Expedia (EXPE) Risk Factors

The payment card networks,such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express,may increase the interchange fees and assessments that they charge for each transaction that accesses their networks and may impose special fees or assessments on such transactions. Certain of our payment processors also have the right to pass any increases in interchange fees and assessments on to us,which could significantly increase our costs and thereby adversely affect our financial performance. In addition, the payment card networks have adopted rules and regulations that apply to all merchants who process and accept payment cards and include payment card association operating rules, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, or the PCI DSS. Moreover, the payment card networks could adopt new operating rules or interpret or reinterpret existing rules that we or our payment processors might find difficult or even impossible to comply with, or costly to implement. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, or if our data security systems are breached or compromised, we may lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our customers, or facilitate other types of online payments, and be liable for card issuing banks' costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected. We are subject to payments-related fraud risks. Our results of operations and financial positions have been negatively affected by our acceptance of fraudulent bookings made using payment options including credit and debit cards or fraudulently obtained loyalty points. We are sometimes held liable for accepting fraudulent bookings on our websites or other bookings for which payment is subsequently disputed by our customers both of which lead to the reversal of payments received by us for such bookings (referred to as a "charge-back"). In addition, the payment card networks have rules around acceptable charge-back ratios. Accordingly, we calculate and record an allowance for the resulting charge-backs. Our ability to detect and combat fraudulent schemes, which have become increasingly common and sophisticated, may be negatively impacted by the adoption of new payment methods, the emergence and innovation of new technology platforms (such as historically occurred with the introduction of smartphones, tablet computers and in-home assistants), and our global expansion, including into markets with a history of elevated fraudulent activity. In addition, we have not broadly adopted certain protective capabilities across our platform, such as mobile application-based multi-factor authentication or third-party identify verification, which approach could result in significantly increased fraudulent activity on our platform in the future. If we are unable to effectively combat fraudulent bookings on our websites or mobile applications or if we otherwise experience increased levels of charge backs,we may also be subject to significant fines and higher transaction fees or payment card networks may revoke our access to their networks meaning we would be unable to continue to accept card payments, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial positions. In addition, we may be subject to fraudulent supplier schemes. For example, when onboarding suppliers to our websites, we may fail to identify falsified or stolen supplier credentials, which may result in fraudulent bookings or unauthorized access to personal or confidential information of users of our websites and mobile applications. A fraudulent supplier scheme could also result in negative publicity, damage to our reputation, and could cause users of our websites and mobile applications to lose confidence in the quality of our services. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI technologies may increase the risk of fraudulent bookings and fraudulent supplier scheme risks. Any of these events could have a significant negative effect on the value of our brands, which could have an adverse impact on our financial performance. We work closely with various business partners and rely on third-parties for many systems and services, and therefore could be harmed by their activities. We have numerous significant commercial arrangements with business partners, and we rely on third-party service providers for a broad ranges of key services, including both external, customer-facing services such as customer support and booking fulfillment and internal services related to our operations, technology development and infrastructure. If these partners or service providers fail to meet our requirements or legal or regulatory requirements, it could damage our reputation, make it difficult for us to operate some aspects of our business, or expose us to liability for their actions. Likewise, if one of our third-party service providers were to cease operations, face financial distress or other business disruption, we could suffer increased costs and disruption to our own business operations until an equivalent alternative could be sourced or developed, any of which could also have an adverse impact on our business and financial performance. Our international operations involve additional risks and our exposure to these risks will increase as our business expands globally. We operate in a number of jurisdictions outside of the United States and intend to continue to expand our international presence. Laws and business practices that favor local competitors or prohibit or limit foreign ownership of certain businesses or our failure to adapt our practices, systems, processes and business models effectively to the traveler and supplier preferences (as well as the regulatory and tax landscapes) of each country into which we