HP (HPQ) Risk Factors

We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that such laws and regulations will not be interpreted and changed in ways that will require us to modify our business models and objectives or affect our returns on investments by restricting existing activities and products, subjecting them to escalating costs or increased restrictions or prohibiting them outright. In particular, we face increasing complexity in our product design and procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the composition of our products, their safe use, the energy consumption associated with those products, climate change laws and regulations, and product repairability, reuse, recyclability and take-back legislation. In addition, there is existing and proposed legislation related to human rights, environmental and social responsibility (including tracing requirements related to forced labor prohibitions) for our operations, supply chain partners, and our products and services. Moreover, we are becoming increasingly subject to laws, regulations and international treaties relating to climate change, such as carbon pricing or product energy efficiency requirements or more prescriptive reporting requirements. Additionally, the rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI technologies and our obligations to comply with emerging laws and regulations may require us to develop additional AI-specific governance programs, which could entail significant costs or limit our ability to incorporate certain AI capabilities into our products and solutions. As these new laws, regulations, treaties and similar initiatives and programs are adopted and implemented, we will be required to comply or potentially face market access limitations or restrictions on our products entering certain jurisdictions, sanctions or other penalties, including fines. Such burdens or costs may result in an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We could also face significant compliance and operational burdens and incur significant costs in our efforts to comply with or rectify non-compliance with these laws or regulations. Our potential exposure also includes third-party property damage, personal injury claims and clean-up costs. Further, liability under some environmental laws relating to contaminated sites can be imposed retroactively, on a joint and several basis, and without any finding of noncompliance or fault.

We face legal claims or regulatory matters involving stockholder, consumer, competition, commercial, IP, employment, and other issues on a global basis. There is an increasingly active litigation and regulatory environment, including but not limited to employment and patent-monetization claims in the United States, Germany and Brazil, and litigation and regulatory matters focused on consumer protection, privacy, and competition regulation globally. Patent monetization campaigns have become increasingly aggressive, including those by patent holders for standardized technology, such as WiFi and video and other standardized technology in PCs, who have sued in venues that allow injunctions despite commitments to license patents on fair and reasonable terms. If we are unsuccessful in defending against such claims, we may be exposed to exorbitant licensing demands in order to avoid potential disruptions to our business. As described in Note 14, "Litigation and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, we are engaged in a number of litigation and regulatory matters that may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations, if decided adversely to or settled by us. Litigation and regulatory proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse rulings have occurred and may occur, including awards of monetary damages, imposition of fines, issuance of injunctions or cease-and-desist orders directing us to cease engaging in certain business practices, cease manufacturing or selling certain products, requiring the compulsory licensing of patents, or requiring other remedies. In addition, regardless of the outcome, litigation and regulatory proceedings can be costly, time-consuming, disruptive to our operations, and distracting to management. We and Hewlett Packard Enterprise entered into a separation and distribution agreement and various other agreements in connection with the separation of the two businesses. The separation and distribution agreement provides for cross-indemnities between HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise for liabilities allocated to the respective party pursuant to the terms of such agreement. If Hewlett Packard Enterprise or its successor entities (including spun off businesses to which obligations have been transferred) are unable to satisfy their obligations under these agreements, we could incur operational difficulties or losses.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and approximately 61 other countries, and we are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in many of these jurisdictions. We believe that the positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, and our positions may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision, and, we believe we have provided adequate reserves for all tax deficiencies or reductions in tax benefits that could reasonably result from an audit. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our domestic operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions, pension and related interest. We adjust our uncertain tax positions to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular audit. Determining the appropriate provision for potential deficiencies or reductions in tax benefits that could reasonably result from an audit requires management judgments and estimates, and income tax audits are inherently unpredictable. We may not accurately predict the outcomes of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid upon resolution of audits could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our income tax provision, net income and cash flows. Our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes to our operating structure, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement. In addition, changes in tax law and regulation in the U.S. or elsewhere could significantly impact our tax rate, the carrying value of deferred tax assets, or our deferred tax liabilities. In addition, our effective tax rate could also be materially affected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (the "OECD"), the European Commission's and other certain major jurisdictions' heightened interest in and taxation of large multi-national companies. For instance, the OECD has enacted model rules for a new global minimum tax framework ("BEPS Pillar Two"), and various governments around the world have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, legislation on these rules.

