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 September 30, 2021

OR

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

For the Transition Period From _____ To _____

Commission File Number 001-13836

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Ireland	98-0390500
(Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
One Albert Quay, Cork, Ireland, T12 X8N6	(353)  21-423-5000
(Address of Principal Executive Offices and Postal Code)	(Registrant's Telephone Number)

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

Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Ordinary Shares, Par Value $0.01	JCI	New York Stock Exchange
4.625% Notes due 2023	JCI23	New York Stock Exchange
1.000% Senior Notes due 2023	JCI23A	New York Stock Exchange
3.625% Senior Notes due 2024	JCI24A	New York Stock Exchange
1.375% Notes due 2025	JCI25A	New York Stock Exchange
3.900% Notes due 2026	JCI26A	New York Stock Exchange
0.375% Senior Notes due 2027	JCI27	New York Stock Exchange
1.750% Senior Notes due 2030	JCI30	New York Stock Exchange
2.000% Sustainability-Linked Senior Notes due 2031	JCI31	New York Stock Exchange
1.000% Senior Notes due 2032	JCI32	New York Stock Exchange
6.000% Notes due 2036	JCI36A	New York Stock Exchange
5.70% Senior Notes due 2041	JCI41B	New York Stock Exchange
5.250% Senior Notes due 2041	JCI41C	New York Stock Exchange
4.625% Senior Notes due 2044	JCI44A	New York Stock Exchange
5.125% Notes due 2045	JCI45B	New York Stock Exchange
6.950% Debentures due December 1, 2045	JCI45A	New York Stock Exchange
4.500% Senior Notes due 2047	JCI47	New York Stock Exchange
4.950% Senior Notes due 2064	JCI64A	New York Stock Exchange

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  þ    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.    Yes  ¨    No  þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act 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  þ    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  þ    No  ¨

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

Large accelerated filer	þ	Accelerated filer	¨
Non-accelerated filer	¨	Smaller reporting company	☐
Emerging growth company	☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant 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  þ

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

As of March 31, 2021, the aggregate market value of Johnson Controls International plc Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $42.7 billion based on the closing sales price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. As of October 31, 2021, 704,332,395 ordinary shares, par value $0.01 per share, were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be delivered to shareholders in connection with the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on March 9, 2022 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

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JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC

Index to Annual Report on Form 10-K

Year Ended September 30, 2021

		Page
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS FOR FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION		3
PART I.
ITEM 1.	BUSINESS	3
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	10
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	25
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES	25
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	25
ITEM 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	25
	EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT	26
PART II.
ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	27
ITEM 6.	[RESERVED]	29
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	29
ITEM 7A.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	47
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	48
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	114
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	114
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION	115
ITEM 9C.	DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS	115
PART III.
ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	115
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	115
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	116
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	116
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES	116
PART IV.
ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	117
ITEM 16.	FORM 10-K SUMMARY	117
	INDEX TO EXHIBITS	118
	SIGNATURES	123

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS FOR FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Unless otherwise indicated, references to "Johnson Controls," the "Company," "we," "our" and "us" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to Johnson Controls International plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.

The Company has made statements in this document that are forward-looking and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are, or could be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this document, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, synergies and integration opportunities, capital expenditures and debt levels are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "forecast," "project" or "plan" and terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The Company cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: The Company’s ability to manage general economic, business, capital market and geopolitical conditions, including global price inflation and shortages impacting the availability of raw materials and component products; the Company’s ability to manage the impacts of natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the strength of the U.S. or other economies; changes or uncertainty in laws, regulations, rates, policies or interpretations that impact the Company’s business operations or tax status; the ability to develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance and meet applicable regulatory requirements; changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including increased tariffs or trade restrictions; maintaining the capacity, reliability and security of the Company’s enterprise information technology infrastructure; the ability to manage the lifecycle cybersecurity risk in the development, deployment and operation of the Company’s digital platforms and services; the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights; any delay or inability of the Company to realize the expected benefits and synergies of recent portfolio transactions; the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the ability to hire and retain senior management and other key personnel; the tax treatment of recent portfolio transactions; significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities associated with such transactions; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; labor shortages, work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with the labor force; and the cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements. A detailed discussion of risks related to Johnson Controls’ business is included in the section entitled "Risk Factors" (refer to Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K). The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Johnson Controls assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this document.

PART I

ITEM 1    BUSINESS

General

Johnson Controls International plc, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is a global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. The Company’s products, services, systems and solutions advance the safety, comfort and intelligence of spaces to serve people, places and the planet. The Company is committed to helping its customers win and creating greater value for all of its stakeholders through its strategic focus on buildings.

Johnson Controls was originally incorporated in the state of Wisconsin in 1885 as Johnson Electric Service Company to manufacture, install and service automatic temperature regulation systems for buildings and was renamed to Johnson Controls, Inc. in 1974. In 2005, Johnson Controls acquired York International, a global supplier of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning ("HVAC") and refrigeration equipment and services. In 2014, Johnson Controls acquired Air Distribution Technologies, Inc., one of the largest independent providers of air distribution and ventilation products in North America. In 2015, Johnson Controls formed a joint venture with Hitachi to expand its building related product offerings. In 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. and Tyco completed their combination (the "Merger"), combining Johnson Controls portfolio of building efficiency solutions with Tyco’s portfolio of fire and security solutions. Following the Merger, Tyco changed its name to “Johnson Controls International plc.”

In 2016, the Company completed the spin-off of its automotive business into Adient plc, an independent, publicly traded company. In 2019, the Company sold its Power Solutions business to BCP Acquisitions LLC, an entity controlled by

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investment funds managed by Brookfield Capital Partners LLC, completing the Company’s transformation into a pure-play building technologies and solutions provider.

The Company is a global leader in engineering, manufacturing and commissioning building products and systems, including residential and commercial HVAC equipment, industrial refrigeration systems, controls, security systems, fire-detection systems and fire-suppression solutions. The Company further serves customers by providing technical services, including maintenance, management, repair, retrofit and replacement of equipment (in the HVAC, industrial refrigeration, security and fire-protection space), energy-management consulting and data-driven “smart building” services and solutions powered by its OpenBlue software platform and capabilities. The Company partners with customers by leveraging its broad product portfolio and digital capabilities powered by OpenBlue, together with its direct channel service and solutions capabilities, to deliver outcome-based solutions across the lifecycle of a building that address customers’ needs to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Business Segments

The Company conducts its business through four business segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific and Global Products.

Building Solutions North America: Building Solutions North America designs, sells, installs and services HVAC, controls, building management, refrigeration, integrated electronic security and integrated fire-detection and suppression systems for commercial, industrial, retail, small business, institutional and governmental customers in the United States and Canada. Building Solutions North America also provides energy efficiency solutions and technical services, including inspection, scheduled maintenance, and repair and replacement of mechanical and controls systems, as well as data-driven “smart building” solutions, to non-residential building and industrial applications in the United States and Canadian marketplace.

Building Solutions EMEA/LA: Building Solutions EMEA/LA designs, sells, installs, and services HVAC, controls, building management, refrigeration, integrated electronic security, integrated fire-detection and suppression systems, and provides technical services, including data-driven “smart building” solutions, to markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Building Solutions Asia Pacific: Building Solutions Asia Pacific designs, sells, installs, and services HVAC, controls, building management, refrigeration, integrated electronic security, integrated fire-detection and suppression systems, and provides technical services, including data-driven “smart building” solutions, to the Asia Pacific marketplace.

Global Products: Global Products designs, manufactures and sells HVAC equipment, controls software and software services for residential and commercial applications to commercial, industrial, retail, residential, small business, institutional and governmental customers worldwide. In addition, Global Products designs, manufactures and sells refrigeration equipment and controls globally. The Global Products business also designs, manufactures and sells fire protection, fire suppression and security products, including intrusion security, anti-theft devices, access control, and video surveillance and management systems, for commercial, industrial, retail, residential, small business, institutional and governmental customers worldwide. Global Products includes the Johnson Controls-Hitachi joint venture.

For more information on the Company’s segments, refer to Note 20, "Segment Information," of the notes to consolidated financial statements.

Products, Systems, Services and Solutions

The Company sells and installs its commercial HVAC equipment and systems, control systems, security systems, fire-detection and fire suppression systems, equipment and services primarily through its extensive direct channel, consisting of a global network of sales and service offices. Significant sales are also generated through global third-party channels, such as distributors of air-conditioning, controls, security and fire-detection and suppression products. The Company’s large base of current customers leads to significant repeat business for the maintenance, retrofit and replacement markets. The Company is also able to leverage its installed base to generate sales for its service business. Trusted building brands, such as YORK®, Hitachi Air Conditioning, Metasys®, Ansul, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, PENN®, Sabroe®, Silent-Aire®, Simplex® and Grinnell®, together with the breadth and depth of the products, systems and solutions offered by the Company, give it what it believes to be the most diverse portfolio in the building technology industry.

The Company has developed software platforms, including on-premises platforms and cloud-based software services, and integrated its products and services with digital capabilities to provide data-driven solutions to create smarter, safer and more

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sustainable buildings. In fiscal 2020, the Company launched its software platform, OpenBlue, enabling enterprises to manage all aspects of their physical spaces delivering sustainability, new occupant experiences, safety and security by combining the Company’s building expertise with cutting-edge technology, including AI-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, compliance monitoring and advanced risk assessments. The Company leverages its digital and data-driven products and services to offer integrated and customizable solutions focused on delivering outcomes to customers, including OpenBlue Buildings-as-a-Service, OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings-as-a-Service and OpenBlue Healthy Buildings. These services are generally designed to generate recurring revenue for the Company as it supports its customers in achieving their desired outcomes.

In fiscal 2021, approximately 37% of sales originated from product offerings, 36% of sales originated from installations and 27% of sales originated from service offerings.

Competition

The Company conducts its operations through thousands of individual contracts that are either negotiated or awarded on a competitive basis. Key factors in the award of contracts include system and service performance, quality, price, design, reputation, technology, application engineering capability and construction or project management expertise. Competitors for HVAC equipment, security, fire-detection, fire suppression and controls in the residential and non-residential marketplace include many local, regional, national and international providers. Larger competitors include Honeywell International, Inc.; Siemens Smart Infrastructure, an operating group of Siemens AG; Schneider Electric SA; Carrier Global Corporation; Trane Technologies plc; Daikin Industries, Ltd.; Lennox International, Inc.; GC Midea Holding Co, Ltd. and Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. In addition, the Company competes in a highly fragmented building services market. The loss of any individual contract or customer would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Business Strategy

The Company’s business strategy is to sustain and expand its position as a leader in smart and sustainable building solutions by offering a full spectrum of products and solutions for customer buildings across the globe. The Company’s core strategy remains focused on creating growth platforms, driving operational improvements and creating a high-performance culture. The Company has strong positions in attractive and growing end-markets across HVAC, controls, fire, security and services, enhanced by its comprehensive product portfolio and substantial installed base. The Company believes that it is well positioned to capitalize on the emerging and prevalent trends in the buildings industry, including decarbonization, healthy buildings/indoor environmental quality and smart buildings. To capitalize on these trends, the Company is building on its fiscal 2021 priorities of maintaining leading positions in commercial HVAC and building management systems, as well as enabling growth through digital, to develop and leverage new digital technologies and capabilities into outcomes powered by its OpenBlue software platform. In furtherance of these goals, the Company has three strategic priorities:

Capitalize on Key Growth Vectors: Decarbonization, healthy buildings/indoor environmental quality and smart buildings represent key growth opportunities for the Company. The Company seeks to leverage its existing portfolio breadth and investments in product development, combined with the expansion of its digital products and capabilities powered by OpenBlue, to offer differentiated solutions and innovative deal structures to help customers achieve their objectives. The Company intends to invest in products and expand its partnerships to power innovation that will allow it to provide differentiated services that are tailored to its customers’ desired outcomes.

Accelerate in High Growth Digital Services, Regions and Verticals: The Company is focused on transforming its large service business through its OpenBlue digital technologies and enabled by the Company’s installed base, domain expertise and global coverage. The Company further intends to expand its presence in high growth regions and invest in high growth verticals within the markets it serves, including healthcare, commercial offices/campus, education and data centers.

Sustain a High-Performance, Customer-Centric Culture: The Company recognizes that developing talent and creating positive customer experiences is central to accomplishing its business strategies. The Company is investing in its talent to build a diverse workforce that is digital capable, solutions oriented and focused on continuous learning and growth. The Company aims to leverage its talent capabilities and training to create a customer-focused culture to drive customer loyalty and decisions.

