Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risks applicable to us. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, operating results, financial condition and the trading price of our common stock could be materially adversely affected. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this report.

Risks related to our business

A decline in retail fuel prices could adversely affect our revenue and operating results.

Our fleet customers use our products and services primarily in connection with the purchase of fuel. Accordingly, our revenue is affected by fuel prices, which are subject to significant volatility. A decline in retail fuel prices could cause a decrease in our revenue from fees paid to us by merchants based on a percentage of each transaction purchase amount. We believe that in 2013, approximately 20% of our consolidated revenue was directly influenced by the absolute price of fuel. Changes in the absolute price of fuel may also impact unpaid account balances and the late fees and charges based on these amounts. A decline in retail fuel prices could adversely affect our revenue and operating results.

Fuel prices are dependent on several factors, all of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among others:

	•		supply and demand for oil and gas, and market expectations regarding supply and demand;

	•		actions by members of OPEC and other major oil-producing nations;

	•		new oil production being developed in the US and elsewhere;

	•		political conditions in oil-producing and gas-producing nations, including insurgency, terrorism or war;

	•		oil refinery capacity;

	•		weather;

	•		the prices of foreign exports;

	•		the implementation of fuel efficiency standards and the adoption by our fleet customers of vehicles with greater fuel efficiency or alternative fuel sources;

	•		general worldwide economic conditions; and

	•		governmental regulations, taxes and tariffs.

A portion of our revenue is derived from fuel-price spreads. As a result, a contraction in fuel-price spreads could adversely affect our operating results.

Approximately 16% of our consolidated revenue in 2013 was derived from transactions where our revenue is tied to fuel-price spreads. Fuel-price spreads equal the difference between the fuel price we charge to the fleet customer and the fuel price paid to the fuel merchant. In transactions where we derive revenue from fuel-price spreads, the fuel price paid to the fuel merchant is calculated as the merchant’s wholesale cost of fuel plus a commission. The merchant’s wholesale cost of fuel is dependent on several factors including, among others, the factors described above affecting fuel prices. The fuel price that we charge to our fleet customer is dependent on several factors including, among others, the fuel price paid to the fuel merchant, posted retail fuel prices and competitive fuel prices. We experience fuel-price spread contraction when the merchant’s wholesale cost of fuel increases at a faster rate than the fuel price we charge to our fleet customers, or the fuel price we charge to our fleet customers decreases at a faster rate than the merchant’s wholesale cost of fuel. Accordingly, when fuel-price spreads contract, we generate less revenue, which could adversely affect our operating results.

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If we fail to adequately assess and monitor credit risks of our customers, we could experience an increase in credit loss.

We are subject to the credit risk of our customers, many of which are small to mid-sized businesses. We use various methods to screen potential customers and establish appropriate credit limits, but these methods cannot eliminate all potential credit risks and may not always prevent us from approving customer applications that are fraudulently completed. Changes in our industry and movement in fuel prices may result in periodic increases to customer credit limits and spending and, as a result, increased credit losses. We may also fail to detect changes to the credit risk of customers over time. Further, during a declining economic environment, we experience increased customer defaults and preference claims by bankrupt customers. If we fail to adequately manage our credit risks, our bad debt expense could be significantly higher than historic levels and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from program fees and charges paid by the users of our cards. Any decrease in our receipt of such fees and charges, or limitations on our fees and charges, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our card programs include a variety of fees and charges associated with transactions, cards, reports, optional services and late payments. We derived approximately 65% of our consolidated revenues from these fees and charges during the year ended December 31, 2013. If the users of our cards decrease their transaction activity, the extent to which their use of optional services or pay invoices late, our revenue could be materially adversely affected. In addition, several market factors can affect the amount of our fees and charges, including the market for similar charges for competitive card products and the availability of alternative payment methods such as cash or house accounts. Furthermore, regulators and Congress have scrutinized the electronic payments industry’s pricing, charges and other practices related to its customers. Any legislative or regulatory restrictions on our ability to price our products and services could materially and adversely affect our revenue. Any decrease in our revenue derived from these fees and charges could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We operate in a competitive business environment, and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected.

