TRACTOR SUPPLY CO DE

Note 1 –General

Nature of Business

Founded in 1938, Tractor Supply Company (the “Company,” “Tractor Supply,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States (“U.S.”). The Company is focused on supplying the needs of recreational farmers, ranchers, and all those who enjoy living the rural lifestyle (which we refer to as the “Out Here” lifestyle). The Company's stores are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities. The Company also owns and operates Petsense, LLC (“Petsense by Tractor Supply”), a small-box pet specialty supply retailer focused on meeting the needs of pet owners, primarily in small and mid-sized communities, and offering a variety of pet products and services. On October 12, 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of Orscheln Farm and Home, LLC (“Orscheln” or “Orscheln Farm and Home”) and converted the 81 acquired Orscheln stores to Tractor Supply stores in fiscal 2023. At September 28, 2024, the Company operated a total of 2,475 retail stores in 49 states (2,270 Tractor Supply retail stores and 205 Petsense by Tractor Supply retail stores) and also offered an expanded assortment of products through the Tractor Supply mobile application and online at TractorSupply.comand Petsense.com.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying interim unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These statements should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2023. The results of operations for our interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the full fiscal year.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2022, the Financial Accounting Standard Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2022-04, “Liabilities - Supplier Finance Programs (Subtopic 405-50): Disclosure of Supplier Finance Program Obligations”. The ASU requires disclosure about an entity’s use of supplier finance programs, including the key terms of the program, amount of obligations outstanding at the end of the reporting period, and a rollforward of activity within the program during the period. The Company adopted this ASU in fiscal 2023, except for the disclosure of rollforward activity, which is effective on a prospective basis beginning within the Annual Report on Form 10-K in fiscal 2024.

Supplier Finance Program

The Company has agreements with third-party financial institutions that allow certain participating suppliers the ability to finance payment obligations from the Company. The third-party financial institutions have separate arrangements with the Company’s suppliers and provide them with the option to request early payment for invoices confirmed by the Company. The Company does not determine the terms or conditions of the arrangements between the third-parties and their suppliers and receives no compensation from the third-party financial institutions. The Company’s obligation to its suppliers, including amounts due and scheduled payment dates, are not impacted by the suppliers’ decisions to finance amounts under the arrangements. The Company’s outstanding payment obligations under the supplier finance program, which are included inaccounts payable on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, were $65.6 million, $38.4 million, and $57.8 million at September 28, 2024, December 30, 2023, and September 30, 2023, respectively.

Sale-leaseback Transactions

In the third quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company completed its strategically planned sale-leaseback of 9 Tractor Supply store locations, resulting in proceeds of $57.1 million and a gain of $34.9 million. The Company intends to lease those properties for 20 years, with renewal options thereafter. The transactions met the accounting criteria for sale-leaseback treatment, and the resulting leases were accounted for as operating leases.

Note 2 –Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Company uses a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include:

•Level 1 - defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

•Level 2 - defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and

•Level 3 - defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term credit card receivables, trade payables, debt instruments, and interest rate swaps. Due to their short-term nature, the carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, short-term credit card receivables, and trade payables approximate current fair value at each balance sheet date.

As described in further detail in Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company had $1.85 billion in borrowings under its debt facilities at September 28, 2024 and $1.75 billion in borrowings under its debt facilities at December 30, 2023 and September 30, 2023. The fair value of the Company’s $150 million 3.70% Senior Notes due 2029 (the “3.70% Senior Notes”) and the borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) were determined based on market interest rates (Level 2 inputs). The carrying value of borrowings in the 3.70% Senior Notes and the Revolving Credit Facility approximate fair value for each period reported.

The fair value of the Company’s $650 million 1.750% Senior Notes due 2030 (the “1.75% Senior Notes”) and $750 million 5.250% Senior Notes due 2033 (the “5.25% Senior Notes”) are determined based on quoted prices in active markets, which are considered Level 1 inputs. The carrying value and the fair value of the 1.75% Senior Notes and the 5.25% Senior Notes, net of discounts, were as follows (in thousands):

The Company's interest rate swap is carried at fair value, which is determined based on the present value of expected future cash flows using forward rate curves, which is considered a Level 2 input. In accordance with hedge accounting, the gains and losses on interest rate swaps that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges are recorded as a component of Other Comprehensive Income, net of related income taxes, and reclassified into earnings in the same income statement line and period in which the hedged transactions affect earnings. The fair value of the interest rate swap, excluding accrued interest, was as follows (in thousands):

Note 3 –Share-Based Compensation

Share-based compensation includes stock options, restricted stock units, performance-based restricted share units, and transactions under the Company's Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”). Share-based compensation expense is recognized based on grant date fair value of all stock options, restricted stock units, and performance-based restricted share units. Share-based compensation expense is also recognized for the value of the 15% discount on shares purchased by employees as a part of the ESPP. The discount under the ESPP represents the difference between the market value on the first day of the purchase period or the market value on the purchase date, whichever is lower, and the employee’s purchase price.

There wereno significant modifications to the Company’s share-based compensation plans during the fiscal nine months ended September 28, 2024.

Share-based compensation expense was $10.0 million and $15.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $35.1 million and $45.2 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Stock Options

The following table summarizes information concerning stock option grants during the first nine months of fiscal 2024:

As of September 28, 2024, total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock options was approximately $10.1 million with a remaining weighted average expense recognition period of 2.0 years.

Restricted Stock Units and Performance-Based Restricted Share Units

The following table summarizes information concerning restricted stock unit and performance-based restricted share unit grants during the first nine months of fiscal 2024:

(a) Assumes 100% target level achievement of the relative performance targets.

(b) Shares adjusted for performance-based restricted share unit awards settled during the first three months of fiscal 2024 based on actual achievement of performance targets.

In the first nine months of fiscal 2024, the Company granted performance-based restricted share unit awards that are subject to the achievement of specified performance goals. The performance metrics for the units are growth in net sales and growth in earnings per diluted share and also include a relative total shareholder return modifier. The number of performance-based restricted share units presented in the foregoing table represent the shares that can be achieved at the performance metric target value. The actual number of shares that will be issued under the performance-based restricted share unit awards, which may be higher or lower than the target, will be determined by the level of achievement of the performance goals and the relative total shareholder return modifier. If the performance targets are achieved, the units will be issued based on the achievement level, inclusive of the relative total shareholder return modifier, and the grant date fair value will cliff vest in full on the third anniversary of the date of the grant, subject to continued employment.

As of September 28, 2024, total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock units and non-vested performance-based restricted share units was approximately $77.1 million with a remaining weighted average expense recognition period of 2.0 years.

Note 4 –Net Income Per Share

The Company presents both basic and diluted net income per share on the Consolidated Statements of Income. Basic net income per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted average diluted shares outstanding during the period. Dilutive shares are computed using the treasury stock method for share-based awards. Performance-based restricted share units are included in diluted shares only if the related performance conditions are considered satisfied as of the end of the reporting period. Net income per share is calculated as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):

Anti-dilutive stock awards excluded from the above calculations totaled approximately 0.1 million shares for the fiscal three months ended September 28, 2024 and approximately 0.2 million shares for the fiscal three months ended September 30, 2023. Anti-dilutive stock awards excluded from the above calculations totaled approximately 0.2 million shares for the fiscal nine months ended September 28, 2024 and approximately 0.2 million shares for the fiscal nine months ended September 30, 2023.