INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

May 31, 2026

The components of the provision for income taxes for the years ended May 31 were as follows (in millions):


	2026		2025		2024
Current provision
Domestic:
Federal	$	1,335	$	891	$	1,184
State and local	186		146		218
Foreign	384		359		265
	$	1,905	$	1,396	$	1,667
Deferred provision
Domestic:
Federal	$	(534)	$	(302)	$	(82)
State and local	(2)		20		60
Foreign	(9)		235		(140)
	(545)		(47)		(162)
Total Provision	$	1,360	$	1,349	$	1,505

Schedule of Income from Operations before Tax

Income from operations before income taxes for the years ended May 31 were as follows (in millions):


	2026		2025		2024
United States	$	4,287	$	3,614	$	5,289
Foreign	1,506		1,827		547
Total	$	5,793	$	5,441	$	5,836

Schedule of Supplemental Cash Flow

Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds for the year ended May 31, 2026 were as follows (in millions):


	2026
Federal	$	1,370
State and local	140
Foreign	402
Total	$	1,912

Cash paid for interest expense and income taxes for the years ended May 31 was as follows (in millions):


	2026		2025		2024
Cash payments for:
Interest (net of capitalized interest)	$	881	$	814	$	744

Income taxes	$	1,972	$	1,285	$	1,555
Income tax refunds received	(60)		(35)		(122)
Cash tax payments, net	$	1,912	$	1,250	$	1,433

Schedule of Total Income Tax Expense and Amount Computed by Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate to Income Before Income Taxes

A reconciliation of total income tax expense and the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax to income before income taxes for the years ended May 31 is as follows (dollars in millions):


	2026
	Amount		Percent
Statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	$	1,217	21.0	%
State and local income taxes - net of federal benefit (1)	118		2.0	%
Foreign tax effects
Brazil
Other	3		—	%
Valuation allowances	(97)		(1.6)	%
Other jurisdictions	120		2.0	%
Effect of cross-border tax laws	(1)		—	%
Tax credits	(47)		(0.8)	%

Nontaxable or nondeductible items	14		0.3	%
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits	45		0.8	%
Other adjustments	(12)		(0.2)	%
Effective Tax Rate	$	1,360	23.5	%

(1)State taxes in Tennessee, Alaska, California, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Florida made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of this category.


	2025			2024
Taxes computed at federal statutory rate	$	1,143		$	1,226
Increases (decreases) in income tax from:
U.S. and foreign return-to-provision adjustments	5			11
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit	137			177
Foreign operations	101			65
Non-deductible expenses	72			48
Uncertain tax positions	(5)			(21)
Benefits from share-based payments	(18)			(26)
Valuation allowance	21			59
Foreign tax rate enactments	6			—
State deferred tax remeasurement	—			54

Corporate structuring transactions	(66)			—
Other, net	(47)			(88)
Provision for income taxes	$	1,349		$	1,505
Effective Tax Rate	24.8		%	25.8		%

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities as of May 31 were as follows (in millions):


	2026				2025
	Deferred Tax Assets		Deferred Tax Liabilities		Deferred Tax Assets		Deferred Tax Liabilities
Property, equipment, leases, and intangibles	$	4,555	$	10,045	$	4,515	$	10,434
Employee benefits	862		424		725		291
Self-insurance accruals	1,367		—		1,247		—
Other	637		56		591		42
Net operating loss/credit carryforwards	1,035		—		1,123		—
Valuation allowances	(438)		—		(523)		—
	$	8,018	$	10,525	$	7,678	$	10,767

The net deferred tax liabilities as of May 31 have been classified in the balance sheets as follows (in millions):


	2026		2025
Noncurrent deferred tax assets(1)	$	1,157	$	1,116
Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities	(3,664)		(4,205)
	$	(2,507)	$	(3,089)

(1)Noncurrent deferred tax assets are included within “Other assets” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Schedule of Beginning and Ending Amount of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended May 31 is as follows (in millions):


	2026		2025		2024
Balance at beginning of year	$	155	$	186	$	212
Increases for tax positions taken in the current year	37		31		5
Increases for tax positions taken in prior years	22		33		4
Decreases for tax positions taken in prior years	(23)		(11)		(3)
Settlements	(20)		(87)		(31)
Changes due to currency translation	3		3		(1)
Balance at end of year	$	174	$	155	$	186