SWK, §1A diff (2020 → 2021)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

The Company’s business, operations and financial condition are subject to various risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including those risks set forth under the heading entitled "Cautionary Statements Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995" in Item 7, and in other documents that the Company files with the SEC, before making any investment decision with respect to its securities. If any of the risks or uncertainties actually occur or develop, the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects could change. Under these circumstances, the trading prices of the Company’s securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment in the Company’s securities.

Business and Operational Risks

The Company’s business is subject to risks associated with sourcing and manufacturing.

The Company imports large quantities of finished goods, component parts and raw materials. Lead times for these items vary significantly and are increasing in light of global shortages of critical components, including semiconductors. Global supply chain constraints in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to decrease the Company's visibility into availability and lead times for the products and their component parts and raw materials. In addition, the Company’s ability to import these items in a timely and cost-effective manner has been and may continue to be affected by conditions at ports or issues that otherwise affect transportation and warehousing providers, such as fluctuations in freight costs, port and shipping capacity, labor disputes and shortages, severe weather due to climate change or increased homeland security requirements in the U.S. and other countries. In 2021, the Company experienced significantly higher freight costs compared to freight costs incurred in 2020 and 2019. These issues have and could delay importation of products or require the Company to locate alternative ports or warehousing providers to avoid disruption to customers. These alternatives have not and in the future may not be available on short notice or have and could result in higher transit costs, which could have an adverse impact on the Company’s business and financial condition.

Substantially all of its import operations are subject to customs requirements and to tariffs and quotas set by governments through mutual agreements, bilateral actions or, in some cases unilateral action. In addition, the countries in which the Company’s products and materials are manufactured or imported from (including importation into the U.S. of the Company's products manufactured overseas) may from time to time impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs or other restrictions on its imports (including restrictions on manufacturing operations) or adversely modify existing restrictions. In recent years, changes in U.S. policy regarding international trade, including import and export regulation and international trade agreements, have negatively impacted the Company’s business. For example, in 2018 the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as on goods imported from China and certain other countries, which resulted in retaliatory tariffs by China and other countries. Similar U.S. actions and any corresponding retaliatory efforts, could result in an increase in supply chain costs that the Company may not be able to offset or otherwise adversely impact the Company’s results of operations. Imports are also subject to unpredictable foreign currency variation which may increase the Company’s cost of goods sold. Adverse changes in these import costs and restrictions, or failure by the Company’s suppliers to comply with customs regulations or similar laws, could harm the Company’s business.

The Company’s operations are also subject to the effects of international trade agreements and regulations such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and the activities and regulations of the World Trade Organization. Although these trade agreements generally have positive effects on trade liberalization, sourcing flexibility and cost of goods by reducing or eliminating the duties and/or quotas assessed on products manufactured in a particular country, trade agreements can also impose requirements that adversely affect the Company’s business, such as setting quotas on products that may be imported from a particular country into key markets including the U.S. or the European Union ("EU"), or making it easier for other

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companies to compete, by eliminating restrictions on products from countries where the Company’s competitors source products.

In addition, the Company has a number of key suppliers in South Korea. Escalation of hostilities with North Korea and/or military action in the region could cause disruptions in the Company's supply chain which could, in turn, cause product shortages, delays in delivery and/or increases in the Company's cost incurred to produce and deliver products to its customers.

The Company also relies on its suppliers to provide high quality products and to comply with applicable laws. The Company’s ability to find qualified suppliers who meet its standards, including a majority having carbon emission reduction targets, and supply products in a timely, cost-effective and efficient manner is a significant challenge with the increasing demand from customers, especially with respect to goods sourced from outside the U.S. For certain products, the Company may rely on one or very few suppliers. A supplier’s failure to meet the Company’s standards, provide products in a timely, cost-effective and efficient manner, or comply with applicable laws is beyond the Company’s control. These issues could have a material negative impact on the Company's business and profitability. Poor quality or an insecure supply chain, may also adversely affect the reliability and reputation of the Company.

