The average month-end balance of short-term debt for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 was $1.0 billion. These short-term borrowings provide supplemental funding to support our operations. The level of short-term debt generally fluctuates depending upon the amount of operating cash flows and the timing of customer receipts and payments for items such as pension contributions, dividends and income taxes.

At December 31, 2021, total debt was $8.6 billion compared to $8.4 billion at December 31, 2020.

We maintain a $2.0 billion revolving credit facility which expires in June 2026 and a $750 revolving credit facility which expires in June 2022.  These facilities, currently unused, support our commercial paper program, and would provide liquidity in the event our access to the commercial paper markets is unavailable for any reason.

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), is in the process of phasing out LIBOR with completion of the phase out expected by June 30, 2023. We have evaluated the potential

23 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

effect of the elimination of LIBOR and do not expect the effect to be material. Accounting guidance has been issued to ease the transition to alternative reference rates from a financial reporting perspective. See Item 8, Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for details.

We paid $1.5 billion in dividends in 2021. The Board of Directors approved a dividend increase of 1.8 percent for 2022. We repurchase shares of Kimberly-Clark common stock from time to time pursuant to publicly announced share repurchase programs. During 2021, we repurchased 3.0 million shares of our common stock at a cost of $400 through a broker in the open market. We are targeting full-year 2022 share repurchases of approximately $100, subject to market conditions.

We believe that our ability to generate cash from operations and our capacity to issue short-term and long-term debt are adequate to fund working capital, capital spending, pension contributions, dividends and other needs for the foreseeable future. Further, we do not expect restrictions or taxes on repatriation of cash held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall business, liquidity, financial condition or results of operations for the foreseeable future.

Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net sales and expenses during the reporting period. The critical accounting policies we used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements are those that are important both to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations and require significant judgments by management with regard to estimates used. The critical judgments by management relate to accruals for sales incentives and trade promotion allowances, pension and other postretirement benefits, deferred income taxes and potential income tax assessments, and goodwill and other intangible assets. These critical accounting policies have been reviewed with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Sales Incentives and Trade Promotion Allowances

Trade promotion programs include introductory marketing funds such as slotting fees, cooperative marketing programs, temporary price reductions and other activities conducted by our customers to promote our products. Rebate and promotion accruals are based on estimates of the quantity of customer sales. Promotion accruals also consider estimates of the number of consumer coupons that will be redeemed and timing and costs of activities within the promotional programs. Generally, the estimated redemption value of consumer coupons and related expense are based on historical patterns of coupon redemption, influenced by judgments about current market conditions such as competitive activity in specific product categories, and the cost is recorded when the related revenue from customers is realized. Our related accounting policies are discussed in Item 8, Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements.

Employee Postretirement Benefits

Substantially all regular employees in the U.S. and the United Kingdom are covered by defined contribution retirement plans and certain U.S. and United Kingdom employees previously earned benefits covered by defined benefit pension plans that currently provide no future service benefit (the "Principal Plans"). Certain other subsidiaries have defined benefit pension plans or, in certain countries, termination pay plans covering substantially all regular employees. Our related accounting policies and account balances are discussed in Item 8, Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements.

Changes in certain assumptions could affect pension expense and the benefit obligations, particularly the estimated long-term rate of return on plan assets and the discount rate used to calculate the obligations:

•Long-term rate of return on plan assets. The expected long-term rate of return is evaluated on an annual basis. In setting these assumptions, we consider a number of factors including projected future returns by asset class relative to the target asset allocation. Actual asset allocations are regularly reviewed and they are periodically rebalanced to the targeted allocations when considered appropriate.

As of December 31, 2021, the Principal Plans had cumulative unrecognized investment and actuarial losses of approximately $1.0 billion. These unrecognized net losses may increase future pension expense if not offset by (i) actual investment returns that exceed the assumed investment returns, (ii) other factors, including reduced pension liabilities arising from higher discount rates used to calculate pension obligations, or (iii) other actuarial gains, and whether such accumulated actuarial losses at each measurement date exceed the "corridor" as required. If the expected

24 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

long-term rate of return on assets for the Principal Plans were lowered by 0.25 percent, the impact on annual pension expense would not be material in 2022.

