Item 1A. Risk Factors
The risks described in "Risk Factors," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016,and as supplemented below, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not believe any of the updates below constitute material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in our 2016 Annual Report. These risk factors do not identify all risks that we face; our operations could also be affected by factors that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial to our operations. In that event, the trading price of our shares may decline, and you may lose part or all of your investment.
Risks related to our business and industry
We may not be able to achieve revenue growth or profitability in the future.
We have historically experienced significant revenue growth. As our revenue has increased, our annual growth rate has slowed or declined, and our historical results should not be considered as indicative of our future performance. For example, our annual revenue grew rapidly from
$986 million
in 2013 to
$1.62 billion
in 2015 and then declined to
$1.19 billion
in 2016. In future periods, we could again experience a decline in revenue, or revenue could grow more slowly than we expect, which could have a material negative effect on our future operating results.
In addition, we incurred substantial operating losses of
$88.2 million
and
$121.4 million
for the first quarters of 2017 and 2016, respectively. We also incurred a substantial operating loss of
$373 million
for full year 2016 as compared to operating income of
$54.7 million
for full year 2015. Lower levels of revenue or higher levels of operating expense investment in future periods may result in additional losses or limited profitability. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we implemented a company-wide restructuring of our business resulting in a reduction in our global workforce and the elimination of certain open positions, the elimination of several high-cost initiatives, including the closure of our entertainment group in order to focus our resources on our hardware and software integrated storytelling solution, and the consolidation of certain leased office facilities. In the first quarter of 2017, we announced a restructuring that provided for a further reduction in our global workforce and the elimination of certain open positions. We may not realize the cost savings expected from these actions. We may continue to incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including other risks described in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors.
Our future growth depends in part on further penetrating our total addressable market, and we may not be successful in doing so.
Our growth historically has largely been fueled by the adoption of our products by people looking to self-capture images of themselves participating in exciting physical activities. We believe that our future growth depends on continuing to reach and expand our core community of users, followers and fans and then utilizing that energized community as brand ambassadors to an extended community. We believe that in order to expand our market, we must provide both innovative and easy-to-use products as well as intuitive and simple software tools that enable effortless sharing of content, with the smartphone as central to the GoPro experience. We may not be able to expand our market through this strategy on a timely basis, or at all, and we may not be successful in providing tools that our users adopt or believe are easy to use.
In Fall 2016, we launched our integrated storytelling solution comprising our new cloud-connected HERO5 cameras, a new ecosystem of mounts and accessories, our new GoPro Plus cloud-based storage service, our updated Capture application and updated versions of our Quik editing applications. We plan to further build upon our integrated storytelling solution in future periods, and our investments in this solution, including marketing and advertising expenses, may not successfully drive increased sales of our products and our users may not adopt our new offerings. If we are not successful in broadening our user base with our integrated solution, our future revenue growth will be negatively impacted and we may not recognize benefits from our investments in the various components of our storytelling solution and the marketing, sales and advertising costs to promote our solution.
Our growth also depends on expanding our market with new capture perspectives, including aerial and spherical, which are resource-intensive initiatives in highly competitive markets. For example, we plan a limited commercial release of our new spherical camera, Fusion, by the end of 2017. While we are investing resources, including in sales and marketing, to reach these expanded and new consumer markets, we cannot be assured that we will be
successful in doing so. If we are not successful in penetrating additional markets, we might not be able to grow our revenue and we may not recognize benefits from our investment in new areas.
To remain competitive and stimulate consumer demand, we must effectively manage product introductions, product transitions and marketing.
We believe that we must continually develop and introduce new products, enhance our existing products and effectively stimulate customer demand for new and upgraded products to maintain or increase our revenue.
The success of new product introductions depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, timely and successful research and development, pricing, market and consumer acceptance, the effective forecasting and management of product demand, purchase commitments and inventory levels, the availability of products in appropriate quantities to meet anticipated demand, the ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of components for our new products from third-party suppliers, the management of any changes in major component suppliers, the management of manufacturing and supply costs, the management of risks associated with new product production ramp-up issues, and the risk that new products may have quality issues or other defects or bugs in the early stages of introduction. With respect to management and supply costs, we may be impacted by an overall worldwide increase in demand for memory products and potential allocations for such products, in addition to pricing pressure on commodity supplies such as batteries. Such supply shortages may impact our ability to manage appropriate supply levels of our products and pricing pressures may negatively impact our gross margins.
In addition, the introduction or announcement of new products or product enhancements may shorten the life cycle of our existing products or reduce demand for our current products, thereby offsetting any benefits of successful product introductions and potentially lead to challenges in managing inventory of existing products. Failure to complete product transitions effectively or in a timely manner could harm our brand and lead to, among other things, lower revenue, excess prior generation product inventory, or a deficit of new product inventory and reduced profitability.
For example, in Fall 2016, we experienced production issues that resulted in delayed unit shipments of our new HERO5 Black cameras in the third and fourth quarters of 2016. In addition, in November 2016, we announced the withdrawal of all Karma drones after we discovered that some Karma units lost power during operation. As a result of these issues, our revenues and operating results for the second half of 2016 were negatively impacted. The Karma drone was re-launched and available for sale domestically in February 2017 and distribution in international markets began at the end of March 2017. In addition, in January 2016, we announced the end-of-life for our entry-level HERO line of cameras in order to simplify our product offering. As a result, we recorded product charges of approximately $57 million and $8 million to cost of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016, respectively.
Additionally, our brand and product marketing efforts are critical to stimulating consumer demand. We market our products globally through a range of advertising and promotional programs and campaigns, including social media. If we do not successfully market our products, the lack of success or increased costs of promotional programs could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on sales of our cameras, mounts and accessories for substantially all of our revenue, and any decrease in the sales or change in sales mix of these products would harm our business.
We expect to derive the substantial majority of our revenue from sales of cameras, mounts and accessories for the foreseeable future. A decline in the price or unit demand for these products, whether due to macroeconomic conditions, competition or otherwise, or our inability to increase sales of these products, would harm our business and operating results more seriously than it would if we derived significant revenue from a variety of product lines and services. In particular, a decline in the price or unit demand of our top-selling HERO5 Black camera, or our inability to increase sales of this product, could materially harm our business and operating results.
While we have developed and released products and services to add to our offerings, we may not be successful in achieving future revenue growth driven by newly released products and services. For example, concurrently with our HERO5 camera launch we announced our integrated storytelling solution to make editing and sharing content from a GoPro easier for our users. If all the components of the storytelling solution do not work together seamlessly or our users do not adopt them, they may not drive camera sales and our operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, although we re-launched Karma in the first quarter of 2017, drone sales may not result in long term success or significant revenue for us. We cannot be assured that our investments in the development of software-
related products and services, or drones, will result in either increased revenue or profit. Changes in product mix may harm our financial results. If there is a shift in consumer demand from our higher-priced to lower-priced cameras without a corresponding increase in units sold, our revenues and gross profit could decrease.
As a result, our future growth and financial performance may continue to depend heavily on our ability to develop and sell enhanced versions of our cameras, mounts and accessories. If we fail to deliver product enhancements, new releases or new products and services that appeal to consumers, our future financial condition, operating results and cash flows will be materially affected. Further, our products are discretionary items for consumers subject to changing preferences. The overall market for consumer electronics is highly competitive and consumers may choose to spend their dollars on products or devices offered by our competitors or other consumer electronics companies instead of on GoPro products, which may adversely affect our sales.
An economic downturn or economic uncertainty in our key U.S. and international markets, as well as fluctuations in currency exchange rates, may adversely affect consumer discretionary spending and demand for our products.
