UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020

OR

Commission file number 001-36325

NOW INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

7402 North Eldridge Parkway, Houston, Texas 77041

(Address of principal executive offices)

(281) 823-4700

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15 (d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2020 was $0.9 billion. As of February 10, 2021, there were 109,951,610 shares of the Company’s common stock (excluding 574,022 unvested restricted shares) outstanding.

NOW INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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FORM 10-K

Note About Forward-Looking Statements

This report includes estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this report, including the following sections: “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “predict,” “estimate,” “will be” or other similar words and phrases. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. We describe risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially in “Risk Factors” (Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K), “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (Part II, Item 7) and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” (Part II, Item 7A). We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

PART I

ITEM 1.BUSINESS

Corporate Structure

NOW Inc. (“NOW” or the “Company”), headquartered in Houston, Texas, was incorporated in Delaware on November 22, 2013. On May 30, 2014, the spin-off from NOV Inc., formerly National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (“NOV”) was completed and NOW became an independent, publicly traded company (the “Spin-Off” or “Separation”). In accordance with a separation and distribution agreement between NOV and NOW, the two companies were separated by NOV distributing to its stockholders 107,053,031 shares of common stock of NOW Inc. with each NOV stockholder receiving one share of NOW common stock for every four shares of NOV common stock held at the close of business on the record date of May 22, 2014 and not sold prior to close of business on May 30, 2014. We filed a registration statement on Form 10, as amended through the time of its effectiveness, describing the Spin-Off, which was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on May 13, 2014. On June 2, 2014, NOW stock began trading “regular-way” on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DNOW”. Following the Spin-Off, NOW became an independent, publicly traded company as NOV had no ownership interest in NOW. Each company has separate public ownership, boards of directors and management.

Overview

We are a global distributor to the oil and gas and industrial markets with a legacy of over 150 years. We operate primarily under the DistributionNOW and DNOW brands. Through a network of approximately 195 locations and approximately 2,500 employees worldwide, we offer a complementary suite of digital procurement channels, in conjunction with our locations, that provides products to the energy and industrial markets around the world.

Additionally, through our growing DigitalNOW® platform, customers can leverage world-class technology across ecommerce, data management and supply chain optimization applications to solve a wide array of complex operational and product sourcing challenges to assist in maximizing their return on assets.

Our energy product offering is consumed throughout all sectors of the energy industry – from upstream drilling and completion, exploration and production (“E&P”), midstream infrastructure development to downstream petroleum refining and petrochemicals – as well as in other industries, such as chemical processing, mining, utilities and renewables. The industrial distribution end markets include engineering and construction firms that perform capital and maintenance projects for their end user clients. We also provide supply chain and materials management solutions to the same markets where we sell products.

Our global product offering includes consumable maintenance, repair and operating (“MRO”) supplies, pipe, valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical, instrumentation, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, measurement and control equipment. We also offer procurement, warehouse and inventory management solutions as part of our supply chain and materials management offering. We have developed expertise in providing application systems, work processes, parts integration, optimization solutions and after-sales support.

Our solutions include outsourcing portions or entire functions of our customers’ procurement, warehouse and inventory management, logistics, point of issue technology, project management, business process and performance metrics reporting. These solutions allow us to leverage the infrastructure of our SAP™ Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system and other technologies to streamline our

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customers’ purchasing process, from requisition to procurement to payment, by digitally managing workflow, improving approval routing and providing robust reporting functionality.

We support land and offshore operations for the major oil and gas producing regions around the world through our network of locations. Our key markets, beyond North America, include Latin America, the North Sea, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Former Soviet Union (“FSU”). Products sold through our locations support greenfield expansion upstream capital projects, midstream infrastructure and transmission and MRO consumables used in day-to-day production. We provide downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) terminals, power generation utilities and customer on-site locations.

We stock or sell more than 300,000 stock keeping units (“SKUs”) through our branch network. Our supplier network consists of thousands of vendors in approximately 40 countries. From our operations in over 20 countries, we sell to customers operating in approximately 80 countries. The supplies and equipment stocked by each of our branches are customized to meet varied and changing local customer demands. The breadth and scale of our offering enhances our value proposition to our customers, suppliers and shareholders.

We employ advanced information technologies, including a common ERP platform across most of our business, to provide complete procurement, warehouse and inventory management and logistics coordination to our customers around the globe. Having a common ERP platform allows immediate visibility into our inventory assets, operations and financials worldwide, enhancing decision making and efficiency.

Global Operations

Demand for our products is driven primarily by the level of oil and gas drilling, completions, servicing, production, transmission, refining and petrochemical activities. It is also influenced by the global supply and demand for energy, the economy in general and geopolitics. Several factors drive spending, such as investment in energy infrastructure, the North American conventional and shale plays, market expectations of future developments in the oil, natural gas, liquids, refined products, petrochemical, plant maintenance and other industrial, manufacturing and energy sectors.

We have expanded globally, through acquisitions and organic investments, into Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, England, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) and the United States.

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Summary of Reportable Segments

We operate through three reportable segments: United States (“U.S.”), Canada and International. The segment data included in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) are presented on a basis consistent with our internal management reporting. Segment information appearing in Note 15 “Business Segments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K) is also presented on this basis.

United States

We have approximately 130 locations in the U.S., which are geographically positioned to best serve the upstream, midstream and downstream energy and industrial markets.

We offer higher value solutions in key product lines in the U.S. which broaden and deepen our customer relationships and related product line value. Examples of these include artificial lift, pumps, valves and valve actuation, process and production equipment, fluid transfer products, measurement and controls, spoolable and coated steel-pipe and composite pipe, along with many other products required by our customers, which enable them to focus on their core business while we manage varying degrees of their supply chain. We also provide additional value to our customers through the design, assembly, fabrication and optimization of products and equipment essential to the safe and efficient production, transportation and processing of oil and gas.

During 2020, in order to align with the updates to the operational and management structure, we combined the U.S. Supply Chain and U.S. Energy operating segments within the U.S. reportable segment.

Canada

We have a network of approximately 40 locations in the Canadian oilfield, predominately in the oil rich provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and other targeted locations across the country. Our Canada segment primarily serves energy exploration, production, mining and drilling business, offering customers many of the same products and value-added solutions that we perform in the U.S. In Canada, we also provide training for, and supervise the installation of, jointed and spoolable composite pipe. This product line is supported by inventory and product and installation expertise to serve our customers.

International

We operate in approximately 20 countries and serve the needs of our international customers from approximately 25 locations outside the U.S. and Canada, which are strategically located in major oil and gas development areas. Our approach in these markets is similar to our approach in North America, as our customers turn to us to provide products and supply chain solutions support closer to their drilling and exploration activities. Our long legacy of operating in many international regions, combined with significant expansion into several key markets, provides a competitive advantage as few of our competitors have a presence in most of the global energy producing regions.

Distribution Industry Overview

The distribution industry is highly fragmented, comprised of large companies with global reach and numerous small, local and regional competitors. Distribution companies act both as supply stores and supply chain management providers for their customers. Distributors deliver value to their customers by serving as a supply chain partner by managing vendor networks and aggregating, carrying and distributing a wide range of product inventory from numerous vendors in locations close to the end user. As a distributor of energy and industrial markets, we offer a wide array of products and supply chain services.

We offer our products, services and supply chain solutions across the entire energy value chain, from onshore and offshore drilling of oil and gas, to the exploration and production of oil and gas, the separation, transfer, and disposal of produced water, to the midstream gathering, processing and transmission of oil, gas, water, natural gas liquids (“NGLs”), LNG, and refined petroleum products, to the downstream refining of oil, and the manufacturing of petrochemicals and specialty chemicals. In addition, we provide our products, services and supply chain solutions to other end markets including mining and minerals, municipal water and wastewater and industrial manufacturing.

We provide drilling products, MRO consumables, safety and original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) equipment for land drilling rigs, workover rigs and initial offshore drilling rig load outs. Once rigs are contracted, commissioned and deployed, we seek to replace material and inventory consumed during drilling operations. We couple the sale of products with supply chain services in the form of inventory planning, inventory management and warehouse management. We provide a full suite of process and production equipment, pumps and compressor packages, artificial lift, steel, fiberglass and composite pipe, valves and fittings (“PVF”), instrumentation and measurement, and safety and personal protective equipment (“PPE”) in the exploration, production, separation, storage and gathering of oil and gas, as well as the separation, removal, storage and transfer of produced water.

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To minimize air emissions, we provide vapor recovery systems to capture and transfer gas and volatile organic compounds during the separation and storage of oil, gas and water from operating reservoirs. For produced water, we provide fluid movement products that help our customers environmentally dispose of water. For oil streams, we provide products that measure the quality and quantity of oil and gas through the separation process and prior to distribution to the midstream sector. We offer a variety of fluid movement solutions ranging from standard to engineered pump packages and a wide variety of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (“ASME”) fabricated process and production equipment to remove water and contaminants prior to the midstream transfer of oil, NGLs and other refined products within the midstream sector. For gas processing and gas conditioning, we offer a full suite of PVF and ASME coded fabricated process equipment to efficiently and economically process and condition gas for transfer to end markets. Many of the terminals and tank farms used in the midstream space to facilitate the storage and distribution of oil, gas, NGLs, LNG, and other hydrocarbon-based fluids utilize our products. Across many of the process industries where we provide valves, we offer low emission stem packing options to help reduce emissions. We provide PVF, pumps, safety, PPE, supply chain and safety services to the refining, petrochemical, chemical and industrial industries. Our products are consumed from industrial customer’s daily MRO expenditures, customer capital projects in the form of existing plant expansions, new plant facilities, as well as planned and unplanned maintenance of processing units.

Our Distribution Channels

We offer a diverse range of products across the energy and industrial markets in the U.S., Canada and internationally. There are thousands of manufacturers of the products used in the markets in which we operate and customers demand a high level of service, responsiveness and availability across a broad set of products and vendors. These market dynamics make the distributor an essential element in the value chain for our customers. Our product offering is aligned to meet the needs of our customer base.

Energy

Energy branches are brick and mortar supply store operations that provide products to multiple upstream, midstream and downstream customers from a single location. These branches serve repeat account and walk-in retail customers. Products are inventoried in branch warehouses based on local market needs and are delivered or available for pick-up as needed. These branches serve a geographical radius and provide delivery of products and solutions. A number of locations that service these same customers provide a complementary and expanded set of supply chain services in conjunction with the sale of products.

The distribution channel includes sales and operations professionals trained in the products, applications and customer service required to support customers as they drill, explore, produce, transport and refine oil and gas and other products. The primary product offering includes line pipe, valves, fabrication, valve actuation, fittings and flanges, pumps, OEM equipment, electrical products, mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, PPE, applied products and applications, such as artificial lift systems, coatings and miscellaneous expendable items. We couple the sale of products with supply chain services in the form of inventory planning, inventory management and warehouse management. Supply chain services can be customized to a customer’s requirements and guided by a strategic framework to reduce direct material expenditures and supply chain costs, improve maintenance productivity, reduce inventory-related working capital, streamline time to revenue and manage the risk of material availability affecting business continuity.

