Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with the information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents we file with the SEC. The risks and uncertainties described below are those that we have identified as material, but are not the only risks and uncertainties facing us. Our business is also subject to general risks and uncertainties that affect many other companies, such as market conditions, economic conditions, geopolitical events, changes in laws, regulations or accounting rules, fluctuations in interest rates, terrorism, wars or conflicts, major health concerns, natural disasters or other disruptions of expected business conditions. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial also may impair our business, including our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Business

Conditions in the global economy, the markets we serve and the financial markets may adversely affect our business and financial statements.

Our business is sensitive to general economic conditions. Slower global economic growth, actual or anticipated default on sovereign debt, changes in global trade policies, volatility in the currency and credit markets, high levels of unemployment and underemployment, reduced levels of capital expenditures, changes in government fiscal and monetary policies, government deficit reduction and budget negotiation dynamics, sequestration, other austerity measures, political and social instability, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other challenges that affect the global economy adversely affect us and our distributors, customers and suppliers, including having the effect of:

•	reducing demand for our products, software and services, limiting the financing available to our customers and suppliers, increasing order cancellations and resulting in longer sales cycles and slower adoption of new technologies;

•	increasing the difficulty in collecting accounts receivable and the risk of excess and obsolete inventories;

•	increasing price competition in our served markets;

•	supply interruptions, which could disrupt our ability to produce our products;

•	increasing the risk of impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets, and the risk that we may not be able to fully recover the value of other assets such as real estate and tax assets; and

•	increasing the risk that counterparties to our contractual arrangements will become insolvent or otherwise unable to fulfill their contractual obligations which, in addition to increasing the risks identified above, could result in preference actions against us.

In addition, adverse general economic conditions may lead to instability in U.S. and global capital and credit markets, including market disruptions, limited liquidity and interest rate volatility. If we are unable to access capital and credit markets on terms that are acceptable to us or our lenders are unable to provide financing in accordance with their contractual obligations, we may not be able to make certain investments or acquisitions or fully execute our business plans and strategies. Furthermore, our suppliers and customers are also dependent upon the capital and credit markets. Limitations on the ability of customers, suppliers or financial counterparties to access credit at interest rates and on terms that are acceptable to them could lead to insolvencies of key suppliers and customers, limit or prevent customers from obtaining credit to finance purchases of our products and services and cause delays in the delivery of key products from suppliers.

If growth in the global economy or in any of the markets we serve slows for a significant period, if there is significant deterioration in the global economy or such markets, if there is instability in global capital and credit markets, or if improvements in the global economy do not benefit the markets we serve, our business and financial statements could be adversely affected.

Our growth could suffer if the markets into which we sell our products and services decline, do not grow as anticipated or experience cyclicality.

Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve, and visibility into our markets is limited (particularly for markets into which we sell through distribution). Our quarterly sales and profits depend substantially on the volume and timing of orders received during the fiscal quarter, which are difficult to forecast. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and services, which could adversely affect our financial statements. Certain of our businesses operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns. In addition, in certain of our businesses demand depends on customers’ capital spending budgets, and product and economic cycles can affect

the spending decisions of these entities. Demand for our products and services is also sensitive to changes in customer order patterns, which may be affected by announced price changes, changes in incentive programs, new product introductions and customer inventory levels. Any of these factors could adversely affect our growth and results of operations in any given period.

We face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may experience decreased demand and decreased market share. Even if we compete effectively, we may be required to reduce prices for our products and services.

Many of our businesses operate in industries that are intensely competitive and have been subject to consolidation. Because of the range of the products and services we sell and the variety of markets we serve, we encounter a wide variety of competitors; please see the section entitled “Business-Competition” for additional details. In order to compete effectively, we must retain longstanding relationships with major customers and continue to grow our business by establishing relationships with new customers, continually developing new or enhanced products and services to maintain and expand our brand recognition and leadership position in various product and service categories and penetrating new markets, including high-growth markets. Our failure to compete effectively and/or pricing pressures resulting from competition may adversely impact our financial statements, and our expansion into new markets may result in greater-than-expected risks, liabilities and expenses.

Changes in industry standards and governmental regulations may reduce demand for our products or services or increase our expenses.

We compete in markets in which we and our customers must comply with supranational, federal, state, local and other jurisdictional regulations, such as regulations governing health and safety, the environment and electronic communications, and market standardizations, such as the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (“EMV”) global standard. We develop, configure and market our products and services to meet customer needs created by these regulations and standards. These regulations and standards are complex, change frequently, have tended to become more stringent over time and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. Any significant change or delay in implementation in any of these regulations or standards (or in the interpretation, application or enforcement thereof) could reduce or delay demand for our products and services, increase our costs of producing or delay the introduction of new or modified products and services, or could restrict our existing activities, products and services. In addition, in certain of our markets our growth depends in part upon the introduction of new regulations or implementation of industry standards on the timeline we expect. In these markets, the delay or failure of governmental and other entities to adopt or enforce new regulations or industry standards, or the adoption of new regulations or industry standards which our products and services are not positioned to address, could adversely affect demand. In addition, regulatory deadlines or industry standard implementation timelines may result in substantially different levels of demand for our products and services from period to period.

