Equifax (EFX) risk factors: FY2025 10-K

1. Security breaches and other disruptions to our information technology infrastructure could compromise Company, consumer and customer information, interfere with our operations, cause us to incur significant costs for remediation and enhancement of our IT systems and expose us to legal liability, all of which could have a substantial negative impact on our business and reputation.Cybersecurity
2. If we fail to achieve and maintain key industry or technical certifications, our customers and business partners may stop doing business with us and we may not be able to win new business, which would negatively affect our revenue.

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1. The failure to realize the anticipated benefits of our technology transformation could adversely impact our business and financial results.
2. The loss of access to credit, employment, financial and other data or intellectual property from external sources could harm our ability to provide our products and services.reworded
3. Negative changes in general economic conditions, including interest rates, the level of inflation, unemployment rates, income, home prices, investment values and consumer confidence, could adversely affect us.Interest rates
4. Our markets are highly competitive. New products, pricing strategies and business models introduced by our competitors, as well as regulatory changes impacting our industry, could decrease our sales and market share or require us to enhance our products and services or reduce our prices in a manner that reduces our revenue and operating margins.reworded
5. If our relationships with key customers and business partners are materially diminished or terminated, our business could suffer.
6. If we do not introduce successful new products and services in a timely manner, or if the market does not adopt our products and services, or if new technologies and analytical capabilities are introduced by competitors that are more effective or at lower costs than ours, our competitiveness and operating results will suffer.reworded
7. We may face risks associated with our use of certain artificial intelligence and machine learning models and systems.AI
8. The demand for some of our products and services may be negatively impacted to the extent the availability of free or less expensive consumer information increases.
9. We rely, in part, on acquisitions, joint ventures and other alliances to grow our business and expand our geographic reach. The acquisition, integration or divestiture of businesses by us may not produce the expected financial or operating results or IT and data security profile we expect. In addition, if we are unable to make acquisitions or successfully develop and maintain joint ventures and other alliances, our growth may be adversely impacted.
10. If our government contracts are terminated, if we are suspended from government work, or if our ability to compete for new contracts is adversely affected, our business could suffer.
11. Our business has been and may continue to be negatively impacted by health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks.
12. Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by stakeholder responses to our responsible business priorities and commitments and our reporting of such matters.reworded

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1. Our use of cloud-based and other technologies that are outsourced to third parties could expose us to operational disruptions.
2. Our customers' decisioning may be adversely affected if we provide inaccurate or unreliable data, which could adversely affect our financial condition, cause loss of customer trust and contribute to non-compliance with certain laws and regulations.
3. If our systems do not meet customer requirements for response time or high availability, or we experience system constraints or failures, or if our customers do not modify and/or upgrade their systems to accept new releases of our products and services, our services to our customers could be delayed or interrupted, which could result in lost revenues or customers, lower margins, service level penalties or other harm to our business and reputation.
4. Dependence on outsourcing certain portions of our operations may adversely affect our ability to bring products to market and damage our reputation. Dependence on outsourced information technology and other administrative functions may impair our ability to operate effectively.
5. Our business will suffer if we are not able to retain and hire key personnel.

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1. Economic, political and other risks associated with international sales and operations could adversely affect our results of operations.

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1. As part of a global settlement, we entered into agreements with various parties to settle the U.S. Consumer MDL Litigation and certain federal and state government investigations arising out of a material cybersecurity incident in 2017. If we are unable to comply with our obligations under these agreements, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.Cybersecurity
2. We and our customers are subject to various current laws and governmental regulations, and could be affected by new and evolving laws and regulations, including those related to consumer privacy and protection, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Compliance with these laws and regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses and change our business practices, and if we fail to maintain satisfactory compliance with certain laws and regulations, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties.rewordedAICybersecurity
3. The CFPB has supervisory authority over our U.S. business and supporting operations and may initiate enforcement actions with regard to our compliance with federal consumer financial laws.
4. Regulatory oversight of our contractual relationships with certain of our customers may adversely affect our business.
5. We are regularly involved in claims, suits, government investigations, enforcement actions and other proceedings that may result in adverse outcomes.
6. Third parties may claim that we are infringing on their intellectual property and we could suffer significant litigation or licensing expenses or be prevented from selling products or services.
7. Third parties may misappropriate or infringe our intellectual property and we may suffer competitive injury or expend significant resources enforcing our rights.

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1. A downgrade in our credit ratings could increase our cost of borrowing under our credit facilities and have an adverse effect on our ability to access the capital markets.
2. Our retirement and post-retirement pension plans are subject to financial market risks that could adversely affect our future results of operations and cash flows.

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