Company: SYY
Filing Date: 2025-08-22
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000096021-25-000099
Chunk: 172

Company: SYSCO CORP
Filing Date: 2025-08-22
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 172
---
 result in an increase in our effective income tax rate in the period of resolution. A favorable tax settlement may be recognized as a reduction in our effective income tax rate in the period of resolution. During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, Sysco received a Statutory Notice of Deficiency from the Internal Revenue Service, mainly related to foreign tax credits generated in fiscal 2018 from repatriated earnings primarily from our Canadian operations. On April 18, 2023, during the company’s fourth fiscal quarter, the company filed suit in the U.S. Tax Court challenging the validity of certain tax regulations related to the one-time transition tax on unrepatriated foreign earnings, which was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). The lawsuit seeks to have the court invalidate these regulations, which would affirm the company’s position regarding its foreign tax credits. Sysco previously recorded a benefit of $131 million attributable to its interpretation of the TCJA and the Internal Revenue Code. If the company is ultimately unsuccessful in defending its position, it may be required to reverse all, or some portion, of the benefit previously recorded.

Company-Sponsored Pension Plans

Amounts related to defined benefit plans recognized in the financial statements are determined on an actuarial basis. Two of the more critical assumptions in the actuarial calculations are the discount rate for determining the current value of plan benefits and the expected rate of return on plan assets. Our U.S. Retirement Plan is largely frozen and is only open to a small number of employees. Our Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) is frozen and is not open to any employees. None of these plans have a significant sensitivity to changes in discount rates specific to our results of operations, but such changes could impact our balance sheet due to a change in our funded status. Due to the low level of active employees in our retirement plans, our assumption for the rate of increase in future compensation is not a critical assumption.

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets was 5.63% for fiscal 2025. The expectations of future returns are derived from a mathematical asset model that incorporates assumptions as to the various asset class returns reflecting a combination of historical performance analysis, the forward-looking views of the financial markets regarding the yield on bonds, historical returns of the major stock markets, and returns on alternative investments. The rate of return assumption is reviewed annually and revised as deemed appropriate.

The expected return on plan assets impacts the recorded amount of net pension costs