Trade relations between China and the United States could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial statements.

We have experienced growth in various end markets in China. During 2018, year-over-year sales from existing businesses grew at a low double-digit rate in China, and sales in China accounted for approximately 9% of our total sales for the year ended December 31, 2018. In addition, we have numerous facilities in China, many of which serve multiple businesses and are used for multiple purposes.

There is currently significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and China, including with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs. Substantial changes to U.S. foreign trade policy with respect to China have recently been implemented, including imposition of greater restrictions on international trade. The United States has increased tariffs on certain goods imported into the United States from China, following which the Chinese government increased tariffs on certain goods imported into China from the United States. There is a risk of further escalation and retaliatory actions between the two countries. In addition, the current administration, certain members of Congress and federal officials have stated that United States may seek to implement more protective trade measures, not just with respect to China but with respect to other countries in the Asia Pacific region as well. Any increased trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, especially trade with China, could adversely impact our business and financial statements.

Any inability to consummate acquisitions at our anticipated rate and at appropriate prices could negatively impact our growth rate and stock price.

Our ability to grow revenues, earnings and cash flow at or above our anticipated rates depends in part upon our ability to identify and successfully acquire and integrate businesses at appropriate prices and realize anticipated synergies. We may not be able to consummate acquisitions at rates anticipated, which could adversely impact our growth rate and our stock price. Promising acquisitions are difficult to identify and complete for a number of reasons, including high valuations, competition among prospective buyers, the availability of affordable funding in the capital markets and the need to satisfy applicable closing conditions and obtain antitrust and other regulatory approvals on acceptable terms. In addition, competition for

acquisitions may result in higher purchase prices. Changes in accounting or regulatory requirements or instability in the credit markets could also adversely impact our ability to consummate acquisitions.

Our growth depends in part on the timely development and commercialization, and customer acceptance, of new and enhanced products and services based on technological innovation.

We generally sell our products and services in industries that are characterized by rapid technological changes, frequent new product introductions and changing industry standards. If we do not develop innovative new and enhanced products and services on a timely basis, our offerings will become obsolete over time and our competitive position and financial statements will suffer. Our success will depend on several factors, including our ability to:

•	correctly identify customer needs and preferences and predict future needs and preferences;

•	allocate our research and development funding to products and services with higher growth prospects;

•	anticipate and respond to our competitors’ development of new products and services and technological innovations;

•	differentiate our offerings from our competitors’ offerings and avoid commoditization;

•	innovate and develop new technologies and applications, and acquire or obtain rights to third-party technologies that may have valuable applications in our served markets;

•	obtain adequate intellectual property rights with respect to key technologies before our competitors do;

•	successfully commercialize new technologies in a timely manner, price them competitively and cost-effectively manufacture and deliver sufficient volumes of new products of appropriate quality on time; and

•	stimulate customer demand for and convince customers to adopt new technologies.

In addition, if we fail to accurately predict future customer needs and preferences or fail to produce viable technologies, we may invest heavily in research and development of products and services that do not lead to significant revenue, which would adversely affect our profitability. Even if we successfully innovate and develop new and enhanced products and services, we may incur substantial costs in doing so, and our profitability may suffer.

Our reputation, ability to do business and financial statements may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents or business partners.

We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from acts committed by employees, agents or business partners of ours (or of businesses we acquire or partner with) that would violate U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and false claims, sales and marketing practices, conflicts of interest, competition, export and import compliance, money laundering and data privacy. In particular, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, and we operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree. Any such improper actions or allegations of such acts could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the United States and in other jurisdictions and related shareholder lawsuits, could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. In addition, though we rely on our suppliers to adhere to our supplier standards of conduct, material violations of such standards of conduct could occur that could have a material effect on our financial statements.

Our acquisition of businesses, joint ventures and strategic relationships could negatively impact our financial statements.