The effects of climate change, such as extreme weather conditions, could also place capacity constraints on the Company’s supply chain. For example, steel and copper are critical to the design of the Company's products and some countries, including Chile and Australia, where steel and copper are sourced from have experienced and are expected to continue to experience severe weather due to climate change. A severe weather event in these countries could cause disruptions in the Company's supply chain which could, in turn, cause product shortages, delays in delivery and/or increases in the Company's cost incurred to produce and deliver products to its customers.

The continued adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an indeterminate recovery period could have a materially negative impact on the Company’s business, operations, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity, the nature and extent of which is highly uncertain.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the Company’s business, financial condition, workforce and operations and the operations of its customers, distributors, suppliers and contractors. There continues to be significant uncertainty regarding restrictions on the Company's access to its manufacturing facilities or on its support operations or workforce, or similar limitations for its distributors and suppliers. These measures have limited and could continue to limit customer demand and has and could continue to limit the Company's capacity to meet customer demand, which could have a material negative impact on its financial condition and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected global economics and markets and has resulted in disruptions in commerce that will continue to evolve, including with respect to financial and other economic activities, services, travel and supply chains. Global and national health concerns could lead to further and/or increased volatility in global capital and credit markets. A sustained downturn in customer demand or other economic conditions could result in material charges related to bad debt or inventory write-offs, restructuring charges, or impairments of long-lived assets, including both tangible and intangible assets. Furthermore, a sustained downturn in financial markets and asset values could adversely affect the Company’s cost of capital, liquidity and access to capital markets, in addition to potentially increasing its pension funding obligations to ensure its pension plans continue to be adequately funded.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused the Company to modify its business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences). The Company has announced an internal vaccine protocol. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) had issued rules requiring that employers with more than 100 employees in the U.S. have employee populations that are fully vaccinated against or tested weekly for COVID-19, however, the implementation of the OSHA rules was stayed by the Supreme Court on January 13, 2022 and the OSHA withdrew the rules on January 25, 2022. Although OSHA left open the possibility that it might try to finalize a permanent vaccine and testing rule in the future, vaccine protocols are currently state and employer-specific. It is currently not possible to predict with certainty the impact any future rules and the Company's vaccination policy will have on its workforce. Additional vaccine mandates may also be implemented in other jurisdictions in which the Company operates and the Company may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that the Company determines are in the best interests of its employees, customers, distributors, suppliers and contractors. There is no certainty that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus, and the Company's ability to perform critical functions could be harmed and vaccine mandates could result in higher than usual employee attrition rates and adversely impact the operations of the Company if higher than usual customer demand of its products continues similar to demand levels experienced during the second half of 2020 and during 2021. Furthermore, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the Company executed certain temporary and permanent cost reduction measures including adjustments to its supply chain and manufacturing labor base to match the demand environment and reductions in staffing, compensation and benefits in a manner that allows the Company to respond to changes in demand, some of which were reversed and some were made

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permanent. These cost reduction measures may not prove to be successful and the Company may need to undertake further measures that could adversely impact its business and/or its ability to ramp up operations in a timely manner.

Continued uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused, and may continue to cause, disruptions in the Company's supply chain, cause delay, or limit the ability of, customers to continue to operate and perform, including in making timely payments to the Company, result in the Company's inability to meet its consumers' and customers' needs due to disruptions in manufacturing and supply arrangements caused by the loss or disruption of essential manufacturing and supply elements, and cause other unpredictable events.

In addition, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may also limit the Company’s resources or delay the Company’s ability to implement strategic initiatives. If strategic initiatives are delayed, such initiatives may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s competitive position, business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows.

The continued spread of COVID-19 has caused, and may continue to cause, significant reductions in demand or significant volatility in demand for certain of the Company’s products. As lockdowns occurred in the first and second quarters of 2020 and the work from home trend continued in 2021, those subject to lockdowns and working from home engaged in home improvement projects in large numbers, and demand for the Company’s products at its retail partners increased significantly. As different geographical areas anticipate and begin moving into a recovery era, demand for the Company’s products may decrease as focus shifts to activities outside the home.

