UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC

We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") with certain non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures exclude costs or charges that we do not consider a part of underlying business performance when monitoring and evaluating the operating performance of our business units, making decisions to allocate resources or in determining incentive compensation awards. As a result, we believe excluding the impact of these items better enables users of our financial statements to view and evaluate underlying business performance from the perspective of management.

Adjusted financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as an alternative for, our reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our adjusted financial measures do not represent a comprehensive basis of accounting and therefore may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Adjusted amounts reflect the following (in millions):

The income tax impacts of these items are calculated at the statutory tax rates applicable in each tax jurisdiction.

Transformation and Other Costs, and Asset Impairment Charges

We supplement the presentation of our operating profit, operating margin, income before income taxes, net income and earnings per share with non-GAAP measures that exclude the impact of charges related to transformation and other activities, and asset impairments. For more information regarding transformation activity charges, see note 17 to the unaudited, consolidated financial statements, for other charges, see note 11 to the unaudited, consolidated financial statements, and for asset impairment charges, see note 8 to the unaudited, consolidated financial statements.

International Regulatory Matter

In the second quarter of 2024, we made a payment of $94 million of previously restricted cash to settle a previously-disclosed challenge by Italian tax authorities to the deductibility of Value Added Tax payments by UPS to certain third-party service providers, a review of which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2023. We supplement the presentation of our operating profit, operating margin, interest expense, total other income (expense), income before income taxes, net income and earnings per share with non-GAAP measures that exclude the impact of this payment. We believe excluding the impact of this payment, which we do not believe is a component of our ongoing operations and we do not expect to recur, better enables users of our financial statements to view and evaluate underlying business performance from the same perspective as management.

Adjusted Cost per Piece

We evaluate the efficiency of our operations using various metrics, including adjusted cost per piece. Adjusted cost per piece is calculated as adjusted operating expenses in a period divided by total volume for that period. Because adjusted operating expenses exclude costs or charges that we do not consider a part of underlying business performance when monitoring and evaluating the operating performance of our business units, making decisions to allocate resources or in determining incentive compensation awards, we believe this is the appropriate metric on which to base reviews and evaluations of the efficiency of our operational performance.

Defined Benefit Pension and Postretirement Medical Plan Gains and Losses

We incur certain employment-related expenses associated with pension and postretirement medical benefits. These pension and postretirement medical benefits costs for company-sponsored defined benefit plans are calculated using various actuarial assumptions and methodologies, including discount rates, expected returns on plan assets, healthcare cost trend rates, inflation, compensation increase rates, mortality rates and coordination of benefits with plans not sponsored by UPS. Actuarial assumptions are reviewed on an annual basis, unless circumstances require an interim remeasurement of any of our plans.

We recognize changes in the fair value of plan assets and net actuarial gains and losses in excess of a 10% corridor (defined as 10% of the greater of the fair value of plan assets or the plan's projected benefit obligation), as well as gains and losses resulting from plan curtailments and settlements, for our pension and postretirement defined benefit plans immediately as part of Investment income and other in the statements of consolidated income. We supplement the presentation of our income before income taxes, net income and earnings per share with adjusted measures that exclude the impact of these gains and losses and the related income tax effects. We believe excluding these defined benefit pension and postretirement medical plan gains and losses provides important supplemental information by removing the volatility associated with plan amendments and short-term changes in market interest rates, equity values and similar factors.

For additional information, see note 7 to the unaudited, consolidated financial statements.