Process Solutions

Process Solutions has a team of distribution experts, technical professionals and licensed engineers who provide expertise related to pumps, compressors and fluid movement packages, fabricated liquid and gas measurement systems and process and production equipment. Process Solutions distributes OEM equipment including pumps, generator sets, air and gas compressors, dryers, blowers, mixers and valves. Within our process and production equipment category, we produce customer lease automatic custody transfer (“LACT”) units, vapor recovery units, gas meter runs, ASME code vessels in the form of separators, heater treaters, gas conditioning systems, towers, reactors, condensate stabilizers, slug catchers and pressurized bullet tanks, pig launchers and receivers and water transfer and disposal units. After-market services include rental, machining and repair service from a team of field mechanics located throughout the central U.S.

Process Solutions serves the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas markets as well as the municipal industrial, mining, power generation and general industries. Process Solutions also provides modular oil and gas tank battery solutions that positively impact our operator customers by enabling them to design a modular tank battery that enables flexibility and scalability for current and future production, while expediting revenue generation by reducing the time to complete a tank battery and getting oil and gas into the pipeline earlier. This solution saves our customers time and expense related to well hookup and tank battery commissioning and reduces field incident exposures due to a reduced labor requirement for battery construction.

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Customers

Our primary customers are companies active in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the energy industry, including drilling contractors, well servicing companies, independent and national oil and gas companies, midstream operators, refineries, petrochemical, chemical, utilities and other downstream energy processors. We also serve a diverse range of industrial and manufacturing companies across a broad spectrum of industries and end markets. We partner with our customers to continually meet or exceed their expectations and add value as a supply chain partner in the locations where they operate. Our products are typically critical to our customers’ operations, yet represent only a small fraction of their total project or facility cost. As a result, our customers seek suppliers with established qualifications and an operational history to deliver high quality and reliable products that meet their requirements in a timely manner.

As customers increasingly aggregate purchases to improve efficiency and reduce costs, they partner with large distributors who can meet their needs for products in multiple locations around the world. Customers can procure products through our direct branch model or through our ecommerce site, http://shop.dnow.com. We believe we could benefit from consolidation among the companies we serve, as the larger resulting companies look to global distributors as their source for products and related solutions.

No single customer represents more than 10% of our revenue.

Competition

The distribution companies serving the energy and industrial end markets are both numerous and competitive. This industry is highly fragmented, comprised of large distributors, each with many locations and with online ecommerce sites, who aggregate and distribute several product lines, and includes numerous smaller regional and local companies, many of which operate from a single location and either aggregate and distribute several product lines or focus on a single product line. While some large distributors compete in both markets, most companies focus on either the energy or industrial end market. In the energy market, some of the larger companies against whom we compete include Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., MRC Global, Inc., Russel Metals, Inc., DXP Enterprises, Inc. and FloWorks International LLC. In the industrial market, some of the larger companies against whom we compete include Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., W.W. Grainger Inc., HD Supply, Inc., Wesco International Inc., MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., DXP Enterprises, Inc. and Fastenal Company.

Seasonal Nature of the Company’s Business

A portion of our business has experienced seasonal trends, to some degree, which have varied by geographic region. In the U.S., activity has historically been higher during the summer and fall months. In Canada, certain E&P activities have declined in the spring due to seasonal thaws and regulatory restrictions limiting the ability of drilling rigs and transportation to operate effectively and safely during these periods.

Human Capital Resources

At December 31, 2020, we had approximately 2,500 employees, of which approximately 100 were temporary employees. Some of our employees in various foreign locations are subject to collective bargaining agreements. Less than one percent of our employees in the U.S. are subject to collective bargaining agreements. We offer market-competitive benefits for employees and opportunities for growth and advancement. We place a strong emphasis on employee growth and development and provide opportunities for valued contribution and innovation.

Training and Development Programs

The skills, knowledge and capabilities of our people are central to our success. We have developed training courses and programs, including a robust online learning platform providing our employees an opportunity for professional development.

We recognize that the advancement and empowerment of our workforce drives a better quality of work and life for our employees, ultimately resulting in the delivery of exceptional service to our customers. As such, we have designed a range of professional and leadership development programs focused on helping our employees reach their career goals.

Recognizing Employees

Recognition of individual achievements and contributions is an important part of our culture. Our Customer Priority One program encourages customers, peers and leaders to recognize DNOW employees, customers or vendors who exemplify DNOW’s commitment to customer service. We also award Milestone Service Awards to employees for their years of service and dedication of time to our Company, which recognize employees at each five-year service anniversary.

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Workforce Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to advancing an inclusive environment where diversity is appreciated and encouraged, and everyone has a sense of belonging throughout our organization. We recognize the opportunity to drive diversity in our workforce through talent acquisition and retention because we know that one of our greatest strengths is the diversity of our team. We recognize that having a team with a broad range of experience, cultural characteristics and varying perspectives fortifies our brand. We believe in advocating for diversity within our workforce by employing women and men of varying cultures, nationalities and backgrounds to work together to achieve a common goal.

To find the best employees, we must have a diverse pipeline of talent. We have expanded recruiting efforts with diverse organizations so we can reach a broader pool of candidates. We create a culture where all employees can strive to be their best, to achieve company goals and to deliver superior service to our customers. As of December 31, 2020, our U.S. workforce was comprised of approximately 25% female and 31% racial minorities.

We recognize that we are an integral part of the communities in which we operate. By directly engaging people in the communities we serve, we create a transparent dialogue to try and listen and learn from alternative views in how we conduct our business. The strengthening of minority- and women-owned businesses contributes to the overall economic growth of DNOW and the expansion of our markets.

Workforce Health and Safety

Safety is at the center of our actions. Simply put, we act with high priority on health and safety in our workplace and in the communities where we operate. Our safety culture is driven through our health, safety and environment (“HSE”) management system beginning with our HSE Policy Statement, which sets the tone for our company’s commitment to safety. A one-page, top-level document, expressly approved by our senior management team, the HSE Policy Statement outlines our expectations for all employees, vendors, customers, contractors, subcontractors and third parties. This HSE Policy Statement, combined with our HSE guiding principles, corporate policies and procedures and our business level HSE policies and procedures, makes up our management system, which is overseen both with corporate supervision and field level management to ensure emphasis is consistent on proper and safe behaviors.

Sustainability

We can assist in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in our operations by creating a more efficient supply chain. An efficient supply chain can help reduce the carbon footprint of deliveries to our distribution centers and branches and, ultimately to our customers. Use of our large centralized and regional distribution centers allow us to aggregate product across multiple suppliers and customers, which, in turn, prevents each customer from separately creating duplicative supply chains that require fuel for deliveries and resources to manage.

As a distributor, we perform minimal manufacturing operations. We do not utilize large amounts of water. Our energy inputs are primarily electricity for lighting, heating and office and warehouse equipment, natural gas for heating and gasoline for company sales and delivery vehicles. We strive to make our operations more efficient, and in turn try to work to reduce use of these resources and resulting emissions. We have recycling programs to try and reduce waste from used cardboard, office paper and other recyclables. However, recycling programs are sometimes limited by the unavailability of users, haulers or purchasers for recyclable materials at reasonable costs.

We are a distributor of products that contain and control the movement of gases and fluids in an efficient and sustainable manner. The products we sell are designed by the manufacturers of those products to prevent and minimize accidental leaks of hydrocarbons. Additionally, we offer product lines that further aid in the mitigation of environmental impact. Examples of such products include: domestically produced goods; low emission rated valves; steel piping products produced from recycled scrap; and pipe produced using wind power, recycled water, and wood pellet inputs.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local, foreign and provincial environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permitting requirements, including those governing the discharge of pollutants or hazardous substances into the air, soil or water, the generation, handling, use, management, storage and disposal of, or exposure to, hazardous substances and wastes, the responsibility to investigate, remediate, monitor and clean up contamination and occupational health and safety. Fines and penalties may be imposed for non-compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety requirements and the failure to have or to comply with the terms and conditions of required permits. Historically, the costs to comply with environmental and health and safety requirements have not been material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We are not aware of any pending environmental compliance or remediation matters that, in the opinion of management, are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our business, financial position or results of operations or cash flows.

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Available Information

Our website address is www.dnow.com. The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC and is expressly not incorporated by reference into this document. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available on our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Alternatively, you may access these reports at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider each of the following risks in addition to all other information contained or incorporated herein. These risks relate principally to our business and the industry in which we operate or to the securities markets generally and ownership of our common stock. Our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks, and, as a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline. This information should be read in conjunction with Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk and the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Form 10-K.

Risks Relating to Our Business

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our business, and the ultimate effect on our operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the global economy, disrupted global supply chains and created significant volatility in the financial markets. In addition, the pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions, business closures and the institution of quarantining and other restrictions on movement in many communities. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in demand for and prices of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (“NGLs”). If the reduced demand for and prices of crude oil, natural gas and NGLs continue for a prolonged period, our operations, financial condition and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected. Our operations also may be adversely affected if significant portions of our workforce are unable to work effectively, including because of illness, quarantines, government actions, or other restrictions in connection with the pandemic. We have already implemented workplace restrictions, including guidance for our employees to work remotely if able, in our offices and work sites for health and safety reasons and are continuing to monitor national, state and local government directives where we have operations or offices. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, results of operations, and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic, the resurgence of cases, stay-at-home orders and other similar restrictions.

Decreased capital and other expenditures in the energy industry, which can result from decreased oil and natural gas prices, among other things, can adversely impact our customers’ demand for our products and our revenue.

A large portion of our revenue depends upon the level of capital and operating expenditures in the oil and natural gas industry, including capital and other expenditures in connection with exploration, drilling, production, gathering, transportation, refining and processing operations. Demand for the products we distribute is particularly sensitive to the level of exploration, development and production activity of, and the corresponding capital and other expenditures by, oil and natural gas companies. In addition, after a well is drilled, there can be a lag between when the well is drilled and when it is completed, which causes a delay in the demand for some of our products. Oil and natural gas prices have been extremely volatile since 2014. Continued volatility and weakness in oil or natural gas prices could depress levels of exploration, development and production activity and, therefore, could lead to a decrease in our customers’ capital and other expenditures.

The willingness of oil and gas operators to make capital and operating expenditures to explore for and produce oil and natural gas and the willingness of oilfield service companies to invest in capital and operating equipment will continue to be influenced by numerous factors over which we have no control, including:

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If there is a significant reduction in demand for drilling services, in cash flows of drilling contractors, well servicing companies or production companies, or in drilling or well servicing rig utilization rates, then demand for our products will decline.