•Discount rate. The discount (or settlement) rate used to determine the present value of our future U.S. pension obligation at December 31, 2021 was based on a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities with cash flows that largely match the expected benefit payments of the plan. For the United Kingdom plan, the discount rate was determined based on yield curves constructed from a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities. Each year's expected future benefit payments were discounted to their present value at the appropriate yield curve rate to determine the pension obligations. If the discount rate assumptions for these same plans were reduced by 0.25 percent, the increase in annual pension expense would not be material in 2022, and the December 31, 2021 pension liability would increase by about $111.

•Other assumptions. There are a number of other assumptions involved in the calculation of pension expense and benefit obligations, primarily related to participant demographics and benefit elections.

Pension expense for defined benefit pension plans is estimated to approximate $50 in 2022. Pension expense beyond 2022 will depend on future investment performance, our contributions to the pension trusts, changes in discount rates and various other factors related to the covered participants in the plans.

Substantially all U.S. retirees and employees have access to our unfunded health care and life insurance benefit plans. Changes in significant assumptions could affect the consolidated expense and benefit obligations, particularly the discount rate used to calculate the obligations and the health care cost trend rate:

•Discount rate. The determination of the discount rates used to calculate the benefit obligations of the plans is discussed in the pension benefit section above, and the methodology for each country is the same as the methodology used to determine the discount rate for that country's pension obligation. If the discount rate assumptions for these plans were reduced by 0.25 percent, the impact to 2022 other postretirement benefit expense and the increase in the December 31, 2021 benefit liability would not be material.

•Health care cost trend rate. The health care cost trend rate is based on a combination of inputs including our recent claims history and insights from external advisers regarding recent developments in the health care marketplace, as well as projections of future trends in the marketplace.

Deferred Income Taxes and Potential Assessments

As a global organization, we are subject to income tax requirements in various jurisdictions in the U.S. and internationally. Changes in certain assumptions related to income taxes could significantly affect consolidated results, particularly with regard to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets, undistributed earnings of subsidiaries outside the U.S. and uncertain tax positions. Our income tax related accounting policies, account balances and matters affecting income taxes are discussed in Item 8, Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements.

•Deferred tax assets and related valuation allowances. We have recorded deferred tax assets related to, among other matters, income tax loss carryforwards, income tax credit carryforwards and capital loss carryforwards and have established valuation allowances against these deferred tax assets. These carryforwards are primarily in non-U.S. taxing jurisdictions and in certain states in the U.S. Foreign tax credits earned in the U.S. in current and prior years, which cannot be used currently, also give rise to net deferred tax assets. In determining the valuation allowances to establish against these deferred tax assets, many factors are considered, including the specific taxing jurisdiction, the carryforward period, income tax strategies and forecasted earnings for the entities in each jurisdiction. A valuation allowance is recognized if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

•Undistributed earnings. As of December 31, 2021, we have accumulated undistributed earnings generated by our foreign subsidiaries of approximately $7.8 billion.  Earnings of $4.4 billion were previously subject to tax, primarily due to the one-time transition tax on foreign earnings required by the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Any additional taxes due with respect to such previously-taxed earnings, if repatriated, would generally be limited to foreign and U.S. state income taxes.  Deferred taxes have been recorded on $0.8 billion of earnings, most of which were previously taxed for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of foreign consolidated subsidiaries expected to be repatriated.  We do not intend to distribute the remaining $3.6 billion of previously taxed foreign earnings and

25 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

therefore have not recorded deferred taxes for foreign and U.S. state income taxes on such earnings.  We consider any excess to be indefinitely reinvested.  The determination of deferred tax liabilities on the amount of financial reporting over tax basis or the $3.6 billion of previously taxed foreign earnings is not practicable.

•Uncertain tax positions. We record our global tax provision based on the respective tax rules and regulations for the jurisdictions in which we operate. Where we believe that a tax position is supportable for income tax purposes, the item is included in our income tax returns. Where treatment of a position is uncertain, a liability is recorded based upon the expected most likely outcome taking into consideration the technical merits of the position based on specific tax regulations and facts of each matter. These liabilities may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities or the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are not subject to amortization and are tested for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Intangible assets that are deemed to have finite lives are amortized over their useful lives, generally ranging from 10 to 20 years. We typically obtain the assistance of third-party valuation specialists to measure the acquisition date fair values of goodwill and other intangible assets acquired.