Factors affecting the level of consumer spending include general market conditions, macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, and other factors such as consumer confidence, the availability and cost of consumer credit, levels of unemployment and tax rates. The substantial majority of our sales occur in U.S. dollars and an increase in the value of the dollar against the Euro and other currencies could increase the real cost to consumers of our products in those markets outside the United States. If global economic conditions are volatile or if economic conditions deteriorate, consumers may delay or reduce purchases of our products resulting in consumer demand for our products that may not reach our sales targets. For example, the referendum vote in the U.K. to exit the European Union, commonly known as “Brexit”, caused significant short term volatility in global stock markets as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations, resulting in further strengthening of the U.S. dollar. Further, as a result of the increase in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Euro and British Pound in recent periods, we have increased the prices of certain products to customers in euro zone countries to maintain our profit margins in these markets. These changes have increased the real cost to customers and consumers of our products in these markets, which may reduce purchases of our products and have a negative impact on our future international revenue. Further strengthening of the U.S. dollar and/or weakness in the economies of euro zone countries could adversely impact sales of our products in the European region, which would have a material negative impact on our future operating results. Our sensitivity to economic cycles and any related fluctuation in consumer demand could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
If we are unable to anticipate consumer preferences and successfully develop desirable products and solutions, we might not be able to maintain or increase our revenue and profitability.
Our success depends on our ability to identify and originate product trends as well as to anticipate, gauge and react to changing consumer demands in a timely manner. All of our products are subject to changing consumer preferences that cannot be predicted with certainty and lead times for our products may make it more difficult for us to respond rapidly to new or changing product or consumer preferences. If we are unable to introduce appealing new products or novel technologies in a timely manner, or our new products or technologies are not accepted or adopted by consumers, our competitors may increase their market share, which could hurt our competitive position
.
Our research and development efforts are complex and require us to incur substantial expenses to support the development of our next generation cameras, drones, editing applications and other new products and services. Our research and development expense was
$358.9 million
,
$241.7 million
and
$151.9 million
for 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We expect that our research and development expenses will continue to be substantial in 2017 but less than expense levels incurred in 2016. Our more limited research and development investment in 2017 may require us to forego investment in certain products or features which might have been successful and we may not choose the right features, products, or services to update or enhance. Unanticipated problems in developing products could also divert substantial resources, which may impair our ability to develop new products and enhancements of existing products, and could further increase our costs. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2016, we diverted resources to investigate and resolve an issue related to our Karma drone after discovering that some Karma units lost power during operation, an issue that was resolved and shipments of Karma resumed in February 2017.
We may not be able to achieve an acceptable return, if any, on our research and development efforts, and our business may be adversely effected. As we continually seek to enhance our products, we will incur additional costs to incorporate new or revised features. We might not be able to, or determine that it is not in our interests to, raise prices to compensate for any additional costs.
Our recent entrance into the consumer drone market is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.
We began resuming shipments of Karma in the United States in February 2017 and distribution in international markets began at the end of March 2017. We have no prior experience in the consumer drone market and expect to face significant competition from incumbent companies promoting their own drone and related products. These include established and start up drone manufacturers, such as DJI Technology Co., Parrot SA and Yuneec International Co., who currently have or are attempting to gain a substantial share of the emerging global drone market. A nascent industry of software developers developing for the drone market is growing and if we do not support this third party developer movement, we may forego the benefits of this developer ecosystem. Failure to effectively compete in this new market could damage our reputation, limit our growth and negatively affect our operating results. Furthermore, we are committed long-term to the drone market and we expect to continue to invest significant resources for the foreseeable future
.
Regulations and legislation relating to the distribution, sale and use of consumer drones in the United States and other countries where we plan to sell our drones are evolving and may be subject to future changes that could negatively impact our sales of such products. It is possible that further U.S. federal or state regulations or regulations in other countries could restrict the use of recreational drones and/or require specific registration, certification, qualifications or design modifications, which could have an unfavorable impact on our future business, financial position and operating results.
In addition, our drones and related product offerings present new and difficult technical challenges, and we may be subject to claims if users experience failures or other quality issues or injuries. For example, in November 2016, we withdrew Karma drones from the market after we discovered that some Karma units lost power during operation. No related injuries or property damage have been reported and we have offered a full refund to Karma purchasers. If our drones malfunction or contain errors or defects in the future, collisions or crashes could occur resulting in property damage, personal injury or death. If any of these events occurs, we could be subject to significant liability for personal injury and property damage.
We operate in a highly competitive market and the size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, which could result in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our revenue and profitability.
The market for cameras is highly competitive. Further, competition has intensified as existing competitors have introduced new and more competitive offerings alongside their existing products, and as market entrants have introduced new products into our markets. Increased competition and changing consumer preferences may result in pricing pressures, reduced profit margins and may impede our ability to continue to increase the sales of our products or cause us to lose market share, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
We compete against established, well-known camera manufacturers such as Canon Inc., Fujifilm Corporation, Nikon Corporation, Olympus Corporation and Vivitar Corporation, as well as large, diversified electronics companies such as, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corporation and specialty companies such as Garmin Ltd. Many of our current competitors have substantial market share, diversified product lines, well-established supply and distribution systems, strong worldwide brand recognition and greater financial, marketing, research and development and other resources than we do. Many of our existing and potential competitors enjoy substantial competitive advantages, such as longer operating histories; the capacity to leverage their sales efforts and marketing expenditures across a broader portfolio of products; broader distribution and established relationships with channel partners; access to larger established customer bases; greater resources to make acquisitions; larger intellectual property portfolios; and the ability to bundle competitive offerings with other products and services. Further, new companies may emerge and offer competitive products. We are aware that certain companies have developed cameras designed and packaged to appear similar to our products, which may confuse consumers or distract consumers from purchasing GoPro products.
Moreover, smartphones and tablets with photo and video functionality have significantly displaced the market for traditional cameras, and the makers of those devices also have mobile and other content editing applications and storage for content captured with those devices. Our Quik mobile and desktop editing applications, Capture application and our GoPro Plus service may not be as compelling a solution as those offered by other companies, such as Apple, Inc. and Google, although the Quik mobile application supports content from other platforms including content from Apple and Google. Also, it is possible that, in the future, the manufacturers of smartphones and tablets, such as Apple, Google, and Samsung, may design them for use in a range of conditions, including challenging physical environments, or develop products with features similar to ours
.
As described above, we recently entered the consumer drone market and face significant competition from other companies promoting their own drone and related products. These include established and start up drone manufacturers, such as DJI Technology Co., Parrot SA and Yuneec International Co., who currently have or are attempting to gain a substantial share of the emerging global drone market. Failure to effectively re-launch our drone and compete in this new market could negatively affect our operating results and financial position.
We depend on key personnel to operate and grow our business. If we are unable to retain, attract and integrate qualified personnel, our ability to develop and successfully grow our business could be harmed.
We believe that our future success is highly dependent on the contributions of our CEO and our executive officers, as well as our ability to attract and retain highly skilled and experienced research and development, sales and marketing and other personnel in the United States and abroad. All of our employees, including our executive officers, are free to terminate their employment relationship with us at any time, and their knowledge of our business and industry may be difficult to replace.
Since November 2016, we implemented two global reductions-in-force and other restructuring actions to reduce our future operating expenses. Furthermore, in December 2016, we announced the resignation of our President, and in January 2017, we appointed our Senior Vice President of Software and Services to be our Chief Operating Officer. These changes, and any future changes, in our operations and management team could be disruptive to our operations. Our restructuring actions and any future restructuring actions could have an adverse impact on our business as a result of decreases in employee morale and the failure to meet operational targets due to the loss of employees. If more of our key employees leave, we may not be able to fully integrate new personnel or replicate the prior working relationships, and our operations could suffer. Furthermore, if our founder and CEO, Nick Woodman, left the Company, his departure could affect our ability to continue to attract other top executives and potentially negatively impact the view of our brand.
Qualified individuals are in high demand, and we may incur significant costs to attract and retain them. While we utilize competitive salary, bonus and long-term incentive packages to recruit new employees, many of the companies with which we compete for experienced personnel also have greater resources than we do. Competition for qualified personnel is particularly intense in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters are located. We have, from time to time, experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. In addition, job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. Fluctuations in the price of our Class A common stock may make it more difficult or costly to use equity compensation to motivate, incentivize and retain our employees. For example, during the twelve months ended March 31, 2017, our stock price ranged from a high of $17.15 in the third quarter of 2016 to a low of $7.14 in the first quarter of 2017. If we are unable to attract and retain highly skilled personnel, we may not be able to achieve our strategic objectives, and our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.
