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Bandwidth Inc (BAND)
NASDAQ:BAND
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Risk Overview Q3, 2024
Risk Distribution
36% Finance & Corporate
18% Legal & Regulatory
17% Ability to Sell
14% Tech & Innovation
8% Macro & Political
7% Production
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.
Risk Change Over Time
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Bandwidth Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q3, 2024
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 26 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 26 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
72
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
72
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
0Risks added
1Risks removed
1Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
0Risks added
1Risks removed
1Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
Number of Risk Changed
1
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 3
1
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of Bandwidth in the last period.
Risk Word Cloud
The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 72
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 26/72 (36%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights10 | 13.9%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
Substantial future sales of shares of our Class A common stock could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.The market price of our Class A common stock could decline as a result of substantial sales of our Class A common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares.
Additionally, we rely on equity-based compensation as an important tool in attracting, retaining and motivating our employees. Shares of Class A common stock issued upon the exercise of outstanding options and upon the vesting of restricted stock unit awards under our equity incentive plans, and the shares reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans, will become eligible for sale in the public market upon issuance and will result in dilution to existing holders of our Class A common stock. Certain holders of our Class A common stock have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for our stockholders or ourselves.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with those stockholders who held our capital stock prior to the completion of our initial public offering. This may limit or preclude stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters, including the election of directors, amendments to our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval.Our Class A common stock has one vote per share, and our Class B common stock has ten votes per share. Substantially all of our Class B common stock continues to be held by our current Chairman and CEO, David Morken, and our co-Founder Henry Kaestner. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B and Class A common stock, these holders of our Class B common stock collectively control approximately 45% of the combined voting power of our common stock and therefore would be able to exert significant influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval. This concentrated voting control limits or precludes stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future, including the election of directors, amendments to our organizational documents, and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval. In addition, this may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our capital stock that stockholders may feel are in their best interest as one of our stockholders.
Future transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning purposes. The conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
We cannot predict the impact our capital structure may have on our stock price.In July 2017, S&P Dow Jones, a provider of widely followed stock indices, announced that companies with multiple share classes, such as ours, will not be eligible for inclusion in certain of their indices. As a result, our Class A common stock will likely not be eligible for these stock indices. Many investment funds are precluded from investing in companies that are not included in such indices, and these funds would be unable to purchase our Class A common stock if we were not included in such indices. We cannot assure you that other stock indices will not take a similar approach to S&P Dow Jones in the future. Exclusion from indices could make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors and, as a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
In addition, several stockholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our common stock may cause stockholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any actions or publications by stockholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of our Class A common stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
We are effectively controlled by David A. Morken, our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, whose interests may differ from other stockholders.Mr. Morken has the ability to effectively control the appointment of our management, the entering into of mergers, sales of substantially all or all of our assets and other extraordinary transactions and influence amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. In any of these matters, the interests of Mr. Morken may differ from or conflict with your interests. Moreover, this concentration of ownership may also adversely affect the trading price for our Class A common stock to the extent investors perceive disadvantages in owning stock of a company with a controlling stockholder.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
If securities or industry analysts cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our Class A common stock adversely, the trading price of our Class A common stock and trading volume could decline.The trading market for our Class A common stock is influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our Class A common stock in an adverse manner, or provide more favorable recommendations about our competitors relative to us, the trading price of our Class A common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who covers us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the trading price of our Class A common stock or trading volume to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
Anti-takeover provisions contained in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and third amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, third amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions which could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Among other things, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and third amended and restated bylaws include provisions:
- authorizing "blank check" preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our Class A and Class B common stock;- limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;- limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings;- providing for a dual class common stock structure in which holders of our Class B common stock have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if they own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets;- providing that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms;- prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;- requiring super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and third amended and restated bylaws;- requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; and - controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of board of directors and stockholder meetings.
These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.
As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents certain stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding common stock not held by such 15% or greater stockholder.
Any provision of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, third amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our Class A common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Class A common stock.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our third amended and restated bylaws include super-majority voting provisions that will limit your ability to influence corporate matters.Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our third amended and restated bylaws include provisions that require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote to effect certain changes. These changes include amending or repealing our third amended and restated bylaws or second amended and restated certificate of incorporation or removing a director from office for cause. If all or substantially all of the holders of our Class B common stock convert their shares into Class A common stock voluntarily or otherwise, Mr. Morken may control the majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock, and therefore he may have the ability to prevent any such changes, which will limit a stockholder's ability to influence corporate matters.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
Our third amended and restated bylaws provide, subject to certain exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.Our third amended and restated bylaws provide, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or stockholder to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; or (iv) any action arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our third amended and restated bylaws. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, which provides for exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts. It could apply, however, to a suit that asserts claims under the Securities Act and falls within one or more of the categories enumerated in our choice of forum provision, inasmuch as Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision with respect to claims under the Securities Act, and our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Our choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. While Delaware courts have determined that choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than that designated in our exclusive forum provision. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provision of our third amended and restated bylaws. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our third amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
If a large number of shares of our Class A common stock is sold in the public market, the sales could reduce the trading price of our Class A common stock and impede our ability to raise future capital.We cannot predict what effect, if any, future issuances by us of our Class A common stock will have on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, shares of our Class A common stock that we issue in connection with an acquisition may not be subject to resale restrictions. The market price of our Class A common stock could drop significantly if certain large holders of our Class A common stock, or recipients of our Class A common stock in connection with an acquisition, sell all or a significant portion of their shares of Class A common stock or are perceived by the market as intending to sell these shares other than in an orderly manner. In addition, these sales could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional Class A common stock in the capital markets.
Accounting & Financial Operations5 | 6.9%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect, our results of operations could be adversely affected.The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our condensed consolidated financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, capitalized internal-use software costs, other non-income taxes, business combination and valuation of goodwill and purchased intangible assets and share-based compensation. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the trading price of our Class A common stock.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act"), and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of the NASDAQ Global Select Market. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Our disclosure controls and other procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers, and we continue to evaluate how to improve controls. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting. In order to develop, maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight.
Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our consolidated financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could cause a decline in the trading price of our Class A common stock.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.We review our intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at least annually. An adverse change in market conditions, particularly if such change has the effect of changing one of our critical assumptions or estimates, could result in a change to the estimation of fair value that could result in an impairment charge to our goodwill or intangible assets. Any such charges may adversely affect our results of operations.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
If we are unable to increase the revenue that we derive from enterprises, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.Our ability to expand our sales to enterprise customers will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively organize, focus and train our sales and marketing personnel and to attract and retain sales personnel with experience selling to enterprises. We believe there is significant competition for experienced sales professionals with the skills and technical knowledge our business requires. Our ability to achieve significant revenue growth in the future will depend, in part, on our ability to recruit, train and retain a sufficient number of experienced sales professionals, particularly those with experience selling to enterprises. In addition, even if we are successful in hiring qualified sales personnel, new hires require significant training and experience before they achieve full productivity, particularly for sales efforts targeted at enterprises and new territories. Our recent hires and planned hires may not become as productive as quickly as we expect and we may be unable to hire or retain sufficient numbers of qualified individuals in the future in the markets where we do business.
The sales cycle for typical enterprise customers is lengthy and complex. The adoption and implementation of our enterprise service offerings are often considered a strategic purchasing decision, and may require the approval of multiple executive-level technical and business decision makers, including security, compliance, procurement, operations and IT. In addition, enterprise customers often require extensive education about our services and significant customer support time, engage in protracted pricing negotiations, and seek to secure readily available development resources. Enterprise customers may also require deployment of our services on a limited basis prior to making a commitment to deploy our services more broadly over a contracted period of time. These complex and resource-intensive sales efforts could place outsized strain on our limited product and engineering resources.
