Equifax (EFX) Risk Factors

We are subject to a number of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to consumer privacy, cybersecurity, data and financial protection. See "Item 1. Business-Governmental Regulation" in this Form 10-K for a summary of the U.S. and foreign consumer and data protection laws and regulations to which we are subject. These regulations are complex, change frequently, have tended to become more stringent over time, and are subject to administrative interpretation and judicial construction in ways that could harm our business. In addition, new laws and regulations at the state and federal level are enacted frequently, such as amendments to the FCRA, cybersecurity and other requirements promulgated by the FTC, New York Department of Financial Services and SEC, and data privacy laws in several U.S. states. We expect there to be a continued focus on laws and regulations related to our business, because of policy concerns in the U.S. with regard to the operation of consumer reporting agencies, the collection, use, accuracy, correction and sharing of personal information, and the use of algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning in business processes. For example, in September 2023, the CFPB issued an outline of proposed changes to the FCRA which would expand the application of the FCRA to certain business practices not currently subject to the FCRA and would require the removal of medical collection debt from consumer credit reports. Further, in October 2023, California passed the DELETE Act, a first-in-the-nation data broker deletion tool which creates a centralized mechanism to allow consumers to request brokers to delete their personal information, rather than submitting individual requests to brokers registered in the state. There are a number of legislative proposals pending before the U.S. Congress, various state legislative bodies and foreign governments concerning privacy or cybersecurity that could affect us. The Canadian and Australian governments have initiated reviews of their consumer privacy laws, and several U.S. states have introduced varying comprehensive privacy laws modeled to some degree on the CCPA and/or the GDPR. In the U.S. and other countries, there have also been new legislative proposals to regulate business use and development of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies which, if enacted, could impose new legal requirements addressing among other issues, privacy, discrimination and human rights. The specifics of such legislation and the number of jurisdictions that will introduce legislation in this area remain unclear at this time. In addition, a growing number of legislative and regulatory bodies have adopted consumer notification and other requirements in the event that consumer information is accessed or acquired by unauthorized persons and additional regulations regarding the use, access, accuracy and security of such data are possible. In the U.S., state laws provide for disparate notification regimes, all of which we are subject to. Further, any perception that our practices or products are an invasion of privacy, whether or not consistent with current or future regulations and industry practices, may subject us to public criticism, private class actions, reputational harm, or claims by regulators, which could disrupt our business and expose us to increased liability. We devote substantial compliance, legal and operational business resources to strive for compliance with applicable regulations and requirements. In the future, we may be subject to significant additional expenses related to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including new laws and evolving interpretations that have varying requirements and/or are difficult to predict, and to the investigation, defense or remedy of actual or alleged violations. Additionally, we cooperate with CFPB supervisory examinations and respond to other state, federal and foreign government examinations of, or inquiries into, our business practices. In particular, legislative activity in the privacy area may result in new laws that are applicable to us and that may hinder our business, for example, by restricting use or sharing of consumer data, including for marketing or advertising or limiting the use of, limiting our ability to provide certain consumer data to our customers, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence and machine learning, including the use of algorithms and automated processing in ways that could materially affect our business, or which may lead to significant increases in the cost of compliance. Any failure by us to comply with, or remedy any violations of, applicable laws and regulations, could result in new costs for our operations, the curtailment of certain of our operations, the imposition of fines and penalties, liability to private plaintiffs as a result of individual or class action litigation, restrictions on the operation of our business and reputational harm. It is difficult to predict the impact on our business if we were subject to allegations of having violated existing laws. For example, in Europe, the GDPR, which includes extensive regulations for certain security incidents, could result in fines of up to four percent of annual worldwide "turnover" (a measure similar to revenues in the U.S.). In addition, because many of our products are regulated or sold to customers in various industries, we must comply with additional regulations in marketing our products. Moreover, our compliance with privacy laws and regulations and our reputation depend in part on suppliers' or customers' adherence to privacy laws and regulations and their use of our services in ways consistent with consumer expectations and regulatory requirements. Additionally, we may not succeed in adapting our products to changes in the regulatory environment in an efficient, cost effective manner. We cannot predict the ultimate impact on our business of new or proposed rules, supervisory examinations or government investigations or enforcement actions.