Volatile oil and gas prices affect demand for our products.

Demand for our products is largely determined by current and anticipated oil and natural gas prices, and the related spending and level of activity by our customers, including spending on production and the level of drilling activities. Volatility or weakness in oil or natural gas prices (or the perception that oil or natural gas prices will decrease) affects the spending pattern of our customers, and may result in the drilling of fewer new wells or lower production spending on existing wells. This, in turn, could result in lower demand for our products. Any sustained decrease in capital expenditures in the oil and natural gas industry could have a material adverse effect on us.

Prices for oil and natural gas are subject to large fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and natural gas, market uncertainty and a variety of other factors that are beyond our control. Any such reduction in operating budgets, reduction in activity and/or pricing pressures, would adversely affect our revenue and operating performance.

Many factors affect the supply of and demand for energy and, therefore, influence oil and natural gas prices, including:

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Oil and natural gas prices have been and are expected to remain volatile. U.S. rig count decreased from 796 rigs on January 3, 2020 to 351 rigs on December 31, 2020. U.S. rig count averaged 436 rigs in 2020. U.S. rig count at January 22, 2021 was 378 rigs. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude was $47.47 per barrel at January 4, 2021, $61.17 per barrel on January 2, 2020 and $46.31 per barrel on January 2, 2019. This type of volatility has historically caused oil and natural gas companies to change their strategies and expenditure levels from year to year. We have experienced in the past, and we will likely experience in the future, significant fluctuations in operating results based on these changes.

General economic conditions may adversely affect our business.

U.S. and global general economic conditions affect many aspects of our business, including demand for the products we distribute and the pricing and availability of supplies. General economic conditions and predictions regarding future economic conditions also affect our forecasts. A decrease in demand for the products we distribute or other adverse effects resulting from an economic downturn may cause us to fail to achieve our anticipated financial results. General economic factors beyond our control that affect our business and customers include public health crises, interest rates, recession, inflation, deflation, customer credit availability, consumer credit availability, consumer debt levels, performance of housing markets, energy costs, tariffs, tax rates and policy, unemployment rates, commencement or escalation of war or hostilities, the threat or possibility of war, terrorism or other global or national unrest, political or financial instability, and other matters that influence our customers’ spending. Increasing volatility in financial markets may cause these factors to change with a greater degree of frequency or increase in magnitude. In addition, worldwide economic conditions could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, operating results, financial condition and cash flows.

We may be unable to compete successfully with other companies in our industry.

We sell products in very competitive markets. In some cases, we compete with large companies with substantial resources. In other cases, we compete with smaller regional companies that may increasingly be willing to provide similar products at lower prices. Certain of these competitors may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than us, and may be in a better competitive position. The following competitive actions can each adversely affect our revenues and earnings:

We could experience a material adverse effect to the extent that our competitors are successful in reducing our customers’ purchases of products from us. Competition could also cause us to lower our prices, which could reduce our margins and profitability. Furthermore, consolidation in our industry could heighten the impacts of the competition on our business and results of operations discussed above, particularly if consolidation results in competitors with stronger financial and strategic resources, and could also result in increases to the prices we are required to pay for acquisitions we may make in the future. In addition, certain foreign jurisdictions and government-owned petroleum companies located in some of the countries in which we operate have adopted policies or regulations which may give local nationals in these countries competitive advantages. Competition in our industry could lead to lower revenues and earnings.

Demand for the products we distribute could decrease if the manufacturers of those products were to sell a substantial amount of goods directly to end users in the sectors we serve.

Historically, users of pipes, valves and fittings and related products have purchased certain amounts of these products through distributors and not directly from manufacturers. If customers were to purchase the products that we sell directly from manufacturers, or if manufacturers sought to increase their efforts to sell directly to end users, we could experience a significant decrease in profitability. These or other developments that remove us from, or limit our role in, the distribution chain, may harm our competitive position in the marketplace and reduce our sales and earnings and adversely affect our business.

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We may need additional capital in the future, and it may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

We may require more capital in the future to:

We can give no assurance that additional financing will be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. The terms of available financing may place limits on our financial and operating flexibility. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be forced to reduce our operations or delay, limit or abandon expansion opportunities. Moreover, even if we are able to continue our operations, the failure to obtain additional financing could reduce our competitiveness.

We do not have long-term contracts or agreements with many of our customers. The contracts and agreements that we do have generally do not commit our customers to any minimum purchase volume. The loss of a significant customer may have a material adverse effect on us.

Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we do not have long-term contracts with many of our customers. In addition, our contracts generally do not commit our customers to any minimum purchase volume. Therefore, a significant number of our customers may terminate their relationships with us or reduce their purchasing volume at any time. Furthermore, the long-term customer contracts that we do have are generally terminable without cause on short notice. The products that we may sell to any particular customer depend in large part on the size of that customer’s capital expenditure budget in a particular year and on the results of competitive bids for major projects. Consequently, a customer that accounts for a significant portion of our sales in one fiscal year may represent an immaterial portion of our sales in subsequent fiscal years. The loss of a significant customer, or a substantial decrease in a significant customer’s orders, may have an adverse effect on our sales and revenue.

In addition, we are subject to customer audit clauses in many of our multi-year contracts. If we are not able to provide the proper documentation or support for invoices per the contract terms, we may be subject to negotiated settlements with our major customers.

Changes in our customer and product mix could cause our product margin to fluctuate.

From time to time, we may experience changes in our customer mix or in our product mix. Changes in our customer mix may result from geographic expansion, daily selling activities within current geographic markets and targeted selling activities to new customer segments. Changes in our product mix may result from marketing activities to existing customers and needs communicated to us from existing and prospective customers. If customers begin to require more lower-margin products from us and fewer higher-margin products, our business, results of operations and financial condition may suffer.

Customer credit risks could result in losses.

The concentration of our customers in the energy industry may impact our overall exposure to credit risk as customers may be similarly affected by prolonged changes in economic and industry conditions. Further, laws in some jurisdictions in which we operate could make collection difficult or time consuming. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and do not generally require collateral in support of our trade receivables. While we maintain reserves for expected credit losses, we cannot assure these reserves will be sufficient to meet write-offs of uncollectible receivables or that our losses from such receivables will be consistent with our expectations.

We may be unable to successfully execute or effectively integrate acquisitions.

One of our key operating strategies is to selectively pursue acquisitions, including large scale acquisitions, to continue to grow and increase profitability. However, acquisitions, particularly of a significant scale, involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including intense competition for suitable acquisition targets, the potential unavailability of financial resources necessary to consummate acquisitions in the future, increased leverage due to additional debt financing that may be required to complete an acquisition, dilution of our stockholders’ net current book value per share if we issue additional equity securities to finance an acquisition, difficulties in identifying suitable acquisition targets or in completing any transactions identified on sufficiently favorable terms, assumption of undisclosed or unknown liabilities and the need to obtain regulatory or other governmental approvals that may be necessary to complete acquisitions. In addition, any future acquisitions may entail significant transaction costs and risks associated with entry into new markets.

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Even when acquisitions are completed, integration of acquired entities can involve significant difficulties, such as:

Failure to manage these acquisition risks could have an adverse effect on us.

We are a holding company and depend upon our subsidiaries for our cash flow.

We are a holding company. Our subsidiaries conduct all of our operations and own substantially all of our assets. Consequently, our cash flow and our ability to meet our obligations or to make other distributions in the future will depend upon the cash flow of our subsidiaries and our subsidiaries’ payment of funds to us in the form of dividends, tax sharing payments or otherwise.

The ability of our subsidiaries to make any payments to us will depend on their earnings, the terms of their current and future indebtedness, tax considerations and legal and contractual restrictions on the ability to make distributions.

Our subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities. Any right that we have to receive any assets of or distributions from any of our subsidiaries upon the bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or reorganization, or to realize proceeds from the sale of their assets, will be junior to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors, including trade creditors and holders of debt that the subsidiary issued.

If we lose any of our key personnel, we may be unable to effectively manage our business or continue our growth.

Our future performance depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our management team and our ability to attract, hire, train and retain qualified managerial, sales and marketing personnel. In particular, we rely on our sales and marketing teams to create innovative ways to generate demand for the products we distribute. The loss or unavailability to us of any member of our management team or a key sales or marketing employee could have a material adverse effect on us to the extent we are unable to timely find adequate replacements. We face competition for these professionals from our competitors, our customers and other companies operating in our industry. We may be unsuccessful in attracting, hiring, training and retaining qualified personnel.

Interruptions in the proper functioning of our information systems could disrupt operations and cause increases in costs or decreases in revenues.

The proper functioning of our information systems is critical to the successful operation of our business. We depend on our information management systems to process orders, track credit risk, manage inventory and monitor accounts receivable collections. Our information systems also allow us to efficiently purchase products from our vendors and ship products to our customers on a timely basis, maintain cost-effective operations and provide superior service to our customers. However, our information systems could be vulnerable to natural disasters, power losses, telecommunication failures, security breaches and other problems. If critical information systems fail or are otherwise unavailable, our ability to procure products to sell, process and ship customer orders, identify business opportunities, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable and pay accounts payable and expenses could be adversely affected. Our ability to integrate our systems with our customers’ systems would also be significantly affected. If our information systems are damaged or fail to function properly, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, and may experience loss of critical data and interruptions or delays in our ability to manage inventories or process transactions, which could result in lost sales, inability to process purchase orders and/or a potential loss of customer loyalty, which could adversely affect our results of operations. We maintain information systems controls designed to protect against, among other things, unauthorized program changes and unauthorized access to data on our information systems. If our information systems controls do not function properly, we face increased risks of unexpected errors and unreliable financial data or theft of proprietary Company information.

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The loss of third-party transportation providers upon whom we depend, or conditions negatively affecting the transportation industry, could increase our costs or cause a disruption in our operations.

We depend upon third-party transportation providers for delivery of products to our customers. Strikes, slowdowns, transportation disruptions or other conditions in the transportation industry, including, but not limited to, shortages of truck drivers, disruptions in rail service, increases in fuel prices and adverse weather conditions, could increase our costs and disrupt our operations and our ability to service our customers on a timely basis. We cannot predict whether or to what extent increases or anticipated increases in fuel prices may impact our costs or cause a disruption in our operations going forward.

Adverse weather events or natural disasters could negatively affect local economies and disrupt operations.

Certain areas in which we operate are susceptible to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes. These events can disrupt our operations, result in damage to our properties and negatively affect the local economies in which we operate. Additionally, we may experience communication disruptions with our customers, vendors and employees. These events can cause physical damage to our locations and require us to close locations. Additionally, our sales orders and shipments can experience a temporary decline immediately following these events.