expand, could slow our growth or prevent our ability to compete effectively in certain markets. For example, to compete in certain international markets we have in the past, and may in the future, adopt locally-preferred payment methods, which has increased our costs and instances of fraud. Certain international markets in which we operate have lower margins than more mature markets, which could have a negative impact on our overall margins if the proportion of our overall revenue from these markets grow over time. Additionally, some countries have enacted or are considering enacting various regulations, such as data localization laws, that make competition by foreign companies costly or operationally difficult in those markets. In addition to the risks outlined elsewhere in this section, our international operations are also subject to a number of other risks, including: - exposure to local economic or political instability and threatened or actual acts of terrorism;- compliance with U.S. and non-U.S. regulatory laws and requirements relating to anti-corruption, antitrust or competition, economic sanctions, data content and privacy, consumer protection, employment and labor laws, health and safety, information reporting and advertising and promotions;- weaker enforcement of our contractual and intellectual property rights;- lower levels of credit card usage and increased payment and fraud risk;- longer payment cycles, and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;- preferences by local populations for local providers;- restrictions on, or adverse tax and other consequences related to the repatriation of cash, the withdrawal of non-U.S. investments, cash balances and earnings, as well as restrictions on our ability to invest in our operations in certain countries;- changes to trade policy or agreements that limit our ability to offer, or adversely affect demand for, our products and services;- our ability to support technologies or marketing channels that may be prevalent in a particular international market and used by local competitors, but are not scalable for an international company offering services in many markets around the world; and- uncertainty regarding liability for services and content, including uncertainty as a result of local laws and lack of precedent. Acquisitions, investments, divestitures or significant commercial arrangements could result in operating and financial difficulties. We have acquired, invested in, divested or entered into significant commercial arrangements with a number of businesses in the past, and our future success may depend, in part, on such transactions, any of which could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. Certain financial and operational risks related to such transactions that may have a material impact on our business are: - diversion of management's attention or other resources from our existing businesses;- use of cash resources and incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities in funding and after consummating acquisitions may limit other potential uses of our cash, including stock repurchases, dividend payments and retirement of outstanding indebtedness;- amortization expenses related to acquired intangible assets and other adverse accounting consequences, including changes in fair value of contingent consideration;- expected and unexpected costs incurred in pursuing acquisitions, if unsuccessful could result in unexpected litigation or regulatory exposure, unfavorable accounting treatment, unexpected increases in taxes due, a loss of anticipated tax benefits or other adverse effects on our business, operating results or financial condition;- impairment of relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, vendors and affiliates of our business and the acquired business;- the assumption of known and unknown debt and other liabilities and obligations of the acquired company;- difficulties and expenses in integrating or separating, as the case may be, the operations, products, technology, privacy protection systems, information systems or personnel of an acquired or divested company, including in the case of a divestiture our reliance on performance by the acquiring company;- failure of the acquired company to achieve anticipated integration synergies, traffic, transactions, revenues, earnings or cash flows or to retain key management or employees;- failure to generate adequate returns on our acquisitions and investments, or returns in excess of alternative uses of capital;- entrance into markets or segments in which we have no direct prior experience resulting in increased complexity in our business;- challenges relating to the structure of an investment, such as governance, accountability and decision-making conflicts that may arise in the context of a joint venture or other majority ownership investments;- costs associated with remediating fraud, information security, or other similar incidents at an acquired company;- impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets such as trademarks or other intellectual property arising from our acquisitions;- costs associated with litigation or other claims arising in connection with the acquired company;- increased or unexpected costs or delays to obtain governmental or regulatory approvals for acquisitions;- divestitures of functions, assets or operations may impede our ability to successfully operate our business, result in liability to purchasers, or consume significant resources;- divested assets may be worth more than the consideration we receive in respect thereof;- increased competition amongst potential acquirers for acquisition targets could result in a material increase in the purchase price for such targets or otherwise limit our ability to consummate acquisitions; - increased regulatory scrutiny of our core or acquired business; and- adverse market reaction to divestitures, acquisitions or investments or failure to consummate such transactions. Moreover, we often rely heavily on the representations and warranties and related indemnities provided to us by the sellers of acquired private companies, including as they relate to creation, ownership and rights in intellectual property and compliance with laws and contractual requirements. Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with past or future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments, incur unanticipated liabilities and harm our business generally. We rely on the performance of our employees and, if we are unable to retain, motivate or hire qualified personnel, our business would be harmed. Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of our employees. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. Competition for well-qualified employees is intense in almost all categories, including for software engineers, developers, product management personnel, development personnel, and other technology professionals, and in all geographies. The competition for talent is also exacerbated by an increased willingness of certain companies to offer flexible and remote working policies, which expands the pool of candidates from which our competitors may attract talent. If we do not succeed in attracting and retaining well-qualified employees, our business, our ability to execute and innovate, our competitive position, and results of operations would be adversely affected. The current labor market is highly competitive and our personnel expenses to attract and retain key talent may increase further, which may adversely affect our results of operations. Our employees in certain countries, primarily European, are represented by works councils, health and safety committees, and/or trade unions, which we collectively refer to as Employee Representative Bodies ("ERBs"). We are required to engage with our ERBs on certain matters such as restructurings, acquisitions and divestitures, and other matters that could impact our labor force. This engagement may include informing, consulting, or requesting consent or approval and ultimately may not result in terms satisfactory to us, which could result in increases in our cost of labor, diversion of management's attention away from operating our business, delays in certain initiatives, and exposure to claims and litigation. In addition, the contributions of Barry Diller, our Chairman and Senior Executive, Peter Kern, our Vice Chairman and current Chief Executive Officer, and Ariane Gorin, who has been appointed to succeed Mr. Kern as Chief Executive Officer in May of 2024, as well as other members of our travel leadership team are critical to the overall management of the Company. Leadership transitions can be difficult to manage, and may cause disruption to our business due to, among other things, diverting management's attention away from the Company's financial and operational goals. Expedia Group cannot ensure that it will be able to retain the services of Mr. Diller, Mr. Kern, Ms. Gorin or any other member of our senior management or key employees, the loss of whom could seriously harm our business. We do not maintain any key person life insurance policies. We may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of our strategic initiatives or our efforts to increase our operational efficiencies, which may adversely affect our business. In recent years, we have undertaken a number of significant, multi-year strategic initiatives to provide greater services and value to our travelers, suppliers and business partners. Some of our most significant initiatives are described above in Part I. Item 1. Business, under the caption "Market Opportunity and Business Strategy." We may not realize the benefits we expect to achieve from these and our other strategic initiatives or our efforts may negatively impact our business and operations due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, unexpected delays, operational or technological challenges, or higher than expected costs or expenses. As a result, our business operations, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted. We are exposed to various counterparty risks. We are exposed to the risk that various counterparties, including financial entities, will fail to perform. This creates risk in a number of areas, including with respect to our bank deposits and investments, foreign exchange risk management, insurance coverages, letters of credit, and for certain of our transactions, the receipt and holding of traveler payments and subsequent remittance of a portion of those payments to travel suppliers. As it relates to deposits, as of December 31, 2023, we held cash in bank depository accounts of approximately $4.0 billion and money market funds of approximately $168 million. Additionally, majority-owned subsidiaries held cash of approximately $42 million and held term deposits of approximately $99 million. As it relates to foreign exchange, as of December 31, 2023, we were party to forward contracts with a notional value of approximately $3.7 billion, the fair value of which was a net liability of approximately $9 million. We employ forward contracts to hedge a portion of our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. At the end of the deposit term or upon the maturity of the forward contracts, the counterparties are obligated, or potentially obligated in the case of forward contracts, to return our funds or pay us net settlement values. If any of these counterparties were to liquidate, declare bankruptcy or