BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 1-4448

Baxter International Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code 224.948.2000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.    ☑

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.

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 29, 2018 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), based on the per share closing sale price of $73.84 on that date and the assumption for the purpose of this computation only that all of the registrant’s directors and executive officers are affiliates, was approximately $40 billion. The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, $1.00 par value, outstanding as of January 31, 2019 was 512,538,202.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive 2019 proxy statement for use in connection with its Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 7, 2019 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Company Overview

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a broad portfolio of essential healthcare products, including acute and chronic dialysis therapies; sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; inhaled anesthetics; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; and surgical hemostat and sealant products.  In 2017, Baxter added capabilities in the production of essential generic injectable medicines with the acquisition of Claris Injectables Limited (Claris). The company’s global footprint and critical nature of its products and services play a key role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed countries. These products are used by hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, doctors’ offices and by patients at home under physician supervision. As of December 31, 2018, Baxter manufactured products in over 20 countries and sold them in over 100 countries.

Baxter International Inc. was incorporated under Delaware law in 1931. As used in this report, “Baxter International” means Baxter International Inc. and “Baxter,” the “company” or the “Company” means Baxter International and its consolidated subsidiaries (after giving effect to the separation and distribution of Baxalta Incorporated (Baxalta), as further described below), unless the context otherwise requires.

Business Segments and Products

The company manages its business based on three geographic segments: Americas (North and South America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific).

Each of the company’s segments provide a broad portfolio of essential healthcare products, including acute and chronic dialysis therapies; sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; inhaled anesthetics; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; and surgical hemostat and sealant products.

For financial information about Baxter’s segments, see Note 18 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Sales and Distribution

The company has its own direct sales force and also makes sales to and through independent distributors, drug wholesalers acting as sales agents and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers. In the United States, third parties such as Cardinal Health, Inc. warehouse and ship a significant portion of the company’s products through their distribution centers. These centers are generally stocked with adequate inventories to facilitate prompt customer service. Sales and distribution methods include frequent contact by sales and customer service representatives, automated communications via various electronic purchasing systems, circulation of catalogs and merchandising bulletins, direct-mail campaigns, trade publication presence and advertising.

Sales are made and products are distributed on a direct basis or through independent distributors or sales agents in more than 100 countries as of December 31, 2018.

International Operations

The majority of the company’s revenues are generated outside of the United States and geographic expansion remains a component of the company’s strategy. Baxter’s international presence includes operations in Europe (including Eastern and Central Europe), the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Canada. The company is subject to certain risks inherent in conducting business outside the United States. For more information on these risks, see the information under the captions “Risks Related to Baxter’s Business —We are subject to risks associated with doing business globally” and “— Changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and liquidity” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

For financial information about foreign and domestic operations and geographic information, see Note 18 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For more information regarding foreign currency exchange risk, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Financial Instrument Market Risk” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Contractual Arrangements

The company’s products are sold through contracts with customers, both within and outside the United States. Some of these contracts have terms of more than one year and place limits on the company’s ability to increase prices. In the case of hospitals, governments and other facilities, these contracts may specify minimum quantities of a particular product or categories of products to be purchased by the customer.

In keeping with the increased emphasis on cost-effectiveness in healthcare delivery, many hospitals and other customers of medical products in the United States have joined group purchasing organizations (GPOs), or formed integrated delivery networks (IDNs), to enhance purchasing power. GPOs and IDNs negotiate pricing arrangements with manufacturers and distributors and the negotiated prices are made available to members. Baxter has purchasing agreements with several of the major GPOs in the United States. GPOs may have agreements with more than one supplier for certain products. Accordingly, in these cases, Baxter faces competition from other suppliers even where a customer is a member of a GPO under contract with Baxter. Purchasing power is similarly consolidated in many other countries. For example, public contracting authorities act as the purchasing entities for the hospitals and other customers of medical products in their region and many hospitals and other customers have joined joint procurement entities and buying consortia. The result is that demand for healthcare products is increasingly concentrated across the company’s markets globally.

Raw Materials

Raw materials essential to Baxter’s business are purchased from numerous suppliers worldwide in the ordinary course of business. Although most of these materials are generally available, Baxter at times may experience shortages of supply. In an effort to manage risk associated with raw materials supply, Baxter works closely with its suppliers to help ensure availability and continuity of supply while maintaining high quality and reliability. The company also seeks to develop new and alternative sources of supply where beneficial to its overall raw materials procurement strategy.

The company also utilizes long-term supply contracts with some suppliers to help maintain continuity of supply and manage the risk of price increases. Baxter is not always able to recover cost increases for raw materials through customer pricing due to contractual limits and market forces.

In connection with the separation and distribution of Baxalta, Baxter entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement with Baxalta. Baxalta manufactures and supplies Baxter with ARTISS, TISSEEL, FLOSEAL and stand-alone thrombin under the manufacturing and supply agreement, on a cost-plus basis.

Competition and Healthcare Cost Containment

Baxter’s businesses benefit from a number of competitive advantages, including the breadth and depth of their product offerings, as well as strong relationships with customers, including hospitals and clinics, GPOs, physicians, and patients, many who self-administer the home-based therapies supplied by Baxter. Baxter as a whole benefits from efficiencies and cost advantages resulting from shared manufacturing facilities and the technological advantages of its products.

Although no single company competes with Baxter in all of its businesses, Baxter faces substantial competition in each of its segments from international and domestic healthcare and pharmaceutical companies and providers of all sizes, and these competitors often differ across our businesses. In addition, global and regional competitors continue to expand their manufacturing capacity and sales and marketing channels. Competition is primarily focused on cost-effectiveness, price, service, product performance, and technological innovation. There has been increasing consolidation in the company’s customer base and by its competitors, which continues to result in pricing and market pressures.

Global efforts toward healthcare cost containment continue to exert pressure on product pricing. Governments around the world use various mechanisms to control healthcare expenditures, such as price controls, the formation of public contracting authorities, product formularies (lists of recommended or approved products), and competitive tenders which require the submission of a bid to sell products. Sales of Baxter’s products are dependent, in part, on the availability of reimbursement by government agencies and healthcare programs, as well as insurance companies and other private payers. In the United States, the federal and many state governments have adopted or proposed initiatives relating to Medicaid and other health programs that may limit reimbursement or increase rebates that Baxter and other providers are required to pay to the state. In addition to government regulation, managed care organizations in the United States, which include medical insurance companies, medical plan administrators, health-maintenance organizations, hospital and physician alliances and pharmacy benefit managers, continue to put pressure on the price and usage of healthcare products. Managed care organizations seek to contain healthcare expenditures, and their purchasing strength has been increasing due to their consolidation into fewer, larger organizations and a growing number of enrolled patients. Baxter faces similar issues outside of the United States. In Europe and Latin America, for example, the government provides healthcare at low cost to

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patients, and controls its expenditures by purchasing products through public tenders, collective purchasing, regulating prices, setting reference prices in public tenders or limiting reimbursement or patient access to certain products.

Intellectual Property

Patents and other proprietary rights are essential to Baxter’s business. Baxter relies on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, know-how and confidentiality agreements to develop, maintain and strengthen its competitive position. Baxter owns a number of patents and trademarks throughout the world and has entered into license arrangements relating to various third-party patents and technologies. Products manufactured by Baxter are sold primarily under its own trademarks and trade names. Some products distributed by the company are sold under the company’s trade names, while others are sold under trade names owned by its suppliers or partners. Trade secret protection of unpatented confidential and proprietary information is also important to Baxter. The company maintains certain details about its processes, products and technology as trade secrets and generally requires employees, consultants, and business partners to enter into confidentiality agreements. These agreements may be breached and Baxter may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, Baxter’s trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that Baxter’s employees, consultants, and business partners use intellectual property owned by others in their work for the company, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.

Baxter’s policy is to protect its products and technology through patents and trademarks on a worldwide basis. This protection is sought in a manner that balances the cost of such protection against obtaining the greatest value for the company. Baxter also recognizes the need to promote the enforcement of its patents and trademarks and takes commercially reasonable steps to enforce its patents and trademarks around the world against potential infringers, including judicial or administrative action where appropriate.

Baxter operates in an industry susceptible to significant patent litigation. At any given time, the company is involved as either a plaintiff or defendant in a number of patent infringement and other intellectual property-related actions. Such litigation can result in significant royalty or other payments or result in injunctions that can prevent the sale of products. For more information on patent and other litigation, see Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Research and Development

Baxter’s investment in research and development (R&D), consistent with the company’s portfolio optimization and capital allocation strategies, helps fuel its future growth and its ability to remain competitive in each of its product categories. Accordingly, Baxter continues to focus its investment on select R&D programs to enhance future growth through clinical differentiation. Expenditures for Baxter’s R&D activities were $655 million in 2018, $613 million in 2017, and $646 million in 2016. These expenditures include costs associated with R&D activities performed at the company’s R&D centers located around the world, which include facilities in Belgium, Sweden, India, Italy, Germany, China, Japan and the United States, as well as in-licensing, milestone and reimbursement payments made to partners for R&D work performed at non-Baxter locations.

For more information on the company’s R&D activities, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Strategic Objectives” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Quality Management

Baxter’s continued success depends upon the quality of its products. Quality management plays an essential role in determining and meeting customer requirements, preventing defects, facilitating continuous improvement of the company’s processes, products and services, and assuring the safety and efficacy of the company’s products. Baxter’s quality system enables the design, development, manufacturing, packaging, sterilization, handling, distribution and labeling of the company’s products to ensure they conform to customer requirements. In order to continually improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the quality system, various measurements, monitoring and analysis methods such as management reviews and internal, external and vendor audits are employed at local and central levels.

Each product that Baxter markets is required to meet specific quality standards, both in packaging and in product integrity and quality. If any of those is determined to be compromised at any time, Baxter endeavors to take corrective and preventive actions designed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and to meet customer expectations. For more information on corrective actions taken by Baxter, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Certain Regulatory Matters” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Government Regulation

The operations of Baxter and many of the products manufactured or sold by the company are subject to extensive regulation by numerous government agencies, both within and outside the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Europe, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) in China and other government agencies inside and outside of the United States, administer requirements covering the testing, safety, effectiveness, manufacturing, labeling, promotion and advertising, distribution and post-market surveillance of Baxter’s products. The company must obtain specific approval from FDA and non-U.S. regulatory authorities before it can market and sell most of its products in a particular country. Even after the company obtains regulatory approval to market a product, the product and the company’s manufacturing processes and quality systems are subject to continued review by FDA and other regulatory authorities globally. State agencies in the United States also regulate the facilities, operations, employees, products and services of the company within their respective states. The company and its facilities are subject to periodic inspections and possible administrative and legal actions by FDA and other regulatory agencies inside and outside the United States. Such actions may include warning letters, product recalls or seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacture and distribution of products, civil or criminal sanctions, refusal of a government to grant approvals or licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses. As situations require, the company takes steps to ensure safety and efficacy of its products, such as removing products found not to meet applicable requirements from the market and improving the effectiveness of quality systems. For more information on compliance actions taken by the company, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Certain Regulatory Matters” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The company is also subject to various laws inside and outside the United States concerning its relationships with healthcare professionals and government officials, price reporting and regulation, the promotion, sales and marketing of its products and services, the importation and exportation of products, the operation of its facilities and distribution of products. In the United States, the company is subject to the oversight of FDA, Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG), the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Defense and Customs and Border Protection in addition to others. The company supplies products and services to healthcare providers that are reimbursed by federally funded programs such as Medicare. As a result, the company’s activities are subject to regulation by CMS and enforcement by OIG and DOJ. In each jurisdiction outside the United States, the company’s activities are subject to regulation by government agencies including the EMA in Europe, CFDA in China and other agencies in other jurisdictions. Many of the agencies enforcing these laws have increased their enforcement activities with respect to healthcare companies in recent years. These actions appear to be part of a general trend toward increased enforcement activity globally.

Environmental policies of the company require compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and contemplate, among other things, appropriate capital expenditures for environmental protection.

Separation of Baxalta

On July 1, 2015, Baxter completed the distribution of approximately 80.5% of the outstanding common stock of Baxalta to Baxter stockholders (the Distribution). The Distribution was made to Baxter’s stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 17, 2015 (the Record Date), who received one share of Baxalta common stock for each Baxter common share held as of the Record Date. As a result of the distribution, Baxalta became an independent public company.

In 2016, Baxter disposed of its remaining 19.5% interest in Baxalta through a series of transactions including debt-for-equity exchanges, an equity-for-equity exchange and a contribution to its U.S. pension plan. As a result of these transactions, the company extinguished approximately $3.65 billion in company indebtedness, repurchased 11,526,638 Baxter shares and contributed 17,145,570 Baxalta shares to its U.S. pension plan. On June 3, 2016, Baxalta became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shire plc (Shire). In January 2019, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) acquired Shire.

As a result of the separation, the consolidated statements of income, consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of cash flow, and related financial information reflect Baxalta’s operations, assets and liabilities, and cash flows as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Refer to Note 2 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the separation of Baxalta.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, Baxter employed approximately 50,000 people.

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Available Information

Baxter makes available free of charge on its website at www.baxter.com its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing or furnishing such material with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are also available free of charge via EDGAR through the Securities and Exchange Commission website (www.sec.gov).  In addition, Baxter’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct, and the charters for the committees of Baxter’s Board of Directors are available on Baxter’s website at www.baxter.com under “About Baxter—About us — Governance.” All the foregoing materials will be made available to stockholders in print upon request by writing to: Corporate Secretary, Baxter International Inc., One Baxter Parkway, Deerfield, Illinois 60015. Information contained on Baxter’s website shall not be deemed incorporated into, or to be a part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 1A.Risk Factors.

In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, stockholders or prospective investors should carefully consider the following risk factors. If any of the events described below occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations, future growth prospects and stock price could suffer.