To realize these priorities, the Company is leveraging its technology leadership, comprehensive product portfolio, global presence, substantial installed base and strong channels to monetize the lifecycle opportunities of install, service, retrofit and replacement which are established and delivered by the Company’s direct field businesses and third-party channels across the globe. The Company is augmenting its strategic priorities with disciplined execution, productivity enhancements and sustainable cost management to create a path to realize expanded margins and enhanced profitability.

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Backlog

The Company’s backlog is applicable to its sales of systems and services. At September 30, 2021, the backlog was $10.5 billion, of which $10.1 billion was attributable to the field business. The backlog amount outstanding at any given time is not necessarily indicative of the amount of revenue to be earned in the upcoming fiscal year.

At September 30, 2021, remaining performance obligations were $16.1 billion, which is $5.6 billion higher than the Company's backlog of $10.5 billion. Differences between the Company’s remaining performance obligations and backlog are primarily due to the following:

•Remaining performance obligations include large, multi-purpose contracts to construct hospitals, schools and other governmental buildings, which are services to be performed over the building's lifetime with average initial contract terms of 25 to 35 years for the entire term of the contract versus backlog which includes only the lifecycle period of these contracts which approximates five years;

•The Company has elected to exclude from remaining performance obligations certain contracts with customers with a term of one year or less or contracts that are cancelable without substantial penalty while these contracts are included within backlog; and

•Remaining performance obligations include the full remaining term of service contracts with substantial termination penalties versus backlog which includes one year for all outstanding service contracts.

The Company will continue to report backlog as it believes it is a useful measure of evaluating the Company's operational performance and relationship to total orders.

Raw Materials

Raw materials used by the Company’s businesses in connection with their operations include steel, aluminum, brass, copper, polypropylene and certain flurochemicals used in fire suppression agents. The Company also uses semiconductors and other electronic components in the manufacture of its products. During portions of fiscal 2021, the Company experienced higher than normal commodity and component prices and, in some instances, shortages due to global inflation, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, increased demand and other regulatory and macroeconomic factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. These trends had a negative impact on the Company’s results of operations in fiscal 2021, although they were largely mitigated by the Company through proactive measures such as making purchases with the anticipation of higher demand, expanding and redistributing its supplier network, supplier financing, price increases and productivity improvements. The Company believes that the macroeconomic trends experienced in fiscal 2021 will continue into fiscal 2022. Therefore, the Company could experience further disruptions, shortages and price inflation in the future, the effect of which will depend on the Company’s ability to successfully mitigate and offset the impact of these events. In fiscal 2022, commodity prices and availability could fluctuate throughout the year and could significantly affect the Company’s results of operations.

Intellectual Property

Generally, the Company seeks statutory protection for strategic or financially important intellectual property developed in connection with its business. Certain intellectual property, where appropriate, is protected by contracts, licenses, confidentiality or other agreements. From time to time, the Company takes action to protect its businesses by asserting its intellectual property rights against third-party infringers.

The Company owns numerous U.S. and non-U.S. patents (and their respective counterparts), the more important of which cover those technologies and inventions embodied in current products or which are used in the manufacture of those products. While the Company believes patents are important to its business operations and in the aggregate constitute a valuable asset, no single patent, or group of patents, is critical to the success of the business. The Company, from time to time, grants licenses under its patents and technology and receives licenses under patents and technology of others.

The Company’s trademarks, certain of which are material to its business, are registered or otherwise legally protected in the U.S. and many non-U.S. countries where products and services of the Company are sold. The Company, from time to time, becomes involved in trademark licensing transactions.

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Most works of authorship produced for the Company, such as computer programs, catalogs and sales literature, carry appropriate notices indicating the Company’s claim to copyright protection under U.S. law and appropriate international treaties.

Environmental, Health and Safety Matters

Laws addressing the protection of the environment and workers’ safety and health govern the Company’s ongoing global operations. They generally provide for civil and criminal penalties, as well as injunctive and remedial relief, for noncompliance or require remediation of sites where Company-related materials have been released into the environment.

The Company has expended substantial resources globally, both financial and managerial, to comply with environmental laws and worker safety laws and maintains procedures designed to foster and ensure compliance. Certain of the Company’s businesses are, or have been, engaged in the handling or use of substances that may impact workplace health and safety or the environment. The Company is committed to protecting its workers and the environment against the risks associated with these substances.

The Company’s operations and facilities have been, and in the future may become, the subject of formal or informal enforcement actions or proceedings for noncompliance with environmental laws and worker safety laws or for the remediation of Company-related substances released into the environment. Such matters typically are resolved with regulatory authorities through commitments to compliance, abatement or remediation programs and, in some cases, payment of penalties. See Note 23, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further discussion of environmental matters.

Government Regulation and Supervision

The Company's operations are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations, both within and outside the United States, in areas such as consumer protection, government contracts, international trade, environmental protection, labor and employment, tax, licensing and others. For example, most U.S. states and non-U.S. jurisdictions in which the Company operates have licensing laws directed specifically toward the alarm and fire suppression industries. The Company's security businesses currently rely extensively upon the use of wireline and wireless telephone service to communicate signals. Wireline and wireless telephone companies in the U.S. are regulated by the federal and state governments. In addition, government regulation of fire safety codes can impact the Company's fire businesses. The Company’s businesses may also be affected by changes in governmental regulation of refrigerants and energy efficiency standards, noise regulation and product safety regulations, including changes related to hydro fluorocarbons/emissions reductions efforts, energy conservation standards and the regulation of fluorinated gases. These and other laws and regulations impact the manner in which the Company conducts its business, and changes in legislation or government policies can affect the Company's worldwide operations, both favorably and unfavorably. For a more detailed description of the various laws and regulations that affect the Company's business, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Regulatory Capital Expenditures

The Company’s efforts to comply with numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to its business and products often results in capital expenditures. The Company makes capital expenditures to design and upgrade its fire and security products to comply with or exceed standards applicable to the alarm, fire suppression and security industries. The Company also makes capital expenditures to meet or exceed energy efficiency standards, including the regulation of refrigerants, hydro fluorocarbons/emissions reductions efforts and the regulation of fluorinated gasses, particularly with respect to the Company’s HVAC products and solutions. The Company’s ongoing environmental compliance program also results in capital expenditures. Regulatory and environmental considerations are a part of all significant capital expenditure decisions; however, expenditures in fiscal 2021 related solely to regulatory compliance were not material. It is management’s opinion that the amount of any future capital expenditures related to compliance with any individual regulation or grouping of related regulations will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial results or competitive position in any one year. See Note 23, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further discussion of environmental matters.

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Human Capital Management

Overview and Governance

The Company strives to continuously drive and develop its High-Performance Culture. The Company’s High-Performance Culture represents the practices and behaviors, underpinned by the Company’s values, that lead to sustained growth, winning results and satisfied customers.

The responsibility to develop and maintain a High-Performance Culture is owned, embedded and executed throughout the Company. The Chief Human Resources Officer ("CHRO") is responsible for establishing the Company’s strategy to drive a High-Performance Culture and ensuring its execution across the Company. The Compensation and Talent Development Committee of the Board of Directors is the primary overseer of the Company’s High-Performance Culture strategy and execution. The Chief Executive Officer, the CHRO, the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion and other senior leaders within the Company are responsible for the execution of the strategy and engage with the Compensation and Talent Development Committee, the Governance and Sustainability Committee and the full Board of Directors on the critical components driving the Company’s High-Performance Culture, including discussions of human capital trends, practices and operations, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, leadership development and succession planning. Key components driving the Company’s High-Performance Culture include:

Health and Safety

Health and Wellness, Safety and Environment are the three pillars of the Company’s Zero Harm vision. The Company’s health and safety programs are designed around global standards with appropriate variations addressing multiple jurisdictions and regulations, specific hazards and unique working environments of the Company’s manufacturing, service and install, and headquarter operations. In response to COVID-19, the Company created new Zero Harm standards and processes to ensure the ongoing health and safety of its workplaces, including extensive communication and education programs to encourage all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 when eligible and the organization of on-site vaccination clinics at the Company’s facilities. Throughout fiscal year 2021, as employees in many countries were faced with continued work-from-home instructions, the Company’s focus on employee well-being continued with the utilization of global and regional well-being councils, addressing physical, mental, social and financial aspects of employee well-being during the pandemic. See "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic" included in Item 7, "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for more information on human capital management actions taken by the Company in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Company requires each of its locations to perform regular safety audits to ensure proper safety policies, program procedures, analyses and training are in place. In addition, the Company engages an independent third-party conformity assessment and certification vendor to audit selected operations for adherence to its global health and safety standards. Safety culture and behavior-based safety initiatives have been deployed within the Company, including a multi-faceted policy focused on preventing distracted driving and the design and rollout of a new-style of platform ladder built to provide a safe working platform for employees. One safety policy that applies to all employees around the globe, regardless of rank, is every individual worker’s right to apply the “Stop Work” principle when uncertain about the health and safety of a particular task.

The Company utilizes a mixture of leading and lagging indicators to assess the health and safety performance of its operations. Lagging indicators include the OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate ("TRIR") and the Lost Time (or Lost Workday) Incident Rate ("LTIR") based upon the number of incidents per 100 employees (or per 200,000 work hours). In fiscal year 2021, the Company had a TRIR of 0.37 and a LTIR of 0.12.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are embedded throughout the Company’s strategy to drive a High-Performance Culture. The Company recognizes that an inclusive culture that is diverse adds value to the Company and its customers through: the creation and delivery of innovative and outstanding products, services and outcomes; the cultivation of an engaged and empowered environment where employee productivity drives company growth; and the onboarding of high-performing talent into the organization to propel the Company's transformation and future. The Company believes that all employees and leaders are responsible for creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Employees are empowered to take an active role in creating a culture that values uniqueness, celebrates creativity and drives innovation. The Company places a high value on inclusion, engaging employees in Business Resource Groups ("BRGs") — employee-led voluntary organizations of people with similar interests, experiences, or demographic characteristics. The Company maintains its BRG chapters worldwide across nine

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categories: African American, Asia Pacific, LGBTQ+, Emerging Leaders, Hispanic, Disabilities, Veterans, Women and Sustainability. The Company uses these groups to serve as a source of inclusion and to support the acquisition and development of diverse talent internally and externally. Each BRG is open to all employees and sponsored and supported by senior leaders across the enterprise. The Company’s BRG structure includes monthly learning series, an active recruitment platform, an innovation hub, and community engagement. In fiscal year 2021, the Company realized over 350% growth in BRG membership.

The Company has implemented several measures that focus on ensuring accountabilities exist for making progress in diversity:

•Diversity Performance Goals: The CEO and other senior leaders have diversity and inclusion objectives in their annual performance goals.

•Attracting Diverse Talent: The Company commits to having a diverse talent pipeline by partnering with its business units in their workforce planning forecasts, as well as external organizations, to develop initiatives and goals to recruit diverse talent across all leadership and skill areas. In furtherance of this commitment, the Company launched its Future Leaders Internship Program, an enterprise-wide internship program designed to build a sustainable, diverse pipeline of talent with the critical skills needed to support the Company’s growth initiatives.

•Facilitating Engagement: The Company launched the Perspectives Listening Series to facilitate honest, courageous and authentic conversations between colleagues on topics that are relevant and important to employees, communities and society as a whole. Topics covered include next generation leadership, gender equality, the social justice movement and fatherhood.

Talent Development

To maintain a High-Performance Culture, the Company must ensure the continued development and advancement of its people. Strategic talent reviews and succession planning occur on a planned cadence annually – globally and across all business areas. The Company continues to provide opportunities for the Company's employees to grow their careers, with over half of open management positions filled internally during fiscal year 2021.

The Company believes that high performance is an outcome of a person’s ability to change, adapt, and grow their capabilities throughout their career. The Company emphasizes real-life, real-time learning that enables a person to meet the demands of challenging and changing work and focuses on reinforcing key principles that are designed to support an individual’s effectiveness in his or her current job and in their future development. The Company provides technical and leadership training to employees, customers and suppliers who work for or with the Company’s products and services. In particular, the Company’s focus on employee development has been structured over the last several years through programs designed to imbed essential skills and reinforce strategic goals that are aligned to the Company’s culture, including:

•Digital Transformation: In support of Company’s growth strategy, the Company is investing in developing digital leadership with personalized and targeted training programs designed to create digitally capable leaders, salespersons and technicians.

