Polaris (PII) Risk Analysis

Our business, properties, and products are subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations relating to, among other things: climate change; emissions to air; discharges to water; restrictions placed on water and land usage and water availability; product and associated packaging; use of certain chemicals; import and export compliance, including but not limited to classification and valuation of products, country of origin certification requirements, and laws relating to forced labor in the supply chain; worker and product user health and safety; consumer privacy; energy efficiency; product life-cycles; outdoor noise laws; and the generation, use, handling, labeling, collection, management, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, and other regulated materials. We are unable to predict the ultimate impact of adopted or future laws, rules, and regulations on our business, properties, or products. Any of these laws, rules, or regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses to achieve or maintain compliance, require us to modify our products, or modify our approach to our workforce, adversely affecting the price of or demand for some of our products, and ultimately affect the way we conduct our operations. Failure to comply with any of these laws, rules, or regulations could result in harm to our reputation and/or could lead to fines and other penalties, including restrictions on the importation of our products into, and the sale of our products in, one or more jurisdictions until compliance is achieved. In addition, changes to regulations may require us to incur expenses or modify product offerings in order to maintain compliance with the actions of regulators and could decrease the demand for our products.

We are subject to legal proceedings in the U.S. and elsewhere involving various issues, including product liability lawsuits for property damage or serious bodily injury, including death, warranty litigation, and class actions alleging claims for product defects, product recalls, economic losses, breach of warranty, and violations of various consumer protection laws, among other claims. A negative outcome in one or more of these lawsuits could result in an award of damages (for which we are not insured), including punitive damages, or fines, reputational harm, interruption or modification of our business, or other sanctions, as well as legal and punitive damages, or fines, reputational harm, interruption or modification of our business, or other sanctions, as well as legal and other costs, any of which may be significant and may have a negative impact on our business, operating results and cash flows. The Company purchases excess insurance coverage for product liability claims related to incidents during the policy period which exceed our self-insured retention thresholds. Disputes with insurers could impact our recoveries under these policies. Furthermore, certain claims that are not typically covered under commercial excess policies would be excluded from coverage, such as economic loss claims, false marketing claims, and in some historical policies, punitive damages. Product liability claims have not historically resulted in any material adverse effects on our financial statements, however, no assurance can be given that this will not change or that material product liability, class action, or other claims against us will not be made in the future. An unanticipated adverse determination of a material product liability claim or other material claim (particularly an uninsured issue) made against us could materially and adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

We are subject to income taxes and other business taxes in various jurisdictions in which we operate. Our tax liabilities are dependent upon the earnings generated in these different jurisdictions. Our provision for income taxes and cash tax liability could be adversely affected by numerous factors, including income before taxes being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions with lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated in jurisdictions with higher statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws and regulations in various jurisdictions. We also have negotiated and are party to certain tax incentives that require the Company comply with certain covenants. We are also subject to the continuous examination of our income tax returns by various tax authorities. The results of audits and examinations of previously filed tax returns and continuing assessments of our tax exposures or the loss of any tax incentive may have an adverse effect on the Company's provision for income taxes and cash tax liability. Furthermore, a material change in the tax laws, treaties, or regulations, or their interpretation, of any jurisdiction with which we and our subsidiaries do business or have significant operations could adversely affect us. For example, in 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD") announced that 136 countries and tax jurisdictions have agreed to implement a new "Two Pillar" approach to international taxation. The first pillar will establish a new taxing right for countries in which a business has a significant economic presence, even though it may not have the degree of physical presence in that country needed to establish a taxing right under existing tax treaties. The second pillar is designed to ensure large corporations are taxed at a minimum rate of 15% in all countries of operation. The OECD continues to release guidance and countries are implementing legislation to adopt the rules, which are expected to become effective for the first time in 2024. The United States has not yet enacted legislation implementing the second pillar. Depending on how the jurisdictions in which we operate choose to implement the OECD's approach in their tax treaties and domestic tax laws, we and our subsidiaries could be adversely affected due to some of our income being taxed at higher effective rates, once these new rules come into force.

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, such as our trade names, are recorded at fair value at the time of acquisition and are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. Our determination of whether goodwill impairment has occurred is based on a comparison of each of our reporting units' fair market value with its carrying value. Significant and unanticipated changes in circumstances, such as significant and long-term adverse changes in business climate, negative perception of the Company's brands and tradenames, unanticipated competition, and/or changes in technology or markets, could require a provision for impairment in a future period that could negatively impact our reported earnings and reduce our consolidated net worth and shareholders' equity.

