Gen Digital (GEN) risk factors, FY2025 10-K

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY AND INDUSTRY

1. 01If we are unable to develop new and enhanced solutions, or if we are unable to continually improve the performance, features, and reliability of our existing solutions, our business and operating results could be adversely affected
2. 02We operate in a highly competitive and dynamic environment, and if we are unable to compete effectively, we could experience a loss in market share and a reduction in revenue
3. 03Issues in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (“AI”) may result in reputational harm and legal liability and could adversely affect our results of operations
4. 04Our acquisitions and divestitures create special risks and challenges that could adversely affect our financial results
5. 05Our revenue and operating results depend significantly on our ability to retain our existing customers and expand sales to them, convert existing non-paying customers to paying customers and add new customers
6. 06We may need to change our pricing models to compete successfully
7. 07If we fail to manage our sales and distribution channels successfully, these channels may conflict with one another or otherwise fail to perform as we anticipate, which could reduce our sales and increase our expenses as well as weaken our competitive position
8. 08Changes in industry structure and market conditions have and may continue to lead to charges related to discontinuance of certain of our products or businesses and asset impairments

RISKS RELATED TO OUR OPERATIONS

1. 09Our international operations involve risks that could increase our expenses, adversely affect our operating results and require increased time and attention of our management
2. 10Our future success depends on our ability to attract and retain personnel in a competitive marketplace
3. 11If the information provided to us by customers or other third parties is incorrect or fraudulent, we may misjudge a customer’s qualifications to receive our products and services and our results of operations may be harmed and could subject us to regulatory scrutiny or penalties
4. 12unqualified applicants through our platform or accurately analyze credit data, which may adversely impact our business and negatively impact our reputation
5. 13Our solutions, systems, websites and the data on these sources have been in the past and may continue to be subject to cybersecurity events that could materially harm our reputation and future sales
6. 14We collect, use, disclose, store or otherwise process personal information and other sensitive data, which is subject to stringent and changing state and federal laws, and regulations
7. 15Our inability to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity event could impair our ability to deliver our products and services and harm our business
8. 16We are dependent upon Broadcom for certain engineering and threat response services, which are critical to many of our products and business
9. 17If we fail to offer high-quality customer support, our customer satisfaction may suffer and have a negative impact on our business and reputation
10. 18Our solutions are complex and operate in a wide variety of environments, systems and configurations, which could result in failures of our solutions to function as designed
11. 19Negative publicity regarding our brand, solutions and business could harm our competitive position
12. 20Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by sustainability and governance matters and/or our reporting of such matters
13. 21We are affected by seasonality, which may impact our revenue and results of operations

RISKS RELATED TO LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE

1. 22Our solutions are highly regulated, which could impede our ability to market and provide our solutions or adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows
2. 23We have in the past, and may again in the future, enter into settlements, consent decrees and similar arrangements with the FTC, state attorney generals, and the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
3. 24The legal and regulatory regimes governing certain of our products and services are uncertain and evolving. Changing or new laws, regulations, interpretations or regulatory enforcement priorities may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
4. 25The regulatory regime governing blockchain technologies and digital assets is uncertain, and new laws, regulations or policies may alter our business practices with respect to digital assets
5. 26States may require that we obtain licenses that apply to blockchain technologies and digital assets
6. 27If we do not protect our proprietary information and prevent third parties from making unauthorized use of our products and technology, our financial results could be harmed
7. 28From time to time we are party to lawsuits and investigations, which has previously and could in the future require significant management time and attention, cause us to incur significant legal expenses and prevent us from selling our products
8. 29Third parties have claimed and additional third parties in the future may claim that we infringe their proprietary rights
9. 30Some of our products contain “open source” software, and any failure to comply with the terms of one or more of these open source licenses could negatively affect our business

RISKS RELATED TO OUR LIQUIDITY AND INDEBTEDNESS

1. 31There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness that could adversely affect our financial condition
2. 32Our Amended Credit Agreement imposes operating and financial restrictions on us
3. 33The failure of financial institutions or transactional counterparties could adversely affect our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and result of operations
4. 34Hedging or other mitigation actions to mitigate against interest rate exposure may adversely affect our earnings, limit our gains or result in losses, which could adversely affect cash available for distributions

GENERAL RISKS

1. 35Fluctuations in our quarterly financial results have affected the trading price of our stock in the past and could affect the trading price of our stock in the future
2. 36We may be required to issue shares under our contingent value rights agreement with certain former holders

RISKS RELATED TO TAXES

1. 37Our corporate and legal entity structure and intercompany arrangements are subject to the tax laws of various jurisdictions, and we could be obligated to pay additional taxes, which would harm our results of operations