TransUnion (TRU) risk factors, FY2025 10-K

TransUnion's FY2025 10-K, filed Feb 27, 2026, lists 38 risk factors in 9 groups. Against the prior year's 40: 4 new, 6 dropped, 9 substantially reworded.

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Risk factors listed
389 groups
New this year
4vs 40 last year
Dropped
6since the prior 10-K
Substantially reworded
9of those kept
Section length
14k wordsItem 1A

What the changes say

  • TransUnion added new specific risks regarding compliance with evolving global AI regulations and complex state data breach notification regimes.
  • The company updated disclosures on its CFPB Consent Order, goodwill and intangible asset valuations, and climate change risk mitigation costs.

What changed since the prior 10-K

New

  • NewRisks Related to Technology and Cybersecurity

    harm or how best to remediate it, and certain errors or actions could be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and remediated, any or all of which could further increase the costs and consequences of a cybersecurity incident

    Over 50 disparate U.S. state laws and strict international rules create complex, time-sensitive data breach notification requirements and substantial liability for non-compliance.

  • NewRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    applies to companies that develop, use and/or provide AI in the EU and—depending on the AI use case—includes requirements around transparency, conformity assessments and monitoring, risk assessments, human oversight, security, accuracy, general purpose AI and foundation models, and fines for breach

    EU AI regulations and potential new U.S. laws could limit our ability to use AI technologies or require costly operational changes.

  • NewRisks Related to Our Growth Strategy

    may be the subject of contractual disputes. If we or our alliance agreements’ partners are not successful in maintaining or commercializing the alliance agreements’ services, such commercial failure could adversely affect our business

    Strategic alliances and foreign investments may face commercial failures, contractual disputes, or restrictions by local laws that limit revenue growth.

  • NewGeneral Risks

    Natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist acts, war, actions by governments, and other geopolitical activities could disrupt our operations

    Natural disasters, pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and critical infrastructure failures could disrupt our global operations and impede product delivery.

Dropped

  • DroppedRisks Related to Technology and Cybersecurity

    We may be unable to adequately anticipate, prevent or mitigate damage resulting from increasingly sophisticated methods of illegal or fraudulent activities committed against us, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations and could significantly harm our reputation

  • DroppedRisks Related to Technology and Cybersecurity

    Fraudulent activities committed against us could disrupt our operations, have an adverse effect on our financial results, subject us to substantial legal proceedings and potential liability, result in a material loss of business and/or significantly harm our reputation

  • DroppedRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    designed to protect the privacy of the public and to prevent the misuse of personal information available in the marketplace, are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. We already incur significant expenses to ensure compliance with these laws

  • DroppedGeneral Risks

    unfavorable. If these unfavorable macroeconomic conditions persist longer than we currently expect, or are worse than we currently expect, our estimates of revenue growth rates and EBITDA margins would decline, which could lead to an impairment of goodwill

  • DroppedGeneral Risks

    Our efforts to execute any element of our business strategy, including our transformation plan to optimize our operating model and invest in our technology, could experience difficulties, delays, or unexpected costs and may not achieve anticipated benefits and savings

  • DroppedGeneral Risks

    Pandemics, epidemics, disease outbreaks and other public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have disrupted our business and operations, and future public health crises could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations

Reworded

  • 93% rewrittenRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    Our business is subject to various governmental regulations, laws and orders, compliance with which may cause us to incur significant expenses or reduce the availability or effectiveness of our solutions, and the failure to comply with which could subject us to civil or criminal penalties or other liabilities

    Added detail stating that privacy laws change frequently and we already incur significant expenses to ensure compliance.

  • 68% rewrittenRisks Related to Our Growth Strategy

    We depend, in part, on strategic alliances, joint ventures and acquisitions to grow our business. If we are unable to make strategic acquisitions and develop and maintain these strategic alliances and joint ventures, our growth may be adversely affected

    Added risks regarding incomplete marketplace information and commercial strategies of alliance partners.

  • 64% rewrittenRisks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

    Our business and operations are exposed to risks arising from developments and trends associated with climate change and other sustainability matters, including risks associated with our own reporting or other initiatives

    Added that climate change mitigation actions may require substantial costs and may fail due to long-term projection uncertainties.

    Was: Our business and operations are exposed to risks arising from developments and trends associated with climate change and other environmental and social matters, including risks associated with our own reporting or other initiatives

  • 58% rewrittenRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 20, “Contingencies” for information regarding the CFPB matter

    Updated to reflect that the $15.0 million CFPB and FTC Consent Order has been paid in full and we remain subject to compliance.

    Was: See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 21, “Contingencies” for information regarding the CFPB matter

  • 54% rewrittenGeneral Risks

    Economic and other conditions may adversely impact the valuation of our assets resulting in impairment charges that could have a material adverse impact on our results from operations

    Updated goodwill and intangible asset figures to $5,259.5 million and $3,098.5 million as of December 31, 2025.

  • 50% rewrittenRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 20, “Contingencies” for information regarding our legal proceedings

    Changed heading reference to the Legal Proceedings contingency note.

    Was: See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 21, “Contingencies” for information regarding our legal proceedings

  • 32% rewrittenRisks Related to Technology and Cybersecurity

    Highly publicized cybersecurity incidents have heightened consumer, legislative and regulatory awareness of cybersecurity risks. These events continue to embolden individuals or groups to target our systems more aggressively

    Removed parenthetical bullet point markers from the cybersecurity threat description.

  • 25% rewrittenRisks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

    Regulatory oversight of our contractual relationships with certain of our customers may adversely affect our business

    Expanded third-party risk oversight to include regulatory guidance from regulators beyond just the OCC.