Further, enterprise customers, including some of our customers, may choose to develop their own solutions in-house that do not include our services. They also may demand reductions in pricing as their usage of our services increases, which could have an adverse impact on our gross margin. We may not be successful in our efforts to grow our enterprise customer base, and if we are unable to increase the revenue we derive from enterprises, then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Debt & Financing8 | 11.1%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
Nearly all of our operating cash is maintained in deposit accounts with various financial institutions and is not insured by the FDIC.Changed
Debt & Financing - Risk 2
Servicing our debt requires a significant amount of cash, and our business may not generate sufficient cash flow to repay our indebtedness.Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance the Convertible Notes depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our debt and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt or obtaining additional debt financing or equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations. In addition, any of our future debt agreements may contain restrictive covenants that may prohibit us from adopting any of these alternatives. Our failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of our indebtedness.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
We may incur substantially more debt or take other actions which would intensify the risks discussed above.We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional debt in the future, some of which may be secured debt. We will not be restricted under the terms of the indentures governing the Convertible Notes from incurring additional debt, securing existing or future debt, recapitalizing our debt or taking a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the indentures governing the Convertible Notes that could have the effect of diminishing our ability to make payments on the Convertible Notes when due.
Debt & Financing - Risk 4
We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary for cash settlement upon conversion of the Convertible Notes or to repurchase the Convertible Notes for cash following a fundamental change, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion of the Convertible Notes or to repurchase the Convertible Notes.Subject to limited exceptions, holders of the Convertible Notes have the right to require us to repurchase their Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a cash repurchase price generally equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our Class A common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Convertible Notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of Convertible Notes surrendered therefor or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion. In addition, our ability to repurchase the Convertible Notes or to pay cash upon conversions of the Convertible Notes may be limited by applicable law, by regulatory authorities or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase the Convertible Notes at a time when such repurchase is required by the indentures governing the Convertible Notes or to pay the cash amounts due upon future conversions of the Convertible Notes as required by such indentures would constitute a default under such indentures. A default under the indentures governing the Convertible Notes or the fundamental change itself may also lead to a default under agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness, which may result in such existing or future indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full. We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy all amounts due under such existing or future indebtedness and repurchase the Convertible Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof.
Debt & Financing - Risk 5
The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes is triggered, holders of Convertible Notes will be entitled to convert the Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option as described in the indentures governing the Convertible Notes. If one or more holders elect to convert their Convertible Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our Class A common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Convertible Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
Debt & Financing - Risk 6
The Capped Calls may affect the value of the Convertible Notes and our Class A common stock.In connection with the pricing of our 0.25% Convertible Notes due March 1, 2026 (the "2026 Convertible Notes") and 0.50% Convertible Notes due April 1, 2028 (the "2028 Convertible Notes" and, together with the 2026 Convertible Notes, the "Convertible Notes"), we entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions (the "2026 Capped Calls" and the "2028 Capped Calls," respectively and, collectively, the "Capped Calls") with certain financial institutions (the "option counterparties"). The Capped Calls are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon any conversion of the Convertible Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Convertible Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.
We have been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedges of the Capped Calls, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our Class A common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the Convertible Notes.
In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our Class A common stock and/or purchasing or selling our Class A common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions from time to time prior to the maturity of the Convertible Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of Convertible Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our Class A common stock or the Convertible Notes, which could affect your ability to convert the Convertible Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of Convertible Notes, it could affect the number of shares and value of the consideration that you will receive upon conversion of such Convertible Notes.
We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Convertible Notes or our Class A common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the option counterparties will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Debt & Financing - Risk 7
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the Capped Calls.The option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that any or all of them might default under the Capped Calls. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Past global economic conditions have resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under the capped call transactions with such option counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and in the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our Class A common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.
Debt & Financing - Risk 8
We may need additional capital in the future and such capital may be limited or unavailable. Failure to raise capital when needed could prevent us from growing in accordance with our plans.We may require more capital in the future from equity or debt financings to fund our operations, finance investments in equipment and infrastructure, acquire complementary businesses and technologies, and respond to competitive pressures and potential strategic opportunities. If we are required to raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or other securities convertible into equity, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new shares we issue could have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of the holders of our Class A common stock. The additional capital we may seek may not be available on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain capital on favorable terms or at all, we may have to reduce our operations or forego opportunities, and this may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth3 | 4.2%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
We may acquire or invest in companies, which may divert our management's attention and result in debt or dilution to our stockholders. We may not be able to efficiently and effectively integrate acquired operations, and thus may not fully realize the anticipated benefits from such acquisitions.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
Our future growth and the success of our expansion plans depend on a number of factors that are beyond our control.We have grown our business considerably since inception, and cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain or choose to target the same pace of growth in the future. Our success in achieving continued growth depends upon several factors including:
- our ability to hire and retain qualified and effective personnel, including, but not limited to, those with the expertise required to develop and maintain our service offerings, to sell those offerings and to operate our business effectively;- the overall economic health of new and existing markets;- the number and effectiveness of competitors;- the pricing structure under which we will be able to purchase services required to serve our customers;- our ability to successfully introduce new service offerings and maintain or enhance existing offerings;- the availability to us of technologies needed to remain competitive;- federal, state and international regulatory conditions, including the maintenance of regulation that protects us from unfair business practices by traditional network service providers or others with greater market power who have relationships with us as both competitors and suppliers; and - changes in industry standards, laws, regulations, or regulatory enforcement in the United States and internationally.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
As we continue to expand geographically and otherwise, we may experience difficulties in maintaining our corporate culture, operational infrastructure and management, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.We have experienced substantial expansion in our business, including internationally through our acquisition of Voxbone in late 2020. We believe that our corporate culture has been a critical component of our success. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our team and nurturing our culture. As we further expand our business and continue to grow internationally, we may find it difficult to maintain our corporate culture. Any failure to manage organizational changes in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our culture could hurt our chance for future success, including our ability to recruit and retain personnel, and effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. This, in turn, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our organizational structure has become more complex. In order to manage these increasing complexities, we will need to continue to scale and adapt our operational, financial and management controls, and our reporting systems and procedures. The expansion of our systems and infrastructure will require us to commit substantial financial, operational and management resources before our revenue increases and without any assurances that our revenue will increase.
This expansion could strain our ability to maintain reliable service levels for our customers. If we fail to achieve the necessary level of efficiency in our organization as we grow, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 13/72 (18%)Below Sector Average
Regulation5 | 6.9%
Regulation - Risk 1
We may be exposed to liabilities under anti-corruption, export control and economic sanction regulations, and similar laws and regulations, and any determination that we violated any of these laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.Regulation - Risk 2
The communications industry faces significant regulatory uncertainties and the resolution of these uncertainties could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.If current or future regulations change, the Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC"), state regulators or regulators in other jurisdictions may not grant us required regulatory authorizations or may take action against us if we are found to have provided services without obtaining the necessary authorizations, or to have violated other requirements of their rules and orders. Delays in receiving required regulatory approvals or the enactment of new adverse regulation or regulatory requirements may slow our growth and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Proceedings before the FCC or regulators from international jurisdictions could limit our access to various network services or further increase the rates we must pay for such services. For example, proceedings before the FCC could result in an increase in the amount we pay to other carriers or a reduction in the revenue we derive from other carriers in, or retroactive liability for, access charges and reciprocal compensation. On December 17, 2019, the FCC issued an order that revised its interpretation of the Voice-over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") symmetry rule. The FCC now concludes that LECs may assess end office switched access charges only if the LEC or its VoIP partner provides a physical connection to the last-mile facilities used to serve an end user. If neither the LEC nor its VoIP partner provides such a physical connection, the LEC may not assess end office switched access charges. The FCC also decided to give its order retroactive effect. We cannot predict the impact this FCC order may have on our business, including whether other carriers will agree with our legal interpretations and treatments, at this time. Other proceedings before the FCC could also result in increases in the cost of regulatory compliance. For example, the FCC continues to examine how to improve the delivery of emergency 911 services and whether to expand requirements to include communications services not currently subject to emergency calling obligations. A number of states also have proceedings pending that could impact our access to and the rates we pay for network services. Other state proceedings could limit our pricing and billing flexibility. Our business would be substantially impaired if the FCC, the courts, state commissions, or interconnected carriers eliminated our access to the facilities and services we use to serve our customers, substantially increased the rates we pay for facilities and services, increased the costs or complexity associated with providing emergency 911 services or adversely affected the revenue we receive from other carriers or our customers. In addition, congressional legislative efforts to rewrite the Telecommunications Act of 1996 or enact other telecommunications legislation such as the TRACED Act, as well as various state legislative initiatives, may cause major industry and regulatory changes. We cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings or legislative initiatives or the effects, if any, that these proceedings or legislative initiatives may have on our business and operations.
