Astec (ASTE) Risk Analysis

We are subject to various risks related to conducting business domestically and internationally which encompass a wide range of government regulations including but not limited to: the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, other anti-corruption laws, regulations administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and various non-U.S. government entities, including applicable import and export control regulations and customs requirements, imposition by the U.S. and foreign governments of additional taxes, tariffs, economic sanctions on countries, entities or persons, embargoes or other restrictions on trade, currency exchange regulations and transfer pricing regulations. We are also subject to potential adverse changes or increased uncertainty relating to the political, social, religious and economic stability of the countries in which we do business or transact with and their diplomatic relations with the U.S. Accordingly, we are at risk to comply with complex international laws and regulations that may change unexpectedly, differ or conflict with laws in other countries in which we conduct business. While we maintain compliance programs to help ensure compliance with such regulations, there is no assurance that we will be effective in complying with all such regulations. Failure to comply with such regulations could subject us to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions, remedial measures, legal expenses and reputational damage, all of which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. In addition, certain of our equipment is subject to rules limiting emissions and other climate related rules and regulation. Several of our products contain components that must comply with environmental, health and safety laws or regulations, including performance standards, promulgated by the EPA and other state regulatory agencies. These performance standards may change or become more stringent in the future. In addition, we may become subject to additional legislation, regulations or accords regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly as a result of increased energy, environmental and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with any such legislation, regulation or accord. Changes in these requirements could also cause us to undertake costly measures to redesign or modify our equipment or otherwise adversely affect the manufacturing processes of our products. Such changes could also impact operations of our suppliers and customers. In addition, we may incur material costs or liabilities in connection with other regulatory requirements applicable to our business, including, for example, state regulation of our component equipment, the accuracy of weights and measures and the maximum weight transportable on highways and roads.

As a public company, we face public and investor scrutiny related to Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG") activities. We risk damage to our brand and reputation if we fail to act responsibly or meet any commitments that we may set in a number of areas, such as diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental stewardship, including with respect to climate change, human capital management, support for our local communities, corporate governance and transparency, or fail to consider ESG factors in our business operations. Moreover, compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the pursuit of other ESG-related objectives may require us to make additional capital and operational expenditures that may have a material adverse effect on our earnings, liquidity, financial condition or competitive position.

We have completed a number of acquisitions and expect to continue to complete selected acquisitions in the future as a component of our growth strategy. In connection with acquisitions, applicable accounting standards generally require the net tangible and intangible assets of the acquired business to be recorded in the balance sheet of the acquiring company at their fair values as of the date of acquisition. As a result, any excess in the purchase price paid by us over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets of any acquired business is recorded as goodwill. Definite lived-intangible assets are required to be amortized over their estimated useful lives, and this amortization expense may be significant. If it is later determined that the anticipated future cash flows from the acquired business may be less than the carrying values of the assets and goodwill of the acquired business, the assets, including both definite-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets, or goodwill may be deemed to be impaired. If this occurs, we may be required under applicable accounting rules to write down the value of the assets or goodwill on our balance sheet to reflect the extent of any such impairment. Any such write-down of assets or goodwill would generally be recognized as a non-cash expense in our results of operations for the accounting period during which any such write down occurs. Goodwill is subject to impairment assessments at least annually (or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred). Other intangible assets are subject to impairment assessments if conditions exist that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. During the second quarter of 2024, we identified that indicators of goodwill impairment were present due to macroeconomic conditions, including declines in our publicly quoted share price and increased interest rates, as well as lower than expected operating results. These factors indicated that one or more of our reporting units may have fallen below their carrying amounts. We performed a qualitative assessment on all reporting units and concluded that a further quantitative analysis was required for the Materials Solutions reporting unit. Based on the quantitative impairment test, we determined that the carrying value of the Materials Solutions reporting unit exceeded its fair value as of June 30, 2024. As a result, we recognized a pretax non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $20.2 million in "Goodwill impairment" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations to fully impair the goodwill allocated to the Materials Solutions reporting unit. At October 1, 2024, we performed a subsequent qualitative assessment of goodwill impairment, and our testing indicated no additional impairment had occurred at any of our reporting units. A decrease in our market capitalization, profitability or negative or declining cash flows increases the risk of goodwill or other intangible asset impairments. Future impairment charges could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and shareholders' equity.