Events and conditions that could result in impairment include a sustained drop in the market price of our common shares, increased competition or loss of market share, obsolescence, product claims that result in a significant loss of sales or profitability over the product life, deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, or declining financial performance in comparison to projected results.

Our related accounting policies, acquisition of Softex Indonesia, and goodwill and other intangible assets account balances are discussed in Item 8, Notes 1, 3 and 4, respectively, to the consolidated financial statements.

Goodwill

In our evaluation of goodwill impairment, we have the option to first assess qualitative factors such as macroeconomic, industry and competitive conditions, legal and regulatory environments, historical and projected financial performance, significant changes in the reporting unit and the magnitude of excess fair value over carrying amount from the previous quantitative impairment testing. If the result of a qualitative test indicates a potential for impairment, a quantitative test is performed. When a quantitative test is considered necessary, estimates of fair value for goodwill impairment testing are determined based on a discounted cash flow model and a market-based approach. We use inputs from our long-range planning process to determine growth rates for sales and earnings. The other key estimates and factors used in the discounted cash flow include, but are not limited to, discount rates, actual business trends experienced, commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, inflation and terminal growth rates.

For 2021, we completed the required annual assessment of goodwill for impairment for all of our reporting units using a qualitative assessment as of the first day of the third quarter, and we determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of goodwill significantly exceeds the carrying amount for each of our reporting units.

Other Intangible Assets

We evaluate the useful lives of our other intangible assets, primarily brands, to determine if they are finite or indefinite-lived. Reaching a determination on useful life requires significant judgments and assumptions regarding the future effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, other economic factors (such as the stability of the industry, known technological advances and expected changes in distribution channels), the level of required maintenance expenditures, and the expected lives of other related groups of assets.

Our estimate of the fair value of our brand assets is based on a discounted cash flow model and a market-based approach using inputs which include projected revenues from our long-range plan, assumed royalty rates that could be payable if we did not own the brands, and a discount rate. The cash flows used in the discounted cash flow model are consistent with those we use in our internal planning, which gives consideration to actual business trends experienced and the long-term business strategy.

We performed our 2021 impairment assessment of our intangible assets as of the first day of the third quarter, and based upon a qualitative assessment, no impairment indicators were found to be present.

26 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

New Accounting Standards

See Item 8, Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for a description of recent accounting standards and their anticipated effects on our consolidated financial statements.

Information Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters contained in this report concerning the business outlook, including raw material, energy and other input costs, the anticipated cost savings from our FORCE program, cash flow and uses of cash, growth initiatives, innovations, marketing and other spending, net sales, anticipated currency rates and exchange risks, including the impact in Argentina, effective tax rate, contingencies and anticipated transactions of Kimberly-Clark, including dividends, share repurchases and pension contributions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting Kimberly-Clark.  There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that our results will be as estimated.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update them. 

The assumptions used as a basis for the forward-looking statements include many estimates that, among other things, depend on the achievement of future cost savings and projected volume increases. In addition, many factors outside our control, including pandemics (including the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the related responses of governments, consumers, customers, suppliers and employees), epidemics, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the prices and availability of our raw materials, supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, changes in customer preferences, severe weather conditions and government trade or similar regulatory actions, potential competitive pressures on selling prices for our products, energy costs, general economic and political conditions globally and in the markets in which we do business, as well as our ability to maintain key customer relationships and to realize the expected benefits and synergies of the Softex Indonesia acquisition, could affect the realization of these estimates.

The factors described under Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in this Form 10-K, or in our other SEC filings, among others, could cause our future results to differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Other factors not presently known to us or that we presently consider immaterial could also affect our business operations and financial results.

ITEM 7A.    QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

As a multinational enterprise, we are exposed to risks such as changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices. A variety of practices are employed to manage these risks, including operating and financing activities and, where deemed appropriate, the use of derivative instruments. Derivative instruments are used only for risk management purposes and not for speculation. Foreign currency derivative instruments are primarily entered into with major financial institutions. Our credit exposure under these arrangements is limited to agreements with a positive fair value at the reporting date. Credit risk with respect to the counterparties is actively monitored but is not considered significant since these transactions are executed with a diversified group of financial institutions.

27 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Presented below is a description of our risks (foreign currency risk and interest rate risk) together with a sensitivity analysis, performed annually, of each of these risks based on selected changes in market rates and prices. These analyses reflect management's view of changes which are reasonably possible to occur over a one-year period. Also included is a description of our commodity price risk.

