Company: DLX
Filing Date: 2025-11-06
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0000027996-25-000189
Chunk: 123

Company: DELUXE CORP
Filing Date: 2025-11-06
Form: 10-Q
Item: Item 2
Chunk 123
---
 the respective tax jurisdictions and the applicable effective tax rate(s) in those jurisdictions.

(2) The total of weighted-average shares and potential common shares outstanding used in the calculation of adjusted diluted EPS may differ from the GAAP calculation due to differences in the amount of dilutive securities in each calculation.

RESTRUCTURING AND INTEGRATION EXPENSE

Restructuring and integration expense consists of costs related to initiatives aimed at driving earnings and cash flow growth, including costs related to the consolidation and migration of certain applications and processes. These costs consist primarily of consulting, project management services, internal labor, and other items such as facility closure and consolidation costs. Additionally, we have recorded employee severance costs across functional areas.

We are currently pursuing initiatives designed to support our growth strategy and to increase our efficiency, including several initiatives that we collectively refer to as our North Star program. The goal of this program is to enhance shareholder value by (1) accelerating our adjusted EBITDA growth, (2) increasing cash flow, (3) reducing debt, and (4) improving our leverage ratio. North Star is a comprehensive, multi-year plan that balances cost reduction and growth opportunities. On the cost reduction front, we concentrated on optimizing our organizational framework and enhancing our infrastructure and operational processes. The major components of our organizational restructuring have been completed, involving the integration of comparable roles, flattening management layers, and broadening supervisory responsibilities. We are also leveraging technology and automated processes to digitize and improve the efficiency of our operations. Additionally, we are expanding our operational capacity by centralizing back-office activities and utilizing talent from the global workforce. On the revenue growth front, our 

32

priorities include developing an integrated software channel in Merchant Services, expanding our Data Solutions business to cater to more industry verticals, and enhancing our marketing and sales capabilities. The positive impact of the North Star initiatives is evident in our results of operations. For example, SG&A expense decreased 6.3% for the first nine months of 2025 compared to the first nine months of 2024, and free cash flow increased $32 million for the same period. Also, within our Print segment, our continued focus on driving efficiencies contributed to an improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin for both the third quarter and first nine months of 2025 as compared the same periods in 2024, despite the revenue pressures facing this business. Further information regarding restructuring and integration expense can be found under the caption "Note 8: Restructuring and Integration Expense" in the Cond