Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Risk Factors

Much of our future success depends upon the continued service of numerous qualified engineering, marketing, sales and executive employees. Competition for highly skilled executives and employees in the technology industry, especially in the areas of AI and machine learning, is intense and our competitors have targeted individuals in our organization that have desired skills and experience. If we are not able to continue to attract, train and retain our leadership team and our qualified employees necessary for our business, the progress of our product development programs could be hindered, and we could be materially adversely affected. We use share-based incentive awards to help attract, retain and motivate our executives and qualified employees. If the value of such stock awards does not appreciate as measured by the performance of the price of our common stock, or if our share-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, our ability to attract, retain and motivate our executives and employees could be weakened, which could harm our results of operations. Also, if the value of our stock awards increases substantially, this could potentially create great personal wealth for our executives and employees and affect our ability to retain our personnel. In addition, any future restructuring plans may adversely impact our ability to attract and retain key employees.

Products as complex as those we offer may contain defects or failures when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements to existing products are released. We cannot assure you that, despite our testing procedures, errors will not be found in new products or releases after commencement of commercial shipments in the future, which could result in loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, material recall and replacement costs, loss of revenue, writing down the inventory of defective products, the diversion of the attention of our engineering personnel from product development efforts, defending against litigation related to defective products or related liabilities, including property damage, personal injury, damage to our reputation in the industry and loss of data or intangible property, and could adversely affect our relationships with our customers. In addition, we may have difficulty identifying the end customers of the defective products in the field. As a result, we could incur substantial costs to implement modifications to correct defects. Any of these problems could materially adversely affect our business. We could be subject to potential product liability claims if one of our products causes, or merely appears to have caused, an injury, whether tangible or intangible. Claims may be made by consumers or others selling our products, and we may be subject to claims against us even if an alleged injury is due to the actions of others. A product liability claim, recall or other claim with respect to uninsured liabilities or for amounts in excess of insured liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business.

