Item 1. Business
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Item 1. Business
General Overview
Rollins, Inc. (“Rollins,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”), is an international services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through our family of leading brands, we provide essential pest and wildlife control services and protection against termite damage, rodents and insects to more than two million residential and commercial customers from more than 800 Company-owned and franchised locations in approximately 70 countries. Over the course of our lengthy operating history, we have garnered a reputation for providing great customer service. The contracted and recurring nature of our services provide us with visibility into a significant portion of our future earnings.
In 1964, brothers O. Wayne and John Rollins acquired Orkin Exterminating Company and in 1965 we changed our name from Rollins Broadcasting, Inc to Rollins, Inc. In 1968, Rollins began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ROL.” Since then, we have grown into a premier consumer and commercial services business with numerous industry leading brands including the world renowned Orkin, as well as HomeTeam Pest Defense, Clark Pest Control, Western Pest Services, Critter Control Wildlife, and Northwest Exterminating, among others.
We operate under one reportable segment which contains our three business lines:
| ● | Residential: Pest control services protecting residential properties from common pests, including rodents, insects and wildlife; |
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| ● | Commercial: Workplace pest control solutions for customers across diverse end markets such as healthcare, foodservice, logistics; and |
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| ● | Termite: Termite protection services and ancillary services for both residential and commercial customers. |
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Our Competitive Strengths
Rollins is a global leader in pest control. We have established a portfolio of premier brands with extensive service capabilities across a deep operating network. Our scale enables delivery of great service and provides a significant and reinforcing competitive advantage through (i) comprehensive capabilities to win new residential and commercial accounts, (ii) technology investments for operations optimization and enhanced customer experience, (iii) route density to manage variable costs, and (iv) financial flexibility to generate organic growth and pursue M&A.
Robust Operating Platform with Proprietary Technology
Our extensive footprint creates an efficient and scalable operating platform to facilitate exceptional customer service delivery, increased cross-selling opportunities, and cost efficiencies. We have strategically invested in proprietary routing and scheduling technologies to increase our competitive advantage, which includes real-time service tracking and customer internet communication to personalize the customer experience. We run our proprietary Branch Operating Support System (“BOSS”), which offers a back-end interface to facilitate service tracking and payment processing for technicians. BOSS also provides virtual route management tools to increase route efficiency across our network, reducing miles driven and associated costs while increasing customer retention through on-time and rapid response service.
Differentiated Employee Base and Service Delivery
Our employees are critical to delivering an outstanding customer experience, and we are highly focused on providing our team with best-in-class training and development opportunities. We operate the 27,000 square foot Rollins Learning Center training facility located in Atlanta, GA, which is a distance-learning and global broadcast facility with simulated environments and classrooms for training. In addition to in-person training, the Rollins Learning Center offers on-demand training sessions that employees can access from anywhere in the world that are produced at our on-site, state-of-the-art broadcast studio. Our unique programs contribute to our position as an
employer of choice and have earned us recognition from Training magazine among the Top 125 U.S. Training Companies 17 times in the past 20 years. We were also recognized by the Top Workplaces program as a top workplace on both a national and local level. This marks the seventh consecutive year to be recognized in Atlanta. We continuously monitor co-worker engagement and customer loyalty.
Experienced Management Team
Our management team combines extensive business and consumer services experience with robust local pest control leadership. Consistent with our culture of attracting, developing and progressing talented individuals, our senior leadership team consists of a combination of long-term internal leaders and strategic hires from well-respected external platforms. Our Chairman, Gary Rollins, is the son of Rollins, Inc. co-founder O. Wayne Rollins and has spent his entire career with the Company, serving as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) from 2001 to 2022. Effective January 1, 2023, Jerry Gahlhoff, Jr. assumed the role of CEO and now serves as President and CEO.
International Business
We continue to expand our international presence through organic growth, acquisitions, and our international franchise programs. In 2022, we saw revenue growth in our operations in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. We believe geographic diversity allows us to increase brand recognition, meet demands of global customers, and draw on business and technical expertise from teams in several countries, and offers us an opportunity to access new markets.
Franchising Programs
We have franchise programs through Orkin, Critter Control and our Australian subsidiaries. We had a total of 137, 135 and 128 domestic franchise agreements as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. International franchise agreements totaled 89, 103 and 101 as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Transactions with our franchises involve sales of territories and customer contracts to establish new franchises and the payment of initial franchise fees and royalties by franchisees. The territories, customer contracts and initial franchise fees are typically paid for by a combination of cash and notes.
Acquisition Strategy
We have extensive experience acquiring companies of all sizes. Over the last three years, we have completed approximately 100 acquisitions, including 31 acquisitions in 2022. Our acquisition strategy targets high quality, profitable businesses with strong leadership that would benefit from incremental growth capital and have the potential to achieve margin expansion through cost and revenue synergies.
Seasonality
Our business is somewhat affected by weather conditions, including climate change and the seasonal nature of our pest and termite control services. The increase in pest presence and activity, as well as the metamorphosis of termites in the spring and summer (the occurrence of which is determined by the timing of the change in seasons), has historically resulted in an increase in the revenue of our pest and termite control operations during such periods as evidenced by the following chart.
