Ametek (AME) Risk Factors

Our total assets include substantial amounts of intangible assets, primarily goodwill. At December 31, 2023, goodwill and other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization, totaled $10,612.9 million or 71% of our total assets. The goodwill results from our acquisitions, representing the excess of cost over the estimated fair value of the net tangible and other identifiable intangible assets we have acquired. If future operating performance at one or more of our reporting units were to fall significantly below current levels, we could record, under current applicable accounting rules, a non-cash charge to operating income for goodwill or other intangible asset impairment. Any determination requiring the impairment of a significant portion of goodwill or other intangible assets would negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our existing revolving credit facility and other debt agreements (each a "Debt Facility" and collectively, "Debt Facilities") contain restrictive covenants, including restrictions on our ability to incur indebtedness. These restrictions could limit our ability to effectuate future acquisitions, limit our ability to pay dividends, limit our ability to make capital expenditures or restrict our financial flexibility. Our Debt Facilities contain covenants requiring us to achieve certain financial and operating results and maintain compliance with specified financial ratios. Our ability to meet the financial covenants or requirements in our Debt Facilities may be affected by events beyond our control, and we may not be able to satisfy such covenants and requirements. A breach of these covenants or our inability to comply with the financial ratios, tests or other restrictions contained in a Debt Facility could result in an event of default under one or more of our other Debt Facilities. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under a Debt Facility, and the expiration of any grace periods, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under one or more of our other Debt Facilities, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If this were to occur, our assets may not be sufficient to fully repay the amounts due under our Debt Facilities or our other indebtedness.

We believe that our future success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, on a timely basis, technologically advanced products that meet or exceed appropriate industry standards. Maintaining our existing technological advantages will require us to continue investing in research and development and sales and marketing. There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient resources to make such investments, that we will be able to make the technological advances necessary to maintain such competitive advantages or that we can recover major research and development expenses. We are not currently aware of any emerging standards or new products which could render our existing products obsolete, although there can be no assurance that this will not occur or that we will be able to develop and successfully market new products.

We rely on information technology systems, some of which are managed by third-parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information and personally identifiable data relating to employees, customers, other business partners and patients), and to monitor, manage, and support a variety of critical business processes and activities including receiving and fulfilling orders, billing, collecting and making payments, shipping products, providing services and support to customers and fulfilling contractual obligations. Despite our implementation of certain controls to protect our systems and sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, these systems, products, data and services may be damaged, compromised, disrupted or shut down due to attacks by computer hackers, computer viruses, ransomware, human error or malfeasance, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication or utility failures, catastrophes or other unforeseen events. In any such circumstances our system redundancy and other disaster recovery planning may be ineffective or inadequate. Further, we also face information security risks due to our reliance on internet technology and use of hybrid work arrangements, which could strain our technology resources or create additional opportunity for cyber-attackers to exploit vulnerabilities. Attacks may also target hardware, software and information installed, stored or transmitted in our products after such products have been purchased and incorporated into third-party products, facilities or infrastructure. Like most multinational corporations, our information technology systems have been subject to computer viruses, malicious codes, unauthorized access and other cyber-attacks and we expect the sophistication and frequency of such attacks to continue to increase. Any of the attacks, breaches or other disruptions or damage described above could interrupt our operations or the operations of our customers and partners, delay production and shipments, result in theft of intellectual property and trade secrets, damage customer and business partner relationships and our reputation or result in defective products or services, legal claims and proceedings, liability and penalties under privacy laws and increased costs for security and remediation, each of which could adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements. Further, given the increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks and the complexity of techniques used, any of these attacks or breaches could potentially persist for an extended period before being detected. As a result, it could take a significant time before an investigation can be completed and new disclosure regulations could result in us being required to disclose information about a material cybersecurity incident before it has been mitigated or resolved, or even fully investigated. Although we maintain cyber risk insurance, damages and claims arising from such incidents may not be covered or may exceed the amount of any insurance available.

Many of our products rely on proprietary technology; therefore, we endeavor to protect our intellectual property rights through patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, confidentiality agreements and other contractual provisions. Despite our efforts to protect proprietary rights, unauthorized parties or competitors may copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology. In addition, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may be limited in certain countries outside the U.S. Actions to enforce our rights may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and we make no assurances that any such actions will be successful.

