Crane NXT, Co. (CXT) Business

Item 1. Business

General

Crane NXT is a premier industrial technology company that provides proprietary and trusted technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate what matters most to its customers. The company is a pioneer in advanced, proprietary micro-optics technology for securing physical products, as well as digital authentication, and its sophisticated electronic equipment and associated software leverages proprietary core capabilities with detection and sensing technologies. We are comprised of two reporting segments: Crane Payment Innovations (“CPI”) and Security and Authentication Technologies (“SAT”).

We are committed to delivering shareholder value by focusing on our proprietary and differentiated technology and investing in core businesses to capitalize on opportunities to enhance organic growth. We maintain a strong balance sheet with financial flexibility, allowing us the ability to expand the business through strategic acquisitions into higher-growth adjacencies. We continuously evaluate our portfolio, pursue acquisitions that complement our existing businesses and are accretive to our growth profile, and selectively divest businesses where appropriate. We foster a performance-based culture with clearly defined values and utilize our well-established Crane Business System (CBS) to drive operational excellence and profitable growth.

Separation

On April 3, 2023, Holdings was separated (the “Separation”) into two independent, publicly-traded companies, Crane NXT, Co. and Crane Company (“SpinCo”), through a pro-rata distribution (the “Distribution”) of all the issued and outstanding common stock of SpinCo to the stockholders of Holdings. As part of the Separation, the Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies and Engineered Materials businesses of Holdings were spun off to SpinCo. Also, as part of the Separation, Holdings retained the Payment and Merchandising Technologies business and was renamed “Crane NXT, Co.” on April 3, 2023. Following the consummation of the Separation, our common stock is listed under the symbol “CXT” on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reportable Segments

For additional information on recent business developments and other information about us and our business, please refer to the information set forth under the captions, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in Part II, Item 7 of this report, as well as in Part II, Item 8 under Note 4, “Segment Information,” in the Notes to Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements for sales, operating profit and assets employed by each segment. Crane NXT, Co. operates through two reportable segments.

In connection with the acquisition of OpSec, we renamed our “Crane Currency” reportable segment to “Security and Authentication Technologies,” which consists of the Crane Currency business and the Crane Authentication business comprised of the acquired OpSec and De La Rue businesses. The CPI segment remains unchanged.

Crane Payment Innovations (CPI)

CPI provides electronic equipment and associated software leveraging extensive and proprietary core capabilities with various detection and sensing technologies for applications including verification and authentication of payment transactions. CPI also provides advanced automation solutions, and processing systems, field service solutions, and remote diagnostics and productivity software solutions. Key research and development and manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, and Germany, with additional sales offices across the world.

Security and Authentication Technologies (SAT)

SAT provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products. SAT also provides brand protection, authentication solutions, and digital content protection across online marketplaces, social media platforms, and websites. These solutions serve various brands, as well as government agencies and financial institutions. Key research and development and manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and Malta.

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Other Matters Relating to Our Business as a Whole

Competitive Conditions

Our businesses participate in markets that are highly competitive. Because of the diversity of products manufactured and sold, our businesses typically have a different set of competitors in each geographic area and end market in which they participate. Accordingly, it is not possible to estimate the number of competitors, or precise market share; however, we believe that we are a principal competitor in most of our markets. To compete effectively, we seek to provide high quality products, with technological differentiation, at competitive prices, with superior customer service and timely delivery.

We are a leader in several distinct areas including materials and surface technology applied for anti-counterfeiting applications, differentiated capabilities in the design and manufacturing of detection systems, digital content protection technology, and image recognition software built on advance algorithms to authenticate products. Our products are sold into primary end markets which include payment automation solutions, banknote design and production, along with a wide range of consumer related and financial services end markets. Our revenues depend on numerous unpredictable factors, including changes in market demand, general economic conditions, customer capital spending, timing and amount of contract awards and credit availability. Since our products are sold in such a wide variety of markets, we do not believe that we can reliably quantify or predict the potential effects of changes in any of the aforementioned factors. Our engineering and product development activities are focused on improving existing products, customizing existing products to meet customer requirements, as well as the development of new products. We own numerous patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and licenses to intellectual property, no one of which is of such importance that termination would materially affect our business.