We may not achieve our long-term financial improvement goals.

We have been implementing plans to enhance profitability and returns for our stockholders. These plans include the achievement of certain financial goals in 2019 and beyond. While we are continuing to refine these goals, our plan contemplates significant margin expansion over our long-range plan, which runs through 2023. We have identified certain key strategies to help achieve these targets. These strategies include optimizing our core product portfolio globally, driving operational excellence through the realignment of our cost structure and various restructuring activities and maximizing the value derived from the allocation of our capital.

As part of these strategies, we continue to evaluate the performance of all of our businesses and may sell or acquire a business or product line or exit a particular market. We are also evaluating our corporate and commercial infrastructure in the interest of streamlining costs while maintaining our commitment to quality and safety. Future divestitures may result in significant write-offs, including those related to goodwill and other intangible assets. Future acquisitions may fail to achieve the desired financial results (including return on investment) and synergies and may not provide the desired market access. The restructuring of our operations may not generate targeted savings or may cause unexpected disruptions to our business. As a result, we may not achieve our targeted financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to successfully introduce new products or fail to keep pace with advances in technology, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We need to successfully introduce new products to achieve our strategic business objectives. Product development requires substantial investment and there is inherent risk in the R&D process. A successful product development process depends on many factors, including our ability to properly anticipate and satisfy customer needs, adapt to new technologies, obtain regulatory approvals on a timely basis, demonstrate satisfactory clinical results, manufacture products in an economical and timely manner and differentiate our products from those of our competitors. If we cannot successfully introduce new products or adapt to changing technologies, our products may become obsolete and our revenue and profitability could suffer.

Issues with product supply or quality could have an adverse effect on our business, subject us to regulatory actions, or cause a loss of customer confidence in us or our products, among other negative consequences.

Our success depends upon the availability and quality of our products. The pharmaceutical and medical products industries are competitive and subject to complex market dynamics and varying demand levels. These levels vary in response to macro-economic conditions, regulatory requirements (including the availability of private or public reimbursement), seasonality, natural disasters, epidemics and other matters. Additionally, the development of new or enhanced products involves a lengthy regulatory process and is capital intensive. As a result, our ability to match our production levels and capacity to market demand is imprecise and may result in a failure to meet market demand or satisfy customer requirements for our products or, alternatively, an oversupply of inventory. Failure to meet market demand may result in customers transitioning to available competitive products, loss of market share, negative publicity, reputational damage, loss of customer confidence or other negative consequences (including a decline in stock price). In the event of an oversupply, we may be forced to lower our prices, record asset impairment charges or take other actions, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, quality management plays an essential role in determining and meeting customer requirements, preventing defects, improving our products and services and assuring the safety and efficacy of our products. Our future success depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program. While we have a quality system that covers the lifecycle of our

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products, quality and safety issues may occur with respect to any of our products. A quality or safety issue may result in adverse inspection reports, voluntary or official action indicated, warning letters, import bans, product recalls (either voluntary or required by FDA or similar governmental authorities in other countries) or seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacture and distribution of products, civil or criminal sanctions, costly litigation, refusal of a government to grant approvals and licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses. An inability to address a quality or safety issue in an effective and timely manner may also cause negative publicity, a loss of customer confidence in us or our current or future products, which may result in the loss of sales and difficulty in successfully launching new products. Additionally, Baxter has made and continues to make significant investments in assets, including inventory and property, plant and equipment, which relate to potential new products or modifications to existing products. Product quality or safety issues may restrict us from being able to realize the expected returns from these investments, potentially resulting in asset impairments in the future.

Unaffiliated third party suppliers provide a number of goods and services to our R&D, clinical and manufacturing organizations. Third party suppliers are required to comply with our quality standards. Failure of a third party supplier to provide compliant raw materials or supplies could result in delays, service interruptions or other quality related issues that may negatively impact our business results.

For more information on regulatory matters currently affecting us, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Certain Regulatory Matters” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

If we are unable to obtain sufficient components or raw materials on a timely basis or for a cost-effective price or if we experience other manufacturing or supply difficulties, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The manufacture of our products requires, among other things, the timely supply or delivery of sufficient amounts of quality components and materials. We manufacture our products in approximately 50 manufacturing facilities around the world. We acquire our components, materials and other requirements for manufacturing from many suppliers and vendors in various countries, including sometimes from ourselves for self-supplied requirements. We endeavor, either alone or working closely with our suppliers, to ensure the continuity of our inputs and supplies but we cannot guarantee these efforts will always be successful. Further, while efforts are made to diversify certain of our sources of components and materials, in certain instances there is only a sole source or supplier with no alternatives yet identified. For most of our components and materials for which a single source or supplier is used, alternative sources or suppliers may exist, but we have made a strategic determination to use the single source or supplier. Although we do carry strategic inventory and maintain insurance to help mitigate the potential risk related to any related supply disruption, there can be no assurance that such measures will be sufficient or effective. A reduction or interruption in supply and an inability to quickly develop acceptable alternative sources for such supply, could adversely affect our ability to manufacture and distribute our products in a timely or cost-effective manner, and our ability to make product sales.  Additionally, volatility in our costs of energy, transportation/freight, components, raw materials and other supply, manufacturing and distribution costs could adversely affect our results of operations. Climate change (including laws or regulations passed in response thereto) could increase our costs, in particular our costs of supply, energy and transportation/freight. Material or sustained increases in the price of oil could have an adverse impact on the cost of many of the plastic materials we use to make and package our products, as well as our transportation/freight costs. These outcomes may in turn result in customers transitioning to available competitive products, loss of market share, negative publicity, reputational damage, loss of customer confidence or other negative consequences (including a decline in stock price).

Many of our products are difficult to manufacture. This is due to the complex nature of manufacturing pharmaceuticals, including biologics, and devices, as well as the strict regulatory regime governing our manufacturing operations. Variations in the manufacturing process may result in production failures which could lead to launch delays, product shortage, unanticipated costs, lost revenues and damage to our reputation. A failure to identify and address manufacturing problems prior to the release of products to our customers may also result in a quality or safety issue of the type discussed above.

Some of our products are manufactured at a single manufacturing facility or stored at a single storage site. Loss or damage to a manufacturing facility or storage site due to a natural disaster, such as we experienced as a result of Hurricane Maria, or otherwise could adversely affect our ability to manufacture sufficient quantities of key products or otherwise deliver products to meet customer demand or contractual requirements which may result in a loss of revenue and other adverse business consequences (including those identified in the paragraph above). Because of the time required to approve and license a manufacturing facility, a third party manufacturer may not be available on a timely basis (if at all) to replace production capacity in the event we lose manufacturing capacity or products are otherwise unavailable due to natural disaster, regulatory action or otherwise.

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We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems and subject to privacy and security laws, and our systems and infrastructure face certain risks, including from cyber security breaches and data leakage.

We increasingly rely upon technology systems and infrastructure, including support provided by our partners and third parties, to support our business, our products and our customers.  For example, we routinely rely on our technology systems and infrastructure to aid us in the collection, use, storage and transfer, disclosure and other processing of voluminous amounts of data including confidential, business, financial, personal and other sensitive information (collectively, Confidential Information). We also rely on systems for manufacturing, customer orders, shipping, regulatory compliance and various other matters. Certain of our products and systems collect data regarding patients and their therapy and some connect to our systems for maintenance and other purposes.

Additionally, the legal and regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, with the imposition of new and changing requirements across businesses. We are required to comply with increasingly complex and changing legal and regulatory requirements that govern the collection, use, storage, security, transfer, disclosure and other processing of personal data, including, but not limited to, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  In May 2018, the GDPR superseded current European Union data protection legislation, imposed more stringent European Union data protection requirements, and provided for greater penalties for noncompliance.  We or our third-party providers and business partners may also be subjected to audits or investigations by one or more domestic or foreign government agencies relating to compliance with information security and privacy laws and regulations, and noncompliance with the laws and regulations could result in substantial and material fines or class action litigation.  

The increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, and reliance on third parties creates additional opportunities for the unintentional, intentional and/or unauthorized exposure, dissemination and/or destruction of Confidential Information stored in our devices, systems, servers, infrastructure and products (collectively, Technology).  Security threats, including cyber and other attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, frequent, and adaptive. Our Technology (and that of third parties that we use) is vulnerable to breakdown, interruption, cyber and other security attacks, system malfunction, unauthorized access, inadvertent exposure or disclosure of information, theft and other events. Any such vulnerability could compromise our Technology and could expose Confidential Information to unauthorized third parties and/or cause permanent loss of such data.  In addition to loss of Confidential Information, unauthorized access to or interference with our Technology may cause product functionality issues that may result in risk to patient safety, field actions and/or product recalls. While we have invested in the protection of data and Technology, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent breakdowns, attacks, breaches in our Technology, cyber incidents or other incidents or ensure compliance with all applicable security and privacy laws, regulations and standards, including with respect to third party service providers that host or process Confidential Information on our behalf.  Such incidents can lead to substantial and material regulatory fines and penalties, business disruption, reputational harm, financial loss as well as other damages.  Misappropriation or other loss of our intellectual property from any of the foregoing may have an adverse effect on our competitive position and may cause us to incur substantial litigation costs.  We could also suffer strained relationships with customers and business partners, increased costs (for security measures, remediation or otherwise), litigation (including class actions and stockholder derivative actions) or other negative consequences (including a decline in stock price) from breaches, cyber and other security attacks, industrial espionage, ransomware, email or phishing scams, malware or other cyber incidents, which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage, either internally or at our third-party providers or other business partners.  

In addition, significant implementation issues may arise as we continue to consolidate and outsource certain computer operations and application support activities. We also face all of the same risks listed above and other heightened risks when acquiring a company, in particular if we need to transition or implement certain processes or controls with the acquired company.

We are subject to a number of existing laws and regulations, non-compliance with which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, and we are susceptible to a changing regulatory environment.

As a participant in the healthcare industry, our operations and products, and those of our customers, are regulated by numerous government agencies, both inside and outside the United States. The impact of this on us is direct to the extent we are subject to these laws and regulations, and indirect in that in a number of situations, even though we may not be directly regulated by specific healthcare laws and regulations, our products must be capable of being used by our customers in a manner that complies with those laws and regulations.

The manufacture, distribution, marketing and use of our products are subject to extensive regulation and scrutiny by FDA and other regulatory authorities globally. Any new product must undergo lengthy and rigorous testing and other extensive, costly and time-consuming procedures mandated by FDA and foreign regulatory authorities. The same testing and procedures sometimes apply to

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current products that are up for authorization renewal or are subject to changes in law or regulation (for example certain of our medical devices will have to comply with the new European Union Medical Device Regulation). Changes to current products may be subject to vigorous review, including additional 510(k) and other regulatory submissions, and approvals or the time needed to secure approvals are not certain. Our facilities must be approved and licensed prior to production and remain subject to inspection from time to time thereafter. Failure to comply with the requirements of FDA or other regulatory authorities, including a failed inspection or a failure in our adverse event reporting system, could result in adverse inspection reports, voluntary or official action indicated, warning letters, import bans, product recalls or seizures, monetary sanctions, reputational damage, injunctions to halt the manufacture and distribution of products, civil or criminal sanctions, refusal of a government to grant approvals or licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses. Any of these actions could cause a loss of customer confidence in us and our products, which could adversely affect our sales. The requirements of regulatory authorities, including interpretative guidance, are subject to change and compliance with additional or changing requirements or interpretative guidance may subject us to further review, result in product launch delays or otherwise increase our costs. For information on current regulatory issues affecting us, please refer to the caption entitled “Certain Regulatory Matters” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In connection with these issues, there can be no assurance that additional costs or civil and criminal penalties will not be incurred, that additional regulatory actions with respect to us will not occur, that we will not face civil claims for damages from purchasers or users, that substantial additional charges or significant asset impairments may not be required, that sales of other products may not be adversely affected, or that additional regulation will not be introduced that may adversely affect our operations and consolidated financial statements.

The sales, marketing and pricing of products and relationships that pharmaceutical and medical device companies have with healthcare providers are under increased scrutiny by federal, state and foreign government agencies. Compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (including as these laws relate to off-label promotion of products) and other healthcare related laws, as well as competition, data and patient privacy and export and import laws, is under increased focus by the agencies charged with overseeing such activities, including FDA, OIG, DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission. The DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission have also increased their focus on the enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), particularly as it relates to the conduct of pharmaceutical and medical product companies. The FCPA and similar anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their employees, contractors or agents from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Healthcare professionals in many countries are employed by the government and consequently may be considered government officials. Foreign governments have also increased their scrutiny of pharmaceutical and medical product companies’ sales and marketing activities and relationships with healthcare providers and competitive practices generally. The laws and standards governing the promotion, pricing, sale and reimbursement of our products and those governing our relationships with healthcare providers and governments, including the Sunshine Act enacted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (as amended, the PPACA), can be complicated, are subject to frequent change and may be violated unknowingly.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Control and the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce administer laws and regulations that restrict U.S. persons and, in some instances, non-U.S. persons, in conducting activities, transacting business or making investments in certain countries, or with governments, entities and individuals subject to U.S. economic sanctions. From time to time, certain of our subsidiaries have limited business dealings in countries subject to these sanctions, including Iran, Sudan, Syria, Russia and Cuba. These dealings represent an insignificant amount of our consolidated revenues and income but expose us to an increased risk of operating in these countries, including foreign exchange risks or restrictions or limitations on our ability to access funds generated in these jurisdictions, or the risk of violating applicable sanctions regulations, which are complex and subject to frequent change. Additional restrictions may be enacted, enforced or interpreted in a way that may adversely affect our operations.

