PARSONS CORP - Annual Report: 2020 (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, 2020

OR

Commission File Number 001-07782

PARSONS CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 988-8500

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 the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).  Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on The New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2020, was $3.7 billion.

The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of February 12, 2021 was 102,360,662.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of Parsons’ 2020 Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Table of Contents

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “could”, “intends”, “target”, “projects”, “contemplates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this report primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, business strategy and financial needs. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors described in the section captioned “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report. These risks are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this report. We cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

You should read this report and the documents that we reference in this report and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this report forms a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this report relate only to events as of the date on which such statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this report or to conform such statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.

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PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

We are a leading provider of innovative technology-driven solutions in the defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure markets. We provide software and hardware products, technical services and integrated solutions to support our customers’ missions. We have developed significant expertise and differentiated capabilities in key areas of cybersecurity, intelligence, missile defense, C5ISR (Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), space, geospatial, mobility solutions and connected communities. By combining our talented team of professionals and advanced technology, we solve complex technical challenges to enable a safer, smarter and more connected world.

Since our founding nearly 77 years ago, we have built our reputation and business on our ability to successfully innovate and transform while leveraging cutting-edge technologies to meet our customers’ needs and grow our business.  Whether our customers need a first-of-its-kind advanced missile development and testing facility, or an artificial intelligence enabled cloud platform to defend against cybersecurity threats, we deliver for our customers. We seek to grow by offering our clients innovative solutions derived from strategic hiring combined with research and development investments, as well as targeted acquisitions of innovative technology companies. We have developed longstanding relationships with customers such as the U.S. military and intelligence agencies and state and local governments and agencies.

We operate in two reportable segments, Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure, with both revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) contribution of 49% and 51%, respectively, for fiscal 2020. See "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Segment Results” for further discussion on our segments.

Federal Solutions:    Our Federal Solutions segment is an advanced technology provider to the U.S. government, delivering timely, cost-effective solutions for mission-critical projects. We provide critical technologies, including cybersecurity, missile defense systems, C5ISR, space launch and situational awareness, geospatial intelligence, radio frequency signals intelligence, nuclear and chemical waste remediation, and engineering services. The U.S. government and its agencies represent substantially all of the revenue of our Federal Solutions segment. These U.S. government agencies include the United States intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Defense military services and Missile Defense Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Critical Infrastructure:    Our Critical Infrastructure segment provides integrated design and engineering services for complex physical and digital infrastructure around the globe. We are a technology innovator focused on next generation aviation, rail and transit, and automotive sustainable infrastructure, leveraging sensors and data. Our capabilities in environmental remediation, systems’ engineering and project management allow us to deliver significant value to our customers by employing cutting-edge technologies, improving timelines and reducing costs. We serve a diverse global customer base including federal, state, municipal and industry customers such as Los Angeles World Airports, Canada’s Metrolinx, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Advances in technology and global awareness and focus on sustainability are dramatically shifting the operating landscape across our markets. Governments and companies are grappling with pressing challenges ranging from confronting increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats to upgrading aging systems and infrastructure to reducing environmental footprint and impact. To address these challenges, our customers are actively seeking technology-enabled solutions to enhance and transform their operations and assets. Our wide-ranging capabilities enable us to provide our services,

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products and solutions across the defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure markets. As a leading technology-driven solutions provider with a proven track record, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from these trends and serve our customers’ evolving needs. We have capabilities in the following four areas that cut across our segments and business lines:

Product Development:    We develop software and hardware across many domains and mission-specific applications. Our experienced engineers and developers design, develop, integrate, operate and sustain mission-critical software and hardware products across cyber, intelligence, defense and commercial customers.

Systems Integration:    We provide engineering services and technology for large digital and physical systems with high technical complexity. We lead projects from concept development through design, implementation, testing and verification, ensuring interoperability of these complex, disparate systems.

Program Management:    We provide expertise and technology to advance our customers’ execution of large, complex projects within their defined sustainability, quality, time and cost parameters.

Design Engineering:  We provide advanced systems and infrastructure engineering design associated with missile systems infrastructure, nuclear waste processing facilities, environmental remediation, long-span bridges, rail and transit systems and other associated infrastructure.

Our customer relationships, which are based on a long history of successfully delivering complex technical services, are key to our success. We are often involved in the early stages of our customers’ planning and permitting processes, which allows us to efficiently optimize our service delivery model. These relationships, along with our technical expertise and intellectual property, allow us to successfully deliver solutions that meet our customers’ demanding technical and execution requirements and fulfill our corporate purpose of developing a better world.

Technology and our people are our most important assets, allowing us to consistently deliver for our customers and help them solve their most pressing challenges. Investment in key technological capabilities is core to our business and helps us to stay at the forefront of the evolving trends across our end markets. To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we are focusing our technology investment on artificial intelligence and machine learning, data processing and analytics, autonomous systems, cloud computing applications and migration, and IoT sensing and command and control. The work of our diverse and collaborative, highly skilled and dedicated employees has enabled our long track record of continued innovation and execution on behalf of our customers. Our team of engineers, scientists, programmers and other specialists include PhDs and certified hackers and a large number of our skilled workforce hold government security clearances, which provides a significant competitive advantage for the highly technical and demanding work we perform.

In fiscal 2020, we generated revenues of $3.9 billion, net income attributable to Parsons Corporation of $98.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $342.6 million.  For a definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation to net income attributable to Parsons Corporation, see Item 6 – Selected Financial Data.

 On new contracts and task orders for which we competed, we achieved an overall win rate of 46.4% in fiscal 2020, 37.4% in fiscal 2019 and 42.9% in fiscal 2018. As of December 31, 2020, our total backlog was $8.1 billion, an increase of 0.8% from December 31, 2019 due largely to the acquisition of Braxton Science and Technology Group LLC (Braxton).

Our Services, Products and Solutions

Within each of our segments, we focus our solutions, products and services on the needs of customers in each of our business lines. Parsons is differentiated by our people, processes and technology that work together to develop, rapidly prototype and deploy specialized hardware, software and infrastructure solutions to meet continually evolving customer missions and needs. With a culture

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driven by agility, innovation and collaboration, we develop and deploy operationally proven capabilities in emerging technical areas, including advanced analytics, artificial intelligence/machine learning, cyber tools/platforms/operations, advanced sensing and command and control.  We perform systems integration, product development, program management and engineering across our segments and business lines.

Federal Solutions

Our Federal Solutions business provides engineering services, software and hardware products and integrated solutions. Federal Solutions consists of four business lines: Cyber & Intelligence (C&I), Space & Geospatial Solutions (SGS), Missile Defense and C5ISR (MDC), and Engineered Systems (ES). Our strategy is to continue to expand our market position in the cybersecurity, intelligence, space, missile defense and C5ISR with integrated solutions that allow our customers to effectively and efficiently conduct their missions.

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On November 19, 2020, we completed the acquisition of Braxton.  The acquisition increases our solutions, products and capabilities in the space, cyber, and intelligence markets.  Braxton will be integrated into our SGS market, adding more than 370 employees, 80% of whom hold security clearances.  Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Braxton operates at the forefront of satellite operations, ground system automation, flight dynamics, and spacecraft and antenna simulation for the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.  These capabilities position us to capitalize on the quickly evolving space missions of its national security space customers and address rapid market growth driven by proliferated low earth orbit constellations, small satellite expansion and space cyber resiliency.

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Critical Infrastructure

Our Critical Infrastructure business provides engineering, program management, and software solutions. It is focused on two business lines: Connected Communities (CC) and Mobility Solutions (MS). Our growth strategy includes leveraging our portfolio of sophisticated engineering solutions and technologies for complex physical infrastructure projects. We are expanding our portfolio in key emerging growth areas including integrated transportation systems and smart cities, critical infrastructure protection, aviation, rail and transit, and water/wastewater treatment.

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Our Market Opportunities

Technology revolution and environmental impact is driving a swift pace of change, resulting in ongoing societal transformation, complicated geopolitical dynamics, a shifting threat landscape and the globalization of commerce. To address this evolving landscape, our customers are actively seeking technology-enabled solutions at the speed of relevancy to upgrade and transform assets and operations. The below trends are key drivers of activity and growth in both our Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments.

Defense Spending Remains a Key Focus of the national agenda due to the reemergence of long-term strategic peer competition, which has been cited in the National Defense Strategy as the primary concern for U.S. national prosperity and security. This reemergence has resulted in increased global disorder and a security environment, defined by rapid technological change, which may be more complex than ever before. We believe the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community will continue to invest in space, C5ISR, and missile defense.

Cybersecurity is Mission Critical to U.S. National Security and cybersecurity threats are increasing in volume and sophistication as global connectivity and the rise of social media have led to an explosion in the amount of available and exploitable data. The recent SolarWinds hacking incident is a noteworthy example.  The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that threats from hacks, cyber criminals, foreign governments, malicious insiders and corporate espionage have a $600 billion annual global cost impact. The proliferation of mobile devices, smart devices and cloud computing has vastly increased the need for enterprise-wide risk-based cybersecurity programs and governments have become increasingly aware of the need for a proactive approach to the risk of cyber-attacks. We believe that this market will continue to grow in response to the shifting threat landscape and recent high-profile attacks, including SolarWinds.

Consistent Need for Actionable Intelligence to Support U.S. Priorities is driving a shifting threat landscape that necessitates a greater need for collaboration and cooperation between intelligence agencies. There is a new demand for joint all-domain command and control systems that are optimized to function cohesively across a spectrum of domains. This in turn drives a need for sophisticated data analytics to aggregate data into useful formats in real-time. To respond, we believe the United States intelligence community and Department of Defense will need continued focus on information sharing and collaboration for improved intelligence accuracy and timeliness encompassing multiple forms of intelligence collection.

Global Infrastructure Needs Significant Replacements and Technology-Driven Upgrades. Aging physical infrastructure is strained by the swift pace of technological change combined with heightened new expectations for sustainability and environmental impact.  Furthermore, failure to maintain the infrastructure makes it more difficult to recover from unexpected disasters caused by climate change.  The United States infrastructure needs exceed $2 trillion according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, for roads, highways, bridges, water/wastewater and other infrastructure needs.  Critical infrastructure, specifically transportation infrastructure that is essential to national economic and security concerns including airports, bridges, and rail and transit systems, is particularly vulnerable. We believe aging infrastructure and a focus on environmental impact will continue to be replaced and supplanted by newer, smarter and more sustainable infrastructure with an increased focus on connectivity.

Urbanization Creates Demand for Smart Cities with Connected Populations. Cities around the globe increasingly demand new more sustainable capabilities, such as sensor networks and

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communication strategies to connect streetlights, security cameras and emergency systems, to provide important real-time information and better serve their citizens and reduce carbon emissions. Integrated corridor management solutions, intelligent transportation systems, advanced rail systems and updated telecommunication networks will keep cities around the world functioning as smart and sustainable cities and serve as engines for economic growth.

Transformation of Legacy Service Delivery Models through Technology. Historical capital project management is changing with the introduction of cloud-connected computer-aided design, automation, big data, machine learning and other technologies. The introduction of these new technologies allows industry participants to reimagine existing value chains, address integrated lifecycle objectives, assure human rights are observed in their supply chains, provide environmentally sensitive and sustainable solutions, boost productivity and streamline project management. Industry participants that have the capability to embrace these new technologies to enhance their capability and service offering to higher value solutions will be well positioned to assist governments and communities in their transformation.

Change equals opportunity, and Parsons is well-positioned to serve a large array of governments and companies. Across a diverse set of industries, we provide smart and agile solutions that address our customers’ concerns as they adapt to the rapid changes of a more interconnected and technology-driven world.

Our Competitive Strengths

Proven Track Record

Our proven track record is a result of our strong performance, the dedication of our employees and our longstanding customer relationships. We focus on being a company that delivers on its promises, holds integrity at the highest level and successfully assists our clients as they execute their most complex missions. Driven by our integrated people, process and technology approach, we have a reputation for innovation and delivering mission outcomes for our customers’ most important endeavors.

Our differentiated business model has driven high win rates and strong financial performance, characterized by solid top and bottom-line growth, high and growing backlog levels and low capital requirements. We achieved incentive fees of $29.2 million and average incentive fees of 90% in fiscal 2020, incentive fees of $30.4 million and average incentive fees of 89% in fiscal 2019 and incentive fees of $8.5 million and average incentive fees of 89% in fiscal 2018. Incentive fees are fees earned for achievement of certain performance criteria included in our contracts, such as achievement of target completion dates or target costs, and our incentive fees average is calculated as the actual incentive fees achieved as a percentage of incentive fees expected to be earned in the applicable period. In addition, we achieved a win rate of 46.4% in fiscal 2020, 37.9% in fiscal 2019 and 42.9% in fiscal 2018, for new awards that we bid on (including a win rate on re-compete contracts and task orders in the Federal Solutions segment of 85.4% in fiscal 2020, 84.9% in fiscal 2019 and 96.0% in fiscal 2018). In fiscal 2020, our Federal Solutions revenues grew 1.3% and our Critical Infrastructure revenues grew 2.9% year-over-year. As of December 31, 2020, our backlog was $8.1 billion, up 0.8% from year end fiscal 2020.

Long-Term Customer Relationships

We maintain long-term relationships with key government and commercial customers, many of which span over 40 years. For example, in the Federal Solutions segment, we have been providing support to the MDA for over 30 years with over 1,000 personnel imbedded with the customer and have provided services to the Department of Energy for over 50 years on a variety of projects and programs. In the Critical Infrastructure segment, we have supported the WMATA for over 50 years and have served as Program Manager for Yanbu Industrial City for over 42 years.

These longstanding relationships give us the insight and customer intimacy to align our research and development investments based on customer needs and enable high win rates for prime contract positions on the most technically demanding assignments. We believe that our position as a recognized leader in integrity, innovation, operational efficiency, safety and security, environmental and health, and our ability to deliver exceptional quality has resulted in a high level of re-compete wins and has driven

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substantial customer loyalty. Market segments including cybersecurity, missile defense, C5ISR and connected cities require leading-edge technologies and extensive technical know-how, and necessitate consistently exceptional performance, thus further entrenching us with our key customers and driving our long-term relationships.

Technology Innovation

We are on the forefront of developing sophisticated engineering and technical services and products for our customers, such as our iNET™, Legion and AVAA technology offerings. Our technical and management teams have a deep understanding of the products, their ecosystems and deployments, the customer and the processes necessary to create tailored solutions. We offer 100 different offerings in our product portfolio, have deployed our solutions in 30 countries and more than 1,800 customers utilize our technology.

Our competencies include delivering advanced technologies in cybersecurity, data and video analytics, cloud applications and migration and artificial intelligence. Our approach of agile development, rapid prototyping, quick reaction capability and low rate initial production delivers customers solutions from concept to full life cycle support. Our DevSecOps development environment includes customers and third-party provider engagement and embeds application and infrastructure security throughout. By leveraging people, processes and technologies, we focus on continually delivering innovative solutions to address our customers’ immediate and long-term challenges.

Scalable and Agile Business Offerings

Our scalable and agile offerings enable us to satisfy robust and evolving customer needs. The demanding environments where we operate are characterized by a need for high-confidence solutions, widespread application needs and mission critical outcomes. We pride ourselves on providing agile technologies through inventive and refined processes that provide quality outcomes to our customers on time sensitive projects. Our domain knowledge of our customers’ current and emerging requirements enables us to deliver responsive, high quality solutions on time. By having the ability to respond to customers’ requirements with global deployment capability, we are well positioned to be a single-source contractor for many of our customers’ needs.