•Diversity and Inclusion: The Company has developed a structured diversity and inclusion training continuum across the levels and stages of individuals' careers to develop and align employees with the Company’s diversity and inclusion strategy and values.

•Organizational Health: The Company regularly assesses its progress using an Organizational Health Index survey and develops annual health plans comprised of priority initiatives to drive key behaviors and practices that is informed by the survey’s results. These plans are specifically tailored for each business unit and regularly assessed during the year, with managers accountable for introducing and teaching new skills or toolsets to their teams.

In fiscal year 2021, the Company offered a robust curriculum of over 150,000 learning activities available to employees, consisting of videos, courses, e-learning, documentation, articles and books, including over 5,000 active (in person or virtual) learning courses. In fiscal year 2021, over 1.1 million learning activities were completed by approximately 85,300 employees.

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Employee Population and Demographics

As of September 30, 2021, the Company employed approximately 101,000 people worldwide, of which approximately 37,000 were employed in the United States and approximately 64,000 were outside the United States. Approximately 22,000 employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils and the Company believes that its relations with its labor unions are generally positive.

Employee Diversity as of September 30, 2021
Employees	Male	Female	Minority (1)
Total	77%	23%	26%
Managers	81%	19%	18%

(1) Male and female data represents all employees globally. Minority data represents U.S. employees only.

Seasonal Factors

Certain of the Company's sales are seasonal as the demand for residential air conditioning equipment and services generally increases in the summer months. This seasonality is mitigated by the other products and services provided by the Company that have no material seasonal effect.

Research and Development Expenditures

Refer to Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for research and development expenditures. In January 2021, the Company committed to invest 75 percent of its new product research and development in climate-related innovation to develop sustainable products and services.

Available Information

The Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, definitive proxy statements on Schedule 14A, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are made available free of charge through the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Internet website at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. Copies of any materials the Company files with the SEC can also be obtained free of charge through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company also makes available, free of charge, its Code of Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Board of Directors committee charters and other information related to the Company on the Company’s Internet website or in printed form upon request. The Company is not including the information contained on the Company’s website as a part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A    RISK FACTORS

Provided below is a cautionary discussion of what we believe to be the most important risk factors applicable to the Company. Discussion of these factors is incorporated by reference into and considered an integral part of Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations.” The disclosure of a risk should not be interpreted imply that such risk has not already materialized. Additional risks not currently known to the Company or that the Company currently believes are immaterial also may impair the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Economic and Political Conditions

Impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted economic activity around the world. As a result, we and our affiliates, employees, suppliers, customers and others have been and may continue to be restricted or prevented from conducting normal business activities, including as a result of shutdowns, travel restrictions and other actions that may be requested or mandated by governmental authorities. While a substantial portion of our businesses and facilities have been classified as essential in

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jurisdictions in which facility closures have been mandated, we can give no assurance that there will not be additional closures in the future or that our businesses and facilities will be classified as essential in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate.

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted, and may continue to impact, our office locations, manufacturing and servicing facilities and distribution centers, as well as those of our third-party vendors, including the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours and other social distancing efforts. In response to the challenges presented by COVID-19, we modified our business practices, including restricting non-essential employee travel, implementing remote work protocols, and limiting physical participation in meetings, events and conferences, and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners and suppliers. These modifications to our business practices, including any future actions we take, may cause us to experience increases in costs, reductions in productivity and disruptions to our business routines.

In September 2021, the Biden Administration issued an executive order requiring U.S.-based employees, contractors, and subcontractors, that work on or in support of U.S. Government contracts, to be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. The executive order includes on-site and remote U.S.-based employees, contractors and subcontractors and it only permits limited exceptions for medical and religious reasons. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has also issued rules requiring that all large employers in the U.S. have employee populations that are fully vaccinated against or regularly tested for COVID-19 at least once per week by January 4, 2022, however, the implementation of the OSHA rules has been blocked by a federal appeals court, subject to the resolution of ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the rules. These actions are or are expected to be applicable to our U.S. operations and our federal contracting business, and we have announced an internal vaccine mandate with respect to our U.S.-based employees who fall within the scope of the federal contractor and subcontractor executive order. It is also possible that additional vaccine mandates may be announced in other jurisdictions in which our businesses operate. In addition, certain customers have issued vaccine requirements with respect to our employees who provide on-site service at customer facilities. Our efforts to comply with these mandates, including requiring that some or all of our employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, could result in increased labor attrition and disruption, as well as difficulty securing future labor needs, and could adversely impact our ability to deliver services to our U.S. federal government customers and potentially other customers, which could in turn adversely impact our results of operations.

We may also experience impacts from market forces and changes in consumer behavior related to pandemic fears as a result of COVID-19. Although we experienced increases in both demand and volumes during fiscal 2021 as governments distributed vaccines and lifted COVID-19-related restrictions, challenges in achieving sufficient vaccination levels and the introduction of new variants of COVID-19 have and could continue to negatively impact our results of operations due to the extension or reinstitution of lockdowns and similar restrictive measures, limited access to customer sites to perform installation and service work, the delay or abandonment of projects on which we provide products and/or services, and the general adverse impacts on demand and sales volumes from industries that are sensitive to economic downturns and volatility in commodity prices. In addition, the Company has experienced and could continue to experience labor shortages at its facilities as the Company expands its production capacity to meet increased customer demand. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic could result in permanent changes in the behaviors of our customers, including the increased prevalence of remote work and a corresponding decline in demand for the construction and maintenance of commercial buildings. Any of these impacts could cause our stock price and the operating performances of our businesses to be adversely affected, which could require us to incur material impairment, restructuring or other charges.

Our management of the impact of COVID-19 has and will continue to require significant investment of time from our management and employees, as well as resources across our global enterprise. This may cause us to divert or delay the application of our resources toward new initiatives or investments, which may adversely impact our future results of operations. In addition, issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic may result in legal claims or litigation against us.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the resurgence of COVID-19 and its variants in regions recovering from the impacts of the pandemic, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and the speed at which populations are vaccinated around the globe, the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity and regulatory actions taken to contain the impact of COVID-19 on public health and the global economy. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, any of which could have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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The ability of suppliers to deliver raw materials, parts and components to our manufacturing facilities, and our ability to manufacture without disruption, could affect our results of operations.

We use a wide range of materials (primarily steel, copper and aluminum) and components (including semiconductors and other electronic components) in the global production of our products, which come from numerous suppliers around the world. Because not all of our business arrangements provide for guaranteed supply and some key parts may be available only from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers, we are subject to supply and pricing risk. Our operations and those of our suppliers are subject to disruption for a variety of reasons, including COVID-19-related supplier plant shutdowns or slowdowns, transportation delays, work stoppages, labor relations, labor shortages, price inflation, governmental regulatory and enforcement actions, intellectual property claims against suppliers, financial issues such as supplier bankruptcy, information technology failures, and hazards such as fire, earthquakes, flooding, or other natural disasters. For example, we expect to continue to be impacted by the following supply chain issues, due to economic, political and other factors largely beyond our control: increased input material costs and component shortages; supply chain disruptions and delays and cost inflation, all of which could continue or escalate in the future. The effects of climate change, including extreme weather events, long-term changes in temperature levels, water availability, increased cost for decarbonizing process heating, supply costs impacted by increasing energy costs, or energy costs impacted by carbon prices or offsets may exacerbate these risks. Such disruptions could interrupt our ability to manufacture certain products. Any significant disruption could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Material supply shortages and delays in deliveries, along with other factors such as price inflation, can also result in increased pricing. While many of our customers permit quarterly or other periodic adjustments to pricing based on changes in component prices and other factors, we may bear the risk of price increases that occur between any such repricing or, if such repricing is not permitted, during the balance of the term of the particular customer contract.

Volatility in commodity prices may adversely affect our results of operations.

Increases in commodity costs can negatively impact the profitability of orders in backlog as prices on such orders are typically fixed; therefore, in the short-term, our ability to adjust for changes in certain commodity prices is limited. In these cases, if we are not able to recover commodity cost increases through price increases to our customers on new orders, then such increases will have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In cases where commodity price risk cannot be naturally offset or hedged through supply based fixed-price contracts, we use commodity hedge contracts to minimize overall price risk associated with our anticipated commodity purchases. Unfavorability in our hedging programs during a period of declining commodity prices could result in lower margins as we reduce prices to match the market on a fixed commodity cost level. Additionally, to the extent we do not or are unable to hedge certain commodities and the commodity prices substantially increase, such increases will have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, increased commodity costs as a result of global macroeconomic trends. While we have taken action to offset increasing commodity costs as described above, we have nonetheless experienced negative impacts on profitability as a result of such increased costs. Continued increased commodity costs could continue to negatively impact our results of operations to the extent we are unable to successfully mitigate and offset the impact of these costs.

Some of the industries in which we operate are cyclical and, accordingly, demand for our products and services could be adversely affected by downturns in these industries.

Much of the demand for installation of HVAC, security products, and fire detection and suppression solutions is driven by commercial and residential construction and industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects. Commercial and residential construction projects are heavily dependent on general economic conditions, localized demand for commercial and residential real estate and availability of credit. Commercial and residential real estate markets are prone to significant fluctuations in supply and demand. In addition, most commercial and residential real estate developers rely heavily on project financing in order to initiate and complete projects. Declines in real estate values could lead to significant reductions in the availability of project financing, even in markets where demand may otherwise be sufficient to support new construction. These factors could in turn temper demand for new HVAC, fire detection and suppression, and security installations.

Levels of industrial capital expenditures for facility expansions and maintenance are dependent on general economic conditions, economic conditions within specific industries we serve, expectations of future market behavior and available financing. Additionally, volatility in commodity and component prices, as well as commodity and component shortages, can negatively

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affect the level of these activities and can result in postponement of capital spending decisions or the delay or cancellation of existing orders.

The businesses of many of our industrial customers are to varying degrees cyclical and have experienced periodic downturns. During such economic downturns, customers in these industries tend to delay major capital projects, including greenfield construction, maintenance projects and upgrades. Additionally, demand for our products and services may be affected by volatility in energy, component and commodity prices and fluctuating demand forecasts, as our customers may be more conservative in their capital planning, which may reduce demand for our products and services. Although our industrial customers tend to be less dependent on project financing than real estate developers, disruptions in financial markets and banking systems could make credit and capital markets difficult for our customers to access, and could significantly raise the cost of new debt for our customers. Any difficulty in accessing these markets and the increased associated costs can have a negative effect on investment in large capital projects, including necessary maintenance and upgrades, even during periods of favorable end-market conditions.

Many of our customers inside and outside of the industrial and commercial sectors, including governmental and institutional customers, have experienced budgetary constraints as sources of revenue have been negatively impacted by adverse or stagnant economic conditions. These budgetary constraints have in the past and may in the future reduce demand for our products and services among governmental and institutional customers.

Reduced demand for our products and services could result in the delay or cancellation of existing orders or lead to excess capacity, which unfavorably impacts our absorption of fixed costs. This reduced demand may also erode average selling prices in the industries we serve. Any of these results could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks associated with our non-U.S. operations could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have significant operations in a number of countries outside the U.S., some of which are located in emerging markets. Long-term economic uncertainty in some of the regions of the world in which we operate, such as Asia, South America, the Middle East, Europe and emerging markets, could result in the disruption of markets and negatively affect cash flows from our operations to cover our capital needs and debt service requirements.

In addition, as a result of our global presence, a significant portion of our revenues and expenses is denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We are therefore subject to non-U.S. currency risks and non-U.S. exchange exposure. While we employ financial instruments to hedge some of our transactional foreign exchange exposure, these activities do not insulate us completely from those exposures. Exchange rates can be volatile and a substantial weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar could reduce our profit margin in various locations outside of the U.S. and adversely impact the comparability of results from period to period.

There are other risks that are inherent in our non-U.S. operations, including the potential for changes in socio-economic conditions, laws and regulations, including anti-trust, import, export, labor and environmental laws, and monetary and fiscal policies; protectionist measures that may prohibit acquisitions or joint ventures, or impact trade volumes; unsettled or unstable political conditions; government-imposed plant or other operational shutdowns; backlash from foreign labor organizations related to our restructuring actions; corruption; natural and man-made disasters, hazards and losses; violence, civil and labor unrest, and possible terrorist attacks.

These and other factors may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to Government Regulations

Our businesses operate in regulated industries and are subject to a variety of complex and continually changing laws and regulations.