As part of our business strategy we acquire businesses and enter other strategic relationships in the ordinary course, some of which may be material; please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“MD&A”) for additional details. These acquisitions and strategic relationships involve a number of financial, accounting, managerial, operational, legal, compliance and other risks and challenges, including the following, any of which could adversely affect our financial statements:

•	any acquired business, technology, service or product could under-perform relative to our expectations and the price that we paid for it, or not perform in accordance with our anticipated timetable;

•	we may incur or assume significant debt in connection with our acquisitions or strategic relationships;

•	acquisitions or strategic relationships could cause our financial results to differ from our own or the investment community’s expectations in any given period, or over the long-term;

•	pre-closing and post-closing earnings charges could adversely impact operating results in any given period, and the impact may be substantially different from period to period;

•	acquisitions or strategic relationships could create demands on our management, operational resources and financial and internal control systems that we are unable to effectively address;

•	we could experience difficulty in integrating personnel, operations and financial and other controls and systems and retaining key employees and customers;

•	we may be unable to achieve cost savings or other synergies anticipated in connection with an acquisition or strategic relationship;

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we may assume by acquisition or strategic relationship unknown liabilities, known contingent liabilities that become realized, known liabilities that prove greater than anticipated, internal control deficiencies or exposure to regulatory sanctions resulting from the acquired company’s activities. The realization of any of these liabilities or deficiencies may increase our expenses, adversely affect our financial position or cause us to fail to meet our public financial reporting obligations;

•	in connection with acquisitions, we may enter into post-closing financial arrangements such as purchase price adjustments, earn-out obligations and indemnification obligations, which may have unpredictable financial results;

•	in connection with acquisitions, we have recorded significant goodwill and other intangible assets on our balance sheet. If we are not able to realize the value of these assets, we may be required to incur charges relating to the impairment of these assets; and

•	we may have interests that diverge from those of strategic partners and we may not be able to direct the management and operations of the strategic relationship in the manner we believe is most appropriate, exposing us to additional risk.

The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies may not fully protect us and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities.

Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the company before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. We cannot assure you that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our financial statements.

Divestitures or other dispositions could negatively impact our business, and contingent liabilities from businesses that we have sold could adversely affect our financial statements.

We continually assess the strategic fit of our existing businesses and may divest or otherwise dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with our strategic plan or are not achieving the desired return on investment. These transactions pose risks and challenges that could negatively impact our business. For example, when we decide to sell or otherwise dispose of a business or assets, we may be unable to do so on satisfactory terms within our anticipated timeframe or at all, and even after reaching a definitive agreement to sell or dispose a business the sale is typically subject to satisfaction of pre-closing conditions which may not become satisfied. In addition, divestitures or other dispositions may dilute our earnings per share, have other adverse financial and accounting impacts and distract management, and disputes may arise with buyers. In addition, we have retained responsibility for and/or have agreed to indemnify buyers against some known and unknown contingent liabilities related to a number of businesses we have sold or disposed. The resolution of these contingencies has not had a material effect on our financial statements but we cannot be certain that this favorable pattern will continue.

Our operations, products and services expose us to the risk of environmental, health and safety liabilities, costs and violations that could adversely affect our reputation and financial statements.

Our operations, products and services are subject to environmental laws and regulations, which impose limitations on the discharge of pollutants into the environment and establish standards for the use, generation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. We must also comply with various health and safety regulations in the United States and abroad in connection with our operations. In addition, some of our operations require the controlled use of hazardous or energetic materials in the development, manufacturing or servicing of our products. We cannot assure you that our

environmental, health and safety compliance program has been or will at all times be effective. Failure to comply with any of these laws could result in civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties and damage to our reputation. In addition, we cannot provide assurance that our costs of complying with current or future environmental protection and health and safety laws will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial statements. Moreover, any accident that results in significant personal injury or property damage, whether occurring during development, manufacturing, servicing, use, or storage of our products, may result in significant production interruption, delays or claims for substantial damages caused by personal injuries or property damage, harm to our reputation, and reduction in morale among our employees, any of which may adversely and materially affect our results of operations.

In addition, we may incur costs related to remedial efforts or alleged environmental damage associated with past or current waste disposal practices or other hazardous materials handling practices. We are also from time to time party to personal injury or other claims brought by private parties alleging injury due to the presence of or exposure to hazardous substances. We may also become subject to additional remedial, compliance or personal injury costs due to future events such as changes in existing laws or regulations, changes in agency direction or enforcement policies, developments in remediation technologies, changes in the conduct of our operations and changes in accounting rules. For additional information regarding these risks, please refer to Note 16 to the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements. We cannot assure you that our liabilities arising from past or future releases of, or exposures to, hazardous substances will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our reputation and financial statements or that we will not be subject to additional claims for personal injury or remediation in the future based on our past, present or future business activities.

Our businesses are subject to extensive regulation; failure to comply with those regulations could adversely affect our financial statements and reputation.

