NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP DE

We are focused on the efficient conversion of operating income into cash to provide for the company’s material cash requirements, including working capital needs, satisfaction of contractual commitments, funding of our pension and OPB plans, investment in our business through capital expenditures, and shareholder return through dividend payments and share repurchases.

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At September 30, 2024, we had $3.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents. We expect cash and cash equivalents and cash generated from operating activities, supplemented by borrowings under credit facilities, commercial paper and/or in the capital markets through our shelf registration with the SEC, if needed, to be sufficient to provide liquidity to the company in the short-term and long-term. The company has a five-year senior unsecured credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $2.5 billion, and in April 2024, we renewed our one-year $500 million uncommitted credit facility. At September 30, 2024, there were no borrowings outstanding under these credit facilities. In January 2024, we issued $2.5 billion of unsecured senior notes for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment, share repurchases and working capital.

IRC Section 174

Beginning in 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) eliminated the option to deduct research and development expenditures in the current year and requires taxpayers to amortize them over five years pursuant to IRC Section 174. Our 2023 cash from operations were reduced by approximately $500 million for federal estimated tax payments we made related to Section 174. In the future, Congress may consider legislation that would defer the amortization requirement to later years, possibly with retroactive effect. In the meantime, we expect to continue to make additional federal tax payments based on the current Section 174 tax law, which we estimate will reduce our 2024 cash from operations by approximately $350 million. The impact of Section 174 on our cash from operations depends on the amount of research and development expenditures incurred by the company and whether the IRS issues guidance on the provision which differs from our current interpretation, among other things.

Cash Flow Measures

In addition to our cash position, we consider various cash flow measures in capital deployment decision-making, including cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure described in more detail below.

Operating Cash Flow

The table below summarizes key components of cash provided by operating activities:

(1)Includes depreciation and amortization, stock based compensation expense, deferred income taxes and net periodic pension and OPB income.

Year to date 2024 net cash provided by operating activities increased $365 million as compared with the same period in 2023 primarily due to higher net earnings and improved trade working capital, largely driven by lower net federal tax payments, partially offset by the timing of billings and cash collections.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow, as reconciled in the table below, is a non-GAAP measure defined as net cash provided by or used in operating activities less capital expenditures, and may not be defined and calculated by other companies in the same manner. We use free cash flow as a key factor in our planning for, and consideration of, acquisitions, the payment of dividends and stock repurchases. This non-GAAP measure may be useful to investors and other users of our financial statements as a supplemental measure of our cash performance, but should not be considered in isolation, as a measure of residual cash flow available for discretionary purposes, or as an alternative to operating cash flows presented in accordance with GAAP.

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The table below reconciles net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow:

Year to date 2024 free cash flow increased $386 million, or 82 percent, as compared with the same period in 2023 principally due to higher net cash provided by operating activities.

Investing Cash Flow

Year to date 2024 net cash used in investing activities increased $139 million, or 17 percent, as compared with the same period in 2023 principally due to $157 million of proceeds received in the prior year from the sale of a minority investment, partially offset by lower capital expenditures largely driven by timing.

Financing Cash Flow

Year to date 2024 net cash used in financing activities decreased $486 million, or 43 percent, as compared with the same period in 2023, primarily due to $1.05 billion of fewer debt repayments and a $500 million increase in proceeds from long-term debt, partially offset by a $919 million increase in share repurchases and a $53 million increase in dividends paid.

Credit Facilities, Commercial Paper and Financial Arrangements -See Note 7 to the financial statements for further information on our credit facilities, commercial paper and our use of standby letters of credit and guarantees.

Share Repurchases - See Note 2 to the financial statements for further information on our share repurchase programs.

Long-term Debt - See Note 5 to the financial statements for further information.