Our business and financial performance depend on worldwide economic conditions and the demand for our products and services. Ongoing economic weakness, including an economic slowdown or recession, uncertainty in markets throughout the world and other adverse economic conditions, including inflation, changes in monetary policy, increased interest rates, tariffs, exchange rates and an evolving global trade environment, have resulted in, and may continue to result in, decreased demand for our products and services and challenges in managing inventory levels and accurately forecasting revenue, gross margin, cash flows and expenses. For example, during fiscal year 2024 we observed continued market uncertainty, cautious commercial spending on information technology hardware, including in China, lower discretionary consumer spending, increasing commodity costs, inflationary pressures, and foreign currency fluctuations. Changes in government spending limits may continue to reduce demand for our products and services from governments or organizations that receive government funding. Moreover, U.S. government contracts are subject to congressional funding, which at times has been and may in the future be unavailable or delayed, which could impact our business. Prolonged or more severe economic weakness and uncertainty could also cause our expenses to vary materially from our expectations. Financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets or significant financial services institution failures could negatively impact our treasury operations or those of our suppliers, vendors or customers, rapidly and without notice. Poor financial performance of asset markets and the adverse effects of fluctuating exchange rates could lead to higher pension and post-retirement benefit expenses. Interest and other expenses could vary materially from expectations depending on interest rates, borrowing costs, exchange rates, costs of hedging and the fair value of derivative instruments. Economic downturns also may lead to future restructuring actions and associated expenses.

Approximately 65% of our net revenue for fiscal year 2024 came from outside the United States. In addition, we operate in emerging markets, which can be more volatile. Our future business and financial performance could suffer due to a variety of international factors, including: - instability in a country's or region's economic, regulatory or political conditions, including inflation, recession, interest rate fluctuations, changes or uncertainty in fiscal or monetary policy, actual or anticipated military or political conflicts, health emergencies or pandemics;- the imposition by governments of additional taxes, tariffs or other restrictions on foreign trade or changes in restrictions on trade between the United States and other countries where HP products are manufactured or sold, including China;- trade sanctions, embargoes, country localization requirements and import restrictions and other policies and regulations affecting production, shipping, pricing and marketing of products, including policies adopted by any country that may favor domestic companies and technologies over foreign competitors;- political sentiment impacting global trade, including the willingness of non-U.S. consumers to purchase from U.S. corporations;- local labor conditions and regulations, including labor issues faced by suppliers and OEMs, or immigration and labor laws which may adversely impact our access to technical and professional talent;- changes or uncertainty in international, national or local legal environments, including tax, data handling, privacy, artificial intelligence, intellectual property, consumer protection, environmental and antitrust laws;- import, export or other business licensing requirements or requirements relating to making foreign direct investments, which could increase our cost of doing business, prevent us from shipping products, affect our ability to obtain favorable terms for components, increase our operating costs or lead to penalties or restrictions;- compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.S. export control and trade sanction laws, and similar anti-corruption and international trade laws, and adverse consequences for any failure to comply, including compliance by recently acquired companies, which may have less robust internal compliance procedures; and - fluctuations in freight costs, limitations on shipping and receiving capacity, and other disruptions in the transportation and shipping infrastructure at important geographic points for our products and shipments. The factors described above also could disrupt our product and component manufacturing and key suppliers located outside of the United States and our supply chain. For example, we rely on manufacturers in Taiwan to produce notebook computers and other suppliers in Asia for product assembly and manufacture and have manufacturing operations in Israel which support our Industrial Graphics business. The impact of certain geopolitical conflicts (including any escalation or expansion thereof), such as the ongoing military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East or tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, and any broadening of ancillary geopolitical, economic, and other effects could adversely impact these operations and could heighten the other risks identified in this report.

Our worldwide operations could be disrupted by natural disasters, telecommunications failures, cybersecurity incidents or other disruptions impacting information technology systems, manufacturing equipment failures, power or water shortages, fires, extreme weather conditions, and other disasters or catastrophic events, for which we are predominantly self-insured. Terrorist acts or armed conflicts, for which we are predominantly uninsured, may also disrupt our operations. Global pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other public health crises may adversely affect, among other things, our supply chain and associated costs; demand for our products and services; our operations and sales, marketing and distribution efforts; our research and development capabilities; our engineering, design, and manufacturing processes; and other important business activities. These events could result in significant losses, adversely affect our competitive position, increase our costs, require substantial expenditures and recovery time, make it difficult or impossible to provide services or deliver products to our customers or to receive components from our suppliers, create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain and result in the need to impose employee travel restrictions. Our operations and those of our suppliers and distributors could be adversely affected if manufacturing, logistics, or other operations in key locations, are disrupted for any reason, such as those described above or other economic, business, labor, environmental, public health, regulatory or political reasons. In addition, even if our operations are unaffected or recover quickly, if our customers cannot timely resume their own operations, they may reduce or cancel their orders, or these events could otherwise result in a decrease in demand for our products.

Currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including the euro, the British pound, Indian rupee, Chinese yuan (renminbi) and the Japanese yen, can have an impact on our results as expressed in U.S. dollars. Global events, trade disputes, economic sanctions, inflation, increasing interest rates and emerging market volatility, and the resulting uncertainty, may cause currencies to fluctuate, which may contribute to variations in our sales in impacted jurisdictions. Because most of our revenues are generated outside the United States, fluctuations in currency exchange rates have adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our net revenue growth. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the United States and products that include components obtained from suppliers located outside of the United States, as well as our ability to increase prices. In addition, currency fluctuations, particularly weakness in the Japanese Yen, has and may continue to exacerbate pricing competition for our print products and services. From time to time, we may use derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedges to protect against foreign currency exchange rate risks. However, our hedging strategies may be ineffective, may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial impact resulting from currency variations, or may result in losses.

In the course of conducting our business, we must address quality and security issues associated with our products and services, including potential flaws in our engineering, design and manufacturing processes, unsatisfactory performance under service contracts, and unsatisfactory performance or malicious acts by third-parties. Many of our products and services, including those which incorporate AI capabilities, are dependent on third-party software, including from Microsoft and Google, to function as intended, and product issues also sometimes result from the interaction between our products and third-party products and software. Our business is also exposed to the risk of defects in third-party components or materials included in our products, including security vulnerabilities. The products and services that we offer are complex, and our regular testing and quality control efforts may not be completely effective in controlling or detecting all quality and security issues or errors, particularly with respect to undiscovered defects or security vulnerabilities in components manufactured by third parties. If we are unable to determine the cause or find an effective solution to address quality or security issues with our products, we may delay shipment to customers, which would delay revenue recognition and receipt of customer payments. We have and may again in the future write off some or all of the value of non-performing inventory. In addition, after products are delivered, quality and security issues may require us to repair or replace such products. Addressing these issues can be expensive and may result in additional warranty, repair, replacement and other costs. In the event of security vulnerabilities or other issues with third-party components, we may have to rely on third parties to provide mitigation, which may be ineffective. Further, adapting our products and services to meet new regulatory requirements can be costly and cause uncertainties and business disruption. Quality and security issues, including those resulting from defects or security vulnerabilities in third-party components, can impair our relationships with new or existing customers and adversely affect our brand and reputation. The proliferation of social media may increase the likelihood, speed, and magnitude of negative brand and reputation events.

In order to be successful, we must attract, hire, retain, train, motivate, develop, and deploy qualified executives, engineers, technical staff and other key employees. Identifying, developing internally or hiring externally, training and retaining qualified executives, engineers and qualified sales representatives are critical to our future, and competition for experienced employees in the technology industry can be intense. Equity-based compensation is essential for attracting and retaining qualified employees and lack of positive performance in our stock price may adversely affect our ability to attract or retain key employees. In addition, workforce dynamics are constantly evolving and we may not be able to manage changing workforce dynamics successfully. Moreover, changes in immigration policies may impair our ability to recruit and hire technical and professional talent globally. Further, changes in our management team may be disruptive to our business, and we may be unable to successfully transition and assimilate key new hires or promoted employees or successfully execute succession plans.