While we believe we comply in all material respects with all material federal, state, local and international rules and regulations, these regulations are subject to interpretation and the relevant regulators may determine that our application of these rules and regulations is not consistent with their interpretation. Additionally, third parties or government agencies may bring action with federal, state, local or international regulators if they believe a provider has breached applicable rules and regulations.
Regulation - Risk 3
The effects of increased regulation of IP-based service providers are unknown.While the FCC has generally subjected IP-based service providers in the United States to less stringent regulatory oversight than traditional common carriers, the FCC has imposed certain regulatory obligations on providers of interconnected and non-interconnected VoIP services, including the obligations to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, to provide 911 services, and to comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. The TRACED Act aims to mitigate illegal robocalls by directing the FCC to conduct certain rulemaking proceedings that include adopting rules that require participation in the technical standard known as STIR/SHAKEN, among other requirements. For large carriers operating in the United States, IP-based network equipment and the IP services that operate on such equipment were required to support the STIR/SHAKEN framework as of June 30, 2021. We previously reported that we had a small subset of services and customer accounts that operated on legacy IP equipment that was not STIR/SHAKEN capable prior to the prescribed deadline; however, that equipment was retired in 2022 and we are currently in compliance with STIR/SHAKEN requirements. While additional countries have adopted or are expected to adopt the STIR/SHAKEN framework, other countries may seek to impose alternative regulatory obligations in an effort to mitigate illegal robocalling.
Noncompliance with applicable FCC, FTC, state public utility corporations, or other regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, enforcement actions, fines, consent decrees or other collateral consequences. If any governmental sanctions or fines are imposed, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In addition, responding to any governmental action will likely result in a diversion of management's attention and resources and an increase in professional fees.
Regulation - Risk 4
Our operations are subject to significant regulation and require us to obtain and maintain numerous governmental licenses and permits in the United States and internationally. If we fail to obtain and maintain those licenses and permits, we may not be able to conduct our business. Moreover, changes in regulatory requirements could significantly increase our costs or otherwise adversely affect our operations.In the ordinary course of operating our network and providing our services, we must obtain and maintain a variety of telecommunications and other licenses, permits and authorizations. We also must comply with a variety of ongoing regulatory obligations. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the licenses and permits needed to operate and expand our network on acceptable terms and on a timely basis, our business could be materially adversely affected. In addition, the cancellation or non-renewal of the licenses or permits we hold could materially adversely affect our business. Our failure to comply with the obligations imposed upon license and permit holders, including the payment of fees, may cause sanctions or additional costs, including the revocation of authority to provide services.
Our operations are subject to regulation at the country, state and local levels. Changes to existing regulations or rules, or the failure of regulatory agencies to regulate in areas historically regulated on matters such as network neutrality, licensing fees, environmental, health and safety, privacy, intercarrier compensation, emergency services, interconnection, illegal robocalling, extraterritorial use of telephone numbers, and other areas, in general or particular to our industry, may increase uncertainty, increase costs, restrict operations or decrease revenue.
Our inability or failure to comply with telecommunications and other laws and regulations could cause the temporary or permanent suspension of our operations. For example, we have received correspondence from the FCC relating to traffic transmitted by us as a gateway provider on behalf of overseas providers. Under FCC rules, gateway providers must take reasonable and effective steps to ensure that any foreign originating or intermediate providers are not using a gateway provider to carry or process a high volume of illegal traffic onto U.S. networks. Any failure to abide by these rules may result in enforcement action, up to and including an order from the FCC directing voice providers to block traffic from an identified gateway provider.
In addition, if we cannot provide emergency calling functionality through our communications platform to meet any applicable federal, state or international requirements, the competitive advantages that we have may not persist, adversely affecting our ability to obtain and to retain enterprise customers which could have an adverse impact on our business.
We are subject to communications laws and regulations in the non-U.S. countries where we offer our services. Numerous country-specific laws and governmental regulations apply to our business and may increase our costs, impact our products and communications platform or prevent us from offering or providing our products in certain countries. Many existing non-U.S. laws and regulations may not fully contemplate CPaaS solutions and the interpretation and enforcement of non-U.S. laws and regulations may involve significant uncertainties. For example, several European countries have adopted "know your customer" requirements regarding end users and have mandated the real-time provisioning of data to national law enforcement authorities' systems.
Regulation - Risk 5
Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations, commercial standards, contractual obligations and other requirements related to information collection.We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, contractual commitments and industry standards that create obligations and impose restrictions with respect to the collection, storage, retention, use, processing, transmission, sharing, disclosure and protection of personal data and other customer data, including "customer proprietary network information" as defined in applicable U.S. laws. We must comply with these obligations and restrictions and may be subject to significant consequences, including penalties and fines, if we fail to comply. These obligations and restrictions continue to develop and evolve rapidly, and it is possible that we may not be, or may not have been, compliant with each such obligation and restriction.
The complexity and evolving nature of these obligations and restrictions subject us to the risk of differing interpretations, inconsistency or conflicts among countries or rules, and creates uncertainty regarding their application to our business. Uncertainty and changes in the requirements of multiple jurisdictions may increase the cost of compliance, delay or reduce demand for our services, restrict our ability to offer services in certain locations, impact our customers' ability to utilize our services in certain jurisdictions, or subject us to sanctions by national data protection regulators, all of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
These obligations and restrictions may limit our ability to collect, store, process, use, transmit and share data with our customers, employees, consultants and third-party providers, which may result in our inability in certain cases to provide services to our customers or to offer a global customer experience. These obligations may also limit the ability of our customers to collect, store, retain, protect, use, process, transmit, share and disclose data with others through our services. Compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such obligations and restrictions could increase the cost of our operations and adversely impact our business.
Any failure to comply with these obligations and restrictions or our own posted privacy policies and notices, or any security incident that results in a personal data breach or the unauthorized access to, or the acquisition, release or transfer of, other customer data, could subject us to investigations, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, lawsuits, fines, criminal penalties, statutory damages, consent decrees, injunctions, adverse publicity, contractual liability, civil liabilities, loss of customer confidence, damage to our brand and reputation or a loss of customers, any of which could materially harm our business.
If we were to suffer or if one of our customers or vendors were to suffer a personal data breach or other security incident, we may be subject to the jurisdiction of a variety of governmental agencies. We may have to comply with a variety of data breach requirements at the national and state levels in the United States and in other countries, comply with any resulting investigations, as well as offer mitigation to customers and potential end users of certain customers to which we provide services. We could also be subject to fines, forfeitures and other penalties that may adversely impact our business.