In addition to the environmental, health, safety, anticorruption and other regulations noted above, our businesses are subject to extensive regulation by U.S. and non-U.S. governmental and self-regulatory entities at the supranational, federal, state, local and other jurisdictional levels, including the following:

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we are required to comply with various import laws and export control and economic sanctions laws, which may affect our transactions with certain customers, business partners and other persons and dealings between our employees and subsidiaries. In certain circumstances, export control and economic sanctions regulations may prohibit the export of certain products, services and technologies. In other circumstances, we may be required to obtain an export license before exporting the controlled item. Compliance with the various import laws that apply to our businesses can restrict our access to, and increase the cost of obtaining, certain products and at times can interrupt our supply of imported inventory;

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we also have agreements to sell products and services to government entities and are subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with government entities. The laws governing government contracts differ from the laws governing private contracts. For example, many government contracts contain pricing and other terms and conditions that are not applicable to private contracts. Our agreements with government entities may be subject to termination, reduction or modification at the convenience of the government or in the event of changes in government requirements, reductions in federal spending and other factors, and we may underestimate our costs of performing under the contract. Government contracts that have been awarded to us following a bid process could become the subject of a bid protest by a losing bidder, which could result in loss of the contract. We are also subject to investigation and audit for compliance with the requirements governing government contracts; and

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we are also required to comply with increasingly complex and changing data privacy regulations in multiple jurisdictions that regulate the collection, use, protection and transfer of personal data, including the transfer of personal data between or among countries. Many of these foreign data privacy regulations (including the General Data Protection Regulation effective in the European Union in May 2018) are more stringent than those in the U.S. We may also face audits or investigations by one or more domestic or foreign government agencies relating to our compliance with these regulations. An adverse outcome under any such investigation or audit could subject us to fines or other penalties. That or other circumstances related to our collection, use and transfer of personal data could cause a loss of reputation in the market and/or adversely affect our business and financial position.

These are not the only regulations that our businesses must comply with. The regulations we are subject to have tended to become more stringent over time and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. We, our representatives and the industries in which we operate may at times be under review and/or investigation by regulatory authorities. Failure to comply (or any alleged or perceived failure to comply) with the regulations referenced above or any other regulations could result in civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties, and any such failure or alleged failure (or becoming subject to a regulatory enforcement investigation) could also damage our reputation, disrupt our business, limit our ability to manufacture, import, export and sell products and services, result in loss of customers and disbarment from selling to certain federal agencies and

cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. Compliance with these and other regulations may also affect our returns on investment, require us to incur significant expenses or modify our business model or impair our flexibility in modifying product, marketing, pricing or other strategies for growing our business. Our products and operations are also often subject to the rules of industrial standards bodies such as the International Standards Organization, and failure to comply with these rules could result in withdrawal of certifications needed to sell our products and services and otherwise adversely impact our financial statements. For additional information regarding these risks, please refer to the section entitled “Business-Regulatory Matters.”

International economic, political, legal, compliance and business factors could negatively affect our financial statements.

In 2018, approximately 45% of our sales were derived from customers outside the United States. In addition, many of our manufacturing operations, suppliers and employees are located outside the United States. Since our growth strategy depends in part on our ability to further penetrate markets outside the United States and increase the localization of our products and services, we expect to continue to increase our sales and presence outside the United States, particularly in high-growth markets. Our international business (and particularly our business in high-growth markets) is subject to risks that are customarily encountered in non-U.S. operations, including:

•	interruption in the transportation of materials to us and finished goods to our customers;

•	differences in terms of sale, including payment terms;

•	local product preferences and product requirements;

•	changes in a country’s or region’s political or economic conditions, including changes in relationship with the United States;

•	trade protection measures, embargoes and import or export restrictions and requirements;

•	unexpected changes in laws or regulatory requirements, including negative changes in tax laws;

•	limitations on ownership and on repatriation of earnings and cash;

•	the potential for nationalization of enterprises;

•	limitations on legal rights and our ability to enforce such rights;

•	difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations;

•	differing labor regulations;

•	difficulties in implementing restructuring actions on a timely or comprehensive basis; and

•	differing protection of intellectual property.

Any of these risks could negatively affect our financial statements and growth.

We may be required to recognize impairment charges for our goodwill and other intangible assets.

As of December 31, 2018, the net carrying value of our goodwill and other intangible assets totaled approximately $8.6 billion. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we periodically assess these assets to determine if they are impaired. Significant negative industry or economic trends, disruptions to our business, inability to effectively integrate acquired businesses, unexpected significant changes or planned changes in use of our assets, changes in the structure of our business, divestitures, market capitalization declines, or increases in associated discount rates may impair our goodwill and other intangible assets. Any charges relating to such impairments would adversely affect our results of operations in the periods recognized.

Foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our financial statements.

Sales and purchases in currencies other than the U.S. dollar expose us to fluctuations in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and may adversely affect our financial statements. Increased strength of the U.S. dollar increases the effective price of our products sold in U.S. dollars into other countries, which may require us to lower our prices or adversely affect sales to the extent we do not increase local currency prices. Decreased strength of the U.S. dollar could adversely affect the cost of materials, products and services we purchase overseas. Sales and expenses of our non-U.S. businesses are also translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes and the strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar could result in unfavorable translation

effects. In addition, certain of our businesses may transact in a currency other than the business’ functional currency, and movements in the transaction currency relative to the functional currency could also result in unfavorable exchange rate effects. We also face exchange rate risk from our investments in subsidiaries owned and operated in foreign countries.