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| | Consolidated Net Revenues | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| First Quarter | | $ | 590,680 | | $ | 535,554 | | $ | 487,901 |
| Second Quarter | | 714,049 | | 638,204 | | 553,329 | |||
| Third Quarter | | 729,704 | | 650,199 | | 583,698 | |||
| Fourth Quarter | | 661,390 | | 600,343 | | 536,292 | |||
| Year to date | | $ | 2,695,823 | | $ | 2,424,300 | | $ | 2,161,220 |
Our quarterly profitability correlates with our revenue due to seasonality, as profit is lower in the first and fourth quarters and higher in the second and third quarters.
Materials and Supplies
Our Company has relationships with a vast network of national pest control product distributors, manufacturers and other suppliers for pest and termite treatment products. We maintain a sufficient level of products, materials, and other supplies to fulfill our immediate servicing needs and to mitigate any potential short-term shortage in availability from our national network of suppliers. We also have qualified comparable products and materials for key categories to have alternatives ready as needed. However, at any time supply chain disruptions that are more than short-term in nature could impact our levels of products, materials and other supplies.
Competition
We operate in a highly competitive environment. The principal factors of competition in our pest and termite control markets are quality and speed of service, customer proximity, customer satisfaction, brand awareness and reputation, terms of guarantees, safety, technical proficiency and price. Due to our strong direct partnerships with product manufacturers, distributors, and visibility into the inventories, ordering and distribution of materials and supplies, we are able to foresee potential supply disruptions and to quickly adapt. The use of an innovative and industry changing distribution model and technology enables us to maintain adequate supplies for our field operations without a significant investment in warehousing and inventory**.**
We believe that, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, we compete effectively and favorably with our competitors as one of the world’s largest pest and termite control companies. Our major competitors include Rentokil, Ecolab, and Anticimex.
Research and Development
Our expenditures on research activities relating to the development of new products or services are not significant. We utilize the relationships with our manufacturer and materials suppliers to provide new and innovative products and services, coupled with in-depth reviews by our tenured Technical Services department to ensure they meet our strict requirements. We also conduct tests of new products with the specific manufacturers of such products and we rely on research performed by leading universities.
We maintain close relationships with several universities for research and validation of treatment procedures and material selection. Some of the new and improved service methods and products are also researched, developed and produced by unaffiliated universities and companies with a portion of these methods and products being produced to the specifications provided by us.
Environmental and Regulatory Considerations
Our business is subject to various local and national legislative and regulatory enactments including, but not limited to, environmental laws, antitrust laws, employment laws (including wage and hour laws, payroll taxes and anti-discrimination laws), immigration laws, motor vehicle laws and regulations, human health and safety laws, securities laws including, but not limited to, SEC regulations, and federal, state and local laws and regulations governing worker safety and the pest and termite control industry. If we were to fail to comply with any of these applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to substantial fines or damages, be involved in lawsuits, enforcement actions and other claims by third parties or governmental authorities, suffer losses to our reputation and our business or suffer the loss of licenses or penalties that may affect how the business is operated, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Environmental, Health and Safety Matters
Specifically, our businesses are subject to various international, federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding environmental, health and safety matters. Among other things, these laws regulate the emission or discharge of materials into the environment, govern the use, storage, treatment, disposal, transportation and management of hazardous substances and wastes and protect the health and safety of our employees. These laws also impose liability for the costs of investigating and remediating, and damages resulting from, present and past releases of hazardous substances, including releases by prior owners or operators of sites we currently own or operate. Compliance with environmental, health and safety laws increases our operating costs, limits or restricts the services we provide and subjects us to the possibility of regulatory or private actions or proceedings.
Consumer Protection, Privacy and Solicitation Matters
Additionally, we are subject to international, federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations designed to protect consumers generally, including laws governing lending, debt collection and consumer finance, consumer privacy and fraud, the collection and use of consumer data, telemarketing and other forms of solicitation. The telemarketing rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and the Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission, along with state laws and other legal authorities, govern our telephone and texting sales practices. The CAN-SPAM Act regulates our email solicitations and the Consumer Review Fairness Act regulates consumer opinions on social media regarding our products and services. The California Consumer Privacy Act, the first of its kind and followed by the California Privacy Rights Act, and laws in other states provide consumers and sometimes employees the right to know what personal data businesses collect, how the data is used, and give them the right to access, delete and opt out of the sale of their personal information to third parties. We are subject to some of these states’ laws depending on the number of customers or amount of revenue in the specific state.
Franchise Matters
Certain of our subsidiaries are subject to various international, federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations governing franchise sales, marketing and licensing and franchise trade practices generally, including applicable rules and regulations of the Federal Trade Commission. These laws and regulations generally require disclosure of business information in connection with the sale and licensing of our franchises. Certain state regulations also affect our ability as a franchisor to revoke or refuse to renew a franchise. From time to time, we and one or more franchisees have been, and may in the future become, involved in a dispute regarding the franchise relationship, including payment of royalties or fees, location of branches, advertising, purchase of products by franchisees, non-competition covenants, compliance with our standards or franchise renewal criteria. Any such franchise dispute could possibly have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. Our worldwide intellectual property portfolio is strengthened through innovation and brand recognition, and a comprehensive approach for protection and enforcement. Risk factors associated with our intellectual property are discussed in Item 1.A. "Risk Factors".