Our technologies and platforms are designed to be applicable across end user markets and sub-markets. This approach allows for scalable solutions that can be quickly and seamlessly integrated into multiple customer applications, regardless of geography or industry, allowing us to deploy a given service or platform across multiple markets.

World Class Talent

Our most important asset is our diverse team of talented employees, more than 15,500 as of December 31, 2020, whose technical expertise is sought by our clients for their most sophisticated applications and challenges. Our base of diverse, committed and passionate experts is critical to delivering our leading capabilities. Engineers, scientists, programmers and other employees choose us and stay with us for the opportunity to collaborate with our customers, deploy our expansive technical resources, rapidly bring bold ideas to market and work on leading solutions that enable a better world.

Our professionals are highly educated, with a wide range of technical acumen and in-depth domain knowledge and expertise. Our employees hold more than 20,000 degrees and professional credentials, including those with registrations and certifications in technical areas like Agile methodology, Project Management, Engineering, Environmental, Architecture, Technology and Security as of December 31, 2020. Our diverse teams understand our clients and are comprised of technology subject matter experts and professionals with deep customer knowledge and experience.

Our management team has significant experience executing strategies for delivering profitable growth and is recognized for operational excellence and leadership integrity. Our executive management team has an average tenure of approximately 20 years with the Company and averages over 37 years of industry or functional experience. They possess diverse leadership capabilities in the markets we serve and the solutions and technology we deliver.

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Demonstrated Ability to Identify and Execute Acquisitions to Transform our Business

Strategic acquisitions that augment our technology offerings and capabilities are a key tenet of our growth strategy. We have completed seven strategic acquisitions (six in Federal Solutions and one in Critical Infrastructure) since 2011, which collectively provided us with a wide variety of complementary technology capabilities, with an aggregate purchase price of $1.9 billion. This highlights our ability to successfully identify and execute on attractive opportunities to augment our leading technical offerings. These acquisitions include:

We maintain a robust acquisition pipeline and are continually evaluating potential opportunities for disciplined growth by acquisition to further transform our business.

Our Strategy for Growth

Our growth strategy is focused on three pillars: Enhance, Extend and Transform. These include continually enhancing and optimizing our core business processes, extending our core business into high-growth and opportunity-rich adjacent markets and acquiring and integrating companies that possess transformative and disruptive technologies.

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Enhance and Optimize our Core Operations

We are committed to enhancing and optimizing our core business and improving financial performance, including revenue growth, margin expansion and positive cash flow, using the following strategies:

Extend into Opportunity-Rich Adjacent Markets

We are extending our core markets through organically penetrating and expanding in market adjacencies in need of our offerings.  The characteristics of these markets encompass development, design and delivery of solutions leveraging technology, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, data processing and analytics, and advanced sensing.  We are expanding our core competencies to new customers and setting the pace for technological evolution in each market, including:

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This strategy extends the reach of our people, customer relationships and intellectual property to capture growing demand in the market adjacencies. In assessing potential areas of expansion or entry into adjacent markets, we maintain a strictly disciplined approach, always placing paramount importance on responsible growth in areas aligned with our strategy and core competencies.

Continued Acquisition and Integration of Transformative Technologies

We are transforming our business capabilities and business models through the acquisition of companies that align with our disciplined M&A framework. Our M&A strategy and goals include:

 Grow

Our objective is to continue to transform our business into an integrated, full life cycle systems integrator that delivers scalable solutions and drives revenue growth, expanded margins, and strong cash flows.

Backlog

We view growth in total backlog as a key measure of our business growth. We define backlog to include the following two components:

Backlog includes (i) unissued task orders and unexercised option years, to the extent their issuance or exercise is probable, as well as (ii) contract awards, to the extent we believe contract execution and funding is probable.

Our backlog includes orders under contracts that can extend for several years, and in some cases, contracts that extend for more than 10 to 15 years. For example, the U.S. Congress generally appropriates funds for our U.S. federal government customers on a yearly basis, even though their contracts with us may call for performance that is expected to take a number of years to complete. As a result, our federal contracts typically are only partially funded at any point during their term.  All or some

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of the work to be performed under the contracts may remain unfunded unless and until the U.S. Congress makes subsequent appropriations and the procuring agency allocates funding to the contract.

As of December 31, 2020, our total backlog was $8.1 billion, consisting of $4.0 billion of funded backlog and $4.1 billion of unfunded backlog. We expect to recognize $2.8 billion of our funded backlog at December 31, 2020 as revenues in the following twelve months. However, our government customers may cancel their contracts with us at any time through a termination for convenience or may elect to not exercise option periods under such contracts. In the case of a termination for convenience, we would not receive anticipated future revenues, but would generally be permitted to recover all or a portion of our incurred costs and fees for work performed.

Competition

The industries we operate in consist of a large number of enterprises ranging from small, niche-oriented companies to multi-billion-dollar corporations that serve many government and commercial customers. We compete on the basis of our technical expertise, technological innovation, our ability to deliver cost-effective multi-faceted services in a timely manner, our reputation and relationships with our customers, qualified and/or security-clearance personnel, and pricing. Our main competitors in Federal Solutions are U.S. federal systems integrators and service providers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International Inc, Leidos Holdings, Inc., Man Tech International Corporation, Science Applications International Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Perspecta, and The Raytheon Company. Our main competitors in Critical Infrastructure include AECOM Technology Corporation, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Stantec, Tetra Tech, Inc., and WSP, as well as Kapsch and Opus in the Connected Communities market. Large defense firms or technology companies may develop products or services in the future that could compete with us.

Seasonality

Our results may be affected by variances as a result of weather conditions and contract award seasonality impacts that we experience across our businesses. The latter issue is typically driven by the U.S. federal government fiscal year-end, September 30. While not certain, it is not uncommon for U.S. government agencies to award task orders or complete other contract actions in the weeks before the end of the U.S. federal government fiscal year in order to avoid the loss of unexpended U.S. federal government fiscal year funds. In addition, we have also historically experienced higher bid and proposal costs in the months leading up to the U.S. federal government fiscal year-end as we pursue new contract opportunities expected to be awarded early in the following U.S. federal government fiscal year as a result of funding appropriated for that U.S. federal government fiscal year. Furthermore, many U.S. state governments with fiscal years ending on June 30 tend to accelerate spending during their first quarter, when new funding becomes available. We may continue to experience this seasonality in future periods, and our results of operations may be affected by it.

Human Capital Management

We are committed to enhancing our position as a leading employer in our industry. Our culture and reputation as a leading provider of technology-driven solutions in the defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure markets enables us to recruit and retain some of the best available talent across the globe.  We believe that we are stronger and smarter when we work together and celebrate our diverse backgrounds.  We believe in doing right by the communities we serve, and we have policies prohibiting child labor and human trafficking.  We believe that Parsons is the place for our diverse employees to make a difference.  With over 15,500 employees, we experienced a 1.1% decrease in voluntary turnover in 2020 while converting nearly 90% of our workforce to a virtual environment during the current global COVID-19 pandemic.  This improvement was largely attributed to targeted retention strategies, including a comprehensive employee development and technical career track framework and the prioritization of an ideal culture to support the transformational strategy.  A high-level engagement among employees is reflected in our 2020 culture and engagement scores, which had an increased participation level of over 20%, and reflected significant improvements gained in survey areas such as alignment with strategic

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direction, employee connection to Parsons’ success, promotion of culture of speed and agility, rewards for coming up with new ideas, and collaboration across organization boundaries to achieve company goals.

Our principal asset is our team of diverse employees.  A large percentage of our employees have technical and professional backgrounds and undergraduate and/or advanced degrees, with our employees holding more than 20,000 degrees and professional credentials, including registrations and certifications in technical areas such as Agile Methodology, Project Management, Engineering, Architecture, Green Building/Sustainability, Technology, and Security as of December 31, 2020.  Approximately 22% of our employees, including 58% of the employees in our Federal Solutions business segment, hold security clearances as of that date.  Of those holding such clearances in Federal Solutions, approximately 58% are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information Level clearances, which often require the completion of a polygraph.

In 2020, we focused on retaining and developing our employees on highly sought-after key programs as part of the knitting of our success.   Such programs include the mentoring program, Parsons Distinguished Recognition and Incentive Program (DRIVE), and the Parsons’ Fellows Program.

Mentoring: The Parsons mentoring program allows employees to cultivate skills, seek guidance and share professional experiences.  The program launched in 2020 is designed to:

Recognition: Understanding recognition at all levels is key to management and retention.  We expanded Parsons Distinguished Recognition and Incentive (DRIVE) Program that celebrates employees who go above and beyond their work.  Launched in 2019, with seven different award levels, the program is designed to reward employees who have made exceptional contributions to a program or project, or who have provided outstanding support to their teams, our clients, or our company as a whole.  Over 1,500 awards were issued to employees in 2020 and the program is growing.  

Development: The Parsons’ Fellows Program recognizes our top technical experts and promotes innovation in solving our customers’ most difficult technical challenges.  It is a collaborative network of over forty selected motivated and passionate subject matter experts working to solve technical challenges through either strategic research and development or through the development of long-term technical policies and best practices.  The program defines its success through engagement, mentorship, and retention.  Every benefit that collaboration among the Fellows offers is expressed by the idea that the individual is brilliant, but a group of brilliant individuals acting as one can be more powerful and enable Parsons to accomplish even more in our quest to deliver a better world.

Inclusion Inspires Innovation

Embracing inclusion, diversity and equality in all aspects of our business is fundamental to our corporate culture and vital to our continued growth and success.  Our employees work across 25 countries and collectively speak over 80 languages.  Diversity is one of our core values, and we pursue it in our workforce, our markets, our suppliers, and our services because we recognize that optimum solutions require different backgrounds, new perspectives, and open minds.  We leverage diversity and equality through the inclusion of employees, empowering them to shape the future of the corporation through collaboration and innovation.

In 2017, we launched our Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) Task Force with executive sponsorship from the Board, our CEO, our President and COO, and our Chief People Officer.  The task force’s objectives are to attract, include, and retain talent, and to help achieve those goals.  Its 42 diverse members serve as ambassadors throughout the corporation, demonstrate leadership, and infuse their passion for

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inclusion and diversity into our corporate culture.  Within the task force, subcommittees support the development and implementation of initiatives identified by the Board and the Executive Leadership Team that continue to advance our inclusion and diversity objectives.

Subcommittees and Purpose

With recent social justice and equality awakening, we launched the Listen-Learn-Action campaign.  Our Board and our CEO and Chairman implemented a thoughtful strategy to better understand the perspectives of our employees by listening to them through various forums, then sharing the understanding and offering educational resources to all employees, and, finally, putting into effect a concise, iterative quarterly action plan that holds us accountable to doing more to increasing the representation or historically underrepresented groups within our global workforce, and we are committed to taking action and ensuring Parsons is, and remains, an employer of choice.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

At December 31, 2020, approximately 6,300 of our employees participated in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which owns approximately 39% of our outstanding shares.  In December 2020, the board of directors approved an amendment to the ESOP to provide greater diversification rights to participants.  The amendment provides that, with respect to all diversifications elected or processed after January 1, 2021, the definition of a qualified participant shall mean a participant who has attained the age of 50 and who has completed at least three years of participation in the ESOP and other criteria.  Each qualified participant shall generally be permitted to direct the ESOP as to the diversification of 50% of the value of the eligible vested portion of the participant’s ESOP account.  Further, in January 2021, the Parsons Corporation Board of Directors approved an amendment to the ESOP whereby distributions to participants in the Plan were modified as follows: (1) the threshold amount of an ESOP participant’s balance to be eligible for a single lump sum distribution was increased from $20,000 or less to $500,000 or less; (2) the threshold balance for a participant to be eligible to receive payment in two annual installments was increased from $40,000 or less to $750,000 or less; and (3) the threshold balance for a participant to be eligible to receive payment in three annual installments was increased to greater than $750,000.  This change was made to facilitate greater flexibility for certain eligible participants to receive their balances in fewer installments and to accelerate the increase in publicly traded float for the Company’s common stock.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property portfolio consists of issued and pending patents as well as trademarks for many of our technologies. In addition, we maintain a number of trade secrets that we endeavor to protect to ensure their continuing availability to us. Our technical expertise is vital to our growth strategy, and we believe they are a core competitive advantage.  We have 26 registered patents and 31 pending patents in the United States and 4 pending patents internationally.  We have 67 trademarks and 26 pending

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trademark applications in the United States, and 145 trademarks and 34 pending trademark applications internationally. We also currently offer 25 products for sale to our global customers.

We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary information. We also enter into proprietary information and intellectual property agreements with employees, which require them to disclose any inventions created during employment, to convey such rights to inventions to us and to restrict any disclosure of proprietary information. While protecting trade secrets and proprietary information is important, we are not materially dependent on maintenance of any specific trade secret or group of trade secrets.

During the normal course of business, we perform research and development and technology consulting services and related products in support of our customers. Typically, these services do not depend on patent protection. In accordance with applicable law, our government contracts often provide government agencies certain license rights to our inventions, copyrights and other intellectual property. Government agencies may in turn sublicense to other contractors (including our competitors) the right to utilize our intellectual property. In addition, in the case of our work as a subcontractor, our prime contractor may also have certain rights to data, information and products we develop under the subcontract. At the same time, our government contracts often license to us patents, copyrights and other intellectual property owned by third parties.

Regulation

Our business is impacted by government procurement, anti-bribery, international trade, environmental, health and safety and other regulations and requirements. Below is a summary of some of the significant regulations that impact our business.

Government Procurement.    The services we provide to the U.S. Government are subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, the Truth in Negotiations Act, Cost Accounting Standards, or CAS, the Services Contract Act, the False Claims Act, export controls rules and U.S. Department of Defense security regulations, as well as many other laws and regulations. These laws and regulations affect how we transact business with our clients and, in some instances, impose additional costs on our business operations. A violation of specific laws and regulations could lead to fines, contract termination or suspension of future contracts. Generally, our government clients can also terminate, renegotiate, or modify any of their contracts with us at their convenience, and many of our government contracts are subject to renewal or extension annually.

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the development of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) as a framework to assess and enhance the cybersecurity posture of the Defense Industrial Base (“DIB”), particularly as it relates to controlled unclassified information within the supply chain. CMMC is designed to ensure that contractors providing services to the U.S. Department of Defense have implemented cybersecurity controls and processes to adequately protect information that resides on DIB systems and networks.  The U.S. Department of Defense issued an interim rule on September 29, 2020 to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to include one new provision and two new contract clauses.  It became effective on November 30, 2020.   We collaborated with other companies to provide feedback following the 60-day public comment period.  In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense identified seven approved pilots of the expected fifteen for fiscal year 2021 that are new Requests for Proposals which will be incorporated into CMMC requirements.  All offerors are expected to undergo appropriate third-party CMMC assessment and achieve certification of Level 3 and below at the time of contract award.  We are currently in compliance and is preparing for future certification and assessments.

Anti-Bribery and other regulations.    We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar anti-bribery laws, which generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 prohibits both domestic and international bribery, as well as bribery across both

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private and public sectors. In addition, an organization that “fails to prevent bribery” committed by anyone associated with the organization can be charged under the U.K. Bribery Act unless the organization can establish the defense of having implemented “adequate procedures” to prevent bribery.