The market for our products and services is highly competitive, and competition could intensify in the future. Our competitors vary in size and in the scope and breadth of the products and services they offer. Our primary competitors in North America are small, regional and large independent fleet card providers, major oil companies and petroleum marketers that issue their own fleet cards and major financial services companies that provide card services to major oil companies and petroleum marketers. Competitors in the hotel card business include travel agencies, online lodging discounters, internal corporate procurement and travel resources, and independent services companies, among others. Competitors in the mobile telematics business include the major car companies, wireless phone service providers and independent services companies, among others. We also compete for customers with providers of alternative payment mechanisms, such as financial institutions that issue corporate and consumer credit cards and merchants offering house cash accounts or other forms of credit. Our primary competitors in Europe, Australia and New Zealand are independent fleet card providers, major oil companies and petroleum marketers that issue branded fleet cards, and providers of card outsourcing services to major oil companies and petroleum marketers. Our primary competitors in Latin America are independent providers of food, fuel, toll, transportation and fleet cards and vouchers, commercial fleet cards offered by the major oil companies and providers of card outsourcing services to major oil companies and petroleum marketers.

The most significant competitive factors in our business are the breadth of product and service features, network acceptance size, customer service, account management, and price. We may experience competitive disadvantages with respect to any of these factors from time to time as potential customers prioritize or value these competitive factors differently. As a result, a specific offering of our products and service features,

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networks and pricing may serve as a competitive advantage with respect to one customer and a disadvantage for another based on the customers’ preferences.

Some of our existing and potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater brand name recognition, larger customer bases, more extensive customer relationships or greater financial and technical resources. In addition, our larger competitors may also have greater resources than we do to devote to the promotion and sale of their products and services and to pursue acquisitions. For example, major oil companies and petroleum marketers and large financial institutions may choose to integrate fuel-card services as a complement to their existing card products and services, as well as offer add on complementary services. As a result, they may be able to adapt more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changing opportunities, standards or customer requirements. To the extent that our competitors are regarded as leaders in specific categories, they may have an advantage over us as we attempt to further penetrate these categories.

Future mergers or consolidations among competitors, or acquisitions of our competitors by large companies may present competitive challenges to our business. Resulting combined entities could be at a competitive advantage if their fuel-card products and services are effectively integrated and bundled into sales packages with their widely utilized non-fuel-card-related products and services. Further, competitors may reduce the fees for their services, which could increase pricing pressure within our markets.

Overall, increased competition in our markets could result in intensified pricing pressure, reduced profit margins, increased sales and marketing expenses and a failure to increase, or a loss of, market share. We may not be able to maintain or improve our competitive position against our current or future competitors, which could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our business is dependent on several key strategic relationships, the loss of which could adversely affect our operating results.

We intend to seek to expand our strategic relationships with major oil companies. We refer to the major oil companies and petroleum marketers with whom we have strategic relationships as our “partners.” During 2013, our top three strategic relationships with major oil companies accounted for approximately 13% of our consolidated revenue. Our agreements with our major oil company partners typically have initial terms of five to ten years with current remaining terms ranging from two to seven years.

The success of our business is in part dependent on our ability to maintain these strategic relationships and enter into additional strategic relationships with major oil companies. In our relationships with these major oil companies, our services are marketed under our partners’ brands. If these partners fail to maintain their brands, or decrease the size of their branded networks, our ability to grow our business may be adversely affected. Also, our inability to maintain or further develop these relationships or add additional strategic relationships could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

To enter into a new strategic relationship or renew an existing strategic relationship with a major oil company, we often must participate in a competitive bidding process, which may focus on a limited number of factors, including pricing. The bidding and negotiating processes generally occur over a protracted time period. The use of these processes may affect our ability to effectively compete for these relationships. Our competitors may be willing to bid for these contracts on pricing or other terms that we consider uneconomical in order to win this business. The loss of our existing major oil company partners or the failure to contract or delays in contracting with additional partners could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

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We depend, in part, on our merchant relationships to grow our business. To grow our customer base, we must retain and add relationships with merchants who are located in areas where our customers purchase fuel, maintenance services and lodging. If we are unable to maintain and expand these relationships, our business may be adversely affected.

With respect to the closed-loop networks we utilize, a portion of our growth is derived from acquiring new merchant relationships to serve our customers, as well as from our new and enhanced product and service offerings and cross-selling our products and services through existing merchant relationships. We rely on the continuing growth of our merchant relationships and our distribution channels in order to expand our customer base. There can be no guarantee that this growth will continue. Similarly, our growth also will depend on our ability to retain and maintain existing merchant relationships that accept our proprietary closed-loop networks in areas where our customers purchase fuel and lodging. Our contractual agreements with fuel merchants and service garages typically have initial terms of one year and automatically renew on a year-to-year basis unless either party gives notice of termination. Our agreements with lodging providers typically have initial terms of one year and automatically renew on a month-to-month basis unless either party gives notice of termination. Furthermore, merchants with which we have relationships may experience bankruptcy, financial distress, or otherwise be forced to contract their operations. The loss of existing merchant relationships, the contraction of our existing merchants’ operations or the inability to acquire new merchant relationships could adversely affect our ability to serve our customers and our business and operating results.