We protect and promote our intellectual property portfolio and take those actions we deem appropriate to enforce our intellectual property rights and to defend our rights both domestically and internationally. Although in the aggregate, our global portfolio of more than 450 trademarks is a valuable asset that is important to our operations, we believe that our competitive advantage is also largely attributable to the technical, marketing, and sales competence and capabilities of our employees, rather than on any individual trademark. Therefore, we do not consider the expiration or loss of any single trademark or intellectual property right, to be material to our business as a whole.
Human Capital
We believe one of the largest contributors to our Company’s success is the quality of our people. Attracting, developing and retaining high-quality talent is the primary objective of our human capital management. The development and retention of high-quality talent leads to a better customer experience and better customer retention. We develop and engage our people through our training at all levels of our organization.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had 17,515 employees. Approximately 15,800 of our employees were located in the United States, with approximately 14,700 employees at U.S. branch offices. Of the U.S. employees, less than 2% are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
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| At December 31, | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||
| Employees | 17,515 | 16,482 | 15,616 |
Leadership Development
Developing existing and future leaders is critical to our ongoing success as a company. Each year, we conduct in-depth leadership talent reviews for each people leader in our organization. During those reviews, we identify top talent leaders who have both the capability and desire to perform at the next level of leadership. For those leaders, we either build or update focused development plans to proactively develop the leadership skills needed at that next level of leadership. We also identify peer mentorship opportunities where our seasoned leaders are able to assist in the development of their peers. Each Rollins brand cultivates its own leadership development programs that support its own values and culture while considering the best practices of all Rollins brands. Our leaders are trained on the fundamentals of people leadership, business acumen, sales excellence, and technical expertise. Rollins, Inc. owns senior-level leadership training at the highest levels where top talent is identified to participate in our annual Region Manager Development Program (RMDP). RMDP is a one-year class with several different stages and is focused on helping selected leaders prepare for leading leaders and building high-performing teams across multiple locations within a defined geographical region. Since 2018, we have graduated a total of 69 senior leaders in four different RMDP classes, with continued successes with promotions to our Division President level.
Workplace Inclusion
We make it a priority to promote and create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that results in higher levels of satisfaction and engagement, stronger staff retention, higher productivity, and a heightened sense of belonging. Our mission is to have a culture of inclusion, where all individuals feel respected, are treated fairly, with an equitable opportunity to excel.
Our Workplace Inclusion (WPI) mission to build an inclusive workplace has continued since 2020 under the guidance of our Executive Sponsor and Inclusion Advisory Council which is made up of employees from Rollins brands across the United States. In January 2022 the role of fulltime Director of WPI became active. The Director’s primary role is to implement the WPI Strategic Plan (the “Plan”) which was approved by the Executive Leadership team in April of 2022. The Plan includes 5 Strategic Focus Areas which will be implemented across all brands. The 5 Strategic Focus areas are Training & Education, Talent Acquisition & Career Development, Policies & Programs, Communication and Employee Resource Groups. We formed six (6) taskforces, led by functional and brand subject matter experts, to execute on the Plan goals.
With the continued focus on inclusion, the employee demographic year-over-year comparison showed positive trends in the percentage of women and people of color in underrepresented job categories. Additionally, we changed various policies, practices and programs to be more inclusive, we recognized cultural holidays and events that are celebrated by our employees throughout the year, and we launched our first Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Our ERGs are led by Rollins employees, are inclusive to all and include eight (8) categories representing our employee population. Four (4) ERGs are now active.
We are excited about the accomplishments on our journey to create a workplace of inclusion and will continue to execute on the strategic plan.
Health and Safety
We are committed to the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities where we work, live and play. During fiscal 2022, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19”), we continued to execute our pre-established business continuity plans including our pandemic “SAFE Workplace” procedures to maintain compliance with state and local jurisdictions. Management also regularly updates our employees and customers on COVID-19 developments in a consistent and timely manner which includes contact information for our Employee Assistance Program. We saw a significant decline in COVID-19 related challenges in 2022.
In 2022, to enhance our already strong benefits offering, we signed an agreement with Everside Health to provide free primary care to our employees who participate in one of our medical insurance plans. We built an on-site medical clinic at our company headquarters in Atlanta. That facility is available to all employees in the state of Georgia who participate in one of our medical insurance plans. Our employees outside of Georgia have access to approximately 70 Everside Health clinics around the country and access to virtual care through the Everside network in all 50 states.
Community Involvement
We offer employees the opportunity to participate in various community outreach programs and believe that this commitment helps the Company to meet its goals of attracting, developing and retaining high-quality employees. We created Rollins United in 2019 to unify our brands’ philanthropic visions and consolidate our community outreach efforts. Our overarching goal is to create a significant impact in local communities over an extended period of time. The core mission of Rollins United is that everyone deserves a safe place to live, work, and play.
Over the last 40 years, we have partnered with the United Way of Greater Atlanta through employee and company-matching funds, helping make Rollins a community leader for many years. Rollins ranked #9 in the top 25 corporate contributors in 2021 compared to ranking #11 in 2020. Along with personal contributions from employees, the company hosts rallies, contests, and a silent auction to raise funds. Rollins has contributed over $1 million annually for the past 3 years.
