“So over time, over the next few years, it will revert back to more of a 100% of free cash flow.”

In context

“lard: A question for Jim or Jay. On the balance sheet, you noted that you're returning more than 100% of free cash flow to shareholders at the moment. But we do have this ongoing U.S. budget uncertainty and you're going to put more money into the pension fund. So how sustainable do you think it is to be returning more than 100% to shareholders going forward? Jay Malave: It's a good question. If you look at just the profile with this incremental authorization that we have, the way we're looking at it is $6 billion here in 2023, $4 billion in 2024 and then essentially $3 billion in '25 and $3 billion in '26, which puts us equal to free cash flow in that ballpark, assuming kind of a $6 billion placeholder offer free cash flow in those given years. And so that's the way we're viewing it, Rob. So over time, over the next few years, it will revert back to more of a 100% of free cash flow. But again, we'll look at it year-by-year. As you've seen in the last two years, we did increase it here in the fourth quarter, and we'll continue to evaluate those opportunities as they present themselves, the reality of what happens with actual pension funding, what progress we make in our working capital reduction initiatives and all those will go into the mix master and provide the inform what we formally do in any given year. Operator: Thank you. The next question will come from the line of Richard Safran from Seaport Research Partners. Please go ahead. Richard Safran: Thanks. Jim, Jay, Maria, good morning. How are you? Jim Taiclet: Good morning. Richard Safran: So if we take an optimistic scenario here on what happens with the budget outlook, I wanted to know if you could discuss the”