We cannot predict whether or to what extent damage caused by these events will affect our operations or the economies in regions where we operate. These adverse events could result in disruption of our purchasing or distribution capabilities, interruption of our business that exceeds our insurance coverage, our inability to collect from customers and increased operating costs. Our business or results of operations may be adversely affected by these and other negative effects of these events.

The occurrence of cyber incidents, or a deficiency in our cybersecurity, could negatively impact our business by causing a disruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information or damage to our Company’s image, all of which could negatively impact our financial results.

A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. More specifically, a cyber incident is an intentional attack or an unintentional event that can include gaining unauthorized access to systems to disrupt operations, corrupt data or steal confidential information. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our systems, both internal and those we have outsourced. Our four primary risks that could directly result from the occurrence of a cyber incident include operational interruption, damage to our Company’s image, financial loss and private data exposure.

We have implemented solutions, processes, and procedures to help mitigate this risk, but these measures, as well as our organization’s increased awareness of our risk of a cyber incident, do not guarantee that our financial results will not be negatively impacted by such an incident. Our security measures may be undermined due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance, or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data systems and misappropriate business and personal information. Our systems are subject to repeated attempts by third parties to access information or to disrupt our systems. Such disruptions or misappropriations and the resulting repercussions, including reputational damage and legal claims or proceedings, may adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the trading price of our common stock.

Privacy concerns relating to our personal and business information being potentially breached could damage our reputation and deter current and potential users or customers from using our products and services.

We have security measures and controls to protect personal and business information and continue to make investments to secure access to our information technology network. These measures may be undermined, however, due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, internal or external malfeasance, or otherwise, and, as a result an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data systems and misappropriate business and personal information. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques, timely discover or counter them, or implement adequate preventative measures. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and potentially have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

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Certain of our borrowings based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) may be adversely impacted by the scheduled phase out of LIBOR.

The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, has announced that it will not compel panel banks to contribute to LIBOR after 2021. It is likely that banks will not continue to provide submissions for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021 and possibly prior to then. Similarly, it is not possible to know whether LIBOR will continue to be viewed as an acceptable market benchmark, what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, or what the effect of any such changes in views or alternatives may have on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments.

Borrowings under our revolving credit facility bear an interest rate at the Company’s option, which includes LIBOR. There may be alternatives to this benchmark, but there are no assurances they will be available to the Company. The usage of interest rates other than LIBOR could result in increased borrowing costs to the Company.

Risks Relating to Our Supply Chain and International Trade Policies

We may experience unexpected supply shortages.

We distribute products from a wide variety of manufacturers and suppliers. Nevertheless, in the future we may have difficulty obtaining the products we need from suppliers and manufacturers as a result of unexpected demand or production difficulties that might extend lead times. Also, products may not be available to us in quantities sufficient to meet our customer demand. Our inability to obtain products from suppliers and manufacturers in sufficient quantities, or at all, could adversely affect our product offerings and our business.

We may experience cost increases from suppliers, which we may be unable to pass on to our customers.

In the future, we may face supply cost increases due to, among other things, unexpected increases in demand for supplies, decreases in production of supplies or increases in the cost of raw materials or transportation, or trade wars. Any inability to pass supply price increases on to our customers could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, if supply costs increase, our customers may elect to purchase smaller amounts of products or may purchase products from other distributors. While we may be able to work with our customers to reduce the effects of unforeseen price increases because of our relationships with them, we may not be able to reduce the effects of the cost increases. In addition, to the extent that competition leads to reduced purchases of products from us or a reduction of our prices, and these reductions occur concurrently with increases in the prices for selected commodities which we use in our operations, the adverse effects described above would likely be exacerbated and could result in a prolonged downturn in profitability.

We do not have contracts with most of our suppliers. The loss of a significant supplier would require us to rely more heavily on our other existing suppliers or to develop relationships with new suppliers. Such a loss may have an adverse effect on our product offerings and our business.

Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we do not have contracts with most of our suppliers. We generally make our purchases through purchase orders. Therefore, most of our suppliers have the ability to terminate their relationships with us at any time. Although we believe there are numerous manufacturers with the capacity to supply the products we distribute, the loss of one or more of our major suppliers could have an adverse effect on our product offerings and our business. Such a loss would require us to rely more heavily on our other existing suppliers or develop relationships with new suppliers, which may cause us to pay higher prices for products due to, among other things, a loss of volume discount benefits currently obtained from our major suppliers.

Changes in our credit profile may affect our relationship with our suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity.

Changes in our credit profile may affect the way our suppliers view our ability to make payments and may induce them to shorten the payment terms of their invoices. Given the large dollar amounts and volume of our purchases from suppliers, a change in payment terms may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and our ability to make payments to our suppliers and, consequently, may have a material adverse effect on us.

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Price reductions by suppliers of products that we sell could cause the value of our inventory to decline. Also, these price reductions could cause our customers to demand lower sales prices for these products, possibly decreasing our margins and profitability on sales to the extent that we purchased our inventory of these products at the higher prices prior to supplier price reductions.

The value of our inventory could decline as a result of manufacturer price reductions with respect to products that we sell. There is no assurance that a substantial decline in product prices would not result in a write-down of our inventory value. Such a write-down could have an adverse effect on our financial condition. Also, decreases in the market prices of products that we sell could cause customers to demand lower sales prices from us. These price reductions could reduce our margins and profitability on sales with respect to the lower-priced products. Reductions in our margins and profitability on sales could have a material adverse effect on us.

A substantial decrease in the price of steel could significantly lower our product margin or cash flow.

We distribute many products manufactured from steel. As a result, the price and supply of steel can affect our business and, in particular, our pipe product category. When steel prices are lower, the prices that we charge customers for products may decline, which affects our product margin and cash flow. At times pricing and availability of steel can be volatile due to numerous factors beyond our control, including general domestic and international economic conditions, labor costs, sales levels, competition, consolidation of steel producers, fluctuations in and the costs of raw materials necessary to produce steel, steel manufacturers’ plant utilization levels and capacities, import duties and tariffs and currency exchange rates. Increases in manufacturing capacity for steel-related products could put pressure on the prices we receive for such products. When steel prices decline, customer demands for lower prices and our competitors’ responses to those demands could result in lower sales prices and, consequently, lower product margin and cash flow.

If steel prices rise, we may be unable to pass along the cost increases to our customers.

We maintain inventories of steel products to accommodate the lead time requirements of our customers. Accordingly, we purchase steel products in an effort to maintain our inventory at levels that we believe to be appropriate to satisfy the anticipated needs of our customers based upon historic buying practices, contracts with customers and market conditions. Our commitments to purchase steel products are generally at prevailing market prices in effect at the time we place our orders. If steel prices increase between the time we order steel products and the time of delivery of the products to us, our suppliers may impose surcharges that require us to pay for increases in steel prices during the period. Demand for the products we distribute, the actions of our competitors and other factors will influence whether we will be able to pass on steel cost increases and surcharges to our customers, and we may be unsuccessful in doing so.

If tariffs and duties on imports into the U.S. of line pipe or certain of the other products that we sell are lifted, we could have too many of these products in inventory competing against less expensive imports.

U.S. law currently imposes tariffs and duties on imports from certain foreign countries of pipe and on other imports of certain steel products that we sell. If these tariffs and duties are lifted or reduced, and our U.S. customers accept these imported products, we could be materially and adversely affected to the extent that we would then have higher-cost products in our inventory or there would be increased supplies of these products which would drive down prices and affect our margins on our domestic or other alternate products that compete with the new imports that have tariffs or duties removed. If prices of these products were to decrease significantly, we might not be able to profitably sell these products we have in our inventory and the value would decline. In addition, significant price decreases could result in a significantly longer holding period for some of our inventory.

Changes in trade policies, including the imposition of additional tariffs, could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The current United States administration has signaled support for implementing, and in some instances, has already proposed or taken action with respect to, major changes to certain trade policies, such as the imposition of additional tariffs on imported products and the withdrawal from or renegotiation of certain trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement. On March 8, 2018, the President of the United States signed an order to impose a tariff of 25% on steel imported from certain countries under the Section 232 rule. The tariff did result in an increase in our cost of sales, and if removed could trigger a decrease in our cost of sales and inventory value. The U.S. has also imposed tariffs on China under section 301 that has affected the cost of certain products. These tariffs are subject to change as trade negotiations continue. If these tariffs were removed, it could drive down the costs of certain products and affect our inventory value which could affect our margin negatively. There can be no assurance that we will be able to pass any of the increases in raw material costs directly resulting from the tariffs to our customers.

In addition, there could be additional tariffs imposed by the United States and these could also result in additional retaliatory actions by the United States’ trade partners. Given that we procure many of the raw materials that we use to create our products directly or indirectly from outside of the United States, the imposition of tariffs and other potential changes in U.S. trade policy could increase the cost or limit the availability of such raw materials, which could hurt our competitive position and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we sell a significant proportion of our products to customers outside of the

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United States. Retaliatory actions by other countries could result in increases in the price of our products, which could limit demand for such products, hurt our global competitive position and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Legal and Regulatory Matters

We are subject to strict environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that may lead to significant liabilities and negatively impact the demand for our products.

We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local, foreign and provincial environmental, health and safety laws; regulations and permitting requirements, including those governing the discharge of pollutants or hazardous substances into the air, soil or water, the generation, handling, use, management, storage and disposal of, or exposure to, hazardous substances and wastes, the responsibility to investigate and clean up contamination and occupational health and safety. Regulations and courts may impose fines and penalties for non-compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety requirements and the failure to have or to comply with the terms and conditions of required permits. Our failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety requirements could result in fines, penalties, enforcement actions, third-party claims for property damage and personal injury, requirements to clean up property or to pay for the costs of cleanup or regulatory or judicial orders requiring corrective measures, including the installation of pollution control equipment or remedial actions. Certain laws and regulations, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as “CERCLA” or the “U.S. federal Superfund law”) or its state and foreign equivalents, may impose the obligation to investigate and remediate contamination at a facility on current and former owners or operators or on persons who may have sent waste to that facility for disposal. These laws and regulations may impose liability without regard to fault or to the legality of the activities giving rise to the contamination.

Moreover, we may incur liabilities in connection with environmental conditions currently unknown to us relating to our existing, prior or future owned or leased sites or operations or those of predecessor companies whose liabilities we may have assumed or acquired. We believe that indemnities contained in certain of our acquisition agreements may cover certain environmental conditions existing at the time of the acquisition, subject to certain terms, limitations and conditions. However, if these indemnification provisions terminate or if the indemnifying parties do not fulfill their indemnification obligations, we may be subject to liability with respect to the environmental matters that those indemnification provisions address. In addition, environmental, health and safety laws and regulations applicable to our business and the business of our customers, including laws regulating the energy industry, and the interpretation or enforcement of these laws and regulations, are constantly evolving. It is impossible to predict accurately the effect that changes in these laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, may have on us.

