PayPal Holdings (PYPL) risk factors, FY2024 10-K

CYBERSECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY RISKS

1. 01Cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities could result in serious harm to our reputation, business, and financial condition
2. 02Any cybersecurity incidents, including cyberattacks or data security breaches affecting the information technology or infrastructure of our customers, partners, or vendors (including data center and cloud computing providers) or of companies we acquire, could have similar negative effects
3. 03Business interruptions or systems failures may impair the availability of our websites, applications, products or services, or otherwise harm our business
4. 04If we cannot keep pace with rapid technological developments to provide new and innovative products and services, the use of our products and services and, consequently, our revenues, could decline
5. 05compliance obligations; and in-store, digital, and social commerce

LEGAL, REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE RISKS

1. 06Our business is subject to extensive government regulation and oversight. Our failure to comply with extensive, complex, overlapping, and frequently changing rules, regulations, and legal interpretations could materially harm our business
2. 07Cryptocurrency Regulation and Related Risks
3. 08Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing; Economic and Trade Sanctions
4. 09Privacy and Protection of Customer Data
5. 10Artificial Intelligence (AI)
6. 11We are subject to regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to legal proceedings under antitrust and competition laws
7. 12We are regularly subject to general litigation, regulatory scrutiny, and government inquiries
8. 13Third parties may allege that we are infringing their patents and other intellectual property rights
9. 14We may be unable to protect or enforce our intellectual property

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS RISKS

1. 15We face substantial and increasingly intense competition worldwide in the global payments industry
2. 16Changes to payment card networks or bank fees, rules, or practices could harm our business
3. 17Changes in how consumers fund their PayPal transactions could harm our business
4. 18Our credit products expose us to additional risks
5. 19We rely on third parties in many aspects of our business, which creates additional risk
6. 20Any factors that reduce cross-border trade or make such trade more difficult could harm our business
7. 21Failure to deal effectively with fraud, abusive behaviors, bad transactions, and negative customer experiences may increase our loss rate and could negatively impact our business and severely diminish merchant and consumer confidence in and use of our services
8. 22Use of our payments services for illegal activities or improper purposes could harm our business
9. 23We expect to continue to consider and evaluate a wide array of potential strategic transactions as part of our overall business
10. 24Our international operations subject us to increased risks, which could harm our business
11. 25Global and regional economic conditions could harm our business
12. 26If our reputation or our brands are damaged, our business and operating results may be harmed
13. 27Real or perceived inaccuracies in our key metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business
14. 28Environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and damage our reputation
15. 29If one or more of our counterparty financial institutions default on their financial or performance obligations to us or fail,we may incur significant losses
16. 30If we are unable, or perceived as unable, to effectively manage customer funds, our business could be harmed
17. 31There are risks associated with our indebtedness
18. 32Changes in tax laws, exposure to unanticipated additional tax liabilities, or implementation of reporting or record-keeping obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business
19. 33materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate, net income, and cash flows
20. 34We may be unable to attract, retain, and develop the highly skilled employees we need to support our business
21. 35We are subject to risks associated with information disseminated through our products and services