KDP, §1A diff (2018 → 2019)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS RISKS RELATING TO US FOLLOWING THE DPS MERGER Optimizing our operations may be more difficult, costly or time-consuming than expected and the anticipated benefits and cost savings of the DPS Merger may not be realized. Prior to the DPS Merger, DPS and Keurig operated independently. During 2019, we significantly completed the integration of these legacy companies into KDP. The success of the DPS Merger, including anticipated benefits and cost savings, depends, in part, on our ability to optimize our operations. The optimization of our operations following the DPS Merger is a complex, costly and time-consuming process which began in July 2018 upon the closing of the DPS Merger and remains ongoing. If we experience difficulties in this process, the anticipated benefits of the DPS Merger may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, which could have an adverse effect on us for an undetermined period after completion of the DPS Merger. There can be no assurances that we will be successful or that we will realize the expected operating efficiencies, cost savings and other benefits currently anticipated from the DPS Merger. We are also incurring costs related to the optimization of our operations, including facilities and systems consolidation costs and employment-related costs. We continue to assess the magnitude of these costs, and additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the optimization of our operations. The unaudited historical pro forma combined financial statements are presented for illustrative purposes only and our actual financial condition and results of operations following the DPS Merger may differ materially. The unaudited historical pro forma combined financial statements are presented for illustrative purposes only; are based on various adjustments, assumptions and preliminary estimates; and may not be an indication of our financial condition or results of operations for several reasons. Our actual financial condition and results of operations following the completion of the integration of the businesses may not be consistent with, or evident from, these unaudited historical pro forma combined financial statements. In addition, the assumptions used in preparing the unaudited historical pro forma combined financial statements may not be realized, and other factors may affect our financial condition or results of operations. Any potential decline in our financial condition or results of operations may cause significant variations in the unaudited historical pro forma financial statements and our stock price. RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS We operate in intensely competitive categories. The industries in which we operate are highly competitive and continue to evolve in response to changing consumer preferences. Competition is generally based upon brand recognition and perception, taste, quality, price, availability, product selection, performance and convenience. Brand recognition and perception may be impacted by the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and marketing programs, as well as our use of social media and online ratings and reviews of its products, including our appliances. In addition, our success in maintaining, extending and expanding our brands' image will depend on our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing media environment, including an increasing reliance on social media and online dissemination of advertising campaigns and marketing programs. Within the LRB category, we compete with multinational corporations with significant financial resources. Our two largest competitors in the LRB category are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, each of which has a significantly higher share of the U.S. LRB category than us. We also compete in the LRB category against other large companies, including Nestlé and Kraft Heinz. These competitors can use their resources and scale to rapidly respond to competitive pressures and changes in consumer preferences by introducing new products, changing their route to market, reducing prices or increasing promotional activities. Within the LRB category, we also compete with a number of smaller brands and a variety of smaller, regional and private label manufacturers, such as Refresco Group. Smaller companies may be more innovative, better able to bring new products to market and better able to quickly exploit and serve niche markets. We also compete for contract manufacturing with other bottlers and manufacturers. In Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, we compete with many of these same international companies as well as a number of regional competitors. A significant percentage of the Coffee Systems segment's financial performance is attributable to sales of K-Cup pods for use with Keurig brewing systems. For the year ended December 31, 2019, revenue from K-Cup pods represented approximately 80% of the net sales of the Coffee Systems segment. We compete for sales of K-Cup pods against local and regional brands, as well as against private label brands developed by retailers. Our ability to gain or maintain share of sales in the countries in which we operate or in various local marketplaces or maintain or enhance our relationships with our partners and customers may be limited as a result of actions by competitors, including as a result of increased consolidation in the food and beverage industry and a significant increase in the number of competitive pod contract manufacturers. Continued acceptance of Keurig brewing systems and sales of K-Cup pods to an increasing installed customer base are significant factors in our Coffee Systems' growth plans. Any substantial or sustained decline in the sale of Keurig brewing systems, failure to continue to reduce the cost of Keurig brewing systems, or substantial or sustained decline in the sales of K-Cup pods could materially and adversely affect our business. Keurig brewing systems compete against all sellers and types of coffeemakers. If we do not succeed in continuing to reduce the costs of manufacturing Keurig brewing systems or differentiating Keurig brewing systems from our competitors in the coffeemaker category, based on technology, quality of products, desired brands or otherwise, or our competitors adopt their respective strategies, our competitive position may be weakened. If we are unable to compete effectively against our competitors, our sales, volume, growth and overall financial results could be negatively affected. We may not effectively respond to changing consumer preferences, trends, health concerns and other factors, which could impact our financial results. Consumers’ preferences can change due to a variety of factors, including the age and ethnic demographics of the population, social trends, changes in consumer lifestyles, negative publicity, competitive product and pricing pressures, economic downturn or other factors. For example, in the LRB industry, consumers are increasingly concerned about health and wellness, focusing on the caloric intake associated with regular CSDs, the use of artificial sweeteners in diet CSDs, and the use of natural, organic or simple ingredients in LRB products. The demand for CSDs has therefore decreased as consumers have shifted towards NCBs, such as water, ready-to-drink coffee and teas, and sports drinks. A key component of our growth strategy is continuing to develop, partner with or acquire products to cater to the next wave of consumer preferences, including NCBs and other growing beverage categories. If we do not effectively anticipate these trends and changing consumer beverage preferences and quickly develop new products or partner with a current or new brand partner in that category in response, our sales could suffer. Developing and launching new products can be risky and expensive. Consumers are also increasingly focused on sustainability, with particular attention to the recyclability of product packaging, reducing consumption of single-use plastics and non-recyclable materials, and