In December 2015, over 190 countries, including the United States, reached an agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (the “Paris Agreement”). The Paris Agreement entered into force in November 2016 after more than 70 nations, including the United States, ratified or otherwise indicated their intent to be bound by the agreement. In November 2019, the United States formally initiated the process for withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and the withdrawal was effective November 4, 2020. President Joe Biden has stated that he intends to rejoin the Paris Agreement. The terms on which the United States will re-enter the Paris Agreement are uncertain at this time. However, after rejoining the United States will likely need to submit updated emission reduction targets. To the extent that the United States implements this agreement or imposes other climate change regulations on the oil and natural gas industry, or that investors insist on compliance regardless of legal requirements, it could have an adverse effect on our business.

The energy business has benefited from the Trump Administration’s de-regulatory push. The Biden administration is expected to aggressively seek to regulate the energy industry and seek to eliminate in time the use of fossil fuels. This regulatory push will be magnified as the Democrats also control both houses of Congress. Should environmental laws and regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, become more stringent, our costs, or the costs of our customers, could increase, which may have a material adverse effect on us.

We may not have adequate insurance for potential liabilities, including liabilities arising from litigation.

In the ordinary course of business, we have and in the future may become the subject of various claims, lawsuits and administrative proceedings seeking damages or other remedies concerning our commercial operations, the products we distribute, employees and other matters, including potential claims by individuals alleging exposure to hazardous materials as a result of the products we distribute or our operations. Some of these claims may relate to the activities of businesses that we have acquired, even though these activities may have occurred prior to our acquisition of the businesses. The products we distribute are sold primarily for use in the energy industry, which is subject to inherent risks that could result in death, personal injury, property damage, pollution, release of hazardous substances or loss of production. In addition, defects in the products we distribute could result in death, personal injury, property damage, pollution, release of hazardous substances or damage to equipment and facilities. Actual or claimed defects in the products we distribute may give rise to claims against us for losses and expose us to claims for damages.

We maintain insurance to cover certain of our potential losses, and we are subject to various self-retentions, deductibles and caps under our insurance. We face the following risks with respect to our insurance coverage:

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Even a partially uninsured claim, if successful and of significant size, could have a material adverse effect on us. Finally, even in cases where we maintain insurance coverage, our insurers may raise various objections and exceptions to coverage that could make uncertain the timing and amount of any possible insurance recovery.

Due to our position as a distributor, we are subject to personal injury, product liability and environmental claims involving allegedly defective products.

Our customers use certain products we distribute in potentially hazardous applications that can result in personal injury, product liability and environmental claims. A catastrophic occurrence at a location where end users use the products we distribute may result in us being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting potentially large claims, even though we did not manufacture the products. Applicable law may render us liable for damages without regard to negligence or fault. In particular, certain environmental laws provide for joint and several and strict liability for remediation of spills and releases of hazardous substances. Certain of these risks are reduced by the fact that we are a distributor of products that third-party manufacturers produce, and, thus, in certain circumstances, we may have third-party warranty or other claims against the manufacturer of products alleged to have been defective. However, there is no assurance that these claims could fully protect us or that the manufacturer would be able financially to provide protection. There is no assurance that our insurance coverage will be adequate to cover the underlying claims. Our insurance does not provide coverage for all liabilities (including liability for certain events involving pollution or other environmental claims).

We face risks associated with conducting business in markets outside of the U.S. and Canada.

We currently conduct business in countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. We could be materially and adversely affected by economic, legal, political and regulatory developments in the countries in which we do business in the future or in which we expand our business, particularly those countries which have historically experienced a high degree of political or economic instability. Examples of risks inherent in conducting business in markets outside of the U.S. and Canada include:

If we begin doing business in a foreign country in which we do not presently operate, we may also face difficulties in operations and diversion of management time in connection with establishing our business there.

We are subject to U.S. and other anti-corruption laws, trade controls, economic sanctions, and similar laws and regulations, including those in the jurisdictions where we operate. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to civil, criminal and administrative penalties and harm our reputation.

Doing business on a worldwide basis requires us to comply with the laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various foreign jurisdictions. These laws and regulations place restrictions on our operations, trade practices, partners and investment decisions. In particular, our operations are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption and trade control laws and regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), export controls and economic sanctions programs, including those administered by the U.S. Treasury

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Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As a result of doing business in foreign countries and with foreign partners, we are exposed to a heightened risk of violating anti-corruption and trade control laws and sanctions regulations.

The FCPA prohibits us from providing anything of value to foreign officials for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business or securing any improper business advantage. It also requires us to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the Company’s transactions. As part of our business, we may deal with state-owned business enterprises, the employees of which are considered foreign officials for purposes of the FCPA. In addition, the United Kingdom Bribery Act (the “Bribery Act”) has been enacted and came into effect on July 1, 2011. The provisions of the Bribery Act extend beyond bribery of foreign public officials and also apply to transactions with individuals that a government does not employ. The provisions of the Bribery Act are also more onerous than the FCPA in a number of other respects, including jurisdiction, non-exemption of facilitation payments and penalties. Some of the international locations in which we operate lack a developed legal system and have higher than normal levels of corruption. Our continued expansion outside the U.S., including in developing countries, and our development of new partnerships and joint venture relationships worldwide, could increase the risk of FCPA, OFAC or Bribery Act violations in the future.

Economic sanctions programs restrict our business dealings with certain sanctioned countries, persons and entities. In addition, because we act as a distributor, we face the risk that our customers might further distribute our products to a sanctioned person or entity, or an ultimate end-user in a sanctioned country, which might subject us to an investigation concerning compliance with the OFAC or other sanctions regulations.

Violations of anti-corruption and trade control laws and sanctions regulations are punishable by civil penalties, including fines, denial of export privileges, injunctions, asset seizures, debarment from government contracts and revocations or restrictions of licenses, as well as criminal fines and imprisonment. We have established policies and procedures designed to assist our compliance with applicable U.S. and international anti-corruption and trade control laws and regulations, including the FCPA, the Bribery Act and trade controls and sanctions programs administered by the OFAC, and have trained our employees to comply with these laws and regulations. However, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, consultants, agents or other associated persons will not take actions in violation of our policies and these laws and regulations, and that our policies and procedures will effectively prevent us from violating these regulations in every transaction in which we may engage or provide a defense to any alleged violation. In particular, we may be held liable for the actions that our local, strategic or joint venture partners take inside or outside of the United States, even though our partners may not be subject to these laws. Such a violation, even if our policies prohibit it, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, various state and municipal governments, universities and other investors maintain prohibitions or restrictions on investments in companies that do business with sanctioned countries, persons and entities, which could adversely affect the market for our common stock and other securities.

Compliance with and changes in laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate could have a significant financial impact and effect how and where we conduct our operations.

We have operations in the U.S. and in other countries that can be impacted by expected and unexpected changes in the business and legal environments in the countries in which we operate. Compliance with and changes in laws, regulations, and other legal and business issues could impact our ability to manage our costs and to meet our earnings goals. Compliance related matters could also limit our ability to do business in certain countries. Changes that could have a significant cost to us include new legislation, new regulations, or a differing interpretation of existing laws and regulations, changes in tax law or tax rates, the unfavorable resolution of tax assessments or audits by various taxing authorities, the expansion of currency exchange controls, export controls or additional restrictions on doing business in countries subject to sanctions in which we operate or intend to operate.

Risks Relating to Our Common Stock

The market price of our shares may fluctuate widely.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate widely, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

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Stock markets in general have also experienced volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of a particular company. These broad market fluctuations could negatively affect the trading price of our common stock.

Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted in the future.

As with any publicly traded company, your percentage ownership in us may be diluted in the future because of equity issuances for acquisitions, capital market transactions or otherwise, including, without limitation, equity awards that we expect will be granted to our directors, officers and employees.

We cannot assure you that we will pay dividends on our common stock.

We do not currently pay dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain our future earnings to support the growth and development of our business. The payment of future cash dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and development expenditures, future business prospects and any restrictions imposed by future debt instruments.

Certain provisions in our corporate documents and Delaware law may prevent or delay an acquisition of our company, even if that change may be considered beneficial by some of our stockholders.

The existence of some provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of us that a stockholder may consider favorable. These include provisions:

In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) which may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our Board of Directors, including discouraging takeover attempts that could have resulted in a premium over the market price for shares of our common stock.

We believe these provisions protect our stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our Board of Directors and by providing our Board of Directors with more time to assess any acquisition proposal. These provisions are not intended to make our company immune from takeovers. However, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders and could delay or prevent an acquisition that our Board of Directors determines is not in the best interests of our company and our stockholders.

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ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2020, our three reporting segments, the United States, Canada and International, had approximately 130, 40 and 25 locations, respectively. International countries include: Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, England, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore and UAE. Our properties are comprised of offices, distribution centers and branches, approximately 85% of which are leased. One owned facility is pledged as collateral under our senior secured revolving credit facility discussed in Note 10 “Debt” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K); all other owned facilities are not subject to any mortgages.

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We have various claims, lawsuits and administrative proceedings that are pending or threatened, all arising in the ordinary course of business, with respect to commercial, product liability and employee matters. Although no assurance can be given with respect to the outcome of these or any other pending legal and administrative proceedings and the effect such outcomes may have, we believe any ultimate liability resulting from the outcome of such claims, lawsuits or administrative proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. See Note 12 “Commitments and Contingencies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K) for additional information.

ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not Applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Quarterly Common Stock Prices and Cash Dividends Per Share

NOW Inc. common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “DNOW”.

Our board of directors has not declared any dividends during 2018, 2019 or 2020 and currently has no intention to declare dividends.

As of January 31, 2021, there were 1,888 holders of record of our common stock. Many stockholders choose to own shares through brokerage accounts and other intermediaries rather than as holders of record (excluding individual participants in securities positions listing) so the actual number of stockholders is unknown but likely significantly higher.

The information relating to our equity compensation plans required by Item 5. “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” is incorporated by reference to such information as set forth in Item 12. “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” contained herein.

The following table presents a summary of share repurchases made during the three months ended December 31, 2020:

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Performance Graph

The graph below compares the cumulative five year total return provided shareholders on NOW Inc.'s common stock relative to the cumulative total returns of the S&P Midcap 400 index and the PHLX Oil Service Sector index. An investment of $100 (with reinvestment of all dividends) is assumed to have been made in our common stock and in each index on December 31, 2015 and its relative performance is tracked through December 31, 2020.

*$100 invested on 12/31/15 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.
Fiscal year ending December 31.

Copyright© 2021 Standard & Poor's, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.