From time to time, we are a defendant or plaintiff in various legal actions, as described in Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements. For example, we have been subject to certain claims concerning federal securities laws and corporate governance. Our products are purchased by and/or used by consumers, which could increase our exposure to consumer actions such as product liability claims and consumer class action claims. On occasion, we receive claims that individuals were allegedly exposed to substances used in our former semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities and that this alleged exposure caused harm. Litigation can involve complex factual and legal questions, and its outcome is uncertain. It is possible that if a claim is successfully asserted against us, it could result in the payment of damages that could be material to our business. With respect to intellectual property litigation, from time to time, we have been notified of, or third parties may bring or have brought, actions against us and/or against our customers based on allegations that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of others, contributing to or inducing the infringement of the intellectual property rights of others, improperly claiming ownership of intellectual property or otherwise improperly using the intellectual property of others. If any such claims are asserted, we may seek to obtain a license under the third parties' intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain all of the necessary licenses on satisfactory terms, if at all. These parties may file lawsuits against us or our customers seeking damages (potentially up to and including treble damages) or an injunction against the sale of products that incorporate allegedly infringed intellectual property or against the operation of our business as presently conducted, which could result in our having to stop the sale of some of our products or to increase the costs of selling some of our products or which could damage our reputation. The award of damages, including material royalty payments, or other types of damages, or the entry of an injunction against the manufacture and sale of some or all of our products could have a material adverse effect on us. We could decide, in the alternative, to redesign our products or to resort to litigation to challenge such claims. Such challenges could be extremely expensive and time-consuming regardless of their merit, could cause delays in product release or shipment and/or could have a material adverse effect on us. We cannot assure you that litigation related to our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others can always be avoided or successfully concluded. Even if we were to prevail, any litigation could be costly and time-consuming and would divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Our operations and properties are subject to various United States and foreign laws and regulations, including those relating to materials used in our products and the manufacturing processes of our products, discharge of pollutants into the environment, the treatment, transport, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and remediation of contamination. In addition, our operations and those of our suppliers are further governed by regulations prohibiting the use of forced labor (e.g., mining conflict materials), and restrictions on other materials, as well as laws or regulations governing the operation of our facilities, sale and distribution of our products, and real property. For the manufacturing of our products, these laws and regulations require our suppliers to obtain permits for operations, including the discharge of air pollutants and wastewater. Although our management systems are designed to oversee our suppliers' compliance, we cannot assure you that our suppliers have been or will be in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If our suppliers violate or fail to comply with any of them, a range of consequences could result, including fines, suspension of production, alteration of manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other sanctions. Such non-compliance from our manufacturing suppliers could result in disruptions in supply, higher sourcing costs, and/or reputational damage for us. We could also be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of exposure to hazardous materials used, stored, released, disposed of by us or located at, under or emanating from our current or former facilities or other environmental or natural resource damage. We have been named as a responsible party at three Superfund sites in Sunnyvale, California and we are subject to Final Site Clean-up Requirements Orders from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board relating to the three sites and we have entered into settlement agreements with other responsible parties on two of the orders. During the term of such agreements, other parties have agreed to assume most of the foreseeable costs as well as the primary role in conducting remediation activities under the orders. We remain responsible for additional costs beyond the scope of the agreements as well as all remaining costs in the event that the other parties do not fulfill their obligations under the settlement agreements. The progress of future remediation efforts cannot be predicted with certainty and these costs may change. Although we have not been, we could be named a potentially responsible party at other Superfund or contaminated sites in the future. In addition, contamination that has not been identified could exist at our other facilities. Future environmental legal requirements may become more stringent or costly. As such, the costs of complying with current and future environmental and health and safety laws, and our liabilities arising from past and future releases of, or exposure to, hazardous substances may increase and could have a material adverse effect on us. Environmental laws are complex, change frequently and tend to become more stringent over time. For example, the European Union (EU) and China are among a growing number of jurisdictions that have enacted restrictions on the use of lead and other materials in electronic products. These regulations affect semiconductor devices and packaging. As regulations restricting materials in electronic products continue to increase around the world, there is a risk that the cost, quality and manufacturing yields of products that are subject to these restrictions may be less favorable compared to products that are not subject to such restrictions, or that the transition to compliant products may not meet customer roadmaps, or produce sudden changes in demand, which may result in excess inventory. Jurisdictions including the EU, Australia, California and China are developing or have finalized market entry or public procurement regulations for computers and servers based on ENERGY STAR specifications, and the like, as well as additional energy consumption limits. Certain of our products may be excluded from some of these markets which could materially adversely affect us. We incur costs associated with complying with conflict minerals reporting requirements to our customers and the SEC. In addition to the SEC regulation, the EU, China and other jurisdictions are developing new policies focused on conflict minerals that may impact and increase the cost of our compliance program. Customers are increasingly seeking information about the source of minerals used in our supply chain beyond those addressed in laws and regulations. Given the complexity of mineral supply chains, we may be unable to sufficiently verify the origins of the subject minerals and thus our reputation may be harmed. Moreover, we are likely to encounter challenges to satisfy customers who require that all of the components of our products be certified as "conflict free." If we cannot satisfy these customers, they may choose a competitor's products. In addition, new or increased regulations limiting the use of such components, or regulation regarding greenhouse gas emissions and climate change-related risks, could increase our energy costs, for example as a result of carbon pricing impacts on electrical utilities and/or necessitating that we purchase more renewable energy than otherwise planned. Our supply chain manufacturing suppliers may be exposed to increased cost of doing business should they be affected by new climate-related regulations, for example, affecting abatement equipment, renewable energy, and/or alter production processes and materials selections. In addition to our Company, customers, governments and authorities continue to focus on eliminating risks of forced labor in supply chains which may increase the cost of our compliance program. Several customers have also issued expectations to eliminate these occurrences, if any, that may impact us. While we have a Human Rights Policy and management systems to identify and avoid these practices in our supply chain, we cannot guarantee that our suppliers will always be in conformance with laws and expectations. Our failure to satisfy customer expectations on forced and trafficked labor policies may result in these customers choosing a competitor's product or enforcement liability and reputational challenges. In addition, many governments have enacted laws around PII, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, and the failure to comply could result in sanctions or other actions by the governments. The GDPR imposes significant requirements on how we collect, process and transfer personal data, as well as significant fines for non-compliance. New emerging technology trends, such as AI, require us to keep pace with evolving regulations and industry standards. Given the complexity and rapid development of AI, there are various current and proposed regulatory frameworks relating to the use of AI in products and services. For example, the EU AI Act was adopted in June 2024 and its implementation will be phased in over the next few years. In other jurisdictions, similar legislation is being considered. Such laws and regulations may impede our ability to offer certain products and services in certain jurisdictions if we are unable to comply with them. We expect that the legal and regulatory environment relating to emerging technologies such as AI will continue to develop and could increase the cost of doing business, and create compliance risks and potential liability, all which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Governments are also considering the new issues in intellectual property law that AI creates, which could result in different intellectual property rights in technology we create with AI and development processes and procedures and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We account for certain acquisitions, including the Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx), Pensando Systems Inc. (Pensando) and Silo AI acquisitions, using the acquisition method of accounting under the provisions of ASC 805, Business Combinations, with AMD representing the accounting acquirer under this guidance. We record assets acquired, including identifiable intangible assets, and liabilities assumed, at their respective fair values at the acquisition date. Any excess of the purchase price over the net fair value of such assets and liabilities will be recorded as goodwill. In connection with the Xilinx, Pensando and Silo AI acquisitions, we recorded significant goodwill and other intangible assets on our consolidated balance sheet. Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill, are tested for impairment at least annually, and all tangible and intangible assets including goodwill will be tested for impairment when certain indicators are present. If, in the future, we determine that tangible or intangible assets, including goodwill, are impaired, we would record an impairment charge at that time. Impairment testing of goodwill requires significant use of judgment and assumptions, particularly as it relates to the determination of fair value. Subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we monitor for any events or changes in circumstances, such as significant adverse changes in business climate or operating results, changes in management's business strategy, an inability to successfully introduce new products in the marketplace, an inability to successfully achieve internal forecasts or significant declines in our stock price, which may represent an indicator of impairment. A decrease in the long-term economic outlook and future cash flows of our business could significantly impact asset values and potentially result in the impairment of tangible and intangible assets, including goodwill, and may require us to record future impairment charges, which may have a material adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations.

The indenture governing our 3.924% Senior Notes due 2032 and 4.393% Senior Notes due 2052 contains various covenants that limit our ability to, among other things: create liens on certain assets to secure debt, enter into certain sale and leaseback transactions; and consolidate with, merge into or sell, convey or lease all or substantially all of our assets to any other person. We unconditionally guarantee, on a senior unsecured basis, Xilinx's obligations under the Xilinx's 2.375% Notes (the Assumed Xilinx Notes). The supplemental indenture governing the Assumed Xilinx Notes also contain various covenants which limit our ability to, among other things, create certain liens on principal property or the capital stock of certain subsidiaries, enter into certain sale and leaseback transactions with respect to principal property, and consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all our assets, taken as a whole, to another person. We also have an unsecured revolving credit facility in the aggregate principal amount of $3.0 billion (Revolving Credit Agreement). Our Revolving Credit Agreement contains various covenants which limit our ability to, among other things, incur liens; and consolidate or merge or sell our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety (in each case, except for certain customary exceptions). In addition, our Revolving Credit Agreement requires us to maintain a minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio at the end of each fiscal quarter. The agreement governing our convertible notes and our Revolving Credit Agreement contains provisions whereby a payment default or acceleration under certain agreements with respect to other material indebtedness would result in cross defaults under our convertible indenture or the Revolving Credit Agreement and allow note holders or the lenders under our Revolving Credit Agreement to declare all amounts outstanding under certain of our indentures or the Revolving Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable. If the lenders under our Revolving Credit Agreement accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient assets to repay those borrowings. Also, we enter into sale and factoring arrangements from time to time with respect to certain accounts receivables, which arrangements are non-recourse to us in the event that an account debtor fails to pay for credit-related reasons and are not included in our indebtedness. We could become obligated to repurchase such accounts receivables or otherwise incur liability to the counterparties under these arrangements under certain circumstances, such as where a commercial dispute arises between us and an account debtor.

