ICON plc(ICLR) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Report

Financial Performance - Q4 2024 revenue was $2,041.1 million, representing a decrease of 1.2$8,281.7 million, an increase of 2.0%[6][13] - Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $422.6 million, or 20.7$1,735.8 million, representing 21.0% of revenue[6][15] - GAAP net income for Q4 2024 was $260.0 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of$3.16, a 21.5% increase year-over-year[7][14] - Full-year GAAP net income was $791.5 million, with diluted earnings per share of$9.53, reflecting a 28.8% increase compared to the prior year[14] - Net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, increased to $791,474 from$612,335 in 2023, representing a growth of 29.3%[28] - Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $1,735,794, up from$1,694,091 in 2023, reflecting an increase of 2.4%[29] - Adjusted net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $1,162,729, compared to$1,058,177 in 2023, reflecting a growth of 9.8%[29] Cash Flow and Assets - Free cash flow for 2024 was on target at $1.1 billion, with cash generated from operating activities amounting to$1,286.7 million[4][17] - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2024 rose to $538,785 from$378,102 in 2023, marking a 42.5% increase[28] - The company reported a net cash provided by operating activities of $1,286,652 for 2024, compared to$1,161,027 in 2023, an increase of 10.8%[28] - Total assets decreased from $16,989,863 (2023) to$16,877,678 (2024), a decline of approximately 0.66%[27] Shareholder Actions - The company repurchased $400.0 million worth of stock in Q4 2024 at an average price of$217, totaling $500.0 million for the full year[6][17] - The board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to$750 million, bringing the total authorized repurchases to $1 billion[6] - The company repurchased ordinary shares worth$499,998 during the year ended December 31, 2024[28] - The diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding decreased from 83,112,757 in 2023 to 82,236,018 in 2024[29] Backlog and Business Wins - Gross business wins in Q4 2024 were $3,064 million, with net business wins of$2,413 million and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.18[5] - The closing backlog as of Q4 2024 was $24.7 billion, an increase of 1.4$8,050 - $8,650 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of$13.00 - $15.00[6] Liabilities and Equity - Total current liabilities decreased from$2,825,608 (2023) to $2,796,406 (2024), a reduction of about 1.03$9,240,743 in 2023 to $9,522,999 in 2024, an increase of approximately 3.05%[27]