We have compliance programs in place, including policies, training and various forms of monitoring, designed to address the risks discussed above. Nonetheless, these programs and policies may not always protect us from conduct by individual employees that violate these laws. Violations or allegations of violations of these laws may result in large civil and criminal penalties, debarment from participating in government programs, diversion of management time, attention and resources and may otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For more information related to our ongoing government investigations, please refer to Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The laws and regulations discussed above are broad in scope and subject to evolving interpretations, which could require us to incur substantial cost associated with compliance or to alter one or more of our sales and marketing practices and may subject us to enforcement actions or litigation which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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If reimbursement or other payment for our current or future products is reduced or modified in the United States or in foreign countries, including through the implementation or repeal of government-sponsored healthcare reform or other similar actions, cost containment measures, or changes to policies with respect to pricing, taxation or rebates, our business could suffer.

Sales of our products depend, in part, on the extent to which the costs of our products are paid by both public and private payers. These payers include Medicare, Medicaid, and private healthcare insurers in the United States and foreign governments and third-party payers outside the United States. Our work with government payers carries various risks inherent in working with government entities and agencies, including government reporting and auditing, additional regulatory oversight, mandated contractual terms, failure of government appropriations or other complex procedural requirements.

Public and private payers are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. We may continue to experience downward pricing pressures from any or all of these payers which could result in an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operational results.

Global efforts toward healthcare cost containment continue to exert pressure on product pricing. Governments around the world use various mechanisms to control healthcare expenditures such as price controls, the formation of public contracting authorities, product formularies, which are lists of recommended or approved products, and competitive tenders which require the submission of a bid to sell products. Sales of our products are dependent, in part, on the availability of reimbursement by government agencies and healthcare programs, as well as insurance companies and other private payers. In much of Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia, for example, the government provides healthcare at low cost to patients, and controls its expenditures by purchasing products through public tenders, collective purchasing, regulating prices, setting reference prices in public tenders or limiting reimbursement or patient access to certain products. Additionally, austerity measures or other reforms by foreign governments may limit, reduce or eliminate payments for our products and adversely affect both pricing flexibility and demand for our products.

The PPACA includes several provisions which impact our businesses in the United States, including increased Medicaid rebates and an expansion of the 340B Drug Pricing Program which provides certain qualified entities, such as hospitals serving disadvantaged populations, with discounts on the purchase of drugs for outpatient use and an excise tax on the sale of certain drugs. The PPACA reduces Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals and other providers, which may cause us to experience downward pricing pressure. Certain portions of the PPACA, could negatively impact the demand for our products, and therefore our results of operations and financial position.

It is uncertain what impact the current U.S. presidential administration might have on coverage, reimbursement and other matters related to the PPACA and/or healthcare reform in general, including the timing and speed of any such impact. In addition, a substantial portion of our revenues is dependent on federal healthcare program reimbursement, and any disruptions in federal government operations, including a federal government shutdown or failure of the U.S. government to enact annual appropriations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, disruptions in federal government operations may negatively impact regulatory approvals and guidance that are important to our operations, and create uncertainty about the pace of upcoming healthcare regulatory developments or approvals.

As a result of these and other measures, including future measures or reforms that cannot be predicted, reimbursement may not be available or sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a competitive basis. Legislation and regulations affecting reimbursement for our products may change at any time and in ways that may be adverse to us. We cannot predict the impact of these pressures and initiatives, or any negative effects of any additional regulations that may affect our business.

There is substantial competition in the product markets in which we operate.

Although no single company competes with us in all of our businesses, we face substantial competition in all of our markets from international and domestic healthcare and pharmaceutical companies and providers of all sizes, and these competitors often differ across our businesses. Competition is primarily focused on cost-effectiveness, price, service, product performance, and technological innovation.

Competition may increase further as additional companies begin to enter our markets or modify their existing products to compete directly with ours. If our competitors respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements or we do not introduce new versions or upgrades to our product portfolio in response to those requirements, our products may be rendered obsolete or non-competitive. If our competitors develop more effective or affordable products, or achieve earlier patent protection or product commercialization than we do, our business, financial condition and operations will likely be negatively affected. If we are forced to reduce our prices due to increased competition, our business could become less profitable.  Our sales

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could be adversely affected if any of our contracts with GPOs, IDNs or other customers are terminated due to increased competition or otherwise.

In addition, many health care industry companies, including health care systems, distributors, manufacturers, providers, and insurers, are consolidating or have formed strategic alliances. As the health care industry consolidates, competition to provide goods and services to industry participants will become more intense. Further, this consolidation creates larger enterprises with greater negotiating power, which they can use to negotiate price concessions. If we face an increase in costs or must reduce our prices because of industry consolidation, or if we lose customers as a result of consolidation, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

If our business development activities are unsuccessful, we may not realize the intended benefits.

We expect to continue to engage in business development activities including evaluating acquisitions, joint development opportunities, technology licensing arrangements and other opportunities. These activities may result in substantial investment of our resources. Our success developing products or expanding into new markets from such activities will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to find suitable opportunities for acquisition, investment or alliance; competition from other companies in the industries in which we operate that are seeking similar opportunities; whether we are able to complete an acquisition, investment or alliance on terms that are satisfactory to us; the strength of the other company’s underlying technology, products and ability to execute its business strategies; any intellectual property and litigation related to the other company’s products or technology; and our ability to successfully integrate the acquired company, business, product, technology or research into our existing operations, including the ability to adequately fund acquired in-process R&D projects and to maintain adequate controls over the combined operations. Certain of these activities are subject to antitrust and competition laws, which laws could impact our ability to pursue strategic transactions and could result in mandated divestitures in the context of proposed acquisitions. If we are unsuccessful in our business development activities, we may not realize the intended benefits of such activities, including that acquisition and integration costs may be greater than expected or the possibility that expected return on investment, synergies and accretion will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected timeframes.

For more information on recent business development activities, see Note 5 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

If we are unable to protect our patents or other proprietary rights, or if we infringe the patents or other proprietary rights of others, our competitiveness and business prospects may be materially damaged.

Patent and other proprietary rights are essential to our business. Our success depends to a significant degree on our ability to obtain and enforce patents and licenses to patent rights, both in the United States and in other countries. We cannot guarantee that pending patent applications will result in issued patents, that patents issued or licensed will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors, that our patents will not be found to be invalid or that the intellectual property rights of others will not prevent us from selling certain products or including key features in our products.

The patent position of a healthcare company is often uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions. Significant litigation concerning patents and products is pervasive in our industry. Patent claims include challenges to the coverage and validity of our patents on products or processes as well as allegations that our products infringe patents held by competitors or other third parties. An unfavorable litigation outcome in any of these types of cases could result in a loss of patent protection or the ability to market products, which could lead to a significant loss of sales, or otherwise materially affect future results of operations. We also rely on trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and know-how to develop, maintain and strengthen our competitive positions. Third parties may know, discover or independently develop equivalent proprietary information or techniques, or they may gain access to our trade secrets or disclose our trade secrets to the public.

Although our employees, consultants, parties to collaboration agreements and other business partners are generally subject to confidentiality or similar agreements to protect our confidential and proprietary information, these agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. To the extent that our employees, consultants, parties to collaboration agreements and other business partners use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.

Furthermore, our intellectual property, other proprietary technology and other sensitive company data is potentially vulnerable to loss, damage or misappropriation from system malfunction, computer viruses, unauthorized access to our data or misappropriation or misuse thereof by those with permitted access and other events. While we have invested to protect our intellectual property, confidential information and other data, and continue to work diligently in this area, there can be no assurance that our precautionary measures will prevent breakdowns, breaches, cyber incidents or other events. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations.

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Misappropriation or other loss of our intellectual property from any of the foregoing would have an adverse effect on our competitive position and may cause us to incur substantial litigation costs.

We are subject to risks associated with doing business globally.

Our operations are subject to risks inherent in conducting business globally and under the laws, regulations and customs of various jurisdictions and geographies. These risks include changes in exchange controls and other governmental actions, loss of business in government and public tenders that are held annually in many cases, increasingly complex labor environments, availability of raw materials, changes in taxation, export control restrictions, changes in or violations of U.S. or local laws, including the FCPA, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, GDPR and other data privacy laws, dependence on a few government entities as customers, pricing restrictions, economic and political instability, monetary or currency volatility or instability (including as it relates to the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Yuan and currencies in emerging market countries), disputes between countries, diminished or insufficient protection of intellectual property, and disruption or destruction of operations in a significant geographic region regardless of cause, including natural disaster, pandemic, power loss, cyber attack, data breach, war, terrorism, riot, labor disruption, civil insurrection or social unrest. Failure to comply with, or material changes to, the laws and regulations that affect our global operations could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The 2016 referendum by British voters to exit the European Union (EU) (commonly known as Brexit) and the UK government’s subsequent initiation of the withdrawal process has created uncertainties affecting business operations in the EU.  The potential withdrawal by the UK from the EU, particularly if such withdrawal occurs without a transitional agreement between the UK and the EU, could result in the deterioration of economic conditions, volatility in currency exchange rates, and increased regulatory complexities, as well as the potential for product shortages, increased costs or other similar effects.  These outcomes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and liquidity.

We generate the majority of our revenue and profit outside the United States. As a result, our financial results may be adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We cannot predict with any certainty changes in foreign currency exchange rates or our ability to mitigate these risks. We may experience additional volatility as a result of inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic factors, including in emerging market countries. We are also exposed to changes in interest rates, and our ability to access the money markets and capital markets could be impeded if market conditions are not favorable.  A discussion of the financial impact of foreign exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, and the ways and extent to which we attempt to mitigate such impact is contained under the caption “Financial Instrument Market Risk” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Changes in tax laws or exposure to additional income tax liabilities may have a negative impact on our operating results.

Changes to the tax laws in the United States or other countries in which we operate could have an adverse effect on our operating results.  In particular, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the regulations issued thereunder (collectively, Tax Reform), including, among other things, certain changes in tax rates, deductibility of interest, deductibility of executive compensation expense, expensing of capital expenditures, the ability to use certain tax credits, taxation on earnings from international business operations, and the treatment of deductible payments made by our U.S. affiliates to our foreign affiliates could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.  In certain instances, Tax Reform could have a negative effect on our tax rate and the carrying value of deferred tax balances.  Any of these changes could adversely affect our financial performance.  There remains some uncertainty regarding the implementation of such Tax Reform and its impact on us.  We cannot currently predict the full impact that Tax Reform may have over time on our business, including revenues, profit margins, profitability, operating cash flows and results of operations. For more information regarding the impact of Tax Reform, see Note 16 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Taxing authorities may audit us from time to time and disagree with certain positions we have taken in respect of our tax liabilities.  Our tax liabilities are affected by many factors, including the amounts we charge in intercompany transactions for inventory, services, licenses, funding and other items, which are subject to the use of assumptions and judgment. Because we operate in multiple income tax jurisdictions both inside and outside the United States, cross border transactions among our affiliates are a significant part of the manner in which we operate. Although we believe that we transact intercompany business in accordance with arms-length principles, tax authorities may disagree with our intercompany charges, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing or other matters, and may assess additional taxes as a result.

We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision. However, we may not accurately predict the outcome of these audits, and as a result the actual outcome of these audits may have an adverse impact on our financial results. For more information on ongoing audits, see Note 16 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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If we fail to attract and retain key employees our business may suffer.

Our ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to attract and retain key employees, including people in senior management, sales, marketing and R&D positions. Competition for top talent in the healthcare industry can be intense. Our ability to recruit and retain such talent will depend on a number of factors, including hiring practices of our competitors, compensation and benefits, work location, work environment and industry economic conditions. If we cannot effectively recruit and retain qualified employees, our business could suffer.

We are party to a number of pending lawsuits and other disputes which may have an adverse impact on our business, operations or financial condition.

We are party to a number of pending lawsuits, settlement discussions, mediations, arbitrations and other disputes. In addition, in the future we may be party to such disputes, including patent, product liability or other lawsuits. These current and future matters may result in a loss of patent protection, reduced revenue, incurrence of significant liabilities and diversion of our management’s time, attention and resources. Given the uncertain nature of litigation and other disputes generally, we are not able in all cases to estimate the amount or range of loss that could result from an unfavorable outcome in these current matters. In view of these uncertainties, the outcome of these matters may result in charges in excess of any established reserves, and, to the extent available, liability insurance. We also continue to be self-insured with respect to product liability claims. The absence of third-party insurance coverage for current or future claims increases our potential exposure to unanticipated claims and adverse decisions. Protracted litigation and other disputes, including any adverse outcomes, may have an adverse impact on our business, operations or financial condition. Even claims without merit could subject us to adverse publicity and require us to incur significant legal fees. See Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding current lawsuits.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year for a number of reasons. Events such as a delay in product development, changes to our expectations or strategy or even a relatively small revenue shortfall may cause financial results for a period to be below our expectations or projections. As a result, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are not necessarily meaningful, and these comparisons should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our operating results and financial condition are also subject to fluctuation from all of the risks described throughout this section. These fluctuations may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and our stock price.

Future material impairments in the value of our long-lived assets, including goodwill, could negatively affect our operating results.