If our sales fall below our forecasts, especially during the holiday season, our overall financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Seasonal consumer shopping patterns significantly affect our business. We have traditionally experienced greater revenues in the fourth quarter of each year due to demand related to the holiday season, and in some years, including 2016, the launch of new products heading into the holiday season. Fourth quarter revenue comprised
46%
,
27%
and
45%
of our 2016, 2015 and 2014 revenue, respectively. Given the strong seasonal nature of our sales, appropriate forecasting is critical to our operations. We anticipate that this seasonal impact is likely to continue and any shortfalls in expected fourth quarter revenue, due to macroeconomic conditions, product release patterns, a decline in the
effectiveness of our promotional activities, supply chain disruptions, or for any other reason, could cause our annual results of operations to suffer significantly. For example, as a result of production issues impacting launch volumes of our HERO5 Black cameras and the recall of our Karma drones, we were limited in our ability to meet initial estimated customer demand for the 2016 holiday season. In addition, we typically experience lower revenue in the first quarter. For example, revenue of
$218.6 million
for the first quarter of 2017 decreased
$322.0 million
, or
59.6%
, sequentially from
$540.6 million
in the fourth quarter of 2016. First quarter revenue comprised
15%
,
22%
and
17%
of our annual 2016, 2015 and 2014 revenue, respectively.
In contrast, a substantial portion of our expenses are personnel related and include salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and incentive-based compensation plan expenses, which are not seasonal in nature. Accordingly, in the event of revenue shortfalls, we are generally unable to mitigate a negative impact on operating margins in the short term. For example, we recorded a substantial net loss for 2016 due to lower levels of revenue and higher levels of operating expense investment. To the extent such revenue shortfalls recur in future periods, our operating results would be harmed.
We face substantial risks related to inventory, purchase commitments and long-lived assets, and we could incur material charges related to these items that adversely affect our operating results.
To ensure adequate inventory supply and meet the demands of our retailers and distributors, we must forecast inventory needs and place orders with our contract manufacturers and component suppliers based on our estimates of future demand for particular products as well as accurately track the level of product inventory in the channel to ensure we are not in an over or under supply situation. To the extent we discontinue the manufacturing and sales of any products or services, we must manage the inventory liquidation, supplier commitments and customer expectations. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016, we recorded product charges of $57 million and $8 million, respectively, for excess purchase order commitments, excess inventory, and obsolete tooling, relating to the end-of-life of our entry-level HERO products and slower than anticipated overall demand.
No assurance can be given that we will not incur additional charges in future periods related to our inventory management or that we will not underestimate or overestimate forecast sales in a future period. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products is affected by many factors, including product introductions by us and our competitors, channel inventory levels, unanticipated changes in general market demand, macroeconomic conditions or consumer confidence. If we do not accurately forecast customer demand for our products, we may in future periods be unable to meet customer, retailer or distributor demand for our products, or may be required to incur higher costs to secure the necessary production capacity and components, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
If we fail to manage our operating expenses effectively, our financial performance may continue to suffer.
Our success will depend in part upon our ability to manage our operating expenses effectively. We incurred significant operating losses in 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 and, as of March 31, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of
$370.4 million
. In the first and fourth quarters of 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017, we implemented global reductions-in-force and other restructuring actions to reduce our future operating expenses. Although we plan to seek to operate efficiently and to manage our costs effectively, we may not realize the cost savings expected from these actions. Aggregate charges for employee termination and the timing to recognize these charges and other costs associated with the restructuring, including the estimates of related cash expenditures made in connection with the restructuring, may exceed estimated and disclosed amounts and may not lead to improvements in results of operations at expected levels.
We will need to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting processes and procedures and financial and business information systems. We are also investing in areas we believe will grow revenue and our operating expenses might increase as a result of these investments. If we are unable to operate efficiently and manage our costs, we may continue to incur significant losses in the future and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
In the future, in response to unfavorable market conditions or consumer demand, we may again need to strategically realign our resources, adjust our product line and/or enact price reductions in order to stimulate demand, and implement additional restructurings and workforce reductions. Any such actions may result in the recording of special charges including inventory-related write-offs, workforce reductions, or other restructuring costs. Additionally, our
estimates with respect to the useful life or ultimate recoverability of our assets, including purchased intangible assets and tooling, could also change and result in impairment charges.
Our international business operations account for a significant portion of our revenue and operating expenses and are subject to challenges and risks.
Revenue from outside the United States comprised
53%
,
52%
and
43%
of our revenue in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and we expect this portion to continue to be significant in the future. Further, we currently have foreign operations in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the Philippines and a number of other countries in Europe and Asia. Operating in foreign countries requires significant resources and considerable management attention, and we may enter new geographic markets where we have limited or no experience in marketing, selling, and deploying our products. International expansion has required and will continue to require us to invest significant funds and other resources and we cannot be assured our efforts will be successful. International sales and operations may be subject to risks such as:
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difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations;
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burdens of complying with a wide variety of laws and regulations, including environmental, packaging and labeling, and drone regulations;
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adverse tax effects and foreign exchange controls making it difficult to repatriate earnings and cash;
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the impact of foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates;
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political and economic instability;
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terrorist activities and natural disasters;
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differing employment practices and laws and labor disruptions;
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the imposition of government controls;
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lesser degrees of intellectual property protection;
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tariffs and customs duties and the classifications of our goods by applicable governmental bodies;
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a legal system subject to undue influence or corruption; and
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a business culture in which illegal sales practices may be prevalent.
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The occurrence of any of these risks could negatively affect our international business and consequently our business, operating results and financial condition.
We may acquire other businesses, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and adversely affect our operating results.
We have completed several acquisitions and may evaluate additional acquisitions of, or strategic investments in, other companies, products or technologies that we believe are complementary to our business. For example, in the first half of 2016, we acquired two mobile editing application companies for aggregate cash consideration of approximately $104 million.
We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals, and any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by users or investors. In addition, if we fail to successfully integrate such acquisitions, or the technologies associated with such acquisitions, the revenue and operating results of the combined company could be adversely affected. Acquisitions may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management from their primary responsibilities, subject us to additional liabilities, increase our expenses and adversely impact our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology and accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges. We have recorded significant goodwill and intangible assets in connection with our acquisitions, and in the future, if our acquisitions do not yield expected revenue, we may be required to take material impairment charges that could adversely affect our results of operations.
We may have to pay cash, incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition, each of which could affect our financial condition or the value of our capital stock. The sale of equity to finance any such acquisitions could result in dilution to our stockholders. If we incur debt it would result in increased fixed obligations and could also subject us to covenants or other restrictions that would impede our ability to manage our operations. In addition, our future operating results may be impacted by performance earnouts or contingent payments. For example, for
our 2016 acquisitions, aggregate deferred cash and stock compensation of up to approximately $35 million is payable to certain continuing employees subject to meeting specified future employment conditions.
Furthermore, acquisitions may require large one-time charges and can result in increased debt or contingent liabilities, adverse tax consequences, additional stock-based compensation expense and the recording and subsequent amortization or impairments of amounts related to certain purchased intangible assets, any of which could negatively impact our future results of operations.
We may not be able to secure additional financing on favorable terms, or at all, to meet our future capital needs.
In the future, we may require additional capital to respond to business opportunities, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances and may determine to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for other reasons. We may not be able to timely secure additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. For example, our current credit facility contains restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, and any debt financing obtained by us in the future could involve further restrictive covenants, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. Further, even if we are able to obtain additional financing, we may be required to use such proceeds to repay a portion of our debt. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt or other equity-linked securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing under our credit facility, or alternative sources, when we require it, our ability to grow or support our business and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited. In the event additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Our success depends on our ability to maintain the value and reputation of our brand.
