Item 1A. Risk Factors.

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There are a number of business risks and uncertainties that could affect our business. These risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ from past performance or expected results. We consider the following risks and uncertainties to be most relevant to our specific business activities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently believe to be immaterial, also may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business relies on home improvement and new home construction activity, both of which are cyclical.

A significant portion of our business relies on home improvement, including repair and remodeling projects, of which our reliance has increased following the spin off of TopBuild Corp. ("TopBuild") in 2015. Our business also relies on new home construction activity. Macroeconomic conditions in the U.S. and Europe, including consumer confidence levels, fluctuations in home prices, unemployment and underemployment levels, consumer income and debt levels, household formation and the availability of home equity loans and mortgages and the interest rates for such loans, affect both consumers' discretionary spending on home improvement projects as well as new home construction activity. While improving, both consumer spending for big ticket remodeling projects and new home construction continue to be below historic average levels. Adverse changes or uncertainty regarding these macroeconomic conditions could result in a decline in spending on home improvement projects and a decline in demand for new home construction, both of which could adversely affect our results of operations and our financial position.

If we do not maintain strong brands, develop new products or respond to changing purchasing practices and consumer preferences we could lose market share.

Our competitive advantage is due, in part, to our ability to maintain our strong brands and to develop and introduce innovative new and improved products. While we continue to invest in brand building and brand awareness, these initiatives may not be successful. The uncertainties associated with developing and introducing new and improved products, such as gauging changing consumer preferences and successfully developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling these products, may impact the success of our product introductions. If we do not introduce new or improved products in a timely manner or if these products do not gain widespread acceptance, we could lose market share, which could negatively impact our operating results.

In recent years, consumer purchasing practices and preferences have shifted and our customers' business models and strategies have changed. Consumers are increasingly using the internet and mobile technology to research home improvement products and to inform and provide feedback on their purchasing and ownership experience for these products. E-business is a rapidly developing area, and the refinement and execution of a successful e-business strategy involves significant time, investment and resources. If we are unable to successfully execute our e-business strategy, our brands may lose market share.

While U.S. demand for single-family houses is increasing, the demand for multi-family housing units such as apartments and condominiums continues to be elevated compared to historic levels. Multi-family units typically are smaller than single-family houses and require fewer kitchen and bathroom cabinets than single-family houses. If this demand mix remains, it may limit our growth opportunities.

If we do not timely and effectively identify and respond to these changing purchasing practices and consumer preferences, our relationships with our customers and with consumers could be harmed, the demand for our brands and products could be reduced and our results of operations could be negatively affected.

We face significant competition.

Our products face significant competition. We believe that brand reputation is an important factor impacting product selection and that we compete on the basis of product features and innovation, product quality, customer service, warranty and price. Home center retailers continue to purchase products in our segments directly from low-cost foreign manufacturers for sale as private label merchandise. Additionally, home center retailers, which have historically concentrated their sales efforts on retail consumers and remodelers, are increasingly marketing directly to professional contractors and installers, which may impact our margins on our products that contractors and installers would otherwise buy through our dealers and wholesalers.

We sell many of our products through distributors and independent dealers and we rely on these customers to market and promote our products to consumers. Our success with these customers is dependent on our ability to provide quality products and timely delivery. Additionally, in these channels as well as at home center retailers, we compete with foreign manufacturers in a variety of our product groups. Some of these foreign manufacturers are putting downward pressures on price. As market dynamics change, we may experience a shift in the mix of some products we sell toward more value-priced or opening price point products, which may impact our ability to maintain or gain market share and/or our profitability.

Our ability to maintain our competitive position in our industries depends upon maintaining strong brands, developing and innovating products, maintaining strong relationships with our customers, managing our cost structure, executing a successful e-business strategy, accommodating customer demands for new and improved products on a shorter cycle, implementing growth strategies and entering new domestic and international areas, none of which is assured.

Our sales are concentrated with two significant customers.