A decline in general economic conditions, and in particular, a decline in demand for fuel and other vehicle products and services would adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our operating results are materially affected by conditions in the economy generally, both in the United States and internationally. We generate revenue based in part on the volume of fuel purchase transactions we process. Our transaction volume is correlated with general economic conditions, particularly in the United States, Europe, Russia, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, and the amount of business activity in economies in which we operate. Downturns in these economies are generally characterized by reduced commercial activity and, consequently, reduced purchasing of fuel and other vehicle products and services by businesses. Unfavorable changes in economic conditions, including declining consumer confidence, inflation, recession or other changes, may lead our customers, which are largely comprised of commercial fleets, to demand less fuel, or lead our partners to reduce their use of our products and services. These declines could result from, among other things, reduced fleet traffic, corporate purchasing, travel and other commercial activities from which we derive revenue.

Further, economic conditions also may impact the ability of our customers or partners to pay for fuel or other services they have purchased and, as a result, our reserve for credit losses and write-offs of accounts receivable could increase. In addition, demand for fuel and other vehicle products and services may be reduced by other factors that are beyond our control, such as the development and use of vehicles with greater fuel efficiency and alternative fuel sources.

We are unable to predict the likely duration of the ongoing sluggish economic conditions in the United States, Europe, Russia, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. As a result, continued weakness in general economic conditions or increases in interest rates in key countries in which we operate, could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We have expanded into new lines of business in the past and may do so in the future. If we are unable to successfully integrate these new businesses, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We have expanded our business to encompass new lines of business in the past. For example, within the past five years we have entered into the telematics business in the United States and Europe, transaction processing, fuel, food, toll and transportation card and voucher businesses in Brazil and Mexico, and the lodging card business in

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the United States. We may continue to enter new lines of business and offer new products and services in the future. There is no guarantee that we will be successful in integrating these new lines of business into our operations. If we are unable to do so, our operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected.

If we fail to develop and implement new technology, products and services, adapt our products and services to changes in technology, the marketplace or major oil partner requirements, or if our ongoing efforts to upgrade our technology, products and services are not successful, we could lose customers and partners.

The markets for our products and services are highly competitive, and characterized by technological change, frequent introduction of new products and services and evolving industry standards. We must respond to the technological advances offered by our competitors and the requirements of our customers and partners, in order to maintain and improve upon our competitive position and fulfill contractual obligations. We may be unsuccessful in expanding our technological capabilities and developing, marketing or selling new products and services that meet these changing demands, which could jeopardize our competitive position. In addition, we engage in significant efforts to upgrade our products and services and the technology that supports these activities on a regular basis. If we are unsuccessful in completing the migration of material technology, otherwise upgrading our products and services and supporting technology or completing or gaining market acceptance of new technology, products and services, it would have a material adverse effect on our ability to retain existing customers and attract new ones in the impacted business line.

Our debt obligations, or our incurrence of additional debt obligations, could limit our flexibility in managing our business and could materially and adversely affect our financial performance.

At December 31, 2013, we had approximately $1.5 billion of debt outstanding under our Credit Facility and Securitization Facility. In addition, we are permitted under our credit agreement to incur additional indebtedness, subject to specified limitations. Our substantial indebtedness currently outstanding, or as may be outstanding if we incur additional indebtedness, could have important consequences, including the following:

	•		we may have difficulty satisfying our obligations under our debt facilities and, if we fail to satisfy these obligations, an event of default could result;

	•		we may be required to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to required payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of cash flow for acquisitions, working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate activities. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Contractual Obligations,” which sets forth our payment obligations with respect to our existing long-term debt;

	•		covenants relating to our debt may limit our ability to enter into certain contracts or to obtain additional financing for acquisitions, working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate activities;

	•		covenants relating to our debt may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate, including by restricting our ability to make strategic acquisitions;

	•		we may be more vulnerable than our competitors to the impact of economic downturns and adverse developments in the industry in which we operate;

	•		we are exposed to the risk of increased interest rates because certain of our borrowings are subject to variable rates of interest;

	•		although we have no current intention to pay any dividends, we may be unable to pay dividends or make other distributions with respect to your investment; and

	•		we may be placed at a competitive disadvantage against any less leveraged competitors.

The occurrence of one or more of these potential consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, and ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.

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In addition, we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. Although our credit agreements contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of significant qualifications and exceptions, and under certain circumstances, the amount of additional indebtedness that could be incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. If new debt is added to our existing debt levels, the related risks that we will face would increase.

