Kraft 2014 Annual Report Download - page 4

Forward-looking Statements
This report contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,”
“may,” “will,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are
made. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements, beliefs, and expectations regarding our
business, customers, consumers, dividends, projected market performance of our common stock related to performance share
awards, new accounting pronouncements and accounting changes, commodity costs, cost savings initiatives, hedging activities,
legal matters, goodwill and other intangible assets, price volatility and cost environment, liquidity, funding sources, postemployment
benefit plans, including expected contributions, obligations, rates of return and costs, capital expenditures and funding, debt, off-
balance sheet arrangements and contractual obligations, general views about future operating results, our risk management
program, and other events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control. We discuss certain factors that affect our business and operations and that may cause our
actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements under “Risk Factors” below in this Annual Report on Form
10-K. These factors include, but are not limited to, increased competition; our ability to maintain, extend and expand our reputation
and brand image; our ability to differentiate our products from other brands; increasing consolidation of retail customers; changes in
relationships with our significant customers and suppliers; our ability to predict, identify and interpret changes in consumer
preferences and demand; our ability to drive revenue growth in our key product categories, increase our market share, or add
products; an impairment of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets; volatility in commodity, energy and other input costs;
changes in our management team or other key personnel; our geographic focus in North America; changes in regulations; legal
claims or other regulatory enforcement actions; product recalls or product liability claims; unanticipated business disruptions; our
ability to complete or realize the benefits from potential acquisitions, alliances, divestitures or joint ventures; our indebtedness and
our ability to pay our indebtedness; disruptions in our information technology networks and systems; our inability to protect our
intellectual property rights; weak economic conditions; tax law changes; volatility of market-based impacts to postemployment
benefit plans; pricing actions; and other factors. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-
looking statement in this report, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
PART I
Item 1. Business.
General
Kraft Foods Group is one of the largest consumer packaged food and beverage companies in North America and worldwide, with
net revenues of $18.2 billion and earnings before income taxes of $1.4 billion in 2014. We manufacture and market food and
beverage products, including cheese, meats, refreshment beverages, coffee, packaged dinners, refrigerated meals, snack nuts,
dressings, and other grocery products, primarily in the United States and Canada, under a host of iconic brands. Our product
categories span breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal occasions. At December 27, 2014, we had assets of $22.9 billion. We are listed
on the NASDAQ Stock Market and included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the NASDAQ - 100 indices.
Our diverse brand portfolio consists of many of the most popular food brands in North America, including three brands with annual
net revenues exceeding $1 billion each— Kraft cheeses, dinners, and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats; and Philadelphia cream
cheese—plus over 25 brands with annual net revenues between $100 million and $1 billion each. In the United States, based on
dollar share in 2014, we hold the number one branded market share position in 11 of our top 17 product categories and the number
two branded market share position in the remaining six product categories. The 11 product categories with the number one
branded share position contributed more than 50% of our 2014 U.S. retail net revenues while our top 17 product categories
contributed more than 80% of our 2014 U.S. retail net revenues.
We were initially organized as a Delaware corporation in 1980. In March 2012, we redomesticated to Virginia and changed our
name from “Kraft Foods Global, Inc.” to “Kraft Foods Group, Inc.” On October 1, 2012, MondelƝz International, Inc. ("MondelƝz
International," formerly known as Kraft Foods Inc.) spun-off Kraft Foods Group to MondelƝz International’s shareholders (the “Spin-
Off”). We were a wholly-owned subsidiary of MondelƝz
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