the environmental impact of manufacturing operations. If we do not meet consumer demands by providing recyclable packaging options and focusing on sustainability throughout our manufacturing operations, our sales could suffer. If we are not successful in timely responding to changing markets and consumer preferences, and/or some of our competitors are better able to respond to these changes, our business and financial performance will be negatively affected. Our use of information technology and third party service providers exposes us to cybersecurity breaches and other business disruptions that could adversely affect us. We use information technology and third party service providers to support our global business processes and activities, including supporting critical business operations; communicating with our suppliers, customers and employees; maintaining financial information and effective accounting processes and financial and disclosure controls; engaging in mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions; conducting research and development activities; meeting regulatory, legal and tax requirements; and executing various digital marketing and consumer promotion activities. Global shared service centers managed by third parties provide an increasing amount of services to conduct our business, including a number of accounting, internal control, human resources and computing functions. Continuity of business applications and services has been, and may in the future be, disrupted by events such as infection by viruses or malware. Our continuity of business applications and operations has been, and may in the future be, also disrupted by other cybersecurity attacks; issues with or errors in systems’ maintenance or security; migration of applications to the cloud; power outages; hardware or software failures; denial of service; telecommunication failures; natural disasters; terrorist attacks; and other catastrophic occurrences. Further, cybersecurity breaches of our or third party systems, whether from circumvention of security systems, denial-of-service attacks or other cyberattacks, hacking, phishing attacks, computer viruses, ransomware or malware, employee or insider error, malfeasance, social engineering, physical breaches or other actions may cause confidential information belonging to us or our employees, customers, consumers, partners, suppliers, or governmental or regulatory authorities to be misused or breached. When risks such as these materialize, the need for us to coordinate with various third party service providers and for third party service providers to coordinate amongst themselves might make it more challenging to resolve the related issues. Additionally, in the event of a cybersecurity breach of confidential information that we process and maintain about our employees or consumers through our e-commerce platform could be potentially exposed. If our controls, disaster recovery and business continuity plans or those of our third party providers do not effectively respond to or resolve the issues related to any such disruptions in a timely manner, our product sales, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we might experience delays in reporting our financial results, loss of intellectual property, breach of confidential information and damage to our reputation or brands. We continue to devote focused resources to network security, backup and disaster recovery, upgrading systems and networks, enhanced training and other security measures to protect our systems and data; we are also in the process of enhancing the monitoring and detection of threats in our environment. However, security measures cannot provide absolute security or guarantee that we will be successful in preventing or responding to every breach or disruption on a timely basis. In addition, due to the constantly evolving nature of security threats, we cannot predict the form and impact of any future incident, and the cost and operational expense of implementing, maintaining and enhancing protective measures to guard against increasingly complex and sophisticated cyber threats could increase significantly. Although we maintain insurance coverage that may, subject to policy terms and conditions, cover certain aspects of a breach or disruption, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses. We regularly move data across national borders to conduct our operations and consequently are subject to a variety of continuously evolving and developing laws and regulations in numerous jurisdictions regarding privacy, data protection and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer and security of personal data. Privacy and data protection laws may be interpreted and applied differently from country to country and may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. Our efforts to comply with privacy and data protection laws may impose significant costs and challenges that are likely to increase over time, and we could incur substantial penalties or litigation related to violation of existing or future data privacy laws and regulations. We could lose key personnel or may be unable to recruit qualified personnel. Our future success depends upon the continued contributions of senior management and other key personnel and the ability to retain and motivate them. If we are unable to retain and motivate the senior management team and other key personnel sufficiently to support the projected growth and initiatives of our business, our business and financial performance may be adversely affected. We depend on a small number of large retailers for a significant portion of our sales. Food and beverage retailers in the U.S. have been consolidating, resulting in large, sophisticated retailers with increased buying power. They are in a better position to resist our price increases and demand lower prices and more favorable trade terms. To the extent we provide concessions or trade terms that are favorable to retailers, our respective margins would be reduced. Retailers also have leverage to require us to provide increased marketing and promotional expenditures, including larger, more tailored promotional and product delivery programs. If we and our partners, including bottlers, distributors and licensees, do not successfully provide appropriate marketing, product, packaging, pricing and service to these retailers, our product availability, sales and margins could suffer. In addition, certain retailers make up a significant percentage of our products’ retail volume, including volume sold by our bottlers and distributors. Some retailers also offer their own private label products that compete with some of our brands. Accordingly, the success of our business depends in part on our ability to maintain good relationships with key retail customers, such as Walmart and Costco, key e-commerce retailers such as Amazon.com, and grocery customers. If we are unable to offer terms that are acceptable to our significant customers, or such customers determine that they need fewer inventories to service consumers, these customers could reduce purchases of our products or may increase purchases of products from competitors, which would harm our sales and profitability. Furthermore, the loss of sales from a major retailer could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance. We depend on third-party bottling and distribution companies for a significant portion of our business. Net sales from our Beverage Concentrates segment represent sales of beverage concentrates to third-party bottling companies that we do not own. The Beverage Concentrates segment’s operations generate a significant portion of our overall income from operations. Some of these bottlers, such as PepsiCo, are also our competitors, or also bottle and distribute a competitor’s products, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola affiliated bottlers. The majority of these bottlers’ business comes from selling either their own products or our competitors’ products. In addition, some of the products we manufacture are distributed by third parties. As