We regularly review our long-lived assets, including identifiable intangible assets, goodwill (which results from our acquisition activity) and property, plant and equipment, for impairment. Goodwill and acquired indefinite life intangible assets are subject to impairment review on an annual basis and whenever potential impairment indicators are present. Other long-lived assets are reviewed when there is an indication that impairment may have occurred. Changes in market conditions or other changes in the future outlook of value may lead to impairment charges in the future. In addition, we may from time to time sell assets that we determine are not critical to our strategy, including in connection with certain strategic exits. Future events or decisions may lead to asset impairments and/or related charges. Certain non-cash impairments may result from a change in our strategic goals, business direction or other factors relating to the overall business environment. Material impairment charges could negatively affect our results of operations.  For more information on the valuation and impairment of long-lived assets, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Critical Accounting Policies” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Current or worsening economic conditions may adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Our ability to generate cash flows from operations could be affected if there is a material decline in the demand for our products, in the solvency of our customers or suppliers, or deterioration in our key financial ratios or credit ratings. Current or worsening economic conditions may adversely affect the ability of our customers (including governments) to pay for our products and services, and the amount spent on healthcare generally. This could result in a decrease in the demand for our products and services, declining cash flows, longer sales cycles, slower adoption of new technologies and increased price competition. These conditions may also adversely affect certain of our suppliers, which could cause a disruption in our ability to produce our products. We continue to do business with foreign governments in certain countries, including Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, which have experienced deterioration in credit and economic conditions. As of December 31, 2018, our net accounts receivable from the public sector in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy totaled $130 million. While global economic conditions have not significantly impacted our ability to collect receivables, liquidity issues in certain countries have resulted, and may continue to result, in delays in the collection of receivables and credit losses. These conditions may also impact the stability of the U.S. dollar, Euro or Yuan. For more information on accounts receivable

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and credit matters with respect to certain of these countries, refer to the discussion under the caption entitled “Credit Facilities, Access to Capital and Credit Ratings” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We may incur operational difficulties or be exposed to claims and liabilities as a result of the separation and distribution of Baxalta.

On July 1, 2015, we distributed approximately 80.5% of the outstanding shares of Baxalta common stock to Baxter stockholders in connection with the separation of our biopharmaceuticals business. We disposed of our remaining 19.5% stake in Baxalta (Retained Shares) in 2016, in connection with a series of transactions including debt-for-equity exchanges, an equity-for-equity exchange and a contribution to our U.S. pension plan (Retained Shares Transactions). Shire plc (Shire) acquired Baxalta in June 2016, after completion of the last Retained Shares Transaction and in January 2019, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) acquired Shire.  In connection with the July 2015 distribution, we entered into a separation and distribution agreement and various other agreements (including a tax matters agreement, a long term services agreement, a manufacturing and supply agreement, a trademark license agreement, a Galaxy license agreement, an international commercial operations agreement and certain other commercial agreements) with Baxalta. These agreements govern the separation and distribution and the relationship between the companies going forward, including with respect to potential tax-related losses associated with the separation and distribution and the Retained Shares Transactions. They also provide for the performance of services by each company for the benefit of the other for a period of time (including under the manufacturing and supply agreement pursuant to which Shire now manufactures and sells certain products and materials to us).

The separation and distribution agreement provides for indemnification obligations designed to make Baxalta financially responsible for many liabilities that may exist relating to its business activities, whether incurred prior to or after the distribution, including any pending or future litigation. In addition, the separation and distribution agreement provides for certain indemnification obligations of Baxter, which may be significant.  It is possible that a court would disregard the allocation agreed to between us and Baxalta and require us to assume responsibility for obligations allocated to Baxalta. Third parties could also seek to hold us responsible for any of these liabilities or obligations, and we may be unsuccessful in obtaining indemnification or the indemnity rights we have under the separation and distribution agreement may not be sufficient to fully cover all of these liabilities and obligations. Even if we are successful in obtaining indemnification, we may have to bear costs.  These risks could negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The separation and distribution of Baxalta continues to involve a number of risks, including, among other things, the indemnification risks described above. Certain of the agreements described above provide for the performance of services by each company for the benefit of the other for a period of time. Takeda may elect to extend the term for which we provide services to Baxalta under these agreements. If Baxalta is unable to satisfy its obligations under these agreements, including its indemnification obligations, we could incur losses. These arrangements could also lead to disputes over rights to certain shared property and over the allocation of costs and revenues for products and operations.

There could be significant liability if the separation and distribution or any Retained Shares Transaction is determined to be a taxable transaction. Baxalta has indemnified us for certain potential liabilities that may arise, and such indemnification obligation is guaranteed by Shire, but Baxalta and Shire may be unable to satisfy their indemnification obligations to us in the future.

The separation and distribution and the Retained Shares Transactions (collectively, the Baxter Transactions) qualify for tax-free treatment to Baxter and its stockholders under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). Completion of the separation and distribution was conditioned upon, among other things, the receipt of a private letter ruling from the IRS regarding certain issues relating to the tax-free treatment of the Baxter Transactions. Although the IRS private letter ruling is generally binding on the IRS, the continuing validity of such ruling is subject to the accuracy of factual representations and assumptions made in the ruling. Completion of the distribution was also conditioned upon Baxter’s receipt of a tax opinion from KPMG LLP regarding certain aspects of the Baxalta separation not covered by the IRS private letter ruling. The opinion was based upon various factual representations and assumptions, as well as certain undertakings made by Baxter and Baxalta. If any of the factual representations or assumptions in the IRS private letter ruling or tax opinion is untrue or incomplete in any material respect, if any undertaking is not complied with, or if the facts upon which the IRS private letter ruling or tax opinion are based are materially different from the actual facts relating to the Baxter Transactions, the opinion or IRS private letter ruling may not be valid. Moreover, opinions of a tax advisor are not binding on the IRS. As a result, the conclusions expressed in the opinion of a tax advisor could be successfully challenged by the IRS.

If the Baxter Transactions are determined to be taxable, Baxter and its stockholders could incur significant tax liabilities. Pursuant to the tax matters agreement, Baxalta agreed to indemnify us for certain tax-related losses incurred if Baxalta’s actions cause the separation and distribution and certain related transactions to fail to qualify for tax-free status under the applicable provisions of the Code.

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In anticipation of the merger between Baxalta and Shire (the Merger), we entered into a letter agreement with Shire and Baxalta (the Letter Agreement). Under the Letter Agreement, Baxalta agreed to indemnify, and Shire agreed to guarantee such indemnity to, Baxter and each of its affiliates and each of their respective officers, directors and employees against certain tax-related losses attributable to or resulting from (in whole or in part) the Merger as further described in the Letter Agreement. If the Baxter Transactions are determined to be taxable as a result (in whole or in part) of the Merger (for example, if the Merger is deemed to be part of a plan (or series of related transactions) that includes the Baxter Transactions, Baxter and its stockholders could incur significant tax liabilities. Although Baxalta and Shire may be required to indemnify Baxter under the tax matters agreement and the Letter Agreement for any such tax liabilities incurred by Baxter, there can be no assurance that the indemnity from Baxalta or the guarantee thereof by Shire will be sufficient to protect us against all or a part of the amount of such liabilities, or that either Baxalta or Shire will fully satisfy their respective obligations.

Even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from Baxalta or Shire any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be required to bear these costs initially, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

None.

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The company’s corporate offices are owned and located at One Baxter Parkway, Deerfield, Illinois 60015.

Baxter owns or has long-term leases on all of its manufacturing facilities. The location of the principal manufacturing facilities of each of the company’s geographic segments are listed below:

The company also owns or operates shared distribution facilities throughout the world. In the United States and Puerto Rico, there are six shared distribution facilities with the principal facilities located in Memphis, Tennessee; Catano, Puerto Rico; North Cove, North Carolina; and Round Lake, Illinois. Internationally, we have more than 100 shared distribution facilities located in Argentina,

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Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

The company continually evaluates its plants and production lines and believes that its current facilities plus any planned expansions are generally sufficient to meet its expected needs and expected near-term growth. Expansion projects and facility closings will be undertaken as necessary in response to market needs.

Incorporated by reference to Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Not Applicable.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

As of February 21, 2019, the following serve as Baxter’s executive officers:

José E. Almeida, age 56, is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, having served in that capacity since January 2016. He began serving as an executive officer of the company in October 2015.  He served as Senior Advisor with The Carlyle Group from May 2015 until October 2015. Previously, he served as the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Covidien plc (Covidien) from March 2012 to January 2015, prior to Medtronic plc’s (Medtronic) acquisition of Covidien, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Covidien from July 2011 to March 2012. Mr. Almeida served in other executive roles with Covidien (formerly Tyco Healthcare (Tyco)) between April 2004 and June 2011.  Mr. Almeida is a member of the Board of Directors of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

Giuseppe Accogli, age 48, is Senior Vice President and President, Global Businesses. Prior to his current role, Mr. Accogli served as Corporate Vice President and President, Renal from 2016 to 2017 and as Head of the U.S. region for Baxter’s Renal business from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Accogli joined Baxter in 2007 as Renal business unit Director in Italy, and assumed positions of increasing responsibility with the Renal business in Europe, including Head of the EMEA region for Renal from 2013 to 2015. Previously he worked as a Business Unit Manager and Sales and Marketing Manager for Medtronic (Italy) and in several sales, product and marketing roles for Tyco and then Covidien in Italy and EMEA.

Brik V. Eyre, age 55, is Senior Vice President and President, Americas. Prior to his current role, Mr. Eyre served as Corporate Vice President and President, Hospital Products from 2015 to 2017. Mr. Eyre joined the company in 2008 as General Manager for BioPharma Solutions, Baxter’s global manufacturing and contract services business. He later served as General Manager for our U.S. Medication Delivery business and then he served as Corporate Vice President and President of Renal. Prior to joining Baxter, he held a variety of senior management positions at Cardinal Health, Inc., including President of Cardinal’s PreSource Products and Services business.

Cristiano Franzi, age 56, is Senior Vice President and President, EMEA.  Mr. Franzi joined Baxter in 2017 from Medtronic, where he served as Vice President and President, Minimally Invasive Therapies Group EMEA from 2015 to 2017. He served as President EMEA at Covidien prior to Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien. He joined Covidien in 2009 and held roles of increasing responsibility during his tenure. He held a number of commercial and functional roles across Europe, the Middle East and Africa at ev3 Endovascular, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation and Becton, Dickinson & Co. earlier in his career.

Andrew Frye, age 53, is Senior Vice President and President, APAC.  Mr. Frye joined Baxter in 2017 from DKSH Holdings Ltd., where he served as Global Head of Healthcare from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he oversaw a portfolio of pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter and device products across 13 countries. Previously, he served as Vice President of Business Development from 2011 to 2014 for DKSH Healthcare. Earlier in his career, he held a number of commercial roles with increasing responsibility at Abbott Laboratories’ Pharmaceutical and Nutrition divisions.

Sean Martin, age 56, is Senior Vice President and General Counsel.  Mr. Martin joined Baxter in 2017 from Apollo Education Group, Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary from 2010 to 2017. Previously, he served as Assistant Secretary (2010), Vice President of Corporate Law (2009 to 2010) and Vice President of Commercial Law (2005 to 2009) for Amgen Inc. He also served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Fresenius Medical Care North America from 2000 to 2005. Mr.

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Martin was a Partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP from 1998 to 2000 and served eight years as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Jeanne K. Mason, Ph.D., age 63, is Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Ms. Mason joined Baxter in 2006 from GE Insurance Solutions, a primary insurance and reinsurance business, where she was responsible for global human resource functions. Ms. Mason began her career with General Electric (GE) in 1988 after serving with the U.S. General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C. Her GE experience included leadership roles in Europe for GE Information Services and GE Capital Real Estate.

Scott Pleau, age 53, is Senior Vice President, Operations. Mr. Pleau joined Baxter in 2016 from Medtronic, where he served as Vice President of Global Operations. Previously he held key operations positions of increasing responsibility across multiple businesses at Covidien beginning in 1995, most recently as Vice President, Operations, prior to Medtronic’s 2015 acquisition of Covidien.

James K. Saccaro, age 46, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Saccaro was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Hill-Rom Corporation prior to rejoining Baxter in 2014. He originally joined the company in 2002 as Manager of Strategy for the company’s BioScience business, and over the years assumed positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Financial Planning, Vice President of Finance for the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Corporate Vice President and Treasurer.  He previously held strategy and business development positions at Clear Channel Communications and the Walt Disney Company.

All executive officers hold office until the next annual election of officers and until their respective successors are elected and qualified.

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PART II

The following table includes information about the company’s common stock repurchases during the three-month period ended December 31, 2018.

Baxter common stock is listed on the New York, Chicago and SIX Swiss stock exchanges. The New York Stock Exchange is the principal market on which the company’s common stock is traded under the symbol “BAX”. At January 31, 2019, there were 24,563 holders of record of the company’s common stock.

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the change in Baxter’s cumulative total stockholder return (including reinvested dividends) on Baxter’s common stock with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Health Care Index over the past five years. Performance through June 30, 2015 has been adjusted for the Baxalta separation which occurred on July 1, 2015.

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Item 6.Selected Financial Data.

See Note 1 of Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding basis of presentation.

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The following commentary should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Description of the Company and Business Segments

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a broad portfolio of essential healthcare products including acute and chronic dialysis therapies; sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; inhaled anesthetics; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; and surgical hemostat and sealant products. The company’s global footprint and critical nature of its products and services play a key role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed countries. These products are used by hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, doctors’ offices and by patients at home under physician supervision.

The company manages its business based on three geographic segments: Americas (North and South America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific).

For financial information about Baxter’s segments, see Note 18 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Acquisition of Claris Injectables Limited

On July 27, 2017, Baxter acquired 100 percent of Claris Injectables Limited (Claris), a wholly owned subsidiary of Claris Lifesciences Limited, for total cash consideration of approximately $629 million, net of cash acquired. Through the acquisition, Baxter added capabilities in production of essential generic injectable medicines, such as anesthesia and analgesics, renal, anti-infectives and critical care in a variety of presentations including bags, vials and ampoules. Refer to Note 5 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the acquisition of Claris.

Acquisition of Recothrom and Preveleak

In March 2018, Baxter acquired two hemostat and sealant products from Mallinckrodt plc: RECOTHROM Thrombin topical

(Recombinant), the first and only stand-alone recombinant thrombin, and PREVELEAK Surgical Sealant, which is used in vascular

reconstruction. The purchase price included an upfront payment of approximately $163 million and potential contingent payments in

the future. Refer to Note 5 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the acquisition of the RECOTHROM and PREVELEAK products.