We meet a significant portion of our working capital needs through a securitization facility, which we must renew on an annual basis.

We meet a significant portion of our working capital needs through a securitization facility, pursuant to which we sell accounts receivable to a special-purpose entity that in turn sells undivided participation interests in the accounts receivable to certain purchasers, who finance their purchases through the issuance of short-term commercial paper. The securitization facility has a one year term. Although we have been able to renew our securitization facility annually, there can be no assurance that we will continue to be able to renew this facility in the future on terms acceptable to us. For example, the market for commercial paper experienced significant volatility during the financial crisis that began in 2008.

Also, a significant rise in fuel prices could cause our accounts receivable to increase beyond the capacity of the securitization facility. There can be no assurance that the size of the facility can be expanded to meet these increased working capital needs. Further, we may not be able to fund such increases in accounts receivable with our available cash resources. Our inability to meet working capital needs could adversely affect our financial condition and business, including our relationships with merchants, customers and partners. Further, we are exposed to the risk of increased interest rates because our borrowings under the securitization facility are subject to variable rates of interest.

We are subject to risks related to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates, and restrictions on our ability to utilize revenue generated in foreign currencies.

As a result of our foreign operations, we are subject to risks related to changes in currency rates for revenue generated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For the year ended December 31, 2013, approximately 49% of our revenue was denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar (primarily Czech koruna, Russian ruble, British pound, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar). Revenue and profit generated by international operations may increase or decrease compared to prior periods as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Resulting exchange gains and losses are included in our net income. Volatility in foreign currency exchange rates may materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Furthermore, we are subject to exchange control regulations that restrict or prohibit the conversion of more than a specified amount of our foreign currencies into U.S. dollars, and, as we continue to expand, we may become subject to further exchange control regulations that limit our ability to freely utilize and transfer currency in and out of particular jurisdictions. These restrictions may make it more difficult to effectively utilize the cash generated by our operations and may adversely affect our financial condition.

We expect to continue our expansion through acquisitions, which may divert our management’s attention and result in unexpected operating difficulties, increased costs and dilution to our stockholders. We also may never realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions.

We have been an active business acquirer in the United States and internationally, and, as part of our growth strategy, we expect to seek to acquire businesses, commercial account portfolios, technologies, services and products in the future. We have substantially expanded our overall business, customer base, headcount and operations through acquisitions. The acquisition and integration of each business involves a number of risks and may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures in assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, products, personnel or operations of the acquired business. Furthermore, acquisitions may:

	•		involve our entry into geographic or business markets in which we have little or no prior experience;

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	•		involve difficulties in retaining the customers of the acquired business;

	•		involve difficulties and expense associated with regulatory requirements, competition controls or investigations;

	•		result in a delay or reduction of sales for both us and the business we acquire; and

	•		disrupt our ongoing business, divert our resources and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing development of our current business.

In addition, international acquisitions often involve additional or increased risks including, for example:

	•		difficulty managing geographically separated organizations, systems and facilities;

	•		difficulty integrating personnel with diverse business backgrounds, languages and organizational cultures;

	•		difficulty and expense introducing our corporate policies or controls;

	•		increased expense to comply with foreign regulatory requirements applicable to acquisitions;

	•		difficulty entering new foreign markets due to, among other things, lack of customer acceptance and a lack of business knowledge of these new markets; and

	•		political, social and economic instability.

To complete future acquisitions, we may determine that it is necessary to use a substantial amount of our cash or engage in equity or debt financing. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing obtained by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters that make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital in the future and to pursue other business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all, which could limit our ability to engage in acquisitions. Moreover, we can make no assurances that the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, such as operating improvements or anticipated cost savings, would be realized or that we would not be exposed to unexpected liabilities in connection with any acquisition.

Further, an acquisition may negatively affect our operating results because it may require us to incur charges and substantial debt or other liabilities, may cause adverse tax consequences, substantial depreciation and amortization or deferred compensation charges, may require the amortization, write-down or impairment of amounts related to deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangible assets, may include substantial contingent earn-out payments or other compensation that reduce our earnings during the quarter in which incurred, or may not generate sufficient financial return to offset acquisition costs.

We conduct a significant portion of our business in foreign countries and we expect to expand our operations into additional foreign countries where we may be adversely affected by operational and political risks that are greater than in the United States.

We have foreign operations in, or provide services for commercial card accounts in Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroun, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We also expect to seek to expand our operations into various countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America as part of our growth strategy.