From time to time, various federal, state and foreign legislative or regulatory bodies may enact new or additional laws and regulations concerning data-protection issues. For example, certain laws or regulations may mandate disclosure of customer information to domestic or international law enforcement bodies, which could adversely impact our business, our brand or our reputation with customers and may not always provide a level of protection for such information that is required by other laws or regulations. In other cases, some countries may limit the transfer of personal data or require that that personal data regarding customers in their country be maintained solely in their country. Having to maintain local data centers and redesign product, service and business operations to limit the processing of personal data to within individual countries could increase our operating costs significantly.
Additionally, some of our third-party vendors may have access to customer, end user or employee data. If these third-party vendors violate obligations and restrictions related to applicable data protection laws or our policies or contractual commitments, such violations may also put us, or data relating to our customers, end users or employees, at risk and could in turn have a material and adverse effect on our business.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities3 | 4.2%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
We face a risk of litigation and/or regulatory enforcement actions resulting from customer or end user misuse of our services and software to make or send unauthorized and/or unsolicited calls and/or messages, including those in violation of the TCPA, the TSR, and other state and federal laws. Customer or end user misuse of our services and software also could damage our reputation.Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
We are also subject to litigation in the ordinary course of business, and uninsured judgments or a rise in insurance premiums may adversely affect our results of operations.In the ordinary course of business, we are subject to various claims and litigation. Any such claims, regardless of merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to defend and could divert management's attention and resources. In accordance with customary practice, we maintain insurance against some, but not all, of these potential claims. We may elect not to obtain insurance if we believe that the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the risks presented. The levels of insurance we maintain may not be adequate to fully cover any and all losses or liabilities. Further, we may not be able to maintain insurance at commercially acceptable premium levels or at all. If any significant judgment, claim (or a series of claims), a settlement or other event is not fully insured or indemnified against, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance as to the actual amount of these liabilities or the timing thereof. We cannot be certain that the outcome of current or future litigation will not have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations. See "Part II, Item 1. Legal Proceedings," in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 3
We may be liable for the information that content owners or distributors distribute over our network.The law relating to the liability of private network operators for information carried on or disseminated through their networks remains unsettled. While we disclaim any liability for third-party content in our services agreements, we may become subject to legal claims relating to the content disseminated on our network, even though such content is owned or distributed by our customers or a customer of our customers. For example, lawsuits may be brought against us claiming that material distributed using our network was inaccurate, offensive or violated the law or the rights of others. Claims could also involve matters such as defamation, invasion of privacy and copyright infringement. In addition, the law remains unclear over whether content may be distributed from one jurisdiction, where the content is legal, into another jurisdiction, where it is not. Companies operating private networks have been sued in the past, sometimes successfully, based on the nature of material distributed, even if the content is not owned by the network operator and the network operator has no knowledge of the content or its legality. It is not practical for us to monitor all of the content distributed using our network. We may need to take costly measures to reduce our exposure to these risks or to defend ourselves against such claims, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Taxation & Government Incentives5 | 6.9%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
We are currently subject to litigation related to taxes and charges associated with our provision of 911 services, which could divert management's attention and adversely affect our results of operations.Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
We could be subject to additional tax liabilities for historic and future sales, use and similar taxes, which could adversely affect our results of operations.We conduct operations in many tax jurisdictions throughout the United States and internationally. In many of these jurisdictions, non-income-based taxes such as sales, use and telecommunications taxes, including those associated with (or potentially associated with) VoIP telephony services or 911 services, are or may be assessed on our operations. We also face exposure to other non-income-based international taxes such as value added taxes that are or may be assessed on our operations. The systems and procedures necessary to comply in these jurisdictions are complex to develop and challenging to implement. Additionally, we rely heavily on third parties to provide us with key software and services for compliance. If these third parties cease to provide those services to us for any reason, or fail to perform services accurately and completely, we may not be able to accurately bill, collect or remit applicable non-income-based taxes. Historically, we have not billed or collected certain of these taxes and, in accordance with GAAP, we have recorded a provision for our tax exposure in these jurisdictions when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the exposure can be reasonably estimated. These estimates include several key assumptions including, but not limited to, the taxability of our services, the jurisdictions in which we believe we have nexus, and the sourcing of revenue to those jurisdictions. In the event these jurisdictions challenge our assumptions and analysis, our actual exposure could differ materially from our current estimates.
Taxing authorities also may periodically perform audits to verify compliance and include all periods that remain open under applicable law, which customarily range from three to four years. At any point in time, we may undergo audits that could result in significant assessments of past taxes, fines and interest if we were found to be non-compliant. During the course of an audit, a taxing authority may, as a matter of policy, question our interpretation and/or application of their rules in a manner that, if we were not successful in substantiating our position, could potentially result in a significant financial impact to us.
Furthermore, certain jurisdictions in which we do not collect sales, use and similar taxes may assert that such taxes are applicable, which could result in tax assessments, penalties and interest, and we may be required to collect such taxes in the future. Such tax assessments, penalties and interest or future requirements may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 3
Our global operations and legal entity structure subject us to potentially adverse income tax consequences.We conduct our international operations through subsidiaries and report our taxable income in various jurisdictions worldwide based upon our business operations in those jurisdictions. Our intercompany relationships are subject to complex transfer pricing regulations administered by taxing authorities in various jurisdictions. Also, our tax expense could be affected depending on the applicability of withholding and other taxes under the tax laws of certain jurisdictions in which we have business operations. The relevant revenue and taxing authorities may disagree with positions we have taken generally, or our determinations as to income and expenses attributable to specific jurisdictions. If such a disagreement were to occur, and our position were not sustained, we could be required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties, which could result in additional tax charges, higher effective tax rates, reduced cash flows and lower overall profitability of our operations.
We are unable to predict what global or U.S. tax reforms may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effects such future changes would have on our business. Any such changes in tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices in the jurisdictions in which we operate could increase the estimated tax liability that we have expensed to date and paid or accrued on our balance sheet; affect our financial position, future results of operations, cash flows, and effective tax rates where we have operations; reduce post-tax returns to our stockholders; and increase the complexity, burden, and cost of tax compliance. We are subject to potential changes in relevant tax, accounting, and other laws, regulations, and interpretations, including changes to tax laws applicable to corporate multinationals.
Certain government agencies in jurisdictions where we and our affiliates do business have had an extended focus on issues related to the taxation of multinational companies. For example, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the "OECD") is conducting a project focused on base erosion and profit shifting in international structures, which seeks to establish certain international standards for taxing the worldwide income of multinational companies. In addition, the OECD is working on a "BEPS 2.0" initiative, which is aimed at (i) shifting taxing rights to the jurisdiction of the consumer and (ii) ensuring all companies pay a global minimum tax. On October 8, 2021, the OECD announced an agreement by members of the Inclusive Framework delineating an implementation plan, and on December 20, 2021, the OECD released model rules for the domestic implementation of a 15% global minimum tax. Further, several countries have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to digital services, which could apply to our business. As a result of these developments, the tax laws of certain countries in which we and our affiliates do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could increase our liabilities for taxes, interest and penalties, and therefore could harm our business, cash flows, results of operations and financial position.