Foreign Currency Risk

A portion of our foreign currency risk is managed through the systematic use of foreign currency forward contracts.  The use of these instruments supports the management of transactional exposures to exchange rate fluctuations as the gains or losses incurred on the derivative instruments will offset, in whole or in part, gains or losses on the underlying foreign currency exposure.  We also utilize cross currency swaps and foreign denominated debt to hedge certain investments in foreign subsidiaries.  The gain or loss on these instruments is recognized in other comprehensive income to offset the change in value of the net investments being hedged.

Foreign currency contracts and transactional exposures are sensitive to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. An annual test is performed to quantify the effects that possible changes in foreign currency exchange rates would have on annual operating profit based on our foreign currency contracts and transactional exposures at the current year-end. The balance sheet effect is calculated by multiplying each affiliate's net monetary asset or liability position by a 10 percent change in the foreign currency exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar.

As of December 31, 2021, a 10 percent unfavorable change in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the prevailing market rates of foreign currencies involving balance sheet transactional exposures would not be material to our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. This hypothetical loss on transactional exposures is based on the difference between the December 31, 2021 rates and the assumed rates.

Our operations in Argentina are reported using highly inflationary accounting and their functional currency is the U.S. dollar. Changes in the value of an Argentine peso versus the U.S. dollar applied to our net peso monetary position are recorded in Other (income) and expense, net at the time of the change. As of December 31, 2021, K-C Argentina had a small net peso monetary position and a 10 percent unfavorable change in the exchange rate would not be material.

The translation of the balance sheets of non-U.S. operations from local currencies into U.S. dollars is also sensitive to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Consequently, an annual test is performed to determine if changes in currency exchange rates would have a significant effect on the translation of the balance sheets of non-U.S. operations into U.S. dollars. These translation gains or losses are recorded as unrealized translation adjustments ("UTA") within stockholders' equity. The hypothetical change in UTA is calculated by multiplying the net assets of these non-U.S. operations by a 10 percent change in the currency exchange rates. As of December 31, 2021, a 10 percent unfavorable change in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the prevailing market rates of our foreign currency translation exposures would have reduced stockholders' equity by approximately $750. In the view of management, the above potential UTA adjustments resulting from these assumed changes in foreign currency exchange rates are not material to our consolidated financial position because they would not affect our cash flow.

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk is managed through the maintenance of a portfolio of variable and fixed-rate debt composed of short and long-term instruments. The objective is to maintain a cost-effective mix that management deems appropriate. At December 31, 2021, the long-term debt portfolio was comprised of primarily fixed-rate debt. From time to time, we also hedge the anticipated issuance of fixed-rate debt and those contracts are designated as cash flow hedges.

In order to determine the impact of changes in interest rates on our financial position or future results of operations, we calculated the increase or decrease in the market value of fixed-rate debt using a 10 percent change in current market interest rates and the rates governing these instruments. At December 31, 2021, a 10 percent decrease in interest rates would have increased the fair value of fixed-rate debt by about $224, which would not have a significant impact on our financial statements as we do not record debt at fair value.

28 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

Commodity Price Risk

We are subject to commodity price risk, the most significant of which relates to the price of pulp and petroleum-based materials. Selling prices of products are influenced, in part, by the market price for these pulp and petroleum-based materials. As previously discussed under Item 1A, "Risk Factors," increases in pulp or petroleum-based material prices could adversely affect earnings if selling prices are not adjusted or if such adjustments significantly trail the increases in commodity prices. In some instances, we use contracts of varying durations along with strategic pricing mechanisms to manage volatility for a portion of our commodity costs, but derivative instruments have not been used to manage these risks.

Our energy, manufacturing and transportation costs are affected by various market factors including the availability of supplies of particular forms of energy, energy prices and local and national regulatory decisions. As previously discussed under Item 1A, "Risk Factors," there can be no assurance we will be fully protected against substantial changes in the price or availability of energy sources. In addition, we are subject to price risk for utilities and manufacturing inputs, used in our manufacturing operations. Derivative instruments are used in accordance with our risk management policy to hedge a limited portion of the price risk.