We also have a partnership with the Grove Park Foundation (the “Foundation”) to help serve our Atlanta community. The partnership allows our employees to volunteer and support the Foundation, which is committed to neighborhood revitalization to improve the quality of life in the Grove Park neighborhood. Representatives from our Atlanta family of brands participate in volunteer opportunities in the Grove Park neighborhood throughout the year. Additionally, many of our operations engage regularly with their local community efforts throughout the year.
Available Information
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports, are available free of charge on our website at www.rollins.com, under the heading “SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding:
(1) our visibility into our future earnings because of the contracted and recurring nature of our services; (2) our investments in proprietary routing and scheduling technologies to increase our competitive advantage; (3) our belief that we will continue to expand our international presence through organic growth, international acquisitions, and our international franchise programs and our belief that such international expansion and geographic diversity allow us to increase brand recognition, meet demands of global customers and draw on business and technical expertise from teams in several countries, as well as access new markets; (4) our ability to foresee and quickly adapt to potential supply disruptions because of our strong direct partnerships with product manufacturers, distributors, and visibility into the inventories, ordering and distribution of materials and supplies; (5) our ability to maintain adequate supplies for our field operations without a significant investment in warehousing and inventory because of the use of an innovative and industry changing distribution model and technology; (6) our belief that our competitive advantage is largely attributable to the technical, marketing, and sales competence and capabilities of our employees, rather than on any individual trademark and our belief that the expiration or loss of any single trademark or intellectual property right would not be material to our business as a whole; (7) our belief that we compete effectively and favorably with our competitors as one of the world’s largest pest and termite control companies; (8) our belief that we maintain a sufficient level of products, materials and other supplies to fulfill our immediate servicing needs and to alleviate any potential short-term shortage in availability from our national network of suppliers; (9) the suitability and adequacy of our facilities to meet our current and reasonably anticipated future needs; (10) our belief that one of the largest contributors to our success is the quality of our people and our belief that the development and retention of high-quality talent leads to a better customer experience and better customer retention; (11) our belief that if we make it a priority to promote and create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, it will result in higher levels of satisfaction and engagement, stronger staff retention, higher productivity, and a heightened sense of belonging; (12) our excitement with respect to our accomplishments on our journey to create a workplace of inclusion and our plans to continue to execute on the strategic plan with respect thereto; (13) our belief that our commitment to offer employees the opportunity to participate in various community outreach programs will help us meet our goals of attracting, developing and retaining high-quality employees and create a significant impact in local communities over time; (14) our belief that no pending claim, proceeding or litigation, either alone or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flow or prospects; (15) our belief that we establish sufficient loss contingency reserves based upon outcomes of such pending claims, proceedings or litigation that
we currently believe to be probable and reasonably estimable; (16) our plans to continue to monitor COVID-19 and plans to take actions that may alter our operations, including those that may be required by federal, state, or local authorities, or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees and customers; (17) our plans to continue to carry out various strategies previously implemented to help mitigate the impact of certain economic disruptors (such as high inflation, increased fuel costs, business interruptions due to natural disasters, employee shortages and supply chain issues), including revamping its routing and scheduling process to decrease the number of miles per stop, advanced scheduling to compensate for employee and vehicle shortages, shipping delays, and maintaining higher purchasing levels to allow for sufficient inventory; (18) our belief that we are starting 2023 with a strong foundation and demand for our business remains strong; (19) our belief that strategic pricing efforts helped offset inflationary pressures we experienced in fleet, material and other people associated cost and our expectations to pull forward our price increase again in 2023 and raise prices for services in the first quarter; (20) our assertion that we continue to be permanently reinvested with respect to our investments in our foreign subsidiaries; (21) our belief that our current cash and cash equivalents balances, future cash flows expected to be generated from operating activities, and available borrowings under our $175.0 million revolving credit facility and $300.0 million term loan facility (as amended January 27, 2022) will be sufficient to finance our current operations and obligations, and fund expansion of our business for the foreseeable future and our plans to evaluate opportunities to renegotiate our current credit facility that will be expiring in April 2024; (22) our expectation to continue our payment of cash dividends, subject to our earnings and financial condition and other relevant factors; (23) our belief that we maintain adequate liquidity and capital resources, without regard to its foreign deposits, to finance domestic operations and obligations and to fund expansion of our domestic business; (24) our belief that our pipeline for acquisitions is strong, our plans to seek new acquisitions and expectation to make additional acquisitions in 2023; (25) our belief that we remain very well positioned to drive growth across all of our services lines in 2023; (26) our intentions to grow the business in foreign markets through reinvestment of foreign deposits and future earnings and through acquisitions of unrelated companies with the expectation to repatriate unremitted foreign earnings from our foreign subsidiaries and the expectation that any additional future repatriations of unremitted earnings are expected to be completed in a largely tax-free manner with any residual impacts being immaterial to the financial statements; (27) our belief that we have adequate liquid assets, funding sources and insurance accruals to accommodate certain insurance claims; (28) our expectation that we will maintain compliance with applicable covenants throughout 2023; (29) the expected impact and amount of our contractual obligations; (30) our expectations regarding termite claims and factors that impact future costs from those claims; (31) the expected collectability of accounts receivable; (32) our belief that our tax positions are fully supportable; (33) our beliefs about our accounting policies and the impact of recent accounting pronouncements; (34) our belief that our exposure to market risks arising from changes in foreign exchange rates will not have a material impact upon our results of operations going forward; (35) our ability to utilize all of our foreign net operating losses; (36) our reasonable certainty that we will exercise the renewal options on our vehicle leases; (37) expectations regarding the recognition of compensation costs related to time-lapse restricted shares; (38) our ability to be proactive in safety and risk management to develop and maintain ongoing programs to reduce and prevent incidents and claims under our insurance programs and arrangements; and (39) our potential suspension of future services for customers with past due balances.
