Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business faces significant risks. These risks include those described below and may include additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks, and the trading prices of our common stock could decline by virtue of these risks. These risks should be read in conjunction with the other information in this report.

Risk factors describing the major risks to our business can be found under Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021. In the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we updated some of our risk factors as described below. There have been no other material changes in our risk factors from those previously discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021.

Our substantial and expanding international operations are subject to uncertainties which could affect our operating results.

A significant portion of our current operations are conducted and located outside the United States, and our growth strategy involves expanding our existing foreign operations and entering into new foreign jurisdictions. We have significant manufacturing and distribution sites in North America, Latin America and Europe. Over half of our net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 and the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 were derived from the sale of products outside the United States. We believe that sales outside the United States will continue to account for a material portion of our total net sales for the foreseeable future. International operations and business expansion plans are subject to numerous additional risks, including:

• we may find it difficult to manage the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to operate internationally and for our employees to travel internationally;

• we may have difficulty enforcing intellectual property rights in some foreign countries;

• we may have difficulty gaining market share in countries such as Japan and China because of regulatory restrictions and customer preferences;

• we may find it difficult to grow in emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, Brazil and other developing nations due to, among other things, customer acceptance, undeveloped and/or unfamiliar distribution channels, regulatory restrictions and changes, and business knowledge of these new markets;

• foreign earnings may be subject to withholding requirements or the imposition of tariffs, exchange controls or other restrictions, including the tariffs enacted by the Chinese government on certain U.S. goods, the scope and duration of which remain uncertain;

• we may find it difficult to comply with a variety of United States and foreign legal, compliance and regulatory requirements such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, international data security and privacy laws, EU MDR and IVDR;

• we may find it difficult to manage a large organization spread throughout various countries;

• fluctuations in currency exchange rates could adversely affect our results;

• foreign customers may have longer payment cycles than customers in the United States;

• failure to comply with United States Department of Commerce and other nations' import-export controls may result in fines and/or penalties;

• general economic and political conditions in the countries where we operate may have an adverse effect on our operations in those countries or not be favorable to our growth strategy;

• natural disasters, pandemics such as COVID-19, war, terrorism, labor disruptions and international conflicts may cause significant economic disruption and political and social instability, resulting in decreased demand for our products, adversely affecting our manufacturing and distribution capabilities, or causing interruptions in our supply chain;

• foreign governments may adopt regulations, including those similar to the EU MDR and IVDR or take other actions that would have a direct or indirect adverse impact on our business and market opportunities, including but not limited to increased enforcement of potentially conflicting and ambiguous anti-bribery laws;

• we may have difficulty enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through some foreign legal systems; and

• we may be subject to unforeseen economic or political events in certain countries that may have an impact on our customers' ability or preferences to buy our products.

In addition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global response to this invasion could have an adverse impact on our business, including by impacting our ability to market and sell products in Russia, by creating disruptions in the global supply chain, by potentially having an adverse impact on the global economy, European economy, financial markets, energy markets, currency rates and otherwise.

As we continue to expand our business globally, our success will depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other risks associated with our international operations. However, any of these factors could adversely affect our international operations and, consequently, our operating results.

We face risks associated with disruption of our manufacturing, distribution and storage operations, including possible failure to develop necessary manufacturing processes, or constrained, idle or excess capacity, which could adversely affect our profitability or competitive position.

We manufacture a significant portion of the medical device products we sell. Any prolonged disruption in the operations of our existing manufacturing or distribution facilities, or in the operations of our fertility and stem cell storage facilities, whether due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related work stoppages, technical or labor difficulties, integration difficulties, destruction of or damage to any facility (as a result of natural disaster, use and storage of hazardous materials or other events), enforcement action by the FDA or other regulatory body if we are found to be in non-compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) or similar foreign requirements or other reasons, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, materials such as silicone hydrogel require improvements to our manufacturing processes to make them cost effective. While we have improved our manufacturing capabilities for our silicone hydrogel products, our failure to continue to develop improvements to our manufacturing processes and reduce our cost of goods could significantly impact our ability to compete. Conversely, constrained, excess or idle capacity, which could result from acquisitions, unexpected demand, inaccurate sales forecasting or unexpected manufacturing efficiencies, could significantly impact our profitability, capital investments, customer service levels and near-term financial condition.