Our success depends on the value and reputation of our brand, including our primary trademarks “GOPRO,” “HERO,” "KARMA," "SESSION" and the GoPro logos. The GoPro brand is integral to the growth of our business and expansion into new markets. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brand will largely depend on the success of our marketing and merchandising efforts, our ability to provide consistent, high quality products, and our consumers' satisfaction with the technical support and software updates we provide. Failure to grow and maintain our brand or negative publicity related to our products, our consumers’ user-generated content, the athletes we sponsor, the celebrities we are associated with, or the labor policies of any of our suppliers or manufacturers could adversely impact our brand, business and operating results. For example, if consumers do to not develop confidence in the performance of our re-launched drone, the KARMA brand may be impaired and our ability to grow our drone business will be harmed. Maintaining and enhancing our brand also requires substantial financial investments, although there is no guarantee that these investments will increase sales of our products or positively impact our operating results.
We rely on third-party suppliers, some of which are sole-source suppliers, to provide components for our products.
Our ability to meet customer demand depends, in part, on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of components for our products. All of the components that go into the manufacturing of our cameras and accessories are sourced from third-party suppliers, and some of these components are provided by a single supplier or by a supplier that could potentially become a competitor.
If we lose access to components from a particular supplier, or experience a significant disruption in the supply of products and components from a current supplier, we may be unable to locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all, and our business could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if we experience a significant increase in demand for our products, our suppliers might not have the capacity or elect not to meet our needs as they allocate components to other customers. Identifying a suitable supplier is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with the supplier’s quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability and labor and other ethical practices, and if we seek to source materials from new suppliers there can be no assurance that we could do so in a manner that does not disrupt the manufacture and sale of our products. Our reliance on single source, or a small number of, suppliers involves a number of additional risks, including risks related to: supplier capacity constraints; price increases; timely delivery; component quality; failure of a key supplier to remain in business and adjust to market conditions; delays in, or the inability to execute on, a supplier roadmap for components and technologies; and natural disasters, fire, acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events.
In particular, for our camera designs we incorporate image processors, sensors and lens solutions that critically impact the performance of our products. These components have unique performance profiles, and, as a result, it is not commercially practical to support multiple sources for these components for our camera and drone products. For example, we incorporate video compression and image processing semiconductors from Ambarella, Inc. in our HERO5 cameras. We do not currently have alternative suppliers for these key components. In the event that any of our key suppliers are unable to supply the components that we need to produce our products to meet anticipated customer demand, our business would be materially and adversely affected.
Any significant cybersecurity incidents or disruption of our information systems, and our reliance on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technologies from third parties, could adversely affect our business operations and financial results.
We are increasingly dependent on information systems to process transactions, manage our supply chain and inventory, ship goods on a timely basis, maintain cost-efficient operations, complete timely and accurate financial reporting, operate our e-commerce website and respond to customer inquiries.
Our information systems and those of third parties we use in our operations are vulnerable to cybersecurity risk, including cyber-attacks such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins that damage operating systems, and similar disruptions. These systems periodically experience directed attacks intended to lead to interruptions and delays in our operations as well as loss, misuse or theft of data. We have implemented physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect our systems. To date, unauthorized users have not had a material impact on our systems; however, there can be no assurance that attacks will not be successful in the future. In addition, our information systems must be constantly updated, patched, and upgraded to protect against known vulnerabilities and optimize performance. Material disruptions or slowdown of our systems, including a disruption or slowdown could occur if we are unable to successfully update, patch and upgrade our systems.
System disruptions, failures and slowdowns, whether caused by cyber-attacks, update failures, or other causes, could affect our financial systems and operations. This could cause delays in our supply chain or cause information, including data related to customer orders, to be lost or delayed which could result in delays in the delivery of merchandise to our stores and customers or lost sales, especially if the disruption or slowdown occurred during our seasonally strong fourth quarter. Any of these events could reduce demand for our products, impair our ability to complete sales through our e-commerce channels and cause our revenue to decline. If changes in technology cause our information systems to become obsolete, or if our information systems are inadequate to handle our growth, we could lose customers or our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
The information systems used by our third-party service providers are vulnerable to these risks as well. In particular, we are heavily reliant on SaaS enterprise resource planning systems to conduct our order and inventory management, e-commerce and financial transactions and reporting. In addition, we utilize third-party cloud computing services in connection with our business operations. Problems faced by us or our third-party hosting/cloud computing providers, or content delivery network providers, including technological or business-related disruptions, as well as cybersecurity threats, could adversely impact our business and operating results, our ability to accurately report our financial results, as well as the experience of our consumers, which in turn could adversely affect our business and operating results.
As we expand our operations, we expect to utilize additional systems and service providers that may also be essential to managing our business. Our ability to manage our business would suffer if one or more of our providers suffer an interruption in their business, or experience delays, disruptions or quality control problems in their operations, or we have to change or add systems and services. While we conduct reasonable diligence on our service providers, we may not always be able to control the quality of the systems and services we receive from these providers, which could impair our ability to maintain appropriate internal control over financial reporting and complete timely and accurate financial reporting, and may impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
Security breaches and other disruptions including cyber-attacks, and our actual or perceived failure to adequately protect business and consumer data and content could harm our brand and our reputation in the marketplace.
In the ordinary course of our business, we electronically maintain sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers and suppliers, and some personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our facilities and on our networks. Through GoPro Plus
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users may store video and image files, including any telemetry or metadata that the user has chosen to associate with those files in the cloud. In our e-commerce services, we process, store and transmit consumer data. We also collect user data through certain marketing activities. For all of the foregoing internal and customer or consumer facing data and content collection, we collect and store that information in our or our third-party providers’ electronic systems. These systems may be targets of attacks, such as viruses, malware or phishing attempts by cyber criminals or other wrongdoers seeking to steal our users’ content or data, or our customer’s information for financial gain or to harm our business operations or reputation. The loss, misuse or compromise of such information or content may result in costly investigations, remediation efforts and costly notification to affected consumers. If such content were accessed by unauthorized third parties or deleted inadvertently by us or third parties, our brand and reputation could be adversely affected. Cyber-attacks could also adversely affect our operating results, consume internal resources, and result in litigation or potential liability for us and otherwise harm our business. Further, we are subject to general consumer regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specifically related to security and privacy of consumer data or content. In the event of an incident affecting the security of consumer data or content, regulators may open an investigation or pursue fines or penalties for non-compliance with these laws, or private plaintiffs may sue us, resulting in additional costs and reputational harm to our business.
Changing laws governing e-commerce and data collection could impede growth and increase the cost of doing business.
Changing regulations and laws governing the Internet, data privacy, data protection and e-commerce transactions (including taxation, pricing and electronic communications) could impede the growth of our e-commerce business, increase our cost of doing business and limit our ability to collect and use information collected from our users. Further, new regulations limiting our ability to collect, use and disclose consumer data, or imposing additional requirements with respect to the retention and security of consumer data, could limit our marketing activities and could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
If we do not effectively maintain and further develop our sales channels, including developing and supporting our retail sales channel and distributors, our business could be harmed.
We depend upon effective sales channels to reach the consumers who are the ultimate purchasers of our products. In the United States, we primarily sell our products directly through a mix of retail channels, including big box, mid-market and specialty retailers, and we reach certain U.S. markets through distributors. In international markets, we primarily sell through distributors who in turn sell to local retailers; however, we also have direct sales relationships with certain customers.
We depend on retailers to provide adequate and attractive space for our products and POP displays in their stores. We further depend on our retailers to employ, educate and motivate their sales personnel to effectively sell our products. If our retailers do not adequately display our products, choose to reduce the space for our products and POP displays in their stores or locate them in less than premium positioning, or choose not to carry some or all of our products or promote competitors’ products over ours or do not effectively explain to customers the advantages of our products, our sales could decrease and our business could be harmed. Similarly, our business could be adversely affected if any of our large retail customers were to experience financial difficulties, or change the focus of their businesses in a way that deemphasized the sale of our products. We also continue to invest in providing new retailers with POP displays and expanding the footprint of our POP displays in existing stores, and there can be no assurance that this investment will lead to increased revenue.