International Trade.    We are subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, and the Export Administration Regulations, or EAR, as well as U.S. economic and trade sanctions, including those administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. To the extent we export items and provide services outside of the United States (or to certain parties in the United States), we must do so in compliance with these laws and regulations. These laws and regulations impose export licensing requirements, and we may not be successful in obtaining necessary licenses and other authorizations. Further, these laws and regulations restrict our ability to export items or provide services to certain countries and certain persons, including those that are the target of OFAC sanctions. Noncompliance with these or similar laws could lead to government investigations, penalties, reputational harm, and other negative consequences, and thereby could adversely affect our business and financial condition. Further, any change in these laws and regulations, or any shift in the approach to their enforcement or scope, or change to the countries, persons, or items targeted by such regulations, could potentially result in our decreased ability to export or sell items or services to existing or potential customers.

Environmental, Health and Safety.    We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental, health and safety matters, including, among other things, the handling, transport and disposal of regulated substances and wastes, including hazardous and radioactive materials; contamination by regulated substances and wastes; the types, quantities and concentration of materials that can be released into the environment; the acquisition of a permit or other approval before conducting regulated activities; the maintenance of information about hazardous materials used or produced in operations and provision of such information to employees, state and local government authorities and the public; and employee health and safety. Our previous ownership and current and previous operation of real property may subject us to liability pursuant to these laws or regulations. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, and related state laws, certain persons may be liable at sites where or from a release or threatened release of hazardous substances has occurred or is threatened. These persons can include the current owner or operator of property where a release or threatened release occurred, any persons who owned or operated the property when the release occurred, and any persons who disposed of, or arranged for the transportation or disposal of, hazardous substances at a contaminated property. Liability under CERCLA is strict, retroactive and, under certain circumstances, joint and several, so that any responsible party may be held liable for the entire cost of investigating and remediating the release of hazardous substances. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, regulates the generation, treatment, storage, handling, transportation and disposal of solid waste and requires states to develop programs to ensure the safe disposal of solid waste. Under RCRA, persons may be liable at sites where the past or present storage, handling, treatment, transportation, or disposal of any solid or hazardous waste may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. These persons can include the current owner or operator of property where disposal occurred, any persons who owned or operated the property when the disposal occurred, and any persons who disposed of, or arranged for the transportation or disposal of, hazardous substances at a contaminated property. Liability under RCRA is strict and, under certain circumstances, joint and several, so that any responsible party may be held liable for the entire cost of investigating and remediating the release of hazardous substances. Violations and liabilities with respect to environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could result in significant administrative, civil, or criminal penalties, remedial clean-ups, natural resource damages, permit modifications or revocations, operational interruptions or shutdowns and other liabilities. Additionally, Congress, state legislatures, local governing bodies and federal and state agencies frequently revise environmental laws and regulations, and any changes could result in more stringent or costly requirements for our operations. Our costs related to complying with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations have not been material in the past and are not currently material to our total operating costs or cash flows. However, if we have any violations of, or incur liabilities pursuant to these laws or regulations in the future, our financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, in the unlikely event that we are required to fund remediation of a contaminated site, the

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statutory framework might allow us to pursue rights of contribution from other potentially responsible parties.

We maintain a compliance program designed to ensure compliance with the various regulations and requirements applicable to us. The compliance program, managed by our Chief Ethics and Compliance Counsel and overseen by our Chief Compliance Officer, includes an annual audit of performance with respect to our codes of ethics and business conduct and the adequacy of our compliance program, among other initiatives.

Executive Officers

Charles L. Harrington was appointed our Chief Executive Officer in May 2008, Chairman of our board of directors in November 2008. Before his appointment in 2006 as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Parsons, Mr. Harrington was the founding President of one of our business units. Mr. Harrington also serves on the board of directors of the J.G. Boswell Company, where he chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. Further, he serves on several non-profit boards of directors, including serving as Vice Chair of the California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo Foundation board of directors, and serves on the Audit Committee and Investment Committee. Mr. Harrington has also served as an Audit Chair of a publicly traded company.  Mr. Harrington received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from California Polytechnic State University and a masters-of-business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management. Mr. Harrington was selected to serve on our board of directors because of the perspective and experience he brings as our Chief Executive Officer, as well as his operations and finance industry experience.

Carey A. Smith was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2018, President in November 2019 and a member of our board of directors in December 2020. Prior to that, Ms. Smith led Parsons’ Federal Solutions business from November 2016. Before joining Parsons, Ms. Smith served in progressive leadership roles at Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”) from 2011 to 2016, including President of the Defense and Space business unit, Vice President of Honeywell Aerospace Customer and Product Support and President of Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. In total, Ms. Smith has 35 years of aerospace and defense experience. Ms. Smith serves on the Edison International board of directors, including on the Compensation & Executive Personnel and Safety and Operations Committees, and in several capacities for the Professional Services Council, including as Vice Chairman on the board of directors and a member of the Executive Committee. In addition, Ms. Smith serves on the non-profit boards of INSA (Intelligence and National Security Alliance) and the USGIF (United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation) working with government, industry and academia to promote national security, and she is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow. Ms. Smith received a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and a bachelor- of-science in electrical engineering from Ohio Northern University.  Ms. Smith was selected to serve on our board of directors because of the perspective and experience that she brings as our President, and due to her significant industry and operations experience.  

George L. Ball was appointed our Chief Financial Officer in May 2008. Mr. Ball has held a succession of senior financial and management positions with us over the past 13 years. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Financial Systems and Control, of Parsons Corporation from March 2007 to May 2008 and Vice President, Finance, of Parsons Development Company from October 2004 to February 2008. Since joining us in 1995, he has served in various capacities including Corporate Controller and International Division Manager of the Infrastructure & Technology Group. Mr. Ball has more than 36 years of experience in finance and accounting roles for both public and private companies. In addition to his responsibilities with us, he serves on the board of directors, executive committee, audit committee, compensation committee, affiliate transactions committee and chair of the routine transactions committee of Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc. Mr. Ball is also a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow. Mr. Ball is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Michael R. Kolloway was appointed General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Parsons Corporation in October 2017 and later became our Chief Legal Officer in January 2019. Before assuming the role of General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Mr. Kolloway served as Deputy General Counsel – Americas from March 2016 through October 2017. Before joining Parsons, Mr. Kolloway served as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Operations and Risk Management at AECOM Technology Corporation, a publicly traded company. Prior to his tenure at AECOM, Mr. Kolloway was a partner in the Chicago law firm of Rock, Fusco & Garvey, Ltd and a member of the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Kolloway received his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Norbert College, his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and completed the General Counsel Program at the Harvard University School of Law.  Mr. Kolloway served on the Board of Directors for MUSE/IQUE based in Pasadena, California and is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Debra A. Fiori was appointed as Chief People Officer of Parsons Corporation in 2016.   She joined Parsons Corporation in 2007 as Talent Management Director in the Commercial Technology Group.  Before joining Parsons, Ms. Fiori served as Human Resources Director at RTKL, an international architecture, engineering and planning firm.  She received a bachelor-of-arts degree in public relations and communication from Carroll College and a master’s degree in communication from West Virginia University.  She also completed the Advanced Human Resource Executive Program at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.  She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, G100 Talent Consortium and Human Resources Roundtable at UCLA, and she currently serves on the Board of Kidspace Children’s Museum.

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly, and current reports and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC, including us. You may also access, free of charge, our reports filed with the SEC (for example, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those forms) through the “Investors” portion of our website (www.parsons.com). Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website is included in this Annual Report as an inactive textual reference only. The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report filed with or furnished to the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes, before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks or uncertainties. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risk Factors Summary

The following is a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.

Risk Relating to Our Business

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Risk Related to Our Common Stock

Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and stock price can be adversely affected by pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic.

Our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and stock price can be adversely affected by pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in governments around the world implementing increasingly stringent measures to help control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, “shelter in place” and “stay at home” orders, travel restrictions, business curtailments, school closures, and other measures. In

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addition, governments and central banks in several parts of the world have enacted fiscal and monetary stimulus measures to counteract the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although we have continued our operations consistent with federal guidelines and state and local orders, the outbreak of COVID-19 and any preventive or protective actions taken by governmental authorities [has had and] may [continue to] have a material adverse effect on our operations, employees and customers, including business shutdowns or disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to reduce demand for our services and impact client spending in certain circumstances. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact our business depends on future developments, which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, depending upon the severity and duration of the outbreak and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain or mitigate its effects. Any resulting financial impact cannot be estimated reasonably at this time but may materially adversely affect our ability to collect accounts receivables and our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we may experience materially adverse impacts to our business due to any resulting economic recession or depression. Additionally, concerns over the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused extreme volatility in financial and other capital markets which has and may continue to adversely impact our stock price and our ability to access capital markets. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, such as those relating to government spending and priorities.

  Risks Related to Government Contracts

Government spending and priorities could change in a manner that adversely affects our future revenue and limits our growth prospects.

We derive, and expect to continue to derive, a significant portion of our revenue from contracts with government entities. As a result, our business depends upon continued government expenditures on defense, intelligence, civil and engineering programs for which we provide support, both among foreign governments and at federal, state and local levels domestically. These expenditures have not remained constant over time and have been reduced in some periods. In particular, these expenditures have recently been affected by efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs affecting government programs generally. Our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results could be materially harmed, among other causes, by the following:

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Any disruption in the functioning of government agencies, including as a result of government closures and shutdowns, terrorism, war, natural disasters, destruction of government facilities, and other potential calamities could have a negative impact on our operations and cause us to lose revenue or incur additional costs due to, among other things, our inability to deploy our staff to client locations or facilities as a result of such disruptions.

In particular, with regard to our largest single customer, the U.S. federal government, budget deficits, the national debt and the prevailing economic condition, and actions taken to address them, could continue to negatively affect the U.S. government expenditures on defense, intelligence and civil programs for which we provide support. The U.S. Department of Defense is one of our significant clients and cost cutting, including through consolidation and elimination of duplicative organizations and insourcing, has become a major initiative for the U.S. Department of Defense. There remains uncertainty as to how exactly budget cuts, including sequestration, will impact us, and we are therefore unable to predict the extent of the impact of such cuts on our business and results of operations. However, a reduction in the amount of or delays or cancellations of funding for, services that we are contracted to provide to the U.S. Department of Defense as a result of any of these initiatives, legislation or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, in response to an Office of Management and Budget mandate, government agencies have reduced management support services spending in recent years. If federal awards for management support services continue to decline, our revenue and operating profits may materially decline and further efforts by the Office of Management and Budget to decrease federal awards for management support services could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, most government contracts are subject to the government’s budgetary approval process. Legislatures typically appropriate funds for a given program on a year-by-year basis, even though contract performance may take more than one year. In addition, public-supported financing such as state and local municipal bonds may be only partially raised to support existing infrastructure projects. As a result, at the beginning of a program, the related contract is only partially funded, and additional funding is normally committed only as appropriations are made in each fiscal year. These appropriations, and the timing of payment of appropriated amounts, may be influenced by, among other things, the state of the economy, competing priorities for appropriation, changes in administration or control of legislatures and the timing and amount of tax receipts and the overall level of government expenditures. Similarly, the impact of an economic downturn on state and local governments may make it more difficult for them to fund infrastructure projects. If appropriations are not made in subsequent years on our government

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contracts, then we will not realize all of our potential revenue and profit from that contract, and we may incur substantial labor costs without reimbursement.

Government funding with respect to our Critical Infrastructure services fluctuates over time and new or changing government policies may affect our Critical Infrastructure business and operations. In March 2018, for example, President Trump signed proclamations to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports per the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 increasing the price for steel and aluminum in the United States which could impact client spending. Government spending for our Critical Infrastructure services may also depend on factors related to government demand, such as the condition of the existing infrastructure and buildings and the need for new or expanded infrastructure and buildings. Our government clients may face budget cuts or deficits that prohibit them from funding proposed and existing Critical Infrastructure projects.

These or other factors could cause our defense, intelligence, infrastructure or civil clients to decrease the number of new government contracts awarded generally and fail to award us new government contracts, reduce their purchases under our existing government contracts, exercise their right to terminate our government contracts or not exercise options to renew our government contracts, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. federal government and its agencies collectively are our largest single customer and, if our reputation or relationships with the U.S. federal government were harmed, our future revenues and cash flows would be adversely affected.

The U.S. federal government and its agencies, including the military and intelligence community, collectively are our largest customer. In particular, it represents substantially all of the revenue of our Federal Solutions segment. Approximately 49% of our consolidated revenues in 2020, 48% in 2019, and 42% in 2018, and approximately 19% of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2020 and 17% as of December 31, 2019 were derived from contracts with the U.S. federal government and its agencies. Our reputation and relationships with various U.S. government entities and agencies, and in particular with the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Missile Defense Agency and the United States Army, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States intelligence community and the U.S. Department of Energy are key factors in maintaining and growing these revenues and winning new bids for new business. Negative press reports or publicity, regardless of accuracy, could harm our reputation. If our reputation or relationships with government agencies were to be negatively affected, or if we are suspended or debarred from contracting with government agencies for any reason, the amount of business with government and other customers would decrease and our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our failure to comply with a variety of complex procurement rules and regulations could result in our being liable for penalties, including termination of our government contracts, disqualification from bidding on future government contracts and suspension or debarment from government contracting.

We must comply with various laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration and performance of government contracts, which affect how we do business with our customers and may impose added costs on our business.

Many of our U.S. government contracts contain organizational conflict of interest, or OCI, clauses that may limit our ability to compete for or perform contracts or other types of services for particular customers. OCI arises when we engage in activities that may make us unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the U.S. government, impair our objectivity in performing contract work or provide us with an unfair competitive advantage. Existing OCI, and any OCI that may develop, could preclude our competition for or performance on a significant project or contract, which could limit our opportunities.

Some U.S. federal and state statutes and regulations provide for automatic debarment based on our actions, such as violations of the U.S. False Claims Act or the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or

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FCPA. The suspension or debarment in any particular case may be limited to the facility, contract or subsidiary involved in the violation or could be applied to our entire enterprise in severe circumstances. Even a narrow scope suspension or debarment could result in negative publicity that could adversely affect our ability to renew contracts and to secure new contracts, both with governments and private customers, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Governments may adopt new contract rules and regulations or revise their procurement practices in a manner adverse to us at any time.

The government-related industries within which we do business continue to experience significant changes to business practices as a result of an increased focus on affordability, efficiencies and recovery of costs, among other items. Our existing and potential clients are similarly focused on increasing the productivity of their contractual arrangements. Moreover, government agencies may face restrictions or pressure regarding the type and amount of services that they may obtain from private contractors. Legislation, regulations and initiatives dealing with procurement reform, mitigation of potential OCIs, deterrence of fraud, and environmental responsibility or sustainability could have an adverse effect on us. Moreover, shifts in the buying practices of government agencies, such as increased usage of fixed price contracts, multiple award contracts and small business set-aside contracts, could have adverse effects on government contractors, including us. Any of these changes could impair our ability to obtain new contracts or contract renewals. Any new contracting requirements or procurement methods could be costly or administratively difficult for us to implement and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A substantial portion of our business is subject to reviews, audits and cost adjustments by government agencies, which, if resolved unfavorably to us, could adversely affect our profitability, cash flows or growth prospects.