Our operations and employees are subject to various U.S. federal, state and local licensing laws, codes and standards and similar foreign laws, codes, standards and regulations. Changes in laws or regulations could require us to change the way we operate or to utilize resources to maintain compliance, which could increase costs or otherwise disrupt operations. In addition, failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations could result in substantial fines or revocation of our operating permits and licenses. Competition or other regulatory investigations can continue for several years, be costly to defend and can result in

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substantial fines. If laws and regulations were to change or if we or our products failed to comply, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Due to the international scope of our operations, the system of laws and regulations to which we are subject is complex and includes regulations issued by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and various non U.S. governmental agencies, including applicable export controls, anti-trust, customs, currency exchange control and transfer pricing regulations, laws regulating the foreign ownership of assets, and laws governing certain materials that may be in our products. No assurances can be made that we will continue to be found to be operating in compliance with, or be able to detect violations of, any such laws or regulations. For example, existing free trade laws and regulations, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or any successor agreement, provide certain beneficial duties and tariffs for qualifying imports and exports, subject to compliance with the applicable classification and other requirements. Changes in laws or policies governing the terms of foreign trade, and in particular increased trade restrictions, tariffs or taxes on imports from countries where we manufacture products or from where we import products or raw materials (either directly or through our suppliers) could have an impact on our competitive position, business and financial results. For example, certain of our businesses have a significant presence in the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”), where the success of the Brexit referendum in 2016 has continued to cause political and economic uncertainty. In December 2020, the U.K. and the European Union announced they had entered into a post-Brexit deal on certain aspects of trade and other strategic and political issues. Depending on the application of the terms of the trade and cooperation agreement between the U.K. and the European Union, we could face increased regulatory costs and challenges. The implications of these uncertainties could affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

We are also subject to a complex network of tax laws and tax treaties that impact our effective tax rate. For more information on risks related to tax regulation, see “Risks Related to Tax Matters” below.

We cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

Global climate change and related regulations could negatively affect our business.

The effects of climate change, such as extreme weather conditions and water scarcity, create financial risks to our business. For example, the demand for our products and services, such as commercial and residential air conditioning equipment, may be affected by unseasonable weather conditions. The effects of climate change could also disrupt our operations by impacting the availability and cost of materials needed for manufacturing and could increase insurance and other operating costs. These factors may impact our decisions to construct new facilities or maintain existing facilities in areas most prone to physical climate risks. We could also face indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain and disruptions that could result in increased prices for our products and the resources needed to produce them.

There is a general consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are linked to global climate change, and that these emissions must be reduced dramatically to avert the worst effects of climate change. Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change will result in more regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulations tend to be implemented under global, national and sub-national climate objectives or policies, and target the global warming potential (“GWP”) of refrigerants, equipment energy efficiency, and the combustion of fossil fuels as a heating source. Many of our products consume energy and use refrigerants. Regulations which seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions present a risk to our global products business, predominantly our HVAC business, if we do not adequately prepare our product portfolio. As a result, we may be required to make increased capital expenditures to improve our product portfolio to meet new regulations and standards. Further, our customers and the markets we serve may impose emissions or other environmental standards through regulation, market-based emissions policies or consumer preference that we may not be able to timely meet due to the required level of capital investment or technological advancement. While we have been committed to continuous improvements to our product portfolio to meet and exceed anticipated regulations and preferences, there can be no assurance that our commitments will be successful, that our products will be accepted by the market, that proposed regulation or deregulation will not have a negative competitive impact or that economic returns will reflect our investments in new product development.

There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. Such regulatory uncertainty extends to incentives, which if discontinued, could adversely impact the demand for energy efficient buildings, and could increase costs of compliance. These factors may impact the demand for our products, obsolescence of our products and our results of operations.

As of the date of this filing, we have made several public commitments regarding our intended reduction of carbon emissions, including commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and the establishment of science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions from our operations and the operations of our customers. Although we intend to meet these commitments, we

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may be required to expend significant resources to do so, which could increase our operational costs. Further, there can be no assurance of the extent to which any of our commitments will be achieved, or that any future investments we make in furtherance of achieving such targets and goals will meet investor expectations or any binding or non-binding legal standards regarding sustainability performance. Moreover, we may determine that it is in the best interest of our company and our stockholders to prioritize other business, social, governance or sustainable investments over the achievement of our current commitments based on economic, regulatory and social factors, business strategy or pressure from investors, activist groups or other stakeholders. If we are unable to meet these commitments, then we could incur adverse publicity and reaction from investors, activist groups our other stakeholders, which could adversely impact the perception of us and our products and services by current and potential customers, as well as investors, which could in turn adversely impact our results of operations.

We are subject to requirements relating to environmental and safety regulations and environmental remediation matters which could adversely affect our business, results of operation and reputation.

We are subject to numerous federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, solid and hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal, and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. There are significant capital, operating and other costs associated with compliance with these environmental laws and regulations. Environmental laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future, which could increase costs of compliance or require us to manufacture with alternative technologies and materials. For example, proposed federal, state and European Union legislative action concerning the use and clean-up of fire-fighting foam products could negatively impact our fire-fighting business and our results of operations, thereby enhancing the risks to our business described under “Potential liability for environmental contamination could result in substantial costs” below.

Federal, state and local authorities also regulate a variety of matters, including, but not limited to, health, safety laws governing employee injuries, and permitting requirements in addition to the environmental matters discussed above. If we are unable to adequately comply with applicable health and safety regulations and provide our employees with a safe working environment, we may be subject to litigation and regulatory action, in addition to negatively impacting our ability to attract and retain talented employees. New legislation and regulations may require the Company to make material changes to its operations, resulting in significant increases to the cost of production.

We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws around the world.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA"), the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials or other persons for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Recent years have seen a substantial increase in anti-bribery law enforcement activity, with more frequent and aggressive investigations and enforcement proceedings by both U.S. and non-U.S. regulators, and increases in criminal and civil proceedings brought against companies and individuals. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that are recognized as having governmental and commercial corruption and local customs and practices that can be inconsistent with anti-bribery laws. We cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or third-party intermediaries. In the event that we believe or have reason to believe that our employees or agents have or may have violated applicable anti-corruption laws, or if we are subject to allegations of any such violations, we may be required to investigate or have outside counsel investigate the relevant facts and circumstances, which can be expensive and require significant time and attention from senior management. Violations of these laws may result in criminal or civil sanctions, which could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, we could be subject to commercial impacts such as lost revenue from customers who decline to do business with us as a result of such compliance matters, or we could be subject to lawsuits brought by private litigants, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are subject to risks arising from regulations applicable to companies doing business with the U.S. government.

Our customers include many U.S. federal, state and local government authorities. Doing business with the U.S. government and state and local authorities subjects us to unusual risks, including dependence on the level of government spending and compliance with and changes in governmental procurement and security regulations. Agreements relating to the sale of products to government entities may be subject to termination, reduction or modification, either at the convenience of the government or for failure to perform under the applicable contract. We are subject to potential government investigations of business practices and compliance with government procurement and security regulations, which can be expensive and burdensome. If we were charged with wrongdoing as a result of an investigation, we could be suspended from bidding on or

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receiving awards of new government contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations. In addition, various U.S. federal and state legislative proposals have been made in the past that would deny governmental contracts to U.S. companies that have moved their corporate location abroad. We are unable to predict the likelihood that, or final form in which, any such proposed legislation might become law, the nature of regulations that may be promulgated under any future legislative enactments, or the effect such enactments and increased regulatory scrutiny may have on our business.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations

Our future growth is dependent upon our ability to develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance with acceptable margins.

Our future success depends on our ability to develop or acquire, manufacture and bring competitive, and increasingly complex, products and services to market quickly and cost-effectively. Our ability to develop or acquire new products, services and technologies requires the investment of significant resources. These acquisitions and development efforts divert resources from other potential investments in our businesses, and they may not lead to the development of new technologies, products or services on a timely basis. Moreover, as we introduce new products, we may be unable to detect and correct defects in the design of a product or in its application to a specified use, which could result in loss of sales or delays in market acceptance. Even after introduction, new or enhanced products may not satisfy customer preferences and product failures may cause customers to reject our products. As a result, these products may not achieve market acceptance and our brand image could suffer. We must also attract, develop and retain individuals with the requisite technical expertise and understanding of customers’ needs to develop new technologies and introduce new products, particularly as we increase investment in our digital services and solutions businesses and our OpenBlue platform. The laws and regulations applicable to our products, and our customers’ product and service needs, change from time to time, and regulatory changes may render our products and technologies noncompliant. We must also monitor disruptive technologies and business models. In addition, the markets for our products, services and technologies may not develop or grow as we anticipate. The failure of our technology, products or services to gain market acceptance due to more attractive offerings by our competitors, the introduction of new competitors to the market with new or innovative product offerings or the failure to address any of the above factors could significantly reduce our revenues, increase our operating costs or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The development of technology products and services presents security and safety risks.

An increasing number of our products, services and technologies, including our OpenBlue platform, are delivered with digital capabilities and the accompanying interconnected device networks, which include sensors, data, building management systems and advanced computing capabilities. If we are unable to manage the lifecycle cybersecurity risk in development, deployment and operation of our digital platforms and services, the possible consequences include financial loss, reputational damage, adverse health, safety, and environmental consequences, exposure to legal claims or enforcement actions, theft of intellectual property, fines levied by the Federal Trade Commission or other governmental organizations, the diminution in the value of our investment in research, development and engineering, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Cybersecurity incidents could disrupt business operations, result in the loss of critical and confidential information, and adversely impact our reputation and results of operations.

We rely upon the capacity, reliability and security of our IT and data security infrastructure and our ability to expand and continually update this infrastructure in response to the changing needs of our business. As we implement new systems or integrate existing systems, they may not perform as expected. We also face the challenge of supporting our older systems and implementing necessary upgrades. In addition, we are relying on our IT infrastructure to support our operations as we manage the impact of COVID-19, including through initiating remote-work protocols for a substantial number of our employees in regions impacted by the spread of the virus. If we experience a problem with the functioning of an important IT system as a result of the increased burden placed on our IT infrastructure or a security breach of our IT systems, including during system upgrades and/or new system implementations, the resulting disruptions could have an adverse effect on our business.

Global cybersecurity threats and incidents can range from uncoordinated individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to IT systems to sophisticated and targeted measures known as advanced persistent threats, directed at the Company, its products, its customers and/or its third-party service providers, including cloud providers. These threats and incidents originate from many sources globally and include malwares that take the form of computer viruses, ransomware, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, rogue software, and programs that act against the computer user. While we have experienced, and expect to

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continue to experience, these types of threats and incidents, none of them to date has been material to the Company. Our customers, including the U.S. government, are increasingly requiring cybersecurity protections and mandating cybersecurity standards in our products, and we may incur additional costs to comply with such demands. We seek to deploy comprehensive measures to deter, prevent, detect, respond to and mitigate these threats, including identity and access controls, data protection, vulnerability assessments, product software designs which we believe are less susceptible to cyber-attacks, continuous monitoring of our IT networks and systems, maintenance of backup and protective systems and the incorporation of cybersecurity design throughout the lifecycle of our products. Despite these efforts, cybersecurity incidents, depending on their nature and scope, could potentially result in the misappropriation, destruction, corruption or unavailability of critical data and confidential or proprietary information (our own or that of third parties) and the disruption of business operations. Such incidents could remain undetected for an extended period of time, and the losses arising from such incidents could exceed our available insurance coverage for such matters. Cybersecurity incidents aimed at the software imbedded in our products could lead to third-party claims that our product failures have caused a similar range of damages to our customers, and this risk is enhanced by the increasingly connected nature of our products and the role they play in managing building systems. The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include financial loss, reputational damage, adverse health, safety, and environmental consequences, exposure to legal claims or enforcement actions, theft of intellectual property, fines levied by the Federal Trade Commission or other governmental organizations, diminution in the value of our investment in research, development and engineering, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs, which in turn could adversely affect our competitiveness and results of operations.

Data privacy, identity protection and information security compliance may require significant resources and presents certain risks.