We operate in a number of geographic, product and service markets that are highly competitive. Competitors may develop products and services that are superior to or that achieve greater market acceptance than our products and services. New competitors may choose to enter and compete in our markets, or existing competitors may choose to introduce new products and enter markets that we serve and that they do not currently serve. The size of our competitors varies across market segments, as do the resources we have allocated to the segments we target. Therefore, some of our competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing or other resources than we do in one or more of our market segments, or overall. As a result, our competitors may be in a position to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, or may devote greater resources than we can to the development, enhancement, promotion, sale and support of products and services, or some of our customers may develop products of their own that replace the products they currently purchase from us, which would result in lower revenue. In addition, many of our competitors have extensive consumer relationships, including relationships with our current and potential customers. Moreover, new competitors or alliances among our competitors may emerge and potentially reduce our market share, revenue or margins. We also license our information to competing firms, and license information from certain of our competitors, in order to sell "tri-bureau" and other products, most notably into the U.S. mortgage market. Changes in prices between competitors for this information and/or changes in the design or sale of tri-bureau versus single or dual bureau product offerings may affect our revenue or profitability. Some of our competitors may choose to sell products that compete with ours at lower prices by accepting lower margins and profitability, or may be able to sell products competitive to ours at lower prices, individually or as a part of integrated suites, given proprietary ownership of data, technological superiority or economies of scale. Price reductions by our competitors could negatively impact our revenue and operating margins and results of operations and could also harm our ability to obtain new customers on favorable terms. Historically, certain of our key products have experienced declines in per unit pricing due to competitive factors and customer demand. Since a significant portion of our operating expenses is relatively fixed in nature due to sales, information technology and development and other costs, if we were unable to respond quickly enough to changes in competition or customer demand, we could experience further reductions in our operating margins.

Over the past several years, regulators, certain investors, and other stakeholders have focused on various environmental, social and governance ("ESG") matters, both in the United States and internationally. We communicate certain ESG-related initiatives, goals and commitments regarding climate, diversity, responsible sourcing and social investments, and other matters, on our website, in our filings with the SEC and elsewhere. These initiatives, goals and commitments could be difficult to achieve and costly to implement. For example, we have announced our commitments to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the achievement of which relies, in large part, on the accuracy of our estimates and assumptions around the availability and cost of renewable energy sources and technologies, the availability of suppliers that can meet our sustainability and other standards, and other factors. We could fail to achieve, or be perceived to fail to achieve, our greenhouse gas reduction commitments or other ESG-related initiatives, goals and commitments. In addition, we could be criticized for the timing, scope or nature of these initiatives, goals and commitments, or for any revisions to them. To the extent that our required and voluntary disclosures about ESG matters increase, we could be criticized for the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such disclosures. Our actual or perceived failure to achieve our ESG-related initiatives, goals and commitments could negatively impact our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.

Credit ratings reflect an independent agency's judgment on the likelihood that a borrower will repay a debt obligation at maturity. The ratings reflect many considerations, such as the nature of the borrower's industry and its competitive position, the size of the company, its liquidity and access to capital and the sensitivity of a company's cash flows to changes in the economy. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be changed or withdrawn at any time by the assigning rating agency. A downgrade in our credit ratings would increase the cost of borrowings under our commercial paper program, $1.5 billion revolving credit facility and $700.0 million delayed draw term loan, and could limit or, in the case of a significant downgrade, preclude our ability to issue commercial paper. If our credit ratings were to decline to lower levels, we could experience increases in the interest cost for any new debt. In addition, the market's demand for, and thus our ability to readily issue, new debt could become further affected by the economic and credit market environment.