The governments of countries in which we operate and other governmental bodies could make unprecedented assertions about how taxation is determined in their jurisdictions that are contrary to the way in which we have interpreted and historically applied the rules and regulations in our tax returns filed in such jurisdictions. New laws could significantly increase our tax obligations in the countries in which we do business or require us to change the way we operate our business. As a result of the large and expanding scale of our international business activities, many of these changes to the taxation of our activities could adversely impact our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 4
Our ability to use our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.The future utilization of our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards (collectively, "Tax Attributes") may be limited due to changes in ownership as defined under Section 382 of the Code. In general, if we experience a greater than 50% aggregate change in ownership of certain significant stockholders or groups over a three-year period, utilization of our pre-change Tax Attributes is subject to an annual limitation under Section 382 of the Code (and similar state laws). The annual limitation generally is determined by multiplying the value of our stock at the time of such ownership change (subject to certain adjustments) by the applicable long-term tax-exempt rate. Such limitations may result in expiration of a portion of the pre-change Tax Attributes before utilization and may be substantial. In the past we may have experienced, and in the future may experience, ownership changes as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change Tax Attributes to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 5
We may be subject to significant U.S. federal income tax-related liabilities and indemnity obligations if there is a determination that the Spin-Off is taxable for U.S. federal income tax purposes.We may be subject to significant U.S. federal income tax-related liabilities with respect to our prior distribution of all of the issued and outstanding shares of the common stock of Relay, Inc. (f/k/a Republic Wireless, Inc.) ("Relay"), our former subsidiary, to our stockholders as of and on November 30, 2016 (the "Spin-Off"), if there is a determination that the Spin-Off is taxable for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In that regard, even if the Spin-Off otherwise qualified as a tax-free transaction to us and our stockholders under Section 355, Section 368(a)(1)(D) and related provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") at the time of the Spin-Off, we would be subject to corporate-level taxable gain under Section 355(e) of the Code ("Section 355(e)") if there was a 50% or greater change in ownership, by vote or value, of shares of our stock or Relay's stock that occurred after the Spin-Off as part of a plan or series of related transactions that included the Spin-Off. For purposes of Section 355(e), any acquisitions or issuances of our stock, including pursuant to our initial public offering and pursuant to the reorganizations undertaken and arrangements entered into in connection with our initial public offering, or Relay's stock, in each case, that occurred within two years after the Spin-Off are generally presumed to be part of a plan or series of related transactions with respect to the Spin-Off.
In connection with the Spin-Off, we received an opinion from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP substantially to the effect that, among other things, the Spin-Off should qualify as a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 355 and Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code. In addition, in light of the implications that would arise for us if Section 355(e) applied to the Spin-Off, we received an opinion from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in connection with our initial public offering substantially to the effect that (i) as of the date of the initial public offering, we would not be required to recognize gain with respect to the Spin-Off pursuant to Section 355(e), and (ii) any increases in voting power attributable to conversions of our Class B common stock to Class A common stock by those who held our Class B common stock as of the date of the initial public offering would not cause us to recognize gain with respect to the Spin-Off pursuant to Section 355(e) (together with the opinion from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP with respect to the Spin-Off, the "Tax Opinions"). Neither of the Tax Opinions is binding on the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or the courts, however, and the IRS or the courts may not agree with the conclusions reached in the Tax Opinions. Moreover, the Tax Opinions were based upon, among other things, the laws in effect at the time of each of the Tax Opinions and certain assumptions and representations as to factual matters made by us. Any change in applicable law, which may be retroactive, or the failure of any such assumptions or representations to be true, could adversely affect the validity of the conclusions reached in the Tax Opinions.
If the conclusions of the Tax Opinions are not correct, or if the Spin-Off is otherwise ultimately determined to be a taxable transaction, we would be liable for significant U.S. federal income tax related liabilities. In addition, pursuant to the Tax Sharing Agreement, dated November 30, 2016, between us and Relay (the "Tax Sharing Agreement"), we must generally indemnify Relay for any taxes or losses incurred by it (or its respective subsidiaries) resulting from the Spin-Off failing to qualify as a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes (including due to the application of Section 355(e)) as a result of subsequent actions we take or fail to take. The amount of any indemnity obligations we may have under the Tax Sharing Agreement in such case may be material.
Even if Section 355(e) does not apply to the Spin-Off as of the date of our initial public offering or as a result of an increase in voting power attributable to conversions of our Class B common stock by those who held such stock as of our initial public offering, subsequent acquisitions or issuances of our stock could be treated as part of a plan or series of related transactions with respect to the Spin-Off. Accordingly, in light of the requirements of Section 355(e), we might forego share repurchases, stock issuances and other strategic transactions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is possible that we, Relay or the holders of our respective stock might inadvertently cause, permit or otherwise not prevent a change in the ownership of our stock or Relay's stock to occur, which would cause Section 355(e) to apply to the Spin-Off, thereby triggering significant U.S. federal income tax-related liabilities and indemnity obligations under the Tax Sharing Agreement of approximately $50 million. This approximation is based on our current expectations and the tax laws in effect as of our initial public offering. However, we cannot provide any assurance that this estimate will prove to be accurate in the event that Section 355(e) were to apply.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 12/72 (17%)Below Sector Average
Competition1 | 1.4%
Competition - Risk 1
The market in which we participate is highly competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.Demand3 | 4.2%
Demand - Risk 1
Our ability to realize our goals for anticipated revenue growth, cash flow and operating performance depends on customers increasing their use of our services, and any loss of customers or decline in their use of our services could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.Demand - Risk 2
Some of our revenue is concentrated in a limited number of customers.A significant portion of our revenue is concentrated among a limited number of customers. If we lost one or more of our top ten customers, or, if one or more of these major customers significantly decreased orders for our services, our business would be materially and adversely affected.
Demand - Risk 3
If our customers or their end users do not accept the differences between our service and traditional telephone service, they may choose to remain with their current telephone service provider or may choose to return to service provided by traditional network service providers.Aspects of our services based on VoIP, including our communications platform, are not the same as traditional network service providers. Our continued growth is dependent on the adoption of our services by mainstream customers and their end users, so these differences are important. For example:
- Our 911 calling and other emergency calling services are different, in significant respects, from the 911 and other emergency calling services associated with traditional wireline and wireless telephone providers and, in certain cases, with other VoIP providers.
- In the event of a power loss or Internet access interruption experienced by a customer, our service may be interrupted.
- Our customers' end users may experience lower call quality than they are used to from traditional wireline or wireless telephone companies, including static, echoes and delays in transmissions.
- Our customers' end users may not be able to call premium-rate telephone numbers such as 1-900 numbers and 976 numbers.