We have at times operated in a supply-constrained environment and have faced, and may face in the future, component shortages, logistics challenges and manufacturing disruptions that impact our revenues, profitability and cash flows. We are heavily dependent on third-party suppliers and their ability to deliver sufficient key components, products and services at reasonable prices and in time for us to meet schedules for the delivery of our products and services. In addition, our operations depend on our ability to anticipate and our suppliers' ability to fulfill, our needs for sufficient key components, products and services (including sourcing matched sets). Given the wide variety of products and services we offer, the large and diverse distribution of our suppliers and contract manufacturers, and the long lead times required to manufacture, assemble and deliver certain components and products, problems have and could continue to arise in production, planning and inventory management. Third-party suppliers may have limited financial resources to withstand challenging business conditions, particularly as a result of increased interest rates or emerging market volatility, and our business could be negatively impacted if key suppliers are forced to cease or limit their operations. Changes or additions to our supply chain require considerable time and resources and involve significant risks and uncertainties. We also have experienced, and may experience in the future, gross margin declines in certain businesses, reflecting the effect of competitive pricing pressures and increases in component and manufacturing costs resulting from higher labor and material costs borne by our manufacturers and suppliers that we are unable to pass on to our customers. Our business may be disrupted if we are unable to obtain equipment, parts or components from our suppliers-and our suppliers from their suppliers-due to the insolvency of key suppliers or the inability of key suppliers to obtain credit, or if any of our distributors lack sufficient financial resources to withstand economic weakness. In addition, our ongoing efforts to optimize the efficiency of our supply chain for cost or redundancy could cause supply disruptions and be more expensive, time-consuming and resource-intensive than expected. Furthermore, certain of our suppliers and OMs may decide to discontinue business with us or limit the allocation of products to us, which could result in our inability to fill our supply needs, jeopardizing our ability to fulfill our contractual obligations, which could in turn, result in a decrease in sales, profitability and cash flows, contract penalties or terminations, and damage to customer relationships. In addition, our business is subject to the following specific supply chain related risks: - Component shortages. We have at times experienced and may in the future experience a shortage of, or a delay in receiving, certain components as a result of strong demand, capacity constraints, supplier financial weaknesses, disputes with suppliers (some of whom are also our customers), disruptions in the operations of component suppliers, supplier ability to demonstrate regulatory compliance, regulatory restrictions on specific components in certain markets, other problems experienced by suppliers or problems we face during the transition to new suppliers. For example, a market shortage of integrated circuits and panels and other component supply has at times affected, and may affect in the future, lead times, the cost of that supply, and our ability to meet customer demand for our products. Additionally, our Personal Systems business relies heavily upon OMs to manufacture our products and we are therefore dependent upon the continuing operations of those OMs. We represent a substantial portion of the business for certain OMs, and changes to the nature or volume of our business transactions with a particular OM could adversely affect the OM and lead to shortages or delays in receiving component products from that OM. Increased demand for particular components due to industry trends, including components required for the operation of AI, may lead to shortages, delays, and price increases. Our anticipation of these and other supply chain dynamics may result in us purchasing components in greater volumes and on earlier schedules in order to secure an adequate supply, which could adversely affect our working capital and cash flow. If shortages or delays in component products occur, the price of certain components may increase, we may be exposed to quality issues, or the components may not be available at all. We may not be able to secure enough components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build products or provide services in a timely manner in the quantities needed or according to our specifications. Accordingly, we may lose time-sensitive sales, incur additional freight costs or be unable to pass on price increases to our customers due to such component shortages or delays. If we cannot adequately address a component supply issue, we may have to re-engineer some product or service offerings, which could result in further costs and delays. - Sourcing inventory planning. In order to secure components for our products or services, we have and may continue to make advance payments to suppliers or enter into non-cancelable commitments with vendors. In addition, we have and may continue to strategically purchase components in advance of demand to take advantage of favorable pricing or to address concerns about future availability, which could adversely affect our working capital and cash flow. If we fail to anticipate customer demand, an oversupply could result in excess or obsolete components. - Contractual terms. As a result of binding long-term price or purchase commitments with vendors, we may be obligated to purchase components or services at prices that are higher than those available in the current market and may be limited in our ability to respond to changing market conditions. If we commit to purchasing components or services for prices in excess of the then-current market price, we may be at a disadvantage to competitors who have access to components or services at lower prices, our gross margin could suffer, and we could incur additional charges relating to inventory obsolescence. In addition, many of our competitors obtain products or components from the same OMs and suppliers that we utilize. Our competitors may obtain better pricing, more favorable contractual terms and conditions, or more favorable allocations of products and components, and our ability to engage in relationships with certain OMs and suppliers could be limited. The practice employed by our Personal Systems business of purchasing product components and transferring those components to OMs may create large supplier receivables with the OMs that, depending on the financial condition of the OMs, may create collectability risks. In addition, to secure components, we may accept contractual terms and conditions that are less favorable to us. - Contingent workers. We also rely on third-party suppliers for the provision of contingent workers, and our failure to effectively manage this workforce could adversely affect our financial results. Our ability to manage the costs associated with engaging a contingent workforce may be impacted by evolving local labor rights laws. - Working conditions, human rights and materials sourcing. Our brand perception, customer loyalty and legal compliance could be adversely impacted by a supplier's improper practices or failure to comply with our requirements for environmentally, socially or legally responsible practices and sourcing, including sub-tier sourcing. - Single-source suppliers. We obtain a significant number of components from a single source due to technology, availability, price, quality or other considerations. For example, we rely on Canon for certain laser printer engines and laser toner cartridges and certain key suppliers for application specific integrated circuits ("ASICs"). We also rely on Intel, AMD and NVIDIA to provide us with a sufficient supply of processors for the majority of our PCs and workstations. Some of those processors may be customized for our products. New products that we introduce may utilize custom components obtained initially from only one source until we have determined whether there is a need for additional suppliers. Replacing a single-source supplier could delay production of some products as replacement suppliers may be subject to capacity constraints or other output limitations. For some components, alternative sources may not exist or may be unable to produce the quantities of those components necessary to satisfy our production requirements. In certain circumstances, we purchase components from single-source suppliers under short-term agreements that contain favorable pricing and other terms, but that may be unilaterally modified or terminated by the supplier with limited notice and with little or no penalty. The performance of single-source suppliers under those agreements (and the renewal or extension of those agreements upon similar terms) may affect the quality, quantity and price of our components. The loss of, deterioration of our relationship with, or limits in allocation by, a single-source supplier, or any unilateral modification to the contractual terms under which we are supplied components by a single-source supplier could adversely affect our business and financial performance. An adverse litigation outcome, including an injunction in an IP litigation, against a single-source supplier, could also significantly impact our ability to make and sell products utilizing that supplier's components. - Geographic concentration. Our manufacturing facilities and suppliers have historically been, and continue to be, geographically concentrated in certain regions, which could exacerbate the risks noted above. While we are undertaking initiatives to diversify our manufacturing and supply chain footprint, such initiatives require significant investment and time and have been and can continue to be subject to regulatory, continuity, operational, geopolitical and other hurdles, and there can be no assurance that these initiatives will be successful.

