2020 Annual Report

Financial Information

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PART II

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Our long-term financial objectives include diversifying our financing sources, optimizing the mix and maturity of our long-term debt, and reducing our working capital. At year-end 2020, our long-term debt had a weighted average interest rate of 3.7 percent and a weighted average maturity of approximately 6.0 years. Including the effect of interest rate swaps, the ratio of our fixed-rate long-term debt to our total long-term debt was 0.8 to 1.0 at year-end 2020.

In response to the negative impact COVID-19 had on our cash from operations in 2020, which we expect to continue to be negatively impacted as discussed above, we have taken numerous actions to preserve our financial flexibility and manage our debt maturities, which include:

  • Substantially reducing our corporate general and administrative costs, reimbursed expenses we incur on behalf of our owners and franchisees, and our capital expenditures and other investment spending, and implementing restructuring plans, as we discuss under the “Impact of COVID-19” section above;
     
  • Suspending share repurchases and dividends until conditions improve and until permitted under our Credit Facility;
     
  • Drawing under the Credit Facility, as we discuss under the “Sources of Liquidity-Our Credit Facility” section below;
     
  • Amending the Credit Facility to, among other things, waive the quarterly-tested leverage covenant in the Credit Facility through and including the fourth quarter of 2021, as we discuss under the “Sources of Liquidity-Our Credit Facility” section below;
     
  • Issuing $3.6 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, and repurchasing and retiring approximately $853 million aggregate principal amount of the Company’s outstanding senior notes maturing in 2022, which we discuss under the “Sources of Liquidity - Senior Notes Issuances and Repurchases” section below; and
     
  • Raising $920 million of cash by entering into amendments to the existing agreements for our U.S.-issued co-brand credit cards, which we discuss under the “Co-brand Credit Card Agreements” section below.

We monitor the status of the capital markets and regularly evaluate the effect that changes in capital market conditions may have on our ability to fund our liquidity needs. We currently believe the Credit Facility, our cash on hand, and our access to capital markets remain adequate to meet our liquidity requirements.

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