We collect, store, have access to and otherwise process certain confidential or sensitive data, including proprietary business information, personal data or other information that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations and/or customer-imposed controls. Despite our efforts to protect such data, our business and our products may be vulnerable to material security breaches, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming errors, or errors that could potentially lead to compromising such data, improper use of our products, systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions. A significant actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, employee or other data, whether by us, our suppliers, channel partners, customers or other third parties, as a result of employee error or malfeasance, or as a result of the imaging, software, security and other products we incorporate into our products, as well as non-compliance with applicable industry standards or our contractual or other legal obligations or privacy and information-security policies regarding such data, could result in costs, fines, litigation or regulatory actions, or could lead customers to select products and services of our competitors. In addition, any such event could harm our reputation, cause unfavorable publicity or otherwise adversely affect certain potential customers’ perception of the security and reliability of our services as well as our credibility and reputation, which could result in lost sales. In addition, we operate in an environment in which there are different and potentially conflicting data privacy laws in effect in the various U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate and we must understand and comply with each law and standard in each of these jurisdictions while ensuring the data is secure. For example, proposed regulations restricting the use of biometric security technology could impact the products and solutions offered by our security business. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and violations of data privacy laws can result in fines, reputational damage and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Infringement or expiration of our intellectual property rights, or allegations that we have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of third parties, could negatively affect us.

We rely on a combination of trademarks, trade secrets, patents, copyrights, know-how, confidentiality provisions and licensing arrangements to establish and protect our proprietary rights. We cannot guarantee, however, that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights or misappropriation or theft of our technology, trade secrets or know-how. For example, effective patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in some of the countries in which we operate. In addition, while we generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties to protect our trade secrets, know-how, business strategy and other proprietary information, such confidentiality agreements could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and know-how related to the design, manufacture or operation of our products. We, from time to time, resort to litigation to protect our intellectual property rights. Such proceedings can be burdensome and costly, and we may not prevail. Further, adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. Finally, for those products in our portfolio that rely on patent protection, once a patent has expired, the product is generally open to competition. Products under patent protection usually generate significantly higher revenues than

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those not protected by patents. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could suffer, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, we are, from time to time, subject to claims of intellectual property infringement by third parties, including practicing entities and non-practicing entities. Regardless of the merit of such claims, responding to infringement claims can be expensive and time-consuming. The litigation process is subject to inherent uncertainties, and we may not prevail in litigation matters regardless of the merits of our position. Intellectual property lawsuits or claims may become extremely disruptive if the plaintiffs succeed in blocking the trade of our products and services and they may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We rely on our global direct installation channel for a significant portion of our revenue. Failure to maintain and grow the installed base resulting from direct channel sales could adversely affect our business.

Unlike many of our competitors, we rely on a direct sales channel for a substantial portion of our revenue. The direct channel provides for the installation of fire and security solutions, and HVAC equipment manufactured by us. This represents a significant distribution channel for our products, creates a large installed base of our fire and security solutions, and HVAC equipment, and creates opportunities for longer term service and monitoring revenue. If we are unable to maintain or grow this installation business, whether due to changes in economic conditions, a failure to anticipate changing customer needs, a failure to introduce innovative or technologically advanced solutions, or for any other reason, our installation revenue could decline, which could in turn adversely impact our product pull-through and our ability to grow service and monitoring revenue.

Our business success depends on attracting and retaining qualified personnel.

Our ability to sustain and grow our business requires us to hire, retain and develop a high-performance, customer-centric and diverse management team and workforce. Continuous efficient and timely customer service, customer support and customer intimacy are essential to enabling customer loyalty and driving our financial results. Our growth strategies require that we pivot to new talent capability investments and build the workforce of the future, with an emphasis on developing skills in digital and consultative, outcome-based selling. Failure to ensure that we have the leadership and talent capacity with the necessary skillset and experience could impede our ability to deliver our growth objectives, execute our strategic plan and effectively transition our leadership. Organizational and reporting changes resulting from any future leadership transition or corporate initiatives could result in increased turnover. Additionally, any unplanned turnover or inability to attract and retain key employees could have a negative effect on our results of operations.

Our ability to convert backlog into revenue requires us to maintain a labor force that is sufficiently large enough to support our manufacturing operations to meet customer demand, as well as provide on-site services and project support for our customers. This includes recruiting, hiring and retaining skilled trade workers to support our direct channel field businesses. Recently, we have experienced the impacts of widespread shortages for both skilled and unskilled labor. While we have taken measures to mitigate the impact of these shortages and enhanced our ability to recruit and retain skilled and unskilled labor, we can provide no assurance that such efforts will be successful. If the impacts of labor shortages continue and our mitigation efforts are unsuccessful, this could limit our ability to convert backlog into revenue and negatively impact our results of operations.

A material disruption of our operations, particularly at our monitoring and/or manufacturing facilities, could adversely affect our business.

If our operations, particularly at our monitoring facilities and/or manufacturing facilities, were to be disrupted as a result of significant equipment failures, natural disasters, climate change, power outages, fires, explosions, terrorism, sabotage, adverse weather conditions, public health crises (including COVID-19 related shutdowns), labor disputes, labor shortages or other reasons, we may be unable to effectively respond to alarm signals, fill customer orders and otherwise meet obligations to or demand from our customers, which could adversely affect our financial performance. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced disruptions in certain of our manufacturing facilities resulting from government-mandated shutdowns during the onset of the pandemic and have more recently experienced labor shortages as we have sought to expand production capacity in response to increased demand. The continuation or recurrence of either of these trends could adversely affect our financial performance.

Interruptions in production could increase our costs and reduce our sales. Any interruption in production capability could require us to make substantial capital expenditures or purchase alternative material at higher costs to fill customer orders, which could negatively affect our profitability and financial condition. We maintain property damage insurance that we believe to be adequate to provide for reconstruction of facilities and equipment, as well as business interruption insurance to mitigate losses resulting from significant production interruption or shutdown caused by an insured loss. However, any recovery under our

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insurance policies may not offset the lost sales or increased costs that may be experienced during the disruption of operations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business may be adversely affected by work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with our labor force.

We employ approximately 101,000 people worldwide. Approximately 22% of these employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils. Although we believe that our relations with the labor unions and works councils that represent our employees are generally good and we have experienced no material strikes or work stoppages recently, no assurances can be made that we will not experience in the future these and other types of conflicts with labor unions, works councils, other groups representing employees or our employees generally, or that any future negotiations with our labor unions will not result in significant increases in our cost of labor. Additionally, a work stoppage at one of our suppliers could materially and adversely affect our operations if an alternative source of supply were not readily available. Stoppages by employees of our customers could also result in reduced demand for our products.

We are exposed to greater risks of liability for employee acts or omissions, or system failure, in our fire and security businesses than may be inherent in other businesses.

If a customer or third party believes that he or she has suffered harm to person or property due to an actual or alleged act or omission of one of our employees or a security or fire system failure, he or she may pursue legal action against us, and the cost of defending the legal action and of any judgment could be substantial. In particular, because many of our products and services are intended to protect lives and real and personal property, we may have greater exposure to litigation risks than businesses that provide other products and services. We could face liability for failure to respond adequately to alarm activations or failure of our fire protection to operate as expected. The nature of the services we provide exposes us to the risks that we may be held liable for employee acts or omissions or system failures. As a result, such employee acts or omissions or system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We do not own the right to use the ADT® brand name in the U.S. and Canada.

We own the ADT® brand name in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. and Canada, and The ADT Corporation ("ADT") owns the brand name in the U.S. and Canada. Although we have entered into agreements with ADT designed to protect the value of the ADT® brand, we cannot assure you that actions taken by ADT will not negatively impact the value of the brand outside of the U.S. and Canada. These factors expose us to the risk that the ADT® brand name could suffer reputational damage or devaluation for reasons outside of our control, including ADT's business conduct in the U.S. and Canada. Any of these factors may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Litigation

Potential liability for environmental contamination could result in substantial costs.

We have projects underway at multiple current and former manufacturing and testing facilities to investigate and remediate environmental contamination resulting from past operations by us or by other businesses that previously owned or used the properties, including our Fire Technology Center and Stanton Street manufacturing facility located in Marinette, Wisconsin. These projects relate to a variety of activities, including arsenic, solvent, oil, metal, lead, perfluorooctane sulfonate ("PFOS"), perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and/or other per- and polyfluorinated substances ("PFAS") and other hazardous substance contamination cleanup; and structure decontamination and demolition, including asbestos abatement. Because of uncertainties associated with environmental regulation and environmental remediation activities at sites where we may be liable, future expenses that we may incur to remediate identified sites and resolve outstanding litigation could be considerably higher than the current accrued liability on our consolidated statements of financial position, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, we have been named, along with others, in a number of class action and other lawsuits relating to the use of fire-fighting foam products by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. military and others for fire suppression purposes and related training exercises. It is difficult to predict the outcome or ultimate financial exposure, if any, represented by these matters, and there can be no assurance that any such exposure will not be material. Such claims may also negatively affect our reputation. See Note 23, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information on these matters.

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We are party to asbestos-related product litigation that could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We and certain of our subsidiaries, along with numerous other third parties, are named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits based on alleged exposure to asbestos containing materials. These cases typically involve product liability claims based primarily on allegations of manufacture, sale or distribution of industrial products that either contained asbestos or were used with asbestos containing components. We cannot predict with certainty the extent to which we will be successful in litigating or otherwise resolving lawsuits in the future and we continue to evaluate different strategies related to asbestos claims filed against us including entity restructuring and judicial relief. Unfavorable rulings, judgments or settlement terms could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See Note 23, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information on these matters.

Risks Relating to Strategic Transactions

We may be unable to successfully execute or effectively integrate acquisitions or joint ventures.

We expect acquisitions of businesses and assets, as well as joint ventures (or other strategic arrangements), to play a role in our future growth. We cannot be certain that we will be able to identify attractive acquisition or joint venture targets, obtain financing for acquisitions on satisfactory terms, successfully acquire identified targets or form joint ventures, or manage the timing of acquisitions with capital obligations across our businesses.

Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses and expenses. Acquisitions involve numerous other risks, including: the diversion of management attention to integration matters; difficulties in integrating operations and systems; challenges in conforming standards, controls, procedures and accounting and other policies, business cultures and compensation structures; difficulties in assimilating employees and in attracting and retaining key personnel; challenges in keeping existing customers and obtaining new customers; difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, business opportunities and growth prospects; contingent liabilities (including contingent tax liabilities and earn-out obligations) that are larger than expected; and potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with acquired companies.

The goodwill and intangible assets recorded with past acquisitions were significant and impairment of such assets could result in a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Competition for acquisition opportunities in the various industries in which we operate may rise, thereby increasing our costs of making acquisitions or causing us to refrain from making further acquisitions.

Many of these factors are outside of our control, and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreased expected revenues and diversion of management time and energy, which could materially impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks associated with joint venture investments may adversely affect our business and financial results.

We have entered into several joint ventures and we may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. Our joint venture partners may at any time have economic, business or legal interests or goals that are inconsistent with our goals or with the goals of the joint venture. In addition, we may compete against our joint venture partners in certain of our other markets. Disagreements with our business partners may impede our ability to maximize the benefits of our partnerships. Our joint venture arrangements may require us, among other matters, to pay certain costs or to make certain capital investments or to seek our joint venture partner’s consent to take certain actions. In addition, our joint venture partners may be unable or unwilling to meet their economic or other obligations under the operative documents, and we may be required to either fulfill those obligations alone to ensure the ongoing success of a joint venture or to dissolve and liquidate a joint venture. These risks could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Divestitures of some of our businesses or product lines may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We continually evaluate the performance and strategic fit of all of our businesses and may sell businesses or product lines. Divestitures involve risks, including difficulties in the separation of operations, services, products and personnel, the diversion of management's attention from other business concerns, the disruption of our business, the potential loss of key employees and the retention of uncertain environmental or other contingent liabilities related to the divested business. Some divestitures may be dilutive to earnings. In addition, divestitures may result in significant asset impairment charges, including those related to

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goodwill and other intangible assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that we encounter in divesting a business or product line, and any divestiture we undertake could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and may also result in a diversion of management attention, operational difficulties and losses.

Risks Related to Tax Matters

Future potential changes to the tax laws could adversely affect us and our affiliates.

Legislative and regulatory action may be taken in the U.S. and other jurisdictions in which we operate, which, if ultimately enacted, could override tax treaties upon which we rely, or broaden the circumstances under which we would be considered a U.S. resident, each of which could materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific legislative or regulatory proposals and such changes could have a prospective or retroactive application. However, if proposals were enacted that had the effect of disregarding the incorporation in Ireland or limiting Johnson Controls International plc’s ability, as an Irish company, to take advantage of tax treaties with the U.S., we could be subject to increased taxation, potentially significant expense, and/or other adverse tax consequences.