Government agencies routinely audit and review a contractor’s performance on government contracts, indirect cost rates and pricing practices, and compliance with applicable contracting and procurement laws, regulations and standards. They also review the adequacy of the contractor’s compliance with government standards for its business systems, which are defined as the contractor’s accounting, earned value management, estimating, materials management, property management and purchasing systems. A finding of significant control deficiencies in a contractor’s business systems or a finding of noncompliance with U.S. government Cost Accounting Standards, or CAS, can result in decremented billing rates to U.S. government customers until the control deficiencies are corrected and their remediation is accepted by the Defense Contract Management Agency. The agencies conducting these audits and reviews have come under increased scrutiny. As a result, audits and reviews have become more rigorous and the standards to which we are held are being more strictly interpreted which has increased the likelihood of an audit or review resulting in an adverse outcome.

If a review or investigation by a government agency identifies improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties or administrative sanctions which could include the termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, the triggering of price reduction clauses, suspension of payments, fines, and suspension or debarment from doing business with governmental agencies. We may suffer harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety are made against us, which would impair our ability to win new contract awards or receive contract renewals. Penalties and sanctions are not uncommon in our industries. If we incur a material penalty or administrative sanction or otherwise suffer harm to our reputation, our profitability, cash position and future prospects could be adversely affected.

Government audits and reviews may conclude that our practices are not consistent with applicable laws and regulations and result in adjustments to contract costs and mandatory customer refunds. Such adjustments can be applied retroactively, which could result in significant customer refunds, and those refunds would negatively impact our revenue. Receipt of adverse audit findings or the failure to obtain an “approved” determination on our various business systems could significantly and adversely affect our business by, among other things, restricting our ability to bid on new contracts and, for those proposals

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under evaluation, diminishing our competitive position. A determination of noncompliance could also result in penalties and sanctions against us, including withholding of payments, suspension of payments and increased government scrutiny. Increased scrutiny could adversely impact our ability to perform on contracts, affect our ability to invoice for work performed, delay the receipt of timely payment on contracts, and weaken our ability to compete for new contracts with the government.

Our government contracts may be terminated by the government counterparty at any time and may contain other provisions permitting the government to discontinue contract performance, and if lost contracts are not replaced, our operating results may differ materially and adversely from those anticipated.

Government contracts often contain provisions and are subject to laws and regulations that provide government clients with rights and remedies not typically found in commercial contracts. These rights and remedies allow government clients, among other things, to:

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Recent and potential future budget cuts, the impact of sequestration and recent efforts by the Office of Management and Budget to decrease federal awards for management support services, may cause agencies with which we currently have contracts to terminate, reduce the number of task orders under or fail to renew such contracts. If a government client were to unexpectedly terminate, cancel, or decline to exercise an option to renew with respect to one or more of our significant contracts, or suspend or debar us from doing business with such government, our revenue and operating results would be materially harmed.

Our revenue and growth prospects may be harmed if we or our employees are unable to obtain government granted eligibility or other qualifications, we and they need to perform services for our customers.

A number of government programs require contractors to have certain kinds of government granted eligibility, such as security clearance credentials. Depending on the project, eligibility can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain. If we or our employees are unable to obtain or retain the necessary eligibility, including local ownership requirements, we may not be able to win new business, and our existing customers could terminate their contracts with us or decide not to renew them. To the extent we cannot obtain or maintain the required security clearances for our employees working on a particular contract, we may not derive the revenue or profit anticipated from such contract.

Risks Related to Our Operations and Markets

Our profitability could suffer if we are not able to timely and effectively utilize our employees or manage our cost structure.

The cost of providing our services, including the degree to which our employees are utilized, affects our profitability. The degree to which we are able to utilize our employees in a timely manner or at all is affected by a number of factors, including:

If our employees are under-utilized, our profit margin and profitability could suffer. Additionally, if our employees are over-utilized, it could have a material adverse effect on employee morale and attrition, which would in turn have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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Our profitability is also affected by the extent to which we are able to effectively manage our overall cost structure for operating expenses, such as wages and benefits, real estate expenses, overhead and capital and other investment-related expenditures. If we are unable to effectively manage our costs and expenses and achieve efficiencies, our competitiveness and profitability may be adversely affected.

Our focus on new growth areas for our business entails risks, including those associated with new relationships, clients, talent needs, capabilities, service offerings and maintaining our collaborative culture and core values.

We are focused on growing our presence in our addressable markets by enhancing and optimizing our core operations, extending into opportunity-rich adjacent markets and acquiring and integrating transformative, disruptive technologies. These efforts entail inherent risks associated with innovation and competition from other participants in those areas, potential failure to help our clients respond to the challenges they face, our ability to comply with uncertain evolving legal standards applicable to some of our service offerings, including those in the cybersecurity area, and, with respect to potential international growth, risks associated with operating in foreign jurisdictions, such as compliance with applicable foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that may impose different and, occasionally, conflicting or contradictory requirements, and the economic, legal, and political conditions in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate, as described in additional detail below. As we attempt to develop new relationships, clients, capabilities, and service offerings, these efforts could harm our results of operations due to, among other things, a diversion of our focus and resources and actual costs, opportunity costs of pursuing these opportunities in lieu of others and a failure to reach a profitable return on our investments in new technologies, capabilities, and businesses, including expenses on research and development investments, and these efforts could ultimately be unsuccessful. Additionally, the possibility exists that our competitors might develop new capabilities or service offerings that might cause our existing capabilities and service offerings to become obsolete. If we fail in our new capabilities development efforts or our capabilities or services fail to achieve market acceptance more rapidly than our competitors, our ability to procure new contracts could be negatively impacted, which would negatively impact our results of operations and our financial condition.

In addition, our ability to grow our business by leveraging our operating model to efficiently and effectively deploy our people across our client base is largely dependent on our ability to maintain our collaborative culture. To the extent that we are unable to maintain our culture for any reason, including our effort to focus on new growth areas or acquire new businesses with different corporate cultures, we may be unable to grow our business. Any such failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

With the growth of our U.S. and international operations, we are now providing client services and undertaking business development efforts in numerous and disparate geographic locations both domestically and internationally. Our ability to effectively serve our clients is dependent upon our ability to successfully leverage our operating model across all of these and any future locations, maintain effective management controls over all of our locations to ensure, among other things, compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and instill our core values in all of our personnel at each of these and any future locations. Any inability to ensure any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have submitted claims to clients for work we performed beyond the initial scope of some of our contracts. If these clients do not approve these claims, our results of operations could be adversely impacted.

We typically have pending claims submitted under some of our contracts for payment of work performed beyond the initial contractual requirements for which we have already recorded revenue. Some of these relate to change orders from the original scope of the contract. Our client may dispute these change orders and claims, and we cannot guarantee that such claims will be approved in whole, in part, or at all. Often, these claims and disputes can be the subject of lengthy arbitration or litigation proceedings, and it is difficult to accurately predict when these claims and disputes will be fully resolved.

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We may also renegotiate contracts to address these additional costs. When these types of events occur, we have used working capital in projects to cover cost overruns. If our claims are not approved or resolved, our revenue may be reduced in future periods.

Many of our contracts require innovative design capabilities, are technologically complex or are dependent upon factors not wholly within our control. Failure to meet these obligations could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We design and develop technologically advanced and innovative products and services applied by our customers in a variety of environments. Problems and delays in development or delivery as a result of issues with respect to design, technology, licensing and patent rights, labor, learning curve assumptions or materials and components could prevent us from achieving contractual requirements. Our offerings cannot be tested and proven in all situations and are otherwise subject to unforeseen problems that could negatively affect revenue and profitability such as problems with governmental inaction, quality and workmanship, delivery of subcontractor components or services, unplanned degradation of product performance, unavailability of vendor materials and changes in the project scope requested by our clients. Among the factors that may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations could be unforeseen costs and expenses not covered by insurance or indemnification from the customer, diversion of management focus in responding to unforeseen problems, loss of follow-on work, damage to our reputation and repayment to the customer of contract cost and fee payments we previously received.

We face aggressive competition that can impact our ability to obtain contracts and may affect our future revenues, profitability and growth prospects.

We expect that a majority of the business that we seek in the foreseeable future will be awarded through a competitive bidding process. For example, the U.S. government increasingly relies on IDIQ, GSA Schedule and other multi-award contracts, which has resulted in greater competition and increased pricing pressure. The competitive bidding process involves substantial costs and a number of risks, including significant cost and managerial time to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may not be awarded to us, or that may be awarded but for which we do not receive meaningful task orders. For contracts awarded to us, we also face the risk of inaccurately estimating the resources and costs that will be required to fulfill any contract we win. Following contract award, we may encounter significant expense, delay, contract modifications or even contract loss as a result of our competitors protesting the award of contracts to us in competitive bidding. Any resulting loss or delay of startup and funding of work under protested contract awards may adversely affect our revenues and/or profitability. In addition, multi-award contracts require that we make sustained post-award efforts to obtain task orders under the contract. As a result, we may not be able to obtain these task orders or recognize revenues under these multi award contracts. Our failure to compete effectively in this procurement environment would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Projects may be awarded based solely upon price, but often take into account other factors, such as technical qualifications, proposed project team, schedule and past performance on similar projects. We compete with larger companies that have greater name recognition, financial resources and larger technical staffs and with smaller, more specialized companies that are able to concentrate their resources on particular areas. Additionally, we may compete with a government’s own capabilities. Technology-focused companies may also develop products and services that could disrupt our business or compete with our services. To remain competitive, we must consistently provide superior service, technology and performance on a cost-effective basis to our customers and there is no assurance that we will do so.

Risks Related to Acquisitions and Joint Ventures

We may make acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and divestitures in the future that involve numerous risks, which if realized, may adversely affect our business and our future results.

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We may make strategic acquisitions, engage in joint ventures or divest existing businesses, which could cause us to incur unforeseen expenses and have disruptive effects on our business and may not yield the benefits we expect. Our Credit Agreement imposes limitations on our ability to make other acquisitions. Subject to those limitations, we may selectively pursue additional strategic acquisitions, investments and joint ventures in the future. Any future acquisitions, investments and joint ventures may pose many risks that could adversely affect our reputation, operations or financial results, including:

If any acquisitions, investments or joint ventures fail, perform poorly or their value is otherwise impaired for any reason, including contractions in credit markets and global economic conditions, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

In addition, we may periodically divest or plan to divest businesses, including businesses that are no longer a part of our ongoing strategic plan. These divestitures similarly require significant investment of time and resources and may disrupt our business, distract management from other responsibilities and may result in losses on disposal or continued financial involvement in the divested business, including through indemnification, guarantee or other financial arrangements, for a period of time following the transaction, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. When we determine that we would like to divest a business, we may not be able to divest that business on attractive terms or at all.

We conduct a portion of our work through joint venture entities, some of which we do not have management control over, and with which we typically have joint and several liability with our joint venture partners.

11.5% of our revenue during fiscal 2020, 12.0% of our revenue during fiscal 2019 and 15.2% of our revenue during fiscal 2018 was derived from our operations through consolidated joint ventures. In addition, 4.4% of our revenue during fiscal 2020, 4.0% of our revenue during fiscal 2019 and 4.1% of our revenues in fiscal 2018 related to services we provided to our unconsolidated joint ventures, where control resides with unaffiliated third parties, and 16.9% of our operating income during fiscal 2020, 45.3% of our operating income during fiscal 2019 and 18.0% of our operating income during fiscal 2018 was derived from equity in our unconsolidated joint ventures. As with most joint venture arrangements, differences in views among the joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or disputes. We also cannot control the actions of our joint venture partners and we typically have joint and several liability with our joint venture partners under the applicable contracts for joint venture projects. These factors could potentially adversely impact the business and operations of a joint venture and, in turn, our business and operations.

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Operating through joint ventures in which we are a minority holder results in us having limited control over many decisions made with respect to projects and internal controls relating to projects. We generally do not have control of these unconsolidated joint ventures. These joint ventures may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls and internal control over financial reporting that we follow. As a result, internal control problems may arise with respect to these joint ventures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could also affect our reputation in the industries we serve.

We participate in joint ventures where we provide guarantees and may be adversely impacted by the failure of such joint venture or its participants to fulfill their obligations.

We have investments in and commitments to joint ventures with unrelated parties. These joint ventures from time to time may borrow money to help finance their activities and, in some circumstances, we may be required to provide guarantees of the obligations of our affiliated entities. At December 31, 2020, we had $59.3 million of letters of credit and guarantees that relate to joint ventures. If these entities are not able to honor their obligations under the guarantees, we may be required to expend additional resources or suffer losses, which could be significant.

Our acquisitions may not achieve their full intended benefits or may disrupt our plans and operations.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully integrate acquired companies with our business or otherwise realize the expected benefits of our acquisitions. For example, in the last several years we have made four large acquisitions. The combination of multiple independent businesses will be a complex, costly, and time-consuming process. Our business may be negatively impacted following acquisitions if we are unable to effectively manage our expanded operations. The integration process will require significant time and focus from our management team and may divert attention from the day-to-day operations of the combined business. Additionally, consummation of acquisitions could disrupt our current plans and operations, which could delay the achievement of our strategic objectives.

The expected synergies and operating efficiencies of the acquisitions may not be fully realized, which could result in increased costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the overall integration of the businesses may result in material unanticipated problems, expenses, liabilities, competitive responses, loss of customer relationships and diversion of management’s attention, among other potential adverse consequences. The risks of combining our operations of the businesses include, among others:

Many of these risks will be outside of our control and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenue, and diversion of our management’s time and energy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, even if our operations are integrated successfully, we may not realize the full benefits of the acquisitions, including the synergies, operating efficiencies, or sales or growth opportunities that are expected. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame or at all.

We depend on our teaming arrangements and relationships with other contractors and subcontractors.  If we are not able to maintain these relationships, of if these parties fail to satisfy

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their obligations to us or the customer, our revenues, profitability and growth prospects could be adversely affected.

      We rely on teaming relationships with other prime contractors and subcontractors in order to submit bids for large procurements or other opportunities where we believe the combination of services, products, and solutions provided by us and our teammates will help us to win and perform the contract.  Our future revenues and growth prospects could be adversely affected if the other contractors eliminate or reduce their contract relationships with us, of if our government clients terminate or reduce these other contractors’ programs, do not award them new contracts or refuse to pay under a contract.  Companies that do not have access to government contracts or experience with our customers may perform services as our subcontractor that we cannot otherwise provide ourselves, and that exposure could enhance such companies’ prospects of securing a future position as a prime government contractor which could increase competition for future contracts and impair our ability to win these contracts.

      Whenever our subcontractors fail to timely meet their contractual obligations, have regulatory compliance or other problems, our ability to fulfill our obligations as a prime contractor or higher tier subcontractor may be jeopardized.  Subcontractor performance deficiencies under subcontracts with us as the prime contractor could lead to significant losses in future periods and could result in our termination for default as the prime contractor even though it was the subcontractor that failed to perform and not our personnel.

Risks Related to Estimates and Accounting

Our earnings and profitability may vary based on the mix of our contracts and may be adversely affected by our failure to accurately estimate and manage costs, time and resources.