The degree to which COVID-19 ultimately affects the Company’s business, liquidity, results and operations will depend on future developments, which continue to be highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. These uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak and the resurgence in cases,, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, the availability of vaccines, effectiveness against new variants of COVID-19 and achievement of sufficient vaccination levels, supply chain disruptions, competition in the labor market and how quickly and to what extent economic and operating conditions can become more predictable and certain.

Changes in customer preferences, the inability to maintain mutually beneficial relationships with large customers, inventory reductions by customers, and the inability to penetrate new channels of distribution could adversely affect the Company’s business.

The Company has certain significant customers, particularly home centers and major retailers. In 2021, the two largest customers comprised approximately 29% of net sales, with U.S. and international mass merchants and home centers collectively comprising approximately 46% of net sales. The loss or material reduction of business, the lack of success of sales initiatives, or changes in customer preferences or loyalties for the Company’s products, related to any such significant customer could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations and cash flows. In addition, the Company’s major customers are volume purchasers, a few of which are much larger than the Company and have strong bargaining power with suppliers. This limits the ability to recover cost increases through higher selling prices. Furthermore, unanticipated inventory adjustments by these customers can have a negative impact on the Company's net sales.

In times of tough economic conditions, the Company has experienced significant distributor inventory corrections reflecting de-stocking of the supply chain associated with difficult credit markets. Such distributor de-stocking exacerbated sales volume declines pertaining to weak end user demand and the broader economic recession. The Company’s results may be adversely impacted in future periods by such customer inventory adjustments. Further, the inability to continue to penetrate new channels of distribution may have a negative impact on the Company’s future results.

The Company faces active global competition and if it does not compete effectively, its business may suffer.

The Company faces active competition and resulting pricing pressures. The Company’s products compete on the basis of, among other things, its reputation for product quality, its well-known brands, price, innovation and customer service capabilities. The Company competes with both larger and smaller companies that offer the same or similar products and services or that produce different products appropriate for the same uses. These companies are often located in countries such as China, Taiwan and India where labor and other production costs are substantially lower than in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. Also, certain large customers offer house brands that compete with some of the Company’s product offerings as a lower-cost alternative. To remain profitable and defend market share, the Company must maintain a competitive cost structure, develop new products and services, lead product innovation, respond to competitor innovations and enhance its existing products in a timely manner. The Company may not be able to compete effectively on all of these fronts and with all of its competitors, and the failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on its sales and profit margins.

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Operations Excellence, one element of the SBD Operating Model, is a continuous operational improvement process applied to many aspects of the Company’s business such as procurement, quality in manufacturing, maximizing customer fill rates, integrating acquisitions and other key business processes. In the event the Company is not successful in effectively applying the Operations Excellence principles to its key business processes, including those of acquired businesses, its ability to compete and future earnings could be adversely affected.

In addition, the Company may have to reduce prices on its products and services, or make other concessions, to stay competitive and retain market share. Price reductions taken by the Company in response to customer and competitive pressures, as well as price reductions and promotional actions taken to drive demand that may not result in anticipated sales levels, could also negatively impact its business. The Company engages in restructuring actions, sometimes entailing shifts of production to low-cost countries, as part of its efforts to maintain a competitive cost structure. If the Company does not execute restructuring actions well, its ability to meet customer demand may decline, or earnings may otherwise be adversely impacted. Similarly, if such efforts to reform the cost structure are delayed relative to competitors or other market factors, the Company may lose market share and profits.

Customer consolidation could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business.

A significant portion of the Company’s products are sold through home centers and mass merchant distribution channels in the U.S. and Europe. A consolidation of retailers in both North America and abroad has occurred over time and the increasing size and importance of individual customers creates risk of exposure to potential volume loss. The loss of certain larger home centers as customers would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business.