Baxter had approximately 50,000 employees and conducted business in over 100 countries as of December 31, 2018. In 2018, the company generated approximately 58% of its revenues outside the United States.  The company maintained approximately 50 manufacturing facilities and over 100 distribution facilities in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Canada as of December 31, 2018.

Financial Results

Baxter’s global net sales totaled $11.1 billion in 2018, an increase of 5% over 2017 on a reported basis and 4% on a constant currency basis. International sales totaled $6.4 billion in 2018, an increase of 6% compared to 2017 on a reported basis and 4% on a constant currency basis. Sales in the United States totaled $4.7 billion in 2018, an increase of 5% compared to 2017.

Baxter’s income from continuing operations totaled $1.6 billion, or $2.99 per diluted share in 2018, $724 million, or $1.30 per diluted share in 2017 and $4,966 million, or $9.01 per diluted share in 2016. Income from continuing operations in 2018 included special items which resulted in a net decrease to income from continuing operations of $36 million, or $0.06 per diluted share. Income from continuing operations in 2017 included special items which resulted in a net decrease to income from continuing operations of $652 million, or $1.18 per diluted share. Income from continuing operations in 2016 included special items which resulted in a net increase to income from continuing operations of $3.9 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share. The company’s special items are discussed further in the Results of Operations section below.

Baxter’s financial results included R&D expenses totaling $655 million in 2018, which reflects the company’s focus on balancing increased investments to support its new product pipeline with efforts to optimize overall R&D spending.

The company’s financial position remains strong, with operating cash flows from continuing operations totaling $2.1 billion in 2018. The company has continued to execute on its disciplined capital allocation framework, which is designed to optimize stockholder

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value creation through reinvestment in the businesses, dividends and share repurchases, as well as acquisitions and other business development initiatives as discussed in the Strategic Objectives section below.

Capital expenditures totaled $681 million in 2018 as the company continues to invest across its businesses to support future growth, including additional investments in support of new and existing product capacity expansions. The company’s investments in capital expenditures in 2018 were focused on projects that improve production efficiency and enhance manufacturing capabilities to support its strategy of geographic expansion with select investments in growing markets.

The company also continued to return value to its stockholders in the form of dividends. During 2018, the company paid cash dividends to its stockholders totaling $376 million. Additionally, in 2018 the company repurchased 35.8 million shares through cash repurchases pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 repurchase plans, an accelerated share repurchase plan and otherwise. For information on the company’s share repurchase plans, see Note 13 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Strategic Objectives

Baxter continues to focus on several key objectives to successfully execute its long-term strategy to achieve sustainable growth and deliver enhanced stockholder value. Baxter’s diversified and broad portfolio of medical products that treat life-threatening acute or chronic conditions and its global presence are core components of the company’s strategy to achieve these objectives. The company is focused on three strategic factors as part of its pursuit of industry leading performance: optimizing its core portfolio globally; operational excellence focused on streamlining its cost structure and enhancing operational efficiency; and maintaining a disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation.

Optimizing the Core Portfolio Globally

Baxter has categorized its product portfolio into four strategic business groupings.  Those groupings include core growth, core return on capital, maintain or manage differently and strategic bets.  Within the core growth grouping, Baxter looks to invest for long-term, higher margin growth.  Baxter seeks to optimize its return on investment and to maintain or enhance its market position with its core return on capital products.  Maintain or manage differently products are those for which Baxter looks to sustain or reposition its underlying investment.  Finally, the strategic bet grouping includes products for which Baxter is evaluating its market position and investment strategy.  These products cover mature and emerging markets.  Baxter continues to evaluate each product category’s placement in light of shifting market dynamics and company priorities and may reassign a product category into a different business grouping from time to time.

As part of this portfolio review, Baxter seeks to optimize its position in product areas where the company has a stable, profitable business model, identify and alter investments in products that have reached the end of their life cycles or with respect to which market positions have evolved unfavorably. In the course of doing so, Baxter expects to continue to reallocate capital to more promising opportunities or business groupings, as described above.

As part of this strategy, Baxter is shifting its investments to drive innovation where it has compelling opportunities to serve patients and healthcare professionals while advancing the business and will accelerate the pace in bringing these advances to market. Baxter is in the midst of launching several new products, geographic expansions and line extensions by 2023 including in such areas as chronic and acute renal care, smart pump technology, hospital pharmaceuticals and nutritionals, surgical sealants, and more. These comprise a mix of entirely new offerings, improvements on existing technologies, and the expansion of current products into new geographies.

Operational Excellence

As part of its pursuit of improved margin performance, Baxter is working to optimize its cost structure and as such is critically assessing optimal support levels in light of the company’s ongoing portfolio optimization efforts.

The company intends to continue to actively manage its cost structure to help ensure that it is committing resources to the highest value uses. Such high value activities include supporting innovation, building out the portfolio, expanding patient access and accelerating growth for the company’s stockholders.

Baxter has undertaken a comprehensive review of all aspects of its operations and is actively implementing changes in line with its business goals.

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Maintaining Disciplined and Balanced Capital Allocation

Baxter’s capital allocation strategies include the following:

Responsible Corporate Citizen

The company strives for continued growth and profitability, while furthering its focus on acting as a responsible corporate citizen. At Baxter, sustainability means creating lasting social, environmental and economic value by addressing the needs of the company’s wide-ranging stakeholder base. Baxter’s comprehensive sustainability program is focused on areas where the company is uniquely positioned to make a positive impact. Priorities include providing employees a safe, healthy and inclusive workplace, fostering a culture that drives integrity, strengthening access to healthcare, enhancing math and science education, and driving environmental performance across the product life cycle including development, manufacturing and transport. Baxter and the Baxter International Foundation provide financial support and product donations in support of critical needs, from assisting underserved communities to providing emergency relief for countries experiencing natural disasters.

Throughout 2018 the company continued to implement a range of water conservation strategies and facility-based energy saving initiatives. In the area of product stewardship and life cycle management, Baxter is pursuing efforts such as sustainable design and reduced packaging. Baxter is also responding to the challenges of climate change through innovative greenhouse gas emissions-reduction programs, such as shifting to less carbon-intensive energy sources in manufacturing and transport. Additionally, the company developed new long-term goals to drive continued environmental stewardship while creating healthier, more sustainable communities where Baxter employees work and live.

Risk Factors

The company’s ability to sustain long-term growth and successfully execute the strategies discussed above depends in part on the company’s ability to manage within an increasingly competitive and regulated environment and to address the other risk factors described in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Special Items

The following table provides a summary of the company’s special items and the related impact by line item on the company’s results of continuing operations for 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Intangible asset amortization expense is identified as a special item to facilitate an evaluation of current and past operating performance and is consistent with how management and the company’s Board of Directors internally assess performance. Additional special items are identified above because they are highly variable, difficult to predict and of a size that may substantially impact the company’s reported operations for a period. Management believes that providing the separate impact of the above items on the company’s results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States may provide a more complete understanding of the company’s operations and can facilitate a fuller analysis of the company’s results of operations,

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particularly in evaluating performance from one period to another. This information should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, information prepared in accordance with GAAP.

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Net Sales 

Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 5% at actual rates and 4% at constant currency rates. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2017 increased 4% at actual and constant currency rates.

Foreign currency favorably impacted net sales by one percentage point during 2018 compared to 2017 principally due to the weakening of the U.S dollar relative to the Euro, British Pound and Chinese Yuan, partially offset by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the Brazilian Real and Australian Dollar. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had no net impact on net sales during 2017 compared to the prior year.

The comparisons presented at constant currency rates reflect comparative local currency sales at the prior year’s foreign exchange rates. This measure provides information on the change in net sales assuming that foreign currency exchange rates had not changed between the prior and the current period. The company believes that the non-GAAP measure of change in net sales at constant currency rates, when used in conjunction with the GAAP measure of change in net sales at actual currency rates, may provide a more complete understanding of the company’s operations and can facilitate a fuller analysis of the company’s results of operations, particularly in evaluating performance from one period to another.

On March 19, 2018, Baxter acquired two hemostat and sealant products from Mallinckrodt plc: RECOTHROM Thrombin topical (Recombinant), the first and only stand-alone recombinant thrombin, and PREVELEAK Surgical Sealant, which is used in vascular reconstruction. The purchase price included cash payments of $163 million and potential contingent payments in the future.  In 2018, consolidated Baxter results include $52 million of net sales of RECOTHROM and PREVELEAK.

On July 27, 2017, the company completed the acquisition of Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Claris Lifesciences Limited, for total cash consideration of approximately $629 million, net of cash acquired. The Claris acquisition contributed $140 million and $57 million of net sales in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  

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Global Business Unit Net Sales Reporting

The company’s global business units (GBUs) include the following:

The following is a summary of net sales by GBU.

Renal Care net sales increased 5% and 2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 4% and 2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  The increase in 2018 was primarily driven by global growth in the PD business as well as increased international sales in the HD business. The company expects net sales in its U.S. in-center HD business to decline in 2019, which will partially offset expected global growth in the Renal Care business.  The increase in 2017 was driven by continued growth of PD patients and adoption of the company’s new Automated Peritoneal Dialysis Cyclers (APD) AMIA in the U.S. and HomeChoice CLARIA in international markets, partially offset by lower sales of HD products internationally.  Additionally, net sales were negatively impacted in 2017 by approximately $50 million as compared to 2016 due to certain international strategic market exits.  

Medication Delivery net sales decreased 1% in 2018 and increased 4% in 2017.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales decreased 2% in 2018 and increased 4% in 2017.  The decrease in 2018 was partially attributable to supply constraints associated with the company’s small volume parenterals (SVPs) due to Hurricane Maria as well as lower international sales resulting from a reallocation of volume to the U.S. As a result of those supply constraints, some customers have changed their protocols for use of these products and some others shifted to competitive products. The increase in 2017 was driven by select pricing and improved volumes for U.S. IV solutions.  This increase was also positively impacted by increased sales of the company’s IV access administrative sets, reflecting the on-going pull through from the company’s growing SPECTRUM infusion pump base.  Net sales were negatively impacted in 2017 by approximately $35 million as compared to 2016 due to certain international strategic market exits.  Additionally, 2017 net sales were also negatively impacted due to the impact of Hurricane Maria.

Pharmaceuticals net sales increased 11% and 9% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 10% and 9% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  The increase in 2018 was a result of the benefit from the acquisition of Claris, increased sales of the company’s premixed injectables and inhaled anesthetics, as well as increased demand for pharmacy compounding services.  The acquisition of Claris in 2017 contributed $140 million of net sales in 2018 compared to $57 million of net sales in 2017. Partially offsetting the increase in 2018 was reduced sales of U.S. cyclophosphamide, which decreased from $185 million in 2017 to $166 million in 2018. The company expects sales of U.S. cyclophosphamide and BREVIBLOC to decline in 2019 by approximately $70 million and $75 million, respectively. The increase in 2017 was a result of increased sales of pre-mixed

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injectable drugs, a one-time benefit from a pharmacy compounding early contract settlement, improved pricing for BREVIBLOC, and increased sales of TransDerm Scop resulting from temporary supply disruptions.  The acquisition of Claris in 2017 also contributed $57 million of net sales.  The increase was partially offset by a reduction in sales of U.S. cyclophosphamide from $210 million in 2016 to $185 million in 2017 due to the entry of competitors into the market and the negative impact of Hurricane Maria.  Additionally, net sales were negatively impacted in 2017 by approximately $10 million as compared to 2016 due to certain international strategic market exits.  

Clinical Nutrition net sales decreased 1% in 2018 and increased 3% in 2017.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales decreased 3% in 2018 and increased 2% in 2017. The decrease in 2018 was driven by the impact of Hurricane Maria related supply constraints which resulted in some customers in the U.S. changing protocols for parenteral nutritional therapies or shifting to outsourced nutrition compounding centers and competitive products, partially offset by improved volumes internationally for the company’s nutritional therapies. The increase in 2017 was driven by improved volumes, new product launches and ongoing geographic expansion for the company’s PN therapies.  Partially offsetting the increase in 2017 was reduced sales due to the impact of Hurricane Maria.

Advanced Surgery net sales increased 13% and 2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 12% and 2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in 2018 was primarily driven by the acquisition of RECOTHROM and PREVELEAK from Mallinckrodt, which contributed $52 million of net sales in 2018, and improved sales for the company’s core hemostats and sealants. The increase in 2017 was primarily driven by improved volumes internationally.  Offsetting performance in 2017 was reduced sales of non-core surgical products Actifuse and Peristrips.

Acute Therapies net sales increased 13% and 6% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 11% and 6%, respectively.  The increases in 2018 and 2017 were due to higher demand for the company’s CRRT systems to treat acute kidney injuries and higher demand for other products from an intense flu season in 2018.

Other net sales increased 12% and 2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 10% and 1% in 2018 and 2017, respectively.  The increases in 2018 and 2017 were due primarily to favorable volumes for products manufactured by Baxter on behalf of its pharmaceutical partners, including the impact of increasing safety stock levels of select products.  

  Gross Margin and Expense Ratios

Gross Margin

The special items identified above had an unfavorable impact of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.5 percentage points on the gross margin ratio in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Refer to the Special Items section above for additional detail.

Excluding the impact of the special items, the gross margin ratio increased 0.2 percentage points in 2018. The gross margin ratio increased primarily due to a favorable product mix and manufacturing efficiencies, partially offset by the negative impact of foreign exchange rates, incremental supply chain costs and the impact of lost sales due to Hurricane Maria.

Excluding the impact of the special items, the gross margin ratio increased 0.8 percentage points in 2017. The gross margin ratio was impacted by select price increases, favorable manufacturing performance and a benefit from the company’s business transformation initiatives aimed at simplifying the portfolio to drive efficiency and reduce costs, partially offset by the impact of foreign currency.

Marketing and Administrative Expenses

The special items identified above had an unfavorable impact of 1.5, 1.5 and 2.2 percentage points on the marketing and administrative expenses ratio in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Refer to the Special Items section above for additional detail.

