This 20192021 Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this 20192021 Form 10-K are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act, including, without limitation, statements regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, customers and financial condition; our business growth strategy and projected costs; future financial position; the sufficiency of available cash flows to fund continuing operations and pay dividends; the expected amount of our capital expenditures; anticipated cost savings; future revenue, gross margin and other financial or operational measures related to our business; the future value of our equipment; and plans and objectives of our management for our future operations. You can identify many of these statements by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “project,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “will continue” or similar words or the negative thereof.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of this 20192021 Form 10-K. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements are described in Part I Item 1A “Risk Factors” and Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this 20192021 Form 10-K.

All forward-looking statements included in this 20192021 Form 10-K are based on information available to us on the date of this 20192021 Form 10-K. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained throughout this 20192021 Form 10-K.

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We were incorporated in February 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Compression Holdings, Inc. In August 2007, Universal Compression Holdings, Inc. and Hanover Compressor Company merged into our wholly-owned subsidiaries and we became the parent entity of Universal Compression Holdings, Inc. and Hanover Compressor Company, named “Exterran Holdings, Inc.” In November 2015, we completed the Spin-off of our international contract operations, international aftermarket services and global fabrication business into a standalone public company operating as Exterran“Exterran Corporation,” and we were renamed “Archrock, Inc.”

We are an energy infrastructure company with a pure-play focus on midstream natural gas compression. We are the leading provider of natural gas compression services to customers in the oil and natural gas industry throughout the U.S., in terms of total compression fleet horsepower, and a leading supplier of aftermarket services to customers that own compression equipment in the U.S. Our business supports a must-run service that is essential to the production, processing, transportation and storage of natural gas. The natural gas that we help transport satisfies demand from electricity generation, heating and cooking and the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Our geographic diversity, technically experienced personnel and large fleet of natural gas compression equipment enable us to provide reliable contract operations services to our customers.

We operate in two business segments:

Natural Gas Compression Industry Overview

Natural gas compression is a private offeringmechanical process whereby the pressure of $500.0 million aggregate principal amounta given volume of 6.25% senior notes due April 2028. We received net proceedsnatural gas is increased to a desired higher pressure for transportation from one point to another. It is essential to the production and transportation of $491.8 million after issuance costs, which werenatural gas. Compression is also critical to minimizing flaring and reducing the waste of natural gas and natural gas liquids that results from insufficient gathering and processing capacity.

Compression is typically required throughout the natural gas production and transportation cycle, including at the wellhead, throughout gathering and distribution systems, into and out of processing and storage facilities and along intrastate and interstate pipelines. Our service offerings focus primarily on midstream applications, with 77% of our operating fleet being used in the gathering and processing cycle stages. The remaining 23% of our operating fleet is used in gas lift applications.

Wellhead and Gathering Systems. Natural gas compression is used to repay borrowings outstanding under our Credit Facility. See Note 13 (“Long-Term Debt”)transport natural gas from the wellhead through the gathering system. At some point during the life of natural gas wells, reservoir pressures typically fall below the line pressure of the natural gas gathering or pipeline system used to our Financial Statementstransport the natural gas to market. At that point, natural gas no longer naturally flows into the pipeline. Compression equipment is applied in both field and gathering systems to boost the pressure levels of the natural gas flowing from the well, allowing it to be transported to market. Changes in pressure levels in natural gas fields require periodic changes to the size and/or type of on-site compression equipment. Compression equipment is also used to increase the efficiency of a low-capacity natural gas field by providing a central compression point from which the natural gas can be produced and injected into a pipeline for transmission to facilities for further details of this transaction.processing.

Gas Lift Applications. Compression is used to repay borrowings outstanding under our Credit Facility.

Many natural gas and crude oil producers, transporters and processors outsource their compression services due to the benefits and flexibility of contract compression. Changing well and pipeline pressures and conditions over the life of a well often require producers to reconfigure or replace their compression packages to optimize the well production or gathering system efficiency.

We believe outsourcing compression operations to compression service providers such as us offers customers:

We believe the U.S. natural gas compression services industry continues to have growth potential over time due to, among other things, increased natural gas production in the U.S. from our Credit Facility.

We provide comprehensive contract operations services including the personnel, equipment, tools, materials and supplies to meet our customers’ natural gas compression needs. Based on the operating specifications at the customer location and each customer’s unique needs, these services include designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing and maintaining the equipment. We repackage or reconfigure our existing fleet to adapt to our customers’ compression needs and work closely with our customers’ field service personnel so that the compression services can be adjusted to efficiently match changing characteristics of the reservoir and the natural gas produced. Weproduced and may repackage or reconfigure our existing fleet to adapt to our customers’ compression needs.

During the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we generated 83%, 84% and 80%, respectively, of our total revenue from contract operations.