The stock price performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

This information shall not be deemed to be ‘‘soliciting material’’ or to be ‘‘filed’’ with the Commission or subject to Regulation 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-1-240.14a-104), other than as provided in Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K, or to the liabilities of section 18 of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78r).

ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

None.

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ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial information include the accounts of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.

General Overview

We are a global distributor to the oil and gas and industrial markets with a legacy of over 150 years. We operate primarily under the DistributionNOW and DNOW brands. Through our network of approximately 195 locations and approximately 2,500 employees worldwide, we stock and sell a comprehensive offering of energy products as well as a selection of products for industrial applications. Our energy product offering is consumed throughout all sectors of the oil and gas industry – from upstream drilling and completion, E&P, midstream infrastructure development to downstream petrochemical and petroleum refining – as well as in other industries, such as chemical processing, mining, utilities and renewables. The industrial distribution end markets include refineries and engineering and construction firms. We also provide supply chain and materials management solutions to the same markets where we sell products.

Our global product offering includes consumable MRO supplies, pipe, valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical, instrumentation, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, measurement and control equipment. We also offer procurement, warehouse and inventory management solutions as part of our supply chain and materials management offering. We have developed expertise in providing application systems, work processes, parts integration, optimization solutions and after-sales support.

Our solutions include outsourcing portions or entire functions of our customers’ procurement, warehouse and inventory management, logistics, point of issue technology, project management, business process and performance metrics reporting. These solutions allow us to leverage the infrastructure of our SAP™ ERP system and other technologies to streamline our customers’ purchasing process, from requisition to procurement to payment, by digitally managing workflow, improving approval routing and providing robust reporting functionality.

We support land and offshore operations for all the major oil and gas producing regions around the world through our network of locations. Our key markets, beyond North America, include Latin America, the North Sea, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the FSU. Products sold through our locations support greenfield expansion upstream capital projects, midstream infrastructure and transmission and MRO consumables used in day-to-day production. We provide downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities and industrial manufacturing operations and customer on-site locations.

We stock or sell more than 300,000 SKUs through our branch network. Our supplier network consists of thousands of vendors in approximately 40 countries. From our operations in over 20 countries, we sell to customers operating in approximately 80 countries. The supplies and equipment stocked by each of our branches is customized to meet varied and changing local customer demands. The breadth and scale of our offering enhances our value proposition to our customers, suppliers and shareholders.

We employ advanced information technologies, including a common ERP platform across most of our business, to provide complete procurement, warehouse and inventory management and logistics coordination to our customers around the globe. Having a common ERP platform allows immediate visibility into our inventory assets, operations and financials worldwide, enhancing decision making and efficiency.

Our revenue and operating results are related to the level of worldwide oil and gas drilling and production activities and the profitability and cash flow of oil and gas companies and drilling contractors, which in turn are affected by current and anticipated prices of oil and gas. Oil and gas prices have been and are likely to continue to be volatile. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” We conduct our operations through three business segments: United States, Canada and International. See Item 1. “Business—Summary of Reportable Segments” for a discussion of each of these business segments.

Unless indicated otherwise, results of operations data are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding our results as determined by GAAP, we may disclose non-GAAP financial measures. The primary non-GAAP financial measure we focus on is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, excluding other costs (“EBITDA excluding other costs”). This financial measure excludes the impact of certain amounts and is not calculated in accordance with GAAP. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations” in Results of Operations for an explanation of our use of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

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Operating Environment Overview

Our results are dependent on, among other things, the level of worldwide oil and gas drilling and completions, well remediation activity, crude and natural gas prices, capital spending by oilfield service companies and drilling contractors, and the worldwide oil and gas inventory levels. Key industry indicators for the past three years include the following:

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The following table details the U.S., Canadian, and international rig activity and West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) oil prices for the past nine quarters ended December 31, 2020:

Sources: Rig count: Baker Hughes, Inc. (www.bakerhughes.com); Effective June 2019, the Baker Hughes International Rig Count now includes the number of active drilling rigs in the country of Ukraine and the historical periods will not be updated; West Texas Intermediate Crude and Natural Gas Prices: Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (www.eia.doe.gov); Hot-Rolled Coil Prices: SteelBenchmarker™ Hot Roll Coil USA (www.steelbenchmarker.com).

The worldwide average rig count declined 37.9% (from 2,177 rigs to 1,352 rigs) and the U.S. declined 53.8% (from 944 rigs to 436 rigs) in 2020 compared to 2019. The average price of WTI crude declined 31.2% (from $56.98 per barrel to $39.23 per barrel), and natural gas prices declined 20.6% (from $2.57 per MMBtu to $2.04 per MMBtu) in 2020 compared to 2019. The average price of Hot-Rolled Coil declined 7.4% (from $620.53 per short ton to $574.67 per short ton) in 2020 compared to 2019.

U.S. rig count at January 22, 2021 was 378 rigs, down 58 rigs from the 2020 average. The price for WTI crude was $52.28 per barrel at January 22, 2021, up 33.3% from the 2020 average. The price for natural gas was $2.45 per MMBtu at January 22, 2021, up 20.1% from the 2020 average. The price for Hot-Rolled Coil was $1,037.00 per short ton at January 25, 2021, up 80.5% from the 2020 average.

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Executive Summary

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company generated a net loss of $427 million, or $(3.91) per fully diluted share on $1,619 million in revenue. Net loss worsened for the year ended December 31, 2020 by $330 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2019. Revenue decreased for the year ended December 31, 2020 by $1,332 million, or 45.1%, when compared to the corresponding period of 2019. For the year ended December 31, 2020, operating loss was $420 million compared to operating loss of $83 million for the corresponding period of 2019.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020, the Company generated a net loss of $44 million, or $(0.40) per fully diluted share on $319 million in revenue. Net loss improved for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 by $95 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2019. Revenue decreased for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 by $320 million, or 50.1%, when compared to the corresponding period of 2019. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020, operating loss was $37 million, compared to operating loss of $137 million for the corresponding period of 2019.

Outlook

Our outlook for the Company remains tied to crude oil and natural gas commodity prices, global oil and gas drilling and completions activity, oil and gas spending, and global demand for oil, its refined petroleum products, crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas production and decline rates. Crude oil prices and natural gas as well as crude oil and natural gas storage levels are primary catalysts determining customer activity.

Throughout the year 2020, the macro environment changed rapidly and dramatically. The rising global oil supply and sudden demand shock from the COVID-19 pandemic drove significant reduced global demand of oil resulting in declines in oil prices and significant builds of oil inventory. Continuing to the date of this filing, levels of uncertainty still exist concerning the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the magnitude of its impact on the global economy and global oil and gas demand. The outlook for oil and gas demand and supply appears equally uncertain and is expected to largely be driven by the pace of approved vaccines produced and administered on a global basis, which will impact the magnitude, pace and timing of an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amid these dynamics, we will continue to optimize our operations, advance our strategic goals and manage the Company based on market conditions. To navigate this challenging environment, we have taken decisive actions to cut costs, accelerate structural changes and deploy various technologies to optimize processes, increase productivity and grow revenue through expanding digital channels. We have prioritized cost transformation and warehousing, selling and administrative expense reductions as a key response to declining activity. We will continue to optimize our operations and adapt to market activity as appropriate to position DNOW for the challenges ahead.

Results of Operations

Consolidated Results

Years Ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019

A summary of the Company’s revenue and operating loss by segment in 2020 and 2019 follows (in millions):

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United States

Revenue was $1,153 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $1,087 million or 48.5% compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in the period was primarily driven by the decline in U.S. drilling and completions activity.

Operating loss was $281 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $275 million compared to operating loss of $6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Operating loss worsened in 2020 primarily due to an increase of $146 million in impairment charges compared to 2019, coupled with the decline in revenue discussed above, partially offset by a reduction in operating expenses.

Canada

Revenue was $209 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $110 million or 34.5% compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in the period was primarily driven by a decline in Canadian rig count.

Our Canadian revenue was approximately 13% of total revenue in 2020, similar to 2019. We are subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar. Our Canadian revenue is favorably impacted as the U.S. dollar weakens relative to the Canadian dollar, and unfavorably impacted as the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to the Canadian dollar.

Operating loss was $60 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $41 million compared to operating loss of $19 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Operating losses worsened in 2020 primarily due to an increase of $33 million in impairment charges compared to 2019, coupled with the decline in revenue discussed above, partially offset by a reduction in operating expenses which was favorably impacted by the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.

International

Revenue was $257 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $135 million or 34.4% compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by a depressed market generally and softer project activity.

Our international revenue was approximately 16% of total revenue in 2020, similar to 2019. We are subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar. Our international revenue is favorably impacted as the U.S. dollar weakens relative to other foreign currencies, and unfavorably impacted as the U.S dollar strengthens relative to other foreign currencies. Our international segment revenue was unfavorably impacted by approximately $4 million due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates over the prior year.

Operating loss was $79 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decline of $21 million compared to operating loss of $58 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Operating loss worsened in 2020 primarily due to an increase of $14 million in impairment charges compared to 2019, coupled with the decline in revenue discussed above, partially offset by a reduction in operating expenses which was unfavorably impacted by an increase in bad debt charges.

Cost of products

Cost of products was $1,327 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $2,365 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, a decrease of $1,038 million. The decrease was primarily due to lower revenue in the period. Cost of products includes the cost of inventory sold and related items, such as vendor consideration, inventory allowances, amortization of intangibles and inbound and outbound freight. Cost of products included inventory charges of $54 million in 2020 due to discontinued product lines and overall decline in market demand.

Warehousing, selling and administrative expenses

Warehousing, selling and administrative expenses were $391 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $541 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, a decrease of $150 million. The decrease was primarily due to improved operating efficiencies and workforce reductions. Warehousing, selling and administrative expenses include branch location, distribution center and regional expenses (including costs such as compensation, benefits and rent) as well as corporate general selling and administrative expenses.

Impairment charges

Impairment charges were $321 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $128 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company recognized $230 million of goodwill impairment, $84 million of intangible asset impairment, $6 million of impairment for other long-lived assets and $1 million of loss related to business divestitures.

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Other expense

Other expense was $10 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. These charges for the year ended December 31, 2020 were mainly attributable to expenses related to our pension plans and fees associated with our credit facility, partially offset by favorable impact from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

Provision for income taxes

The effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019 was 0.6% and (4.4%), respectively. The effective tax rate is affected by recurring items, such as differing tax rates on income earned in foreign jurisdictions, nondeductible expenses and state income taxes. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2020, was impacted by changes in the valuation allowance in the United States and other foreign jurisdictions and nondeductible goodwill impairment. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effective tax rate was impacted by changes in the valuation allowance in the United States, Canada and other foreign jurisdictions, nondeductible goodwill impairment and the recognition of deferred taxes related to outside basis differences in subsidiaries classified as held for sale.  