Recently, the U.S. Congress has advanced a variety of tax legislation proposals that are under consideration for potential legislative action. While the final form of any legislative action is still unknown, various proposals, if enacted, could have a material impact on the Company’s effective tax rate. In October 2021, 136 out of 140 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("IF"), including Ireland, politically committed to potentially fundamental changes to the international corporate tax system, including the potential implementation of a global minimum corporate tax rate. While the details of these pronouncements presently remain unclear and timing of implementation uncertain, the impact of local country IF adoption could have a material impact on our effective tax rate. It is also possible that jurisdictions in which we do business could react to such IF developments unilaterally by enacting tax legislation that could adversely affect us or our affiliates. There is also general uncertainty regarding the tax policies of the jurisdictions where we operate, and if changes are enacted, there could be a resulting increase in our effective tax rate.

The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") may not agree that we should be treated as a non-U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Under current U.S. federal tax law, a corporation is generally considered to be a tax resident in the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation. Because Johnson Controls International plc is an Irish incorporated entity, it would generally be classified as a non-U.S. corporation (and, therefore, a non-U.S. tax resident) under these rules. However, Section 7874 of the Code ("Section 7874") provides an exception to this general rule under which a non-U.S. incorporated entity may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Under Section 7874, if (1) former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders owned (within the meaning of Section 7874) 80% or more (by vote or value) of our ordinary shares after the Merger by reason of holding Johnson Controls, Inc. common stock (such ownership percentage the "Section 7874 ownership percentage"), and (2) our "expanded affiliated group" did not have "substantial business activities" in Ireland ("the substantial business activities test"), we will be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes. If the Section 7874 ownership percentage of the former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders after the Merger was less than 80% but at least 60%, and the substantial business activities test was not met, we and our U.S. affiliates (including the U.S. affiliates historically owned by Tyco) may, in some circumstances, be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax rules (which, among other things, could limit their ability to utilize certain U.S. tax attributes to offset U.S. taxable income or gain resulting from certain transactions). The application of these rules could result in significant additional U.S. tax liability and limit our ability to restructure or access cash earned by certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries, in each case, without incurring substantial U.S. tax liabilities.

Based on the terms of the Merger, the rules for determining share ownership under Section 7874 and certain factual assumptions, we believe that former Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders owned (within the meaning of Section 7874) less than 60% (by both vote and value) of our ordinary shares after the Merger by reason of holding shares of Johnson Controls, Inc. common stock. Therefore, under current law, we believe that we should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes and that Section 7874 should otherwise not apply to us or our affiliates as a result of the Merger.

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However, the determination of the Section 7874 ownership percentage is complex and is subject to factual and legal uncertainties. Thus, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with the position that we should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes or that Section 7874 does not otherwise apply as a result of the Merger.

Regardless of any application of Section 7874, we are treated as an Irish tax resident for Irish tax purposes. Consequently, if we were to be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes under Section 7874, we could be liable for both U.S. and Irish taxes, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes to the U.S. model income tax treaty could adversely affect us.

On February 17, 2016, the U.S. Treasury released a revised U.S. model income tax convention (the "new model"), which is the baseline text used by the U.S. Treasury to negotiate tax treaties. If any or all of the modifications to the model treaty are adopted in the main jurisdictions in which we do business, they could, among other things, cause double taxation, increase audit risk and substantially increase our worldwide tax liability. We cannot predict the outcome of any specific modifications to the model treaty, and we cannot provide assurance that any such modifications will not apply to us.

Negative or unexpected tax consequences could adversely affect our results of operations.

Adverse changes in the underlying profitability and financial outlook of our operations in several jurisdictions could lead to additional changes in our valuation allowances against deferred tax assets and other tax reserves on our statement of financial position, and the future sale of certain businesses could potentially result in the reversal of outside basis differences that could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, changes in tax laws in the U.S., Ireland or in other countries where we have significant operations could materially affect deferred tax assets and liabilities on our consolidated statements of financial position and our income tax provision in our consolidated statements of income.

We are also subject to tax audits by governmental authorities. Negative unexpected results from one or more such tax audits could adversely affect our results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Jurisdiction of Incorporation

Irish law differs from the laws in effect in the U.S. and may afford less protection to holders of our securities.

It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in the U.S. against us in Ireland based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws. In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons based on those laws. We have been advised that the U.S. currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any U.S. federal or state court based on civil liability, whether or not based solely on U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Ireland.

A judgment obtained against us will be enforced by the courts of Ireland if the following general requirements are met: U.S. courts must have had jurisdiction in relation to the particular defendant according to Irish conflict of law rules (the submission to jurisdiction by the defendant would satisfy this rule); and the judgment must be final and conclusive and the decree must be final and unalterable in the court which pronounces it.

A judgment can be final and conclusive even if it is subject to appeal or even if an appeal is pending. But where the effect of lodging an appeal under the applicable law is to stay execution of the judgment, it is possible that in the meantime the judgment may not be actionable in Ireland. It remains to be determined whether final judgment given in default of appearance is final and conclusive. Irish courts may also refuse to enforce a judgment of the U.S. courts which meets the above requirements for one of the following reasons: the judgment is not for a definite sum of money; the judgment was obtained by fraud; the enforcement of the judgment in Ireland would be contrary to natural or constitutional justice; the judgment is contrary to Irish public policy or involves certain U.S. laws which will not be enforced in Ireland; or jurisdiction cannot be obtained by the Irish courts over the judgment debtors in the enforcement proceedings by personal service Ireland or outside Ireland under Order 11 of the Irish Superior Courts Rules.

As an Irish company, Johnson Controls is governed by the Irish Companies Acts, which differ in some material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits. Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an Irish company

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generally are owed to the company only. Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal right of action against directors or officers of the company and may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the company only in limited circumstances. Accordingly, holders of Johnson Controls International plc securities may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would holders of securities of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the U.S.

Transfers of Johnson Controls ordinary shares may be subject to Irish stamp duty.

For the majority of transfers of Johnson Controls ordinary shares, there is no Irish stamp duty. However, Irish stamp duty is payable for certain share transfers. A transfer of Johnson Controls ordinary shares from a seller who holds shares beneficially (i.e., through the Depository Trust Company ("DTC")) to a buyer who holds the acquired shares beneficially is not subject to Irish stamp duty (unless the transfer involves a change in the nominee that is the record holder of the transferred shares). A transfer of Johnson Controls ordinary shares by a seller who holds shares directly (i.e., not through DTC) to any buyer, or by a seller who holds the shares beneficially to a buyer who holds the acquired shares directly, may be subject to Irish stamp duty (currently at the rate of 1% of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired, if higher) payable by the buyer. A shareholder who directly holds shares may transfer those shares into his or her own broker account to be held through DTC without giving rise to Irish stamp duty provided that the shareholder has confirmed to Johnson Controls transfer agent that there is no change in the ultimate beneficial ownership of the shares as a result of the transfer and, at the time of the transfer, there is no agreement in place for a sale of the shares.

We currently intend to pay, or cause one of our affiliates to pay, stamp duty in connection with share transfers made in the ordinary course of trading by a seller who holds shares directly to a buyer who holds the acquired shares beneficially. In other cases, Johnson Controls may, in its absolute discretion, pay or cause one of its affiliates to pay any stamp duty. Johnson Controls Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that, in the event of any such payment, Johnson Controls (i) may seek reimbursement from the buyer, (ii) may have a lien against the Johnson Controls ordinary shares acquired by such buyer and any dividends paid on such shares and (iii) may set-off the amount of the stamp duty against future dividends on such shares. Parties to a share transfer may assume that any stamp duty arising in respect of a transaction in Johnson Controls ordinary shares has been paid unless one or both of such parties is otherwise notified by Johnson Controls.

Dividends paid by us may be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax.

In certain circumstances, as an Irish tax resident company, we will be required to deduct Irish dividend withholding tax (currently at the rate of 20%) from dividends paid to our shareholders. Shareholders that are residents in the U.S., European Union countries (other than Ireland) or other countries with which Ireland has signed a tax treaty (whether the treaty has been ratified or not) generally should not be subject to Irish withholding tax so long as the shareholder has provided its broker, for onward transmission to our qualifying intermediary or other designated agent (in the case of shares held beneficially), or us or our transfer agent (in the case of shares held directly), with all the necessary documentation by the appropriate due date prior to payment of the dividend. However, some shareholders may be subject to withholding tax, which could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.

Dividends received by you could be subject to Irish income tax.

Dividends paid in respect of Johnson Controls ordinary shares generally are not subject to Irish income tax where the beneficial owner of these dividends is exempt from dividend withholding tax, unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls shareholders who receive their dividends subject to Irish dividend withholding tax generally will have no further liability to Irish income tax on the dividend unless the beneficial owner of the dividend has some connection with Ireland other than his or her shareholding in Johnson Controls.

General Risk Factors

General economic, political, credit and capital market conditions could adversely affect our financial performance, our ability to grow or sustain our businesses and our ability to access the capital markets.

We compete around the world in various geographic regions and product markets. Global economic and political conditions affect each of our primary businesses and the businesses of our customers and suppliers. Any future financial distress or disruption in the industries and/or markets where we compete could negatively affect our revenues and financial performance in future periods, result in future restructuring charges, and adversely impact our ability to grow or sustain our businesses. Further,

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negative economic conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in one or more countries or regions in which we operate could require changes to funding certain of our strategic growth investments.

The capital and credit markets provide us with liquidity to operate and grow our businesses beyond the liquidity that operating cash flows provide. A worldwide economic downturn and/or disruption of the credit markets could reduce our access to capital necessary for our operations and executing our strategic plan. If our access to capital were to become significantly constrained, or if costs of capital increased significantly due to lowered credit ratings, prevailing industry conditions, the volatility of the capital markets or other factors; then our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to adequately react to negative economic impacts that decrease demand for our products and services and/or negative movements in capital markets our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity could be adversely affected.

The potential insolvency or financial distress of third parties could adversely impact our business and results of operations.

We are exposed to the risk that third parties to various arrangements who owe us money or goods and services, or who purchase goods and services from us, will not be able to perform their obligations or continue to place orders due to insolvency or financial distress. Notably, the global COVID-19 pandemic created heightened risk that third parties may be unable to perform their obligations or suffer financial distress due to the global economic impact of the pandemic and the regulatory measures that have been enacted by governments, however, we are unable predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on any of our customers, suppliers, vendors, and other business partners, and each of their financial conditions or their ability to perform their obligations. If third parties fail to perform their obligations under arrangements with us, we may be forced to replace the underlying commitment at current or above market prices or on other terms that are less favorable to us. In such events, we may incur losses, or our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity could otherwise be adversely affected.

Legal proceedings in which we are, or may be, a party may adversely affect us.

We are currently, and may in the future, become subject to legal proceedings and commercial or contractual disputes. These are typically claims that arise in the normal course of business including, without limitation, commercial or contractual disputes with our suppliers or customers, intellectual property matters, third party liability, including product liability claims, and employment claims.

Risks related to our defined benefit retirement plans may adversely impact our results of operations and cash flow.

Significant changes in actual investment return on defined benefit plan assets, discount rates, mortality assumptions and other factors could adversely affect our results of operations and the amounts of contributions we must make to our defined benefit plans in future periods. Because we mark-to-market our defined benefit plan assets and liabilities on an annual basis, large non-cash gains or losses could be recorded in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or when a remeasurement event occurs. Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. require that we calculate income or expense for the plans using actuarial valuations. These valuations reflect assumptions about financial markets and interest rates, which may change based on economic conditions. Funding requirements for our defined benefit plans are dependent upon, among other factors, interest rates, underlying asset returns and the impact of legislative or regulatory changes related to defined benefit funding obligations. For a discussion regarding the significant assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost, refer to "Critical Accounting Estimates" included in Item 7, "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

A downgrade in the ratings of our debt could restrict our ability to access the debt capital markets and increase our interest costs.

Unfavorable changes in the ratings that rating agencies assign to our debt may ultimately negatively impact our access to the debt capital markets and increase the costs we incur to borrow funds. If ratings for our debt fall below investment grade, our access to the debt capital markets would become restricted and the price we pay to issue debt could increase. Historically, we have relied on our ability to issue commercial paper rather than to draw on our credit facility to support our daily operations, which means that a downgrade in our ratings or volatility in the financial markets causing limitations to the debt capital markets could have an adverse effect on our business or our ability to meet our liquidity needs.

Additionally, several of our credit agreements generally include an increase in interest rates if the ratings for our debt are downgraded. Further, an increase in the level of our indebtedness may increase our vulnerability to adverse general economic and industry conditions and may affect our ability to obtain additional financing.

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A variety of other factors could adversely affect the results of operations of our business.

Any of the following could materially and adversely impact the results of operations of our business: loss of, changes in, or failure to perform under guaranteed performance contracts with our major customers; cancellation of, or significant delays in, projects in our backlog; delays or difficulties in new product development; our ability to recognize the expected benefits of our restructuring actions, financial instability or market declines of our major component suppliers; price increases of limited-source components, products and services that we are unable to pass on to the market; unseasonable weather conditions in various parts of the world; changes in energy costs or governmental regulations that would decrease the incentive for customers to update or improve their building control systems; and natural or man-made disasters or losses that impact our ability to deliver products and services to our customers.

ITEM 1B    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

The Company has no unresolved written comments regarding its periodic or current reports from the staff of the SEC.

ITEM 2    PROPERTIES

The Company has properties in over 60 countries throughout the world, with its world headquarters located in Cork, Ireland and its North American operational headquarters located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. The Company’s wholly- and majority-owned facilities primarily consist of manufacturing, sales and service offices, research and development facilities, monitoring centers, and assembly and/or warehouse centers. At September 30, 2021, these properties totaled approximately 40 million square feet of floor space of which 14 million square feet are owned and 26 million square feet are leased. The Company considers its facilities to be suitable for their current uses and adequate for current needs. The majority of the facilities are operating at normal levels based on capacity. The Company does not anticipate difficulty in renewing existing leases as they expire or in finding alternative facilities.

ITEM 3    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Gumm v. Molinaroli, et al.

On August 16, 2016, a putative class action lawsuit, Gumm v. Molinaroli, et al., Case No. 16-cv-1093, was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, naming Johnson Controls, Inc., the individual members of its board of directors at the time of the merger with the Company’s merger subsidiary and certain of its officers, the Company and the Company’s merger subsidiary as defendants. The complaint asserted various causes of action under the federal securities laws, state law and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, including that the individual defendants allegedly breached their fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched themselves by structuring the merger among the Company, Tyco and the merger subsidiary in a manner that would result in a United States federal income tax realization event for the putative class of certain Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders and allegedly result in certain benefits to the defendants, as well as related claims regarding alleged misstatements in the proxy statement/prospectus distributed to the Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders, conversion and breach of contract. The complaint also asserted that Johnson Controls, Inc., the Company and the Company’s merger subsidiary aided and abetted the individual defendants in their breach of fiduciary duties and unjust enrichment. The complaint seeks, among other things, disgorgement of profits and damages. On September 30, 2016, approximately one month after the closing of the merger, plaintiffs filed a preliminary injunction motion seeking, among other items, to compel Johnson Controls, Inc. to make certain intercompany payments that plaintiffs contend will impact the United States federal income tax consequences of the merger to the putative class of certain Johnson Controls, Inc. shareholders and to enjoin Johnson Controls, Inc. from reporting to the Internal Revenue Service the capital gains taxes payable by this putative class as a result of the closing of the merger. The court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion on January 4, 2017, and on January 25, 2017, the judge denied the plaintiffs' motion. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on February 15, 2017, and the Company filed a motion to dismiss on April 3, 2017. On October 17, 2019, the court heard oral arguments on the motion to dismiss and took the matter under advisement. On November 3, 2021, the court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint.

Refer to Note 23, "Commitments and Contingencies," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for discussion of environmental, asbestos, insurable liabilities and other litigation matters, which is incorporated by reference herein and is considered an integral part of Part I, Item 3, "Legal Proceedings."

ITEM 4    MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, the following list of executive officers of the Company as of November 15, 2021 is included as an unnumbered Item in Part I of this report in lieu of being included in the Company’s Proxy Statement relating to the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on March 9, 2022.

Tomas Brannemo, 50, has served as Vice President and President, Building Solutions, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America since September 2019. He previously served as Senior Vice President and President, Water Infrastructure and Europe Commercial Team of Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company. At Xylem, he also served as Senior Vice President and President, Transport and Treatment, from 2017 to 2019 and other roles from 2010 to 2017. Between 2006 and 2010, he held various marketing, sales and engineering positions at Volvo Construction Company.

John Donofrio, 59, has served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Company since November 15, 2017.  He previously served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Mars, Incorporated, a global food manufacturer from October 2013 to November 2017. Before joining Mars in October 2013, Mr. Donofrio was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for The Shaw Group Inc., a global engineering and construction company, from October 2009 until February 2013. Prior to joining Shaw, Mr. Donofrio was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Visteon Corporation, a global automotive supplier, a position he held from 2005 until October 2009. Mr. Donofrio has been a Director of FARO Technologies, Inc., a designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of software driven, 3D measurement, imaging and realization systems, since 2008.

Michael J. Ellis, 65, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Customer & Digital Officer since October 2019.  From May 2018 to October 2019, he served as a Managing Director at Accenture, a global provider of professional services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of ForgeRock, a global digital security software company, from 2012 to 2018. Prior to joining ForgeRock, from 2008 to 2012, he held various senior executive roles at SAP SE, a global provider of enterprise software solutions. Previously, he also served as Chief Executive Officer of Univa, a leading innovator in enterprise-grade workload management and optimization solutions, and as Senior Vice President Business Development at i2 Technologies, a provider of supply chain solutions. Mr. Ellis also serves as a director on the board of CBRE Acquisition Holdings Inc.

Visal Leng, 51, has served as Vice President and President, Building Solutions, Asia Pacific since September 2018.  He previously served as President Asia Pacific of Baker Hughes, the world’s first and only full stream provider of integrated oilfield products, services and digital solutions, from July 2017 to September 2018.  Prior to the merger of Baker Hughes with General Electric in 2017, he held a number of roles with increasing responsibility in General Electric from his hire in November 1996, including President of its Asia Pacific oil and gas operations from January 2014 to July 2017; and Asia Pacific Regional General Manager from October 2011 to December 2013.

Olivier Leonetti, 56, has served as Chief Financial Officer since November 2020. Prior to joining Johnson Controls, Mr. Leonetti served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Zebra Technologies, a provider of enterprise-level data capture and automatic identification solutions, a position he had held since November 2016. Prior to joining Zebra, Mr. Leonetti was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Western Digital, a provider of data infrastructure solutions from 2014 to 2016. Prior to joining Western Digital, Mr. Leonetti served as Vice President of Finance – Global Commercial Organization at Amgen, Inc. from 2011 to 2014. From 1997 to 2011, Mr. Leonetti served in various senior finance positions with increasing responsibility at Dell Inc., including most recently as Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Dell Inc., Mr. Leonetti served in various worldwide finance capacities with Lex Rac Service plc and the Gillette Company. Mr. Leonetti also serves as a director on the board of Eaton Corporation plc, a provider of power management technologies and services.

Nathan Manning, 45, has served as Vice President and President, Building Solutions, North America since October 2020. He previously served as Vice President and General Manager, Field Operations, from March 2020 to October 2020 and Vice President and General Manager, HVAC and Controls Building Solutions North America, from January 2019 to March 2020. Prior to joining Johnson Controls, he served in various roles at General Electric, a diversified industrial and technology company, where he held the position of General Manager, Operational Excellence for General Electric’s GE Power segment from August 2017 until December 2018 and the position of General Manager, Services of GE Energy Connections, a division of GE Power, from November 2015 until August 2017. Prior to joining General Electric, Mr. Manning served as Vice President, General Manager of Eaton Aerospace, a segment of Eaton Corporation plc, a provider of power management technologies and services, from February 2014 until November 2015. Prior to joining Eaton, Mr.

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Manning served in a number of roles with increasing responsibility in General Electric from his hire in January 2000, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aviage Systems, a joint venture between General Electric and Aviation Industry Corporation of China, from July 2012 until February 2014.

George R. Oliver, 62, has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since September 2017. He previously served as our President and Chief Operating Officer following the completion of the merger of Johnson Controls and Tyco in September 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Oliver was Tyco's Chief Executive Officer, a position he held since September 2012. He joined Tyco in July 2006, and served as President of a number of operating segments from 2007 through 2011. Before joining Tyco, he served in operational leadership roles of increasing responsibility at several General Electric divisions. Mr. Oliver also serves as a Director on the board of Raytheon Technologies, an aerospace and defense company.

Ganesh Ramaswamy, 53, has served as Vice President and President, Global Services for Johnson Controls since December 2019. From 2015 to 2019, Mr. Ramaswamy served in various executive leadership roles at Danaher Corporation, a diversified manufacturer of life sciences, diagnostics, and industrial products and services, including Senior Vice President, High Growth markets—Beckman Coulter, President, Videojet Technologies, and, most recently, as Danaher Vice President & Group Executive, Marking & Coding. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Ramaswamy served in various executive roles at Pentax Medical, a provider of endoscopic imaging devices and solutions, including as President of Pentax Medical from 2013 to 2015. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ramaswamy served in various roles of increasing responsibility with the General Electric Company across product development, service operations, and general management. Mr. Ramaswamy also serves as a director on the board of PACCAR, a global manufacturer of heavy-duty and medium-duty trucks.

Marlon Sullivan, 47, became Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2021. Prior to joining Johnson Controls, he served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Delta Airlines from January 2021 to September 2021. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. Sullivan served in various human resources and talent development leadership roles at Abbott Laboratories from December 2007 through December 2020. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sullivan held a variety of human resources roles at The Home Depot.

Robert VanHimbergen, 45, has served as Vice President and Corporate Controller since December 2017. Mr. VanHimbergen joined Johnson Controls in 2007 as the Corporate Director of Global Accounting and has held various Corporate and Power Solutions positions of increasing responsibility. His most recent position was serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, an Adient joint venture, formed in 2015. Mr. VanHimbergen began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998. 

Jeff M. Williams, 60, has served as Vice President and President, Global Products, Building Technologies and Solutions since July 2019. He previously served as Vice President and President, Building Solutions, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America from March 2017 to July 2019. Prior thereto, he served as Vice President - Enterprise Operations - Engineering and Supply Chain from January 2015 through the Merger to March 2017.  With respect to roles at Johnson Controls, Inc., he served as Vice President, Program Management Office from 2015 to 2016, as Group Vice President and General Manager Global Seating & Supply Chain from 2013 to 2014, and as Group Vice President and General Manager Customer Group Americas from 2010 to 2012. Mr. Williams joined Johnson Controls, Inc. in 1984.

There are no family relationships, as defined by the instructions to this item, among the Company’s executive officers.

PART II

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

The shares of the Company’s ordinary shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JCI."

	Number of Record Holders
Title of Class	as of October 31, 2021
Ordinary Shares, $0.01 par value	31,522

In March 2021, the Company's Board of Directors approved a $4.0 billion increase to the Company's share repurchase authorization, adding to the $2.0 billion remaining as of December 31, 2020 under the prior share repurchase authorization

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approved in 2019. The share repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and may be amended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time without prior notice. During fiscal year 2021, the Company repurchased approximately $1.3 billion of its ordinary shares on an open market. As of September 30, 2021, approximately $5.1 billion remains available under the share repurchase authorization.

The following table presents information regarding the repurchase of the Company’s ordinary shares by the Company as part of the publicly announced program during the three months ended September 30, 2021.

Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of the Publicly Announced Program	Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased under the Programs
7/1/21 - 7/31/21
Purchases by Company	32,364	$	68.47	32,364	$	5,359,251,102
8/1/21 - 8/31/21
Purchases by Company	1,228,776	73.20		1,228,776	5,269,300,749
9/1/21 - 9/30/21
Purchases by Company	2,921,433	73.34		2,921,433	5,055,053,808

During the three months ended September 30, 2021, acquisitions of shares by the Company from certain employees in order to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements in connection with the vesting of restricted shares were not material.

Equity compensation plan information is incorporated by reference from Part III, Item 12, "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters," of this document and should be considered an integral part of this Item 5.

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The following information in Item 5 is not deemed to be "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such a filing.

The line graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company's ordinary shares with the cumulative total return of companies on the Standard & Poor’s ("S&P’s") 500 Stock Index and the companies on the S&P 500 Industrials Index. This graph assumes the investment of $100 on September 30, 2016 and the reinvestment of all dividends since that date.