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Some of the countries where we operate, and other countries where we will seek to operate, specifically Russia, Brazil and Mexico, have undergone significant political, economic and social change in recent years, and the risk of unforeseen changes in these countries may be greater than in the United States. For example, Russia and the Ukraine are experiencing significant unrest, which could escalate into armed conflict and economic sanctions by the U.S., United Nations or other countries against Russia. In addition, changes in laws or regulations, including with respect to payment service providers, taxation, information technology, data transmission and the Internet, or in the interpretation of existing laws or regulations, whether caused by a change in government or otherwise, could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, conducting and expanding our international operations subjects us to other risks that we do not generally face in the United States. These include:

	•		difficulties in managing the staffing of our international operations, including hiring and retaining qualified employees;

	•		difficulties and increased expense introducing corporate policies and controls in our international operations;

	•		increased expense related to localization of our products and services, including language translation and the creation of localized agreements;

	•		potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value added tax systems, restrictions on the repatriation of earnings and changes in tax rates;

	•		increased expense to comply with foreign laws and legal standards, including laws that regulate pricing and promotion activities and the import and export of information technology, which can be difficult to monitor and are often subject to change;

	•		increased expense to comply with U.S. laws that apply to foreign operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations;

	•		increased expense to comply with U.K. laws that apply to foreign operations, including the U.K. Bribery Act;

	•		longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;

	•		increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexities;

	•		political, social and economic instability;

	•		terrorist attacks and security concerns in general; and

	•		reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights and cultural norms in some geographies that are simply not respectful of intellectual property rights.

The occurrence of one or more of these events could negatively affect our international operations and, consequently, our operating results. Further, operating in international markets requires significant management attention and financial resources. Due to the additional uncertainties and risks of doing business in foreign jurisdictions, international acquisitions tend to entail risks and require additional oversight and management attention that are typically not attendant to acquisitions made within the United States. We cannot be certain that the investment and additional resources required to establish, acquire or integrate operations in other countries will produce desired levels of revenue or profitability.

We are dependent on technology systems and electronic communications networks managed by third parties, which could result in our inability to prevent disruptions in our services.

Our ability to process and authorize transactions electronically depends on our ability to communicate electronically through point-of-sale devices and electronic networks that are owned and operated by third parties. In addition, in order to process transactions promptly, our computer equipment and network servers must be functional 24 hours a day, which requires access to telecommunications facilities managed by third-parties and the availability of electricity, which we do not control. A severe disruption of one or more of these networks,

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including as a result of utility or third-party system interruptions, could impair our ability to authorize transactions and process information, which could harm our reputation, result in a loss of customers or partners and adversely affect our business and operating results.

We also utilize third-party providers to assist us with business continuity and disaster recovery operations. As a result, we are subject to the risk of a provider’s unresponsiveness in the event of a significant breakdown in our computer equipment or networks. Furthermore, our property and business interruption insurance may not be adequate to compensate us for all losses or failures that may occur.

We may experience software defects, system errors, computer viruses and development delays, which could damage customer relationships, decrease our profitability and expose us to liability.

Our products and services are based on proprietary and third-party network technology and processing systems that may encounter development delays and could be susceptible to undetected errors, viruses or defects. Development delays, system errors, viruses or defects that result in service interruption or data loss could have a material adverse effect on our business, damage our reputation and subject us to third-party liability. In addition, errors, viruses and defects in our network technology and processing systems could result in additional development costs and the diversion of our technical and other resources from other development efforts or operations. Further, our attempts to limit our potential liability, through disclaimers and limitation-of-liability provisions in our agreements, may not be successful.

We may incur substantial losses due to fraudulent use of our payment cards or vouchers.

Under certain circumstances, when we fund customer transactions, we may bear the risk of substantial losses due to fraudulent use of our payment cards or vouchers. We do not maintain any insurance to protect us against any such losses.

We may not be able to adequately protect the data we collect, which could subject us to liability and damage our reputation.

We electronically receive, process, store and transmit data and sensitive information about our customers and merchants, including bank account information and expense data. We keep this information confidential; however, our websites, networks, information systems, services and technologies may be targeted for sabotage, disruption or misappropriation. Unauthorized access to our networks and computer systems could result in the theft or publication of confidential information or the deletion or modification of records or could otherwise cause interruptions in our service and operations.

Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or to sabotage systems change frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Although we believe we have sufficient controls in place to prevent disruption and misappropriation and to respond to such attacks, any inability to prevent security breaches could have a negative impact on our reputation, expose us to liability, decrease market acceptance of electronic transactions and cause our present and potential clients to choose another service provider. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

The market for fleet card services is evolving and may not continue to develop or grow.

Our fleet card businesses rely on the acceptance and use of payment cards by businesses to purchase fuel for their vehicle fleets. If the use of fleet cards by businesses does not continue to grow, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. In order to consistently increase and maintain our profitability, businesses and partners must continue to adopt our services. Similarly, growth in the acceptance and use of fleet cards will be impacted by the acceptance and use of electronic payment transactions generally.

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Furthermore, new technologies may displace fleet cards as payment mechanisms for fuel purchase transactions. A decline in the acceptance and use of fleet cards, and electronic payment transactions generally, by businesses and merchants could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. The market for our lodging cards, food vouchers and cards, transportation and toll road payments, telematics solutions and fleet maintenance management services is also evolving and those portions of our business are subject to similar risks.

Our balance sheet includes significant amounts of goodwill and intangible assets. The impairment of a significant portion of these assets would negatively affect our financial results.

Our balance sheet includes goodwill and intangible assets that represent approximately 61% of our total assets at December 31, 2013. These assets consist primarily of goodwill and identified intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We also expect to engage in additional acquisitions, which may result in our recognition of additional goodwill and intangible assets. Under current accounting standards, we are required to amortize certain intangible assets over the useful life of the asset, while goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets are not amortized. On at least an annual basis, we assess whether there have been impairments in the carrying value of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets. If the carrying value of the asset is determined to be impaired, it is written down to fair value by a charge to operating earnings. An impairment of a significant portion of goodwill or intangible assets could materially negatively affect our operating results and financial condition.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights and confidential information, our competitive position could be harmed and we could be required to incur significant expenses in order to enforce our rights.

To protect our proprietary technology, we rely on copyright, trade secret, patent and other intellectual property laws and confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties, all of which offer only limited protection. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and use without consent confidential information or infringe on our intellectual property rights, and our ability to police that misappropriation or infringement is uncertain, particularly in countries outside of the United States. In addition, our confidentiality agreements with employees, vendors, customers and other third parties may not effectively prevent disclosure or use of proprietary technology or confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of such unauthorized use or disclosure.

Protecting against the unauthorized use of our intellectual property and confidential information is expensive, difficult and not always possible. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to protect our confidential information, including trade secrets, or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. This litigation could be costly and divert management resources, either of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property and proprietary information.

We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent the unauthorized use or the reverse engineering of our proprietary technology. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies that are competitive to ours or infringe our intellectual property. The enforcement of our intellectual property rights also depends on our legal actions against these infringers being successful, and we cannot be sure these actions will be successful, even when our rights have been infringed. Furthermore, effective patent, trademark, service mark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which we may offer our products and services.

Claims by others that we or our customers infringe their intellectual property rights could harm our business.

Third parties could claim that our technologies and processes underlying our products and services infringe their intellectual property. In addition, to the extent that we gain greater visibility, market exposure, and add new

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products and services, we may face a higher risk of being the target of intellectual property infringement claims asserted by third parties. We may, in the future, receive notices alleging that we have misappropriated or infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights. There may be third-party intellectual property rights, including patents and pending patent applications that cover significant aspects of our technologies, processes or business methods. Any claims of infringement or misappropriation by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial defense costs and could distract our management from our business, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to prevail against such claims. Some of our competitors may have the capability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforcing their intellectual property rights and to defending claims that may be brought against them than we do. Furthermore, a party making such a claim, if successful, could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages, potentially including treble damages if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A judgment could also include an injunction or other court order that could prevent us from offering our products and services. In addition, we might be required to seek a license for the use of a third party’s intellectual property, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Alternatively, we might be required to develop non-infringing technology, which could require significant effort and expense and might ultimately not be successful.

Third parties may also assert infringement claims against our customers relating to their use of our technologies or processes. Any of these claims might require us to defend potentially protracted and costly litigation on their behalf, regardless of the merits of these claims, because under certain conditions we agree to indemnify our customers from third-party claims of intellectual property infringement. If any of these claims succeed, we might be forced to pay damages on behalf of our customers, which could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our success is dependent, in part, upon our executive officers and other key personnel, and the loss of key personnel could materially adversely affect our business.

Our success depends, in part, on our executive officers and other key personnel. Our senior management team has significant industry experience and would be difficult to replace. The market for qualified individuals is competitive, and we may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel or candidates to replace or succeed members of our senior management team or other key personnel. The loss of key personnel could materially adversely affect our business.

Changes in laws, regulations and enforcement activities may adversely affect our products and services and the markets in which we operate.

