Item 1A. Risk Factors

Except as provided below, there were no material changes from the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A of our fiscal 2021 Form 10-K.

Conditions beyond our control can interrupt our supplies, increase our product costs and impair our ability to deliver products and services to our customers**.**

We obtain substantially all of our foodservice and related products from third-party suppliers. Although our purchasing volume can provide benefits when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not be able to provide the foodservice products and supplies that we need in the quantities and at the prices that we request due to conditions outside of their control. We are also subject to delays caused by interruptions in production and increases in product costs based on conditions outside of our control. These conditions include shortages of qualified labor for our suppliers, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes or other job actions by employees of suppliers, short-term weather conditions or more prolonged climate change, crop and other agricultural conditions, water shortages, transportation interruptions (such as shortages of ocean cargo containers), unavailability of fuel or increases in fuel costs, product recalls, competitive demands, civil insurrection or social unrest, terrorist attacks or international hostilities and natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) or other human or animal disease outbreaks or other catastrophic events (including, but not limited to, foodborne illnesses). Many of these conditions outside of our control could also impair our ability to provide our products and services to our customers or increase the cost of doing so. Our current operating environment is constantly shifting in response to COVID-19, placing significant pressure on the food-away-from-home supply chain. Customer demand is currently outpacing available supply in certain categories. Certain suppliers are struggling to meet demand for our orders. Future supply shortages could have an adverse effect on the company’s financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the global economy has been negatively impacted by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, governments in the U.S., United Kingdom, and European Union have imposed export controls on certain products and financial and economic sanctions on certain industry sectors and parties in Russia. Although our business has not been materially impacted by the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine to date, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our suppliers and customers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflict may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Further escalation of geopolitical tensions related to the military conflict, including increased trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, could result in, among other things, cyberattacks, supply disruptions, lower consumer demand, and changes to foreign exchange rates and financial markets. Any or all of these factors could disrupt our business directly and could disrupt the business of our customers, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this Form 10-Q and our fiscal 2021 Form 10-K.

Further, increased frequency or duration of extreme weather conditions, whether due to global climate change or otherwise, could also impair production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain or adversely affect demand for our products. At any time, input costs could increase for a prolonged period for a large portion of the products that we sell. Additionally, we procure products from suppliers outside of the U.S., and we are subject to the risks associated with political or financial instability, military conflict, trade restrictions, tariffs, currency exchange rates, transport capacity and costs and other factors relating to foreign trade, including health and safety restrictions related to epidemics and pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), any or all of which could delay our receipt of products or increase our input costs.

Our inability to obtain adequate supplies of foodservice and related products and/or to timely provide our products and services and fulfill our other obligations to our customers, whether as a result of any of the foregoing factors or otherwise could mean that we could not fulfill our obligations to customers, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as our customers may turn to other distributors.

In addition, as a foodservice distributor, it is necessary for us to maintain an inventory of products. Declines in product pricing levels between the time we purchase a product from our suppliers and the time we sell the product to our customers could reduce our margin on that inventory, adversely affecting our results of operations.

Changes in the method of determining London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), or the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect interest expense related to outstanding debt.

Amounts drawn under our revolving credit facility may bear interest rates in relation to LIBOR, depending on our selection of repayment options. In addition, certain of our outstanding interest rate swap agreements have a floating interest rate in relation to three-month LIBOR. On March 5, 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. announced that immediately after (a) December 31, 2021, in the case of all sterling, euro, Swiss franc, and Japanese yen settings, and the one week and two month U.S. dollar LIBOR settings, and (b) June 30, 2023, in the case of all other U.S. dollar LIBOR settings, such LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by the administrator or will no longer be representative. Despite this deferral for certain U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors, the LIBOR administrator has advised that no new contracts using U.S. dollar LIBOR should be entered into after December 31, 2021. These actions indicate that the continuation of U.S. LIBOR on the current basis cannot be guaranteed after June 30, 2023. Moreover, it is possible that U.S. LIBOR for such tenors will be discontinued or modified prior to June 30, 2023. On July 29, 2021, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee consisting of large U.S. financial institutions convened by the Federal Reserve Board, formally recommended replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with forward-looking Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) term rates. As a result of the discontinuation of the remaining U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors, we may need to renegotiate our credit facility and certain interest rate swap agreements, and we may not be able to do so with terms that are favorable to us.

In connection with the discontinuation of LIBOR, (a) we adhered to the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and (b) on October 14, 2021, we entered into an amendment to our revolving credit facility that replaced (i) sterling LIBOR with the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) and (ii) euro LIBOR with the Euro Short Term Rate (ESTR).

Alternative reference rates, such as SOFR, SONIA, and ESTR, could be higher or more volatile than LIBOR, which could result in an increase in the cost of our indebtedness, impacting our financial condition and results of operations. The overall financing market may be disrupted as a result of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR. Disruption in the financial market or the inability to renegotiate our credit facility or our interest rate swap agreements with favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and operating results. We continue to evaluate the potential impact of the replacement of the LIBOR benchmark interest rate; however, we are not able to predict the impact a transition to an alternative reference rate may have on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Economic and political instability and potential unfavorable changes in laws and regulations in international markets could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our international operations subject us to certain risks, including economic and political instability and potential unfavorable changes in laws and regulations in international markets in which we operate. For example, in June 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved Brexit. The U.K. exited the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. On December 24, 2020, the European Commission reached a trade agreement with the U.K. on the terms of its future cooperation with the EU. The trade agreement offers U.K. and EU companies preferential access to each other’s markets, ensuring imported goods will be free of tariffs and quotas (subject to rules of origin requirements). Uncertainty exists regarding the ultimate impact of this trade agreement, as well as the extent of possible financial, trade, regulatory and legal implications of Brexit. Brexit also contributes to global political and economic uncertainty, which may cause, among other consequences, volatility in exchange rates and interest rates, and changes in regulations. These effects of Brexit, among others, could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, labor or other political disputes or general unrest can have a negative impact on our operations. For example, in fiscal 2020, the “yellow vest” protests in France against a fuel tax increase, pension reform and the French government negatively impacted our sales in France. Future labor disruptions or disputes could have a negative impact on our operations in the EU and other parts of the world.

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

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

We made the following share repurchases during the third quarter of fiscal 2022:

(1)The total number of shares purchased includes 1,297, 4,932 and 0 shares tendered by individuals in connection with stock option exercises in Month #1, Month #2 and Month #3, respectively.

(2)See the discussion in Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Equity Transactions” for additional information regarding Sysco’s share repurchase program.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable