MongoDB (MDB) risk factors, FY2025 10-K

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

1. 01Unfavorable conditions in our industry or the global economy or reductions in information technology spending could limit our ability to grow our business and materially and adversely affect our results of operations
2. 02We have a limited operating history, which makes it difficult to predict our future results of operations
3. 03We have a history of losses and as our costs increase, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to achieve or sustain profitability
4. 04Because we derive more than the majority of our revenue from MongoDB Atlas, failure of MongoDB Atlas to satisfy customer demands could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects and our future revenue may be more difficult to predict
5. 05We currently face significant competition and expect that intense competition will continue
6. 06If we do not effectively expand our sales and marketing organization, we may be unable to add new customers or increase sales to our existing customers
7. 07Our adoption strategies include offering Community Server and a free tier of MongoDB Atlas and we may not be able to realize the intended benefits of these strategies
8. 08Our decision to offer Community Server under the SSPL, may harm the adoption of Community Server
9. 09We track certain operational metrics with internal systems and tools and do not independently verify such metrics. Certain of our operational metrics are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and any real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may adversely affect our business and reputation
10. 10We could be negatively impacted if the AGPL, the SSPL and other open source licenses under which some of our software is licensed are not enforceable
11. 11Our licensing model for Community Server could negatively affect our ability to monetize and protect our intellectual property rights
12. 12Our software incorporates third-party open source software, which could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subject us to possible litigation
13. 13If we are not able to introduce new features or services successfully and to make enhancements to our software or services, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected
14. 14features, enhance our software or otherwise overcome technological challenges and competing technologies, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected
15. 15Our success is highly dependent on our ability to penetrate the existing market for database products, as well as the growth and expansion of the market for database products
16. 16Our future quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and if we fail to meet the expectations of analysts or investors, our stock price could decline substantially
17. 17We have experienced rapid growth in recent periods. If we fail to continue to grow and to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, increase our revenue, improve our results of operations, maintain high levels of service, or adequately address competitive challenges
18. 18headcount in the near term. Our success will depend in part on our ability to continue to grow and to manage this growth, domestically and internationally, effectively
19. 19functionality of our business and collect, store, transmit and otherwise process increasingly large amounts of our and our customers’ information and data, which may include personal, proprietary, confidential or other sensitive data
20. 20Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches and other security incidents. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosures or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences
21. 21Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations
22. 22Our sales cycle may be long and is unpredictable and our sales efforts require considerable time and expense
23. 23We may be forced to reduce prices for our subscription offerings and as a result our revenue and results of operations will be harmed
24. 24If we are unable to attract new customers in a manner that is cost-effective and assures customer success, we will not be able to grow our business, which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition
25. 25If we fail to offer high quality support, our business and reputation could suffer
26. 26Real or perceived errors, failures or bugs in our software could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects
27. 27privacy and security policies, contracts, and other obligations that govern the processing of personal data by us and on our behalf
28. 28make significant operational changes, limit the effectiveness of our marketing activities, divert the attention of our technology personnel, adversely affect our margins, and subject us to liabilities
29. 29Our estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth may prove to be inaccurate and even if the market in which we compete achieves the forecasted growth, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all
30. 30We could incur substantial costs in obtaining, maintaining, protecting, defending or enforcing our intellectual property rights and any failure to obtain, maintain, protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights could reduce the value of our software and brand
31. 31We have been and may in the future be, subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties, which may be costly to defend, could require us to pay significant damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies
32. 32If we are unable to maintain successful relationships with our partners, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed
33. 33We rely upon third-party cloud providers to host our cloud offering; any disruption of or interference with our use of third-party cloud providers would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition
34. 34Interruptions or performance problems associated with our technology and infrastructure may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition
35. 35Incorrect or improper implementation or use of our software could result in customer dissatisfaction and harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects
36. 36If we fail to meet our service level commitments, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected
37. 37We believe our success has depended, and continues to depend, on the efforts and talents of our senior management team, particularly our Chief Executive Officer, and our highly skilled team members, including our sales personnel, customer-facing technical personnel and software engineers
38. 38Further, if members of our management and other key personnel in critical functions across our organization are unable to perform their duties or have limited availability, we may not be able to execute on our business strategy and/or our operations may be negatively impacted
39. 39If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, especially among developers, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected
40. 40Our corporate culture has contributed to our success and if we cannot continue to maintain and develop this culture as we grow and evolve, we may be unable to execute effectively and could lose the innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit we have worked hard to foster, which could harm our business
41. 41We depend and rely upon SaaS technologies from third parties to operate our business and interruptions or performance problems with these technologies may adversely affect our business and results of operations
42. 42Indemnity provisions in various agreements could expose us to substantial liability for data breaches, intellectual property infringement and other losses
43. 43Because our long-term growth strategy involves sales to customers outside the United States, our business is susceptible to risks associated with international operations
44. 44Changes in government trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and other trade barriers, could limit our ability to sell our products to certain customers and certain markets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations
45. 45If currency exchange rates fluctuate substantially in the future, our financial results, which are reported in U.S. dollars, could be adversely affected
46. 46Changes in laws and regulations related to the internet or changes in the internet infrastructure itself may diminish the demand for our software and could have a negative impact on our business
47. 47Our corporate 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
48. 48We have completed acquisitions in the past and may in the future expand through acquisitions or investments in strategic partnerships, each of which may divert our management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders, increase expenses, disrupt our operations, and harm our results of operations
49. 49We are subject to risks associated with our non-marketable securities, including partial or complete loss of invested capital. Significant changes in the fair value of our private investment portfolio could negatively impact our financial results
50. 50Failure to comply with anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences
51. 51Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
52. 52If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect, our results of operations could be adversely affected
53. 53If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired
54. 54We may require additional capital to support our operations or the growth of our business and we cannot be certain that this capital will be available on reasonable terms when required, or at all
55. 55We are a multinational organization with a distributed workforce facing increasingly complex tax issues in many jurisdictions and we could be obligated to pay additional taxes in various jurisdictions
56. 56The enactment of legislation implementing changes in U.S. taxation of international business activities or the adoption of other tax reform policies could materially impact our financial position and results of operations
57. 57Our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations
58. 58Taxing authorities may successfully assert that we should have collected or in the future should collect sales and use, value added or similar taxes and we could be subject to liability with respect to past or future sales, which could adversely affect our results of operations
59. 59We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or subject us to liability if we violate the controls
60. 60Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, floods, pandemics and public health emergencies and other natural catastrophic events and to interruption by man-made problems such as power disruptions, security breaches or other security incidents, or terrorism
61. 61We are subject to risks related to our environmental, social, and governance activities and disclosures
62. 62Social, ethical, security and regulatory issues relating to the use of new and evolving technologies, such as AI, in our offerings or partnerships may result in reputational harm and liability

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

1. 63The trading price of our common stock has been and is likely to continue to be volatile, which could cause the value of our common stock to decline
2. 64We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business and future operating results, which would cause our stock price to decline
3. 65Our issuance of additional capital stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our equity incentive plans or otherwise will dilute all other stockholders
4. 66We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future
5. 67The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management's attention and affect our ability to attract and retain additional executive management and qualified board members
6. 68Delaware law and our corporate charter and bylaws contain anti-takeover provisions that could delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable
7. 69potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us
8. 70Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock into the public market, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers, and principal stockholders, or the perception that these sales might occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline

Risks Related to our Indebtedness

1. 71In the past, we incurred significant amounts of debt and may in the future incur additional indebtedness. We may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to make payments on such debt when due
2. 72The capped call transactions may affect the value of our common stock