29 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

ITEM 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS

	Year Ended December 31
(Millions of dollars, except per share amounts)	2021		2020		2019
Net Sales	$	19,440	$	19,140	$	18,450
Cost of products sold	13,452		12,318		12,415
Gross Profit	5,988		6,822		6,035
Marketing, research and general expenses	3,399		3,632		3,254
Other (income) and expense, net	28		(54)		(210)
Operating Profit	2,561		3,244		2,991
Nonoperating expense	(86)		(70)		(91)
Interest income	6		8		11
Interest expense	(256)		(252)		(261)
Income Before Income Taxes and Equity Interests	2,225		2,930		2,650
Provision for income taxes	(479)		(676)		(576)
Income Before Equity Interests	1,746		2,254		2,074
Share of net income of equity companies	98		142		123
Net Income	1,844		2,396		2,197
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(30)		(44)		(40)
Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation	$	1,814	$	2,352	$	2,157
Per Share Basis
Net Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Basic	$	5.38	$	6.90	$	6.28
Diluted	$	5.35	$	6.87	$	6.24

See notes to the consolidated financial statements.

30 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

	Year Ended December 31
(Millions of dollars)	2021		2020		2019
Net Income	$	1,844	$	2,396	$	2,197
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax
Unrealized currency translation adjustments	(288)		129		19
Employee postretirement benefits	122		37		12
Other	84		(34)		(34)
Total Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax	(82)		132		(3)
Comprehensive Income	1,762		2,528		2,194
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(15)		(55)		(31)
Comprehensive Income Attributable to Kimberly-Clark Corporation	$	1,747	$	2,473	$	2,163

See notes to the consolidated financial statements.

31 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

	December 31
(Millions of dollars)	2021		2020
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	270	$	303
Accounts receivable, net	2,207		2,235
Inventories	2,239		1,903
Other current assets	849		733
Total Current Assets	5,565		5,174
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	8,097		8,042
Investments in Equity Companies	290		300
Goodwill	1,840		1,895
Other Intangible Assets, Net	810		832
Other Assets	1,235		1,280
TOTAL ASSETS	$	17,837	$	17,523
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Debt payable within one year	$	433	$	486
Trade accounts payable	3,840		3,336
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	2,096		2,262
Dividends payable	380		359
Total Current Liabilities	6,749		6,443
Long-Term Debt	8,141		7,878
Noncurrent Employee Benefits	809		864
Deferred Income Taxes	694		723
Other Liabilities	681		718
Redeemable Preferred Securities of Subsidiaries	26		28
Stockholders' Equity
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Preferred stock - no par value - authorized 20.0 million shares, none issued	—		—
Common stock - $1.25 par value - authorized 1.2 billion shares; issued 378.6 million shares at December 31, 2021 and 2020	473		473
Additional paid-in capital	605		657
Common stock held in treasury, at cost - 41.8 and 39.9 million shares at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively	(5,183)		(4,899)
Retained earnings	7,858		7,567
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(3,239)		(3,172)
Total Kimberly-Clark Corporation Stockholders' Equity	514		626
Noncontrolling Interests	223		243
Total Stockholders' Equity	737		869
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	$	17,837	$	17,523

See notes to the consolidated financial statements.

32 KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION - 2021 Annual Report

KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

(Millions of dollars, shares in thousands, except per share amounts)	Common Stock Issued			Additional Paid-in Capital		Treasury Stock			Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Non- controlling Interests		Total Stockholders' Equity
	Shares	Amount				Shares	Amount
Balance at December 31, 2018	378,597	$	473	$	548	33,635	$	(3,956)	$	5,947	$	(3,299)	$	241	$	(46)
Net income in stockholders' equity, excludes redeemable interests' share	—	—		—		—	—		2,157		—		37		2,194
Other comprehensive income, net of tax, excludes redeemable interests' share	—	—		—		—	—		—		6		(10)		(4)
Stock-based awards exercised or vested	—	—		(93)		(2,817)	322		—		—		—		229
Shares repurchased	—	—		—		6,331	(820)		—		—		—		(820)
Recognition of stock-based compensation	—	—		94		—	—		—		—		—		94
Dividends declared ($4.12 per share)	—	—		—		—	—		(1,415)		—		(42)		(1,457)
Other	—	—		7		—	—		(3)		(1)		1		4
Balance at December 31, 2019	378,597	473		556		37,149	(4,454)		6,686		(3,294)		227		194
Net income in stockholders' equity, excludes redeemable interests' share	—	—