Changes in our effective tax rates or exposure to additional income tax liabilities or assessments could affect our profitability. In addition, audits by tax authorities could result in additional tax payments for prior periods.

We are subject to income and transaction taxes in the United States and in multiple foreign jurisdictions. Because we have a wide range of statutory tax rates in the multiple jurisdictions in which we operate, any changes in our geographical source of earnings could materially impact our consolidated effective tax rate. Furthermore, a change in the tax laws of the jurisdictions where we operate could result in a material increase in our tax expense. In addition, foreign remittance taxes have not been provided for on undistributed earnings of certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries to the extent such earnings are considered to be indefinitely reinvested in the operations of those subsidiaries. If our intentions regarding reinvestment of such earnings change, then our income tax expense could increase. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. enacted comprehensive tax reform commonly referred to as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). The TCJA represents one of the most significant overhauls to the US federal tax code since 1986 according to the SEC. The TCJA includes numerous provisions that affect businesses and introduces changes that impact U.S. corporate tax rates, business-related exclusions, deductions, and credits. In addition, pursuant to the interpretive guidance in Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, we prepared and recorded tax accounting for the year ended December 31, 2017 applying tax laws in effect prior to the application of the provisions of the TCJA and recorded provisional estimates for all the effects of the TCJA, with adjustments to the provisional estimates recorded in 2018. In addition, further guidance, regulations, and technical corrections pertaining to TCJA continue to be issued by the tax authorities, including those with retroactive application. We will continue to assess such new guidance, regulations and corrections as they are issued. However, there can be no assurance that the retroactive applications of such new guidance, regulations or corrections issued by the tax authorities will not result in revisions to our prior interpretation of the corresponding provisions of TCJA that may have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Further changes in the tax laws of foreign jurisdictions could arise as a result of the base erosion and profit shifting project undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), which represents a coalition of member countries. The OECD has issued a series of reports recommending changes to numerous long-standing tax principles, many of which are being adopted by various countries in which we do business. Changes in relation to international tax reform could increase uncertainty in the corporate tax area and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes. In addition, the amount of income taxes we pay is subject to ongoing audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by non-U.S. tax authorities. Due to the potential for changes to tax laws (or changes to the interpretation thereof) and the ambiguity of tax laws, the subjectivity of factual interpretations, the complexity of our intercompany arrangements and other factors, our estimates of income tax liabilities may differ from actual payments or assessments. If these audits result in payments or assessments different from our reserves, our future results may include unfavorable adjustments to our tax liabilities and our financial statements could be adversely affected. If we determine to repatriate earnings from foreign jurisdictions that have been considered permanently re-invested under existing accounting standards, it could also increase our effective tax rate.

We have incurred a significant amount of debt, and our debt will increase further if we incur additional debt and do not retire existing debt.

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately $3.4 billion of long-term debt, including the current portion of long-term debt, on a consolidated basis. We may also obtain additional long-term debt and lines of credit to meet future financing needs. Our debt level and related debt service obligations could have negative consequences, including:

•	requiring us to dedicate significant cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, which would reduce the funds we have available for other purposes, such as acquisitions;

•	making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt;

•	placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that are not as highly leveraged;

•	limiting our ability to borrow additional funds;

•	reducing our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and market conditions;

•	exposing us to interest rate risk since a portion of our debt obligations are at variable rates; and

•	resulting in an event of default if we fail to satisfy our obligations under our debt or fail to comply with the financial or restrictive covenants contained in our debt instruments, which event of default could result in all of our debt becoming immediately due and payable and could permit certain of our lenders to foreclose on our assets securing such debt.

Our ability to satisfy our obligations depends on our future operating performance and on economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow to meet these obligations. If we are unable to service our debt or obtain additional financing, we may be forced to delay strategic acquisitions, capital expenditures or research and development expenditures. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us or at all.

Additionally, the agreements governing our debt require that we maintain certain financial ratios, and contain affirmative and negative covenants that restrict our activities by, among other limitations, limiting our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make investments, create liens, sell assets and enter into transactions with affiliates. The covenants in our credit agreement include a debt-to-EBITDA ratio. Specifically, the credit agreement requires us to maintain as of the end of any fiscal quarter a consolidated net leverage ratio of debt to consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the credit agreement) of less than 3.50 to 1.00 or, for four consecutive quarters immediately following the consummation of any qualified acquisition, less than 4.00 to 1.00. In addition, the credit agreement requires us to maintain a consolidated interest coverage ratio of consolidated EBITDA to interest expense of greater than 3.50 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter.