Our credit agreement and other debt agreements contain financial and restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to, among other things, borrow additional funds or take advantage of business opportunities. Increases in our debt or decreases in our earnings could cause us to fail to comply with these financial covenants. Failing to comply with such covenants could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all our indebtedness or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operation and debt service capability. Our outstanding debt and the financial and restrictive covenants contained in our credit agreement could have important consequences on our financial position and results of operations, including increasing our vulnerability to increases in interest rates because debt under our credit agreement bears interest at variable rates. In addition, our outstanding amount of debt could limit our ability to raise additional capital or increase borrowing costs on future debt if we are unable to replace existing debt with comparable new debt and may have the effect, among other things, of reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions, requiring us to use a portion of our cash flows to repay indebtedness and placing us at a disadvantage compared to competitors with lower debt obligations. Furthermore, each of the credit rating agencies reviews its rating periodically, and there is no guarantee that our current credit ratings will remain the same. Should the credit rating agencies lower our credit ratings or if we were to lose our investment-grade rating, we could face further constraints on our ability to raise additional capital and face an increase in borrowing costs on future debt. Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness depends on our ability to generate cash in the future.

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive. Competition in such markets is based upon several factors, including price, quality, reliability, styling, product features and warranties. At the dealer level, competition is based on additional factors, including product availability, sales and marketing support programs (such as financing and cooperative advertising), and dealer and customer perception. Certain of our competitors are more diversified and have advantageous manufacturing footprints, and may invest more heavily in intellectual property, product development, promotions and advertising or online presence. If we are not able to compete with new or enhanced products or models of our competitors or compete in the digital marketplace, our ability to retain and attract customers and future business performance may be materially and adversely affected. Internationally, our products typically face more competition where certain foreign competitors manufacture and market products in their respective countries. This allows those competitors to sell products at lower prices, which could adversely affect our competitiveness. In addition, our products compete with many other recreational, utility, and work products for the discretionary spending of our customers. A failure to compete effectively with these other competitors or adjust pricing to offset inflation or increased supply chain costs could materially and adversely affect our financial results and have a material adverse effect on our performance.

We have arrangements with third parties to make retail financing available to consumers who purchase our products in the United States and Canada. Furthermore, many customers use financing from lenders who do not partner with us, such as local banks and credit unions. There can be no assurance that retail financing will continue to be available in the same amounts and under the same terms that had been previously available to our customers. If retail financing is not available to customers on satisfactory terms, consumer demand could be materially impacted and our sales and profitability could be adversely affected.

Unless we can continue to enhance existing products, develop and market new products and services, including in the digital and electrification markets, we may not be able to compete effectively in the market, and ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of our customers in the global markets in which we compete. Product development requires significant financial, technological and other resources. There can be no assurance that our level of investment in research and development will be a sufficient competitive advantage in product innovation, which could cause our business to suffer. Product improvements and new product introductions also require significant engineering, planning, design, development, and testing at the technological, product, and manufacturing process levels and we may not be able to timely develop product improvements or new products. Our competitors' new products may be of a better quality, beat our products to market, and be more attractive in terms of features and price than our products.

Our proprietary intellectual property rights are enforceable against third parties as infringement or misappropriation allegations or actions only to the extent that they are demonstrated by valid and enforceable patents or trademarks or are maintained in reasonable confidence sufficient to qualify as trade secrets. Despite our best efforts, we cannot guarantee that we will be issued any patents from any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us or that the claims granted under any issued patents will be sufficiently broad to protect our technology against any current or future competitor. In the absence of directly applicable and enforceable patent or trademark protection, we may be vulnerable to loss with respect to competitors who attempt to copy our technology or product designs, exploit our trade secrets and know-how, or tarnish or diminish goodwill in our brand, all of which could adversely affect our business. Even with applicable and enforceable patent or trademark protection, others may initiate litigation to challenge to validity of our intellection property, allege that we infringe their intellectual property rights, or they may use their resources to design comparable products that recreate as near as possible yet do not technically infringe our patents. We may incur substantial costs defending our intellectual property rights in the event that others initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents or allege that we infringe their patents. Substantial costs may also be incurred should we initiate proceedings to protect our intellectual property rights against misappropriation or infringement by others. If the outcome of any intellection property-related litigation is unfavorable to us, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. Regardless of whether litigation relating to our intellectual property rights is successful, ongoing litigation as described herein could significantly increase our costs and divert management's attention from operation of our business, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Although we take all reasonable measures to verify that our products, technologies and marks do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, we cannot guarantee that they do not or will not. Allegations, litigation, cease and desist letters, court ordered injunctions, and the like relating to potential infringement of third-party intellectual property could result in significant costs, damages and substantial uncertainty.

Cybersecurity threats and incidents have been occurring globally at a more frequent and severe level and will likely continue to increase in frequency and severity in the future. As technological advances develop and our reliance on technology increases, our business is subject to risk from cybersecurity threats and incidents, including attempts to gain unauthorized access to our systems and networks, or those of our third-party vendors and service providers, the disruption of operations, the corruption of data or theft of confidential or personal information, and other cybersecurity incidents. We use many information technology systems, some of which are managed or hosted by third parties, and manufacture connected products (including connected vehicles), some of which are managed by third parties, in operating our business. Those systems and products process potentially sensitive information, including intellectual property; proprietary business information of Polaris and our dealers, suppliers, and other business partners; and personal information of consumers and employees. Our information technology systems and connected products, including those managed or hosted by third parties, have been, and could be in the future vulnerable to breach, damage, disruption, or breakdown from various sources, including power loss, viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing, denial of service, and other cyber-attacks that may be random, targeted, or the result of misconduct or error by individuals with access to our systems. Although we monitor continually evolving cybersecurity threats, have implemented various measures designed to manage risks relating to these types of threats, and have invested in layers of data and information technology protection, these measures and the systems supporting them could prove to be inadequate and there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent disruptions or breaches of our information technology systems, connected products, data and/or operations. We have experienced cyber-attacks, as have third-parties who manage our information technology systems and other third-party suppliers and service providers, but to our knowledge, we have not experienced any material disruptions or breaches of our information technology systems, connected products, data or operations as a result of such cyber-attacks. We could, however, experience material disruptions or breaches in the future. Such disruptions or breaches of our information technology systems, connected products, data, or operations could adversely affect our business by resulting in, among other things: (i) disruption to our business operations; (ii) compromise or loss of the information processed by our information technology systems and connected products, such as intellectual property, confidential or proprietary information, or personal information; (iii) impact to the performance and/or safety of our connected products; (iv) damage to our reputation; (v) requirements to notify government authorities or affected individuals; and (vi) government enforcement, litigation or regulatory proceedings. We could be required to make a significant investment to remedy, mitigate or remediate the effects of any failures, including, but not limited to, harm to our reputation, legal claims that we and/or our business partners (including third-party vendors and service providers) may be subjected to, regulatory or enforcement action arising out of applicable privacy and other laws, adverse publicity, or other events that may affect our business and financial performance.

Our results of operations may be sensitive to changes in overall economic conditions, primarily in North America and Europe, that impact spending on our products, including discretionary spending. Weakening of, and fluctuations in, economic conditions affecting disposable consumer income or our customers' budgets, such as employment levels, inflation, business conditions, the level of governmental financial assistance, changes in housing market conditions, capital markets, tax rates, savings rates, interest rates, fuel and energy costs, the economic impacts of natural disasters or other severe weather conditions, acts of war, and acts of terrorism, the availability of consumer credit could reduce overall spending or reduce spending on our products. Our sales growth and profitability have been affected, from time to time, from a general reduction in consumer spending or a reduction in consumer spending on powersports, boats and aftermarket products. A general reduction in spending by our customers for commercial equipment or a reduction in government budgets could adversely affect our related sales. Adverse changes in these factors could lead to a decreased level of demand for our products, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, we have financial services arrangements with subsidiaries of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated that require us to repurchase products financed and repossessed pursuant to the terms of such arrangements and subject to certain limitations. From time to time, we may also elect to provide guarantees or other credit support in favor of, or related to, these arrangements, including to increase capacity thereunder. If adverse changes to economic conditions result in increased defaults on the loans made under these arrangements, our contractual repurchase obligations (or demands under any guarantees or other credit support) could adversely affect our liquidity and harm our business.

Unfavorable weather conditions may reduce demand and negatively impact sales of certain of the Company's products. Unfavorable weather, including conditions caused in part by climate change, in any particular geographic region may have an adverse effect on sales of the Company's products in that region. For example, lack of snowfall during winter may materially adversely affect snowmobile sales; excessive rain before and during spring and summer may materially adversely affect sales of off-road vehicles and boats; a lack of rain in certain areas may limit boat usage and may materially adversely affect sales of boats; and wild fires can limit areas where our customers ride our off-road vehicles. Weather conditions may also disrupt our manufacturing and distribution facilities and our supply chain, which could impact our ability to manufacture products to fulfill customer demand. Such disruptions could be caused by natural disasters, inclement weather and/or climate change-related events, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, typhoons, drought, fire, other extreme weather conditions or natural disasters and events that occur as a result of such events, such as water and natural resource shortages, power outages or shortages, or telecommunications failures. These weather conditions could pose physical risks to our facilities and critical infrastructure in the U.S. and internationally, disrupt the operation of our supply chain and third-party vendors, and may impact operational results. There can be no assurance that weather conditions or natural disasters will not have a material effect on our sales, production capability or component supply continuity for any of our products.

The changing relationships of the United States dollar to the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, the Euro, the Swiss franc, the Mexican peso, and certain other foreign currencies have from time to time had a negative impact on our results of operations. Fluctuations in the value of the United States dollar relative to these foreign currencies can adversely affect the price of our products in foreign markets, the costs we incur to import certain components for our products, and the translation of our foreign balance sheets. In addition, with the recent strengthening of the United States dollar, we have experienced a corresponding negative impact on our financial results with respect to our foreign operations. While we actively manage our exposure to fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates by entering into foreign exchange hedging contracts from time to time, these contracts hedge foreign currency denominated transactions, and any change in the fair value of the contracts would be offset by changes in the underlying value of the transactions being hedged.