As a result of the spin off of TopBuild in 2015, the mix of our business operations has changed and the concentration of our sales to our two largest customers has increased and may continue to increase. In 2015, net sales to our largest customer, The Home Depot, were $2.4 billion (approximately 33 percent of our consolidated net sales). In 2015, net sales to Lowe's, our second largest customer, were less than ten percent of our consolidated net sales. If the mix of our business operations continues to change, including as a result of acquisitions or divestitures, our reliance on these significant customers may further increase. These home center retailers can significantly affect the prices we receive for our products and the terms and conditions on which we do business with them. Additionally, these home center customers may reduce the number of vendors from which they purchase and could make significant changes in their volume of purchases. Although other retailers, dealers, distributors and homebuilders represent other channels of distribution for our products and services, the loss of a substantial portion of our sales to The Home Depot or the loss of all of our sales to Lowe's would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Further, as some of these home center retailers expand their markets and targeted customers and as consumer purchasing practices change and e-commerce increases, conflicts between our existing distribution channels have and will continue to occur, which could impact our results of operations. Our relationships with our customers may be impacted if we increase the amount of business we transact directly with consumers. In addition, our large retail customers request product exclusivity from time to time, which may affect our ability to offer products to other customers and may diminish our ability to leverage economies of scale.

We may not achieve all of the anticipated benefits of our strategic initiatives.

We continue to pursue our strategic initiatives, which are designed to increase shareholder value over the mid- to long-term. Our business performance and results could be adversely affected if we are

unable to successfully execute these initiatives, or if we are unable to execute them in a timely and efficient manner. We could also be adversely affected if we are unable to effectively manage change throughout our organization.

Pursuing the acquisition of businesses complementary to our portfolio is a component of our strategy for future growth. If we are not able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or consummate potential acquisitions, our long-term competitive positioning may be impacted. Even if we are successful in acquiring businesses, we may experience risks in integrating these businesses into our existing business. Such risks include difficulties realizing expected synergies and economies of scale, diversion of our resources, unforeseen liabilities, issues with the new or existing customers or suppliers, and difficulties in retaining critical employees of the acquired businesses. Future foreign acquisitions may also increase our exposure to foreign currency risks and risks associated with interpretation and enforcement of foreign regulations. Our failure to address these risks could cause us to incur additional costs and/or fail to realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions and could adversely affect our results of operations.

We may not be able to sustain the turnaround in our cabinetry businesses.

Our initiatives to improve our cabinetry operations have been complex, time-consuming and expensive. Although the operating results of our cabinetry businesses improved in 2015, we continue to focus on obtaining profitable sales, reducing our cost structure and improving production efficiencies. Our strategies in these areas require time to implement, execute and assess and may not be successful. If the improvement in our cabinetry businesses cannot be sustained or if the pace of the improvement slows, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.

Variability in commodity costs or limited availability of commodities could impact us.

We buy various commodities to manufacture our products, including, among others, brass, resins, titanium dioxide, zinc, wood and glass. In addition, water is a significant component of many of our architectural coatings products and may be subject to restrictions in certain regions. Fluctuations in the availability and prices of these commodities could increase our costs to manufacture our products. Further, increases in energy costs could increase our production costs as well as our transportation costs, each of which could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results.

It has been, and likely will continue to be, difficult for us to pass on to customers cost increases to cover our increased commodity and production costs. Our existing arrangements with customers, competitive considerations and customer resistance to price increases may delay or make us unable to adjust selling prices. If we are not able to increase the prices of our products or achieve cost savings to offset increased commodity and production costs, our financial condition and operating results could be negatively impacted. If we are able to increase our selling prices, sustained price increases for our products may lead to sales declines and loss of market share, particularly if our competitors do not increase their prices. When commodity prices decline, we have experienced and may in the future receive pressure from our customers to reduce our prices. Such reductions could impact our operating results.

To help reduce price volatility associated with certain anticipated commodity purchases, we use derivative instruments, including commodity futures and swaps. This strategy increases the possibility that we may make commitments to purchase these commodities at prices that subsequently exceed their market prices, which has and may continue to adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. We also have agreements with certain significant suppliers to help assure continued availability.

We are dependent on third-party suppliers.

We rely heavily on third-party suppliers for many of our products and components, and our ability to offer a wide variety of products depends on our ability to obtain an adequate supply of these products and components. Failure by our suppliers to provide us quality products on commercially reasonable terms, or to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or operating results. Resourcing these products and components to another supplier could take time and involve significant costs. Accordingly, the loss of critical suppliers, or a substantial decrease in the availability of products or components from our suppliers, could disrupt our business and adversely impact our operating results.