Consolidated Results

Years Ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018

For discussion related to the results of operations and changes in financial condition for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our 2019 Form 10-K, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on February 19, 2020.

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Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations

In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding our results of operations as determined by GAAP, we disclose non-GAAP financial measures. The primary non-GAAP financial measure we disclose is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, excluding other costs (“EBITDA excluding other costs”). This financial measure excludes the impact of certain amounts and is not calculated in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure, to its most comparable GAAP financial measure, is included below.

We use EBITDA excluding other costs internally to evaluate and manage the Company’s operations because we believe it provides useful supplemental information regarding the Company’s ongoing economic performance. We have chosen to provide this information to investors to enable them to perform more meaningful comparisons of operating results.

The following table sets forth the reconciliations of EBITDA excluding other costs to the most comparable GAAP financial measures (in millions):

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

We assess liquidity in terms of our ability to generate cash to fund operating, investing and financing activities. We expect resources to be available to reinvest in existing businesses, strategic acquisitions and capital expenditures to meet short and long-term objectives. We believe that cash on hand, cash generated from expected results of operations and amounts available under our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to fund operations, anticipated working capital needs and other cash requirements, including capital expenditures.

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $387 million and $183 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, $86 million of our cash and cash equivalents was maintained in the accounts of our various foreign subsidiaries. With the exception of the Company’s earnings in Canada and the United Kingdom, the Company’s foreign earnings continue to be indefinitely reinvested. The Company makes a determination each period concerning its intent and ability to indefinitely reinvest the cash held by its foreign subsidiaries. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we repatriated $34 million from our Canadian operations. No additional income taxes have been provided for other foreign earnings as these amounts continue to be indefinitely reinvested. Future changes to our indefinite reinvestment assertion could result in additional U.S. federal and state taxes (subject to an adjustment for foreign tax credits) and withholding taxes payable in various foreign jurisdictions, where applicable.

As of December 31, 2020, we had no borrowings against our revolving credit facility, and had $197 million in availability (as defined in the Credit Agreement) resulting in the excess availability (as defined in the Credit Agreement) of 97%, subject to certain restrictions. Borrowings that result in the excess availability dropping below the greater of 12.5% of the borrowing base or $60 million are conditioned upon compliance with or waiver of a minimum fixed charge ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The credit facility contains usual and customary affirmative and negative covenants for credit facilities of this type including financial covenants. As of December 31, 2020, we were in compliance with all covenants. We continuously monitor compliance with debt covenants. A default, if not waived or amended, may prevent us from taking certain actions, such as incurring additional debt.

The following table summarizes our net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, net cash provided by (used in) investing activities and net cash provided by (used in) financing activities for the periods presented (in millions):

Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019

Net cash provided by operating activities was $189 million in 2020 compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $224 million in 2019. In 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was primarily driven by net loss of $427 million offset by $446 million of reconciling adjustments to net loss, which included $321 million of impairment charges, and net increase of $170 million from changes in working capital. In 2019, net cash provided by operating activities was primarily driven by net loss of $97 million offset by $223 million of reconciling adjustments to net loss, which included $128 million of impairment charges, and net increase of $98 million from changes in working capital.

Net cash provided by investing activities was $22 million in 2020 compared to net cash used in investing activities of $22 million in 2019. In 2020, net cash provided by investing activities was primarily attributed to proceeds received of $26 million related to business divestitures compared to in 2019, net cash used in investing activities was related to $8 million in business acquisitions.

Net cash used in financing activities was $8 million in 2020 compared to net cash used in financing activities of $138 million in 2019. In 2020, net cash used in financing activities was primarily attributed to payments relating to finance leases. In 2019, net cash used in financing activities was primarily attributed to net repayments under the revolving credit facility.

Effect of the Change in Exchange Rates

The effect of the change in exchange rates on cash flows was an increase of $1 million and $3 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

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Capital Spending

We intend to pursue additional acquisition candidates, but the timing, size or success of any acquisition effort and the related potential capital commitments cannot be predicted. We continue to expect to fund future cash acquisitions primarily with cash flow from operations and the usage of the available portion of the revolving credit facility. We expect capital expenditures for fiscal year 2021 to be approximately $10 million, primarily related to purchases of property, plant and equipment.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We are often party to certain transactions that require off-balance sheet arrangements such as standby letters of credit and performance bonds and guarantees that are not reflected in our consolidated balance sheets. These arrangements are made in our normal course of business and they are not reasonably likely to have a current or future material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our aggregate contractual fixed and variable obligations as of December 31, 2020 (in millions):

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

In preparing the financial statements, the Company makes assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported. The Company periodically evaluates its estimates and judgments that are most critical in nature, which are related to allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory reserves, goodwill and long-lived assets, purchase price allocation of acquisitions, vendor consideration, stock-based compensation and income taxes. Its estimates are based on historical experience and on its future expectations that the Company believes are reasonable. The combination of these factors forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results are likely to differ from our current estimates and those differences may be material.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The Company grants credit to its customers, which operate primarily in the energy, industrial and manufacturing markets. Concentrations of credit risk are limited because the Company has a large number of geographically diverse customers, thus spreading trade credit risk. The Company controls credit risk through credit evaluations, credit limits and monitoring procedures. The Company performs periodic credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally does not require collateral, but may require letters of credit or prepayments for certain sales. Allowances for doubtful accounts are established based on an evaluation of accounts receivable aging, and, where applicable, specific reserves on a customer-by-customer basis. With the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, the estimated allowance for doubtful accounts (“AFDA”) reflects the Company’s immediate recognition of current expected credit losses by incorporating the historical loss experience, as well as current and future market conditions that are reasonably available. Judgments in the estimate of AFDA include global economic and business conditions, oil and gas industry and market conditions, customer’s financial conditions and accounts receivable past due. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, allowance for doubtful accounts totaled $28 million and $16 million, or 12.4% and 4.1% of gross accounts receivable, respectively.

Inventory Reserves

Inventories consist primarily of oilfield and industrial finished goods. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value and using average cost methods. Allowances for excess and obsolete inventories are determined based on the Company’s historical usage of inventory on hand as well as its future expectations. The Company’s estimated carrying value of inventory therefore depends upon demand driven by oil and gas spending activity, which depends in turn upon oil, gas and steel prices, the general outlook for economic growth worldwide, available financing for the Company’s customers, political stability in major oil and gas producing areas and the potential obsolescence of various inventory items the Company stocks, among other factors. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, inventory reserves totaled $39 million and $26 million, or 13.0% and 5.3% of gross inventory, respectively. Changes in our estimates can be material under different market conditions.

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Goodwill and Long-lived Assets

The Company has no goodwill as of December 31, 2020. Generally accepted accounting principles require the Company to test goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that it might be impaired. The Company conducts goodwill impairment testing annually in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, and more frequently on an interim basis, when an event occurs or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may have declined below its carrying value. Events or circumstances which could indicate a probable impairment include, but are not limited to, a significant reduction in worldwide oil and gas prices or drilling; a significant reduction in profitability or cash flow of oil and gas companies or drilling contractors; a significant reduction in worldwide well completion and remediation activity; a significant reduction in capital investment by other oilfield service companies; or a significant increase in worldwide inventories of oil or gas.

Impairment of goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level by comparing the reporting unit's carrying amount, including goodwill, to the estimated fair value of the reporting unit. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, goodwill impairment is recorded based on that difference up to the total amount of goodwill for that reporting unit. During 2020, to align with the updates to the operational and management structure, the Company combined two reporting units within the U.S. reportable segment, U.S. Energy and U.S. Supply Chain, each with goodwill of zero prior to and after the combination. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has four reporting units; U.S. Energy, U.S. Process Solutions, Canada and International.

Long-lived assets other than goodwill include property, plant and equipment, operating right-of-use assets and intangible assets. The Company evaluates the recoverability of long-lived assets other than goodwill for possible impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of these assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amounts to the future undiscounted cash flows the assets are expected to generate. If such review indicates that the carrying amount of property and equipment and intangible assets is not recoverable, the carrying amount of such assets is reduced to fair value.

The fair values of reporting units are determined based on valuation techniques using the best available information, primarily discounted cash flow projections and multiple-based market approach for comparable companies, where applicable. The discounted cash flow is based on management’s short-term and long-term forecast of operating performance for each reporting unit. The two main assumptions used in measuring goodwill and other long-lived asset impairment, which bear the risk of change and could impact the impairment analysis, include the cash flow from operations from each of the Company’s individual business units and the discount rate. The starting point for the reporting unit’s projected cash flow from operations is the detailed annual plan or updated forecast. The detailed planning and forecasting process takes into consideration a multitude of factors including worldwide rig activity, inflationary forces, pricing strategies, customer analysis, operational issues, competitor analysis, capital spending requirements, working capital requirements and customer needs among other items which impact the individual reporting unit projections. Cash flows beyond the specific operating plans were estimated using a terminal value calculation, which incorporated historical and forecasted financial cyclical trends for each reporting unit and also consider long-term earnings growth rates. The financial and credit market volatility impacts the fair value measurement by adjusting the discount rate. During times of volatility, significant judgment must be applied to determine whether credit changes are a short-term or long-term trend. The Company makes significant assumptions and estimates, which utilize level 3 measures, about the extent and timing of future cash flows, growth rates and discount rates that represent unobservable inputs into valuation methodologies. In evaluating the reasonableness of the Company’s fair value estimates, the Company considers, among other factors, the relationship between the market capitalization of the Company and the estimated fair value of its reporting units.

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company’s market capitalization declined significantly driven by current macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions including the collapse of oil prices caused by both surplus production and supply as well as the decrease in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the uncertainty related to oil demand continues to have a significant impact on the investment and operating plans of our primary customers. Based on these events, the Company concluded that it was more likely than not that the fair values of certain of its reporting units were less than their carrying values. Therefore, the Company performed an interim goodwill impairment test and recognized impairment of $125 million, $60 million and $45 million for the U.S., Canada and International reporting units, respectively, which were included in impairment charges in the consolidated statements of operations.

During the first quarter of 2020, the results of the Company's test for impairment of goodwill and the other negative market indicators described above were a triggering event that indicated that its long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, operating right-of-use assets and intangible assets, were possibly impaired. As a result, the Company performed a recoverability test and recognized $90 million of impairments of long-lived assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2020 which were included in impairment charges in the consolidated statements of operations. No triggering events were identified subsequently in 2020 to indicate that the remaining carrying value of long-lived assets were not recoverable.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test and determined the fair values of the Canada and International reporting units were below their carrying values. As a result, the Company recognized $54 million and $27 million of goodwill impairment for the International and Canada reporting units, respectively, which was included in impairment charges in the consolidated statements of operations. The impairment charges were primarily the result of actual declines in customer

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and rig activity and downward revisions to forecasted rig and customer spend activity occurring in the fourth quarter of 2019, which we incorporated into our outlook and forecasted results of operations.