The success of our products depends on our ability to manage the risks that our products may have quality or other defects or deficiencies that result in their failure to satisfy performance or reliability requirements, including costs associated with design, manufacturing and warranties. Managing these risks can be costly and technologically challenging and we cannot determine the ultimate effect they may have. Warranty liabilities and the related reserve estimation process is highly judgmental as a result of the complex nature of these exposures and the unique circumstances of each claim. Furthermore, once claims are asserted for an alleged product defect by customers, it can be difficult to determine the level of potential exposure or liability related to such allegation or the extent to which the assertion of these claims may expand geographically. Although we maintain insurance for certain product related claims, such policies may not be available to us or adequately cover the liability for damages, the cost of repairs or the expense of litigation. Current and future claims may arise out of events or circumstances not covered by insurance and not subject to effective indemnification agreements with our subcontractors. Failure to successfully manage these challenges could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and harm our reputation.

We require access to various parts, components and raw materials at competitive prices in order to manufacture our products. Changes in the availability and price of these parts, components and raw materials (including steel) have changed significantly and rapidly at times. The availability and price of such items are affected by factors like demand, changes to international trade policies that may result in additional tariffs, duties or other charges, freight costs, global pandemics, shipping and container constraints and labor shortages and costs, each of which can significantly increase the costs of production. Increased production costs could become particularly significant if the U.S. or foreign governments impose additional tariffs, including on steel. The Trump administration recently imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, which may result in meaningfully higher steel costs and, as a result, increased production costs that we may not be able to pass onto our customers. Due to price competition in the market for construction equipment and certain infrastructure products which have longer contract to completion cycles, we may not be able to recoup increases in these costs through price increases for our products, which would result in reduced profitability. Whether increased operating costs can be passed through to the customer depends on a number of factors, including the price of competing products, the nature of our customers' orders and overall demand for our products. Further, we rely on a limited number of suppliers for steel and certain other raw materials, parts and components in the manufacturing process. Disruptions or delays in supply or significant price increases from these suppliers could adversely affect our operations and profitability, including our ability to convert our backlog and net sales. Such disruptions, terminations or cost increases could result in cost inefficiencies, delayed sales or reduced sales.

General economic downturns, including downturns in government infrastructure spending and the commercial and residential construction industries, could result in a material decrease in our revenues and operating results. Sales of our products are sensitive to the specific locations and regional economies in which they are sold in general, and in particular, changes in commercial construction spending and government infrastructure spending. In addition, many of our costs are fixed and cannot be quickly reduced in response to decreased demand. Several factors, including the following, could cause a downturn in the commercial and residential construction industries in which we operate: - a decrease in the availability of funds for construction;- declining economy domestically and internationally;- labor disputes in the construction industry causing work stoppages;- rising gas and oil prices;- rising steel prices and steel surcharges, including as a result of tariffs or other trade policies;- rising interest rates;- energy or building materials shortages;- natural disasters and inclement weather;- changes in regulations;- availability of credit for customers;- geopolitical conflicts; and - general economic and political uncertainty.