  • 22% rewrittenGeneral Risks

    If we experience changes in tax laws or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our tax returns, it could adversely affect our results of operations

All 38 risk factors

Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.

Risks Related to Our Business

  1. 01We are subject to significant competition in the markets in which we operate, and we may face significant competition in the new markets that we plan to enter
  2. 02To the extent the availability of free or relatively inexpensive consumer information increases, the demand for some of our services may decrease
  3. 03Our relationships with key long-term customers may be materially diminished or terminated
  4. 04If we are unable to develop successful new services in a timely manner, or if the market does not adopt our new services, our ability to maintain or increase our revenue could be adversely affected
  5. 05If our outside service providers and key vendors are not able to or do not fulfill their service obligations, our operations could be disrupted and our operating results could be harmed
  6. 06There may be further consolidation in our end-customer markets, which may adversely affect our revenues

Risks Related to Technology and Cybersecurity

  1. 07Highly publicized cybersecurity incidents have heightened consumer, legislative and regulatory awareness of cybersecurity risks. These events continue to embolden individuals or groups to target our systems more aggressively32% rewritten
  2. 08harm or how best to remediate it, and certain errors or actions could be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and remediated, any or all of which could further increase the costs and consequences of a cybersecurity incidentNew
  3. 09We could lose our access to data sources which could prevent us from providing our services
  4. 10If we fail to maintain and improve our systems, our data matching technology, and our interfaces with data sources and customers, demand for our services could be adversely affected

Risks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight

  1. 11See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 20, “Contingencies” for information regarding the CFPB matter58% rewritten
  2. 12Our business is subject to various governmental regulations, laws and orders, compliance with which may cause us to incur significant expenses or reduce the availability or effectiveness of our solutions, and the failure to comply with which could subject us to civil or criminal penalties or other liabilities93% rewritten
  3. 13Regulatory oversight of our contractual relationships with certain of our customers may adversely affect our business25% rewritten
  4. 14The outcome of litigation, inquiries, investigations, examinations or other legal proceedings in which we are involved, in which we may become involved, or in which our customers or competitors are involved could subject us to significant monetary damages or restrictions on our ability to do business
  5. 15See Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” Note 20, “Contingencies” for information regarding our legal proceedings50% rewritten
  6. 16applies to companies that develop, use and/or provide AI in the EU and—depending on the AI use case—includes requirements around transparency, conformity assessments and monitoring, risk assessments, human oversight, security, accuracy, general purpose AI and foundation models, and fines for breachNew

Risks Related to Global Operations

  1. 17Our ability to expand our operations in, and the portion of our revenue derived from, markets outside the United States is subject to economic, political and other inherent risks, which could adversely impact our growth rate and financial performance
  2. 18We face geopolitical and other risks associated with our international operations, which could materially adversely impact our results of operations and our financial condition

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

  1. 19We may be unable to protect our intellectual property adequately or cost-effectively, which may cause us to lose market share or force us to reduce our prices. We also rely on trade secrets and other forms of unpatented intellectual property that may be difficult to protect
  2. 20We may face claims for intellectual property infringement, which could subject us to monetary damages or limit us in using some of our technologies or providing certain services

Risks Related to Our Growth Strategy

  1. 21When we engage in acquisitions, investments in new businesses or divestitures of existing businesses, we face risks that may adversely affect our business
  2. 22We depend, in part, on strategic alliances, joint ventures and acquisitions to grow our business. If we are unable to make strategic acquisitions and develop and maintain these strategic alliances and joint ventures, our growth may be adversely affected68% rewritten
  3. 23may be the subject of contractual disputes. If we or our alliance agreements’ partners are not successful in maintaining or commercializing the alliance agreements’ services, such commercial failure could adversely affect our businessNew

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

  1. 24We have a substantial amount of debt which could adversely affect our financial position and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under the debt instruments
  2. 25Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may still be able to incur additional indebtedness. This could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness
  3. 26We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful
  4. 27Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, would materially and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations and our ability to satisfy our obligations

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

  1. 28Our stock price has recently been volatile, and may continue to be volatile and/or decline, regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid or at all
  2. 29In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our common stock is low, and the amount of public float on any given day can vary depending on whether our stockholders choose to hold their shares for the long term
  3. 30Our business and operations are exposed to risks arising from developments and trends associated with climate change and other sustainability matters, including risks associated with our own reporting or other initiatives64% rewritten
  4. 31Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents might discourage, delay or prevent acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable
  5. 32Our ability to pay cash dividends may be limited by the terms of our secured credit facility
  6. 33There can be no assurance that we will repurchase shares pursuant to our share repurchase program consistent with historical amounts or at all

General Risks

  1. 34Economic and other conditions may adversely impact the valuation of our assets resulting in impairment charges that could have a material adverse impact on our results from operations54% rewritten
  2. 35Natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist acts, war, actions by governments, and other geopolitical activities could disrupt our operationsNew
  3. 36We may not be able to attract and retain the skilled employees that we need to support our business
  4. 37We are subject to losses from risks for which we do not insure
  5. 38If we experience changes in tax laws or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our tax returns, it could adversely affect our results of operations22% rewritten

Other TransUnion 10-Ks

  • FY2024 10-K risk factors
    40 risks

    TransUnion faces significant regulatory scrutiny including a CFPB NORA letter and evolving AI rules. Substantial debt of $5,147.2 million and international operations expose the business to financial and geopolitical pressures. Intense competition from free consumer data sources threatens core credit reporting revenue.

    Filed Feb 13, 2025

About this page

The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview are automated and can be wrong: read Item 1A of the 10-K for the exact wording.