We generate revenue under various types of contracts, which include time-and-materials, cost-plus and fixed-price contracts. Our earnings and profitability may vary materially depending on changes in the proportionate amount of revenues derived from each type of contract, the nature of services or solutions provided, as well as the achievement of performance objectives and the stage of performance at which the right to receive fees, particularly under incentive fee contracts, is finally determined. Cost-plus and time-and-materials contracts generally have lower profitability than fixed-price contracts. To varying degrees, each of our contract types involves some risk that we could underestimate the costs and resources necessary to fulfill the contract. Our profitability is adversely affected when we incur costs on cost-plus and time-and-materials contracts that we cannot bill to our customers. While fixed-price contracts allow us to benefit from cost savings, these contracts also increase our exposure to the risk of cost overruns.

Revenue derived from fixed-price contracts represented 32% of our total revenue during fiscal 2020, 30% of our total revenue during fiscal 2019, and 32% of our total revenue during fiscal 2018. When making proposals on fixed-price contracts, we rely heavily on our estimates of costs, scope and timing for completing the associated projects, as well as assumptions regarding technical issues. In particular, contracts in our Critical Infrastructure segment are often won in a hard-bid process, in which clients primarily select the lowest price from a qualified bidder with the understanding that they will not pay above the bid amount, even if we perform work beyond the initial scope of our contract. In each case, our failure to accurately estimate costs, scope or the resources and technology needed to perform our contracts or to effectively manage and control our costs during the performance of work could result, and in some instances has resulted, in reduced profits or in losses. More generally, any increased or unexpected costs or unanticipated delays in connection with the performance of our contracts, including costs and delays caused by contractual disputes or other factors outside of our control, such as performance failures of our subcontractors, natural disasters or other force majeure events, could make our contracts less profitable than expected or unprofitable.

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We use estimates in recognizing revenues and, if we make changes to estimates used in recognizing revenues, our profitability may be adversely affected.

A significant portion of our contract revenues are recognized using the cost-to-cost measure of progress method. This method requires estimates of total costs at completion or measurement of progress towards completion. Particularly due to the technical nature of the services being performed and the length of the contracts, this estimation process is complex and involves significant judgment. Adjustments to original estimates are often required as work progresses, experience is gained and additional information becomes known, even though the scope of the work required under the contract may not change. Any adjustment as a result of a change in estimate is recognized immediately. Changes in the underlying assumptions, circumstances or estimates could result in adjustments that may adversely affect our financial results of operations.

Goodwill and intangible assets represent a significant amount of our total assets and any impairment of these assets would negatively impact our results of operations.

As of December 31, 2020, we had goodwill and intangible assets of $1.5 billion. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually, or more often if indicators of potential impairment exist, and intangible assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Examples of events or changes in circumstances indicating that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable could include a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator, unanticipated competition, loss of key contracts, customer relationships, or personnel that affect current and future operating cash flows of the reporting unit. Any future impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets would have a negative impact on our profitability and financial results.

Risks Related to Technology Systems

Systems that we develop, integrate, maintain, or otherwise support could experience security breaches which may damage our reputation with our clients and hinder future contract win rates.

We develop, integrate, maintain, or otherwise support systems and provide services that include managing and protecting information involved in intelligence, national security and other sensitive or classified government functions. Our systems also store and process sensitive information for commercial clients. The cyber and security threats that our clients face have grown more frequent and sophisticated. A security breach in one of these systems could cause serious harm to our business, damage our reputation, and prevent us from being eligible for further work on sensitive systems for government or commercial clients. Work for non-government and commercial clients involving the protection of information systems or that store clients’ information could also be harmed due to associated security breaches. Damage to our reputation or limitations on our eligibility for additional work or any liability resulting from a security breach in one of the systems we develop, install, maintain, or otherwise support could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Services we provide and technologies we develop are designed to detect and monitor threats to our clients, the failure of which may lead to reputational harm or liability against us by our clients or third parties and may subject our staff to potential threats, risk of loss or harm.

We help our clients detect, monitor and mitigate threats to their people, information and facilities. These threats may originate from nation states, terrorist or criminal actors, activist hackers or others who seek to harm our clients. There are many factors, some of which are beyond our control, which could result in the failure of our products to detect, monitor or mitigate these threats. Successful attacks on our clients may cause physical or reputational harm to us and our clients, as well as lead to liability claims against us by our clients or third parties, particularly if such attacks are a result of a failure or perceived failure of our services or technologies. In addition, as a result of our involvement with some clients or projects, our staff, information and facilities may be targeted by these or other threat actors and may be at risk for loss, or physical or reputational harm.

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Internal system or service failures affecting us or our vendors, including as a result of cyber or other security threats, could disrupt our business and impair our ability to effectively provide our services to our clients, which could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We create, implement, and maintain information technology and engineering systems and also use vendors to provide services that are often critical to our clients’ operations, some of which involve sensitive information and may be conducted in war zones or other hazardous environments, or include information whose confidentiality is protected by law. As a result, we may be subject to systems or service failures, not only resulting from our own failures or the failures of third-party service providers, natural disasters, power shortages, or terrorist attacks, but also from continuous exposure to cyber and other security threats, including computer viruses and malware, attacks by computer hackers or physical break-ins. There has been an increase in the frequency and sophistication of the cyber and security threats we face, with attacks ranging from those common to businesses generally to those that are more advanced and persistent, which may target us because, as a cybersecurity services contractor, we hold classified, controlled unclassified and other sensitive information. As a result, we and our vendors face a heightened risk of a security breach or disruption resulting from an attack by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists. While we put in place policies, controls and technologies to help detect and protect against such attacks, we cannot guarantee that future incidents will not occur, and if an incident does occur, we may not be able to successfully mitigate the impact. We have been the target of these types of attacks in the past and future attacks are likely to occur. If successful, these types of attacks on our network or other systems or service failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, due to, among other things, the loss of client or proprietary data, interruptions or delays in our clients’ businesses and damage to our reputation. In addition, the failure or disruption of our systems, communications, vendors, or utilities could cause us to interrupt or suspend our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if our employees inadvertently do not adhere to appropriate information security protocols, our protocols are inadequate, or our employees intentionally avoid these protocols, our or our clients’ sensitive information may be released thereby causing significant negative impacts to our reputation and exposing us or our clients to liability.

If our or our vendors’ systems, services or other applications have significant defects or errors, are successfully attacked by cyber and other security threats, suffer delivery delays or otherwise fail to meet our clients’ expectations, we may:

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In addition to any costs resulting from contract performance or required corrective action, these failures may result in increased costs or loss of revenue if they result in clients postponing subsequently scheduled work or canceling or failing to renew contracts.

The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. Additionally, some cyber technologies and techniques that we utilize or develop may raise potential liabilities related to legal compliance, intellectual property and civil liberties, including privacy concerns, which may not be fully insured or indemnified. We may not be able to obtain and maintain insurance coverage on reasonable terms or in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims, or the insurer may disclaim coverage as to some types of future claims. The successful assertion of any large claim against us could seriously harm our business. Even if not successful, these claims could result in significant legal and other costs, may be a distraction to our management, and may harm our client relationships. In some new business areas, we may not be able to obtain sufficient insurance and may decide not to accept or solicit business in these areas.

As a contractor supporting defense and national security clients, we are also subject to regulatory compliance requirements under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and other federal regulations requiring that our networks and information technology systems comply with the security and privacy controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publications. To the extent that we do not comply with the applicable security and control requirements, whether imposed by regulation or contract, unauthorized access or disclosure of sensitive information could potentially result in a contract termination that has a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and reputational harm.

Risk Related to Legal Matters and Insurance

Unavailability or cancellation of third-party insurance coverage would increase our overall risk exposure as well as disrupt the management of our business operations.

We maintain insurance coverage from third-party insurers as part of our overall risk management strategy and because some of our contracts require us to maintain specific insurance coverage limits. If any of our third-party insurers fail, suddenly cancel our coverage or otherwise are unable to provide us with adequate insurance coverage, then our overall risk exposure and our operational expenses would increase, and the management of our business operations would be disrupted. In addition, there can be no assurance that any of our existing insurance coverage will be renewable upon the expiration of the coverage period or that future coverage will be affordable at the required limits.

Adverse judgments or settlements in legal disputes could result in materially adverse monetary damages or injunctive relief and damage our reputation.

We are subject to, and may become a party to, a variety of litigation or other claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. For example, our performance under U.S. government contracts and compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws and regulations are subject to continuous audit, review, and investigation by the U.S. government which may include such investigative techniques as subpoenas or civil investigative demands.

The results of litigation and other legal proceedings, including the claims described under “Business—Legal Proceedings”, are inherently uncertain and adverse judgments or settlements in some or all of these legal disputes may result in materially adverse monetary damages or injunctive relief against us. Additionally, our insurance policies may not protect us against potential liability due to various exclusions in the policies and self-insured retention amounts. Partially or completely uninsured claims, if

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successful and of significant magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or obtain adequate insurance in the future.

Our business is subject to numerous legal and regulatory requirements and any violation of these requirements or any misconduct by our employees, subcontractors, agents or business partners could harm our business and reputation.

In addition to government contract procurement laws and regulations, we are subject to numerous other federal, state and foreign legal requirements on matters as diverse as data privacy and protection, employment and labor relations, immigration, taxation, anti-corruption, import/export controls, trade restrictions, internal and disclosure control obligations, securities regulation and anti-competition. Compliance with diverse and changing legal requirements is costly, time-consuming and requires significant resources. Violations of one or more of these requirements in the conduct of our business could result in significant fines and other damages, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, prohibitions on doing business and damage to our reputation. Violations of these regulations or contractual obligations related to regulatory compliance in connection with the performance of customer contracts could also result in liability for significant monetary damages, fines and/or criminal prosecution, unfavorable publicity and other reputational damage, restrictions on our ability to compete for work and allegations by our customers that we have not performed our contractual obligations.

Misconduct by our employees, subcontractors, agents or business partners could subject us to fines and penalties, restitution or other damages, loss of security clearance, loss of current and future customer contracts and suspension or debarment from contracting with federal, state or local government agencies, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such misconduct could include fraud or other improper activities such as falsifying time or other records, failure to comply with our policies and procedures or violations of applicable laws and regulations.

Our services and operations sometimes involve handling or disposing of hazardous substances or dangerous materials, and we are subject to environmental requirements and risks which could result in significant costs, liabilities and obligations.

Our operations are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment, the health and safety aspects of our operations, or otherwise relating to environmental protection. Some of our services and operations involve the handling or disposal of hazardous substances or dangerous materials, including explosive, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials. These activities generally subject us to extensive foreign, federal, state and local environmental protection and health and safety laws and regulations, which, among other things, require us to incur costs to comply with these regulations and could impose liability on us for handling or disposing of hazardous substances or dangerous materials. Numerous governmental authorities, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, and analogous state agencies, have the power to enforce compliance with these laws and regulations and the permits issued under them. Such enforcement actions often involve difficult and costly compliance measures or corrective actions. Furthermore, failure to comply with these environmental protection and health and safety laws and regulations could result in civil, criminal, regulatory, administrative or contractual sanctions, including fines, penalties or suspension or debarment from contracting with the U.S. government, and could also result in investigations, the imposition of corrective action or remedial obligations, and the issuance of orders limiting or prohibiting some or all of our operations. In certain instances, citizen groups also have the ability to bring legal proceedings against us if we are not in compliance with environmental laws. In addition, claims for damages to persons or property, including natural resources, may result from the environmental, health and safety impacts of our operations. We, like other businesses, can never completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from certain materials that we use in our business. If we have any violations of, or incur liabilities pursuant to, these laws or regulations, it may result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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Certain environmental laws impose strict liability (i.e., no showing of “fault” is required) as well as joint and several liability for costs required to remediate and restore sites where hazardous substances, hydrocarbons or solid wastes have been stored or released. We may be required to remediate contaminated properties currently or formerly owned or operated by us or facilities of third parties that received waste generated by our operations, regardless of whether such contamination resulted from the conduct of others or from the consequences of our own actions that were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those actions were taken.

We have limited, and potentially insufficient, insurance coverage for expenses and losses that may arise in connection with environmental contamination. Finally, in connection with certain acquisitions, we could acquire, or be required to provide indemnification against, environmental liabilities that could expose us to material losses.

Our failure to meet contractual schedule requirements, meet a required performance standard, meet our internal contractual performance projections or otherwise perform adequately on a project could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Under some of our contracts, we can incur liquidated or other damages if we do not achieve project completion by a scheduled date. In addition, our costs generally increase from schedule delays and/or could exceed our projections for a particular project. Project performance can be affected by a number of factors beyond our control, including unavoidable delays from governmental inaction, public opposition, inability to obtain financing, weather conditions, unavailability of vendor materials, changes in the project scope of services requested by our clients, industrial accidents, environmental hazards, labor disruptions and other factors. Any defects or errors, or failures to meet our clients’ expectations, in our projects or services could result in claims for damages against us and could adversely affect our reputation. Material performance problems for existing and future contracts could cause actual results of operations to differ from those anticipated by us and also could cause us to suffer damage to our reputation within our industries and client base.

Failure to adequately protect, maintain, or enforce our rights in our intellectual property may adversely limit our competitive position.

We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary information. We also enter into proprietary information and intellectual property agreements with employees, which require them to disclose any inventions created during employment, to convey such rights to inventions to us, and to restrict any disclosure of proprietary information. Trade secrets are generally difficult to protect. Although our employees are subject to confidentiality obligations, this protection may be inadequate to deter or prevent misappropriation of our confidential information and/or the infringement of our patents and copyrights. Further, we may be unable to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property or otherwise take appropriate steps to enforce our rights. Failure to adequately protect, maintain, or enforce our intellectual property rights may adversely limit our competitive position.

Assertions by third parties of infringement, misappropriation or other violations by us of their intellectual property rights could result in significant costs and substantially harm our business, financial condition and operation results.

In recent years, there has been significant litigation involving intellectual property rights in technology industries. We may face from time to time, allegations that we or a supplier or customer have violated the rights of third parties, including patent, trademark, and other intellectual property rights. If, with respect to any claim against us for violation of third-party intellectual property rights, we are unable to prevail in the litigation or retain or obtain sufficient rights or develop non-infringing intellectual property or otherwise alter our business practices on a timely or cost-efficient basis, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.

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Any infringement, misappropriation or related claims, whether or not meritorious, are time consuming, divert technical and management personnel, and are costly to resolve. As a result of any such dispute, we may have to develop non-infringing technology, pay damages, enter into royalty or licensing agreements, cease utilizing products or services, or take other actions to resolve the claims. These actions, if required, may be costly or unavailable on terms acceptable to us.

Risks Related to International Operations

Our operations outside the United States expose us to legal, political and economic risks in different countries as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations that could harm our business and financial results.

Revenue attributable to our services provided outside of the United States as a percentage of our total revenue was 24.5% in 2020, 24.8% in 2019 and 29.8% in 2018. There are risks inherent in doing business internationally, including:

Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have operations in the Middle East and neighboring regions, and these regions may experience turmoil that may impact our current projects, future business and financial stability.

We currently have operations in the Middle East, including in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These countries experience frequent political turmoil such as the tensions among Qatar and several of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This uncertainty may affect our ability to continue our projects in these regions due to lack of resources, local support, and safety for our workers. If we are unable to finish these projects, it is likely that our finances will be impacted. Furthermore, we may experience liability regarding our employees and their safety and security

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in these locations. We also may incur material costs to maintain the safety of our personnel. Despite these precautions, the safety of our personnel in these locations may continue to be at risk. Acts of terrorism and threats of armed conflicts in or around various areas in which we operate could limit or disrupt markets and our operations, including disruptions resulting from the evacuation of personnel, cancellation of contracts, or the loss of key employees, contractors or assets.