Our actual results could differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements because of various risks, timing and uncertainties including, without limitation, the failure to maintain and enhance our brands and develop a positive client reputation; our ability to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights that are material to our business and our brand recognition; actions taken by our franchisees, subcontractors or vendors that may harm our business; general economic conditions; the impact of the extent and duration of economic contraction related to COVID-19 on general economic activity for the remainder of 2023 and beyond; the impact of future developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations, accounting assumptions and estimates and financial condition, including, without limitation, restrictions in customer discretionary expenditures, disruptions in credit or financial markets, increases in fuel prices, raw material costs or other operating costs; potential increases in labor costs; labor shortages and/or our inability to attract and retain skilled workers; competitive factors and pricing practices; changes in industry practices or technologies; the degree of success of our termite process reforms and pest control selling and treatment methods; our ability to identify, complete and successfully integrate potential acquisitions; unsuccessful expansion into international markets; climate change and unfavorable weather conditions; a breach of data security resulting in the unauthorized access of personal, financial, proprietary, confidential or other personal data or information about our customers, employees, third parties, or of our proprietary confidential information; damage to our brands or reputation; possibility of an adverse ruling against us in pending litigation, regulatory action or investigation; changes in various government laws and regulations, including environmental regulations; the adequacy of our insurance coverage to cover all significant risk exposures; the effectiveness of our risk management and safety program; general market risk; management’s substantial ownership interest and its impact on public stockholders and the availability of the Company’s common stock to the investing public; and the existence of certain anti-takeover provisions in our governance documents, which could make a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by the Company’s Board of Directors more difficult or expensive. All of the foregoing risks and uncertainties are beyond our ability to control, and in many cases, we cannot predict the risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
Item 1.A. Risk Factors
An investment in our common stock involves certain risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the following risks and all of the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks faced by us described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You are cautioned that the risk factors discussed below are not exhaustive.
Risks Related to our Business, Brand, Industry and Operations
We face risks regarding our ability to maintain our competitive position in the pest control industry in the future.
We operate in a highly competitive industry. Our revenues and earnings are affected by changes in competitors’ prices and general economic issues. We compete with other large pest control companies, as well as numerous smaller pest control companies, for a finite number of customers. We believe that the principal competitive factors in the market areas that we serve are quality and speed of service, customer proximity, customer satisfaction, brand awareness and reputation, terms of guarantees, safety, technical proficiency and price. Although we believe that our experience, safety and quality service are excellent, we cannot assure investors that we will be able to maintain our competitive position in the future and any competitive pressures we may face could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may not be able to identify, complete or successfully integrate acquisitions or guarantee that any acquisitions will achieve the anticipated financial benefits, all of which could have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Acquisitions have been and may continue to be an important element of our business strategy. We cannot assure investors that we will be able to identify and acquire acceptable acquisition targets on terms favorable to us in the future, or that any acquisitions will achieve the anticipated financial benefits. Our inability to achieve the anticipated financial benefits from any acquisition transactions may not be realized due to any number of factors, including, but not limited to, unsuccessful integration efforts, unexpected or underestimated liabilities or increased costs, fees, expenses and charges related to such transactions. Such adverse events could result in a decrease in the estimated fair value of goodwill or other intangible assets established as a result of such transactions, triggering an impairment. These and other factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Expanding into international markets presents unique challenges, and our expansion efforts with respect to international operations may not be successful.
An element of our business includes further expansion into international markets. Our ability to successfully operate in international markets may be adversely affected by political, economic and social conditions beyond our control, local laws and customs, and legal and regulatory constraints, including compliance with applicable anti-corruption and currency laws and regulations of the countries or regions in which we currently operate or intend to operate in the future. Risks inherent in our existing and future international operations also include, among others, the costs and difficulties of managing international operations, difficulties in identifying and gaining access to local suppliers, suffering possible adverse tax consequences from changes in tax laws or the unfavorable resolution of tax assessments or audits, maintaining product quality and greater difficulty in enforcing intellectual property rights. Additionally, foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
Our business depends on our strong brands and failing to maintain and enhance our brands and develop a positive client reputation could hurt our ability to retain and expand our base of customers.
Our strong brands, Orkin, HomeTeam Pest Defense, Clark Pest Control, Northwest Exterminating, Trutech, Western Pest Services, The Industrial Fumigant Company (IFC), Waltham Services, Okolona Pest Control (OPC), Critter Control, and others, have significantly
contributed to the success of our business. Maintaining and enhancing our brands increases our ability to enter new markets and launch new and innovative services that better serve the needs of our customers. Our brands may be negatively impacted by a number of factors, including, among others, reputational issues and product/technical failures. Further, if our brands are significantly damaged, our reputation, business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. We continue to develop strategies and innovative tools to gain a deeper understanding of customer acquisition and retention in order to more effectively expand and retain our customer base. Maintaining and enhancing our brands will depend largely on our brands’ ability to remain a service leader and continue to provide high-quality pest control services that are truly beneficial and play a meaningful role in people’s lives.
