ACCO BRANDS (ACCO) risk factors, FY2025 10-K

ACCO BRANDS's FY2025 10-K, filed Mar 09, 2026, lists 33 risk factors in 4 groups. Against the prior year's 31: 6 new, 4 dropped, 7 substantially reworded.

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Risk factors listed
334 groups
New this year
6vs 31 last year
Dropped
4since the prior 10-K
Substantially reworded
7of those kept
Section length
9k wordsItem 1A

What the changes say

  • Tariffs now explicitly threaten products and raw materials sourced from China, Vietnam, and other impacted countries.
  • AI introduces implementation, competitive, intellectual-property, privacy, employment-practice, and cybersecurity risks despite new governance.
  • Large retailers’ pricing, inventory, private-label, logistics, and delivery demands could pressure purchases and margins.
  • Pension funding risk is quantified at $122.8 million of liabilities; gaming-console dependence and sustainability compliance also feature.

What changed since the prior 10-K

New

  • NewLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Large customers have taken, and may continue to take, actions that adversely affect our gross profit and operating results

    Large customers may demand lower prices, private-label competition, inventory changes, shelf restrictions, faster delivery, and smaller shipments, reducing purchases and margins.

  • NewLegal and Regulatory Risks

    results of operations, liquidity and financial condition have been, and in the future could be, adversely affected. Additionally, because of these quarterly fluctuations, comparisons of our operating results across different fiscal quarters may not be meaningful

    Pension asset returns, discount rates, regulations, and unfunded multi-employer obligations could increase contributions or non-cash expenses; liabilities were $122.8 million.

  • NewLegal and Regulatory Risks

    We depend upon the introduction and success of new gaming consoles to drive sales of our products. If newly introduced gaming consoles are not successful, if the rate at which those products are introduced declines, or if such products are not readily available, it may negatively impact our business

    Gaming-accessory sales depend on successful, available new consoles and games, affordable pricing, timely licenses, and certifications.

  • NewTechnology and Cybersecurity Risks

    Failure to successfully implement artificial intelligence in our operations and mitigate the attendant risks could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition

    AI implementation requires substantial investment and creates risks involving competition, accuracy, intellectual property, privacy, employment practices, and cybersecurity.

  • NewLegal and Regulatory Risks

    laws mandating reporting obligations, including deforestation disclosures, and

    Changing sustainability laws cover deforestation disclosures, recycled content, recyclability labeling, and restricted materials, increasing compliance costs and non-compliance exposure.

  • NewLegal and Regulatory Risks

    We are tracking and taking actions to comply with all of these laws and regulations; however, we cannot currently assess the impact that future requirements as well as regulation changes and enforcement practices will have on our business results of operations and financial condition

    U.S. and retaliatory tariffs could materially hurt products and raw materials sourced from China, Vietnam, and other affected countries.

Dropped

  • DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks

    in 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

  • DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Laws governing fair competition and marketing and advertising, including laws and regulations regarding "green" claims; and

  • DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks

    extended producer responsibility laws and plastic or packaging taxes, and

  • DroppedLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Changes 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

Reworded

  • 84% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Historically, 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

    The current text stops after forecasting challenges, omitting the prior explicit warning about adverse results, liquidity, and quarterly comparisons.

  • 78% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Additional 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

    Adds that tax legislation, regulation, or tax-rate changes could materially increase operating costs in jurisdictions where ACCO operates.

  • 61% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and damage our reputation

    Adds nine years of computer-security-lock patent litigation, millions in costs, and potentially millions more in damages.

  • 56% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Laws, 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

    Expands the legal examples to fair competition, marketing and green claims, environmental laws, and related compliance requirements.

  • 51% rewrittenTechnology and Cybersecurity Risks

    We may not continue to pay dividends at historic rates, or at all, or engage in stock repurchases

    Removes the prior explicit no-assurance statement and changes the board-approval wording for dividends and repurchases.

  • 36% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Continued declines in the use of certain of our products have and will continue to materially adversely affect our business

    Adds Germany’s move from paper-based processes to digital solutions as a recent accelerator of declining paper-product demand.

  • 31% rewrittenLegal and Regulatory Risks

    Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets have had, and could in the future have, a material adverse effect on our financial results

    Updates goodwill and identifiable intangible assets from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025, retaining the approximately $1.2 billion amount.

All 33 risk factors

Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

  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. 04Large customers have taken, and may continue to take, actions that adversely affect our gross profit and operating resultsNew
  5. 05The 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
  6. 06Challenges 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
  7. 07Our 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
  8. 08Growth 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
  9. 09Continued declines in the use of certain of our products have and will continue to materially adversely affect our business36% rewritten
  10. 10Historically, 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 report84% rewritten
  11. 11results of operations, liquidity and financial condition have been, and in the future could be, adversely affected. Additionally, because of these quarterly fluctuations, comparisons of our operating results across different fiscal quarters may not be meaningfulNew
  12. 12Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets have had, and could in the future have, a material adverse effect on our financial results31% rewritten
  13. 13We depend upon the introduction and success of new gaming consoles to drive sales of our products. If newly introduced gaming consoles are not successful, if the rate at which those products are introduced declines, or if such products are not readily available, it may negatively impact our businessNew
  14. 14Our 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
  15. 25Product liability claims, recalls or regulatory actions could materially adversely affect our financial results or harm our reputation or brands
  16. 26Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and damage our reputation61% rewritten
  17. 27Additional 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 results78% rewritten
  18. 28Laws, 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 operations56% rewritten
  19. 29laws mandating reporting obligations, including deforestation disclosures, andNew
  20. 30We are tracking and taking actions to comply with all of these laws and regulations; however, we cannot currently assess the impact that future requirements as well as regulation changes and enforcement practices will have on our business results of operations and financial conditionNew
  21. 31Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel
  22. 32Our stock price is volatile
  23. 33Volatility 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

Operational Risks

  1. 15Failure to successfully implement our restructuring and cost savings initiatives could adversely affect our future results of operations and cash flow
  2. 16Our business, results of operations and cash flow have been, and may continue to be, adversely impacted by disruptions in the global supply chain
  3. 17Our 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. 18Outsourcing 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. 19We 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. 20We 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. 21Further, 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. 22Failure to successfully implement artificial intelligence in our operations and mitigate the attendant risks could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial conditionNew
  4. 23Liquidity, Capital Resources and Capital Allocation Risks
  5. 24We may not continue to pay dividends at historic rates, or at all, or engage in stock repurchases51% rewritten

Other ACCO BRANDS 10-Ks

  • FY2024 10-K risk factors
    31 risks

    Customer concentration and high leverage of large retail partners threaten revenue stability and credit risk.

    Filed Feb 21, 2025

About this page

The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview are automated and can be wrong: read Item 1A of the 10-K for the exact wording.