We operate in many different jurisdictions and we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws.

The FCPA and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws, including the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal policies mandate compliance with these anti-corruption laws, including the requirements to maintain accurate information and internal controls which may fall within the purview of the FCPA, its books and records provisions or its anti-bribery provisions. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree; and, in some circumstances, strict compliance with anticorruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, we cannot assure that our internal control policies and procedures always will protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. In addition, from time to time, government investigations of corruption in industries we operate in may affect us and our peers. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Related to Debt and Backlog

We may not realize the full value of our backlog, which may result in lower than expected revenue.

As of December 31, 2020, our total backlog was $8.1 billion, of which $4.0 billion was funded. Our backlog includes orders under contracts that can extend for several years, and in some cases, contracts that extend for more than 10 to 15 years. We historically have not realized all of the revenue included in our total backlog, and we may not realize all of the revenue included in our total backlog in the future. There is a somewhat higher degree of risk in this regard with respect to unfunded backlog and backlog related to unexercised options years and IDIQ contracts for which task orders have not yet been issued. In addition, there can be no assurance that our backlog will result in actual revenue in any particular period. This is because the actual receipt, timing and amount of revenue under contracts included in backlog are subject to various contingencies, including congressional appropriations, many of which are beyond our control. In particular, delays in the completion of the U.S. government’s budgeting process and the use of continuing resolutions could adversely affect our ability to timely recognize revenue under our contracts included in backlog. Furthermore, the actual receipt of revenue from contracts included in backlog may never occur or may be delayed because: a program schedule could change or the program could be canceled; a contract’s funding or scope could be reduced, modified, delayed or terminated early, including as a result of a lack of appropriated funds or as a result of cost cutting initiatives and other efforts to reduce government spending; in the case of funded backlog, the period of performance for the contract has expired; in the case of unfunded backlog, funding may not be available; in the case of backlog related to unexercised option years, the contract option is not yet exercised or may ever be exercised; and, in the case of backlog related to IDIQ contracts where task orders have not been issued, no further task orders may be issued. In addition, headcount growth is the primary means by which we are able to achieve revenue growth. Any inability to hire additional appropriately qualified personnel or failure to timely and effectively deploy such additional personnel against funded backlog could negatively affect our ability to grow our revenue. We may also not recognize revenue on funded backlog due to, among other reasons, the tardy submissions of invoices by our subcontractors and the expiration of the relevant appropriated funding in accordance with a predetermined expiration date such as the end of the U.S. government’s fiscal year. The amount of our funded backlog is also subject to change, due to, among other factors: changes in appropriations that reflect changes in government policies or priorities resulting from various military, political, economic or international developments; changes in the use of government contracting vehicles, and the provisions therein used to procure our services; and

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adjustments to the scope of services under, or cancellation of contracts, by the applicable government at any time. Furthermore, even if our backlog results in revenue, the contracts may not be profitable.

If we cannot collect our receivables or if payment is delayed, our business may be adversely affected by our inability to generate cash flow, provide working capital or continue our business operations.

As of December 31, 2020, our accounts receivable, net was $698.6 million. We depend on the timely collection of our receivables to generate cash flow, provide working capital and continue our business operations. If our customers fail to pay or delay the payment of invoices for any reason, our business and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. Our customers have in the past and may in the future delay or fail to pay invoices for a number of reasons, including lack of appropriated funds, lack of an approved budget or as a result of audit findings by government regulatory agencies. We also experience longer payment cycles in the Middle East. We cannot assure you that we will collect all our accounts receivable in excess of our allowance for doubtful accounts in a timely manner, which would impact our cash flows.

The agreements governing our debt contain a number of restrictive covenants which may limit our ability to finance future operations, acquisitions or capital needs or engage in other business activities that may be in our interest.

As of December 31, 2020, our total indebtedness was $590 million.  Our Credit Agreement and the agreements governing our Senior Notes contain a number of covenants that impose operating and other restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. Such restrictions affect or will affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things:

In addition, our Credit Agreement also requires us to comply with certain financial ratio covenants, including a debt leverage ratio and a fixed charge coverage ratio. Our ability to comply with these ratios may be affected by events beyond our control.

These restrictions could limit our ability to plan for or react to market or economic conditions or meet capital needs or otherwise restrict our activities or business plans, and could adversely affect our ability to finance our operations, acquisitions, investments or strategic alliances or other capital needs or to engage in other business activities that would be in our interest.

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A breach of any of these covenants or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios could result in a default under our debt instruments. If an event of default occurs, our creditors could elect to:

If we were unable to repay or otherwise refinance these borrowings when due, the lenders under our Credit Agreement could demand payment from subsidiary guarantors, as provided under our Credit Agreement.  These guarantors constitute substantially all of our domestic, wholly owned subsidiaries’ assets.

Prior to our initial public offering, we were 100% owned by the ESOP, which is a retirement plan that is intended to be qualified under the Code. If the ESOP failed to meet the requirements of a tax qualified retirement plan, we could be subject to substantial penalties.

The ESOP is a defined contribution retirement plan subject to the requirements of the Code and ERISA. The ESOP has received a determination letter, dated January 31, 2012, from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it meets the requirements of a tax qualified retirement plan in form and we endeavor to maintain and administer the ESOP in compliance with all requirements of the Code and ERISA. However, the rules regarding tax qualified plans, and especially ESOPs, are complex and change frequently. Accordingly, it is possible that the ESOP may not have been administered in full compliance with all applicable rules under the Code or ERISA at all times.

If the ESOP were determined not to be in material compliance with the Code or ERISA, then the ESOP could lose its tax qualified status and we could be subject to substantial penalties under the Code and ERISA which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, loss of the ESOP’s tax-qualified status would adversely impact our prior treatment as an S Corporation.

Risks Related to our Employees

A failure to attract, train and retain skilled employees and our senior management team would adversely affect our ability to execute our strategy and may disrupt our operations.

Our business relies heavily upon the expertise and services of our employees. Our continued success depends on our ability to recruit and retain highly trained and skilled engineering, technical and professional personnel. Competition for skilled personnel is intense and competitors aggressively recruit key employees. In addition, many U.S. government programs require contractors to have security clearances. Depending on the level of required clearance, security clearances can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain and personnel with security clearances are in great demand. Particularly in highly specialized areas, it has become more difficult to retain employees and meet all of our needs for employees in a timely manner, which may affect our growth in the current and future fiscal years. Although we intend to continue to devote significant resources to recruiting, training and retaining qualified employees, we may not be able to attract, effectively train and retain these employees. Any failure to do so could impair our ability to efficiently perform our contractual obligations, timely meet our customers’ needs and ultimately win new business, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe that our success also depends on the continued employment of a highly qualified and experienced senior management team and that team’s ability to retain existing business and generate

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new business. The loss of key personnel in critical functions could lead to lack of business continuity or disruptions in our business until we are able to hire and train replacement personnel.

We may lose one or more members of our senior management team or fail to develop new leaders, which could cause a disruption in the management of our business.

We believe that the future success of our business and our ability to operate profitably depends on the continued contributions of the members of our senior management and the continued development of new members of senior management. We rely on our senior management to generate business and execute programs successfully. In addition, the relationships and reputation that many members of our senior management team have established and maintain with our clients are important to our business and our ability to identify new business opportunities. We do not have any employment agreements providing for a specific term of employment with any members of our senior management. The loss of any member of our senior management or our failure to continue to develop new members could impair our ability to identify and secure new contracts, to maintain good client relations, and to otherwise manage our business, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Negotiations with labor unions and possible work actions could divert management attention and disrupt operations. In addition, new collective bargaining agreements or amendments to existing agreements could increase our labor costs and operating expenses.

We have entered into twenty-four union labor or collective bargaining agreements as of December 31, 2020. The outcome of any future negotiations relating to union representation or collective bargaining agreements for these or other employees in the future may not be favorable to us. We may reach agreements in collective bargaining that increase our operating expenses and lower our net income as a result of higher wages or benefit expenses. In addition, negotiations with unions could divert management attention and disrupt operations, which may adversely affect our results of operations. If we are unable to negotiate acceptable collective bargaining agreements, we may have to address the threat of union-initiated work actions, including strikes. Depending on the nature of the threat or the type and duration of any work action, these actions could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our operating results.

Many of our field project sites and facilities are inherently dangerous workplaces. Failure to manage our field project sites and facilities safely could result in environmental disasters, employee deaths or injuries, reduced profitability, the loss of projects or clients and possible exposure to litigation.

Our field project sites and facilities, particularly in our Critical Infrastructure business, often put our employees and others in close proximity with mechanized equipment, moving vehicles, chemical and manufacturing processes, and highly regulated materials. On some field project sites and in some of our facilities, we may be responsible for safety and, accordingly, we have an obligation to implement effective safety procedures. If these procedures are not appropriately implemented or are ineffective, our employees could be injured or killed, and we could be exposed to possible litigation. As a result, our failure to maintain adequate safety standards and equipment could result in reduced profitability or the loss of projects or clients and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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Risk Related to Our Common Stock

If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock may be negatively affected.

As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal control. In addition, beginning with our second annual report on Form 10-K, we will be required to furnish a report by management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating.

The process of designing, implementing and testing the internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this obligation is time-consuming, costly and complicated. If we identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner or to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by our stock exchange, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

If our stock price fluctuates, you could lose a significant part of your investment.

The market price of our stock may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the following:

•the opinions and estimates of any securities analysts who publish research about us;

•announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions or capital commitments;

•variations in quarterly operating results;

•changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in our industry or the economy as a whole;

•future sales of our common stock; and

•investor perception of us and the industries we operate in.

As a result of these factors, investors in our common stock may not be able to resell their shares at or above the initial purchase price. These broad market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance.

In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were involved in securities litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources, and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.

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Our operating results and share price may be volatile, and the market price of our common stock may drop.

Our quarterly operating results are likely to fluctuate in the future as a publicly traded company. In addition, securities markets worldwide have experienced, and are likely to continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could subject the market price of our shares to wide price fluctuations regardless of our operating performance. Our operating results and the trading price of our shares may fluctuate in response to various factors, including:

•other events or factors, including those from natural disasters, war, actors of terrorism or responses to these events and pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

These and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our shares to fluctuate substantially. While we believe that operating results for any particular quarter are not necessarily a meaningful indication of future results, fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the market price and liquidity of our shares. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.

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Sales of outstanding shares of our common stock into the market in the future could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

At December 31, 2020, we had 146,609,288 shares of our common stock issued and 102,360,662 outstanding. Of these shares, 76,641,312 shares are owned by the ESOP, 25,719,350 shares are publicly owned, and 44,248,626 shares are Treasury stock.  We are party to a registration rights agreement with the ESOP Trustee, providing the ESOP with certain demand registration rights related to shares held by the ESOP in the event the ESOP Trustee determines in good faith, in exercising its fiduciary duties under ERISA, that the ESOP is required to sell its shares, which we believe is only likely to occur if our business, financial condition or results of operations have materially and adversely deteriorated.

Qualifying ESOP participants have the right to receive distributions of shares of our common stock from the ESOP and can sell such shares in the market.    

As of December 31, 2020, there were 76,641,312 shares of common stock held in the ESOP. Shares held in the ESOP are eligible for sale in the public market, subject to applicable Rule 144 limitations, vesting restrictions and any applicable market standoff agreements and lock-up agreements. Participants are generally entitled to distributions from the ESOP only following termination of employment or upon death and in order to diversify their accounts upon attaining a specified age and completing a specified number of years of service. As previously noted in the section of Part 1, Item 1 entitled “Employee Stock Ownership Plan”, in December 2020, the board of directors approved an amendment to the Employee Stock Ownership Plan to provide more flexible diversification rights for participants, and in January 2021, the board of directors approved the modification of the thresholds for distributions to participants in the ESOP effective March 1, 2021.  

ESOP distributions are made in the form of shares of our common stock (other than distributions in respect of fractional shares, which will be made in cash). Upon receiving a distribution of our common stock from the ESOP, a participant will be able to sell such shares in the market. As a result, we cannot predict the effect, if any, that these distributions and the corresponding sales of shares by the participants may have on the market price of our common stock. Distribution of substantial amounts of our common stock to participants may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

The issuance of additional stock, not reserved for issuance under our equity incentive plans or otherwise, will dilute all other stockholdings.

We have an aggregate of 853,390,712 shares of common stock authorized but not outstanding and not reserved for issuance under our 2020 Plan, under our existing Incentive Plans or otherwise. We may issue all of these shares without any action or approval by our stockholders. The issuance of additional shares could be dilutive to existing holders. We historically have made annual contributions of our common stock to the ESOP. We made contributions of 1,522,381 shares in fiscal 2020, 1,345,198 shares in fiscal 2019, and 1,874,988 shares in fiscal 2018 of our common stock to the ESOP and intend to continue to make annual contributions in shares of our common stock to the ESOP. In fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, we made annual contributions to the ESOP in shares of our common stock in the amount of 8% of the participants’ cash compensation for the applicable year (net of shares forfeited by participants in the applicable year).   For future fiscal years, the annual contribution to the ESOP shall be in amounts as determined by the board of directors.

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Your ability to influence corporate matters may be limited because the ESOP beneficially owns a majority of our stock and therefore our participants, voting the shares allocated to them under the ESOP, or the ESOP Trustee, who will have the right to vote shares for which no voting instructions are provided by employees, could have substantial control over us.

Our common stock has one vote per share. The ESOP beneficially owns approximately 75% of our outstanding common stock. Under the terms of the ESOP, each participant has the ability to direct the ESOP Trustee on the voting of the shares allocated to his or her account under the ESOP. However, the ESOP Trustee will vote any shares that a participant does not direct the voting, or any shares that are held by the ESOP which are not allocated to participants’ accounts. As such, the ESOP Trustee may be able to exercise a greater influence than otherwise over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions.

The purpose of the ESOP is to provide retirement income to employees and their beneficiaries. Accordingly, the interests of the ESOP and the ESOP participants may be contrary to yours as an outside investor.

ERISA sets forth certain fiduciary requirements that require an ERISA fiduciary, like the ESOP Trustee, to act solely in the interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries for the purpose of providing retirement benefits. The Department of Labor, which is the agency with the authority to interpret and enforce the fiduciary sections of ERISA, has indicated in its interpretative guidance that voting is an ERISA fiduciary act. The ESOP Trustee’s fiduciary duties under ERISA to the ESOP and its participants may cause the ESOP Trustee to override participants’ voting directions to the extent that following such directions would violate ERISA. In such case, the ESOP Trustee will be able to exercise voting control over all of the ESOP’s shares. Further, the interests of the minority stockholders may not be aligned with those of the ESOP as the majority stockholder, because the ESOP Trustee is required under ERISA to act in the best interest of the ESOP participants and beneficiaries, this may present a conflict.

As a result, the concentration of ownership in our company by the ESOP could delay or prevent a change in control of our company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of our company, which in turn could reduce the price of our common stock.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange listing standards and, as a result, qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

The ESOP holds common stock representing approximately 75% of the voting power of our common stock as of December 31, 2020. As a result, we are considered a “controlled company” for the purposes of New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) rules and corporate governance standards. As a controlled company, we are exempt from certain NYSE corporate governance requirements, including those that would otherwise require our board of directors to have a majority of independent directors and require that we either establish compensation and nominating and corporate governance board committees, each comprised entirely of independent directors, or otherwise ensure that the compensation of our executive officers and nominees for directors are determined or recommended to the board of directors by the independent members of the board of directors. While we intend to have a majority of independent directors, and our compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees to consist entirely of independent directors, we may decide at a later time to rely on one of the “controlled company” exemptions. Accordingly, our common stock may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited, which could limit our business plan or adversely affect your investment.

Our business and strategic plans may consume resources faster than we anticipate. In the future, we may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of new equity securities, debt or a combination of

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both. However, any decline in the market price of our common stock could impair our ability to raise capital. Separately, additional financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our operations or new investments. If we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. If we issue additional equity securities, existing stockholders will experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future securities offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their interest.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents could delay a change in management and limit our share price.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us even if such a change in control would increase the value of our common stock and prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current board of directors or management.

We have a number of anti-takeover devices that could hinder takeover attempts and could reduce the market value of our common stock or prevent sale at a premium. Our anti-takeover provisions:

In addition, as a Delaware corporation, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a period of time.

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Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following civil actions:

This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the stockholder finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon results of operations, financial condition, any contractual restrictions, our indebtedness, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. Consequently, investors may need to sell all or part of their holdings of our common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If an analyst who covers us downgrades our common stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

Our headquarters are located in Centreville, Virginia. As of December 31, 2020, we leased 238 commercial facilities (including our headquarters) with an aggregate of approximately 3.0 million square feet of space across 36 U.S. states and 16 countries used in connection with the various services rendered to our customers. Additionally, we operate at several customer-accredited Sensitive

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Compartmented Information Facilities, which are highly specialized, secure facilities used to perform classified work for the United States intelligence community. We also have employees working at customer sites throughout the U.S. and in other countries. We believe our facilities are adequate for our current and presently foreseeable needs.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

Our performance under our contracts and our compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws and regulations are subject to continuous audit, review and investigation by our customers, including the U.S. federal government. In addition, we are from time to time involved in legal proceedings and investigations arising in the ordinary course of business, including those relating to employment matters, relationships with clients and contractors, intellectual property disputes, environmental matters and other business matters. Although the outcome of any such matter is inherently uncertain and may be materially adverse, based on current information, except as noted below, we believe there are no pending lawsuits or claims that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

On or about March 1, 2017, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, or the JPB, filed a lawsuit against Parsons Transportation Group, Inc., or PTG, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, in connection with a positive train control project on which PTG was engaged prior to termination of its contract by the JPB. PTG had previously filed a lawsuit against the JPB for breach of contract and wrongful termination. The JPB seeks damages in excess of $100.0 million, which we are currently disputing. In addition to filing our complaint for breach of contract and wrongful termination, we have denied the allegations raised by the JPB and, accordingly, filed affirmative defenses. We are currently defending against the JPB’s claims and the parties are still engaged in discovery. We also have a professional liability insurance policy to the extent the JPB proves any errors or omissions occurred. At this time, it is too soon to determine the outcome of the litigation or assess the potential range of exposure, if any. We have also filed a third-party claim against a subcontractor for indemnification in connection with this matter.

In September 2015, a former Parsons employee filed an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against us as a qui tam relator on behalf of the United States (the “Relator”) alleging violation of the False Claims Act. The plaintiff alleges that, as a result of these actions, the United States paid in excess of $1 million per month between February and September 2006 that it should have paid to another contractor, plus $2.9 million to acquire vehicles for the contractor defendant to perform its security services. The lawsuit sought (i) that we cease and desist from violating the False Claims Act, (ii) monetary damages equal to three times the amount of damages that the United States has sustained because of our alleged violations, plus a civil penalty of not less than $5,500 and not more than $11,000 for each alleged violation of the False Claims Act, (iii) monetary damages equal to the maximum amount allowed pursuant to §3730(d) of the False Claims Act, and (iv) Relator’s costs for this action, including recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in the lawsuit. The United States government did not intervene in this matter as it is allowed to do so under the statute. We filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the Relator did not meet the applicable statute of limitations. The District Court granted our motion to dismiss. The Relator’s attorney appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals of the Eleventh Circuit, which ultimately ruled in favor of the Relator, and we petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the decision. The Supreme Court upheld the Appellate Court ruling and remanded the case to the District Court.  The parties are engaged in limited discovery and Parsons has filed a renewed motion to dismiss the case.

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On or about October 4, 2019, LBH Engineers, LLC (“LBH”) filed a lawsuit against Parsons, PTG, and various other parties in the US District Court of for the Northern District of Georgia, in connection with an alleged infringement of LBH’s patent. LBH seeks damages and costs incurred by LBH, a post-judgment royalty, treble damages if the infringement is found to be willful, among other damages, which the Company and the other defendants are currently disputing. At this time, the Company is unable to determine the probability of the outcome of the litigation or determine a potential range of loss, if any.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

On May 8, 2019, the Company consummated its initial public offering (“IPO”) whereby the Company sold 18,518,500 shares of common stock for $27.00 per share.  The underwriters exercised their share option on May 14, 2019 to purchase an additional 2,777,775 shares at the share price of $25.515 which was the IPO share price of $27.00 less the underwriting discount of $1.485 per share.

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “PSN”.  The following table presents the ranges of high and low sales prices of our common stock quoted on the NYSE for each quarter since the IPO on May 8, 2019.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company did not declare any dividends. On April 3, 2019, the board of directors of the Company declared a cash dividend to the Company’s sole existing shareholder at that time, the ESOP, in the amount of $2.00 per share, or $52.1 million in the aggregate (the “IPO Dividend”). The IPO Dividend was paid on May 10, 2019. On April 15, 2019, the board of directors of the Company declared a common stock dividend in a ratio of two shares of common stock for every one share of common stock then held by the Company’s shareholder (the “Stock Dividend”). The record date of the Stock Dividend was May 7, 2019, the day immediately prior to the consummation of the Company’s IPO on May 8, 2019, and the payment date of the Stock Dividend was May 8, 2019. Purchasers of the Company’s common stock in the Company’s public offering were not entitled to receive any portion of the Stock Dividend.

Other than the IPO Dividend and the Stock Dividend discussed above, we currently do not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any further determination to pay dividends on our capital stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions under our Senior Notes issued in a private placement in 2014, or the Convertible Senior Notes, and Credit Agreement, and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

According to the records of our transfer agent, there were four shareholders of record as of February 12, 2021.

The following graph compares the cumulative total return, from the IPO date through December 31, 2020, to shareholders of Parsons Corporation common stock relative to the cumulative total returns of the Russell 2000 Index and the Standard and Poor’s IT Consulting & Other Services Index. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock, the index, and the peer group (including reinvestment of dividends) was $100 on May 8, 2019 and tracks it through December 31, 2020.  The stock performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The information required by this item with respect to our equity compensation plans is incorporated by reference to our 2021 Proxy Statement.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

The following tables present selected financial data for each of the last five fiscal years. This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes beginning on page F-1, as well as the information under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Dollar amounts are presented in thousands, except for per share information:

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Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our operating performance included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K because it is used by management and our board of directors to assess our financial performance both on a segment and on a consolidated basis. We discuss Adjusted EBITDA because our management uses this measure for business planning purposes, including to manage the business against internal projected results of operations and to measure the performance of the business generally. Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry.

Adjusted EBITDA is not a U.S. GAAP measure of our financial performance or liquidity and should not be considered as an alternative to net income as a measure of financial performance or cash flows from operations as measures of liquidity, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income attributable to Parsons Corporation, adjusted to include net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and to exclude interest expense (net of interest income), provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization and certain other items that we do not consider in our evaluation of ongoing operating performance. These other items include, among other things, impairment of goodwill, intangible and other assets, interest and other expenses recognized on litigation matters, amortization of deferred gain resulting from sale-leaseback transactions, expenses incurred in connection with acquisitions and other non-recurring transaction costs, equity-based compensation, and expenses related to our corporate restructuring initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management’s discretionary use, as it does not reflect tax payments, debt service requirements, capital expenditures and certain other cash costs that may recur in the future, including, among other things, cash requirements for working capital needs and cash costs to replace assets being depreciated and amortized. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our U.S. GAAP results in addition to using Adjusted EBITDA supplementally. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation.

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The following table shows Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Parsons Corporation for each of our reportable segments and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests:

See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Segment Results,“ and "Note 21—Segments Information” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our segment Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Parsons Corporation.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis is intended to help investors understand our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources. You should read this discussion together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The statements in this discussion regarding industry outlook, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements in this discussion are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has taken certain actions to continue to execute under our contracts with customers and allow our people to work safely.  A substantial majority of our workforce transitioned to work-from-home status during the latter part of the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and these practices remain in effect as of the date of this filing.  To date, we have experienced no material disruption in our work as a consequence of these changes in our work practices.

The Company has experienced an impact in the volume of work in both the Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments where customers have restricted access to certain project sites.  We have not seen any substantive cancellations of previously awarded contracts.  In the Federal Solutions segment, we have had some existing contracts extended.  We continue to see several potential contract awards pushed out to a future date.

The Company is receiving limited benefits associated with the CARES Act related to its work on certain US national security projects; however, the curtailment of work under these projects and the CARES Act benefits are not likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.  The reimbursement period for Section 3610 of the CARES Act extends until March 31, 2021.

The Company has provided additional disclosure around liquidity and capital resources which can be found in the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in this Form 10-K.

The Company anticipates substantially all of the Company’s subcontractors and material suppliers will be able to fulfill their contractual obligations and we do not expect a material impact from non-performance.

The ultimate impact from the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to predict.  While many uncertainties exist, we currently anticipate no material change in our financial condition or results of operations

PARSONS CORPORATION Enabling a safer, smarter, and more interconnected world. Federal Solutions Technology-driven solutions for defense and intelligence customers SEGMENTS Critical Infrastructure Engineered solutions for complex physical and digital infrastructure challenges FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT $4B FY 2019 Revenue Critical Infrastructure52% Federal Solutions48% $4.3BFY 2019 Contract Awards Critical Infrastructure41% Federal Solutions59% KEY FACTS AND FIGURES 75Years of History ~ 16KEmployees 11%Revenue Growth (FY 2019) 1.1XTTM Book-to-Bill $8.0BBacklog as of 12/31/2019

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Overview

We are a leading innovative technology provider in the global defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure markets. We provide software and hardware products, technical services and integrated solutions to support our customers’ missions. We have developed significant expertise and differentiated capabilities in key areas of cybersecurity, intelligence, missile defense, C5ISR, space, geospatial, and connected communities. By combining our talented team of professionals and advanced technology, we help solve complex technical challenges to enable a safer, smarter and more interconnected world.

We operate in two reporting segments, Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure. Our Federal Solutions business provides advanced technical solutions to the U.S. government. Our Critical Infrastructure business provides integrated engineering and management services for complex physical and digital infrastructure to state and local governments and large companies.

Our employees provide services pursuant to contracts that we are awarded by the customer and specific task orders relating to such contracts. These contracts are often multi-year, which provides us backlog and visibility on our revenues for future periods. Many of our contracts and task orders are subject to renewal and rebidding at the end of their term, and some are subject to the exercise of contract options and issuance of task orders by the applicable government entity. In addition to focusing on increasing our revenues through increased contract awards and backlog, we focus our financial performance on margin expansion and cash flow.

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Key Metrics

We manage and assess the performance of our business by evaluating a variety of metrics. The following table sets forth selected key metrics (in thousands, except Book-to-Bill):

Awards

Awards generally represent the amount of revenue expected to be earned in the future from funded and unfunded contract awards received during the period. Contract awards include both new and re-compete contracts and task orders. Given that new contract awards generate growth, we closely track our new awards each year.

The following table summarizes the total value of new awards for the periods presented below (in thousands):

The change in new awards from year to year is primarily due to ordinary course fluctuations in our business. The volume of contract awards can fluctuate in any given period due to win rate and the timing and size of the awards issued by our customers.  In Federals Solutions, large awards in 2019 were the primary driver of changes in awards between 2020, 2019 and 2018.  Awards in Critical infrastructure were lower in 2019 due to potential awards being pushed out to 2020.

Backlog

We define backlog to include the following two components:

Backlog includes (i) unissued task orders and unexercised option years, to the extent their issuance or exercise is probable, as well as (ii) contract awards, to the extent we believe contract execution and funding is probable.

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The following table summarizes the value of our backlog at the respective dates presented (in thousands):

Our backlog includes orders under contracts that in some cases extend for several years. For example, the U.S. Congress generally appropriates funds for our U.S. federal government customers on a yearly basis, even though their contracts with us may call for performance that is expected to take a number of years to complete. As a result, our federal contracts typically are only partially funded at any point during their term.  All or some of the work to be performed under the contracts may remain unfunded unless and until the U.S. Congress makes subsequent appropriations and the procuring agency allocates funding to the contract.

We expect to recognize $2.7 billion of our funded backlog at December 31, 2020 as revenues in the following twelve months. However, our U.S. federal government customers may cancel their contracts with us at any time through a termination for convenience or may elect to not exercise option periods under such contracts. In the case of a termination for convenience, we would not receive anticipated future revenues, but would generally be permitted to recover all or a portion of our incurred costs and fees for work performed. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—We may not realize the full value of our backlog, which may result in lower than expected revenue.”

The changes in backlog in our Federal Solutions segment between 2019 and 2020 included contributions of $0.2 billion from business acquisitions. The change in backlog in our Critical Infrastructure segment between 2019 and 2020 was primarily from ordinary course fluctuations in our business and the impacts related to awards discussed above. The changes in backlog in our Federal Solutions segment between 2018 and 2019 included contributions of $0.3 billion from business acquisitions.  Backlog in our Critical Infrastructure segment, in 2019, was impacted primarily by a number of potential awards being pushed out to 2020. Our backlog will fluctuate in any given period based on the volume of awards issued in comparison to the revenue generated from our existing contracts.

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Book-to-Bill

Book-to-bill is the ratio of total awards to total revenue recorded in the same period. Our management believes our book-to-bill ratio is a useful indicator of our potential future revenue growth in that it measures the rate at which we are generating new awards compared to the Company’s current revenue. To drive future revenue growth, our goal is for the level of awards in a given period to exceed the revenue booked. A book-to-bill ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that awards generated in a given period exceeded the revenue recognized in the same period, while a book-to-bill ratio of less than 1.0 indicates that awards generated in such period were less than the revenue recognized in such period. The following table sets forth the book-to-bill ratio for the periods presented below:

Factors and Trends Affecting Our Results of Operations

We believe that the financial performance of our business and our future success are dependent upon many factors, including those highlighted in this section. Our operating performance will depend upon many variables, including the success of our growth strategies and the timing and size of investments and expenditures that we choose to undertake, as well as market growth and other factors that are not within our control.

Government Spending

Changes in the relative mix of government spending and areas of spending growth, with shifts in priorities on homeland security, intelligence, defense-related programs, infrastructure and urbanization, and continued increased spending on technology and innovation, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, connected communities and physical infrastructure, could impact our business and results of operations. Cost-cutting and efficiency initiatives, current and future budget restrictions, spending cuts and other efforts to reduce government spending could cause our government customers to reduce or delay funding or invest appropriated funds on a less consistent basis or not at all, and demand for our solutions or services could diminish. Furthermore, any disruption in the functioning of government agencies, including as a result of government closures and shutdowns, could have a negative impact on our operations and cause us to lose revenue or incur additional costs due to, among other things, our inability to deploy our staff to customer locations or facilities as a result of such disruptions.