independent companies, these bottlers and distributors make their own business decisions. They may have the right to determine whether, and to what extent, they produce and distribute our products, our competitors’ products and their own products. They may devote more resources to other products or take other actions detrimental to our brands. In most cases, they are able to terminate their bottling and distribution arrangements with us without cause. We may need to increase support for our brands in their territories and may not be able to pass price increases through to them. Their financial condition could also be adversely affected by conditions beyond their control, and their business could suffer as a result. Deteriorating economic conditions could negatively impact the financial viability of third-party bottlers. Failure to maintain strategic relationships with well-recognized brands/brand owners and private label brands could adversely impact our future growth and business. We have entered into strategic relationships for the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of K-Cup pods with well-regarded beverage companies such as Starbucks Corporation, Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc., The J.M. Smucker Company, Kraft Heinz, Newman’s Own Organics, McDonald's, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Tim Hortons, as well as with retailers such as Costco, The Kroger Co. and Walmart for their private label brands. As independent companies, our strategic partners make their own business decisions which may not align with our interests. If we are unable to provide an appropriate mix of incentives to our strategic partners through a combination of premium performance and service, pricing, and marketing and advertising support, or if these strategic partners are not satisfied with our brand innovation and technological or other development efforts, they may take actions, including entering into agreements with competing pod contract manufacturers or vertically integrating to manufacture their own K-Cup pods. Increasing competition among K-Cup pod manufacturers and the move to vertical integration may result in price compression, which could have an adverse effect on our gross margins. The loss of strategic partners could also adversely impact our future profitability and growth, awareness of Keurig brewing systems, our ability to attract additional branded or private label parties to do business with us or our ability to attract new consumers to buy Keurig brewing systems. Our agreements with our allied brands could be terminated. Approximately 95% of our 2019 Packaged Beverages net sales come from the manufacturing and distribution of our own brands and the manufacturing of certain private label beverages, with the remaining from the distribution of allied brands, which include, but are not limited to, Vita Coco coconut water, evian water, Neuro drinks, High Brew RTD Coffee, Forto Coffee shots, A Shoc energy drinks, Peet's RTD Coffee and Runa energy drinks. We are subject to a risk of our allied brands terminating their agreements with us, which could negatively affect our business and financial performance. Within each distribution agreement, we have certain protections in case the allied brands terminate their agreements, including a one-time termination payment. U.S. and international laws and regulations could adversely affect our business. Our products are subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and other countries in which we conduct business. These laws and regulations apply to many aspects of our business including the manufacture, safety, sourcing, labeling, storing, transportation, marketing, advertising, distribution and sale of our products. Other laws and regulations that may impact our business relate to the environment, relations with distributors and retailers, employment, privacy, health and trade practices. Our expanding international business will also expose us to economic factors, regulatory requirements, increasing competition and other risks associated with doing business in foreign countries. Our international business is also subject to U.S. laws, regulations and policies, including anti-corruption and export laws and regulations. Violations of these laws or regulations in the manufacture, safety, sourcing, labeling, storing, transportation, advertising, distribution and sale of our products could damage our reputation and/or result in criminal, civil or administrative actions with substantial financial penalties and operational limitations. In addition, any significant change in such laws or regulations or their interpretation, or the introduction of higher standards or more stringent laws or regulations, could result in increased compliance costs or capital expenditures or significant challenges to our ability to continue to produce and sell products that generate a significant portion of our sales and profits. For example, changes in recycling and bottle deposit laws or special taxes on soft drinks or ingredients could increase our costs. In addition, changes in legislation imposing tariffs on or restricting the importation of our products or raw materials required to make our products, restricting the sale of K-Cup pods, requiring compostability of K-Cup pods, limiting the ability of consumers to put K-Cup pods into municipal waste or recycling streams or requiring manufacturers of K-Cup pods to pay responsible producer or other fees to local or other governmental entities in connection with the collection, recycling or disposition of K-Cup pods could increase costs for us or, at least for some period of time, cut off a significant source of our sales and profits. Regulatory focus on the health, safety and marketing of food products is increasing. Certain federal or state regulations or laws affecting the labeling of our products, such as California’s “Proposition 65,” which requires warnings on any product with substances that the state lists as potentially causing cancer or birth defects, are or could become applicable to our products. Substantial disruption to production at our manufacturing and distribution facilities could occur. A disruption in production at our beverage concentrates manufacturing facility, which manufactures almost all of our concentrates, or at our other facilities, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, a disruption could occur at any of our other facilities or those of our suppliers, bottlers, contract manufacturers or distributors. The disruption could occur for many reasons, including fire, natural disasters, weather, water scarcity, manufacturing problems, disease, epidemics, strikes, transportation or supply interruption, contractual dispute, government regulation, cybersecurity attacks or terrorism. Moreover, if demand increases more than we forecast, we will need to either expand our capabilities internally or acquire additional capacity. Alternative facilities with sufficient capacity or capabilities may not be available, may cost substantially more than existing facilities or may take a significant time to start production, each of which could negatively affect our business and financial performance. Costs and supply for commodities, such as raw materials and energy, may change substantially and shortages may occur. Price increases for our raw materials could exert pressure on our costs and we may not be able to effectively hedge or pass along any such increases to our customers or consumers. Furthermore, any price increases passed along to our customers or consumers could reduce demand for our products. Such increases could negatively affect our business and financial performance. Furthermore, price decreases in commodities that we have effectively hedged could also increase our cost of goods sold for mark-to-market changes in the derivative instruments. The principal raw materials we use in our cold business include PET bottles and caps, aluminum cans and ends, sweeteners, paper products, fruit, glass bottles and enclosures, juices, teas, and water. These raw materials are sourced from industries characterized