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Excluding the impact of the special items, the marketing and administrative expenses ratio decreased 0.8 percentage points in 2018 due to the actions taken by the company to restructure its cost position and focus on expense management. These savings were partially offset by decreased benefits to the marketing and administrative expenses ratio from lower transition service income, as the agreement with Baxalta for these services terminated as of July 1, 2018, and increased freight expenses as the company worked to ensure adequate product availability to meet customer needs.  In addition, a change in the estimated useful life of the company’s ERP systems contributed to the reduction in the marketing and administrative expense ratio.

Excluding the impact of the special items, the marketing and administrative expense ratio decreased 1.8 percentage points in 2017 due to the actions taken by the company to restructure its cost position and focus on expense management. These savings were partially offset by decreased benefits to the marketing and administrative expenses ratio from lower transition service income as the agreement with Baxalta for these services continued to wind down.

Pension and Other Postemployment Benefit Plan Expense

Expense related to the company’s pension and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) plans decreased $85 million in 2018 primarily as a result of the split and freeze of its U.S. pension plans announced in January 2018 coupled with a higher expected return on assets. Expense related to the company’s pension and OPEB plans increased $9 million in 2017 primarily due to a reduction in the expected return on assets.  The company expects expenses from pension and OPEB plans to decrease in 2019 as a result of higher discount rates.  Refer to Note 14 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding pension and other postemployment benefit plan expenses.

Business Optimization Items

Beginning in the second half of 2015, the company has initiated actions to transform the company’s cost structure and enhance operational efficiency. These efforts include restructuring the organization, optimizing the manufacturing footprint, R&D operations and supply chain network, employing disciplined cost management, and centralizing and streamlining certain support functions. Through December 31, 2018, the company incurred cumulative pre-tax costs of $796 million related to these actions. The costs consisted primarily of employee termination costs, implementation costs, and accelerated depreciation. The company expects to incur additional pretax costs of approximately $75 million and capital expenditures of $50 million related to these initiatives by the end of 2020. These costs will primarily include employee termination costs and implementation costs. The reductions in our cost base from these actions in the aggregate are expected to provide cumulative annual pretax savings of approximately $1.2 billion once the remaining actions are complete. The savings from these actions will impact cost of sales, marketing and administrative expenses, and R&D expenses. The company estimates that actions taken through December 31, 2018 have resulted in approximately $975 million of savings in 2018. Approximately 90 percent of the expected annual pretax savings are expected to be realized by the end of 2019, with the remainder by the end of 2020.

In addition to the programs above, the company recorded additional business optimization charges of $125 million in 2016. These charges primarily included employee termination costs, contract termination costs, asset impairments, and Gambro integration costs.  Approximately 40% of these other 2016 charges were non-cash. The company does not anticipate incurring any additional costs related to these programs in the future. The actions in the aggregate provide annual pre-tax savings of approximately $19 million. The savings from these actions impact cost of sales, marketing and administrative expenses, and R&D expenses.

Refer to Note 8 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the company’s business optimization initiatives.

Research and Development

The special items identified above had an unfavorable impact of $36 million in 2018 and $80 million in 2016.

Excluding the impact of the special items, the research and development expenses ratio decreased in 2018 as a result of actions taken by the company to restructure its cost position and focus on expense management, partially offset by an increase in project-related expenditures.

Excluding the impact of special items, the research and development expenses ratio increased in 2017 as a result of the company’s increased investment in new product development and geographic expansion.

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Net Interest Expense

Net interest expense was $45 million, $55 million and $66 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The decrease in 2018 was primarily driven by higher interest income earned as a result of favorable interest rates. The decrease in 2017 was principally driven by lower outstanding debt as a result of the first quarter 2016 debt-for-equity exchanges and reduced coupon rates resulting from the third quarter 2016 and second quarter 2017 debt issuances, partially offset by lower capitalized interest compared to 2016.  Refer to Note 3 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a summary of the components of net interest expense for 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Other (Income) Expense, Net

Other (income) expense, net was income of $139 million, expense of $19 million and income of $4,275 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The current year results included $73 million of income related to foreign currency fluctuations principally relating to intercompany receivables, payables and monetary assets denominated in a foreign currency, pension and OPEB income of $48 million and a $24 million gain from remeasuring the company’s previously held investment to fair value upon acquisition of a controlling interest in its joint venture in Saudi Arabia. The 2017 results included $50 million of income related to foreign currency fluctuations principally relating to intercompany receivables, payables and monetary assets denominated in a foreign currency, partially offset by the $33 million loss on the deconsolidation of the company’s Venezuela operations, $8 million of losses related to investment impairments and $33 million of expense related to pension and OPEB plans. The 2016 results included net realized gains of $4.4 billion on the Retained Shares transactions, dividend income of $16 million from the Retained Shares, and $28 million of income related to foreign currency fluctuations principally relating to intercompany receivables, payables and monetary assets denominated in a foreign currency. These income items were partially offset by net debt extinguishment losses of $153 million and expense of $21 million related to pension and OPEB plans.

Income Taxes

Effective Income Tax Rate

The effective income tax rate for continuing operations was 3.7% in 2018, 40.5% in 2017, and (0.2%) in 2016. The special items identified above had a favorable impact of 13.2 percentage points on the effective income tax rate in 2018, an unfavorable impact of 22.5 percentage points in 2017 and a favorable impact of 22.1 percentage points in 2016.  Refer to the Special Items section above for additional detail.

The company’s provision for income taxes and its effective rate decreased in 2018 compared to 2017 primarily due to special items, the most significant of which was the company’s finalization of its provisional adjustments resulting from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the 2017 Tax Act).  SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 118 (SAB 118) allowed a one-year measurement period from the December 22, 2017 Tax Act enactment date to refine the provisional amounts recognized in the 2017 financial statements.  

The company recorded several SAB 118 measurement period provisional adjustments in 2018.  First, after further studying the 2017 Tax Act and associated U.S. Treasury Department Proposed Regulations, the company refined its provisional estimate of a full valuation allowance against its U.S. foreign tax credit deferred tax assets (DTAs) and released a $194 million valuation allowance due to the company’s ability to utilize a portion of its U.S. foreign tax credits DTAs. Second, the 2017 Tax Act requires the company to pay U.S. income taxes on accumulated foreign subsidiary earnings not previously subject to U.S. income tax at a rate of 15.5% to the extent of foreign cash and certain other net current assets and 8% on the remaining earnings. In 2017, the company recognized a provisional charge for its one-time transitional tax expense of $529 million, the majority of which was non-cash.  During 2018, the company refined its estimated one-time transition tax expense, recognizing a benefit of $5 million. Third, the 2017 Tax Act lowered the U.S. Federal rate from 35% to 21% and generally exempts foreign income from U.S. taxation. The company finalized its provisional revaluation of U.S. deferred tax assets, recording an additional $8 million benefit.  

The benefit from the lower U.S. federal rate was almost wholly offset by changes to deductions related to the 2017 Tax Act. These changes included lost tax benefits from the allocations of certain U.S. expenses to exempt foreign income.  The company’s tax provision for 2018 does not include any tax charge related to either the Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (GILTI) or Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) provisions as the company does not believe that it is subject to either.  Refer to Note 16 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information related to the 2017 Tax Act and the finalization of associated SAB 118 provisional adjustments.

In addition to the 2017 Tax Act SAB 118 measurement period adjustments, the company’s provision for income taxes and its effective rate decreased in 2018 compared to 2017 due to a settlement of a 2008 through 2010 transfer pricing Competent Authority proceeding between the U.S. and Germany, the reversal of a foreign valuation allowance as a result of continued profit improvements, and the receipt of tax free income from the settlement of Claris contingent matters.  Partially offsetting the decrease in the effective tax rate

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was a decrease in benefits related to deductions in excess of share-based compensation costs (windfall tax benefits), the revaluation of Swedish net deferred tax assets and miscellaneous transfer pricing-related income tax accruals.

The company’s provision for income taxes and its effective rate increased in 2017 compared to 2016 primarily due to special items including provisional charges resulting from the 2017 Tax Act, the tax-free net realized gains recognized in 2016 on the Baxalta Retained Shares and resolution of uncertain tax positions related to a foreign subsidiary in 2016.  In addition, the company’s provision for income taxes and its effective tax rate in 2017 increased due to tax benefits recognized in 2016 from partially settling an IRS (2008-2013) income tax audit, settling a German (2008-2011) income tax audit and other miscellaneous transfer pricing matters.  Partially offsetting the increase in the effective tax rate was a benefit of $56 million in 2017 related to deductions in excess of share-based compensation costs (windfall tax benefits) and the mix of earnings in lower tax jurisdictions relative to higher tax jurisdictions.

The company anticipates that the effective income tax rate from continuing operations, calculated in accordance with GAAP, will be approximately 18% in 2019.  This rate may be further impacted by a number of factors including discrete items, such as tax windfalls or deficiencies attributable to stock compensation exercises as well as additional audit developments, or the tax effect of other special items.

Income from Continuing Operations and Earnings per Diluted Share

Income from continuing operations was $1.6 billion in 2018, $724 million in 2017 and $5.0 billion in 2016. Income from continuing operations per diluted share was $2.99 in 2018, $1.30 in 2017 and $9.01 in 2016. The significant factors and events causing the net changes from 2017 to 2018 and 2016 to 2017 are discussed above. Additionally, income from continuing operations per diluted share was positively impacted by the repurchase of 9.2 million shares in 2017 through Rule 10b5-1 purchase plans and the repurchase of 35.8 million shares in 2018 through Rule 10b5-1 purchase plans, an accelerated share repurchase plan and otherwise. Refer to Note 13 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding the company’s stock repurchases.

(Loss) Income from Discontinued Operations

The following table is a summary of the operating results related to Baxalta, which have been reflected as discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Refer to Note 2 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the separation of Baxalta.

In addition, the company recognized additional expense of $10 million, net of tax, in 2017 related to environmental clean-up costs at a former location.  Refer to Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding environmental liabilities.

Segment results

The company uses operating income on a segment basis to make resource allocation decisions and assess the ongoing performance of the company’s segments. Refer to Note 18 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding the company’s segments. The following is a summary of significant factors impacting the reportable segments’ financial results.

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Americas

Segment operating income was $2,412 million, $2,234 million and $2,078 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The increase in 2018 was primarily driven by increased net sales and gross margin as a result of the Claris and RECOTHROM and PREVELEAK acquisitions and higher net sales related to premix injectables. Also, driving performance was improved performance in Renal Care, driven primarily by PD growth, and Acute Therapies. Negatively impacting performance in 2018 were the challenges in the Medication Delivery and Clinical Nutrition GBUs as previously described. The increase in 2017 was primarily driven by increased sales and gross margin largely due to strength in the Medication Delivery, Renal Care and Pharmaceuticals GBUs.  In addition, marketing and administrative expenses were lower as cost savings were realized from the company’s business optimization programs and continued focus on expense management.

EMEA

Segment operating income was $674 million, $564 million and $476 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The increase in 2018 was primarily driven by higher net sales across multiple GBUs, and improved margins primarily as a result of product mix. The increase in 2017 was largely driven by lower marketing and administrative expenses as cost savings were realized from the company’s business optimization programs and continued focus on expense management.

APAC

Segment operating income was $538 million, $512 million and $464 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Results in 2018 were primarily driven by higher sales, primarily from China in the Renal Care and Clinical Nutrition GBUs. The increase in 2017 was largely driven by strong performance in the Renal Care and Acute Therapies GBUs along with lower marketing and administrative expenses as cost savings were realized from the company’s business optimization programs and continued focus on expense management.  

Corporate and other

Certain income and expense amounts are not allocated to a segment. These amounts primarily include corporate headquarters costs, certain R&D costs, certain GBU support costs, stock compensation expense, non-strategic investments and related income and expense, certain employee benefit plan costs as well as certain gains, losses, and other charges (such as business optimization and asset impairments).

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

The company’s cash flows reflect both continuing and discontinued operations.

Cash Flows from Operations — Continuing Operations

Operating cash flows from continuing operations totaled $2.1 billion, $1.9 billion and $1.6 billion in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.  The increases were driven by the factors described below.

Net Income

Net income, as adjusted for certain non-cash items, such as depreciation and amortization, net periodic pension benefit and OPEB costs, stock compensation, deferred income taxes and other items increased in 2018 compared to 2017 as well as in 2017 as compared to 2016.  

Accounts Receivable

Changes in accounts receivable had a negative impact to cash flows in 2018 compared to a positive impact in 2017 and 2016. Days sales outstanding were 54.3 days, 53.0 days and 54.5 days for 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Days sales outstanding increased in 2018 and decreased in 2017 primarily driven by the timing of collections in certain international markets.

Inventories

Changes in inventories resulted in a cash outflow of $197 million in 2018, an inflow of $76 million in 2017 and an inflow of $80 million in 2016. The following is a summary of inventories at December 31, 2018 and 2017, as well as inventory turns for 2018, 2017 and 2016. Inventory turns for the year are calculated as the annualized fourth quarter cost of sales divided by the year-end inventory balance.

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Other

The changes in accounts payable and accrued liabilities were an inflow of $53 million in 2018 and $84 million in 2017 and an outflow of $197 million in 2016. The changes were primarily driven by the timing of supplier payments. Days payables outstanding increased to 55.5 days in 2018 compared to 48.7 days in 2017 and 39.6 in 2016, respectively.

Payments related to the execution of the company’s business optimization initiatives were $99 million in 2018, $143 million in 2017 and $164 million in 2016, respectively. Refer to Note 8 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding the business optimization initiatives.