Our franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors could take actions that could harm our business.
Our franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors are contractually obligated to operate their businesses in accordance with the standards set forth in our agreements with them and applicable laws and regulations. Each of our brands that are franchised also provides training and support to franchisees. However, franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors are independent third parties that we do not control, and who own, operate and oversee the daily operations of their businesses, and the ultimate success of any business operation rests with the business owner. If franchisees do not successfully operate their businesses in a manner consistent with required standards, royalty payments owed to us will be adversely affected and our brands’ image and reputation could be harmed. This could materially adversely impact our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Similarly, if franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors do not successfully operate their businesses in a manner consistent with required laws, standards and regulations, we could be subject to claims from regulators or legal claims for the actions or omissions of such third-party franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors. In addition, our relationship with our franchisees, subcontractors, and vendors could become strained (including resulting in litigation) as we impose new standards or assert more rigorous enforcement practices of the existing required standards. These strains in our relationships or any resulting claims could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
From time to time, we receive communications from our franchisees regarding complaints, disputes or questions about our practices and standards in relation to our franchised operations and certain economic terms of our franchise arrangements. If franchisees or groups representing franchisees were to bring legal proceedings against us, our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Labor shortages and/or our ability to attract and retain skilled workers may impair growth potential and profitability.
Our ability to remain productive and profitable will depend substantially on our ability to compete with other pest control companies to attract and retain skilled workers, create leadership opportunities and successfully implement diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Our ability to expand our operations is in part impacted by our ability to increase our labor force. The demand for employees is high, and the supply is limited. Ongoing labor shortages could negatively affect our ability to efficiently operate at full capacity or lead to increased costs, such as increased overtime to meet demand and increased wage rates to attract and retain employees. A significant increase in the wages paid and benefits offered by competing employers could also result in a reduction in our labor force, increases in our labor costs, or both. Prolonged labor shortages, increased turnover or labor inflation could diminish our profitability and impair our growth potential which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
In addition, decisions and rules by the National Labor Relations Board, including “expedited elections” and restrictions on appeals, could lead to increased organizing activities at our subsidiaries. If these labor organizing activities are successful, it could further increase labor costs, decrease operating efficiency and productivity in the future, or otherwise disrupt or negatively impact our operations which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business.
Climate change and unfavorable weather conditions could adversely impact our financial results.
Our operations are directly impacted by the weather conditions worldwide, including catastrophic events, natural disasters and potential impacts from climate change. Climate change continues to receive increasing global attention. The possible effects of climate change could include changes in rainfall patterns, water shortages, changing storm patterns and intensities, changing temperature levels and changes in legislation, regulation, and international accords, all of which could adversely impact our costs and business operations. The business of our Company is also affected by seasonality associated with our pest and termite control services. The increase in pest presence and activity, as well as the metamorphosis of termites in the spring and summer (the occurrence of which is determined by the
timing of the change in seasons), has historically resulted in an increase in the revenue and income of our pest and termite control operations during such periods. The business of the Company is also affected by extreme weather such as drought which can greatly reduce the pest population for extended periods. Because of the uncertainty of weather volatility related to climate change and any resulting unfavorable weather conditions, we cannot predict its potential impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to the Global Economy and Public Health Crises
The effects of a pandemic, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or other major public health concern, could materially impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The impact of a pandemic, such as COVID-19, or other major public health concerns, including changes in consumer behavior and discretionary spending, market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, could create significant volatility in the global economy. Additionally, government or regulatory responses to pandemics or other public health concerns, such as mandatory lockdowns, vaccine mandates or other restrictions on operations, could negatively impact our business.
The ultimate impact of a pandemic or other major public health concern also depends on events beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of such pandemics and other major public health concerns, and related remedial or containment measures taken by parties other than us to respond to them, and in the case of COVID-19, on the emergence and spread of COVID-19 variants and the effectiveness of vaccines.
We are unable to completely predict the full impact that a pandemic, or other major public health concern will have on our business due to numerous uncertainties. In addition, our compliance with remedial or containment measures could impact our day-to-day operations and could disrupt our business and operations, as well as that of our customers and suppliers, for an indefinite period of time. Furthermore, labor force availability may be impaired due to exposure, reluctance to comply with governmental, regulatory or contractual mandates, or other restrictions, which could negatively affect our operating costs and profitability or negatively impact our ability to provide quality services. Any of these disruptions could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Adverse economic conditions, including inflation and restrictions in customer discretionary expenditures, increases in interest rates or other disruptions in credit or financial markets, increases in fuel prices, raw material costs, or other operating costs could materially adversely affect our business.