Low demand for new products and the inability to develop and introduce new products at favorable margins could adversely impact the Company’s performance and prospects for future growth.

The Company’s competitive advantage is due in part to its ability to develop and introduce new products in a timely manner at favorable margins. The uncertainties associated with developing and introducing new products, such as market demand, the unavailability of raw materials necessary for production of the Company's products and costs of development and production, may impede the successful development and introduction of new products on a consistent basis. Introduction of new technology may result in higher costs to the Company than that of the technology replaced. That increase in costs, which may continue indefinitely or until increased demand and greater availability in the sources of the new technology drive down its cost, could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations. Market acceptance of the new products introduced in recent years and scheduled for introduction in future years may not meet sales expectations due to various factors, such as the failure to accurately predict market demand, end-user preferences, evolving industry standards, or the emergence of new or disruptive technologies. Moreover, the ultimate success and profitability of the new products may depend on the Company’s ability to resolve technical and technological challenges in a timely and cost-effective manner, and to achieve manufacturing efficiencies. The Company’s investments in productive capacity and commitments to fund advertising and product promotions in connection with these new products could erode profits if those expectations are not met.

The pace of technological change continues to accelerate and the Company's ability to react effectively to such change may present significant competitive risks.

The pace of technological change is increasing at an exponential rate. The continued creation, development and advancement of new technologies such as 5G data networks, artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, data analytics, 3-D printing, robotics, sensor technology, data storage, neural networks, augmented reality, amongst others, as well as other technologies in the future that are not foreseen today, continue to transform the Company’s processes, products and services.

In order to remain competitive, the Company will need to stay abreast of such technologies, require its employees to continue to learn and adapt to new technologies and be able to integrate them into its current and future business models, products, services and processes and also guard against existing and new competitors disrupting its business using such technologies. The Company’s strategy, value creation model, operating model and innovation ecosystem have important technological elements and many of the Company’s products and offerings are based on technological advances, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced analytics and the Internet of Things. In addition, the Company will need to compete for talent in a competitive market that is familiar with such technologies including upskilling its workforce. Higher than expected employee attrition rates may also result in difficulties to recruit and obtain talent needed to compete effectively. There can be no assurance that the Company will continue to compete effectively with its industry peers due to technological changes, which could result in a material adverse effect on the Company's business and results of operations.

The Company has significant operations outside of the United States, which are subject to political, legal, economic and other risks arising from operating outside of the United States.

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The Company generates a significant portion of its total revenue outside of the United States. Business operations outside of the United States are subject to political, economic and other risks inherent in operating in certain countries, such as:

•the difficulty of enforcing agreements and protecting assets through legal systems outside the U.S. including intellectual property rights, which may not be recognized, and which the Company may not be able to protect outside the U.S. to the same extent as under U.S. law;

•managing widespread operations and enforcing internal policies and procedures such as compliance with U.S. and foreign anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and sanctions regulations;

•trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements including those related to the U.S.'s relationship with China;

•the application of certain labor regulations outside of the United States;

•compliance with a wide variety of non-U.S. laws and regulations;

•ongoing stability or changes in the general political and economic conditions in the countries where the Company operates, particularly in emerging markets;

•the threat of nationalization and expropriation;

•increased costs and risks of doing business and managing a workforce in a wide variety of jurisdictions;

•the increased possibility of cyber threats in certain jurisdictions;

•government controls limiting importation of goods;

•government controls limiting payments to suppliers for imported goods;

•limitations on, or impacts from, the repatriation of foreign earnings; and

•exposure to wage, price and capital controls.

