Beck Axel 4

What Happened
Axel Beck, Executive Vice President of Illinois Tool Works (ITW), exercised stock options on February 5, 2026 to acquire 5,869 shares (3,261 and 2,608 shares from two option grants). He paid $417,408 and $426,043 for those exercises (total exercise cost $843,451), then sold 4,223 of the acquired shares in an open-market transaction for aggregate proceeds of $1,225,599. The sale was executed at multiple prices; the reported weighted-average sale price was $290.22.

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 5, 2026 (Form 4 filed Feb 9, 2026 — filing is within the typical two business-day window).
• Exercises: 3,261 shares @ $128.00 = $417,408; 2,608 shares @ $163.36 = $426,043 (total 5,869 shares acquired for $843,451).
• Sale: 4,223 shares sold in open market at weighted-average $290.22 for $1,225,599 (actual trade prices ranged $290.14–$290.38; reporting person will provide details on request) [F1].
• Derivative conversion lines at $0 reflect the option-to-share conversion related to the exercises.
• Vesting info: the option grants referenced vested in four installments and became fully exercisable on Feb 10, 2021 and Feb 15, 2022, respectively [F2, F3].
• Shares remaining from this exercise: 1,646 shares retained (5,869 exercised − 4,223 sold). Overall total ITW holdings after the transaction are not specified in the provided filing.
• Exhibit: Power of Attorney included (Exhibit 24).

Context
Because the exercises and the open-market sale occurred the same day, this is effectively a same-day/cashless-style transaction (exercise followed by sale), a common way for insiders to cover exercise costs and taxes. This filing is factual disclosure of insider activity and does not by itself indicate the insider's broader view of the company.