by a limited supply base and their cost can fluctuate substantially. Under many of our supply arrangements, the price we pay for raw materials fluctuates along with certain changes in underlying commodities costs, such as aluminum in the case of cans, natural gas in the case of glass bottles, resin in the case of PET bottles and caps, corn in the case of sweeteners and pulp in the case of paperboard packaging. Our principal raw materials in our hot business include coffee beans and K-Cup pod raw materials (including cups, filter paper and other ingredients) used in the manufacturing of our K-Cup pods. We purchase, roast and sell high-quality whole bean Arabica coffee and related coffee products. The Arabica coffee of the quality we seek tends to trade on a negotiated basis at a premium above the “C” price of coffee. This premium depends upon the supply and demand at the time of purchase, and the amount of the premium can vary significantly. Increases in the “C” coffee commodity price do increase the price of high-quality Arabica coffee and also impacts our ability to enter into fixed-price purchase commitments. We frequently enter into supply contracts whereby the quality, quantity, delivery period and other negotiated terms are agreed upon, but the date, and therefore price, at which the base “C” coffee commodity price component will be fixed has not yet been established. These are known as price-to-be-fixed contracts. The supply and price of coffee we purchase can also be affected by multiple factors in the producing countries, including weather, natural disasters, crop disease (such as coffee rust), general cost increases in farm inputs and costs of production, inventory levels and political and economic conditions, as well as the actions of certain organizations and associations that have historically attempted to influence prices of green coffee through agreements establishing export quotas or by restricting coffee supplies. Speculative trading in coffee commodities can also influence coffee prices. If we are unable to purchase sufficient quantities of green coffee due to any of the factors described herein or a worldwide or regional shortage, we may not be able to fulfill the demand for our coffee, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial results. We also have a limited number of suppliers for certain strategic raw materials critical for the manufacture of K-Cup pods and the processing of certain key ingredients in our K-Cup pods, particularly for cups and filter paper. In addition, in order to ensure a continuous supply of high-quality raw materials some of our inventory purchase obligations include long-term purchase commitments for certain strategic raw materials critical for the manufacture of K-Cup pods and appliances. The timing of these may not always coincide with the period in which we need the supplies to fulfill customer demand. This could lead to higher and more variable inventory levels and/or higher raw material costs for us. If our suppliers are unable or unwilling to meet our requirements, we could suffer shortages or substantial cost increases. Changing suppliers can require long lead times. The failure of our suppliers to meet our needs could occur for many reasons, including fires, natural disasters, weather, manufacturing problems, disease, crop failure, strikes, transportation interruption, government regulation, political instability, cybersecurity attacks and terrorism. A failure of supply could also occur due to suppliers’ financial difficulties, including bankruptcy. Some of these risks may be more acute where the supplier or its plant is located in riskier or less-developed countries or regions. Any significant interruption to supply or cost increase could substantially harm our business and financial performance. In addition, we use a significant amount of energy in our business, and therefore may be significantly impacted by changes in fuel costs due to the large truck fleet we operate in our distribution business and our use of third-party carriers. Additionally, conversion of raw materials into our products for sale uses electricity and natural gas. If we do not successfully manage our investments in new business strategies or integrate and manage our acquired businesses or brands, our operating results may adversely be affected. We expect to acquire businesses or brands to expand our product portfolio and distribution rights and may invest in new business strategies and/or joint ventures. In evaluating such endeavors, we will be required to make difficult judgments regarding the value of business strategies, opportunities, technologies and other assets, and the risks and cost of potential liabilities. Furthermore, we may incur unforeseen liabilities and obligations in connection with any of our completed acquisitions and any future acquisitions, including in connection with the integration or management of the acquired businesses or brands and may encounter unexpected difficulties and costs in integrating them into our operating and internal control structures. We may also experience delays in extending our respective internal control over financial reporting to newly acquired businesses, which may increase the risk of failure to prevent misstatements in our financial records and in our consolidated financial statements. Additionally, new ventures and investments are inherently risky and may not be successful, and we may face challenges in achieving strategic objectives and other benefits expected from such investments or ventures. Any acquisitions, investments or ventures may also result in the diversion of management attention and resources from other initiatives and operations. Our financial performance will depend in large part on how well we can manage and improve the performance of acquired businesses or brands and the success of our other investments and ventures. We may not achieve the strategic and financial objectives for such transactions. If we are unable to achieve such objectives, our consolidated results could be negatively affected. Our financial results may be negatively impacted by recession, financial and credit market disruptions and other economic conditions. Changes in economic and financial conditions in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or other geographies where we do business may negatively impact consumer confidence and consumer spending, which could result in a reduction in our sales volume and/or switching to lower price offerings. We may be impacted by consumer price sensitivity associated with many of our products. Similarly, disruptions in financial and credit markets worldwide may impact our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with customers, suppliers and creditors. These disruptions could have a negative impact on the ability of our customers to timely pay their obligations, thus reducing our cash flow, or the ability of our vendors to supply materials timely. Additionally, these disruptions could have a negative effect on our ability to raise capital through the issuance of unsecured commercial paper or senior notes. We also face counterparty risk for our cash investments and derivative instruments. Declines in the securities and credit markets could also affect our marketable securities and pension fund, which in turn could increase funding requirements. Product safety and quality concerns could negatively affect our business. The success of our business depends in part on our ability to maintain consumer confidence in the safety and quality of all of our products, including beverage products and our brewing systems. We have various quality, environmental, health and safety supply chain standards. A failure or perceived failure to meet our quality or safety standards, including product contamination or tampering, or allegations of mislabeling, whether actual or perceived, could occur in our operations or those of our bottlers, manufacturers, distributors or suppliers. This could result in time consuming and expensive production interruptions, recalls, market withdrawals, product liability claims, and negative