General. New environmental regulations and proposals similar to these, when finalized, and any other new regulations requiring the installation of more sophisticated pollution control equipment or the adoption of other environmental protection measures, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Congress has previously considered legislation will become law in the near future, although energyto restrict or regulate emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy legislation and other initiatives continue to be proposed that may be relevant to greenhouse gas emissions issues. Almost half of the states, either individually or through multi-state regional initiatives, have begun to address greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through the planned development of emission inventories or regional greenhouse gas cap and trade programs. Although most of the state-level initiatives have to date been focused on large sources of greenhouse gas emissions, such as electric power plants, it is possible that smaller sources such as our gas-firednatural gas-powered compressors could become subject to greenhouse gas-related regulation. Depending on the particular program, we could be required to control emissions or to purchase and surrender allowances for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from our operations.

Independent of Congress, the EPA has promulgated regulations controlling greenhouse gas emissions under its existing CAA authority. The EPA has adopted rules requiring many facilities, including petroleum and natural gas systems, to inventory and report their greenhouse gas emissions. TheseIn 2021, we did not operate any facilities that were subject to these reporting obligations were triggered for one site we operated in 2019.

In an executive order issued on January 20, 2021, the POTUS asked the heads of all executive departments and agencies to review and take action to address any federal regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies and any similar agency actions promulgated during the prior administration that may be inconsistent with or present obstacles to the administration’s stated goals of protecting public health and the environment, and conserving national monuments and refuges. The executive order also established an Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, which is called on to, among other things, capture the full costs of greenhouse gas emissions, including the “social cost of carbon,” “social cost of nitrous oxide” and “social cost of methane,” which are “the monetized damages associated with incremental increases in greenhouse gas emissions,” including “changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services.” The current administration adopted an interim social cost of carbon of $51 per ton in February 2021, with an updated cost figure expected early in 2022. That figure is intended to be used to guide federal decisions on the costs and benefits of various policies and approvals, although such efforts have been the subject of a series of judicial challenges. At this time, we cannot determine whether the administration’s efforts on social cost or other interagency climate efforts will lead to any particular actions that give rise to a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

RCRA and analogous state laws and their implementing regulations govern the generation, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes. During the course of our operations, we generate wastes (including, but not limited to, used oil, antifreeze, used oil filters, sludges, paints, solvents and abrasive blasting materials) in quantities regulated under RCRA. The EPA and various state agencies have limited the approved methods of disposal for these types of wastes. CERCLA and analogous state laws and their implementing regulations impose strict, and under certain conditions, joint and several liability without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct on classes of persons who are considered to be responsible for the release of a hazardous substance into the environment. These persons include current and past owners and operators of the facility or disposal site where the release occurred and any company that transported, disposed of, or arranged for the transport or disposal of the hazardous substances released at the site. Under CERCLA, such persons may be subject to joint and several liability for the costs of cleaning up the hazardous substances that have been released into the environment, for damages to natural resources and for the costs of certain health studies. In addition, where contamination may be present, it is not uncommon for neighboring landowners and other third parties to file claims for personal injury, property damage and recovery of response costs allegedly caused by hazardous substances or other pollutants released into the environment.

We currently own or lease, and in the past have owned or leased, a number of properties that have been used in support of our operations for a number of years. Although we have utilized operating and disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, hydrocarbons, hazardous substances, or other regulated wastes may have been disposed of or released on or under the properties owned or leased by us or on or under other locations where such materials have been taken for disposal by companies sub-contracted by us. In addition, many of these properties have been previously owned or operated by third parties whose treatment and disposal or release of hydrocarbons, hazardous substances or other regulated wastes was not under our control. These properties and the materials released or disposed thereon may be subject to CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state laws. Under such laws, we could be required to remove or remediate historical property contamination, or to perform certain operations to prevent future contamination. At certain of such sites, we are currently working with the prior owners who have undertaken to monitor and clean up contamination that occurred prior to our acquisition of these sites. We are not currently under any order requiring that we undertake or pay for any cleanup activities. However, we cannot provide any assurance that we will not receive any such order in the future.

We are subject to the requirements of the OSHA and comparable state statutes. These laws and the implementing regulations strictly govern the protection of the safety and health of employees. The OSHA’s hazard communication standard, the EPA’s community right-to-know regulations under Title III of CERCLA and similar state statutes require that we organize and/or disclose information about hazardous materials used or produced in our operations.

On January 21, 2021, the POTUS issued an executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the stated goal of which is to protect the health and safety of workers from COVID-19. In the executive order, Department of Labor leaders and, in some cases, the leaders of other Federal Departments are called on to, among other things, issue revised guidance to employers on workplace safety during the pandemic, consider whether emergency temporary standards (e.g., mask in the workplace) are necessary, review OSHA enforcement efforts related to COVID-19, focus those enforcement efforts on violations that put the largest number of workers at serious risk or are contrary to anti-retaliation principles and coordinate with State and local government entities responsible for public employee safety. The widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines and apparent improvements in health outcomes present important opportunities for the safe operation of our business.