Federal Budget Uncertainty

There is uncertainty around the timing, extent, nature and effect of Congressional and other U.S. government actions to address budgetary constraints, caps on the discretionary budget for defense and non-defense departments and agencies, and the ability of Congress to determine how to allocate the available budget authority and pass appropriations bills to fund both U.S. government departments and agencies that are, and those that are not, subject to the caps. Additionally, budget deficits and the growing U.S. national debt increase pressure on the U.S. government to reduce federal spending across all federal agencies, with uncertainty about the size and timing of those reductions. Furthermore, delays in the completion of future U.S. government budgets could in the future delay procurement of the federal government services we provide. A reduction in the amount of, or delays, or cancellations of funding for, services that we are contracted to provide to the U.S. government as a result of any of these impacts or related initiatives, legislation or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

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Regulations

Increased audit, review, investigation and general scrutiny by government agencies of performance under government contracts and compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws could affect our operating results. Negative publicity and increased scrutiny of government contractors in general, including us, relating to government expenditures for contractor services and incidents involving the mishandling of sensitive or classified information, as well as the increasingly complex requirements of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community, including those related to cybersecurity, could impact our ability to perform in the markets we serve.

Competitive Markets

The industries we operate in consist of a large number of enterprises ranging from small, niche-oriented companies to multi-billion-dollar corporations that serve many government and commercial customers. We compete on the basis of our technical expertise, technological innovation, our ability to deliver cost-effective multi-faceted services in a timely manner, our reputation and relationships with our customers, qualified and/or security-clearance personnel, and pricing. We believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of the markets in which we operate because of our proven track record, long-term customer relationships, technology innovation, scalable and agile business offerings and world class talent. Our ability to effectively deliver on project engagements and successfully assist our customers affects our ability to win new contracts and drives our financial performance.

Acquired Operations

Polaris Alpha

On May 31, 2018, we acquired Polaris Alpha for $489.1 million. Polaris Alpha is an advanced, technology-focused provider of innovative mission solutions for national security, intelligence and other U.S. federal customers. The acquisition was funded by cash on-hand and borrowings under our revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). The financial results of Polaris Alpha have been included in our consolidated results of operations from May 31, 2018 onward.

OGSystems

On January 7, 2019, we acquired OGSystems for $292.4 million. OGSystems provides geospatial intelligence, big data analytics and threat mitigation for defense and intelligence customers. The acquisition was funded by cash on-hand and borrowings under our Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility. The financial results of OGSystems have been included in our consolidated results of operations from January 7, 2019 onward.

QRC Technologies

On July 31, 2019, we acquired QRC Technologies for $214.1 million.  QRC Technologies provides design and development of open-architecture radio-frequency products.  The acquisition was funded by cash on-hand and borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility.  The financial results of QRC Technologies have been included in our consolidated results of operations from July 31, 2019 onward. 

Braxton Science & Technology Group, LLC

On November 19, 2020, we acquired Braxton for $310.9 million.  Braxton operates at the forefront of satellite operations, ground system automation, flight dynamics, and spacecraft and antenna simulation for the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. The acquisition was funded by cash on-hand.  The financial results of Braxton have been included in our consolidated results of operations from November 19, 2020 onward. 

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Seasonality

Our results may be affected by variances as a result of weather conditions and contract award seasonality impacts that we experience across our businesses. The latter issue is typically driven by the U.S. federal government fiscal year-end, September 30. While not certain, it is not uncommon for U.S. government agencies to award task orders or complete other contract actions in the weeks before the end of the U.S. federal government fiscal year in order to avoid the loss of unexpended U.S. federal government fiscal year funds. In addition, we have also historically experienced higher bid and proposal costs in the months leading up to the U.S. federal government fiscal year-end as we pursue new contract opportunities expected to be awarded early in the following U.S. federal government fiscal year as a result of funding appropriated for that U.S. federal government fiscal year. Furthermore, many U.S. state governments with fiscal years ending on June 30 tend to accelerate spending during their first quarter, when new funding becomes available. We may continue to experience this seasonality in future periods, and our results of operations may be affected by it.

Taxes

Historically, we had elected to be taxed under the provisions of Subchapter “S” of the Internal Revenue Code for federal tax purposes. As a result, our income had not been subject to U.S. federal income taxes or state income taxes in those states where the “S” Corporation status was recognized. No provision or liability for federal or state income tax had been provided in our consolidated financial statements, prior to the IPO on May 8, 2019, except for those states where the “S” Corporation status was not recognized or where states imposed a tax on “S” Corporations. The provision for income tax in the historical periods prior to the IPO consists of these state taxes and from certain foreign jurisdictions where we are subject to tax.

In connection with the IPO, our “S” Corporation status terminated, and we are now treated as a “C” Corporation under Subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code. The revocation of the our “S” Corporation election had a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.  The effective tax rate has increased, and net income has decreased as compared to our “S” Corporation tax years, since we are now subject to both U.S. federal and state corporate income taxes on its earnings.

Results of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue consists of both services provided by our employees and pass-through fees from subcontractors and other direct costs. Our Federal Solutions segment derives revenue primarily from the U.S. federal government and our Critical Infrastructure segment derives revenue primarily from government and commercial customers.

We recognize revenue for work performed under cost-plus, time-and-materials and fixed-price contracts as follows:

Under cost-plus contracts, we are reimbursed for allowable or otherwise defined costs incurred, plus a fee. The contracts may also include incentives for various performance criteria, including quality, timeliness, safety and cost-effectiveness. In addition, costs are generally subject to review by clients and regulatory audit agencies, and such reviews could result in costs being disputed as non-reimbursable under the terms of the contract.

Under time-and-materials contracts, hourly billing rates are negotiated and charged to clients based on the actual time spent on a project. In addition, clients reimburse actual out-of-pocket costs for other direct costs and expenses that are incurred in connection with the performance under the contract.

Under fixed-price contracts, clients pay an agreed fixed-amount negotiated in advance for a specified scope of work.

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Refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” and “Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Polices” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further description of our policies on revenue recognition.

The table below presents the percentage of total revenue for each type of contract.

The amount of risk and potential reward varies under each type of contract. Under cost-plus contracts, there is limited financial risk, because we are reimbursed for all allowable costs up to a ceiling. However, profit margins on this type of contract tend to be lower than on time-and-materials and fixed-price contracts. Under time-and-materials contracts, we are reimbursed for the hours worked using the predetermined hourly rates for each labor category. In addition, we are typically reimbursed for other direct contract costs and expenses at cost. We assume financial risk on time-and-materials contracts because our labor costs may exceed the negotiated billing rates. Profit margins on well-managed time-and-materials contracts tend to be higher than profit margins on cost-plus contracts as long as we are able to staff those contracts with people who have an appropriate skill set. Under fixed-price contracts, we are required to deliver the objectives under the contract for a pre-determined price. Compared to time-and-materials and cost-plus contracts, fixed-price contracts generally offer higher profit margin opportunities because we receive the full benefit of any cost savings, but they also generally involve greater financial risk because we bear the risk of any cost overruns. In the aggregate, the contract type mix in our revenue for any given period will affect that period’s profitability.  Over time, we have experienced a relatively stable contract mix.

Our recognition of profit on long-term contracts requires the use of assumptions related to transaction price and total cost of completion. Estimates are continually evaluated as work progresses and are revised when necessary. When a change in estimated cost or transaction price is determined to have an impact on contract profit, we record a positive or negative adjustment to revenue.

In 2020, 2019 and 2018, no single contract accounted for more than 5% of our revenue.

Joint Ventures

We conduct a portion of our business through joint ventures or similar partnership arrangements. For the joint ventures we control, we consolidate all the revenues and expenses in our consolidated statements of income (including revenues and expenses attributable to noncontrolling interests). For the joint ventures we do not control, we recognize equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures. Our revenues included $172.2 million in 2020, $157.3 million in 2019, and $144.7 million in 2018 related to services we provided to our unconsolidated joint ventures.

Operating costs and expenses

Operating costs and expenses primarily include direct costs of contracts and indirect, general and administrative expenses. Costs associated with compensation-related expenses for our people and facilities, which includes ESOP contribution expenses, are the most significant component of our operating expenses. In 2020, 2019 and 2018, we made annual contributions to the ESOP in the amount of 8% of the participants’ cash compensation for the applicable year.  Total ESOP contribution expense was $55.3 million for 2020, $53.6 million for fiscal 2019, and $45.2 million for fiscal 2018, and is recorded in “Direct cost of contracts” and “Indirect, general and administrative expenses.” We expect operating

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expenses to increase due to our anticipated growth. However, on a forward-looking basis, we generally expect these costs to decline as a percentage of our total revenue as we realize the benefits of scale.

Direct costs of contracts consist of direct labor and associated fringe benefits, indirect overhead, subcontractor and materials (“pass-through costs”), travel expenses and other expenses incurred to perform on contracts.

Indirect, general and administrative expenses (“IG&A”) include salaries and wages and fringe benefits of our employees not performing work directly for customers, facility costs and other costs related to these indirect functions.

Other income and expenses

Other income and expenses primarily consist of interest income, interest expense, other income, net and interest and other expense associated with claim on long-term contract.

Interest income primarily consists of interest earned on U.S. government money market funds.

Interest expense consists of interest expense incurred under our Senior Notes, Convertible Senior Notes, and Credit Agreement.

Other income, net primarily consists of gain or loss on sale of assets, sublease income and transaction gain or loss related to movements in foreign currency exchange rates.

Included in other income and expenses in 2018 are amounts related to the settlement of a lawsuit in favor of a joint venture in which the Company was the managing partner. With regard to the lawsuit, during the second half of fiscal 2013, a California state court issued a number of preliminary judgments with the final judgment being rendered in early fiscal 2014 in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the joint venture. We recorded a loss of $98.8 million for fiscal 2013 as a result of these judgments, which included the reversal of $55.1 million in previously recognized revenue. Post-judgment interest was accrued through May 2018 when a total of $133.1 million was accrued in “Provision for contract losses of consolidated joint ventures” on our consolidated balance sheet. On February 28, 2018, the California Court of Appeals vacated the judgement, and in doing so, the appellate court remanded the case to the trial court for the sole purpose of entering a new and final judgement in our favor. On April 9, 2018, the appellate court ruling was appealed by the counterparty to the California Supreme Court. On June 13, 2018, the California Supreme Court denied the counterparty’s appeal. As a result, in the second quarter of 2018 we reversed $133.1 million accrued in “Provision for contract losses on consolidated joint ventures” on our consolidated balance sheet, resulting in a net gain of $129.7 million on our consolidated statements of income, of which $55.1 million was recorded as an increase in revenue with the remainder recorded as other income.

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Year ended December 31, 2020 compared to year ended December 31, 2019

The following table sets forth our results of operations for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 as a percentage of revenue.

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the prior year decreased $35.9 million. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in revenue in our Critical Infrastructure segment of $59.9 million partially offset by an increase in our Federal Solutions segment of $24.0 million. See “—Segment Results” below for further discussion.

Direct costs of contracts

Direct cost of contracts decreased in 2020 primarily due to a decrease of $86.4 million in our Critical Infrastructure segment. The decrease was primarily attributable to decrease in business volume on contracts with significant pass-through costs and cost reductions.

 Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures decreased in fiscal 2020 primarily due to a $15.5 million write-down on a project in the Critical Infrastructure segment during 2020, offset in part by increases associated with the timing of the completion of joint ventures and the starting of new joint ventures as part of ordinary course timing fluctuations in our business.

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Indirect, general and administrative expenses

The decrease in IG&A expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 as compared to December 31, 2019 relates primarily to a decline in compensation cost associated with equity-based awards that settle primarily in cash. The compensation cost associated with these awards totaled $9.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $65.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Cash settled awards are remeasured to an updated fair value at each reporting period until the award is settled.  Compensation cost is trued-up at each reporting period for changes in fair value pro-rated for the portion of the requisite service period rendered.

The significant decrease in compensation cost related to these cash settled equity-based awards for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to December 31, 2019 is due primarily to lower share prices over the last 60 trading days of 2020 as compared to the comparable period in 2019, as well as the higher grant price of active awards in 2020. The substantial compensation cost for the year ended December 31, 2019 was due to the significant difference in the fair value of a share of our common stock under Parsons ESOP valuation at December 31, 2018 compared to the fair value of a share of our common stock in the public market at December 31, 2019.  See Item 5 of Part II for ranges in the share price of our common stock since the consummation of the IPO and “Note 19—Fair Value of Financial Instruments” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of how the ESOP share value was determined.  See “Note 1—Description of Operations” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more detail regarding our IPO.  The plans in which these awards were granted have been frozen and the Company does not currently intend to grant any further cash settled equity-based awards.  

Excluding the compensation costs discussed above, IG&A for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 was $719.3 million and $715.7 million, respectively.

The increase in IG&A of $3.6 million, exclusive of equity compensation cost, was primarily due to additional expenses of $23.8 million associated with business acquisitions, $3.9 million due to a tax law change and $5.0 million related to strategic growth initiatives and public company operating costs. These increases were partially offset by a $18.4 million reduction in transaction-related costs related primarily to our initial public offering in 2019, and a $10.1 million reduction in intangible asset amortization.

Total other (expense) income

Interest expense decreased in 2020 primarily due a decrease in interest rates year-over-year. The amounts in other income (expense), net, are primarily related to transaction gains and losses on foreign currency transactions and sublease income.  

Income tax expense

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Income tax expense increased in fiscal 2020 primarily due to the nonrecurring tax items included in 2019 for tax benefits associated with the remeasurement of our net deferred tax assets as a result of our conversion from “S” Corporation to a “C” Corporation.

Our effective tax rate was 26.3% and income tax expense was $42.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. As described in “Note 14 – Income Taxes,” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in connection with our IPO on May 8, 2019, we converted from an “S” Corporation to a “C” Corporation. On a pro forma basis, if we had been taxed as a “C” Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2019, the pro forma effective tax rate would have been 36.9%, and our pro forma income tax expense would have been $24.8 million. The most significant items contributing to the change in the effective tax rate relates to a change in jurisdictional earnings, federal research tax credits and a nonrecurring item included in 2019 associated with equity compensation.  The difference between the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate of 21% and the effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily relates to state income taxes and a recorded valuation allowance on foreign tax credits, partially offset by benefits related to income attributable to noncontrolling interest and federal research tax credits.

The termination of the “S” Corporation status was treated as a change in tax status for Accounting Standards Codification 740, Income Taxes. These rules require that the deferred tax effects of a change in tax status to be recorded to income from continuing operations on the date the “S” Corporation status terminates. At December 31, 2019, the Company had recorded a deferred tax benefit of $93.9 million for the estimated effect of the change in tax status, relating to the recognition of net deferred tax assets for temporary differences in existence on the date of conversion to a “C” Corporation. This estimated amount was adjusted to $90.0 million upon filing of the 2019 tax returns. This adjustment is included in income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Year ended December 31, 2019 compared to year ended December 31, 2018

The following table sets forth our results of operations for 2019 and 2018 as a percentage of revenue.