We have acquired and invested in businesses, and may continue to do so, that offer products, services and technologies that we believe will help expand our product offerings and services and grow our business in response to changing technologies, customer demands and competitive pressures. Acquisitions and joint ventures include numerous risks including: our inability to identify suitable opportunities in a timely manner or on terms acceptable to us; failure to complete a transaction in a timely manner, or at all, inability to obtain, or delay in obtaining, regulatory approvals or IP disputes or other litigation; difficulty in obtaining financing on terms acceptable to us or at all; failure of a transaction to advance our business strategy or other unforeseen factors. For example, in August 2024, we completed our acquisition of Silo AI Oy (Silo AI), and we entered into an agreement to acquire ZT Group Int'l, Inc. (ZT Systems), which is currently expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Our ability to realize any of the anticipated benefits from an acquisition depends on us successfully integrating the acquired business into our business. Any acquisitions we may undertake, including Silo AI and ZT Systems, involve certain integration risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: difficulty in integrating the technology, systems, products, policies, processes or operations and integrating and retaining the employees including key personnel of the acquired business; diversion of capital and other resources, including management's attention from our existing business; unanticipated costs or liabilities, such as increased interest expense and compliance with debt covenants or other obligations; coordinating and integrating in countries in which we have not previously operated; the potential impact of the acquisitions on our relationships with employees, vendors, suppliers and customers; our inability to effectively retain suppliers, vendors and customers of the acquired businesses; entry into geographic or business markets in which we have little or no experience; adverse changes in general economic conditions in regions in which we and the acquired companies operate; potential litigation associated with the acquisitions; difficulties in the assimilation of employees and culture; difficulties in managing the expanded operations of a larger and more complex company; and difficulties with integrating and upgrading our and the acquired companies' financial reporting systems. If we cannot successfully integrate or are delayed in integrating newly acquired businesses, it could negatively impact our ability to develop or sell new products and impair our ability to grow our business, which could materially adversely affect our financial conditions, results of operations or cash flows. Even if the businesses we acquire are successfully integrated, the benefits of such transactions may not be realized within the anticipated time frame or at all. To complete an acquisition, as contemplated by our intent to acquire ZT Systems, we may issue equity securities, which would dilute our stockholders' ownership and could adversely affect the price of our common stock, and/or incur debt, assume contingent liabilities or have amortization expenses and write-downs of acquired assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations. We may not adequately assess the risks of new business initiatives and subsequent events may arise that alter the risks that were initially considered. Acquisitions, joint ventures and other investments involve significant challenges and risks and could impair our ability to grow our business, develop new products or sell our products, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations. Acquisitions or joint ventures may also reduce our cash available for operation and other uses which could harm our business. For example, the majority of our ATMP services are provided by the ATMP JVs, and there is no guarantee that the JVs will be able to fulfill our long-term ATMP requirements. If we are unable to meet customer demand due to fluctuating or late supply from the ATMP JVs, it could result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our business. We may not realize the expected benefits from the THATIC JV's expected future performance, including the receipt of any future milestone payments and any royalties from certain licensed intellectual property. In June 2019, the BIS added certain Chinese entities to the Entity List, including THATIC and the THATIC JV. We are complying with U.S. law pertaining to the Entity List designation. Furthermore, we may at times invest in private companies to further our strategic objectives and to support certain key business initiatives. Many of the instruments that we invest in are non-marketable and illiquid at the time of our initial investment, and we are not always able to achieve a return. To the extent any of the companies in which we invest in are not successful, we could recognize an impairment and/or lose all or part of our investment.

Uncertain global or regional economic conditions have and may in the future adversely impact our business. Uncertainty in the economic environment or other unfavorable changes in economic conditions, such as inflation, higher interest rates, recession, slowing growth, increased unemployment, tighter credit markets, changes in fiscal monetary or trade policy, or currency fluctuations, may negatively impact consumer confidence and spending causing our customers to stop or postpone purchases. For example, our Client segment revenue decreased in the first half of 2023, and our Embedded segment revenue decreased as a result of an inventory correction in several end markets in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024. During challenging economic times, our current or potential future customers may experience cash flow problems and as a result may modify, delay or cancel plans to purchase our products. Additionally, if our customers are not successful in generating sufficient revenue or are unable to secure financing, they may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable that they owe us. The risk related to our customers potentially defaulting on or delaying payments to us is increased because we expect that a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of our revenue. Any inability of our current or potential future customers to pay us for our products may adversely affect our earnings and cash flow. Moreover, our key suppliers may reduce their output or become insolvent, thereby adversely impacting our ability to manufacture our products. Adverse changes in economic conditions could increase costs of memory, equipment, materials or substrates and other supply chain expenses. If we are not able to procure a stable supply of materials on an ongoing basis and at reasonable costs to meet our production requirements, we could experience a supply shortage or an increase in production costs, which could negatively impact our gross margin and materially adversely affect our business. Our ability to forecast our operating results, make business decisions and execute our business strategy could be adversely impacted by challenging macroeconomic conditions. In addition, uncertain economic conditions could lead to higher borrowing costs and reduced availability of capital and credit markets, making it more difficult for us to raise funds through borrowings or private or public sales of debt or equity securities. An economic downturn or increased uncertainty could also lead to failures of counterparties including financial institutions and insurers, asset impairments and declines in the value of our financial instruments. If a banking institution in which we hold funds fails or is subject to significant adverse conditions in the financial or credit markets, we could be subject to a risk of loss of all or a portion of such uninsured funds or be subject to a delay in accessing all or a portion of such uninsured funds, which in turn could adversely impact our short-term liquidity and ability to meet our operating expense obligations.

We have costs, assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies. As a consequence, movements in exchange rates could cause our foreign currency denominated expenses to increase as a percentage of revenue, affecting our profitability and cash flows. Whenever we believe appropriate, we hedge a portion of our foreign currency exposure to protect against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. We determine our total foreign currency exposure using projections of long-term expenditures for items such as payroll. We cannot assure you that these activities will be effective in reducing foreign exchange rate exposure. Failure to do so could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. In addition, the majority of our product sales are denominated in U.S. dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the local currency can cause increases or decreases in the cost of our products in the local currency of such customers. An appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the local currency could reduce sales of our products.