As described in “Forward-Looking Statements,” this 20192021 Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements regarding us, our business and our industry. The risk factors described below, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted.

We face significant competitive pressures that may cause us to lose market share and harm our financial performance.

Our business is highly competitive and there are low barriers to entry. Our competitors may be able to more quickly adapt to technological changes within our industry and changes in economic and market conditions as a whole, more readily take advantage of acquisitions and other opportunities and adopt more aggressive pricing policies. Our ability to renew or assets may performreplace existing contract operations service agreements with our customers at levels below the levels we anticipated at the time of acquiring such business or assets duerates sufficient to factors beyond our control. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Elite Acquisition will deliver the benefits anticipated by us, and any failure to create such benefits may result in a negative impact to, or material adverse effect on, our business, results of operations, financial conditionmaintain current revenue and cash flows.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our Financial Statements, the notes thereto, and the other financial information appearing elsewhere in this 20192021 Form 10-K. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties. See “Forward-Looking Statements” and Part I Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this 20192021 Form 10-K.

We are an energy infrastructure company with a pure-play focus on midstream natural gas compression. We are the leading provider of natural gas compression services to customers in the oil and natural gas industry throughout the U.S., in terms of total compression fleet horsepower, and a leading supplier of aftermarket services to customers that own compression equipment in the U.S. Our business supports a must-run service that is essential to the production, processing, transportation and storage of natural gas. The natural gas that we help transport satisfies demand from electricity generation, heating and cooking and the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Our geographic diversity, technically experienced personnel and large fleet of natural gas compression equipment enable us to provide reliable contract operations services to our customers.

We operate in two business segments:

Significant 2021 Transactions

July 2021 Dispositions

In July 2021, we completed a private offeringsales of $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.25% senior notes due April 2028.certain contract operations customer service agreements and approximately 575 compressors, comprising approximately 100,000 horsepower, used to provide compression services under those agreements, as well as other assets used to support the operations. We received netcash consideration of $60.3 million for the sales and recorded gains on the sales of $13.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The proceeds of $491.8 million after issuance costs, whichreceived from the sales were used to repay borrowings outstanding under our Credit Facility. See Note 13 (“Long-Term Debt”) to our Financial Statements for further details of this transaction.

February 2021 Disposition

In February 2021, we completed the Elite Acquisitionsale of certain contract operations customer service agreements and approximately 300 compressors, comprising approximately 40,000 horsepower, used to provide compression services under those agreements as well as other assets used to support the Harvest Sale.operations. We recorded a gain on the sale of $6.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. See Note 4 (“Business Transactions”) to our Financial Statements for further details of this transaction.

Amendment No. 3 to repay borrowings outstanding under our Credit Facility.

In February 2021, we repaid the 2021 Notes with borrowings fromamended our Credit Facility.

At-the-Market Continuous Equity Offering Program

In February 2021, we entered into an ATM Agreement whereby we may sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock for an aggregate offering price of up to $50.0 million. We use the proceeds of these transactions.

The key driver of our business is the production of U.S. natural gas and crude oil and natural gas.oil. Approximately 70%77% of our operating fleet is deployed for midstream natural gas gathering applications, with the remaining fleet being used in wellhead and gas lift applications to enhance crude oil production. Changes in oilnatural gas and natural gascrude oil production spending therefore typically result in changes in demand for our services.

Spending on oilnatural gas and natural gascrude oil exploration and production typically declines when there is a significant and prolonged reduction in oilnatural gas and natural gascrude oil prices or significant instability in energy markets, and increases during periods of rising prices and market stability. As our business is so closely aligned with production and is typically less directly impacted by commodity prices, we are not exposed to the volatility often faced in shorter-cycle oil field service businesses.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Beginning in the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a deterioration in global macroeconomic conditions, including a collapse in the demand for natural gas and crude oil coupled with an oversupply of crude oil, which led to substantial spending cuts by our customers and a decline in natural gas and crude oil production. This global response to the pandemic adversely impacted our revenue and cash flows. Though demand and commodity prices have shown improvement since the lows reached in the second quarter of 2020, the potential for additional surges and variants of the disease remains and as such, uncertainty still exists around the timing and potential for a full economic recovery.

Our customers substantially cut spending and activity beginning in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the significant declines in natural gas and crude oil prices and demand and consequently, our horsepower, utilization and revenue experienced declines and remained at lower levels in 2021, as compared to early 2020 and periods prior, in both our contract operations and aftermarket services businesses. In addition to the decline in revenue, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results is primarily visible in the $99.8 million non-cash impairment of goodwill and the impairment’s resulting $22.7 million tax benefit in the first quarter of 2020. Cost of sales, SG&A, long-lived and other asset impairment and restructuring charges have also been significantly impacted. See “Financial Results of Operations” below and Note 9 (“Goodwill”), Note 18 (“Long-Lived and Other Asset Impairment”), Note 19 (“Restructuring Charges”) and Note 20 (“Income Taxes”) to our Financial Statements for further discussion.