Our distributors generally offer products from several different manufacturers. Accordingly, we are at risk that these distributors may give higher priority to selling other companies’ products. We have consolidated our distributor channels in certain regions, and if we were to lose the services of a distributor, we might need to find another distributor in that area and there can be no assurance of our ability to do so in a timely manner or on favorable terms. Further,
our distributors build inventory in anticipation of future sales, and if such sales do not occur as rapidly as they anticipate, our distributors will decrease the size of their future product orders. We are also subject to the risks of our distributors encountering financial difficulties, which could impede their effectiveness and also expose us to financial risk if they are unable to pay for the products they purchase from us. Additionally, our international distributors buy from us in U.S. dollars and generally sell to retailers in local currency so significant currency fluctuations could impact their profitability, and in turn, affect their ability to buy future products from us. For example, the Brexit referendum vote in the U.K., caused significant short term volatility in global stock markets as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations, resulting in further strengthening of the U.S. dollar.
We have converted portions of our distributors' business into direct sales, and if we were to do this on a larger scale, it could create significant disruptions to our distribution channel and the associated revenue. Any reduction in sales by our current distributors, loss of key distributors or decrease in revenue from our distributors could adversely affect our revenue, operating results and financial condition.
A small number of retailers and distributors account for a substantial portion of our revenue, and if our relationships with any of these retailers or distributors were to be terminated or the level of business with them significantly reduced, our business could be harmed.
Our ten largest customers, measured by the revenue we derive from them, accounted for 50%, 52% and 50% of our revenue for 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. One retailer accounted for 17%, 14% and 20% of our revenue for 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. A second retailer accounted for 11% and 12% of our revenue in 2016 and 2015, respectively. The loss of a small number of our large customers, or the reduction in business with one or more of these customers, could have a significant adverse impact on our operating results. In addition, we may choose to temporarily or permanently stop shipping product to customers who do not follow the policies and guidelines in our sales agreements, which could have a material negative impact on our revenues and operating results. Our sales agreements with these large customers do not require them to purchase any meaningful amount of our products annually and we grant limited rights to return product to some of these large customers.
If we encounter problems with our distribution system, our ability to deliver our products to the market and to meet customer expectations could be harmed.
We rely on third-party distribution facilities for substantially all of our product distribution to distributors and directly to retailers. Our distribution facilities include computer controlled and automated equipment, which means their operations may be vulnerable to computer viruses or other security risks, the proper operation of software and hardware, electronic or power interruptions or other system failures. Further, because substantially all of our products are distributed from only a few locations and by a small number of companies, our operations could be interrupted by labor difficulties, extreme or severe weather conditions, or floods, fires or other natural disasters near our distribution centers, or port shutdowns or other transportation-related interruptions along our distribution routes. Additionally, we use one primary supplier for the third party distribution and if this supplier were to experience financial difficulties, it could adversely affect our business.
We may be subject to warranty claims that could result in significant direct or indirect costs, or we could experience greater returns from retailers than expected, which could harm our business and operating results.
We generally provide a 12-month warranty on all of our products, except in the European Union, or EU, where we provide a two-year warranty on all of our products. The occurrence of any material defects in our products could make us liable for damages and warranty claims in excess of our current reserves. In addition, we could incur significant costs to correct any defects, warranty claims or other problems, including costs related to product recalls. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality and safety of our products could affect our brand image, decrease retailer, distributor and consumer confidence and demand, and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Also, while our warranty is limited to repairs and returns, warranty claims may result in litigation, the occurrence of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Based on our historical experience with our camera products, we have an established methodology for estimating warranty liabilities with respect to cameras. However, we only recently resumed shipments of our Karma drone in the first quarter of 2017, and therefore have insufficient data and historical experience to be able to predict future warranty claims related to this product.
In 2016, we launched GoPro Care, a fee-based service that offers a range of support options to our consumers, including extended warranty and accidental damage coverage in the United States, and we plan to expand GoPro Care internationally. Accidental damage coverage and extended warranties are regulated in the United States on a state level and are treated differently within each state. Additionally, outside the United States, regulations for extended warranties and accidental damage vary from country to country. Changes in interpretation of the insurance regulations or other laws and regulations concerning extended warranties and accidental damage coverage on a federal, state, local or international level may cause us to incur costs or have additional regulatory requirements to meet in the future in order to continue to offer GoPro Care in compliance with any similar laws adopted in other jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with past, present and future similar laws could result in reduced sales of our products, reputational damage, penalties and other sanctions, which could harm our business and financial condition.
Consumers may be injured while engaging in activities with our products, and we may be exposed to claims, or regulations could be imposed, which could adversely affect our brand, operating results and financial condition.
Consumers use our cameras, drones and their associated mounts and accessories to self-capture their participation in a wide variety of physical activities, including extreme sports, which in many cases carry the risk of significant injury or death. Consumers may also use our drones for a wide range of flight activity, including aerial data collection, videography and photography. We may be subject to claims that users have been injured or harmed by or while using our products, including false claims or erroneous reports relating to safety, security or privacy issues, or that personal property has been damaged as a result of use of our drone. Although we maintain insurance to help protect us from the risk of such claims, such insurance may not be sufficient or may not apply to all situations. Similarly, proprietors of establishments at which consumers engage in challenging physical activities could seek to ban the use of our products in their facilities to limit their own liability. In addition, if lawmakers or governmental agencies were to determine that the use of our products increased the risk of injury or harm to all or a subset of our users or should otherwise be restricted to protect consumers, they may pass laws or adopt regulations that limit the use of our products or increase our liability associated with the use of our products. Any of these events could adversely affect our brand, operating results and financial condition.
Our intellectual property and proprietary rights may not adequately protect our products, and our business may suffer if it is alleged or determined that our technology, products, or another aspect of our business infringes third party intellectual property or if third parties infringe our rights.
We own patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual property (collectively “intellectual property”) related to aspects of our products, software, services and designs. Our commercial success may depend in part on our ability to obtain, maintain and protect these rights in the United States and abroad.
We regularly file patent applications to protect innovations arising from our research, development and design as we deem appropriate. We may fail to apply for patents on important products, services, technologies or designs in a timely fashion, or at all. We may not have sufficient intellectual property rights in all countries where unauthorized third party copying or use of our proprietary technology occurs and the scope of our intellectual property might be more limited in certain countries. Our existing and future patents may not be sufficient to protect our products, services, technologies or designs and/or may not prevent others from developing competing products, services, technologies or designs. We cannot predict the validity and enforceability of our patents and other intellectual property with certainty.
We have registered, and applied to register, certain of our trademarks in several jurisdictions worldwide. In some of those jurisdictions, third party filings exist for the same, similar or otherwise related products or services, which could block the registration of our marks. Even if we are able to register our marks, competitors may adopt or file similar marks to ours, register domain names that mimic or incorporate our marks, or otherwise infringe upon our trademark rights. Although we police our trademark rights carefully, there can be no assurance that we are aware of all third party uses or that we will prevail in enforcing our rights in all such instances. Any of these negative outcomes could impact the strength, value and effectiveness of our brand, as well as our ability to market our products. We have also registered domain names for websites, or URLs, that we use in our business, such as gopro.com. If we are unable to protect our domain names, our brand, business, and operating results could be adversely affected. Domain names similar to ours have already been registered in the United States and elsewhere, and we may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that infringe, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of, our brand or our trademarks. In addition, although we own gopro.com and various other global top level
domains, we might not be able to, or may choose not to, acquire or maintain other country-specific versions of the domain name or other potentially similar URLs in all countries in which we currently conduct or intend to conduct business.
Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights. Initiating infringement proceedings against third parties can be expensive, take significant time, and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. We may not prevail in litigation to enforce our intellectual property against unauthorized use.
Third parties, including competitors and non-practicing entities, have brought intellectual property infringement claims against us. We expect to continue to receive such intellectual property claims in the future. While we will defend the Company vigorously against any such existing and future legal proceedings, we may not prevail against all such allegations. For example, patent holding companies and practicing entities, including our competitors, have alleged infringement of patent or other intellectual property infringement. We may not prevail against such allegations. We may seek licenses from third parties where appropriate, but they could refuse to grant us a license or demand commercially unreasonable terms. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Among other things, an adverse ruling in an intellectual property infringement proceeding could force us to suspend or permanently cease the production or sale of products/services, face a temporary or permanent injunction, redesign our products/services, rebrand our products/services, pay significant settlement costs, pay third party license fees or damage awards or give up some of our intellectual property.
If we are unable to maintain or acquire rights to include intellectual property owned by others in the content distributed by us, our marketing, sales or future business strategy could be affected or we could be subject to lawsuits relating to our use of this content.
The distribution of GoPro content helps to market our brand and our products. If we cannot continue to acquire rights to distribute user-generated content or acquire rights to use and distribute music, athlete and celebrity names and likenesses or other content for our original productions or third party entertainment distribution channels or for our software products, our marketing efforts could be diminished, our sales could be harmed and our future content strategy could be adversely affected. In addition, third-party content providers may allege that we have violated their intellectual property rights. If we are unable to obtain sufficient rights, successfully defend our use of or otherwise alter our business practices on a timely basis in response to claims of infringement, misappropriation, misuse or other violation of third-party intellectual property rights, our business may be adversely affected. As a user and distributor of content, we face potential liability for rights of publicity and privacy, as well as copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we distribute. If we are found to violate such third party rights, then our business may suffer.
If we encounter issues with our manufacturers or suppliers, our business, brand, and results of operations could be harmed and we could lose sales.
We do not have internal manufacturing capabilities and rely on several contract manufacturers, located primarily in China, to manufacture our products. We cannot be certain that we will not experience operational difficulties with our manufacturers, including reductions in the availability of production capacity, errors in complying with product specifications, insufficient quality control, failures to meet production deadlines, increases in manufacturing costs and increased lead times. We also rely on a number of supply chain partners to whom we outsource activities related to inventory warehousing, order fulfillment, distribution and other direct sales logistics. Our supply chain partners are located in China, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore and a number of other countries in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Our manufacturers and supply chain partners may experience disruptions in their operations due to equipment breakdowns, labor strikes or shortages, natural disasters, component or material shortages, cost increases or other similar problems. Further, in order to minimize their inventory risk, our manufacturers might not order components from third-party suppliers with adequate lead time, thereby impacting our ability to meet our demand forecast. Therefore, if we fail to manage our relationship with our manufacturers and supply chain partners effectively, or if they experience operational difficulties, our ability to ship products to our retailers and distributors could be impaired and our competitive position and reputation could be harmed.
In the event that we receive shipments of products that fail to comply with our technical specifications or that fail to conform to our quality control standards, and we are not able to obtain replacement products in a timely manner, we risk revenue losses from the inability to sell those products, increased administrative and shipping costs, and lower
profitability. Additionally, if defects are not discovered until after consumers purchase our products, they could lose confidence in the technical attributes of our products and our business could be harmed.
We do not control our contract manufacturers or suppliers, including their labor, environmental or other practices. Environmental regulations or changes in the supply, demand or available sources of natural resources may affect the availability and cost of goods and services necessary to run our business. We require our contract manufacturers and suppliers to comply with our formal supplier code of conduct and relevant standards and have ongoing audit programs in place to assess our suppliers' compliance with our requirements. We periodically conduct audits of our contract manufacturers’ and suppliers’ compliance with our code of conduct, applicable laws and good industry practices. However, these audits may not be frequent or thorough enough to detect non-compliance. Deliberate violations of labor, environmental or other laws by our contract manufacturers or suppliers, or a failure of these parties to follow ethical business practices, could lead to negative publicity and harm our reputation or brand.
Failure to obtain new, and maintain existing, high-quality event, venue, athlete and celebrity sponsorships could harm our business.
Establishing relationships with high profile sporting and entertainment events, venues, sports leagues and sports associations, athletes and celebrity personalities to evaluate, promote and establish product credibility with consumers, including entering into sponsorship and licensing agreements, has and will continue to be a key element of our marketing strategy. However, as competition in our markets has increased, the costs of obtaining and retaining event, venue, athlete and celebrity sponsorships and licensing agreements have increased. Additionally, we may be forced to sign longer term sponsorships in order to retain relationships. If we are unable to maintain our current associations with our event, venue, athlete and celebrity partners, or to do so at a reasonable cost, we could lose the benefits of these relationships, and we may be required to modify and substantially increase our marketing investments. In addition, actions taken by endorsers of our products that harm their reputations could also harm our brand image with consumers. The failure to correctly identify high impact events and venues or build partnerships with those who develop and promote those events and venues, promising athletes or other appealing personalities to use and endorse our products, or poor performance by our endorsers, could adversely affect our brand and result in decreased sales of our products.
We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act or similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions in which we operate.
The global nature of our business and the significance of our international revenue create various domestic and local regulatory challenges and subject us to risks associated with our international operations. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit U.S.-based companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, directing business to another, or securing an advantage. In addition, U.S. public companies are required to maintain records that accurately and fairly represent their transactions and have an adequate system of internal accounting controls. Under the FCPA, U.S. companies may be held liable for the corrupt actions taken by directors, officers, employees, agents, or other strategic or local partners or representatives. As such, if we or our intermediaries fail to comply with the requirements of the FCPA or similar legislation, governmental authorities in the United States and elsewhere could seek to impose substantial civil and/or criminal fines and penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.
We operate in areas of the world that experience corruption by government officials to some degree and, in certain circumstances, compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Our global operations require us to import and export to and from several countries, which geographically expands our compliance obligations. In addition, changes in such laws could result in increased regulatory requirements and compliance costs which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot be assured that our employees or other agents will not engage in prohibited conduct and render us responsible under the FCPA or the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have compliance programs, they may not be effective to prevent violations from occurring and employees may engage in prohibited conduct nonetheless.
If we are found to be in violation of the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act or other anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws (either due to acts or inadvertence of our employees, or due to the acts or inadvertence of others), we could suffer criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to governmental export and import controls and economic sanctions laws that could subject us to liability and impair our ability to compete in international markets.
The U.S. and various foreign governments have imposed controls, export license requirements and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies. Our products are subject to U.S. export controls, and exports of our products must be made in compliance with various economic and trade sanctions laws. Furthermore, U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions prohibit the provision of products and services to countries, governments, and persons targeted by U.S. sanctions. Even though we take precautions to prevent our products from being provided to targets of U.S. sanctions, our products, including our firmware updates, could be provided to those targets or provided by our customers despite such precautions. Any such provision could have negative consequences, including government investigations, penalties and reputational harm. Our failure to obtain required import or export approval for our products could harm our international and domestic sales and adversely affect our revenue.
We could be subject to future enforcement action with respect to compliance with governmental export and import controls and economic sanctions laws that result in penalties, costs, and restrictions on export privileges that could have a material effect on our business and operating results.
Our effective tax rate and the intended tax benefits of our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements depend on the application of the tax laws of various jurisdictions and on how we operate our business.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various jurisdictions outside the United States. Our effective tax rate could fluctuate due to changes in the mix of earnings and losses in countries with differing statutory tax rates. For example, our effective tax rates could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in countries where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in countries where we have higher statutory rates. Our tax expense could also be impacted by changes in non-deductible expenses, changes in excess tax benefits related to exercises and vesting of stock-based expense, and the applicability of withholding taxes.
Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change. Our future effective tax rates could be unfavorably affected by changes in the tax rates in jurisdictions where our income is earned, by changes in, or our interpretation, of tax rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we do business, by unanticipated decreases in the amount of earnings in countries with low statutory tax rates, or by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities. The United States, the European Commission, countries in the European Union, Australia and other countries where we do business have been considering changes in relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations and interpretations, including changes to tax laws applicable to corporate multinationals. These potential changes could adversely affect our effective tax rates or result in other costs to us.
In addition, we are subject to the examination of our income tax returns by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and other domestic and foreign tax authorities. These tax examinations are expected to focus on our intercompany transfer pricing practices as well as other matters. We regularly assess the likelihood of outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes and other taxes and have reserved for adjustments that may result from the current examinations. We cannot provide assurance that the final determination of any of these examinations will not have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial position.
