A Dark Vector Cognition product

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Except as set forth herein, there have been no material changes to the disclosure regarding risk factors presented in Part I, Item 1A, of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2024.

Our business success depends on attracting and retaining qualified personnel.

Our ability to sustain and grow our business requires us to hire, retain and develop a high-performance, customer-centric and diverse management team and workforce. Continuous efficient and timely customer service, customer support and customer intimacy are essential to enabling customer loyalty and driving our financial results. Our growth strategies require that we pivot to new talent capability investments and build the workforce of the future, with an emphasis on developing skills in digital and consultative, outcome-based selling. Failure to ensure that we have the leadership and talent capacity with the necessary skillset and experience could impede our ability to deliver our growth objectives, execute our strategic plan and effectively transition our leadership. Any unplanned turnover or inability to attract and retain key employees could have a negative effect on our results of operations.

The nature of our business requires us to maintain a labor force that is sufficiently large enough to support our manufacturing operations to meet customer demand, as well as provide on-site services and project support for our customers. This includes recruiting, hiring and retaining skilled trade workers to support our direct channel field businesses. We have in the past, and could in the future, experience shortages for skilled or unskilled labor. The impacts of such labor shortages could limit our ability to scale our operations to meet increased demand and convert backlog into revenue, which could negatively impact our growth and results of operations.

Data privacy, identity protection and information security compliance may require significant resources and presents certain risks.

We collect, store, have access to and otherwise process certain confidential or sensitive data, including proprietary business information, customer data, personal data or other information that is subject to privacy and security laws, regulations and/or customer-imposed controls. Despite our efforts to protect such data, our business, data and our products have been and will in the future be vulnerable to security incidents, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming errors, or errors that could potentially lead to the compromise or further compromise of such data, improper use of our products, systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions. During September 2023, we became aware of a cybersecurity event consisting of unauthorized access, data exfiltration and deployment of ransomware to a portion of our internal IT infrastructure. The Company determined that certain data, primarily employee, job applicant and personal information and other related data, was impacted by the incident. The Company has taken appropriate actions to notify individuals and regulatory authorities.

The actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, employee or other data as a result of the foregoing or any other cybersecurity incident, as well as non-compliance with applicable industry standards or our contractual or other legal obligations or privacy and information security policies regarding such data, could result in litigation and/or regulatory activity and associated fines, damages, costs, awards, or settlements. In addition, we may be required to make certain third-party notifications to individuals and regulators following the completion of our analysis of the data impacted by the cybersecurity incident.

We could face similar consequences in the future if we, our employees, our suppliers, channel partners, customers or other third parties experience the actual or perceived risk of theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of data, including as a result of employee error or malfeasance, non-compliance with required or expected security practices, or as a result of the imaging, software, security and other products we incorporate into our products. Such an event could lead customers to select the products and services of our competitors. Both the September 2023 cybersecurity incident and any future incidents could harm our reputation, cause unfavorable publicity or otherwise adversely affect certain existing and potential customers’ perception of the security and reliability of our services as well as our credibility and reputation, which could result in lost sales.

We operate in an environment in which there are different and potentially conflicting data privacy laws in effect in the various U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate and we must understand and comply with each law and standard in each of these jurisdictions while ensuring the data is secured. For example, proposed regulations restricting the use of biometric security technology could impact the products and solutions offered by our security business. Similarly the Executive Order 14117, and its implementing regulations Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and US Government Related Data By Countries of Concern, may limit our ability to share information with China and other designated countries. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and violations of data privacy laws can result in fines, reputational damage and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, reputation and financial statements.

Some of our contracts do not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. While we maintain general liability insurance coverage and coverage for errors or omissions, such coverage might not be adequate or otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to claims alleging compromises, including relevant to compromises of our systems or data, that such coverage will continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims including claims and other costs related to the September 2023 cybersecurity incident. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), could have an adverse effect on our business.

Changes in U.S. or foreign trade policies and other factors beyond our control may adversely impact our business and operating results.

Geopolitical tensions and trade disputes can disrupt supply chains and increase the cost of our products. This could cause our products to be more expensive for customers, which could reduce the demand for, or attractiveness of, such products. In addition, a geopolitical conflict in a region where we operate could disrupt our ability to conduct business operations in that region. Countries also could adopt restrictive trade measures, such as tariffs, laws and regulations concerning investments and limitations on foreign ownership of businesses, taxation, foreign exchange controls, capital controls, employment regulations and the repatriation of earnings and controls on imports or exports of goods, technology, or data, any of which could adversely affect our operations and supply chain and limit our ability to offer our products and services as intended. Changes in laws or policies governing the terms of foreign trade, and in particular increased trade restrictions, tariffs or taxes on imports from countries where we manufacture products or from where we import products or raw materials (either directly or through our suppliers) could have an impact on our competitive position, business operations and financial results. For example, the U.S., China and other countries continue to implement restrictive trade actions, including tariffs, export controls, sanctions, legislation favoring domestic investment and other actions impacting the import and export of goods, foreign investment and foreign operations in jurisdictions in which we operate.

Recently, the United States has announced tariffs and reciprocal tariffs on a wide range of products manufactured or produced worldwide, including Canada, China, the European Union, Japan and Mexico, among others. Several countries have similarly announced reciprocal or other tariffs impacting products manufactured or produced in the United States. The United States has and may in the future pause, reimpose or increase tariffs, and countries subject to such tariffs have and in the future may impose reciprocal tariffs or other restrictive trade measures in response to the imposition of tariffs by the United States. We are actively monitoring and evaluating the development and potential impacts of tariffs on our supply chain and results of operations. We maintain operations worldwide, including the jurisdictions impacted by the recently announced and contemplated tariffs. If the actual and potential tariffs and reciprocal tariffs are implemented as currently proposed, we expect that such actions could negatively impact our revenue growth and margins in future periods through increased costs, decreased demand and other adverse economic impacts. We could also experience increased material cost inflation and component shortages, as well as disruptions and delays in our supply chain. The net effect of these actions will depend on our ability to successfully mitigate and offset their impact, which may not be effective.

Trade restrictions could be adopted with little to no advanced notice, and we may not be able to effectively mitigate the adverse impacts from such measures. Political uncertainty surrounding trade or other international disputes also could have a negative impact on customer confidence and willingness to invest capital, which could impair our future growth. Any of these events could increase the cost of our products, create disruptions to our supply chain and impair our ability to effectively operate and compete in the countries where we do business.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

In June 2025, the Company's Board of Directors approved a $9.0 billion increase to the Company's share repurchase authorization, adding to the $1.1 billion remaining as of March 31, 2025 under the prior share repurchase authorization approved in 2021. The share repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and may be amended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time without prior notice. During the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025, the Company repurchased and immediately retired $310 million and $970 million, respectively, of its ordinary shares in open market transactions. As of June 30, 2025, approximately $9.8 billion remains available under the share repurchase authorization. The Company expects to return a portion of the net proceeds of the Residential & Light Commercial transaction to shareholders through the implementation of a $5.0 billion accelerated share repurchase program expected to commence in the coming weeks pursuant to its existing share repurchase authorization.

The following table presents information regarding the repurchase of the Company’s ordinary shares by the Company as part of its publicly announced program during the three months ended June 30, 2025.

PeriodTotal Number of Shares PurchasedAverage Price Paid per ShareTotal Number of Shares Purchased as Part of the Publicly Announced ProgramApproximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased under the Programs
04/01/25 - 04/30/252,837,741$75.502,837,741$9,869,539,836
05/01/25 - 05/31/25368,70694.00368,7069,834,880,262
06/01/25 - 6/30/25592,260103.29592,2609,773,704,862

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