otherwise cease operations, it may not be able to satisfy its obligations under these term deposits or forward contracts, our ability to recover losses or to access or recover our assets held may be limited by the counterparty's liquidity or the applicable laws governing the insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding, and the receipt and remittance of payments via such counterparties would be severely limited or cease. In addition, we face significant credit risk and potential payment delays with respect to non-financial contract counterparties including our B2B and Vrbo partners, which may be exacerbated by economic downturns. The realization of any of these risks could have an adverse impact on our business and financial performance. We have foreign exchange risk. We face exposure to movements in currency exchange rates (particularly those related to the Euro, British pound, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Brazilian real, and Japanese Yen currencies) that revalue our cash flows, monetary assets and liabilities, and translate our foreign subsidiary financial results to U.S. dollars. In particular, we face exposure related to fluctuations in accommodation revenue due to relative currency movements from the time of booking to the time of stay as well as the impact of relative exchange rate movements on cross-border travel such as from Europe to the United States and the United States to Europe. Depending on the size of the exposures and the relative movements of exchange rates, if we choose not to hedge or fail to hedge effectively our exposure, we could experience a material adverse effect on our financial statements and financial condition. We make a number of estimates in conducting hedging activities including in some cases cancellations and payments in foreign currencies. In addition, an effective exchange rate hedging program is dependent upon effective systems, accurate and reliable data sources, controls and change management procedures. In the event our estimates differ significantly from actual results or if we fail to adopt effective hedging processes, we could experience greater volatility as a result of our hedging activities. Legal and Regulatory Risks Our alternative accommodations business is subject to legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results. Our alternative accommodations business has been, and continues to be, subject to regulatory developments that affect the alternative accommodation industry and the ability of companies like us to list those alternative accommodations online. For example, certain domestic and foreign jurisdictions have adopted or are considering statutes or ordinances that prohibit or limit the ability of property owners and managers to rent certain properties for fewer than 30 consecutive days, including laws that place many difficult obligations on property owners that must be complied with to offer their properties, or that regulate platforms' ability to list alternative accommodations, including prohibiting the listing of unlicensed properties. Other domestic and foreign jurisdictions may introduce similar regulations. Many homeowners, condominium and neighborhood associations have adopted rules that prohibit or restrict short-term rentals. In addition, many of the laws that impose taxes or other obligations on travel and lodging companies were established before the growth of the internet and the alternative accommodation industry, which creates a risk of those laws being interpreted in ways not originally intended that could burden property owners and managers or otherwise harm our business. Governments also are looking at additional taxes specific to alternative accommodations that, if implemented, could make the business of operating an alternative accommodation less attractive or prohibitively expensive. These new and evolving regulatory schemes may decrease listings available on our sites and add significant compliance risks to our business, including the risk of fines for noncompliance, as well as substantial internal costs and the allocation of resources to develop new internal compliance systems and processes. These obligations include gathering information about property owners, verification of registration status of properties and the ongoing provision of information to governments about short-term rental owners and operators and requirements to withhold and report taxable income to governments. For example, short-term rental regulations currently under consideration in the European Union could require us to provide data to all EU countries about short-term rentals listed on our sites. We may also remove properties from our websites if alternative accommodation owners or operators do not provide information we require to comply with applicable regulations. We are not in a position to eliminate risks such as personal injury, property damage or other harm, at alternative accommodation properties and we generally do not verify safety, such as fire code compliance or the presence of carbon monoxide detectors, which could result in claims of liability based on events occurring at properties listed on our platforms. We have also experienced instances where properties listed on our sites are copied and travelers booking these properties outside of our websites are the subject of fraudulent requests for payment. In other cases, travelers have been asked to pay for their booking of properties listed on our website directly to the alternative accommodation operator and outside of our website, resulting in loss of revenue for us and increased risk of fraud for the traveler. These risks could have a material adverse effect on our alternative accommodations business, including impacting