publicity. It could also result in the destruction of product inventory, lost sales due to the unavailability of product for a period of time, fines from applicable regulatory agencies, and higher-than-anticipated rates of warranty returns and other returns of goods. Moreover, negative publicity also could be generated from false, unfounded or nominal liability claims or limited recalls. Any or all of these events may lead to a loss of consumer confidence and trust, could damage the goodwill associated with our brands and may cause consumers to choose other products and could negatively affect our business and financial performance. We have incurred significant indebtedness, which could adversely affect us, including decreasing our business flexibility and increasing our interest expense. In connection with the DPS Merger, we incurred significant additional indebtedness, which could adversely affect us, including decreasing our business flexibility and increasing our interest expense. The amount of cash required to pay interest on our increased indebtedness levels following completion of the DPS Merger, and thus the demands on our cash resources, is greater than the amount of cash flows required to service DPS’s and Maple’s respective indebtedness prior to the DPS Merger. The increased levels of indebtedness could also reduce funds available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, the repayment or refinancing of our indebtedness as it becomes due and other general corporate purposes and may create competitive disadvantages for us relative to other companies with lower debt levels. If we do not achieve the expected benefits and cost savings from the DPS Merger, or if our financial performance does not meet current expectations, then our ability to service our indebtedness may be adversely impacted. Additionally, in assessing our credit strength, credit rating agencies consider our capital structure and financial policies as well as our results of operations and financial position at the time. If our credit ratings were to be downgraded as a result of changes in our capital structure, changes in the credit rating agencies’ methodology in assessing our credit strength, the credit agencies’ perception of the impact of credit market conditions on our current or future results of operations and financial position or for any other reason, our cost of borrowing could increase. Furthermore, a significant downgrade in our credit ratings could limit a financial institution's willingness to participate in our accounts payable program and reduce the attractiveness of the accounts payable program to participating suppliers who may sell payment obligations from us to financial institutions. In addition, a significant downgrade in our credit ratings may reduce flexibility of our business to engage in certain transactions, such as the execution and renewal of certain leases. Moreover, in the future we may be required to raise substantial additional financing to fund working capital, capital expenditures, the repayment or refinancing of its indebtedness, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements. Our ability to arrange additional financing or refinancing will depend on, among other factors, our financial position and performance, as well as prevailing market conditions and other factors beyond our control. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional financing or refinancing on terms acceptable to us or at all. Determinations in the future that a significant impairment of the value of our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets has occurred could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. As of December 31, 2019, we had $49,518 million of total assets, of which $20,172 million were goodwill and $24,117 million were other intangible assets. Intangible assets include both definite and indefinite-lived intangible assets in connection with brands, trade names, acquired technology, customer relationships, contractual arrangements and favorable leases. We conduct impairment tests on goodwill and all indefinite-lived intangible assets annually, as of October 1, or more frequently if circumstances indicate that all or a portion of the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If the carrying amount of an intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. For additional information about these intangible assets, see "Critical Accounting Estimates - Goodwill and Other Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets" in Item 7 and Note 3 and Note 5 to our Audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The impairment tests require us to make an estimate of the fair value of our reporting units and other intangible assets. An impairment could be recorded as a result of changes in assumptions, estimates or circumstances, some of which are beyond our control. Factors which could result in an impairment include, but are not limited to: (i) reduced demand for our products and/or the product category resulting in diminished long-term revenue growth; (ii) higher commodity or transportation prices; (iii) lower prices for our products or increased marketing as a result of increased competition; (iv) not achieving forecasted synergies from the DPS Merger; (v) significant disruptions to our operations as a result of both internal and external events; and (vi) changes in our discount rates, which could change due to factors such as movement in risk free interest rates, changes in general market interest rate and market beta volatility, among others. Since a number of factors may influence determinations of fair value of intangible assets, we are unable to predict whether impairments of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangibles will occur in the future. Any such impairment would result in us recognizing a non-cash charge in our Consolidated Statements of Income, which could adversely affect our results of operations and increase our effective tax rate. Increases in our cost of benefits in the future could reduce our profitability. Our profitability is substantially affected by costs for employee health care, pension and other retirement programs and other benefits. In recent years, these costs have increased significantly due to factors such as increases in health care costs, declines in investment returns on pension assets and changes in discount rates used to calculate pension and related liabilities. These factors will continue to put pressure on our business and financial performance. Although we will actively seek to control increases in costs, there can be no assurance that it will succeed in limiting future cost increases, and continued upward cost pressure could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance. The agreements that govern the indebtedness contain various covenants that impose restrictions on us and may affect our ability to operate our business. The agreements that govern the indebtedness, including the indentures governing the $11,975 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes, and the KDP Credit Agreements governing the $2,000 million 2019 KDP Term Loan, the $2,400 million KDP Revolver and the $750 million 364-Day Credit Agreement, contain various affirmative and negative covenants that may, subject to certain significant exceptions, restrict our ability, including certain subsidiaries, to incur debt and our ability, including certain subsidiaries, to, among other things, have liens on our property, and/or merge or consolidate with any other person or sell or convey certain of our assets to any one person, and engage in certain sale and leaseback transactions. Our ability, including certain subsidiaries, to comply with these provisions may be affected by events beyond our control. Failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate our repayment obligations and could result in a default and acceleration under other agreements containing cross-default provisions. Under these circumstances, we might not have sufficient funds or other resources to satisfy all of our obligations. Deterioration of general