Economic downturns may adversely affect our commercial customers, including food service, hospitality and food processing industries whose business levels are particularly sensitive to adverse economies. For example, we may lose commercial customers and related revenues because of consolidation or cessation of commercial businesses or because these businesses switch to a lower cost provider. Pest and termite services represent discretionary expenditures to many of our residential customers. If consumers restrict their discretionary expenditures, due to inflation or other economic hardships, we may suffer a decline in revenues from our residential service lines. Disruptions in credit or financial markets could make it more difficult for us to obtain, or increase the cost of obtaining, financing in the future. Increases in interest rates may cause a reduction in new home construction or real estate transactions, which could result in a decrease in revenue. In addition, there can be no assurances that fuel prices, raw material costs, or other operating costs, all of which may be subject to inflationary pressures, will not materially increase in future years and we cannot predict the extent to which any such future increases could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity, Privacy Compliance and Business Disruptions
The Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, third-party business partners and service providers have been subject to cybersecurity incidents in the past and could be the targets of future attacks which could result in the disruption to the Company’s business operations, economic and reputational damage, and possible fines, penalties and private litigation, if there is unauthorized access to or unintentional distribution of personal, financial, proprietary, confidential, or other protected data or information the Company is entrusted to keep about its customers, employees, business practices, or third parties.
Our internal information technology (“IT”) systems contain certain personal, financial, health, or other protected and confidential information that is entrusted to us by our customers and employees. Our IT systems also contain the Company’s and its wholly-owned
subsidiaries’ proprietary and other confidential information related to our business, such as business plans, customer lists and product and service development initiatives. From time to time, we have integration with new IT systems due to organic growth and acquisitions. In addition, we grant third-party business partners and service providers access to confidential information in order to facilitate business operations and administer employee benefits. Employees, third-party business partners, and service providers can knowingly or unknowingly disseminate such information or serve as an entry point for bad actors to access such information.
Our privacy compliance and digital risk management initiatives focus on the threats and risks to enterprise information and the underlying IT systems processing such information as part of the implementation of business processes. The Company also relies on, among other things, commercially available vendors, cybersecurity protection systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmission and storage of protected information and data. The systems currently used for transmission and approval of payment card transactions, and the technology utilized in payment cards themselves, all of which can put payment card data at risk, meet standards set by the payment card industry (“PCI”). We have also implemented policies and procedures, internal training, system controls, and monitoring and audit processes to protect the Company from internal and external vulnerabilities and to comply with consumer privacy laws in the areas in which we operate. Further, the Company limits retention of certain data, encrypts certain data and otherwise protects information to comply with consumer privacy laws in the areas in which we operate.
We continue to evaluate and modify our systems and protocols for data security compliance purposes, and such standards may change from time to time. We monitor certain third-party business partners and service providers for compliance and vulnerabilities. Activities by bad actors, changes in computer and software capabilities and encryption technology, new tools and discoveries, cloud applications, changes in multi-jurisdictional regulations, and other events or developments may result in a compromise or breach of our systems. Any compromises, breaches, application errors or human mistakes related to our systems or failures to comply with applicable standards could not only disrupt our financial operations, including our customers’ ability to pay for our services and products by credit card or their willingness to purchase our services and products, but could also result in violations of applicable laws, regulations, orders, industry standards or agreements and subject us to costs, penalties and liabilities which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. A breach of data security or failure to comply with rigorous multi-jurisdictional consumer privacy requirements could expose us to customer litigation, regulatory actions and costs related to the reporting and handling of such a violation or breach. Furthermore, while we maintain cybersecurity insurance, our insurance may not cover all liabilities incurred due to a security breach or incident and this could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Certain Intellectual Property Rights
Our brand recognition or reputation could be impacted if we are not able to adequately protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights that are material to our business.
Our ability to compete effectively depends in part on our rights to service marks, trademarks, trade names and other intellectual property rights we own or license. Although we have sought to register or protect many of our marks either in the United States or in the countries in which they are or may be used, we have not sought to protect our marks in every country. Furthermore, because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws, we may not receive the same protection in other countries as we would in the United States. If we are unable to protect our proprietary information and brand names, we could suffer a material adverse effect to our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary information, or to defend against claims by third parties that our products, services or activities infringe their intellectual property rights.
Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Risk Management Matters
Our business is subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to environmental, public health and safety matters, including those related to the pest control industry, and any noncompliance with, changes to, or increased enforcement of such laws, could significantly impact our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation.
Our business is subject to various federal, state, and local laws and regulations pertaining to environmental, public health and safety matters, including those related to the pest control industry. Among other things, these laws also govern the use, storage, treatment, disposal, transportation and management of certain pesticides and hazardous substances and waste and regulate the emission or discharge of materials into the environment. In addition, the use of certain pesticide products is also regulated by various international, federal,
state, provincial and local environmental and public health agencies. These regulations may also apply to our third-party suppliers. Penalties for noncompliance with these laws may include criminal sanctions or civil remedies, including, but not limited to, cancellation of licenses, fines, and other corrective actions, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation. In addition, in recent years, a number of new laws and regulations have been adopted, there has been expanded enforcement of certain existing laws and regulations by federal, state and local agencies, and the interpretation of certain laws and regulations have become increasingly complex. Noncompliance with, changes in, expanded enforcement of, or adoption of new federal, state or local laws and regulations governing hazardous waste disposal and other environmental matters, could result in operational changes and increased costs that might significantly impact our business, financial condition or reputation.
New or proposed regulation regarding climate change, could have uncertain impacts on our business, financial condition and reputation.