Changes in other balance sheet items had net cash outflows of $105 million and $229 million in 2018 and 2017, respectively, and a net inflow of $90 million in 2016. The change in 2018 compared to 2017 is driven by higher pension contributions in 2017. The cash inflow in 2016 was the result of a U.S. federal income tax refund of $250 million. Cash contributions to the company’s pension plans totaled $51 million, $242 million and $66 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities — Continuing Operations

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures relating to continuing operations totaled $681 million, $634 million and $719 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The company’s capital expenditures were driven by targeted investments in projects to support production of PD and IV solutions as well as expansion activities for dialyzers. The decline in capital expenditures over the three years was due to a reduction in spending related to ongoing projects and the completion of certain expansion activities.

Acquisitions and Investments

Net cash outflows related to acquisitions and investments were $268 million, $686 million and $48 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The cash outflows in 2018 were primarily driven by the $163 million acquisition of RECOTHROM and PREVELEAK from Mallinckrodt and the acquisition of two products from Celerity for $72 million. The cash outflows in 2017 were driven by the acquisition of Claris and the rights to certain molecules from Celerity.  The cash outflows in 2016 were driven primarily by the acquisition of the rights to vancomycin from Celerity.

Refer to Note 5 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about the company’s significant acquisitions and other arrangements.

Divestitures and Other Investing Activities

Net cash inflows relating to divestitures and other investing activities were $11 million, $10 million and $37 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The net inflow in 2018 was primarily driven by the sale of certain investment securities. The net inflow in 2017 was driven by proceeds received from asset sales partially offset by the impact of the deconsolidation of the company’s Venezuelan operations. The net inflow in 2016 was driven by certain asset sales.  

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Debt Issuances, Net of Payments of Obligations

Net cash inflows related to debt and other financing obligations in 2018 were insignificant.

Net cash inflows related to debt and other financing obligations totaled $632 million in 2017 primarily related to the issuance of €600 million of senior notes at a fixed coupon rate of 1.30% due in May 2025. Refer to Note 9 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding the debt transactions in 2017.

Net cash inflows related to debt and other financing obligations totaled $56 million in 2016 primarily related to a $190 million repayment of the company’s 0.95% senior unsecured notes that matured in June 2016, a $130 million repayment of the company’s 5.9% senior unsecured notes that matured in September 2016 and the redemption of approximately $1 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior notes in September 2016, as well as the repayment of other short-term obligations. The company also had $300 million of net repayments related to its commercial paper program. These cash outflows were partially offset by issuances of senior

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notes totaling $1.6 billion in August 2016. Refer to Note 9 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding the debt transactions in 2016.

The company’s debt instruments discussed above are unsecured and contain certain covenants, including restrictions relating to the company’s issuance of secured debt.

Other Financing Activities

Cash dividend payments totaled $376 million in 2018, $315 million in 2017 and $268 million in 2016. The increase in cash dividend payments in 2018 was primarily due to an increase in the quarterly dividend rate from $0.13 to $0.16 per share for quarterly dividends declared between May 2017 and May 2018.  In addition, the company increased the quarterly dividend rate from $0.16 to $0.19 per share for quarterly dividends declared beginning May 2018.  The increase in cash dividend payments in 2017 was primarily due to an increase in the quarterly dividend rate from $0.115 to $0.13 per share for quarterly dividends declared between May 2016 and May 2017 and the previously mentioned increase in May 2017.

Proceeds from stock issued under employee benefit plans totaled $258 million, $347 million and $286 million in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Total realized excess tax benefits of $40 million in 2018 and $56 million in 2017 are presented as an inflow from operating activities as required under new accounting guidance implemented in 2017.  Total realized excess tax benefits of $39 million in 2016 are presented in the consolidated statements of cash flows as an inflow in the financing section.  Refer to Note 1 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the change in accounting.

In 2016, the company executed an equity-for-equity exchange of Retained Shares for 11.5 million outstanding Baxter shares. As authorized by the Board of Directors, the company repurchases its stock depending on the company’s cash flows, net debt level and market conditions. In July 2012, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $2.0 billion of the company’s common stock. The Board of Directors increased this authority by an additional $1.5 billion in November 2016. The company paid $292 million in cash to repurchase approximately 6.3 million shares pursuant to this authority in 2016.  In 2017, the company paid $564 million to repurchase approximately 9.2 million shares under this authority pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans and otherwise and had $1.1 billion remaining available under this authorization as of December 31, 2017.  The Board of Directors increased this authority by an additional $1.5 billion in February 2018 and an additional $2.0 billion in November 2018.  In 2018, the company paid $2.5 billion to repurchase approximately 35.8 million shares under this authority pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans, the accelerated share repurchase agreement noted below and otherwise and had $2.1 billion remaining available under this authorization as of December 31, 2018. Refer to Note 13 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details regarding the company’s share repurchase programs.

In December 2018, the company entered into a $300 million accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR Agreement) with an investment bank. The company funded the ASR Agreement with available cash. Under the ASR Agreement, 3.6 million shares were received by the company upon execution. At final settlement of the ASR Agreement, which is expected to occur no later than the second quarter of 2019, the investment bank may be required to deliver additional shares of common stock to the company or the company may be required to deliver shares of its common stock to the investment bank, with the number of shares to be delivered based on the volume-weighted average price of the company’s common stock during the term of the ASR Agreement.

Credit Facilities, Access to Capital and Credit Ratings

Credit Facilities

As of December 31, 2018, the company’s U.S. dollar-denominated senior revolving credit facility and Euro-denominated senior revolving credit facility had a maximum capacity of $1.5 billion and approximately €200 million, respectively, both maturing in 2020. As of December 31, 2018, the company was in compliance with the financial covenants in these agreements. The non-performance of any financial institution supporting either of the credit facilities would reduce the maximum capacity of these facilities by each institution’s respective commitment.  The company may, at its option, seek to increase the aggregate commitment under the U.S. facility by up to an additional $750 million. The facilities enable the company to borrow funds on an unsecured basis at variable interest rates, and contain various covenants, including a maximum net leverage ratio and maximum interest coverage ratio.

The company also maintains other credit arrangements, as described in Note 9 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Access to Capital

The company intends to fund short-term and long-term obligations as they mature through cash on hand, future cash flows from operations or by issuing additional debt. In early 2019, the company has issued commercial paper as an additional source of financing. The company had $1.8 billion of cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2018, with adequate cash available to meet operating requirements in each jurisdiction in which the company operates. The company invests its excess cash in certificates of deposit and money market funds, and diversifies the concentration of cash among different financial institutions.

The company’s ability to generate cash flows from operations, issue debt or enter into other financing arrangements on acceptable terms could be adversely affected if there is a material decline in the demand for the company’s products or in the solvency of its customers or suppliers, deterioration in the company’s key financial ratios or credit ratings or other significantly unfavorable changes in conditions. However, the company believes it has sufficient financial flexibility to issue debt, enter into other financing arrangements and attract long-term capital on acceptable terms to support the company’s growth objectives.

The company continues to do business with foreign governments in certain countries, including Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy, which have experienced deterioration in credit and economic conditions. As of December 31, 2018, the company’s net accounts receivable from the public sector in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy totaled $130 million.

While these economic conditions have not significantly impacted the company’s ability to collect receivables, global economic conditions and liquidity issues in certain countries have resulted, and may continue to result, in delays in the collection of receivables and credit losses.

Credit Ratings

The company’s credit ratings at December 31, 2018 were as follows:

In the first quarter of 2018, Moody’s upgraded Baxter’s senior unsecured debt ratings from Baa2 to Baa1, and Fitch upgraded Baxter’s senior unsecured debt ratings from BBB+ to A-.

Contractual Obligations

As of December 31, 2018, the company had contractual obligations, excluding accounts payable and accrued liabilities, payable or maturing in the following periods.

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The company contributed $69 million, $260 million and $772 million to its defined benefit pension and OPEB plans in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The timing of funding in the future is uncertain and is dependent on future movements in interest rates and investment returns, changes in laws and regulations, and other variables. Therefore, the table above excludes pension plan cash outflows. The pension plan balance included in other long-term liabilities (and excluded from the table above) totaled $888 million at December 31, 2018.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Baxter periodically enters into off-balance sheet arrangements. Certain contingencies arise in the normal course of business, and are not recorded in the consolidated balance sheet in accordance with GAAP (such as contingent joint development and commercialization arrangement payments). Also, upon resolution of uncertainties, the company may incur charges in excess of presently established liabilities for certain matters (such as contractual indemnifications). For a discussion of the company’s significant off-balance sheet arrangements, refer to Note 11 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding receivable transactions, Note 12 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding joint development and commercialization arrangements and indemnifications, and Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding legal contingencies.

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT MARKET RISK

The company operates on a global basis and is exposed to the risk that its earnings, cash flows and equity could be adversely impacted by fluctuations in foreign exchange and interest rates. The company’s hedging policy attempts to manage these risks to an acceptable level based on the company’s judgment of the appropriate trade-off between risk, opportunity and costs. Refer to Note 10 and Note 11 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding the company’s financial instruments and hedging strategies.

Currency Risk

The company is primarily exposed to foreign exchange risk with respect to revenues generated outside of the United States denominated in the Euro, British Pound, Chinese Yuan, Korean Won, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Colombian Peso, Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso, and Swedish Krona. The company manages its foreign currency exposures on a consolidated basis, which allows the company to net exposures and take advantage of any natural offsets. In addition, the company uses derivative and nonderivative financial instruments to further reduce the net exposure to foreign exchange. Gains and losses on the hedging instruments offset losses and gains on the hedged transactions and reduce the earnings and stockholders’ equity volatility relating to foreign exchange. Financial market and currency volatility may limit the company’s ability to cost-effectively hedge these exposures.

The company may use options, forwards and cross-currency swaps to hedge the foreign exchange risk to earnings relating to forecasted transactions denominated in foreign currencies and recognized assets and liabilities. The maximum term over which the company has cash flow hedge contracts in place related to forecasted transactions at December 31, 2018 is 15 months. The company also enters into derivative instruments to hedge certain intercompany and third-party receivables and payables and debt denominated in foreign currencies.

As part of its risk-management program, the company performs sensitivity analyses to assess potential changes in the fair value of its foreign exchange instruments relating to hypothetical and reasonably possible near-term movements in foreign exchange rates.

A sensitivity analysis of changes in the fair value of foreign exchange option and forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2018, while not predictive in nature, indicated that if the U.S. Dollar uniformly weakened by 10% against all currencies, on a net-of-tax basis, the net asset balance of $16 million with respect to those contracts would decrease by $26 million, resulting in a net liability position. A similar analysis performed with respect to option and forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2017 indicated that, on a net-of-tax basis, the net asset balance of $7 million would decrease by $25 million, resulting in a net liability position.

The sensitivity analysis model recalculates the fair value of the foreign exchange option and forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2018 by replacing the actual exchange rates at December 31, 2018 with exchange rates that are 10% weaker compared to the actual exchange rates for each applicable currency. All other factors are held constant. These sensitivity analyses disregard the

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possibility that currency exchange rates can move in opposite directions and that gains from one currency may or may not be offset by losses from another currency. The analyses also disregard the offsetting change in value of the underlying hedged transactions and balances.

The company’s operations in Argentina are reported using highly inflationary accounting effective July 1, 2018.  Changes in the value of the Argentine peso applied to our peso-denominated net monetary asset positions are recorded in income at the time of the change.  As of December 31, 2018, the company’s net monetary assets denominated in Argentine pesos are not significant.

Interest Rate and Other Risks

The company is also exposed to the risk that its earnings and cash flows could be adversely impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. The company’s policy is to manage interest costs using a mix of fixed- and floating-rate debt that the company believes is appropriate. To manage this mix in a cost-efficient manner, the company periodically enters into interest rate swaps in which the company agrees to exchange, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and floating interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional amount. The company also periodically uses forward-starting interest rate swaps and treasury rate locks to hedge the risk to earnings associated with fluctuations in interest rates relating to anticipated issuances of term debt.

As part of its risk management program, the company performs sensitivity analyses to assess potential gains and losses in earnings relating to hypothetical movements in interest rates. A 13 basis-point increase in interest rates (approximately 10% of the company’s weighted-average interest rate during 2018) affecting the company’s financial instruments, including debt obligations and related derivatives, would have an immaterial effect on the company’s 2018, 2017 and 2016 earnings and on the fair value of the company’s fixed-rate debt as of the end of each fiscal year.

CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

Refer to Note 1 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information on changes in accounting standards.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires the company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. A summary of the company’s significant accounting policies is included in Note 1 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain of the company’s accounting policies are considered critical because these policies are the most important to the depiction of the company’s financial statements and require significant, difficult or complex judgments by the company, often requiring the use of estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Actual results that differ from the company’s estimates could have an unfavorable effect on the company’s results of operations and financial position. The following is a summary of accounting policies that the company considers critical to the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition and Related Provisions and Allowances

The company’s revenues from product sales are recorded at the net sales price (transaction price), which includes estimates of variable consideration for reserves related to rebates, product returns, sales discounts and wholesaler chargebacks. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales. Management's estimates take into consideration historical experience, current contractual and statutory requirements, specific known market events and trends, industry data, and forecasted customer buying and payment patterns. Overall, these reserves reflect the company’s best estimates of the amount of consideration to which it is entitled based on the terms of the contract. The amount of variable consideration included in the net sales price is limited to the amount that is probable not to result in a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized in a future period.

The company’s contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products and services to a customer. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately may require significant judgment.

The new standard related to revenue recognition has not had a material impact on the company’s consolidated financial statements as compared to historical revenue recognition guidelines. Refer to Note 1 within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

The company periodically and systematically evaluates the collectability of accounts receivable and determines the appropriate reserve for doubtful accounts. In determining the amount of the reserve, the company considers historical credit losses, the past-due status of receivables, payment history and other customer-specific information, and any other relevant factors or considerations.