If we are unable to maintain effective internal control in the future, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements, which could adversely impact our investors’ confidence and our stock price.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, and to include a management report assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, making some activities more time consuming and costly, placing significant demands on our financial and operational resources, as well as our IT systems.
While we have determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2016, we must continue to monitor and assess our internal control over financial reporting. Our control environment may not be sufficient to remediate or prevent future material weaknesses or significant deficiencies from occurring. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the control
system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and all instances of fraud will be detected.
If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting are effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our Class A common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
We use open source software in our platform that may subject our technology to general release or require us to re-engineer our solutions, which may cause harm to our business.
We use open source software in connection with our services. From time to time, companies that incorporate open source software into their products have faced claims challenging the ownership of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. Therefore, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software or noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source software licenses require users who distribute or make available open source software as part of their software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software and/or make available any derivative works of the open source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost. While we monitor our use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose the source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could nevertheless occur and we may be required to release our proprietary source code, pay damages for breach of contract, re-engineer our applications, discontinue sales in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis or take other remedial action that may divert resources away from our development efforts, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.
Any significant disruption to our e-commerce business could result in lost sales
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Online sales through gopro.com represent less than 10% of our total revenue. Nonetheless, system interruptions or delays could cause potential consumers to fail to purchase our products and could harm our reputation and brand. The operation of our direct to consumer e-commerce business through gopro.com depends on the ability to maintain the efficient and uninterrupted operation of online order-taking and fulfillment operations. Our e-commerce operations subject us to certain risks that could have an adverse effect on our operating results, including risks related to the computer systems that operate our website and related support systems, such as system failures, viruses, cyberattacks, computer hackers and similar disruptions. If we or our designated third party contractors are unable to maintain and upgrade our e-commerce website or if we encounter system interruptions or delays, our operating results could be adversely impacted.
If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies and estimates prove to be incorrect, our operating results could be adversely affected.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in our 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 in the section titled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, inventory valuation, stock-based compensation expense, warranty reserves, goodwill and acquired intangible assets, and accounting for income taxes including deferred tax assets and liabilities.
If we fail to comply with environmental regulations and conflict minerals disclosures, our business, financial condition, operating results and reputation could be adversely affected.
We are subject to various federal, state, local and international environmental laws and regulations including laws regulating the manufacture, import, use, discharge and disposal of hazardous materials, labeling and notice requirements relating to potential consumer exposure to certain chemicals, and laws relating to the collection of and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and their packaging.
We are also subject to the SEC’s conflict minerals rule which requires disclosure by public companies of the origin, source and chain of custody of specified minerals, known as conflict minerals, that are necessary to the functionality or production of products manufactured or contracted to be manufactured. We have and will continue to incur costs associated with complying with the rule, such as costs related to sourcing of certain minerals (or derivatives thereof), the determination of the origin, source and chain of custody of the minerals used in our products, the adoption of conflict minerals-related governance policies, processes and controls, and possible changes to products or sources of supply as a result of such activities. Within our supply chain, we may not be able to sufficiently verify the origins of the relevant minerals used in our products through the data collection and due diligence procedures that we implement, which may harm our reputation.
Although we have policies and procedures in place requiring our contract manufacturers and major component suppliers to comply with applicable federal, state, local and international requirements, we cannot confirm that our manufacturers and suppliers consistently comply with these requirements. In addition, if there are changes to these or other laws (or their interpretation) or if new similar laws are passed in other jurisdictions, we may be required to re-engineer our products to use components compatible with these regulations. This re-engineering and component substitution could result in additional costs to us or disrupt our operations or logistics.
Changes in interpretation of any federal, state, local or international regulation may cause us to incur costs or have additional regulatory requirements to meet in the future in order to comply, or with any similar laws adopted in other jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with past, present and future similar laws could result in reduced sales of our products, substantial product inventory write-offs, reputational damage, penalties and other sanctions, which could harm our business and financial condition. We also expect that our products will be affected by new environmental laws and regulations on an ongoing basis. To date, our expenditures for environmental compliance have not had a material impact on our results of operations or cash flows and, although we cannot predict the future impact of such laws or regulations, they will likely result in additional costs and may increase penalties associated with violations or require us to change the content of our products or how they are manufactured, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
Catastrophic events or political instability could disrupt and cause harm to our business.
Our headquarters is located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, an area susceptible to earthquakes. A major earthquake or other natural disaster, fire, act of terrorism or other catastrophic event in California or elsewhere that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical business operations or information technology systems could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our future operating results could be harmed. Our key manufacturing, supply and distribution partners have global operations including in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and Taiwan as well as the United States. Political instability or catastrophic events in any of those countries could adversely affect our business in the future, our financial condition and operating results.
Risks related to Ownership of our Class A Common Stock
Our stock price has been and will likely continue to be volatile.
Since shares of our Class A common stock were sold in our IPO in July 2014 at a price of $24.00 per share, our stock price has ranged from $7.14 to $98.47 per share through March 31, 2017. Our stock price may fluctuate in response to a number of events and factors, such as quarterly operating results; changes in our financial projections provided to the public or our failure to meet those projections; the public's reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC; significant transactions, or new features, products or services by us or our competitors; changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts; media coverage of our business and financial performance; the operating and stock price performance of, or other developments involving,
other companies that investors may deem comparable to us; trends in our industry; any significant change in our management; sales and purchases of any Class A common stock issued upon conversion of our convertible senior notes or in connection with the prepaid forward contract entered into in connection with such convertible senior notes, and general economic conditions. These factors, as well as the volatility of our Class A common stock, could also impact the price of our convertible senior notes.
In addition, the stock market in general, and the market prices for companies in our industry, have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to operating performance. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our stock, regardless of our operating performance. Price volatility over a given period may cause the average price at which we repurchase our own stock to exceed the stock’s price at a given point in time. Volatility in our stock price also impacts the value of our equity compensation, which affects our ability to recruit and retain employees. In addition, some companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We are a defendant in three shareholder class action lawsuits and may continue to be a target for such litigation in the future.
Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and liability and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could harm our business. See “Legal Proceedings.”
If we fail to meet expectations related to future growth, profitability, or other market expectations, our stock price may decline significantly, which could have a material adverse impact on investor confidence and employee retention. A sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization could lead to impairment charges.
The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with our CEO.
Our Class B common stock has 10 votes per share, and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. Stockholders who hold shares of Class B common stock hold approximately 78% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock as of December 31, 2016 with Mr. Woodman, our Chairman and CEO, holding approximately 77% of the outstanding voting power. Mr. Woodman is able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transaction. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets that our other stockholders support, or conversely this concentrated control could result in the consummation of such a transaction that our other stockholders do not support. This concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring our Class A common stock due to the limited voting power of such stock relative to the Class B common stock and might harm the trading price of our Class A common stock.
If securities analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Delaware law and provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make a merger, tender offer or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the trading price of our Class A common stock.
Our status as a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change in control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors, or otherwise adversely affect the rights of the holders of our Class A and Class B common stock, including the following:
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our board of directors is not currently classified, but at such time as all shares of our Class B common stock have been converted into shares of our Class A common stock, our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms;
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so long as any shares of our Class B common stock are outstanding, special meetings of our stockholders may be called by the holders of 10% of the outstanding voting power of all then outstanding shares of stock, a majority of our board of directors, the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer or our president,
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when no shares of our Class B common stock are outstanding, only the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, our president or a majority of our board of directors will be authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders;
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our stockholders may only take action at a meeting of stockholders and not by written consent;
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vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by our board of directors and not by stockholders;
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directors may be removed from office with or without cause so long as our board of directors is not classified, and thereafter directors may be removed from office only for cause;
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our restated certificate of incorporation provides for a dual class common stock structure in which holders of our Class B common stock have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if they own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets;
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our restated certificate of incorporation authorizes undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established, and shares of which may be issued, by our board of directors without stockholder approval and which may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to those of our Class A and Class B common stock; and
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advance notice procedures apply for stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring matters before an annual meeting of stockholders.