While we manufacture certain parts and components used in our products, we require substantial amounts of raw materials and purchase some parts and components, including semiconductor chips and other electronic components, from suppliers. The availability and prices for raw materials, parts and components may be subject to curtailment or change due to, among other things, suppliers' allocation to other purchasers, interruptions in production by suppliers, changes in exchange rates and prevailing price levels. In addition, our facilities, supply chains, distribution systems, and products may be impacted by natural or man-made disruptions, including armed conflict, damaging weather or other acts of nature, pandemics or other public health crises. A shutdown of, or inability to utilize, one or more of our facilities, our supply chain, or our distribution system could significantly disrupt our operations, delay production and shipments, damage our relationships and reputation with customers, suppliers, employees, stockholders and others, result in lost sales, result in the misappropriation or corruption of data, or result in legal exposure and large remediation or other expenses. Furthermore, certain items, including base metals and certain steel components, are available only from a limited number of suppliers and are subject to commodity market fluctuations. Shortages in raw materials or price increases therefore could affect the prices we charge, our operating costs and our competitive position, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our markets are highly competitive. We compete, domestically and internationally, with individual producers, as well as with vertically integrated manufacturers, some of which have resources greater than we do. The principal elements of competition for our products are product technology, quality, service, distribution and price. Although we believe EIG is a market leader, competition is strong and could intensify in the markets served by EIG. In the aerospace markets served by EIG, a limited number of companies compete on the basis of product quality, performance and innovation. EMG's competition in specialty metal products stems from alternative materials and processes. Our competitors may develop new or improve existing products that are superior to our products or may adapt more readily to new technologies or changing requirements of our customers. There can be no assurance that our business will not be adversely affected by increased competition in the markets in which it operates or that our products will be able to compete successfully with those of our competitors.

A number of the industries in which we operate are cyclical in nature and therefore are affected by factors beyond our control. A downturn in the U.S. or global economy, and, in particular, in the aerospace and defense, oil and gas, process instrumentation or power markets could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve. Visibility into the future performance of certain of our markets is limited (particularly for markets into which we sell through distribution). Our quarterly sales and profits depend substantially on the volume and timing of orders received during the fiscal quarter, which are difficult to forecast. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our financial statements. A number of our businesses operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns. In addition, in certain of our businesses, demand depends on customers' capital spending budgets, as well as government funding policies. Matters of public policy and government budget dynamics, as well as product and economic cycles, can affect the spending decisions of these customers. Demand for our products and services is also sensitive to changes in customer order patterns, which may be affected by announced price changes, changes in incentive programs, new product introductions and customer inventory levels. Any of these factors could adversely affect our growth and results of operations in any given period.

International sales for 2023 and 2022 represented 47.4% and 48.7% of our consolidated net sales, respectively. As a result of our growth strategy, we anticipate that the percentage of sales outside the United States will increase in the future. As of December 31, 2023, we have manufacturing operations in 20 countries outside the United States, with significant operations in Canada, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Serbia, Poland and the United Kingdom. A disruption of our ability to obtain a supply of goods from these countries or a change in the cost to purchase, manufacture, or distribute these products could have an adverse effect on our sales and operations. International sales and operations are subject to the customary risks of operating in an international environment, including: - Imposition of trade or foreign exchange restrictions, including in the United States;- Overlap of different tax structures, including the development of a global minimum tax;- Unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, including in the United States;- Trade protection measures, such as the imposition of or increase in tariffs and other trade barriers, including in the United States;- The difficulty and/or costs of designing and implementing an effective control environment across diverse regions and employee bases;- Restrictions on currency repatriation;- General economic conditions;- Unstable political situations and social unrest, both internationally and in the United States;- Increasing trade tensions between the United States and certain countries, including China;- Nationalization of assets; and - Compliance with a wide variety of international and U.S. laws and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including changes in the relative value of currencies in the countries where we operate, subject us to exchange rate exposure and may adversely affect our financial statements. For example, increased strength in the U.S. dollar will increase the effective price of our products sold overseas, which may adversely affect sales or require us to lower our prices. In addition, our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, and we must translate our assets, liabilities, sales and expenses into U.S. dollars for external reporting purposes. As a result, changes in the value of the U.S. dollar due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates or currency exchange controls may materially and negatively affect the value of these items in our consolidated financial statements, even if their value has not changed in their local currency.