Purchase Price Allocation of Acquisitions

The Company allocates the fair value of the purchase price consideration of an acquired business to its identifiable assets and liabilities based on estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities, if any, is recorded as goodwill. The Company uses all available information to estimate fair values including quoted market prices, the carrying value of acquired assets, and widely accepted valuation techniques such as discounted cash flows. The Company engages third-party appraisal firms to assist in fair value determination of inventories, identifiable intangible assets and any other significant assets or liabilities when appropriate. The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to each class of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as asset lives, could materially impact the Company’s results of operations.

Vendor Consideration

The Company receives funds from vendors in the normal course of business, principally as a result of purchase volumes. Generally, these vendor funds do not represent the reimbursement of specific, incremental and identifiable costs incurred by the Company to sell the vendor’s product. Therefore, the Company treats these funds as a reduction of inventory when purchased and once these goods are sold to third parties the associated amount is credited to cost of sales. The Company develops accrual rates for vendor consideration based on the provisions of the arrangements in place, historical trends, purchases and future expectations. Due to the complexity and diversity of the individual vendor agreements, the Company performs analyses and reviews historical trends throughout the year and confirms actual amounts with select vendors to ensure the amounts earned are appropriately recorded. Amounts accrued throughout the year could be impacted if actual purchase volumes differ from projected annual purchase volumes, especially in the case of programs that provide for increased funding when graduated purchase volumes are met.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation expense for the Company’s stock-based compensation plans is measured using the fair value method required by ASC Topic 718 “Compensation—Stock Compensation”. Under this guidance the fair value of the award is measured on the grant date and amortized to expense using the straight-line method over the shorter of the vesting period or the remaining requisite service period. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

Income Taxes

The Company is a U.S. registered company and is subject to income taxes in the U.S. The Company operates through various subsidiaries in a number of countries throughout the world. Income taxes are based upon the tax laws and rates of the countries in which the Company operates and income is earned.

The Company’s annual tax provision is based on taxable income, statutory rates, and the interpretation of the tax laws in the various jurisdictions in which the Company operates. It requires significant judgment and the use of estimates and assumptions regarding significant future events such as the amount, timing and character of income, deductions and tax credits. Changes in tax laws, regulations and treaties, foreign currency exchange restrictions or the Company’s level of operations or profitability in each jurisdiction could impact the tax liability in any given year. The Company also operates in many jurisdictions where the tax laws relating to the pricing of transactions between related parties are open to interpretation, which could potentially result in aggressive tax authorities asserting additional tax liabilities with no offsetting tax recovery in other countries.

The Company determined the provision for income taxes under the asset and liability approach, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements, which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in the future. The Company recognizes deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes these assets are more-likely-than-not to be realized. If the Company determines that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, the Company would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes. In evaluating the Company’s ability to recover deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of operations. In projecting future taxable income, the Company begins with historical results adjusted for the results of discontinued operations and incorporates assumptions about the amount of future state, federal and foreign pretax operating income adjusted for

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items that do not have tax consequences. The assumptions about future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the plans and estimates the Company is using to manage the underlying businesses.

The Company remains in a three-year cumulative loss position at the end of 2020. As a result, management believes that it is not more-likely-than-not that the Company would be able to realize the benefits of its deferred tax assets in the U.S., Canada and other foreign jurisdictions and accordingly recognized a valuation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2020. The change during the year in the valuation allowance was $58 million in the U.S. and $3 million in other foreign jurisdictions.

The Company records unrecognized tax benefits as liabilities in accordance with ASC 740 and adjusts these liabilities when judgment changes as a result of the evaluation of new information not previously available in jurisdictions of operation. The Company records uncertain tax positions in accordance with ASC 740 on the basis of a two-step process whereby (1) the Company determines whether it is more-likely-than-not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position and (2) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the Company recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority. The annual tax provision includes the impact of income tax provisions and benefits for changes to liabilities that the Company considers appropriate, as well as related interest.

The Company is subject to audits by federal, state and foreign jurisdictions which may result in proposed assessments. Because of the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from the current estimate of the unrecognized tax benefit liabilities. The Company reviews these liabilities quarterly and to the extent audits or other events result in an adjustment to the liability accrued for a prior year, the effect will be recognized in the period of the event.

As of December 31, 2020, the amount of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries was approximately $12 million. With the exception of the Company’s earnings in Canada and the United Kingdom, the Company’s foreign earnings continue to be indefinitely reinvested. The Company makes a determination each period whether to permanently reinvest these earnings. If, as a result of these reassessments, the Company distributes these earnings in the future, additional tax liabilities would result, offset by any available foreign tax credits.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), which provides optional expedients and exceptions to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. Entities that elect the relief are required to disclose the nature of the optional expedients and exceptions that are adopted and the reasons for the adoptions. The guidance is effective upon issuance and the expedients and exceptions may be applied prospectively through December 31, 2022. The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2020-04 on its consolidated financial statements.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326), which replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to determine credit loss estimates. On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASC Topic 326 using the modified retrospective basis and began to recognize AFDA based on the estimated lifetime expected credit loss related to trade receivables. The adoption of ASC Topic 326 resulted in a cumulative-effect adjustment of $6 million (net of income taxes) to its opening accumulated deficit and AFDA in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 2 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” and Note 4 “Receivables, net” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K) for additional information.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), which modified the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements. On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted this standard and expanded its fair value disclosures to address the quantitative and qualitative requirements of this standard. See Note 2 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K) for fair value disclosures relating to the impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (Topic 350-40), which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement service contract with the capitalization requirements of costs to develop or obtain internal-use software licenses. On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted this standard using the prospective transition approach, with no material impact in its consolidated financial statements.

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ITEM 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to certain market risks that are inherent in our financial instruments and arise from changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. We may enter into derivative financial instrument transactions to manage or reduce market risk but do not enter into derivative financial instrument transactions for speculative purposes. We do not currently have any material outstanding derivative instruments. See Note 13 “Derivative Financial Instruments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part IV, Item 15 of this Form 10-K) for additional information.

A discussion of our primary market risk exposure in financial instruments is presented below.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

We have operations in foreign countries and transact business globally in multiple currencies. Our net assets as well as our revenues and costs and expenses denominated in foreign currencies, expose us to the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar. Because we operate globally and approximately 30% of our 2020 net sales were outside the United States, foreign currency exchange rates can impact our financial position, results of operations and competitive position. We are a net receiver of foreign currencies and therefore benefit from a weakening of the U.S. dollar and are adversely affected by a strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the foreign currency. As of December 31, 2020, our most significant foreign currency exposure was to the Canadian dollar, followed by the British pound, with less significant foreign currency exposure to the Australian dollar.

The financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are translated into their U.S. dollar equivalents at end-of-period exchange rates for assets and liabilities, while revenue, costs and expenses are translated at average monthly exchange rates. Translation gains and losses are components of other comprehensive income (loss) as reported in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). During 2020, we experienced a net foreign currency translation loss totaling $17 million, which was included in other comprehensive income (loss).

Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations generally do not materially affect our earnings since the functional currency is typically the local currency; however, our operations also have net assets not denominated in their functional currency, which exposes us to changes in foreign currency exchange rates that impact our net income as foreign currency transaction gains and losses. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses, arising from fluctuations in currency exchange rates on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency, are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations as a component of other expense. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, we reported a net foreign currency transaction gain of $2 million, a loss of $1 million and a loss of $2 million, respectively. Gains and losses are primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations related to monetary asset balances denominated in currencies other than the functional currency and fair value adjustments to economically hedged positions as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Some of our revenues for our foreign operations are denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore, changes in foreign currency exchange rates impact earnings to the extent that costs associated with those U.S. dollar revenues are denominated in the local currency. Similarly, some of our revenues for our foreign operations are denominated in foreign currencies, but have associated U.S. dollar costs, which also give rise to foreign currency exchange rate exposure. In order to mitigate those risks, we may utilize foreign currency forward contracts to better match the currency of the revenues and the associated costs. Although we may utilize foreign currency forward contracts to economically hedge certain foreign currency denominated balances or transactions, we do not currently hedge the net investments in our foreign operations. The counterparties to our forward contracts are major financial institutions. The credit ratings and concentration of risk of these financial institutions are monitored by us on a continuing basis. In the event that the counterparties fail to meet the terms of a foreign currency contract, our exposure is limited to the foreign currency rate differential.

The average foreign exchange rate for 2020 compared to the average for 2019 decreased by approximately 1% compared to the U.S. dollar based on the aggregated weighted average revenue of our foreign currency denominated foreign operations. We utilized a sensitivity analysis to measure the potential impact on earnings based on a hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency rates. A 10% change from the levels experienced during 2020 of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies that affected the Company would have resulted in less than $1 million change in net loss for 2020.

Commodity Steel Pricing

Our business is sensitive to steel prices, which can impact our product pricing, with steel tubular prices generally having the highest degree of sensitivity. While we cannot predict steel prices, we manage this risk by managing our inventory levels, including maintaining sufficient quantity on hand to meet demand, while reducing the risk of overstocking.

ITEM 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Attached hereto and a part of this report are financial statements and supplementary data listed in Item 15. “Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.”

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ITEM 9.CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

ITEM 9A.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act of 1934), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As of December 31, 2020, with the participation of management, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act of 1934). Based upon that evaluation, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were operating effectively as of December 31, 2020.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, management is required to provide the following report on our internal control over financial reporting:

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Act, in the quarterly period ended December 31, 2020, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have provided certain certifications to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These certifications are included herein as Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2.

The report from Ernst & Young LLP on its audit of the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 is included in this annual report and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION

None.

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PART III

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Incorporated by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Incorporated by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

ITEM 12.SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Incorporated by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.

The following table sets forth information as of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, with respect to compensation plans under which our common stock may be issued:

ITEM 13.CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Incorporated by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

ITEM 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

Incorporated by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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PART IV

ITEM 15.EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(1) Financial Statements and Exhibits

The following financial statements are presented in response to Part II, Item 8:

(2) Financial Statement Schedule

All schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, not required or the information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.

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(3) Exhibits

_________________________________________

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

NOW Inc.

Date: February 17, 2021

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Each person whose signature appears below in so signing, constitutes and appoints David A. Cherechinsky and Mark B. Johnson, and each of them acting alone, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to execute and cause to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission any and all amendments to this report, and in each case to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, and hereby ratifies and confirms all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute or substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of NOW Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of NOW Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 17, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

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/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2013.

Houston, Texas

February 17, 2021

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of NOW Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited NOW Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, NOW Inc. (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the 2020 consolidated financial statements of the Company and our report dated February 17, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Houston, Texas

February 17, 2021

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NOW INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In millions, except share data)