Mastercard (MA) risk factors, FY2024 10-K

Other

1. 01Global regulatory and legislative activity related to the payments industry may have a material adverse impact on our overall business and results of operations
2. 02Increased activity with respect to interchange rates could have an adverse impact on our business
3. 03Limitations on our ability to restrict merchant surcharging could materially and adversely impact our results of operations
4. 04Preferential or protective government actions related to domestic payment services could adversely affect our ability to maintain or increase our revenues
5. 05jurisdictions may have with respect to our business, including our decision to suspend business operations in Russia, such jurisdictions may decide to begin to or increase their focus on growing local payment networks and other solutions
6. 06Regulation and enforcement of privacy, data, AI, information security and the digital economy could increase our costs and lead to legal claims and fines, as well as negatively impact our growth and reputation
7. 07Regulations that directly or indirectly apply to Mastercard as a result of our participation in the global payments industry may materially and adversely affect our overall business and results of operations
8. 08We could be subject to adverse changes in tax laws, regulations and interpretations or challenges to our tax positions
9. 09Liabilities or business limitations resulting from litigation could materially and adversely affect our results of operations
10. 10Substantial and intense competition worldwide in the global payments industry may materially and adversely affect our overall business and results of operations
11. 11Our ability to compete may also be affected by regulatory and legislative initiatives, as well as the outcomes of litigation, competition-related regulatory proceedings and both central bank and legislative activity
12. 12Disintermediation from stakeholders both within and outside of the payments value chain could harm our business
13. 13Continued intense pricing pressure may materially and adversely affect our overall business and results of operations
14. 14Rapid and significant technological developments and changes could negatively impact our overall business and results of operations or limit our future growth
15. 15Moreover, regulatory or government requirements could continue to require us to host and deliver certain products and services on-soil in certain markets. As a result, we may need to alter our technology and delivery model, potentially resulting in additional expenses and/or other operational impacts
16. 16Operating a real-time account-based payments network presents risks that could materially affect our business
17. 17Working with new customers and end users as we continue to expand our products and services can present operational and onboarding challenges, be costly and result in reputational damage if the new products or services do not perform as intended
18. 18Information security incidents or account data compromise events could disrupt our business, damage our reputation, increase our costs and cause losses
19. 19significantly due to a significant portion of our workforce working in a hybrid environment. These threats also may be further enhanced in frequency or effectiveness through threat actors’ use of AI
20. 20Service disruptions that cause us to be unable to process transactions or service our customers could reduce our operational resilience and materially affect our overall business and results of operations
21. 21Losing a significant portion of business from one or more of our largest customers could lead to significant revenue decreases in the longer term, which could have a material adverse impact on our business and our results of operations
22. 22Exclusive/near exclusive relationships certain customers have with our competitors may have a material adverse impact on our business
23. 23Consolidation amongst our customers could materially and adversely affect our overall business and results of operations
24. 24Our business significantly depends on the continued success and competitiveness of our issuing and acquiring customers and, in many jurisdictions, their ability to effectively manage or help manage our brands
25. 25Merchants’ continued focus on acceptance costs may lead to additional litigation and regulatory proceedings and/or increase our incentive program costs, which could materially and adversely affect our profitability
26. 26Our work with governments exposes us to risks that could have a material impact on our business and results of operations
27. 27Global economic, political, financial and societal events or conditions could result in a material and adverse impact on our overall business and results of operations
28. 28Adverse currency fluctuations and foreign exchange controls could negatively impact our results of operations
29. 29Negative brand perception may materially and adversely affect our overall business
30. 30Lack of visibility of our brand in our products and services, or in the products and services of our partners who use our technology, may materially and adversely affect our business
31. 31Environmental, social and governance matters and related stakeholder reaction may impact our reputation, increase legal exposure and/or have other business impacts, which could adversely affect our overall business and/or results of operations
32. 32sides of this issue may continue to view us negatively and take public action against us to the extent that we do not satisfy their conflicting views or expectations
33. 33We may not be able to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce, or maintain our corporate culture, which could harm our overall business and results of operations
34. 34Our efforts to enter into acquisitions, strategic investments or new businesses could be impacted or prevented by regulatory scrutiny and could otherwise result in issues that could disrupt our business and harm our results of operations or reputation
35. 35Our role as guarantor, as well as other contractual obligations and discretionary actions, expose us to risk of loss or illiquidity
36. 36Provisions in our organizational documents and Delaware law could be considered anti-takeover provisions and have an impact on change-in-control
37. 37Mastercard Foundation’s substantial stock ownership, and restrictions on its sales, may impact corporate actions or acquisition proposals favorable to, or favored by, the other public stockholders