Our customers, and therefore our business and revenues, are sensitive to negative changes in general economic conditions, including the demand and availability of affordable credit and capital, the level and volatility of interest rates, the level of inflation, employment levels, consumer confidence and housing demand, both inside and outside the United States. Business customers use our credit information and related analytical services and data to process applications for new credit cards, automobile loans, home and equity loans and other consumer loans, and to manage their existing credit relationships. Demand for our services tends to be correlated to general levels of economic activity and to consumer credit activity, which can be impacted by changes in interest rates and the level of inflation. Banks' and other lenders' willingness to extend credit are adversely affected by elevated consumer delinquency and loan losses in a weak economy. Consumer demand for credit (i.e., rates of spending and levels of indebtedness) also tends to grow more slowly or decline during periods of economic contraction or slow economic growth. Our customer base suffers when financial markets experience volatility, illiquidity and disruption, and the potential for disruptions going forward presents considerable risks to our business and revenue. High or rising rates of unemployment and interest, declines in income, home prices or investment values, lower consumer confidence and reduced access to credit adversely affect demand for many of our products and services, and consequently our revenue and results of operations, as consumers may postpone or reduce their spending and use of credit, and lenders may reduce the amount of credit offered or available. In 2024, we expect the U.S. mortgage market, as measured by credit inquiries, to decline by approximately 16% compared to 2023. Any weakening in the U.S. mortgage market resulting in a significant reduction in mortgage originations could have a corresponding negative impact on revenue and operating profit for our business, primarily within the Workforce Solutions and USIS operating segments. To the extent inflation results in higher interest rates and has other adverse effects upon the securities markets and upon the value of financial instruments, it may adversely affect our financial position and profitability.

Sales outside the U.S. comprised 23% of our total revenue in 2023. As a result, our business is subject to various risks associated with doing business internationally and these risks may differ in each jurisdiction where we operate depending on the particular product or service we offer in the jurisdiction. In addition, many of our employees, suppliers, job functions and facilities are located outside the U.S. Accordingly, our future results could be harmed by a variety of factors including: - changes in specific country or region political, economic or other conditions;- trade protection measures;- data privacy and consumer protection laws and regulations;- antitrust and competition laws;- difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations;- differing labor, intellectual property protection and technology standards and regulations;- business licensing requirements or other requirements relating to making foreign direct investments, which could increase our cost of doing business in certain jurisdictions, prevent us from entering certain markets, increase our operating costs or lead to penalties or restrictions;- difficulties associated with repatriating cash generated or held abroad in a tax-efficient manner;- implementation of exchange controls;- geopolitical instability, including terrorism and war and international conflict, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict;- foreign currency changes;- increased travel, infrastructure, legal and compliance costs of multiple international locations;- foreign laws and regulatory requirements;- terrorist activity, natural disasters, pandemics and other catastrophic events;- restrictions on the import and export of technologies;- difficulties in enforcing contracts and collecting accounts receivable;- longer payment cycles;- failure to meet quality standards for outsourced work;- unfavorable tax rules;- the presence and acceptance of varying level of business corruption in international markets; and - varying business practices in foreign countries. We earn revenue, pay expenses, own assets and incur liabilities in countries using currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including among others the British pound, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Argentine peso, the Chilean peso, the Euro, the New Zealand dollar, the Costa Rican colon, the Singapore dollar, the Brazilian real and the Indian rupee. Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, we must translate revenue, income and expenses, as well as assets and liabilities, into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect during or at the end of each reporting period. Therefore, increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar against major currencies will affect our operating revenues, operating income and the value of balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. We generally do not mitigate the risks associated with fluctuating exchange rates, although we may from time to time through forward contracts or other derivative instruments hedge a portion of our translational foreign currency exposure or exchange rate risks associated with material transactions which are denominated in a foreign currency. The use of such hedging activities may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place. Accordingly, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies, may materially affect our consolidated financial results. Compliance with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations, such as anti-corruption laws, tax laws, foreign exchange controls and restrictions on repatriation of earnings or other similar restraints, data privacy requirements, operational resilience requirements, sustainability reporting, labor laws and anti-competition regulations increases the cost of doing business in foreign jurisdictions. Although we have implemented policies and procedures to comply with these laws and regulations, a violation by our employees, contractors or agents could nevertheless occur.

We face various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation efforts by governments to attempt to control its spread adversely impacted the global economy and led to reduced consumer spending and lending activities. Our customers, and therefore our business and revenues, are sensitive to negative changes in general economic conditions. We experienced significant revenue declines in several of our markets as a result of COVID-19 and we may experience similar revenue declines as a result of future health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks.