8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 8-K

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CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 10, 2020

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A. O. Smith Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Delaware	1-475	39-0619790
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

11270 West Park Place, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53224

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(414) 359-4000

(Registrant’s telephone number)

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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐	Written communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 204.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13-e4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock (par value $1.00 per share)	AOS	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

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. ☐

Item 7.01    Regulation FD Disclosure

A.O. Smith Corporation hereby furnishes as Exhibit 99.1 a copy of A. O. Smith Corporation’s slide presentation for the Baird 50th annual Global Industrial Conference scheduled on November 10, 2020.

Item 9.01    Financial Statements and Exhibits

The following exhibit is being filed herewith:

(99.1)    Presentation of A. O. Smith Corporation, November 10, 2020.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	A. O. SMITH CORPORATION
Date: November 10, 2020	By:	/s/ James F. Stern
		James F. Stern
		Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1 Baird’s 2020 Global Industrial Conference Kevin Wheeler Chairman, President and CEO

Forward Looking Statements This presentation contains statements that we believe are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “ forecast,“ “guidance” or words of similar meaning. All forward- looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of this presentation. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations include, among other things, the following: negative impacts to our businesses, including demand for our products, particularly commercial products, operations and workforce dislocation and disruption, supply chain disruption and liquidity as a result of the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; a failure to recover or further weakening of the Chinese economy and/or a failure to recover or further decline in the growth rate of consumer spending or housing sales in China; negative impact to our businesses from international tariffs and trade disputes; a failure to recover or further weakening in the high efficiency boiler market segment in the U.S.; significant volatility in raw material availability and prices; our inability to implement or maintain pricing actions; potential weakening in U.S. residential or commercial construction or instability in our replacement markets; foreign currency fluctuations; inability to successfully integrate or achieve our strategic objectives resulting from acquisitions; competitive pressures on our businesses; the impact of potential information technology or data security breaches; changes in government regulations or regulatory requirements; and adverse developments in general economic, political and business conditions in the key regions of the world. Forward-looking statements included in this presentation are made only as of the date of this presentation, and the company is under no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking statements attributed to the company, or persons acting on its behalf, are qualified entirely by these cautionary statements. This presentation contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as that term is defined by the SEC. Non-GAAP financial measures are generally identified by “Adjusted” (Adj.) or “Non-GAAP.” 2

Who We Are $3.0B Annual Sales 15,100 Employees GLOBAL MANUFACTURER of residential and commercial water heaters, boilers and 23 Manufacturing Facilities water treatment products 3

Compelling Investment Thesis Market leader Stable/growing U.S. Strength of premium 5 year adjusted EPS Strong balance sheet replacement market; brand, distribution, CAGR through 2019 and cash flow to operating leverage manufacturing and = 12.7% support future from incremental new innovation provide growth, share 5 year dividend CAGR construction and clear market repurchase and through 2019 = replacement advantage in China acquisitions 24.5% 5 year cumulative cash returned to shareholders from dividends and shares repurchased = $1.4 billion 4

Corporate Snapshot Segment Revenue Products • Water Heaters • Water Treatment • Boilers Brands Full Year 2019 North America 69% Rest of World 31% North America ROW 5

M&A Criteria and Focus Accretive to ROIC in excess of Meet risk adjusted Margin accretion earnings in the cost of capital by IRR hurdle rates with growth rates first year third year higher than U.S. GDP Geographic Growth Expand / Grow the Core Adjacencies . High Growth Markets New Products & . Water-themed New Technologies platforms for growth . Water Heating . Leverage channels and brands . Water Treatment 6

Pricing Update • Steel costs, freight costs and labor costs have increased over the past 90 days. In response, we announced a price increase at various levels, depending on the product, on the majority of our U.S. water heater products, effective February 1, 2021. 7

XML

Cover Page	Nov. 10, 2020
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Nov. 10, 2020
Entity Registrant Name	A. O. Smith Corporation
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity File Number	1-475
Entity Tax Identification Number	39-0619790
Entity Address, Address Line One	11270 West Park Place
Entity Address, City or Town	Milwaukee
Entity Address, State or Province	WI
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	53224
City Area Code	414
Local Phone Number	359-4000
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock (par value $1.00 per share)
Trading Symbol	AOS
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000091142
Amendment Flag	false