Company Description
TE Connectivity plc (NYSE: TEL) is described in its regulatory filings and investor communications as a global industrial technology company focused on creating a safer, sustainable, productive and connected future. The company emphasizes a broad range of connectivity and sensor solutions that enable the distribution of power, signal and data in applications across next-generation transportation, energy networks, automated factories, data centers, medical technology and other industrial environments.
According to its proxy materials and repeated "About TE Connectivity" disclosures, TE Connectivity positions itself as a trusted innovation partner for customers in approximately 130 countries. Its products are used to support electric vehicles, aircraft, automated factories, data centers enabling artificial intelligence, utility networks, medical care and global communications infrastructure. The company highlights that its connectivity and sensing products are highly engineered and are intended to make a connected world possible.
Business focus and global scale
In its proxy statement summary, TE Connectivity describes itself as a global industrial technology leader with a focus on reliability and durability. The company states that the breadth of its product portfolio enables companies of various sizes to turn ideas into technology that can influence how the world works and lives. It notes that it manufactures a large number of products annually, operates manufacturing sites around the world and serves customers in roughly 130 countries.
TE Connectivity reports that it has tens of thousands of employees worldwide, including a large engineering workforce. The company also notes that it holds a significant number of patents granted or pending globally. These elements are presented as part of its technology and innovation capabilities, supporting its role in supplying connectivity and sensor solutions for demanding industrial and transportation uses.
End markets and applications
Across its public communications, TE Connectivity consistently highlights several key application areas for its solutions. It states that its connectivity and sensor products are used to distribute power, signal and data in:
- Next-generation transportation, including electric vehicles and related systems
- Energy networks and utility infrastructure
- Automated factories and industrial automation environments
- Data centers, including those enabling artificial intelligence workloads
- Medical technology and life-saving medical care
- Global communications and broader connected infrastructure
The company also references serving industrial and transportation customers, and describes its portfolio as supporting long-term growth trends such as electrification, next-generation vehicle data connectivity and high-speed connectivity for AI-related applications.
Stock listing and capital structure
TE Connectivity plc is incorporated in Ireland and identifies itself in SEC filings as having its ordinary shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol TEL. The company also has senior notes listed on the New York Stock Exchange under symbols associated with specific maturities, issued by an indirect wholly owned subsidiary. These securities are referenced in Form 8-K filings that list the ordinary shares and several series of senior notes as registered securities.
Corporate governance and shareholder framework
In its definitive proxy statement, TE Connectivity provides detail on its corporate governance structure, including a board of directors, board committees, and regular annual general meetings of shareholders. The proxy materials describe agenda items such as the election of directors, appointment of auditors, advisory votes on named executive officer compensation, and authorizations related to market purchases and re-allotment of company shares. The company uses proxy materials to explain voting procedures, eligibility to vote at the annual general meeting and how shareholders may grant proxies or attend in person.
The proxy statement also outlines sections on corporate governance, board committees, executive officer compensation, pay versus performance, and other matters such as related-party transactions and audit committee reporting. This governance framework is part of how TE Connectivity presents itself to investors and regulators.
Financial reporting and performance communication
TE Connectivity regularly issues earnings releases and furnishes them to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via Form 8-K. These releases provide information on net sales, operating margin, earnings per share, cash flow and other metrics for fiscal quarters and full fiscal years. The company also discusses segment performance, including references to Industrial and Transportation segments in its earnings communications.
In these releases and related 8-K filings, TE Connectivity explains its use of non-GAAP financial measures such as organic net sales growth, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted income tax measures, adjusted income from continuing operations, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow. The company states that management uses these measures for planning, forecasting and evaluating operations, and that they are intended to supplement, rather than replace, GAAP results.
Non-GAAP methodology and recast information
TE Connectivity has described changes to its non-GAAP methodology, including the decision to exclude amortization expense on intangible assets and related tax effects from certain adjusted measures beginning in a specified fiscal year. The company has recast prior period segment results and non-GAAP reconciliations to reflect this change and has provided unaudited financial information to aid comparability. It emphasizes that these recast figures do not restate previously issued GAAP financial statements.
In its explanations of non-GAAP measures, TE Connectivity notes that these metrics may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, and that they have limitations because they exclude certain items that affect reported results. The company presents reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP measures in its earnings materials.
Investor communications and events
TE Connectivity hosts regular conference calls and webcasts to discuss quarterly and annual financial results, and provides slide presentations for these events. It also organizes investor days, for which it furnishes presentation materials via Form 8-K and provides live webcasts. The company indicates that these events are used to communicate its financial performance, segment results, and strategic positioning to the investment community.
In addition, TE Connectivity issues press releases announcing upcoming earnings release dates, investor calls, investor day events, quarterly dividends and details of its annual general meeting of shareholders. These communications typically include a standardized description of the company and its business focus, along with logistical information for investors and shareholders.
Risk disclosures and forward-looking statements
In its earnings releases and other communications, TE Connectivity includes cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements. The company notes that statements about future financial condition and operating results are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances. It lists examples of potential risk factors, including business, economic, competitive and regulatory risks, demand conditions in industries it serves, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, commodity price changes, natural disasters, political and economic instability, developments in credit markets, goodwill impairment, compliance with environmental and other laws and regulations, and changes in tax laws and treaties.
TE Connectivity refers investors to its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other SEC filings for more detailed information on risk factors and other disclosures. These documents form part of the company’s overall information set for investors analyzing TEL stock.
Summary
Overall, TE Connectivity plc presents itself through its filings and news releases as a global industrial technology company focused on connectivity and sensor solutions that distribute power, signal and data across a range of industrial, transportation, energy, data center and medical applications. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TEL, maintains a broad international footprint serving customers in many countries, and communicates regularly with investors through earnings releases, proxy materials, investor days and SEC filings.