CooperVision manufactures molded contact lenses, which represent the majority of our contact lens revenues, primarily at our facilities in Costa Rica, Hungary, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the United States, with other smaller facilities also existing in multiple locations around the world. CooperSurgical manufactures the majority of its products in Costa Rica, the United Kingdom and the United States, with other smaller locations also existing in multiple locations around the world. In November 2017, CooperSurgical purchased a manufacturing facility in Costa Rica to consolidate a portion of global manufacturing. We manufacture certain products at only one manufacturing site for certain markets, and certain of our products are approved for manufacturing only at one site. If there were any prolonged disruption in the operations of the approved facility, it could take a significant amount of time to obtain required regulatory approvals, validate a second site and replace lost product, which could result in lost customers and thereby reduce sales, profitability and market share.

CooperVision distributes products out of Belgium, Hungary, the United Kingdom and the United States and various smaller international distribution sites. CooperSurgical primarily distributes products out of its facilities in the United States and the Netherlands and operates fertility and stem cell storage facilities in the United States, Canada and Australia. Any prolonged disruption in the operations of our existing distribution or storage facilities, whether due to technical or labor difficulties, challenges related to system implementation, destruction of or damage to any facility (as a result of natural disaster, use and storage of hazardous materials or other events) or other reasons, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could experience losses from product liability claims or legal claims relating to our service offerings, including such claims and other losses resulting from sales of counterfeit and other infringing products.

We face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products results in personal injury. We also face the risk that defects in the design or manufacture of our products or sales of counterfeit or other infringing products might necessitate a product recall and other actions by manufacturers, distributors or retailers in order to safeguard the health of consumers and protect the integrity of the subject brand. Additionally, we face the inherent risk of exposure to legal claims, including negligence, relating to our provision of certain service offerings, including the accuracy

and quality of our genetic testing, fertility cryopreservation, fertility donor gamete supply, and stem cell storage services. Consumers may halt or delay purchases of a product or service that is the subject of a claim or recall or has been counterfeited. We handle some risk with third-party carrier policies that are subject to deductibles and limitations. There can be no assurance that we will not experience material losses due to product liability claims or recalls, legal claims relating to our service offerings, or a decline in sales resulting from sales of counterfeit or other infringing products, in the future.

Ethical, legal and social concerns related to the use of genetic information, sperm and egg selection services and stem cells could reduce demand for our service offerings.

Genetic testing, sperm and egg selection services and the use of stem cells have raised ethical, legal and social issues regarding privacy and the appropriate uses of information related to these services. Government authorities could, for social or other purposes, limit or regulate the use of genetic information or genetic testing or prohibit testing for genetic predisposition to certain conditions, particularly for those that have no known cure. They also could limit, regulate or prohibit (1) sperm and egg selection services or (2) the use of stem cells. Ethical, legal or social concerns may lead patients to refuse to use, or physicians to be reluctant to order or recommend, genetic tests, sperm and egg selection services and stem cell storage services even if permissible. These and other ethical, legal and social concerns may limit market acceptance and adoption of our service offerings or reduce the potential markets for our service offerings, either of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Company's share repurchase activity during the three-month period ended January 31, 2022, was as follows:

The transactions described in the table above represent the repurchase of the Company's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange as part of the share repurchase program approved by the Company’s Board of Directors in December 2011 (the 2012 Share Repurchase Program). The program as amended in December 2012, December 2013 and March 2017 provides authorization to repurchase up to a total of $1.0 billion of the Company’s common stock. Purchases under the 2012 Share Repurchase Program may be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices or in privately negotiated transactions and are subject to a review of the circumstances in place at the time and will be made from time to time as permitted by securities laws and other legal requirements. This program has no expiration date and may be discontinued at any time.

During the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we repurchased 191.2 thousand shares of the Company’s common stock for $78.5 million, at an average purchase price of $410.41 per share. During the first quarter of fiscal 2021, we repurchased 69.6 thousand shares of the Company’s common stock for $24.8 million, at an average purchase price of $356.61 per share.

At January 31, 2022, approximately $256.4 million remained authorized under the 2012 Share Repurchase Program.

THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.