Sales & Marketing7 | 9.7%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
Third parties may fraudulently use our name to obtain access to customer accounts and other personal information, use our services to commit fraud or steal our services, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth or cause us to incur additional expenses.Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
Our business could suffer if we cannot obtain or retain local or toll-free numbers, are prohibited from obtaining local or toll-free numbers, or are limited to distributing local or toll-free numbers to only certain customers.Our future success depends on our ability to procure large quantities of local and toll-free numbers to meet customer demands at reasonable cost and without undue restrictions. Our ability to procure and distribute numbers depends on factors outside of our control, such as regulations, the practices of the communications carriers that provide numbers to us in certain jurisdictions, the cost of obtaining and managing numbers and the level of demand for new numbers. Due to their limited availability, there are certain popular area code prefixes and specialized numbers that we may not be able to obtain in desired quantities. Our inability to acquire or retain numbers would make our services, including our communications platform, less attractive to potential customers that desire assignments of particular numbering resources. In addition, future growth of our customer base, together with growth of customer bases of other providers of communications services, has increased, which increases our dependence on needing large quantities of local and toll-free numbers associated with desirable area codes or specific toll-free numbering resources at a reasonable cost and without undue restriction. If we are not able to obtain or retain adequate local and toll-free numbers, or attractive subsets of such resources, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, in order to procure, distribute and retain telephone numbers in certain foreign jurisdictions, we will be required to register with the local telecommunications regulatory authorities, some of which have been increasingly monitoring and regulating the categories of phone numbers that are eligible for provisioning to our customers, including geographical, regional, local and toll-free phone numbers. We have obtained licenses or are obtaining licenses in various countries in which we do business, but in some countries, the regulatory regime around provisioning of phone numbers is unclear, subject to change, and may conflict from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Furthermore, these regulations and governments' approach to their enforcement, as well as our products and services, are evolving and we may be unable to maintain compliance with applicable regulations, or enforce compliance by our customers, on a timely basis or without significant cost. Also, compliance with these regulations may require changes in products or business practices that result in reduced revenue. If we or our customers use or assign phone numbers in these countries in a manner that violates applicable rules and regulations, we may also be subject to significant penalties or governmental action, including government-initiated audits and, in extreme cases, may be precluded from doing business in that particular country. In the event of non-compliance, we may be forced to reclaim phone numbers from our customers, which could result in loss of customers, breach of contract claims,loss of revenue and reputational harm, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
Any failure to deliver and maintain high-quality customer support may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and prospective customers, and could adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.Many of our customers depend on our customer support team to help them deploy or use our services effectively, to help them resolve post-deployment issues quickly and to provide ongoing support. If we do not devote sufficient resources to, or are otherwise unsuccessful in, assisting our customers effectively, it could adversely affect our ability to retain existing customers and could prevent prospective customers from adopting our services. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in demand for customer support. We also may be unable to modify the nature, scope and delivery of our customer support to compete with changes in the support services provided by our competitors. Increased demand for customer support, without corresponding revenue, could increase costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our sales are highly dependent on our business reputation and on positive recommendations from existing customers. Any failure to deliver and maintain high-quality customer support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality customer support, could adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
Our pricing and billing systems are complex, and errors could adversely affect our results of operations.Our pricing and billing systems are complex to develop and challenging to implement. To be profitable, we must have accurate and complete information about the costs associated with voice and messaging, and properly incorporate such information into our pricing model. Our pricing model must also reflect accurate and current information about the market for our services, including the pricing of competitive alternatives for our services, as well as reliable forecasts of traffic volume. We may determine pricing for our services based on data that is outdated or otherwise flawed. Even if we have complete and accurate market information, we may not set prices that optimize both revenue and profitability. If we price our services too high, the amount of traffic that our customers may route to our network may decrease and accordingly our revenue may decline. If we price our services too low, our margins may be adversely affected, which will reduce our ability to achieve and maintain profitability.
Additionally, we rely on third parties to provide us with key software and services for our billing. If these third parties cease to provide those services to us for any reason, or fail to perform billing services accurately and completely, we may not be able to deliver accurate invoices promptly. Delays in invoicing can lead to delays in revenue recognition, and inaccuracies in our billing could result in lost revenue. If we fail to adapt quickly and effectively to changes affecting our costs, pricing and billing, our profitability and cash flow will be adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
If we are unable to attract new customers in a cost-effective manner, then our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected.In order to grow our business, we must continue to attract new customers in a cost-effective manner. We use a variety of marketing channels to promote our services and our communications platform, and we periodically adjust the mix of our marketing programs. If the costs of the marketing channels we use increase dramatically, then we may choose to use alternative and less expensive channels, which may not be as effective as the channels we currently use. As we add to or change the mix of our marketing strategies, we may need to expand into more expensive channels than those we are currently in, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We will incur marketing expenses before we are able to recognize any revenue that the marketing initiatives may generate, and these expenses may not result in increased revenue or brand awareness. We have made in the past, and may make in the future, significant expenditures and investments in new marketing campaigns. We cannot assure you that any new investments in sales and marketing, including any increased focus on enterprise sales efforts, will lead to the cost-effective acquisition of additional customers or increased sales or that our sales and marketing efficiency will be consistent with prior periods. If we are unable to maintain effective marketing programs, then our ability to attract new customers could be materially and adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 6
The market for some of our services is new and unproven, may decline or experience limited growth and is dependent in part on enterprises and developers continuing to adopt our platform and use our services.We have been developing and providing a cloud-based platform that enables developers and organizations to integrate voice and messaging communications capabilities into their software applications. This market is relatively new and unproven and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. We believe that our future success will depend in large part on the growth, if any, of this market. For example, the utilization of software APIs by developers and organizations to build communications functionality into their applications is still relatively new, and developers and organizations may not recognize the need for, or benefits of, our services and platform. And even if they recognize the need for and benefits of our services and platform, they may decide to adopt alternative services and/or develop the necessary services in-house to satisfy their business needs. In order to grow our business and expand our market position, we intend to focus on educating enterprise customers about the benefits of our services and platform, expanding the functionality of our services, and bringing new technologies to market to increase market acceptance and use of our platform. Our ability to expand the market that our services and platform address depends upon a number of factors, including the cost, performance and perceived value associated with such services and platform. The market for our services and platform could fail to grow significantly or there could be a reduction in demand for our services and platform as a result of a lack of customer acceptance, technological changes or challenges, our inability to successfully introduce new product offerings, competing services and platforms, decreases in spending by current and prospective customers, weakening economic conditions, geopolitical developments, global pandemics, adverse regulatory developments or other causes. If our market does not experience significant growth or demand for our services and platform decreases, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 7
Our customer churn rate may increase.Customer churn occurs when a customer reduces usage or discontinues service with us, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, such as a customer switching some or all of its usage to a competitor or going out of business.
Changes in the economy, increased competition from other providers, cyber incidents such as the DDoS attack we experienced in late 2021, or issues with the quality of service we deliver can impact our customer churn rate. We cannot predict future pricing by our competitors, but we anticipate that price competition will continue. Lower prices offered by our competitors could contribute to an increase in customer churn. We cannot predict the timing, duration or magnitude of any deteriorated economic conditions or its impact on our target of customers. Higher customer churn rates could adversely affect our revenue growth. Higher customer churn rates could cause our net retention rate to decline. A sustained and significant growth in the churn rate could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Brand / Reputation1 | 1.4%
Brand / Reputation - Risk 1
If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand and increase market awareness of our company and services, then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 10/72 (14%)Below Sector Average
Innovation / R&D1 | 1.4%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
If we do not develop enhancements to our services and introduce new services that achieve market acceptance, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.Trade Secrets3 | 4.2%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
Indemnity provisions in various agreements potentially expose us to substantial liability for intellectual property infringement and other losses.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
If we fail to protect our internally developed systems, technology and software and our patents and trademarks, we may become involved in costly litigation or our business or brand may be harmed.Our ability to compete effectively is dependent in large part upon the maintenance and protection of systems and software that we have developed internally, including some systems and software based on open standards. We cannot patent much of the technology that is important to our business. In addition, any pending patent applications may not be granted, and any issued patent that we own may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated or circumvented. To date, we have relied on patent, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements, to establish and protect our rights to our technology. While we typically enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, customers, and vendors in an effort to control access to and distribution of technology, software, documentation and other information, these agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology without authorization. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we could not assert any rights against such party. Policing unauthorized use of our technology is difficult. The steps we take may not prevent misappropriation of the technology we rely on. In addition, effective protection may be unavailable or limited in some jurisdictions outside the United States. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or protect our rights or to determine the validity and scope of the rights of others. That litigation could cause us to incur substantial costs and divert resources away from our daily business, which in turn could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The unlicensed use of our brands by third parties could harm our reputation, cause confusion among our customers or impair our ability to market our services. Accordingly, we have registered trademarks and service marks and have applied for registration of our trademarks and service marks in the United States and certain jurisdictions outside the United States to establish and protect our brand names as part of our intellectual property strategy. The laws of some countries do not protect intellectual property and other proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Our exposure to unauthorized copying, transfer and use of our proprietary technology or information may increase as we expand our international operations. We cannot assure you that our pending or future trademark applications will be approved. Although we anticipate that we would be given an opportunity to respond to any such rejections, we may be unable to overcome any such rejections. In addition, in proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our services, which could result in loss of brand name recognition. Moreover, successful opposition to our applications might encourage third parties to make additional oppositions or commence trademark infringement proceedings against us, which could be costly and time consuming to defend against. If we decide to take limited or no action to protect our trademarks, our trademark rights may be diluted and subject to challenge or invalidation, which could materially and adversely affect our brand in the marketplace. Certain of the trademarks we may use may become so well known by the public that their use becomes generic and they lose trademark protection. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademark and tradenames, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Intellectual property and proprietary rights of others could prevent us from using necessary technology to provide our services or subject us to expensive intellectual property litigation.If technology that we require to provide our services, including our communications platform, was determined by a court to infringe a patent held by another entity that will not grant us a license on terms acceptable to us, we could be precluded by a court order from using that technology and we would likely be required to pay significant monetary damages to the patent holder. The successful enforcement of these patents, or our inability to negotiate a license for these patents on acceptable terms, could force us to cease (i) using the relevant technology and (ii) offering services incorporating the technology. If a claim of infringement was brought against us based on the use of our technology or against our customers based on their use of our services for which we are obligated to indemnify, we could be subject to litigation to determine whether such use or sale is, in fact, infringing. This litigation could be expensive and distracting, regardless of the outcome.