our reputation and brand, as well as the results of operations of our alternative accommodations business, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on Expedia Group's operations and financial results. A failure to comply with current laws, rules and regulations or changes to such laws, rules and regulations and other legal uncertainties may adversely affect our business, financial performance, results of operations or business growth. Our business and financial performance could be adversely affected by changes in or interpretations of existing laws, rules and regulations or the promulgation of new laws, rules and regulations applicable to us and our businesses, including those relating to travel and alternative accommodation licensing and listing requirements, the provision of travel packages, the internet and online commerce, internet advertising and price display, consumer protection, licensing and regulations relating to the offer of travel insurance and related products, anti-corruption, anti-trust and competition (including our contractual provisions regarding pricing and travel suppliers), economic and trade sanctions, tax, banking, machine learning and AI, data security, the provision of payment services and privacy. There are, and will likely continue to be, an increasing number of laws and regulations pertaining to the internet and online commerce that relate to website display and messaging, including prices, liability for information retrieved from or transmitted over the internet, online editorial and user-generated content, user privacy, behavioral targeting and online advertising, taxation, liability for third-party activities and the quality of products and services, and our contractual relationships with travel suppliers who list on our sites. In 2023, for example, the Federal Trade Commission proposed new rules and the State of California passed new laws, in each case focused on fees and related pricing display practices. These new laws and regulations may significantly impact the profitability or competitiveness of our business. Additionally, some jurisdictions have implemented or are considering implementing regulations that restrict or could restrict access to city centers and popular destinations as well as impact our ability to offer accommodations, such as by limiting the construction of new hotels or renting of alternative accommodations. Also, compliance with the European Economic Community ("EEC") Council Directive on Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours could be costly and complex and could adversely impact our ability to offer certain packages in the EEC. Likewise, the SEC, Department of Justice ("DOJ") and Office of Foreign Assets Controls ("OFAC"), as well as foreign regulatory authorities, have continued to increase the enforcement of economic sanctions and trade regulations, anti-money laundering, and anti-corruption laws, across industries. As regulations continue to evolve and regulatory oversight continues to increase, we cannot guarantee that our programs and policies will be deemed compliant by all applicable regulatory authorities. For example, on May 17, 2019, we entered into a settlement agreement with OFAC regarding 2,221 potentially non-compliant Cuba-related travel transactions that occurred between 2011-2014, which we voluntarily disclosed to OFAC in 2014. In connection with the settlement agreement, we made significant enhancements to our economic sanctions' compliance program and associated controls. OFAC agreed to release us, without any finding of fault, from all civil liability in connection with the potential violations. In the event our controls should fail or are found to be out of compliance for other reasons, we could be subject to monetary damages, civil and criminal money penalties, litigation and damage to our reputation and the value of our brands. We also have been subject, and we will likely be subject in the future, to inquiries or legal proceedings from time to time from regulatory bodies concerning compliance with economic sanctions, consumer protection, competition, tax, payments and travel industry-specific laws and regulations, including but not limited to investigations and legal proceedings relating to the travel industry and, in particular, parity provisions in contracts between hotels and online travel companies, including Expedia Group, and the presentation of information to consumers, as described in Part I. Item 3. Legal Proceedings

In particular, we face intense competition from other OTAs and alternative accommodation providers in many regions, such as Booking Holdings (through its Booking.com, Priceline.com and Agoda.com brands), Airbnb, and Trip.com, any of which may have more favorable offerings for travelers or suppliers, including pricing and supply breadth. Our OTA competitors are increasingly expanding the range of travel services they offer and the global OTA segment continues to consolidate, with certain competitors merging or forming strategic partnerships. Airbnb, Booking Holdings and other providers of alternative accommodations provide an alternative to hotel rooms and compete with alternative accommodation properties available through Expedia Group brands, including Vrbo. The continued growth of alternative accommodation providers could affect overall travel patterns generally, and the demand for our services specifically, in facilitating reservations at hotels and alternative accommodations. Furthermore, Airbnb has, and similar providers could, increasingly look to add other travel services, such as tours, activities, hotel and flight bookings, any of which could further extend their reach into the travel market as they seek to compete with the traditional OTAs.