Our ability to comply with these restrictions and covenants may be affected by events beyond our control. Our failure to comply with any of these restrictions or covenants may result in an event of default under the applicable debt instrument, which could permit acceleration of the debt under that instrument and require us to prepay that debt before its scheduled due date. Also, an acceleration of the debt under one of our debt instruments would trigger an event of default under other of our debt instruments.

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings in the course of our business that could adversely affect our financial statements.

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings incidental to our business (or the business operations of previously owned entities), including claims for damages arising out of the use of products or services and claims relating to intellectual property matters, employment matters, tax matters, commercial disputes, competition and sales and trading practices, environmental matters, personal injury, insurance coverage and acquisition or divestiture-related matters, as well as regulatory investigations or enforcement. We may also become subject to lawsuits as a result of past or future acquisitions or as a result of liabilities retained from, or representations, warranties or indemnities provided in connection with, divested businesses. These lawsuits may include claims for compensatory damages, punitive and consequential damages and/or injunctive relief. The defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits, and we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to equitable remedies that could adversely affect our operations and financial statements. Moreover, any insurance or indemnification rights that we may have may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against such losses. In addition, developments in proceedings in any given period may require us to adjust the loss contingency estimates that we have recorded in our financial statements, record estimates for liabilities or assets that we were previously unable to estimate or pay cash settlements or judgments. Any of these developments could adversely affect our financial statements in any particular period. We cannot assure you that our liabilities in connection with litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial statements and reputation.

If we do not or cannot adequately protect our intellectual property, or if third parties infringe our intellectual property rights, we may suffer competitive injury or expend significant resources enforcing our rights.

We own numerous patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property and licenses to intellectual property owned by others, which in aggregate are important to our business. The intellectual property rights that we obtain, however, may not be sufficiently broad or otherwise may not provide us a significant competitive advantage, and patents may not be issued for pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us. In addition, the steps that we and our licensors have taken to maintain and protect our intellectual property may not prevent it from being challenged, invalidated, circumvented, designed-around or becoming subject to compulsory licensing, particularly in countries where intellectual property rights are not highly developed or protected. In some circumstances, enforcement may not be available to us because an infringer has a dominant intellectual property position or for other business reasons, or countries may require compulsory licensing of our intellectual property. We also rely on nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that these agreements will adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights. Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage, adequately protect our intellectual property or detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property and the cost of enforcing our intellectual property rights could adversely impact our competitive position and financial statements.

Third parties may claim that we are infringing or misappropriating their intellectual property rights and we could suffer significant litigation expenses, losses or licensing expenses or be prevented from selling products or services.

From time to time, we receive notices from third parties alleging intellectual property infringement or misappropriation. Any dispute or litigation regarding intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming due to the complexity of many of our technologies and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation. Our intellectual property portfolio may not be useful in asserting a counterclaim, or negotiating a license, in response to a claim of infringement or misappropriation. In addition, as a result of such claims of infringement or misappropriation, we could lose our rights to critical technology, be unable to license critical technology or sell critical products and services, be required to pay substantial damages or license fees with respect to the infringed rights or be required to redesign our products at substantial cost, any of which could adversely impact our competitive position and financial statements. Even if we successfully defend against claims of infringement or misappropriation, we may incur significant costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could adversely affect our financial statements.

A significant disruption in, or breach in security of, our information technology systems could adversely affect our business.

We rely on information technology systems, some of which are managed by third parties and some of which are managed on a decentralized, independent basis by our operating companies, to process, transmit and store electronic information (including sensitive data such as confidential business information and personally identifiable data relating to employees, customers and other business partners), and to manage or support a variety of critical business processes and activities. These systems may be damaged, disrupted or shut down due to attacks by computer hackers, nation states, cyber-criminals, computer viruses, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication or utility failures, catastrophes or other unforeseen events, and in any such circumstances our system redundancy and other disaster recovery planning may be ineffective or inadequate. In addition, security breaches of our systems (or the systems of our customers, suppliers or other business partners) could result in the misappropriation, destruction or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or personal data belonging to us or to our employees, partners, customers or suppliers. Like many multinational corporations, our information technology systems have been subject to computer viruses, malicious codes, unauthorized access and other cyber-attacks and we expect to be subject to similar incidents in the future as such attacks become more sophisticated and frequent. Any of the attacks, breaches or other disruptions or damage described above could interrupt our operations, delay production and shipments, result in theft of our and our customers’ intellectual property and trade secrets, damage customer and business partner relationships and our reputation or result in defective products or services, legal claims and proceedings, liability and penalties under privacy laws and increased costs for security and remediation, each of which could adversely affect our business and financial statements.

Defects and unanticipated use or inadequate disclosure with respect to our products (including software) or services could adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Manufacturing or design defects impacting safety, cybersecurity or quality issues (or the perception of such issues) for our products and services can lead to personal injury, death, property damage, data loss or other damages. These events could lead to recalls or safety or other public alerts, result in product or service downtime or the temporary or permanent removal of a product or service from the market and result in product liability or similar claims being brought against us. Recalls, downtime, removals and product liability and similar claims (regardless of their validity or ultimate outcome) can result in significant costs, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products and services.

