ACCO BRANDS (ACCO) risk factors, FY2024 10-K

Other

1. 01Economic and Strategic Risks
2. 02The size, scale and relative competitive market position of certain large customers gives them significant leverage in business negotiations. Additionally, the competitive environment in which our large customers operate has made and will continue to make our business with them challenging and unpredictable
3. 03Sales of our products have been, and we expect they will continue to be, materially and adversely affected by general economic and business conditions globally and in the countries in which we operate
4. 04The Company has foreign currency translation and transaction exposure that has, and is likely to continue to, materially affect the Company’s sales, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity
5. 05Challenges related to the highly competitive business environment in which we operate have, and are likely to continue to have, a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition
6. 06Our success depends on our ability to develop and market innovative products that meet consumer and other end-user demands, including price expectations, and to expand into new and adjacent product categories
7. 07Growth in emerging geographies may be difficult to achieve and exposes us to financial, operational, regulatory, compliance, and other risks not present, or not as prevalent, in more established markets
8. 08Continued declines in the use of certain of our products have and will continue to materially adversely affect our business
9. 09Historically, each of our segments has demand that varies based on certain seasonal drivers related to the product categories it sells as discussed in "Part I, Item 1. Business - Seasonality" of this report
10. 10Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets have had, and could in the future have, a material adverse effect on our financial results
11. 11Our strategy is partially based on growth through acquisitions. Failure to properly identify, value and manage acquisitions, and successfully integrate them may materially impact our business, results of operations and financial condition

Operational Risks

1. 12Failure to successfully implement our restructuring and cost savings initiatives could adversely affect our future results of operations and cash flow
2. 13Our business, results of operations and cash flow have been, and may continue to be, adversely impacted by disruptions in the global supply chain
3. 14Our operating results have been, and continue to be, adversely affected by inflation and changes in the cost or availability of raw materials, transportation, labor and other necessary supplies and services, including the cost of finished goods
4. 15Outsourcing the development and production of certain of our products, our information technology systems and other administrative and finance functions could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition
5. 16We also outsource important portions of our information technology infrastructure and systems support to third-party service providers. Outsourcing of information technology services creates risks to our business, which are similar to those created by our product production outsourcing

Technology and Cybersecurity Risks

1. 17We rely extensively on information technology systems to operate, transact and otherwise manage our business. Any material failure, inadequacy, or interruption of that technology or its supporting infrastructure could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition
2. 18Further, our failure to properly maintain and successfully upgrade or replace any of these systems, especially our enterprise resource planning systems, could disrupt our business and our ability to service our customers or negatively impact our ability to report our financial results in a timely and accurate manner
3. 19Liquidity, Capital Resources and Capital Allocation Risks
4. 20We may not continue to pay dividends at historic rates, or at all, or engage in stock repurchases

Legal and Regulatory Risks

1. 21Product liability claims, recalls or regulatory actions could materially adversely affect our financial results or harm our reputation or brands
2. 22Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and damage our reputation
3. 23Additional tax liabilities stemming from our global operations and changes in tax legislation, regulation and tax rates have, and may continue to, adversely affect our financial results
4. 24in other countries. Changes in tax legislation or tax rates may occur in one or more jurisdictions in which we operate that may materially impact the cost of operating our business
5. 25Laws, rules and regulations and self-regulatory requirements that affect our business, including the costs of compliance, as well as the impact of changes in such laws, could materially adversely affect our business, reputation and results of operations
6. 26Laws governing fair competition and marketing and advertising, including laws and regulations regarding "green" claims; and
7. 27extended producer responsibility laws and plastic or packaging taxes, and
8. 28Changes in trade policy and regulations in the United States and other countries, including changes in trade agreements and the imposition of tariffs, and the resulting consequences, are likely to adversely impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition
9. 29Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel
10. 30Our stock price is volatile
11. 31Volatility in our stock price could adversely affect our business and financing opportunities, which could hurt our operating results and negatively impact our cash flow and financial condition