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The company also provides for the estimated costs that may be incurred under its warranty programs when the cost is both probable and reasonably estimable, which is at the time the related revenue is recognized. The cost is determined based on actual company experience for the same or similar products as well as other relevant information. Estimates of future costs under the company’s warranty programs could change based on developments in the future.

Pension and OPEB Plans

The company provides pension and other postemployment benefits to certain of its employees. The service component of employee benefit expenses is reported in the same line items in the consolidated income statement as the applicable employee’s compensation expense. All other components of these employee benefit expenses are reported in other (income) expense, net in the consolidated income statement. The valuation of the funded status and net periodic benefit cost for the plans is calculated using actuarial assumptions. These assumptions are reviewed annually, and revised if appropriate. The significant assumptions include the following:

Selecting assumptions involves an analysis of both short-term and long-term historical trends and known economic and market conditions at the time of the valuation (also called the measurement date). The use of different assumptions would result in different measures of the funded status and net cost. Actual results in the future could differ from expected results.

The company’s key assumptions are listed in Note 14 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The most critical assumptions relate to the plans covering U.S. and Puerto Rico employees, because these plans are the most significant to the company’s consolidated financial statements.

Discount Rate Assumption

Effective for the December 31, 2018 measurement date, the company utilized discount rates of 4.31% and 4.20% to measure its benefit obligations for the U.S. and Puerto Rico pension plans and OPEB plan, respectively. The company used a broad population of approximately 200 Aa-rated corporate bonds as of December 31, 2018 to determine the discount rate assumption. All bonds were denominated in U.S. dollars, with a minimum amount outstanding of $50 million. This population of bonds was narrowed from a broader universe of approximately 700 Moody’s Aa rated, non-callable (or callable with make-whole provisions) bonds by eliminating the top 10th percentile and bottom 40th percentile to adjust for any pricing anomalies and to represent the bonds Baxter would most likely select if it were to actually annuitize its pension and OPEB plan liabilities. This portfolio of bonds was used to generate a yield curve and associated spot rate curve to discount the projected benefit payments for the U.S. and Puerto Rico plans. The discount rate is the single level rate that produces the same result as the spot rate curve.

For plans in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and other European countries, the company uses a method essentially the same as that described for the U.S. and Puerto Rico plans. For the company’s other international plans, the discount rate is generally determined by reviewing country- and region-specific government and corporate bond interest rates.

To understand the impact of changes in discount rates on pension and OPEB plan cost, the company performs a sensitivity analysis. Holding all other assumptions constant, for each 50 basis point (i.e., one-half of one percent) increase in the discount rate, global pre-tax pension and OPEB plan cost would decrease by approximately $27 million, and for each 50 basis point decrease in the discount rate, global pre-tax pension and OPEB plan cost would increase by approximately $30 million.

Return on Plan Assets Assumption

In measuring the net periodic cost for 2018, the company used a long-term expected rate of return of 6.25% for the pension plans covering U.S. and Puerto Rico employees. This assumption will not change in 2019. This assumption is not applicable to the company’s OPEB plan because it is not funded.

The company establishes the long-term asset return assumption based on a review of historical compound average asset returns, both company-specific and relating to the broad market (based on the company’s asset allocation), as well as an analysis of current market

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and economic information and future expectations. The current asset return assumption is supported by historical market experience for both the company’s actual and targeted asset allocation. In calculating net pension cost, the expected return on assets is applied to a calculated value of plan assets, which recognizes changes in the fair value of plan assets in a systematic manner over five years. The difference between this expected return and the actual return on plan assets is a component of the total net unrecognized gain or loss and is subject to amortization in the future.

To understand the impact of changes in the expected asset return assumption on net cost, the company performs a sensitivity analysis. Holding all other assumptions constant, for each 50 basis point increase (decrease) in the asset return assumption, global pre-tax pension plan cost would decrease (increase) by approximately $25 million.

Other Assumptions

For the U.S. and Puerto Rico plans, beginning with the December 31, 2018 measurement date, the company used the RP 2014 combined mortality table adjusted to reflect Baxter specific past experience with improvements projected using the MP-2018 projection scale adjusted to a long term improvement of 0.8% in 2034. For all other pension plans, the company utilized country- and region-specific mortality tables to calculate the plans’ benefit obligations. The company periodically analyzes and updates its assumptions concerning demographic factors such as retirement, mortality and turnover, considering historical experience as well as anticipated future trends.

The assumptions relating to employee compensation increases and future healthcare costs are based on historical experience, market trends, and anticipated future company actions. Refer to Note 14 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding the sensitivity of the OPEB plan obligation and the total of the service and interest cost components of OPEB plan cost to potential changes in future healthcare trend rates.

Legal Contingencies

The company is involved in product liability, patent, commercial, regulatory and other legal proceedings that arise in the normal course of business. Refer to Note 17 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information. The company records a liability when a loss is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate, the minimum amount in the range is accrued. If a loss is not probable or a probable loss cannot be reasonably estimated, no liability is recorded. The company has established reserves for certain of its legal matters. At December 31, 2018, total legal liabilities were $34 million.

The company’s loss estimates are generally developed in consultation with outside counsel and are based on analyses of potential outcomes. With respect to the recording of any insurance recoveries, after completing the assessment and accounting for the company’s legal contingencies, the company separately and independently analyzes its insurance coverage and records any insurance recoveries that are probable of occurring at the gross amount that is expected to be collected. In performing the assessment, the company reviews available information, including historical company-specific and market collection experience for similar claims, current facts and circumstances pertaining to the particular insurance claim, the financial viability of the applicable insurance company or companies, and other relevant information.

While the liability of the company in connection with certain claims cannot be estimated and although the resolution in any reporting period of one or more of these matters could have a significant impact on the company’s results of operations and cash flows for that period, the outcome of these legal proceedings is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the company’s consolidated financial position. While the company believes it has valid defenses in these matters, litigation is inherently uncertain, excessive verdicts do occur, and the company may in the future incur material judgments or enter into material settlements of claims.

Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowances, Reserves for Uncertain Tax Positions and Tax Reform

The company maintains valuation allowances unless it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will be realized. Changes in valuation allowances are included in the company’s tax provision in the period of change. In determining whether a valuation allowance is warranted, the company evaluates factors such as prior earnings history, expected future earnings, carryback and carryforward periods, and tax strategies that could potentially enhance the likelihood of realization of a deferred tax asset. The realizability assessments made at a given balance sheet date are subject to change in the future, particularly if earnings of a subsidiary are significantly higher or lower than expected, or if the company takes operational or tax planning actions that could impact the future taxable earnings of a subsidiary.

In the normal course of business, the company is audited by federal, state and foreign tax authorities, and is periodically challenged regarding the amount of taxes due. These challenges relate to the timing and amount of deductions and the allocation of income

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among various tax jurisdictions. The company believes its tax positions comply with applicable tax law and the company intends to defend its positions. In evaluating the exposure associated with various tax filing positions, the company records reserves for uncertain tax positions in accordance with GAAP, based on the technical support for the positions, the company’s past audit experience with similar situations, and potential interest and penalties related to the matters. The company’s results of operations and effective tax rate in a given period could be impacted if, upon final resolution with taxing authorities, the company prevailed in positions for which reserves have been established, or was required to pay amounts in excess of established reserves.

On December 22, 2017, the 2017 Tax Act was enacted into law and the new legislation contains several key tax provisions that affected the company, including a one-time mandatory transition tax on accumulated foreign earnings and a reduction of the U.S. corporate income tax rate to 21% effective January 1, 2018, among others. The company was required to recognize the effect of the tax law changes in the period of enactment, such as determining the transition tax, remeasuring its U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities as well as reassessing the net realizability of its deferred tax assets and liabilities. In December 2017, the SEC staff issued SAB 118 which allowed the company to record provisional amounts during a measurement period not to extend beyond one year of the enactment date. The company has completed its analysis in accordance with SAB 118 and has finalized the accounting for the initial impact of the 2017 Tax Act. Refer to Note 16 within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Valuation of Intangible Assets, Including IPR&D

The company acquires intangible assets and records them at fair value. Valuations are generally completed for business acquisitions using a discounted cash flow analysis, incorporating the stage of completion and consideration of market participant assumptions. The most significant estimates and assumptions inherent in a discounted cash flow analysis include the amount and timing of projected future cash flows, the discount rate used to measure the risks inherent in the future cash flows, the assessment of the asset’s life cycle, and the competitive and other trends impacting the asset, including consideration of technical, legal, regulatory, economic and other factors. Each of these factors and assumptions can significantly affect the value of the intangible asset.

Acquired in-process R&D (IPR&D) is the value assigned to acquired technology or products under development which have not received regulatory approval and have no alternative future use. Acquired IPR&D included in a business combination is capitalized as an indefinite-lived intangible asset. Development costs incurred after the acquisition are expensed as incurred. Upon receipt of regulatory approval of the related technology or product, the indefinite-lived intangible asset is then accounted for as a finite-lived intangible asset and amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life. If the R&D project is abandoned, the indefinite-lived intangible asset is charged to expense.

IPR&D acquired in transactions that are not business combinations is expensed immediately. For such transactions, payments made to third parties on or after regulatory approval are capitalized and amortized over the remaining useful life of the related asset, and are classified as intangible assets.

Due to the inherent uncertainty associated with R&D projects, there is no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from the underlying assumptions used to prepare discounted cash flow analyses, nor that the R&D project will result in a successful commercial product.

Impairment of Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets

Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are subject to impairment reviews annually, and whenever indicators of impairment exist. The company assesses goodwill for impairment based on its reporting units, which are the same as its operating segments.  Goodwill is tested for impairment by performing either a qualitative or quantitative evaluation. The qualitative evaluation is an assessment of factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. As of December 31, 2018, the date of the company’s annual impairment review, the company determined that the fair values of the company’s reporting units were more likely than not in excess of their carrying values.  The company performs a qualitative assessment of other indefinite-lived intangible assets, including IPR&D, at least annually. If the intangible asset is determined to be more likely than not impaired as a result of the assessment, the company completes a quantitative impairment test. Intangible assets with definite lives and other long-lived assets (such as fixed assets) are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Refer to Note 1 in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information. Fair value measurements used in impairment reviews are based on an estimated future cash flow approach that requires significant judgment with respect to future volume, revenue and expense growth rates, changes in working capital use, foreign currency exchange rates, the selection of an appropriate discount rate, asset groupings, and other assumptions and estimates. The estimates and assumptions used are consistent with the company’s business plans and reflect its judgements about the estimates and assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the related assets. The use of alternative estimates and assumptions could increase or decrease the estimated fair values of the assets, and potentially result in different impacts to the company’s results of operations. Actual results may differ from the company’s estimates.

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CERTAIN REGULATORY MATTERS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commenced an inspection of Claris’ facilities in Ahmedabad, India in July 2017, immediately prior to the closing of the Claris acquisition. FDA completed the inspection, at which time FDA issued a related Form-483 (Claris 483). In July 2018, FDA issued a Warning Letter based on observations identified in the 2017 inspection (Claris Warning Letter).¹ The Claris Warning Letter includes a number of observations across a variety of areas. The company submitted its response to the Claris Warning Letter in August 2018 and is continuing to implement corrective and preventive actions, which have included product recalls that are financially immaterial to the company, to address FDA’s observations as set forth in the Claris 483 or the Claris Warning Letter and other items identified in connection with integrating Claris into the company’s quality systems. The company had a Regulatory Meeting with FDA on November 6, 2018 and continues to cooperate with FDA in connection with the resolution of these matters.

In June 2013, the company received a Warning Letter from FDA regarding operations and processes at its North Cove, North Carolina and Jayuya, Puerto Rico facilities. The company attended Regulatory Meetings with FDA regarding one or both of these facilities in October 2014, November 2015, July 2017, April 2018 and October 2018. The Warning Letter addresses observations related to Current Good Manufacturing Practice violations at the two facilities.

Refer to Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional discussion of regulatory matters and how they may impact the company.

¹ Available online at https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm613538.htm

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This annual report includes forward-looking statements. Use of the words “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential,” “expects,” “plans,” “seeks,” “intends,” “evaluates,” “pursues,” “anticipates,” “continues,” “designs,” “impacts,” “affects,” “forecasts,” “target,” “outlook,” “initiative,” “objective,” “designed,” “priorities,” “goal,” or the negative of those words or other similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements that represent our current judgment about possible future events. These forward-looking statements may include statements with respect to accounting estimates and assumptions, litigation-related matters including outcomes, future regulatory filings and the company’s R&D pipeline (including estimates regarding the company’s ability to obtain approval for distribution in the U.S. of new products manufactured at its Baxter Ahmedabad facility), strategic objectives, sales from new product offerings, credit exposure to foreign governments, potential developments with respect to credit ratings, investment of foreign earnings, estimates of liabilities including those related to uncertain tax positions, contingent payments, future pension plan contributions, costs, discount rates and rates of return, the company’s exposure to financial market volatility and foreign currency and interest rate risks, potential tax liability associated with the separation of the company’s biopharmaceuticals and medical products businesses (including the 2016 disposition of the company’s formerly retained shares in Baxalta (Retained Shares)), the impact of competition, future sales growth, business development activities (including the recent acquisitions of Claris Injectables and two surgical products from Mallinckrodt plc), Hurricane Maria related production disruptions, business optimization initiatives, cost saving initiatives, future capital and R&D expenditures, future debt issuances, manufacturing expansion, the sufficiency of the company’s facilities and financial flexibility, the adequacy of credit facilities, tax provisions and reserves, the effective tax rate and all other statements that do not relate to historical facts.

These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made in light of the company’s experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments as well as other factors that the company believes are appropriate in the circumstances. While these statements represent the company’s current judgment on what the future may hold, and the company believes these judgments are reasonable, these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results. Whether actual future results and developments will conform to expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the following factors, many of which are beyond our control:

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Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

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Incorporated by reference to the section entitled “Financial Instrument Market Risk” in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS