What dominates the section
- Cloud, software, and hardware application security products drive strategy amid rapidly shifting hybrid-cloud competition.
- Hardware supply, international operations, government sales, and regulation create execution and market-access exposure.
- Customer data protection, product misuse, open-source licensing, and export controls create legal and reputational risks.
The risks most specific to F5
- Operational and Execution Risks
Cloud-based and SaaS computing trends present competitive and execution risks
Customers are shifting to hybrid cloud and SaaS models, forcing F5 to adapt pricing, delivery, and competing cloud-based services.
- Operational and Execution Risks
Our business could suffer if there are any interruptions or delays in the supply of hardware components from our third-party sources
Single- or limited-source hardware components could become unavailable or delayed, disrupting product assembly if alternatives are unavailable at acceptable prices.
- Strategic and Industry Risks
Our success depends on sales and continued innovation of our application security and delivery product lines
F5 depends on continued sales and innovation in cloud, software, and hardware application security and delivery products.
- Strategic and Industry Risks
Misuse of our products could harm our reputation
Customers or third parties could misuse F5 products for Internet censorship, causing negative publicity and reputational damage.
- Legal and Regulatory Risks
Our failure to adequately protect personal information could have a material adverse effect on our business
Violations or failures involving personal-data collection, processing, transfer, or protection laws could materially harm F5.
- Legal and Regulatory Risks
A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks
Government sales face special risks, including procurement rules and other challenges affecting significant U.S. and foreign agency revenue.
- Legal and Regulatory Risks
circumstances relating to intellectual property rights disputes could result in our business and results of operations being harmed
Open-source software licenses may impose unexpected conditions or restrictions on commercializing F5 products.
- Legal and Regulatory Risks
Changes in governmental regulations could negatively affect our revenues
Environmental and export-control regulations, especially restrictions on encryption technology, could limit product sales or increase compliance costs.
- General Risks
We face risks associated with having operations and employees located in Israel
Political, economic, and military conditions in Israel and surrounding areas could disrupt F5's offices and employees.
All 26 risk factors
Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.
Operational and Execution Risks
- 01We are dependent on various information technology systems, and failures of or interruptions to those systems could harm our business
- 02Cloud-based and SaaS computing trends present competitive and execution risks
- 03Our success depends upon our ability to effectively plan and manage our resources and restructure our business
- 04Our business could suffer if there are any interruptions or delays in the supply of hardware components from our third-party sources
- 05It is difficult to predict our future operating results because we have an unpredictable sales cycle
- 06Reliance on fulfillment at the end of the quarter could cause our revenue for the applicable period to fall below expected levels
- 07Our operating results are exposed to risks associated with international commerce
- 08In addition, the impact of Brexit on EU-UK political, trade, economic and diplomatic relations continues to be uncertain and such impact may not be fully realized for several years or more. Continued uncertainty and friction may result in regulatory, operational, and cost challenges to our UK and global operations
- 09The average selling price of our products may decrease and our costs may increase, which may negatively impact revenues and profits
Strategic and Industry Risks
- 10Our success depends on sales and continued innovation of our application security and delivery product lines
- 11Our business could be adversely impacted by conditions affecting the markets in which we compete
- 12Industry consolidation may result in increased competition
- 13We may not be able to compete effectively in the application security and delivery market
- 14Misuse of our products could harm our reputation
Legal and Regulatory Risks
- 15Our failure to adequately protect personal information could have a material adverse effect on our business
- 16A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks
- 17circumstances relating to intellectual property rights disputes could result in our business and results of operations being harmed
- 18Changes in governmental regulations could negatively affect our revenues
Financial Risks
- 19We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities
- 20We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations
- 21Changes in financial accounting standards may cause adverse unexpected revenue fluctuations and affect our reported results of operations
Risks Related to our Common Stock
- 22Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate in future periods, which may cause our stock price to fluctuate
- 23Anti-takeover provisions could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us
General Risks
- 24Macroeconomic downturns or uncertainties may harm our industry, business, and results of operations
- 25We face risks associated with having operations and employees located in Israel
- 26Climate change and associated regulation may have an impact on our business
Other F5 10-Ks
- 2025 10-K risk factors
25 risks. Cyber incident fallout and reputational harm dominate F5's operational risk profile. Cloud competition and hardware supply chain dependencies create revenue uncertainty. Regional instability in Israel threatens localized operations and employees.
Filed Nov 25, 2025
About this page
Item 1A of the 10-K on EDGAR was split into its risk factors and, where the company's previous 10-K is on file, each heading was matched to last year's and the text compared word for word. The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview were written by a language model from the text of the new, dropped, and rewritten risks; they refer to risks by position and cannot misquote a heading.