Many of the suppliers upon whom we rely are located in foreign countries. The differences in business practices, shipping and delivery requirements and laws and regulations, together with the limited number of suppliers, have increased the complexity of our supply chain logistics and the potential for interruptions in our production scheduling. If we are unable to effectively manage our supply chain, our operating results could be negatively affected.

There are risks associated with international operations and global strategies.

Approximately 21 percent of our sales are made outside of North America (principally in Europe) and are transacted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Following the TopBuild spin off, a greater proportion of our sales occurs outside of the U.S., and increasing our international sales is an important part of our strategic plans. In addition to our European operations, we manufacture products in Asia and source products and components from third parties globally. Risks associated with our international operations include changes in political, monetary and social environments, labor conditions and practices, the laws, regulations and policies of foreign governments, social and political unrest, terrorist attacks, cultural differences and differences in enforcement of contract and intellectual property rights.

Our operating results are also impacted by international economic conditions, primarily in Europe. As our sales made outside of the U.S. have increased, we have experienced a greater negative impact from currency conversion rates, particularly the Euro, the Canadian dollar and the British pound sterling, on our results of operations due to the strength of the U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may present challenges in comparing operating performance from period to period.

U.S. laws and regulations regarding activities of U.S. companies doing business abroad, including tax laws, laws regulating competition, anti-bribery/anti-corruption and other business practices, and trade regulations, which may include duties and tariffs, can also affect us. While it is difficult to assess what changes may occur and the relative impact on our international tax structure, it is possible that significant changes in how U.S. and foreign jurisdictions tax cross-border transactions could adversely impact our financial results.

We may not be able to adequately protect or prevent the unauthorized use of our intellectual property.

Protecting our intellectual property is critical to our growth and innovation efforts. We own a number of patents, trade names, brand names and other forms of intellectual property in our products and manufacturing processes throughout the world. There can be no assurance that our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights will prevent violations. Our intellectual property may be challenged or infringed upon by third parties, particularly in countries where property rights are not highly developed or protected. In addition, the global nature of our business increases the risk that we may be unable to obtain or maintain our intellectual property rights on reasonable terms. Furthermore, others may assert intellectual property infringement claims against us. Protecting and defending our intellectual property could be costly, time consuming and require significant resources. If we are not able to protect our existing

intellectual property rights, or prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property, sales of our products may be affected and we may experience reputational damage to our brand names, increased litigation costs and adverse impact to our competitive position, which could affect our results of operations.

The long-term performance of our businesses relies on our ability to attract, develop and retain talented personnel.

To be successful, we must attract, develop and retain highly qualified and talented personnel who have the experience, knowledge and expertise to successfully implement our key business strategies. We compete for employees with a broad range of employers in many different industries, including large multinational firms, and we invest significant resources in recruiting, developing, motivating and retaining them. The failure to attract and retain key employees, or to develop effective succession planning to assure smooth transitions of those employees and the knowledge and expertise they possess, could negatively affect our competitive position and our operating results. If we are unable to recruit, train and retain sufficient skilled and unskilled labor, we may not be able to adequately satisfy increased demand for our products and services, and our operating results could be adversely affected.

Claims and litigation could be costly.

We are involved in various claims, litigation matters and regulatory proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business and which could have a material adverse effect on us. These matters may include competition, products liability, employment, warranty disputes, advertising claims, contract disputes, personal injury claims, environmental claims or proceedings, and other proceedings and litigation, including class actions.

We are subject to product safety regulations, recalls and direct claims for product liability that can result in significant liability and, regardless of the ultimate outcome, can damage the reputation of our brands and business and can be costly to defend or manage. Also, we rely on other manufacturers to provide us with products or components for products that we sell. Due to the difficulty of controlling the quality of products or components sourced from other manufacturers, we are exposed to risks relating to the quality of such products and to limitations on our recourse against such suppliers.

We intend to defend all claims and litigation matters vigorously; however, given the inherently unpredictable nature of claims and litigation, we cannot predict with certainty the outcome or effect of any claim or litigation matter. In recent years, we have experienced class action lawsuits predicated upon claims for product liability and wage and hour issues, and we may be subject to other consumer claims in the future. We have generally denied liability and have vigorously defended these cases. Due to their scope and complexity, however, these lawsuits can be particularly costly to defend and resolve, and we have and may continue to incur significant costs as a result of these types of lawsuits.