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Risks related to our convertible senior notes
We have indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes.
In April 2017, we completed an offering of $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.50% convertible senior notes due 2022 ("notes”). As a result of this notes offering, we incurred $175.0 million principal amount of indebtedness, the principal amount of which we may be required to pay at maturity in 2022. Holders of the notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, the indenture for the notes provides that we are required to repay amounts due under the indenture in the event that there is an event of default for the notes that results in the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, becoming due prior to maturity date for the notes. There can be no assurance that we will be able to repay this indebtedness when due, or that we will be able to refinance this indebtedness on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, this indebtedness could, among other things:
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heighten our vulnerability to adverse general economic conditions and competitive pressures will be heightened;
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require us to dedicate a larger portion of our cash flow from operations to interest payments, limiting the availability of cash for other purposes;
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limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and
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impair our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes.
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In addition, our ability to purchase the notes or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts under the notes upon an event of default or pay cash upon conversions of the notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our indebtedness outstanding at the time, including our credit facility. Our credit facility restricts our ability to repurchase the notes for cash or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts under the notes upon an event of default or pay cash upon conversion of the notes to the extent that on the date of such repurchase, repayment or conversion, as the case may be, after giving pro forma effect to such payment, our remaining borrowing capacity pursuant to such credit facility falls below (i) to the extent that our fixed charge coverage ratio is at least to 1.0, the greater of (A) $37.5 million and (B) 15% of the lesser of the aggregate commitments under such credit facility and the aggregate borrowing base then in effect or (ii) to the extent that our fixed charge coverage ratio
is less than 1.0 to 1.0, the greater of (A) $50.0 million and (B) 20% of the lesser of the aggregate commitments under such credit facility and the aggregate borrowing base then in effect. Any of our future indebtedness may contain similar restrictions. Our failure to repurchase notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture (whether upon a fundamental change or otherwise under the indenture) or pay cash payable on future conversions of the notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness, including our credit facility. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness, repurchase the notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof.
Our credit facility imposes restrictions on us that may adversely affect our ability to operate our business.
Our credit facility contains restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, our credit facility contains, and the agreements governing the notes will contain, a cross-default provision whereby a default under one agreement would likely result in cross defaults under agreements covering other borrowings. For example, the occurrence of a default with respect to any indebtedness or any failure to repay debt when due in an amount in excess of $25 million would cause a cross default under the indenture governing the notes, as well as under our credit facility. The occurrence of a default under any of these borrowing arrangements would permit the holders of the notes or the lenders under our credit facility to declare all amounts outstanding under those borrowing arrangements to be immediately due and payable. If the note holders or the trustee under the indenture governing the notes or the lenders under our credit facility accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient assets to repay those borrowings.
Conversion of the notes will, to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of such notes, dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, including holders who had previously converted their notes, or may otherwise depress our stock price.
The conversion of some or all of the notes will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of any of the notes. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the notes into shares of our common stock could depress our stock price.
The conditional conversion feature of the notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
In the event the conditional conversion feature of the notes is triggered, holders of the notes will be entitled to convert the notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than cash in lieu of any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders of the notes do not elect to convert their notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the notes, may have a material effect on our reported financial results.
Under GAAP, an entity must separately account for the debt component and the embedded conversion option of convertible debt instruments that may be settled entirely or partially in cash upon conversion, such as the notes we are offering, in a manner that reflects the issuer’s economic interest cost. The effect of the accounting treatment for such instruments is that the value of such embedded conversion option would be treated as original issue discount for purposes of accounting for the debt component of the notes, and that original issue discount is amortized into interest expense over the term of the notes using an effective yield method. As a result, we will initially be required to record a greater amount of non-cash interest expense because of the amortization of the original issue discount to the notes’ face amount over the term of the notes and because of the amortization of the debt issuance costs.
Accordingly, we will report lower net income (or greater net loss) in our financial results because of the recognition of both the current period’s amortization of the debt discount and the notes’ coupon interest, which could adversely affect our reported or future financial results, the trading price of our common stock and the trading price of the notes.
In addition, convertible debt instruments (such as the notes) that may be settled entirely or partly in cash are currently accounted for utilizing the if-converted method, the effect of which is that conversion will not be assumed for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share if the effect would be antidilutive. Under the if-converted method, for diluted earnings per share purposes, convertible debt is antidilutive whenever its interest, net of tax and nondiscretionary adjustments, per common share obtainable on conversion exceeds basic earnings per share. Dilutive securities that are issued during a period and dilutive convertible securities for which conversion options lapse, or for which related debt is extinguished during a period, will be included in the denominator of diluted earnings per share for the period that they were outstanding. Likewise, dilutive convertible securities converted during a period will be included in the denominator for the period prior to actual conversion. Moreover, interest charges applicable to the convertible debt will be added back to the numerator. We cannot be sure that the accounting standards in the future will continue to permit the use of the if-converted method. If we are unable to use the if-converted method in accounting for the shares issuable upon conversion of the notes, then our diluted earnings per share would be adversely affected.
In addition, if the conditional conversion feature of the notes is triggered, even if holders do not elect to convert their notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
The prepaid forward may affect the value of the notes and our common stock and may result in unexpected market activity in the notes and/or our common stock.
In connection with the issuance of the notes, we entered into a prepaid forward with a forward counterparty. The prepaid forward is intended to facilitate privately negotiated derivative transactions by which investors in the notes will be able to hedge their investment. In connection with establishing its initial hedge of the prepaid forward, the forward counterparty (or its affiliate) entered into or expects to enter into one or more derivative transactions with respect to our Class A common stock with purchasers of the notes concurrently with or after the offering of the notes. The prepaid forward is intended to reduce the dilution to our stockholders from the issuance of our Class A common stock (if any) upon conversion of the notes and
to allow certain investors to establish short positions that generally correspond to commercially reasonable initial hedges of their investment in the notes. In addition, the forward counterparty (or its affiliate) may modify its hedge position by entering into or unwinding one or more derivative transactions with respect to our Class A common stock and/or purchasing or selling our Class A common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions at any time, including following the offering of the notes and immediately prior to or shortly after April 15, 2022, the maturity date of the notes (and are likely to unwind their derivative transactions and/or purchase or sell our Class A common stock in connection with any conversion or repurchase of the notes, in connection with the purchase or sale of notes by certain investors and/or in the event that sufficient borrow of our Class A common stock becomes available). These activities could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our Class A common stock or the notes.
The prepaid forward initially facilitated privately negotiated derivative transactions relating to our Class A common stock, including derivative transactions by which investors in the notes established short positions relating to our Class A common stock to hedge their investments in the notes concurrently with, or shortly after, the placement of the notes. Neither we nor the forward counterparty control how such investors may use such derivative transactions. In addition, such investors may enter into other transactions in connection with such derivative transactions, including the purchase or sale of our Class A common stock, at any time. As a result, the existence of the prepaid forward, such derivative transactions, and any related market activity could cause more sales of our Class A common stock over the term of the prepaid forward than there would have otherwise been had we not entered into the prepaid forward. Such sales could potentially impact the market price of our Class A common stock and/or the notes.
The fundamental change repurchase feature of the notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial attempt to take over our company.
The terms of the notes require us to repurchase the notes in the event of a fundamental change. A takeover of our company would trigger an option of the holders of the notes to require us to repurchase the notes. In addition, if a make-whole fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date of the notes, we will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. Furthermore, the indenture for the notes prohibits us from engaging in certain mergers or acquisitions unless, among other things, the surviving entity assumes our obligations under the notes. These and other provisions of the indenture may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of our company.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the prepaid forward.
We will be subject to the risk that the forward counterparty might default under the prepaid forward. Our exposure to the credit risk of the forward counterparty will not be secured by any collateral. Global economic conditions have in the recent past resulted in, and may again result in, the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If the forward counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings, with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under our transactions with the forward counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors, but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by the forward counterparty, we may suffer more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our
Class A
common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the forward counterparty to the prepaid forward.