Raw Materials

Our manufacturing operations employ a wide variety of raw materials, including steel, copper, electronic components, aluminum, plastics, cotton, flax, films and various petroleum-based products. We purchase raw materials from many independent sources around the world. Although market forces have, at times, caused increases in the costs of key raw materials, there have been no raw materials shortages that have had a material adverse impact on our business. We believe that we will generally be able to obtain adequate supplies of major raw material requirements or reasonable substitutes at acceptable costs. For a further discussion of risks related to raw materials, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Government Contracts

We have agreements relating to the sale of products to government entities, primarily involving products in our Security and Authentication Technologies segment. As a result, we are subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with the government. The laws and regulations governing government contracts differ from those governing private contracts. For example, some government contracts require disclosure of cost and pricing data and impose certain sourcing conditions that are not applicable to private contracts. Our failure to comply with these laws could result in suspension of these contracts, criminal or civil sanctions, administrative penalties and fines or suspension or debarment from government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time. For a further discussion of risks related to compliance with government contracting requirements, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Environmental Compliance and Climate Change

We are regulated by federal, state and international environmental laws governing our use, transport and disposal of substances and control of emissions. Our manufacturing facilities generally do not produce significant volumes or quantities of byproducts that would be considered hazardous waste or otherwise harmful to the environment if not properly handled or maintained. Accordingly, continued compliance with these existing laws has not had a material impact on our capital expenditures or earnings.

For further discussion of environmental related risks, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” For further discussion of our environmental matters, please refer to Part II, Item 8 under Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies,” in the Notes to Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements.

Human Capital Resources

To remain a premier industrial technology company, it is important that we continue to attract, develop, and retain exceptional talent across our global enterprise. Our associates are critical to our success, and we are committed to sustaining our culture grounded in our core values: people matter, do the right thing, trusted partner, innovate for growth, always improving.

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The Company has a diverse global workforce located in 35 countries, spanning six continents. At December 31, 2025, we employed approximately 4,800 persons worldwide, of which substantially all were full time employees. In the United States, we employed approximately 2,200 people across 32 locations. Employees based in some foreign countries may, from time to time, be represented by works councils or unions or subject to collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with our employees to be good.

To be an employer of choice and maintain the strength of our workforce, we consistently assess the current business environment and labor market to refine our compensation and benefits programs and other resources available to our associates. We are committed to developing our associates personally and professionally by leveraging a structured and disciplined Intellectual Capital (“IC”) process. Our regular IC cadence includes constructive reviews and various talent and leadership development initiatives conducted by the executive management team and provided throughout an associate’s career. We are also committed to an inclusive and high-performance culture at all levels of the organization, based on trust and respect.

The manufacture and production of our products requires the use of a variety of tools, equipment, materials, and supplies. At Crane NXT, we are strongly committed to the health and safety of our associates and strive to continuously adhere to global regulatory safety requirements and to reduce the incidence and severity of job-related injuries. We utilize strict compliance protocols, training programs, effective risk management practices, and sound science in our operations to minimize risk to our associates.

For a discussion of risks related to employee relations, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Research and Development

Research, development and engineering are of critical importance at Crane NXT to maintain our technological leadership in each segment. Activities support existing products, providing new features and enhancements, as well as the development of new products. For further discussion of our research and development activities, please refer to Part II, Item 8 under Note 1, “Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements.

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports and amendments to these reports, proxy statements and other information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov.

We also make our filings available free of charge through our Internet website, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically with, or furnishing such material, to the SEC. Also posted on our website are our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Standards for Director Independence, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters and a brief description of each of the Audit Committee, the Management Organization and Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. These items are available in the “Investors – Corporate Governance” section of our website at www.cranenxt.com. The content of our website is not part of this report.