ITEM 6    [RESERVED]

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

General

Johnson Controls International plc, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is a global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. The Company’s products, services, systems and solutions advance the safety, comfort and intelligence of spaces to serve people, places and the planet. The Company is committed to helping its customers win and creating greater value for all of its stakeholders through its strategic focus on buildings.

The Company is a global leader in engineering, manufacturing and commissioning building products and systems, including residential and commercial HVAC equipment, industrial refrigeration systems, controls, security systems, fire-detection systems and fire-suppression solutions. The Company further serves customers by providing technical services, including maintenance, management, repair, retrofit and replacement of equipment (in the HVAC, industrial refrigeration, security and fire-protection space), energy-management consulting and data-driven “smart building” services and solutions powered by its OpenBlue software platform and capabilities. The Company partners with customers by leveraging its broad product portfolio and digital capabilities powered by OpenBlue, together with its direct channel service and solutions capabilities, to deliver outcome-based solutions across the lifecycle of a building that address customers’ needs to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This discussion summarizes the significant factors affecting the consolidated operating results, financial condition and liquidity of the Company for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. This discussion should be read in conjunction with Item 8, the consolidated financial statements and the notes to consolidated financial statements. A detailed discussion of the 2020 to 2019

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year-over-year changes are not included herein and can be found in the Management's Discussion and Analysis section in the Company's 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed November 16, 2020 under the heading "Fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019," which is incorporated herein by reference.

Macroeconomic Trends

Much of the demand for installation of the Company’s products and solutions is driven by commercial and residential construction and industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects. Commercial and residential construction projects are heavily dependent on general economic conditions, localized demand for commercial and residential real estate and availability of credit. Positive or negative fluctuations in commercial and residential construction, industrial facility expansion and maintenance projects and other capital investments in buildings could have a corresponding impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

As a result of the Company’s global presence, a significant portion of its revenues and expenses is denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Company is therefore subject to non-U.S. currency risks and non-U.S. exchange exposure. While the Company employs financial instruments to hedge some of its transactional foreign exchange exposure, these activities do not insulate it completely from those exposures. Exchange rates can be volatile and a substantial weakening or strengthening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar could increase or reduce the Company’s profit margin in various locations outside of the U.S. and impact the comparability of results from period to period.

The Company continues to observe trends demonstrating increased interest and demand for safe, efficient and sustainable buildings, and seeks to capitalize on these trends to drive growth by developing and delivering technologies and solutions to create smart and healthy buildings. In 2020, the Company launched its software platform, OpenBlue, enabling enterprises to manage all aspects of their physical spaces delivering sustainability, new occupant experiences, and safety and security by combining the Company’s building expertise with cutting-edge technology, including AI-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, compliance monitoring and advanced risk assessments. The Company continues to leverage its install base, together with data-driven products and services to offer outcome-based solutions to customers with a focus on generating accelerated growth in services and recurring revenue for the Company. In January 2021, the Company committed to invest 75 percent of its new product research and development in climate-related innovation to develop sustainable products and services.

The Company has experienced, and expects to continue to experience, increased input material cost inflation and component shortages, as well as disruptions and delays in its supply chain, as a result of global macroeconomic trends (including increased global demand), government-mandated actions in response to COVID-19 and labor shortages. Actions taken by the Company to mitigate supply chain disruptions and inflation, including expanding and redistributing its supplier network, supplier financing, price increases and productivity improvements, have generally been successful in offsetting some, but not all, of the impact of these trends. As a result, these trends have negatively impacted the Company’s revenue and margins. The Company expects that these trends will continue in fiscal year 2022. Therefore, the Company could experience further disruptions, shortages and price increases in the future, the effect of which will depend on the Company’s ability to successfully mitigate and offset the impact of these events.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The global outbreak of COVID-19 severely restricted the level of economic activity around the world and caused a significant contraction in the global economy.

The Company’s affiliates, employees, suppliers, customers and others have been and may continue to be restricted or prevented from conducting normal business activities, including as a result of shutdowns, travel restrictions and other actions that may be requested or mandated by governmental authorities. Although shutdown orders and similar restrictions have been lifted in many jurisdictions in conjunction with the global distribution of vaccines, challenges in achieving sufficient vaccination levels and the spread of new variants of COVID-19 have caused some governments to extend or reinstitute restrictions in impacted areas. During fiscal 2021, the Company’s facilities generally operated at normal levels.

The Company continues to focus its efforts on preserving the health and safety of its employees and customers, as well as maintaining the continuity of its operations. The Company modified its business practices in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including restricting non-essential employee travel, implementing remote work protocols, and limiting physical participation in meetings, events and conferences. The Company also instituted preventive measures at its facilities, including enhanced health and safety protocols, temperature screening, requiring face coverings for all unvaccinated employees and encouraging employees to follow similar protocols when away from work. The Company has adopted and implemented a

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multifaceted framework to guide its decision making as it reopens its offices and facilities to employees, and will continue to monitor and audit its facilities to ensure that they are in compliance with the Company’s COVID-19 safety requirements.

The Company initially experienced a decline in demand and volumes in its global businesses as a result of the impact of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, during portions of fiscal 2020, the Company experienced lower demand due to restricted access to customer sites to perform service and installation work as well as reduced discretionary capital spending by the Company's customers. In fiscal 2021, the Company has experienced increases in both demand and volumes as governments have distributed vaccines and lifted COVID-19-related restrictions, leading to increases in retrofit activity and, to a lesser extent, commercial building construction. The global pandemic has also provided the Company with the opportunity to help its customers prepare to re-open by delivering solutions and support that enhance the safety and increase the efficiency of their operations. As a result of the pandemic, the Company has seen an increase in demand for its products and solutions that promote building health and optimize customers’ infrastructure, including thermal cameras, indoor air quality, location-based services for contact tracing and touchless access control.

However, the Company continues to be influenced by COVID-19-related trends impacting site access and the labor force, which have and may continue to negatively impact the Company’s revenues and margins. Challenges in reaching sufficient vaccination levels and the introduction of new variants of COVID-19 have caused some governments to extend or reinstitute lockdowns and similar restrictive measures, which, in some cases, have limited the Company’s ability to access customer sites to install and maintain its products and deliver services. In addition, the Company has experienced and continues to experience labor shortages at certain facilities as the Company expands its production capacity to meet increased customer demand. Although the Company is mitigating these shortages through focused recruitment efforts and competitive compensation packages, the Company could continue to experience such shortages in the future. Recently, the U.S. Government has promulgated orders mandating vaccinations or regular COVID-19 testing for large employers and federal contractors. The Company’s efforts to comply with these mandates, including requiring that some or all of its employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, could result in increased labor attrition or disruption, and could adversely impact the Company’s ability to deliver services to our U.S. federal government customers and potentially other customers.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the resurgence of COVID-19 and its variants in regions recovering from the impacts of the pandemic, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and the speed at which populations are vaccinated around the globe, the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity, and regulatory actions taken to contain its impact on public health and the global economy. See Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for an additional discussion of risks related to COVID-19.

Restructuring and Cost Optimization Initiatives

To better align its resources with its growth strategies and reduce the cost structure of its global operations in certain underlying markets, the Company has committed to various restructuring plans. In fiscal 2021, the Company announced its plans to optimize its cost structure through broad-based SG&A actions focused on simplification, standardization and centralization, with the intent to deliver annualized savings of $300 million by fiscal 2023. Additionally, the Company announced cost of sales actions to drive $250 million in annual run rate savings by fiscal 2023. For more information on the Company’s restructuring plans, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Restructuring.”

FISCAL YEAR 2021 COMPARED TO FISCAL YEAR 2020

Net Sales

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Net sales	$	23,668	$	22,317	6	%

The increase in net sales was due to higher organic sales ($932 million), the favorable impact of foreign currency translation ($447 million) and incremental sales from acquisitions ($253 million), partially offset by lower sales due to business divestitures ($275 million) and the impact of nonrecurring purchase accounting adjustments ($6 million). Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, business acquisitions and divestitures and nonrecurring adjustments, consolidated net sales increased 4% as compared to the prior year, primarily attributable to the increased demand generated by the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of net sales by segment.

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Cost of Sales / Gross Profit

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021			2020			Change
Cost of sales	$	15,609		$	14,906		5	%
Gross profit	8,059			7,411			9	%
% of sales	34.1		%	33.2		%

Cost of sales and gross profit both increased and gross profit as a percentage of sales increased by 90 basis points. Gross profit increased due to organic sales growth, favorable year-over-year impact of net pension mark-to-market adjustments ($207 million) and business acquisitions, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($307 million) and business divestitures. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment earnings before interest, taxes and amortization ("EBITA").

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021			2020			Change
Selling, general and administrative expenses	$	5,258		$	5,665		-7	%
% of sales	22.2		%	25.4		%

Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A") decreased by $407 million, and SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased by 320 basis points. The decrease in SG&A was primarily due to favorable year-over-year impact of net mark-to-market adjustments on pension plans ($453 million) and favorable impacts of cost mitigation actions and reductions in discretionary spend in the current year, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation ($97 million). Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

Restructuring and Impairment Costs

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Restructuring and impairment costs	$	242	$	783	-69	%

Refer to Note 17, "Significant Restructuring and Impairment Costs," Note 18, "Impairment of Long-Lived Assets," and Note 8, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further disclosure related to the Company's restructuring plans and impairment costs.

Net Financing Charges

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Net financing charges	$	206	$	231	-11	%

Refer to Note 10, "Debt and Financing Arrangements," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further disclosure related to the Company's net financing charges.

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Equity Income

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Equity income	$	261	$	171	53	%

The increase in equity income was primarily due to higher income at certain partially-owned affiliates of the Johnson Controls - Hitachi joint venture. Foreign currency translation had a favorable impact on equity income of $12 million. Refer to the "Segment Analysis" below within Item 7 for a discussion of segment EBITA.

Income Tax Provision

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021			2020			Change
Income tax provision	$	868		$	108		*
Effective tax rate	33		%	12		%

* Measure not meaningful

The statutory tax rate in Ireland of 12.5% is being used as a comparison since the Company is domiciled in Ireland.

For fiscal 2021, the effective tax rate for continuing operations was 33% and was higher than the statutory tax rate primarily due to the tax impacts of an intercompany transfer of certain of the Company’s intellectual property rights, valuation allowance adjustments, the income tax effects of mark-to-market adjustments and tax rate differentials, partially offset by the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives.

For fiscal 2020, the effective rate for continuing operations was 12% and was lower than the statutory tax rate primarily due to tax audit reserve adjustments, the income tax effects of mark-to-market adjustments, valuation allowance adjustments and the benefits of continuing global tax planning initiatives, partially offset by a discrete tax charge related to the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of Swiss tax reform, the tax impact of an impairment charge and tax rate differentials.

The fiscal 2021 effective tax rate increased as compared to fiscal 2020 primarily due to the discrete tax items. The fiscal year 2021 and 2020 global tax planning initiatives related primarily to changes in entity tax status, global financing structures and alignment of the Company's global business functions in a tax efficient manner. Refer to Note 19, "Income Taxes," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further details.

In October 2021, 136 out of 140 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("IF"), including Ireland, politically committed to potentially fundamental changes to the international corporate tax system, including the potential implementation of a global minimum corporate tax rate. While the details of these pronouncements presently remain unclear and timing of implementation uncertain, the impact of local country IF adoption could have a material impact on our effective tax rate in future periods. It is also possible that jurisdictions in which we do business could react to such IF developments unilaterally by enacting tax legislation that could adversely affect us or our affiliates.

Income From Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	$	124	$	—	*

* Measure not meaningful

Refer to Note 3, "Discontinued Operations," of the notes to consolidated financial statements for further information.

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Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Income from continuing operations attributable   to noncontrolling interests	$	233	$	164	42	%

The increase in income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily due to higher net income at certain partially-owned affiliates within the Global Products segment.

Net Income Attributable to Johnson Controls

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Net income attributable to Johnson Controls	$	1,637	$	631	*

* Measure not meaningful

The increase in net income attributable to Johnson Controls was primarily due to higher gross profit, lower restructuring and impairment costs and lower SG&A, partially offset by higher income tax provision. Fiscal 2021 diluted earnings per share attributable to Johnson Controls was $2.27 compared to $0.84 in fiscal 2020.

Comprehensive Income Attributable to Johnson Controls

	Year Ended September 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		Change
Comprehensive income attributable to   Johnson Controls	$	1,979	$	650	*

* Measure not meaningful

The increase in comprehensive income attributable to Johnson Controls wa