Adverse changes in our relationships with, or the financial condition, performance, purchasing patterns or inventory levels of, key distributors and other channel partners could adversely affect our financial statements.

Certain of our businesses sell a significant amount of their products to key distributors and other channel partners that have valuable relationships with customers and end-users. Some of these distributors and other partners also sell our competitors’ products or compete with us directly, and if they favor competing products for any reason they may fail to market our products effectively. Adverse changes in our relationships with these distributors and other partners, or adverse developments in their financial condition, performance or purchasing patterns, could adversely affect our financial statements. The levels of inventory maintained by our distributors and other channel partners, and changes in those levels, can also significantly impact our results of operations in any given period. In addition, the consolidation of distributors and customers in certain of our served industries could adversely impact our profitability.

Our financial results are subject to fluctuations in the cost and availability of commodities that we use in our operations.

As discussed in the section entitled “Business-Materials,” our manufacturing and other operations employ a wide variety of components, raw materials and other commodities. Prices for and availability of these components, raw materials and other

commodities have fluctuated significantly in the past. Any sustained interruption in the supply of these items could adversely affect our business. In addition, due to the highly competitive nature of the industries that we serve, the cost-containment efforts of our customers and the terms of certain contracts we are party to, if commodity prices rise we may be unable to pass along cost increases through higher prices. If we are unable to fully recover higher commodity costs through price increases or offset these increases through cost reductions, or if there is a time delay between the increase in costs and our ability to recover or offset these costs, we could experience lower margins and profitability and our financial statements could be adversely affected.

If we cannot adjust our manufacturing capacity or the purchases required for our manufacturing activities to reflect changes in market conditions and customer demand, our profitability may suffer. In addition, our reliance upon sole or limited sources of supply for certain materials, components and services could cause production interruptions, delays and inefficiencies.

We purchase materials, components and equipment from third parties for use in our manufacturing operations. Our income could be adversely impacted if we are unable to adjust our purchases to reflect changes in customer demand and market fluctuations, including those caused by seasonality or cyclicality. During a market upturn, suppliers may extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices. If we cannot purchase sufficient products at competitive prices and quality and on a timely enough basis to meet increasing demand, we may not be able to satisfy market demand, product shipments may be delayed, our costs may increase or we may breach our contractual commitments and incur liabilities. Conversely, in order to secure supplies for the production of products, we sometimes enter into noncancelable purchase commitments with vendors, which could impact our ability to adjust our inventory to reflect declining market demands. If demand for our products is less than we expect, we may experience additional excess and obsolete inventories and be forced to incur additional charges and our profitability may suffer.

In addition, some of our businesses purchase certain requirements from sole or limited source suppliers for reasons of quality assurance, cost effectiveness, availability or uniqueness of design. If these or other suppliers encounter financial, operating or other difficulties or if our relationship with them changes, we might not be able to quickly establish or qualify replacement sources of supply. The supply chains for our businesses could also be disrupted by supplier capacity constraints, bankruptcy or exiting of the business for other reasons, decreased availability of key raw materials or commodities and external events such as natural disasters, pandemic health issues, war, terrorist actions, governmental actions and legislative or regulatory changes. Any of these factors could result in production interruptions, delays, extended lead times and inefficiencies.

Because we cannot always immediately adapt our production capacity and related cost structures to changing market conditions, our manufacturing capacity may at times exceed or fall short of our production requirements. Any or all of these problems could result in the loss of customers, provide an opportunity for competing products to gain market acceptance and otherwise adversely affect our profitability.

Our restructuring actions could have long-term adverse effects on our business.

In recent years, we have implemented multiple, significant restructuring activities across our businesses to adjust our cost structure, and we may engage in similar restructuring activities in the future. These restructuring activities and our regular ongoing cost reduction activities (including in connection with the integration of acquired businesses) reduce our available talent, assets and other resources and could slow improvements in our products and services, adversely affect our ability to respond to customers and limit our ability to increase production quickly if demand for our products increases. In addition, delays in implementing planned restructuring activities or other productivity improvements, unexpected costs or failure to meet targeted improvements may diminish the operational or financial benefits we realize from such actions. Any of the circumstances described above could adversely impact our business and financial statements.

Work stoppages, union and works council campaigns and other labor disputes could adversely impact our productivity and results of operations.

We have certain U.S. collective bargaining units and various non-U.S. collective labor arrangements. We are subject to potential work stoppages, union and works council campaigns and other labor disputes, any of which could adversely impact our productivity, results of operations and reputation.

If we suffer loss to our facilities, supply chains, distribution systems or information technology systems due to catastrophe or other events, our operations could be seriously harmed.

