A. O. Smith - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

A. O. Smith is Medium Risk.

A. O. Smith Corporation is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

A. O. Smith integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2024 Sustainability Report: “Our ESG Council, formed in 2018, comprises 15 members who represent a cross-section of leaders from our operations, environment, health and safety, government affairs, investor relations, human resources and supply chain functions” (1). From its ESG Sustainability page: “Sustainability is ingrained in who we are as an organization and what we do every day.” (2). A. O. Smith promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Guiding Principles requires international vendors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy (3). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (4).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

A. O. Smith will not fund “tithes or other church-related commitments; gifts
to seminaries or other theological institutions;” (1)(2)(3). The company’s charitable giving focus areas are: education, arts and culture, and health and human service (3).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

A. O. Smith appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its 2025 Annual Report “As reflected in our Guiding Principles, we strive to create a
workplace where people from all backgrounds can thrive and achieve their fullest potential. Our commitment to this objective
starts at the top with our Board of Directors, which is 40 percent diverse from either a gender or ethnic/racial perspective.” (1). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2)(3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

The CEO of A. O. Smith, Kevin Wheeler is a member of the Business Roundtable and signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders (1)(2). A.O. Smith supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2022 ESG Report: “To that end, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a key component of our People Strategy and is driven by our Chief Executive Officer with the full support from our Leadership Team and Board of Directors . We believe by having a diverse and inclusive workplace, we enhance productivity, improve collaboration, and are able to attract and retain a talented team” (3). The company also supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2024 Sustainability Report: “’The ESG Council brings together leaders from across the company to advance sustainability goals. This cross-functional team plays a pivotal role in shaping our strategies, ensuring that sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business. By fostering open dialogue we are able to drive meaningful progress within our operations, in the communities we serve and the value chains we support’”(4). However, in 2025, the company removed DEI & ESG language and policies from its Sustainability reports. To date, the company has not publicly addressed this change, leaving shareholders without clarity regarding the company’s reasoning or future direction (5).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

A. O. Smith has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

A. O. Smith has not used its PAC donations or lobbying for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).