While our own limited patent portfolio may deter other operating companies from bringing such actions, patent infringement claims may also be asserted by patent holding companies, which do not use technology and whose sole business is to enforce patents against operators, such as us, for monetary gain. Because such patent holding companies, commonly referred to as patent "trolls," do not provide services or use technology, the assertion of our own patents by way of counter-claim would be largely ineffective.
Cyber Security1 | 1.4%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
Attacks on or breaches of our networks or systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, could degrade our ability to conduct our business, compromise the integrity of our services and our communications platform, result in service degradation or outages, significant data losses, the theft of our intellectual property, investigations by government agencies and damage to our reputation, and could expose us to liability to third parties and require us to incur significant additional costs to maintain the security of our networks and data.Technology5 | 6.9%
Technology - Risk 1
Our use of open source software could negatively affect our ability to sell our services and subject us to possible litigation.Technology - Risk 2
We use AI in our business, and challenges with properly managing its use could result in reputational harm, competitive harm, and legal liability, and adversely affect our results of operations.We use AI in our business, and we continue to expand our research into and continued development of such capabilities. We offer our customers the ability to integrate certain AI technologies developed by third parties into certain of our offerings, and this integration capability is a prominent feature of our Maestro offering. Certain other features of our products are also supported by third-party AI technologies.
In addition, we are exploring the use of AI to potentially improve our internal functions and operations. Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their products and offerings, or use AI to gain internal efficiencies, more quickly or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our business, reputation and results of operations.
As with many developing technologies, AI presents risks and challenges, and may result in unintended consequences that could affect its further development, adoption, and use, and therefore our business. Deficiencies or other failures of AI systems could subject us to competitive harm, cybersecurity events, regulatory action, penalties, legal liability, or brand or reputational harm. Further, our customers may fail to provide adequate notice, collect consent, or otherwise fail to comply with applicable legal frameworks in their use of our products and services, or integrated AI products and services, which may subject us to regulatory action, private rights of action, legal liability, or brand or reputational harm.
AI is an emerging technology for which the legal and regulatory landscape is not fully developed, including laws and regulations around potential liability for breaching intellectual property or privacy regulations. Laws and regulations applicable to AI are emerging and evolving, and the ultimate legal framework remains uncertain and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, including internationally. We may not always be able to anticipate how to respond to these legal frameworks, and our obligation to comply with the laws and regulations could entail significant costs, negatively affect our business, or entirely limit our ability to incorporate certain AI capabilities into our offerings.
Technology - Risk 3
We must continue to develop effective business support systems to implement customer orders and to provide and bill our customers for services.We depend on our ability to continue to develop effective business support systems. This complicated undertaking requires significant resources and expertise and support from third-party vendors. Following the development of the business support systems, the data migration must be completed for the full benefit of the systems to be realized. Business support systems are needed for:
- quoting, accepting and inputting customer orders for services;- provisioning, installing and delivering services;- providing customers with direct access to the information systems included in our communications platform so that they can manage the services they purchase from us, generally through web-based customer portals; and - billing for services.
Technology - Risk 4
We may lose customers if we experience failures of our system or communications platform that significantly disrupt the availability and quality of the services that we provide. Such failures may also cause interruptions to service delivery and the completion of other corporate functions.Our operations depend on our ability to limit and mitigate interruptions or degradation in service for customers. Interruptions in service or performance problems, for whatever reason, could undermine our customers' confidence in our services and cause us to lose customers or make it more difficult to attract new ones. Because many of our services are critical to the businesses or daily lives of many of our customers or our customers' end users, any significant interruption or degradation in service also could result in lost profits or other losses to customers. Although our service agreements generally limit our liability for service failures and generally exclude any liability for "consequential" damages such as lost profits, a court might not enforce these limitations on liability, which could expose us to financial loss. We also sometimes provide our customers with committed service levels. If we fail to meet these committed service levels, we could be required to provide service credits or other compensation to our customers, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
The failure of any equipment or facility on our network, including our network operations control centers and network data storage locations, could interrupt customer service and other corporate functions until we complete necessary repairs or install replacement equipment. Our business continuity plans also may be inadequate to address a particular failure that we experience. Delays, errors or network equipment or facility failures could result from natural disasters, pandemics, such as COVID-19, disease, accidents, terrorist acts, acts of war, power losses, security breaches, vandalism or other illegal acts, computer viruses or other causes. These delays, errors or failures could significantly impair our business due to:
- service interruptions;- malfunction of our communications platform on which our enterprise users rely for voice, messaging or emergency service functionality;- exposure to customer liability;- the inability to install new service;- the unavailability of employees necessary to provide services;- the delay in the completion of other corporate functions such as issuing bills and the preparation of financial statements; or - the need for expensive modifications to our systems and infrastructure.
Technology - Risk 5
Defects or errors in our services could diminish demand for our services, harm our business and results of operations and subject us to liability.Our customers use our services for important aspects of their businesses, and any errors, defects or disruptions to our services and any other performance problems with our services could damage our customers' businesses and, in turn, hurt our brand and reputation. We provide regular updates to our services, which have in the past contained, and may in the future contain, undetected errors, failures, vulnerabilities and bugs when first introduced or released. Real or perceived errors, failures or bugs in our services could result in negative publicity, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our platform, loss of competitive position, lower customer retention or claims by customers for losses sustained by them. In such an event, we may be required, or may choose, for customer relations or other reasons, to expend additional resources in order to help correct the problem. In addition, we may not carry insurance sufficient to compensate us for any losses that may result from claims arising from defects or disruptions in our services. As a result, our brand and reputation could be harmed, and our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 6/72 (8%)Below Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment2 | 2.8%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the global response to this conflict, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
Our growth and financial health are impacted by a number of risks, including uncertain capital markets, recessionary fears, high rates of inflation and higher interest rates.In recent years, the financial markets in the United States have experienced substantial volatility in securities prices, reduced liquidity and credit availability, rating downgrades of certain investments and declining values with respect to others. If capital and credit markets continue to experience uncertainty, we may not be able to obtain debt or equity financing or to refinance our existing indebtedness on favorable terms or at all, which could impair our ability to execute on our strategy, and harm our financial performance. These conditions currently have not precluded us from accessing credit markets or financing our operations, but there can be no assurance that financial markets and confidence in major economies will not deteriorate.
In addition, we are vulnerable to changes in market preferences or other market changes, such as general economic conditions, recession and fears of recession, interest rates, tax rates and policies, and inflation. In recent years, the United States has experienced higher rates of inflation and as a result, we may experience a compression in our gross margins. These inflationary pressures could affect wages, the cost of and our ability to obtain components, the price of our products and services, our ability to meet customer demand, and our gross margins and operating profit. Inflation may further exacerbate other risks discussed in this "Risk Factors" section, such as risks related to our sales and marketing efforts and our ability to attract, motivate and retain sales, engineering and other key personnel. If we are unable to successfully manage the effects of inflation, our business, operating results, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely affected.