We encounter aggressive competition in all areas of our business, and our competitors have targeted and are expected to continue targeting our key market segments. We compete on the basis of our technology, innovation, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, distribution, range of products and services, ease of use, account relationships, customer training, service and support, security, availability of application software and internet infrastructure offerings, and our sustainability performance. We have faced, and may continue to face, declines in market share for our products. If our products, services, support and cost structure do not enable us to compete successfully, our results of operations, cash flows and business prospects could be affected. We have a large portfolio of products and must allocate our financial, personnel and other resources across our products while competing with companies that have smaller portfolios or specialize in one or more of our product lines. Because of the size and scope of our portfolio, we may invest a greater percentage of our revenues, including on research and development, than some of our competitors. As a result, we may invest less in certain areas of our business than our competitors, and our competitors may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources available for their products and services, compared to the resources allocated to our competing products and services, or greater economies of scale, which could in turn result in our loss of market share. Our actions to mitigate the impact of these dynamics, such as reducing the size of our product portfolio, may not be successful. In addition, if we cannot proportionately decrease our cost structure on a timely basis in response to competitive pricing pressures, our gross margin, profitability and cash flows could be adversely affected. Our alliance partners in certain areas may be or may become our competitors in others. In addition, these partners also may acquire or form alliances with our competitors, which could reduce their business with us. We have faced and expect to continue to face aggressive price competition and have lowered and may in the future need to lower the prices of many of our products and services to stay competitive, while at the same time trying to maintain or improve our market share, revenue and gross margin. Competitors who have a greater presence in some of the lower-cost markets in which we compete, or who can obtain better pricing, more favorable contractual terms and conditions, and/or more favorable allocations of products and components, have been able to offer and may continue to be able to offer lower prices than we are able to offer. Price competition often increases during periods of lower demand, including as a result of declining macroeconomic conditions. The sales prices for our products may also decline as a result of discounts, a change in or mix of products and services, anticipation of the introduction of new products and services by us or by our competitors, promotional programs, product and related warranty costs or broader macroeconomic factors. We may also provide pricing discounts to large customers, which may result in lower margins for the period in which the sales occur. In addition, currency fluctuations, particularly weakness in the Japanese Yen, has and may continue to exacerbate pricing competition for our print products and services. Industry consolidation may also affect competition by creating larger, more homogeneous and potentially stronger competitors in the markets in which we operate. Our competitors may also affect our business by entering into exclusive arrangements with our existing or potential customers or suppliers. Furthermore, non-original supplies (including imitation, refill or remanufactured alternatives), which are often available at lower prices, compete with our Printing Supplies business. We may not be able to prevent the use of imitation print supplies with our printers using technological protection measures, including due to regulatory issues or other legal challenges. In addition, online and omnichannel retailers, resellers and distributors often sell our products alongside competing products, including non-original supplies, or they may highlight the availability of lower cost non-original supplies. We expect this competition will continue.