The electronic payments industry is subject to increasing regulation in the United States and internationally. Domestic and foreign government regulations impose compliance obligations on us and restrictions on our operating activities, which can be difficult to administer because of their scope, mandates and varied requirements. We are subject to a number of government regulations, including, among others: interest rate and fee restrictions; credit access and disclosure requirements; collection and pricing regulations; compliance obligations; security and data breach requirements; identity theft avoidance programs; and anti-money laundering compliance programs. Government regulations can also include licensing or registration requirements. While a large portion of these regulations focuses on individual consumer protection, legislatures continue to consider whether to include business customers within the scope of these regulations. As a result, new or expanded regulation focusing on business customers or changes in interpretation or enforcement of regulations may have an adverse effect on our business and operating results, due to increased compliance costs and new restrictions affecting the terms under which we offer our products and services.

Our partner banks also operate in a highly regulated industry, which recently has been the subject of extensive structural reforms that are expected to negatively affect the conduct and scope of their businesses, their ability to maintain or expand offerings of products and services, and the costs of their operations. These legislative and regulatory changes could prompt our partner banks to alter the extent or the terms of their dealings with us in ways that may have adverse consequences for our business.

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In addition, we have endeavored to structure our businesses in accordance with existing tax laws and interpretations, including those related to state occupancy taxes, value added taxes in foreign jurisdictions, payroll taxes and restrictions on repatriation of funds or transfers of revenue between jurisdictions. Changes in tax laws, their interpretations or their enforcement could increase our tax liability, further limit our utilization of funds located in foreign jurisdictions and have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

Unfavorable resolution of tax contingencies or changes to enacted tax rates could adversely affect our tax expense and results of operations.

Our tax returns and positions are subject to review and audit by federal, state, local, and international taxing authorities. An unfavorable outcome to a tax audit could result in higher tax expense, thereby negatively impacting our results of operations. We have established contingent liabilities for material known tax exposures relating to deductions, transactions and other matters involving some uncertainty as to the proper tax treatment of the item. These liabilities reflect what we believe to be reasonable assumptions as to the likely final resolution of each issue if raised by a taxing authority. There can be no assurance that, in all instances, an issue raised by a tax authority will be finally resolved at a financial cost less than any related liability. An unfavorable resolution, therefore, could negatively impact our financial position, operating results and cash flows in the current and/or future periods.

Our acquisition documents include warranties, covenants and conditions regarding various tax matters that occurred prior to the acquisition, supported by indemnification and, in some cases, holdbacks or escrows from the sellers. The obligations of the sellers are also generally subject to various limitations. In the event of a tax claim related to a pre-acquisition tax year, we would seek to recover costs and losses from the sellers under the acquisition agreement. However, there is no assurance that any indemnification, holdback or escrow would be sufficient or that we would recover such costs or losses, which could negatively impact our financial position, operating results and cash flows in the current and/or future periods.

We record deferred income taxes to reflect the impact of temporary differences between the amounts of assets and liabilities for financial accounting and income tax purposes. Deferred income taxes are determined using enacted tax rates. Changes in enacted tax rates may negatively impact our operating results.

We generate a portion of our revenue from our lodging card business, which is affected by conditions in the hotel industry generally and has a concentration of customers in the railroad and trucking industries.

Our lodging card business earns revenue from customers purchasing lodging from the hotel industry and derives a significant portion of this revenue from end users in the railroad and trucking industries. Therefore, we are exposed to risks affecting each of these industries. For example, unfavorable economic conditions adversely impacting the hotel, railroad and trucking industries generally could cause a decrease in demand for our products and services in our lodging card business, resulting in decreased revenue, or increased credit risk and related losses, resulting in increased expenses. In addition, mergers or consolidations in these industries could reduce our customer and partnership base, resulting in a smaller market for our products and services.

We contract with government entities and are subject to risks related to our governmental contracts.

In the course of our business we contract with domestic and foreign government entities, including state and local government customers, as well as federal government agencies. As a result, we are subject to various laws and regulations that apply to companies doing business with federal, state and local governments. The laws relating to government contracts differ from other commercial contracting laws and our government contracts may contain pricing terms and conditions that are not common among commercial contracts. In addition, we may be subject to investigation from time to time concerning our compliance with the laws and regulations relating to our government contracts. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in suspension of these contracts or administrative or other penalties.

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Litigation and regulatory actions could subject us to significant fines, penalties or requirements resulting in increased expenses.

From time to time, we may be subject to legal action arising in the ordinary course of our business or otherwise. Any such action could result in expenses which, if uninsured, could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows.

We rely on third parties for card issuing and processing services supporting our MasterCard network fleet card products. Failure to maintain these contractual relationships upon acceptable terms would have an adverse effect on our MasterCard network fleet card offerings, customer retention and operating results.