Our facilities, supply chains, distribution systems and information technology systems are subject to catastrophic loss due to fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, public health crisis, war, terrorism or other natural or man-made disasters. If any of these facilities, supply chains or systems were to experience a catastrophic loss, it could disrupt our operations, delay production and

shipments, result in defective products or services, damage customer relationships and our reputation and result in legal exposure and large repair or replacement expenses. The third-party insurance coverage that we maintain will vary from time to time in both type and amount depending on cost, availability and our decisions regarding risk retention, and may be unavailable or insufficient to protect us against losses.

Certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and of Delaware law, may prevent or delay an acquisition of our company, which could decrease the trading price of our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (“Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) and amended and restated bylaws (“Amended and Restated Bylaws”) contain, and Delaware law contains, provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage prospective acquirers to negotiate with the Board of Directors (the “Board”) rather than to attempt an unsolicited takeover not approved by the Board. These provisions include, among others:

•	the inability of our shareholders to call a special meeting;

•	the inability of our shareholders to act by written consent;

•	rules regarding how shareholders may present proposals or nominate directors for election at shareholder meetings;

•	the right of the Board to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval;

•	the ability of our directors, and not shareholders, to fill vacancies (including those resulting from an enlargement of the Board) on the Board; and

•	the requirement that the affirmative vote of shareholders holding at least 80% of our voting stock is required to amend our amended and restated bylaws and certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

In addition, because we have not chosen to be exempt from Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), this provision could also delay or prevent a change of control that you may favor. Section 203 provides that, subject to limited exceptions, persons that acquire, or are affiliated with a person that acquires, more than 15% of the outstanding voting stock of a Delaware corporation (an “interested stockholder”) shall not engage in any business combination with that corporation, including by merger, consolidation or acquisitions of additional shares, for a three-year period following the date on which the person became an interested stockholder, unless (i) prior to such time, the board of directors of such corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (ii) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of such corporation at the time the transaction commenced (excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) the voting stock owned by directors who are also officers or held in employee benefit plans in which the employees do not have a confidential right to tender or vote stock held by the plan); or (iii) on or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors of such corporation and authorized at a meeting of shareholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation not owned by the interested stockholder.

We believe these provisions will protect our shareholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with the Board and by providing the Board with more time to assess any acquisition proposal. These provisions are not intended to make our company immune from takeovers.

However, these provisions will apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some shareholders and could delay or prevent an acquisition that the Board determines is not in the best interests of our company and our shareholders. These provisions may also prevent or discourage attempts to remove and replace incumbent directors.

Changes in U.S. GAAP could adversely affect our reported financial results and may require significant changes to our internal accounting systems and processes.

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP. These principles are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), the SEC and various bodies formed to interpret and create appropriate accounting principles and guidance. The FASB issued new accounting standards for revenue recognition and accounting for leases. These and other such standards may result in different accounting principles, which may significantly impact our reported results or could result in volatility of our financial results.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the state courts in the State of Delaware or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal court for the District of Delaware, as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could discourage lawsuits against us and our directors and officers.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that unless the Board otherwise determines, the state courts in the State of Delaware or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal court for the District of Delaware, will be the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors or officers to our company or our shareholders, any action asserting a claim against our company or any of our directors or officers arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against our company or any of our directors or officers governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision may limit the ability of our shareholders to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such shareholders find favorable for disputes with our company or our directors or officers, which may discourage such lawsuits against our company and our directors and officers.

Certain of our executive officers and directors may have actual or potential conflicts of interest because of their equity interest in Danaher.

Because of their current or former positions with Danaher, certain of our executive officers and directors own equity interests in Danaher. In addition, certain of our directors are currently serving on the Danaher board of directors. Continuing ownership of shares of Danaher common stock and equity awards, or service as a director at both companies could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest if we and Danaher face decisions that could have implications for both Danaher and us.

Potential liabilities may arise due to fraudulent transfer considerations, which would adversely affect our financial condition and our results of operations.

In connection with the Separation, Danaher undertook several corporate restructuring transactions which, together with the Separation, may be subject to federal and state fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws. If, under these laws, a court were to determine that, at the time of the Separation, any entity involved in these restructuring transactions or the Separation:

•	was insolvent;

•	was rendered insolvent by reason of the Separation;

•	had remaining assets constituting unreasonably small capital; or

•	intended to incur, or believed it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay these debts as they matured,

then the court could void the Separation, in whole or in part, as a fraudulent conveyance or transfer. The court could then require our shareholders to return to Danaher some or all of the shares of our common stock issued in the distribution, or require Danaher or us, as the case may be, to fund liabilities of the other company for the benefit of creditors. The measure of insolvency will vary depending upon the jurisdiction whose law is being applied. Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent if the fair value of its assets was less than the fair value of its liabilities or if it incurred debt beyond its ability to repay the debt as that debt matures.