We maintain insurance against some, but not all, of these risks of loss resulting from claims and litigation. We may elect not to obtain insurance if we believe the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the risks presented. The levels of insurance we maintain may not be adequate to fully cover any and all losses or liabilities. If any significant accident, judgment, claim or other event is not fully insured or indemnified against, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may also experience increased costs for insurance coverage that could impact our financial results.

See Note U to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report for additional information about litigation involving our businesses.

Compliance with laws, government regulation and industry standards could impact our operating results.

We are subject to federal, state and foreign government regulations, particularly those pertaining to health and safety (including protection of employees and consumers), product compliance, competition practices, import and export regulations, climate disruption and environmental issues. In addition to complying with current requirements and requirements that will become effective at a future date, even more stringent requirements could be imposed on us in the future. Additionally, some of our products must be certified by industry organizations. Compliance with these laws, regulations and industry standards may require us to alter our product designs, our manufacturing processes or our sourcing. Further, compliance activities are costly and require significant management attention and resources. If we do not effectively and timely comply with such regulations and industry standards, our results of operations could be negatively affected.

We rely on information systems and technology, and disruptions to these systems could impact our operating results.

We rely on a number of information systems and technology to process, transmit, store and manage information to support our business activities, and we have plans to make significant investments in new technology systems. We may be adversely impacted if our information systems are disrupted or fail, or if we do not appropriately select and implement our new technology systems in a timely manner. In addition to the disruptions that may occur from interruptions in our systems, increased global cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats and more sophisticated and targeted attacks pose a risk to our information technology systems. We have established security policies, processes and layers of defense designed to help identify and protect against intentional and unintentional misappropriation or corruption of our systems and information and disruption of our operations. Despite these efforts, our systems may be damaged, disrupted, or shut down due to attacks by unauthorized access, malicious software, undetected intrusion, hardware failures, or other events, and in these circumstances our disaster recovery plans may be ineffective or inadequate. These breaches or intrusions could lead to business interruption, exposure of proprietary or confidential information, data corruption, damage to our reputation, exposure to litigation, and increased operational costs. Such events could have a material adverse impact on our operating results. In addition, we could be adversely affected if any of our significant customers or suppliers experiences any similar events that disrupt their business operations or damage their reputation.

Restrictive covenants in our credit agreement could limit our financial flexibility.

We must comply with both financial and nonfinancial covenants in our credit agreement, and in order to borrow under it, we cannot be in default with any of those provisions. Our ability to borrow under the credit agreement could be impacted if our earnings significantly decline to a level where we are not in compliance with the financial covenants or if we default on any nonfinancial covenants. In the past, we have been able to amend the covenants in our credit agreement, but there can be no assurance that in the future we would be able to further amend them. If we were unable to borrow under our credit agreement, our financial flexibility would be restricted if we were also unable to obtain alternative financing on acceptable terms and at acceptable rates or if we were not permitted to obtain alternative financing under the terms of our existing financing arrangements.

The TopBuild spin off could result in substantial tax liability to us and our stockholders.

We received an opinion of tax counsel substantially to the effect that, for U.S. Federal income tax purposes, the spin off and certain related transactions qualify for tax-free treatment under certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code. However, if the factual assumptions or representations made by us in connection with the delivery of the opinion are inaccurate or incomplete in any material respect, including

those relating to the past and future conduct of our business, we will not be able to rely on the opinion. Furthermore, the opinion is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service or the courts. If, notwithstanding receipt of the opinion, the spin off transaction and certain related transactions are determined to be taxable, we would be subject to a substantial tax liability. In addition, if the spin off transaction is taxable, each holder of our common stock who received shares of TopBuild in connection with the spin off would generally be treated as receiving a taxable distribution of property in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares received, thereby potentially increasing such holder's tax liability.

Even if the spin off otherwise qualifies as a tax-free transaction, the distribution could be taxable to us (but not to our stockholders) in certain circumstances if future significant acquisitions of our stock or the stock of TopBuild are deemed to be part of a plan or series of related transactions that included the spin off. In this event, the resulting tax liability could be substantial. In connection with the spin off, we entered into a tax matters agreement with TopBuild, pursuant to which TopBuild agreed to not enter into any transaction that could cause any portion of the spin off to be taxable to us without our consent and to indemnify us for any tax liability resulting from any such transaction. These obligations and potential tax liabilities may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of us.