In 2024, international sales represented approximately 22.2% of our total sales as compared to 19.0% in 2023. We plan to continue increasing our already significant sales and production efforts in international markets. Both the sales from international operations and export sales are subject in varying degrees to risks inherent in doing business outside of the United States. Such risks include the possibility of unfavorable circumstances arising from host country laws or regulations and general economic and political conditions in the countries we do business, which are typically more volatile than the U.S. and more vulnerable to geopolitical conditions. In addition, the U.S. Government has established and, from time to time, revises sanctions that restrict or prohibit U.S. companies and their subsidiaries from doing business with certain foreign countries, entities and individuals. Doing business internationally also subjects us to numerous U.S. and foreign laws and regulations, including regulations relating to anti-bribery, privacy regulations and anti-boycott provisions. We incur meaningful costs complying with these laws and regulations. The continued expansion of our international operations could increase the risk of violations of these laws in the future. Significant violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could harm our reputation, disrupt our business and result in significant fines and penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

We currently maintain a broad network of distribution and manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. as well as internationally. Any widespread disruption to our facilities resulting from fire, earthquake, weather-related events (such as tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and other storms), an act of terrorism, geopolitical conflicts or any other cause could damage a significant portion of our inventory and could materially impair our ability to distribute our products to customers. Additionally, the equipment and management systems necessary for our manufacturing operations may break down, perform poorly or fail, resulting in fluctuations in manufacturing efficiencies. Moreover, we could incur significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products to our customers during the time that it takes for us to reopen or replace a damaged facility. Although we carry property and business interruption insurance, our coverage may not be adequate to compensate us for all losses that may occur. Any of these events individually or in the aggregate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, general weather patterns affect our operating results throughout the year, with adverse weather historically reducing construction activity in the first and fourth quarters in the U.S., our largest market. An increase of adverse weather events, including as a result of climate change, could generally reduce or delay construction activity, which could adversely impact our revenues.

We are exposed to risk as a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates from transactions involving foreign operations and currencies. We derive significant revenue, earnings and cash flow from operations outside of the U.S., where business operations are transacted in local currencies. Our exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations results primarily from the translation exposure associated with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, as well as from transaction exposure associated with transactions and assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the respective subsidiaries' functional currencies. While our consolidated financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars, the financial statements of our international subsidiaries are prepared using their respective functional currency and translated into U.S. dollars by applying appropriate exchange rates. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar relative to the local currencies could cause significant fluctuations in the value of our assets and liabilities, equity and operating results. Additionally, our international sales involve some level of export from the U.S., either of components or completed products. Policies and geopolitical events affecting exchange rates could adversely affect the demand for construction equipment in many areas of the world. Further, any strengthening of the U.S. dollar or any other currency of a country in which we manufacture our products and/or any weakening of local currencies can increase the cost of our products in foreign markets. Irrespective of any effect on the overall demand for construction equipment, the effect of these changes can make our products less competitive relative to local producing competitors or other non-U.S. competitors and, in extreme cases, can result in our products not being cost-effective for customers. As a result, our international sales and profit margins could decline.

We currently face strong competition in product performance, price and service. Some of our domestic and international competitors have greater financial, product development and marketing resources than we have. If competition in our industry intensifies or if our current competitors enhance their products or lower their prices for competing products, we may lose sales or be required to lower the prices we charge for our products. This may reduce revenue from our products and services, lower our gross margins or cause us to lose market share. In addition to the general competitive challenges we face, international trade policies could negatively affect the demand for our products and services and reduce our competitive position in such markets. The 2024 U.S. presidential and congressional election results may have a significant impact on U.S. domestic and global trade policies. The implementation of more restrictive trade policies, such as higher tariffs, duties or charges, in countries where we operate could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, unfavorable currency fluctuations could result in our products and services being more expensive than local competitors.

We sell equipment primarily to contractors whose demand for equipment depends greatly upon the volume of road or utility construction projects underway or to be scheduled by both government and private entities. The volume and frequency of road and utility construction projects are cyclical; therefore, demand for many of our products is cyclical. The equipment we sell is durable and typically lasts for several years, which also contributes to the cyclical nature of the demand for our products. As a result, we may experience cyclical fluctuations to our revenues and operating results. Any difficulty in managing our manufacturing workflow during downturns in demand could adversely affect our financial results.