Some of our fleet-card products in North America are accepted in the MasterCard merchant network pursuant to our contractual relationships with issuing banks and third-party processors. In order to continue offering fleet cards accepted at MasterCard network merchants, we must maintain our contractual relationship with at least one issuing bank. Further, unless we develop our own MasterCard-approved processing capabilities, we must continue to obtain processing services from at least one processor approved by MasterCard with the capability to provide acceptable levels of reporting data for fleet operators. Our failure to maintain adequate relationships, or find suitable alternatives, could have an adverse effect on our MasterCard network fleet card products, our customer retention and our operating results.

Changes in MasterCard interchange fees could decrease our revenue.

A portion of our revenue is generated by network processing fees charged to merchants, known as interchange fees, associated with transactions processed using our MasterCard-branded fleet cards. Interchange fee amounts associated with our MasterCard network fleet cards are affected by a number of factors, including regulatory limits in the United States and Europe and fee changes imposed by MasterCard. In addition, interchange fees are the subject of intense legal and regulatory scrutiny and competitive pressures in the electronic payments industry, which could result in lower interchange fees generally in the future. Temporary or permanent decreases in the interchange fees associated with our MasterCard network fleet-card transactions, could adversely affect our business and operating results.

If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brands, it could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brands is critical to our customer relationships, and our ability to obtain partners and retain employees. The successful promotion of our brands will depend upon our marketing and public relations efforts, our ability to continue to offer high-quality products and services and our ability to successfully differentiate our services from those of our competitors. In addition, future extension of our brands to add new products or services different from our current offerings may dilute our brands, particularly if we fail to maintain our quality standards in these new areas. The promotion of our brands will require us to make substantial expenditures, and we anticipate that the expenditures will increase as our markets become more competitive and we expand into new markets. To the extent that these activities yield increased revenues, this revenue may not offset the expenses we incur. There can be no assurance that our brand promotion activities will be successful.

Failure to comply with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and similar laws associated with our international activities, could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.

As we continue to expand our business internationally, we may continue to expand into certain foreign countries, particularly those with developing economies, where companies often engage in business practices that are prohibited by U.S., U.K. and other foreign regulations, including the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, and the U.K. Bribery Act. The FCPA prohibits improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. and other business entities for the purpose of

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obtaining or retaining business. We have implemented policies to discourage such practices; however, there can be no assurances that all of our employees, consultants and agents, including those that may be based in or from countries where practices that violate U.S. laws may be customary, will not take actions in violation of our policies, for which we may be ultimately responsible. Violations of the FCPA or similar laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions and, in the U.S., suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Risks related to ownership of our common stock

Our stock price could be volatile and our stock could decline in value.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially as a result of many factors, some of which are beyond our control. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include the following:

	•		quarterly variations in our results of operations;

	•		results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors;

	•		results of operations that vary from those of our competitors;

	•		changes in expectations as to our future financial performance, including financial estimates by securities analysts and investors;

	•		announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, or capital commitments;

	•		announcements by third parties of significant claims or proceedings against us;

	•		regulatory developments in the United States and abroad;

	•		future sales of our common stock, and additions or departures of key personnel; and

	•		general domestic and international economic, market and currency factors and conditions unrelated to our performance.

In addition, the stock market in general has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to operating performance of individual companies. These broad market factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. A securities class action suit against us could result in significant liabilities and, regardless of the outcome, could result in substantial costs and the diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

We are subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management and recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are and will be met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

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Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company and may affect the trading price of our common stock.

Our corporate documents and the Delaware General Corporation Law contain provisions that may enable our board of directors to resist a change in control of FleetCor even if a change in control were to be considered favorable by you and other stockholders. These provisions:

	•		stagger the terms of our board of directors and require supermajority stockholder voting to remove directors;

	•		authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock and to determine the rights and preferences of those shares, which may be senior to our common stock, without prior stockholder approval;

	•		establish advance notice requirements for nominating directors and proposing matters to be voted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings;

	•		prohibit our stockholders from calling a special meeting and prohibit stockholders from acting by written consent; and

	•		require supermajority stockholder voting to effect certain amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.

In addition, our certificate of incorporation prohibits large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or consolidating with us except under certain circumstances. These provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of FleetCor. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

We do not expect to pay any dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.

We currently expect to retain all future earnings, if any, for future operation, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends to holders of our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our operating results, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, we must comply with the covenants in our credit agreements in order to be able to pay cash dividends, and our ability to pay dividends generally may be further limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.