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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 15. Commitments and Contingencies We and certain of our subsidiaries are subject to numerous contingencies arising in the ordinary course of business. For a discussion of our tax contingencies, see Note 8. Income Taxes. A. Legal Proceedings Our non-tax contingencies include, among others, the following: • Product liability and other product-related litigation, which can include injury, consumer, off-label promotion, antitrust and breach of contract claims. • Commercial and other matters, which can include product-pricing claims and environmental claims and proceedings. • Patent litigation, which typically involves challenges to the coverage and/or validity of our patents or those of third parties on various products or processes. • Government investigations, which can involve regulation by national, state and local government agencies in the U.S. and in other countries. Certain of these contingencies could result in losses, including damages, fines and/or civil penalties, and/or criminal charges, which could be substantial. We believe that we have strong defenses in these types of matters, but litigation is inherently unpredictable and excessive verdicts do occur. We do not believe that any of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial position. However, we could incur judgments, enter into settlements or revise our expectations regarding the outcome of certain matters, and such developments could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows in the period in which the amounts are paid. We have accrued for losses that are both probable and reasonably estimable. Substantially all of these contingencies are subject to significant uncertainties and, therefore, determining the likelihood of a loss and/or the measurement of any loss can be complex. Consequently, we are unable to estimate the range of reasonably possible loss in excess of amounts accrued. Our assessments are based on estimates and assumptions that have been deemed reasonable by management, but the assessment process relies on estimates and assumptions that may prove to be incomplete or inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may occur that might cause us to change those estimates and assumptions. Amounts recorded for legal and environmental contingencies can result from a complex series of judgments about future events and uncertainties and can rely on estimates and assumptions. The principal matters to which we are a party are discussed below. In determining whether a pending matter is significant for financial reporting and disclosure purposes, we consider both quantitative and qualitative factors in order to assess materiality, such as, among other things, the amount of damages and the nature of any other relief sought in the proceeding, if such damages and other relief are specified; our view of the merits of the claims and of the strength of our defenses; whether the action purports to be a class action and our view of the likelihood that a class will be certified by the court; the jurisdiction in which the proceeding is pending; any experience that we or, to our knowledge, other companies have had in similar proceedings; whether disclosure of the action would be important to a reader of our financial statements, including whether disclosure might change a reader’s judgment about our financial statements in light of all of the information about the company that is available to the reader; the potential impact of the proceeding on our reputation; and the extent of public interest in the matter. In addition, with respect to patent matters, we consider, among other things, the financial significance of the product protected by the patent. Ulianopolis, Brazil In February 2012, the Municipality of Ulianopolis (State of Para, Brazil) filed a complaint against Fort Dodge Saúde Animal Ltda. (FDSAL), a Zoetis entity, and five other large companies alleging that waste sent to a local waste incineration facility for destruction, but that was not ultimately destroyed as the facility lost its operating permit, caused environmental impacts requiring cleanup. The Municipality is seeking recovery of cleanup costs purportedly related to FDSAL’s share of all waste accumulated at the incineration facility awaiting destruction, and compensatory damages to be allocated among the six defendants. We believe we have strong arguments against the claim, including defense strategies against any claim of joint and several liability. At the request of the Municipal prosecutor, in April 2012, the lawsuit was suspended for one year. Since that time, the prosecutor has initiated investigations into the Municipality's actions in the matter as well as the efforts undertaken by the six defendants to remove and dispose of their individual waste from the incineration facility. On October 3, 2014, the Municipal prosecutor announced that the investigation remained ongoing and outlined the terms of a proposed Term of Reference (a document that establishes the minimum elements to be addressed in the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment), under which the companies would be liable to withdraw the waste and remediate the area. On March 5, 2015, we presented our response to the prosecutor’s proposed Term of Reference, arguing that the proposed terms were overly general in nature and expressing our interest in discussing alternatives to address the matter. The prosecutor agreed to consider our request to engage a technical consultant to conduct an environmental diagnostic of the contaminated area. On May 29, 2015, we, in conjunction with the other defendant companies, submitted a draft cooperation agreement to the prosecutor, which outlined the proposed terms and conditions for the engagement of a technical consultant to conduct the environmental diagnostic. On August 19, 2016, the parties and the prosecutor agreed to engage the services of a third-party consultant to conduct a limited environmental assessment of the site. The site assessment was conducted during June 2017, and a written report summarizing the results of the assessment was provided to the parties and the prosecutor in November 2017. The report noted that waste is still present on the site and that further (Phase II) environmental assessments are needed before a plan to manage that remaining waste can be prepared. On April 1, 2019, the defendants met with the Prosecutor to discuss the conclusions set forth in the written report. Following that discussion, on April 10, 2019, the Prosecutor issued a procedural order requesting that the defendants prepare and submit a technical proposal outlining the steps needed to conduct the additional Phase II environmental assessments. The defendants presented the technical proposal to the Prosecutor on October 21, 2019. On March 3, 2020, the Prosecutor notified the defendants that he submitted the proposal to the Ministry of the Environment for its review and consideration by the Prosecutor. On July 15, 2020, the Prosecutor recommended certain amendments to the proposal for the Phase II testing. On September 28, 2020, the parties and the Prosecutor agreed to the final terms and conditions concerning the cooperation agreement with respect to the Phase II testing. Phase II testing began the week of October 14, 2024. To date, the work has yet to be competed. We expect a report to be issued by the consultant upon conclusion of the testing. B. Guarantees and Indemnifications In the ordinary course of business and in connection with the sale of assets and businesses, we indemnify our counterparties against certain liabilities that may arise in connection with the transaction or related to activities prior to the transaction. These indemnifications typically pertain to environmental, tax, employee and/or product-related matters and patent-infringement claims. If the indemnified party were to make a successful claim pursuant to the terms of the indemnification, we would be required to reimburse the loss. These indemnifications are generally subject to threshold amounts, specified claim periods and other restrictions and limitations. Historically, we have not paid significant amounts under these provisions and, as of June 30, 2025, recorded amounts for the estimated fair value of these indemnifications were not material.

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