macro-economic conditions could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity due to impacts on our suppliers, customers and operating costs. Our business depends on developing and maintaining close relationships with our suppliers and on our suppliers’ ability and willingness to sell quality products to us at favorable prices and terms. Many factors outside our control may harm these relationships and the ability or willingness of these suppliers to sell us products on favorable terms. Such factors include a general decline in the economy and economic conditions and prolonged recessionary conditions. These events could negatively affect our suppliers’ operations and make it difficult for them to obtain the credit lines or loans necessary to finance their operations in the short-term or long-term and meet our product requirements. Financial or operational difficulties that some of our suppliers may face, including their ability to access working capital, could also increase the cost of the products we purchase from them, the timing of settlement for our obligation to the supplier or our ability to source product from them. We might not be able to pass our increased costs onto our customers and, to the extent these difficulties impact the timing of settlement for our obligation to the supplier, we may have a decrease in our cash flow from operations and may have to use our various financing arrangements for short-term liquidity needs. Fluctuations in our effective tax rate may result in volatility in our financial results. We are subject to income taxes and non-income-based taxes in many U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. Income tax expense includes a provision for uncertain tax positions. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. As these audits and negotiations progress, events may occur that change our expectation about how the audit will ultimately be resolved. As a result, there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly and/or annual tax rates as events occur that cause a change in our provision for uncertain tax positions. In addition, our effective tax rate in any given financial statement period may be significantly impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings or by changes to existing accounting rules, tax regulations or interpretations of existing law. In addition, tax legislation may be enacted in the future, domestically or abroad, that impacts our effective tax rate. Among other things, a number of countries are considering changes to their tax laws applicable to multinational corporate groups, such as the TCJA. Some foreign governments may enact tax laws in response to the TCJA that could result in further changes to global taxation and materially affect our financial position and operating results. Moreover, many of the new provisions of the TCJA will need to be implemented through U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and other guidance that could impact the interpretation and effect of these provisions. Changes in tax laws, regulations, related interpretations, and tax accounting standards in the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions in which we operate may adversely affect our financial results. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates in Mexico and Canada may adversely affect our operating results. While our operations are predominately in the U.S., we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to our sales, expenses, profits, assets and liabilities denominated in the Mexican peso, the Canadian dollar as well as other foreign currencies in which we transact business. We may continue to hedge a small portion of our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations by utilizing derivative instruments for certain transactions. However, we are not protected against most foreign currency fluctuations. As a result, our financial performance may be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Moreover, any favorable or unfavorable impacts to gross profit, gross margin and income from operations from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates are likely to be inconsistent year over year. We continue to be exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk that we may not be able to manage through derivative instruments and may incur material losses from such transactions utilizing derivative instruments. Our intellectual property rights could be infringed or we could infringe the intellectual property rights of others, and adverse events regarding licensed intellectual property, including termination of distribution rights, could harm our business. We possess intellectual property that is important to our business. This intellectual property includes ingredient formulas, trademarks, copyrights, patents, business processes and other trade secrets. We and third parties, including competitors, could come into conflict over intellectual property rights. Litigation could disrupt our business, divert management attention and cost a substantial amount to protect our rights or defend against claims. We cannot be certain that the steps it takes to protect our rights will be sufficient or that others will not infringe or misappropriate our rights. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our brands, products and business could be harmed. We will continue to license various trademarks from third parties and license our trademarks to third parties. In some countries, third parties own a particular trademark or other intellectual property that we own in the U.S., Canada or Mexico. For example, the Dr Pepper trademark and formula is owned by Coca-Cola outside North America. Adverse events affecting those third parties or their products could negatively impact our brands. In some cases, we license rights to distribute third-party products. The licensor may be able to terminate the license arrangement upon an agreed period of notice, in some cases without payment to us of any termination fee. The termination of any material license arrangement could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Weather, natural disasters, water availability, and climate change or related legislation could adversely affect our business. Unseasonable or unusual weather, natural disasters or long-term climate changes may negatively impact the price or availability of raw materials, energy and fuel, our ability to produce and demand for our products. Unusually cool weather during the summer months or unusually warm weather during the winter months may result in reduced demand for our products and have a negative effect on our business and financial performance. Global climate change poses a serious threat to communities, businesses, farmers and ecosystems across the world. Climate change is already affecting the agricultural sector, and disruptions to crop growing conditions are expected to increase with extreme weather events, increasing temperatures, and changing water availability. Water is the main ingredient in substantially all of our products. Climate change may cause water scarcity and a deterioration of water quality in areas where we maintain operations. The competition for water among domestic, agricultural and manufacturing users is increasing in the countries where we operate, and as water becomes scarcer or the quality of the water deteriorates, we may incur increased production costs or face manufacturing constraints which could negatively affect our business and financial performance. Even where water is widely available, water purification and waste treatment infrastructure limitations could increase costs or constrain our operations. We are also faced with the impact of disruptions to crop growing conditions as a result of changing weather patterns, which can cause changes in geographical ranges of crops, as well as weeds, diseases and pests that affect those crops. These impacts may limit availability or increase the cost of key agricultural commodities, such as coffee, corn and tea, which are important sources of ingredients for our products. Concern over climate