Item 1A. Risk Factors

Except as described below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A in our 2021 10-K.

The war in Ukraine has negatively impacted our business, results of operations and financial position, and could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial position in the future.

During the first quarter of 2022, the war in Ukraine required us to suspend our business operations in Ukraine. The war resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union that affect the cross-border operations of businesses operating in Russia. In addition, Russian regulators imposed currency restrictions and regulations that created uncertainty regarding our ability to recover our investment in our operations in Russia, as well as our ability to exercise control over the operations. Also, many multinational companies, including many of our large clients, ceased or suspended their operations in Russia. Therefore, the ability to continue operations in Russia without additional funding, which we will not provide, is uncertain. As a result, we have sold, or committed to dispose of, all of our businesses in Russia.

The war in Ukraine is ongoing and its duration is uncertain. We cannot predict the outcome of the war in Ukraine or its impact on the broader region, as the conflict and related government actions are evolving and are beyond our control. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions, which may include increased energy costs and further supply chain disruptions, could be significant and could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial position in the future. Our clients’ businesses, results or operations and financial positions could also be adversely impacted by the war in Ukraine, which could impact client spending.

A period of sustained inflation across all the major markets in which we operate could result in higher operating costs.

Our principal operating expenses are salary and service costs and occupancy and related expenses. Inflationary pressures typically result in increases to our operating expenses. While we would take actions, wherever possible, to reduce the impact of the effects of inflation; in cases of sustained inflation across several of our major markets it becomes increasingly difficult to effectively control the increase to our costs. In addition, the effects of inflation on consumers budgets could result in the reduction of our clients’ spending plans on the marketing and communication services we provide them. If we are unable to increase our fees or take other actions to mitigate the effect of the resulting higher costs, our profitability and financial position could be negatively impacted.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Common stock repurchases during the three months ended March 31, 2022 were:

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, we purchased 3,586,873 shares of our common stock in the open market for general corporate purposes, and we withheld 104,279 shares from employees to satisfy estimated statutory income tax obligations related to the vesting of restricted stock awards. The value of the common stock withheld was based on the closing price of our common stock on the applicable exercise and vesting dates.