In an attempt to temper these higher rates of inflation, beginning in March 2022 the U.S. Federal Reserve steadily raised its benchmark federal funds interest rate, resulting in a commensurate rise in interest rates across numerous borrowing categories. This rise in interest rates may impact our ability to access debt capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
The U.S. and global economies have in the past, and will in the future, experience recessionary periods and periods of economic instability. During such periods, our existing and potential customers may choose not to expend the amounts that we anticipate based on our expectations with respect to the addressable market for the services we offer. There could also be a number of other effects from adverse general business and economic conditions on our business, including insolvency of any of our third-party suppliers or contractors, decreased market confidence, decreased interest in communications solutions, decreased discretionary spending and reduced customer demand for the services we offer, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and exacerbate some of the other risk factors contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Key vendors upon which we rely also could be unwilling or unable to provide us with the materials or services that we need to operate our communications platform or otherwise on a timely basis or on terms that we find acceptable. Our financial counterparties, insurance providers or others also may default on their contractual obligations to us. If any of our key vendors fail, we may not be able to replace them without disruptions to, or deterioration of, our services and we also may incur higher costs associated with new vendors. Transitioning to new vendors also may result in the loss of the value of assets associated with our integration of third-party services into our network or service offerings.
International Operations1 | 1.4%
International Operations - Risk 1
We operate internationally, which exposes us to significant risks.Natural and Human Disruptions2 | 2.8%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
If our emergency services do not function properly, we may be exposed to significant liability from our users.Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 2
Earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, pandemics, power outages, terrorist attacks, acts of war, civilian unrest and other significant events could disrupt our business and ability to serve our clients.A significant event, such as an earthquake, hurricane, a fire, a flood, a pandemic, such as COVID-19, a power outage, terrorist attack, act of war, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Hamas conflict, or civilian unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Health concerns or governmental, legal, political or regulatory developments in the United States or other countries in which we or our customers, partners and service providers operate could cause economic, labor or social instability and could materially adversely affect our business and our results of operations and financial condition. Future developments, which are very uncertain, include evolving responses by governments and businesses. These future developments could materially adversely affect our business and our results of operations and financial condition. Our IP network is designed to be redundant and to offer seamless backup support in an emergency. While our network is designed to withstand the loss of any one data center at any point in time, the simultaneous failure of multiple data centers could disrupt our ability to serve our clients. Additionally, certain of our capabilities cannot be made redundant feasibly or cost-effectively. Acts of physical or cyber terrorism or other geopolitical unrest, including acts of war, also could cause disruptions in our business. The adverse impacts of these risks may increase if our disaster recovery plans prove to be inadequate.
Capital Markets1 | 1.4%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
We face exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and such fluctuations could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.Production
Total Risks: 5/72 (7%)Below Sector Average
Employment / Personnel2 | 2.8%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We depend largely on the continued services of our senior management and other key employees, the loss of any of whom could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
If we are unable to hire, retain and motivate qualified personnel, our business will suffer.Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract and retain highly skilled personnel, and our inability to do so could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Competition for talent in the technology industry has become increasingly intense, and the market to recruit, retain and motivate talent has become even more competitive. Many key individual contributors, particularly in software development, sales and cloud computing and telecommunications infrastructure, are critical to our success and can attract very significant compensation packages. In addition, we believe that there is, and will continue to be, intense competition for highly skilled management, technical, sales and other personnel with experience in our industry in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, where our corporate headquarters are located, and in other geographic locations where we maintain offices.
We have experienced and may continue to experience difficulties attracting, hiring and retaining highly-skilled personnel with appropriate qualifications, and may not be able to fill positions in desired geographic areas or at all. These difficulties may be exacerbated by the reactions of employees and prospective employees to our policies related to remote working flexibility. As a result, we have also experienced and may continue to experience increased compensation and training costs that may not be offset by either improved productivity or higher sales, which could reduce our profitability.
We seek to provide competitive compensation packages and a high-quality work environment to hire, retain and motivate employees. If we are unable to retain and motivate our existing employees and attract qualified personnel to fill key positions, we may be unable to manage our business effectively, including the development, marketing and sale of our services, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. To the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we also may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited or hired, or that they divulged proprietary or other confidential information.
Volatility or declines in our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain key personnel. Employees may be more likely to terminate their employment with us if the shares they own or the shares underlying any restricted stock units have not significantly appreciated in value, or if the value of the shares underlying restricted stock units they hold has depreciated significantly. If we are unable to retain our employees, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
In addition, we believe our corporate culture has been a key contributor to our success to date. We, along with many companies in the technology industry, experienced higher than average attrition in the "great resignation," in which the technology industry saw a dramatic increase in workers leaving their positions in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to grow and expand globally and navigate shifting workforce priorities, including the desire of many of our employees and prospective employees for a hybrid work model with the ability to work remotely for part of the week, and the increasing demand of employees and prospective employees for fully remote work, we may find it difficult to maintain important aspects of our corporate culture. This could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel who are essential to our future success, and could ultimately have a negative impact on our ability to innovate our technology and our business.
Supply Chain2 | 2.8%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
The need to obtain additional IP circuits from other providers increases our costs. In addition, the need to interconnect our network to networks that are controlled by others could increase our costs and adversely impact our business.Supply Chain - Risk 2
Any disruption to or termination of arrangements with key suppliers could cause delay and additional costs and could harm our relationships with current and prospective customers.Our business is dependent on third-party suppliers for fiber, computers, software, transmission electronics and related network components, as well as providers of network colocation facilities that are integrated into our network, some of which are critical to the operation of our business. If any of these critical relationships is terminated, a supplier either exits or curtails its business as a result of economic conditions, a supplier fails to provide critical services or equipment, or the supplier is forced to stop providing equipment or services due to supply chain issues or legal constraints, such as patent infringement, and we are unable to reach suitable alternative arrangements quickly, we may experience significant additional costs or we may not be able to provide certain services to customers. If that happens, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. There can be no assurance that alternative components or equipment will be available when required or on terms that are commercially reasonable, which could extend our lead times, increase the cost of maintaining our network, result in service outages and otherwise harm our business, operating results and financial condition. We may not be able to continue to procure components at reasonable prices, which may require us to enter into longer-term contracts with component suppliers to obtain components at competitive prices. Any of the foregoing disruptions could exacerbate other risk factors and increase our costs and decrease our gross margins, harming our business, operating results and financial condition.
Many of our third-party suppliers do not have long-term committed contracts with us and may interrupt services or terminate their agreements with us without notice or by providing 30 days prior written notice. Although we expect that we could receive similar services from other third-party suppliers, if any of our arrangements with our third-party suppliers are terminated or interrupted, we could experience interruptions in our ability to make our services available to customers, as well as delays and additional expenses in arranging alternative providers. If a significant portion of our third-party suppliers fail to provide these services to us on a cost-effective basis or otherwise terminate or interrupt these services, the delay caused by qualifying and switching to other providers could be time consuming and costly and could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Costs1 | 1.4%
Costs - Risk 1
The market prices for certain of our services have decreased in the past and may decrease in the future, resulting in lower revenue than we anticipate.See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.
FAQ
What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
1. Financial & Corporate
- Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
- Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
- Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
2. Legal & Regulatory
- Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
- Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
- Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
- Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
3. Production
- Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
- Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
- Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
- Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
4. Technology & Innovation
- Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
- Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
- Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
- Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
5. Ability to Sell
- Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
- Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
- Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
- Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
6. Macro & Political
- Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
- Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
- International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
- Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.