change, including global warming, has led to legislative and regulatory initiatives directed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions. For example, proposals that would impose mandatory requirements on greenhouse gas emissions continue to be considered by policy makers in the countries in which we will operate. Laws enacted that directly or indirectly affect our production, distribution, packaging (including K-Cup pods and the disposal of K-Cup pods), cost of raw materials, fuel, ingredients and water could all negatively impact our business and financial results. We rely on independent certification for a number of products. Loss of certification within our supply chain or as related to manufacturing processes could harm our business. We rely on independent certification, such as certifications of products as “organic” or “responsibly sourced,” to differentiate some products from others. We must comply with the requirements of independent organizations or certification authorities in order to label our products as certified. The loss of any independent certifications could adversely affect our marketplace position, which could harm our business. We rely on the performance of a limited number of suppliers, manufacturers and order fulfillment companies. A small number of companies manufacture the vast majority of our brewing systems, with a majority of the brewing systems we sell procured from one third-party brewing system manufacturer. If these manufacturers are not able to scale their manufacturing operations to match increasing consumer demand for our brewing systems at competitive costs, our overall results will be negatively affected. Our reliance on third-party manufacturers also exposes us to increased risk that certain minerals and metals, known as "conflict minerals", that are contained in our brewing systems have originated from "covered countries" (as defined in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010) but cannot be determined to be "conflict free". As a result of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC adopted disclosure requirements for public companies whose products contain conflict minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of such products. Under these rules, we are required to obtain sourcing data from suppliers, perform supply chain due diligence, and file annually with the SEC a specialized disclosure report on Form SD covering the prior calendar year. We have incurred and expect to incur additional costs to comply with the rules, including costs related to the determination of the origin, source and chain of custody of the conflict minerals used in our products and the adoption of conflict minerals-related governance policies, processes and controls. Moreover, the implementation of these compliance measures could adversely affect the sourcing, availability and pricing of materials used in the manufacture of our products to the extent that there may be only a limited number of suppliers that are able to meet our sourcing requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such materials in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. We may also encounter customers who require that all of the components of our products be certified as conflict-free. If we are not able to meet customer requirements, such customers may choose to not purchase our products, which could impact our sales and the value of portions of our inventory. In addition, we rely on a limited number of key suppliers and distribution and fulfillment partners for material aspects of our business. As a result, we may have limited negotiation leverage with regards to these suppliers, which could negatively affect the business and financial performance of our business. We may not be able to renew collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms, or we could experience union activity including labor disputes or work stoppages. Approximately 8,000 of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. These agreements typically expire every three to four years at various dates. We may not be able to renew our collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms or at all. This could result in labor disputes, strikes or work stoppages, which could impair our ability to manufacture and distribute our products and result in a substantial loss of sales. The terms of existing, renewed or expanded agreements could also significantly increase our costs or negatively affect our ability to increase operational efficiency. We depend on key information systems and third-party service providers. We depend on key information systems to accurately and efficiently transact our business, provide information to management and prepare financial reports. We rely on third-party providers for a number of key information systems and business processing services, including hosting, collecting, storing and transmitting our primary data center and processing various accounting and transactional services. An offshore shared service center managed by third parties provides lower cost services to conduct our business, including a number of accounting, tax, and computing functions. If any of these third-party service providers or vendors do not perform effectively, or if we fail to adequately monitor their performance (including compliance with service level agreements or regulatory or legal requirements), we may have to incur additional costs to correct errors made by such service providers, our reputation could be harmed or we could be subject to litigation, claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations. In addition, the management of multiple third-party service providers increases operational complexity and decreases our control. Our information systems contain proprietary and other confidential information related to our business. These systems and services are vulnerable to interruptions or other failures resulting from, among other things, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, software, equipment or telecommunications failures, processing errors, computer viruses, other security issues or supplier defaults. Security, backup and disaster recovery measures may not be adequate or implemented properly to avoid such disruptions or failures. Any disruption or failure of these systems or services could cause substantial errors, processing inefficiencies, security breaches, inability to use the systems or process transactions, loss of customers or other business disruptions, all of which could negatively affect our business and financial performance. In addition, because we accept debit and credit cards for payment, we are subject to the PCI Standard, issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. The PCI Standard contains compliance guidelines with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of cardholder data. We are not fully compliant with the PCI Standard and there can be no assurance that in the future we will be able to operate our facilities and our customer service and sales operations in accordance with PCI or other industry recommended or contractually required practices. We are in the process to be in compliance with the PCI Standard. However, complying with the PCI Standard and implementing related procedures, technology and information security measures requires significant resources and ongoing attention. Costs and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology such as those necessary to achieve compliance with the PCI Standard or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems could also disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations. Even if we are compliant with PCI Standard, we still may not be able to prevent security breaches. Any material interruptions or failures in our payment-related systems could negatively affect our business and financial performance. In addition, some of our commercial partners may receive or store information provided by us or our users through their websites, including information entrusted to them by customers. If we or these third-party commercial partners fail to adopt or adhere to adequate information security practices, or fail to comply with their respective online policies, or in the event of a breach of our networks, our users’ data and customer information may be improperly accessed, used or disclosed. As cybersecurity attacks continue to evolve and increase, our information systems could also be penetrated or compromised by internal and external parties intent on extracting confidential information, disrupting business processes or corrupting information. These risks could arise from external parties or from acts or omissions of internal or service provider personnel. Such unauthorized access could disrupt our business and could result in the loss of assets, litigation, regulatory actions or investigations, remediation costs, damage to our reputation and failure to retain or attract customers following such an event, which could adversely affect our business. Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and damage our reputation. From time to time we may be a party to various litigation claims and legal proceedings that may include employment, tort, real estate, antitrust, environmental, recycling/sustainability, intellectual property, commercial, securities, false advertising, packaging, product labeling, consumer protection and other claims. From time to time we may be a defendant in class action litigation, including litigation regarding employment practices, product labeling, including under California’s “Proposition 65,” public statements and disclosures under securities laws, antitrust, advertising, consumer protection and wage and hour laws. Plaintiffs in class action litigation may seek to recover amounts that are large and may be indeterminable for some period of time. We evaluate litigation claims and legal proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. We will establish a reserve as appropriate based upon assessments and estimates in accordance with our accounting policies. We will base our assessments, estimates and disclosures on the information available to us at the time and rely on legal and management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from assessments and estimates. Costs to defend litigation claims and legal proceedings and the cost and any required actions arising out of actual settlements, judgments or resolutions of these claims and legal proceedings may negatively affect our business and financial performance. Any adverse publicity resulting from allegations made in litigation claims or legal proceedings may also adversely affect our reputation, which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations. Our facilities and operations may require substantial investment and upgrading. We have programs of investment and upgrading in our manufacturing, distribution and other facilities. We may continue to incur significant costs to upgrade or keep up-to-date various facilities and equipment or restructure our operations, including closing existing facilities or opening new ones. Additionally, we rely on third parties for the construction and renovation of our facilities and manufacturing of our production equipment. If our investment and restructuring costs are higher than anticipated, our business does not develop as anticipated to appropriately utilize new or upgraded facilities, or third parties fail to complete the construction or renovation of facilities or production equipment in a timely manner or in accordance with our specifications, our costs and financial performance could be negatively affected. Due to the seasonality of many of our products and other factors, our operating results are subject to fluctuations. Historically, we have experienced increased consumer retail and e-commerce sales of the Keurig brewing systems in the second half of the year due to the holiday season. If sales of Keurig brewing systems during the holiday season do not meet expectations, sales of our K-Cup pods throughout the year will be negatively impacted. The impact on sales volume and operating results due to the timing and extent of these factors can significantly impact our business. In addition, our operating results can be impacted by seasonal fluctuation. As a result, our quarterly operating results are subject to these same seasonality factors. Failure to comply with applicable transfer pricing and similar regulations could harm our business and financial results. In many countries, including the U.S., we are subject to transfer pricing and other tax regulations designed to ensure that appropriate levels of income are reported as earned and are taxed accordingly. Although we believe that we are in substantial compliance with all applicable regulations and restrictions, we are subject to the risk that governmental authorities could audit our transfer pricing and related practices and assert that additional taxes are owed. In the event that the audits or assessments are concluded adversely to our positions, we may or may not be able to offset or mitigate the consolidated effect of foreign income tax assessments through the use of U.S. foreign tax credits. Because the laws and regulations governing U.S. foreign tax credits are complex and subject to periodic legislative amendment, we cannot be sure that we will in fact be able to take advantage of any foreign tax credits in the future. RISKS RELATING TO OUR CAPITAL STRUCTURE JAB, through its affiliate, is our largest stockholder and owns approximately 66% of the fully diluted shares of our common stock, and has the ability to exercise significant influence over decisions requiring our stockholders’ approval. We are controlled by JAB, through its affiliate, Maple Holdings B.V., which owns approximately 66% of the fully diluted shares of our common stock, which gives them the ability to exercise significant influence over decisions requiring approval of our stockholders including the election of directors, amendments to our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of us or our assets. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of us and may negatively affect the market price of our common stock. Also, JAB and its affiliates are in the business of making investments in companies and may from time to time acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete with us. JAB or its affiliates may also pursue acquisition opportunities that are complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. We meet the requirements to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of the NYSE and, as a result, we qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance standards, which limit the presence of independent directors on our board of directors and board committees. As discussed above, approximately 66% of the outstanding shares of our common stock are held by JAB and its affiliates. As a result, we are a “controlled company” for purposes of Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and are exempt from certain governance requirements otherwise required by the NYSE. Under Section 303A, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and is exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including requirements that (1) a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, (2) compensation of officers be determined or recommended to the board of directors by a majority of its independent directors or by a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors and (3) director nominees be selected or recommended for selection by a majority of the independent directors or by a nominating/corporate governance committee composed solely of independent directors. We continue to have an audit committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. As a result of relying on the controlled company exemptions, the procedures for approving significant corporate decisions could be determined by directors who have a direct or indirect interest in such decisions, and our stockholders do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of other companies that are required to comply with all of the independence rules of the NYSE. ITEM 1B.