Climate change has been the subject of increased focus by various governmental authorities and regulators around the world. In particular, the US is considering the enactment of legislative and regulatory proposals that would impose requirements on greenhouse gas emissions. Such laws, if enacted, are likely to impact our business in a number of ways. For example, we use gasoline and electricity in conducting our operations. Increased government regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions may result in increased compliance costs and legislation or regulation affecting energy inputs, which could materially affect our profitability. Further the SEC has proposed rule amendments that would implement a framework for reporting of climate-related risks and create new climate-related disclosure obligations for all registrants, including us. Compliance with any new or more stringent laws or requirements, or stricter interpretations of existing laws, could require additional expenditures by us or our suppliers. Our inability to appropriately respond to such changes could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We cannot predict how the proposed rules, if finalized, or any future legislation or regulations pertaining to climate change, will ultimately affect our business, financial condition including results of operations and cash flows, or reputation.
We are from time to time subject to lawsuits, investigations and other proceedings which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In the normal course of business, we are involved in various claims, contractual disputes, investigations, arbitrations and litigation, including claims that our acts, omissions, services or vehicles caused damage or injury, claims that our services did not achieve the desired results, claims related to acquisitions, allegations by federal, state or local authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, of violations of regulations or statutes, claims related to wage and hour law violations and claims related to environmental matters. These claims, proceedings or litigation, either alone or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Additionally, our business is significantly affected by and subject to regulation by various federal, state, provincial, regional and local governments in the countries in which we operate, including, but not limited to, environmental laws, antitrust laws, consumer protection laws, employment laws, including wage and hour laws, payroll taxes and anti-discrimination laws, immigration, human health and safety laws and other regulations relating to the pest control industry. We are unable to predict whether such laws will, in the future, materially affect our operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to our Capital and Ownership Structure
A control group that includes members of Company’s Board of Directors and management has a majority ownership interest; public stockholders may have no effective voice in the Company’s management.
The Company has elected the “Controlled Company” exemption under Section 303A of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) Listed Company Manual. The Company is a “Controlled Company” because a group that includes the Company’s Executive Chairman of the Board, Gary W. Rollins, Board member, Pam Rollins, and certain persons acting as a group with them (the “Controlling Group”), controls in excess of fifty percent of the Company’s voting power. As a “Controlled Company,” the Company need not comply with certain NYSE rules, including, without limitation, the requirements that the Company have a majority of independent directors, and an independent compensation and nominating committee of the Board.
The Controlling Group holds directly, or through indirect beneficial ownership, in the aggregate, approximately 51 percent of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2022. As a result, these persons will effectively control the
operations of the Company, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions such as acquisitions and approval of matters requiring stockholder approval. This concentration of ownership could also have the effect of delaying or preventing a third party from acquiring control of the Company at a premium.
A Controlling Group has a substantial ownership interest, and the availability of the Company’s common stock to the investing public may be limited.
The availability of Rollins’ common stock to the investing public is limited to those shares not held by the Controlling Group, which could negatively impact Rollins’ stock trading prices and affect the ability of minority stockholders to sell their shares. Future sales by the Controlling Group of all or a portion of their shares could also negatively affect the trading price of our common stock.
The Controlling Group could take various actions or engage in certain transactions that could negatively impact our common stock price, cause volatility in the market for our common stock or have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and our financial condition.
The Controlling Group may from time to time and at any time, in their sole discretion, acquire or cause to be acquired, additional equity or other instruments of the Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates, or derivative instruments the value of which is linked to Company securities, or dispose or cause to be disposed, such equity or other securities or instruments, in any amount that the Controlling Group may determine in their sole discretion, through open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. In addition, depending upon a variety of factors, the Controlling Group may at any time engage in discussions with the Company and its affiliates, and other persons, including retained outside advisers, concerning the Company’s business, management, strategic alternatives and direction, and in their sole discretion, consider, formulate and implement various plans or proposals intended to enhance the value of their investment in the Company, including, among other things, proposing or effecting any matter that would constitute or result in: (i) the acquisition by any person of additional securities of the Company or the disposition of securities of the Company, in addition to the possible normal course dissolution of additional entities for estate or tax planning purposes; (ii) an extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the Company or any subsidiary thereof; (iii) a sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of the Company or any subsidiary thereof; (iv) a change in the present board of directors or management of the Company, including any plans or proposals to change the number or term of directors or to fill any existing vacancies on the board; (v) a material change in the present capitalization or dividend policy of the Company; (vi) other material changes in the Company’s business or corporate structure; (vii) changes in the Company’s charter, bylaws, or instruments corresponding thereto, or other actions which may impede the acquisition of control of the Company by any person; (viii) causing a class of securities of the Company to be delisted from a national securities exchange or to cease to be authorized to be quoted in an inter-dealer quotation system of a registered national securities association; or (ix) a class of equity securities of the Company becoming eligible for termination of registration pursuant to Section 12(g)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In the event the Controlling Group were to engage in any of the actions enumerated above, our common stock price could be negatively impacted, such actions could cause volatility in the market for our common stock or could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and our financial condition.
Certain provisions in Rollins, Inc.’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws may inhibit a takeover of the Company.
Rollins, Inc.’s certificate of incorporation, bylaws and other documents contain provisions including advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and staggered terms for the Board of Directors. These provisions may make a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by the Company’s Board of Directors more difficult or expensive.
Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
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