Changes in the political or economic environments in the countries in which the Company operates could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Additionally, the Company is subject to complex U.S., foreign and other local laws and regulations that are applicable to its operations abroad, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the UK Bribery Act of 2010 and other anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. Although the Company has implemented internal controls, policies and procedures and employee training and compliance programs to deter prohibited practices, such measures may not be effective in preventing employees, contractors or agents from violating or circumventing such internal policies and violating applicable laws and regulations. Any determination that the Company has violated anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws or sanctions regulations could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to the Company’s international operations increases the cost of doing business in foreign jurisdictions. Violations of such laws and regulations may result in severe fines and penalties, criminal sanctions, administrative remedies or restrictions on business conduct, and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s reputation, its ability to attract and retain employees, its business, operating results and financial condition.

The Company’s success depends on its ability to improve productivity and streamline operations to control or reduce costs.

The Company is committed to continuous productivity improvement and evaluating opportunities to reduce fixed costs, simplify or improve processes, and eliminate excess capacity. The Company has undertaken restructuring actions, the savings of which may be mitigated by many factors, including economic weakness, inflation, competitive pressures, higher labor costs and decisions to increase costs in areas such as sales promotion or research and development above levels that were otherwise assumed. Failure to achieve, or delays in achieving, projected levels of efficiencies and cost savings from such measures, or unanticipated inefficiencies resulting from manufacturing and administrative reorganization actions in progress or contemplated, would adversely affect the Company’s business and financial results.

The performance of the Company may suffer from business disruptions with catastrophic losses affecting distribution centers and other infrastructure, or other costs associated with information technology, system implementations, or cyber security risks.

The Company relies heavily on digital technology, including from third parties, to manage and operate its businesses and record and process transactions. Digital technology plays a crucial role in effectively operating the Company’s physical operations, notably manufacturing sites, distribution centers, security alarm monitoring facilities, offices and processing centers, which are distributed in various geographic locations. Factors that are hard to predict or are beyond the Company’s control, like weather (including any potential effects of climate change), natural disasters, supply and commodity shortages, fire, explosions, acts or threats of war or terrorism, political unrest, cybersecurity breaches, sabotage, generalized labor unrest or public health crises, including pandemics, could damage or disrupt the Company’s digital technology infrastructure, or that of its suppliers or distributors. If the Company does not effectively plan for or respond to disruptions in its operations, or cannot quickly repair

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damage to its systems, the Company may be late in delivering or unable to deliver products and services to its customers, and the quality and safety of its products and services might be negatively affected. If a material or extended disruption occurs, the Company may lose its customers’ or business partners’ confidence or suffer damage to its reputation, and long-term consumer demand for its products and services could decline. Although the Company maintains business interruption insurance, it may not fully protect the Company against all adverse effects that could result from significant disruptions. These events could materially and adversely affect the Company’s product sales, financial condition, results of operations, and reputation.

In addition, the Company is in the process of system integrations, conversions, and capability additions such as eCommerce, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics to drive enhanced business outcomes. There can be no assurances that expected expense or revenue synergies will be achieved or that there will not be delays to the expected timing of system integrations, conversions or capability additions. It is possible the costs to complete the system integrations, conversions or capability additions may exceed expectations, and that significant costs may be incurred that will require immediate expense recognition as opposed to capitalization. The risk of disruption to key operations and overall business is increased when complex system changes, such as integrations, conversions or capability additions are undertaken. If systems fail to function effectively, or become damaged, operational delays may ensue and the Company may be forced to make significant expenditures to remedy such issues. Any significant disruption in the Company’s digital technology could have a material adverse impact on its business and results.

Despite efforts to prevent such situations and maintaining insurance policies and loss control and risk management practices that partially mitigate these risks, the Company’s digital technologies may be affected by damage or interruption from, among other causes, power outages, system failures or cyber attacks.

Industry and Economic Risks

The Company’s results of operations could be negatively impacted by inflationary or deflationary economic conditions which could affect the ability to obtain raw materials, component parts, freight, energy, labor and sourced finished goods in a timely and cost-effective manner, as well as lead to changes in interest rate environments which impact its cost of funds, the general strength of the economy and demand for its products in the market.

The Company’s products are manufactured using both ferrous and non-ferrous metals including, but not limited to, steel, zinc, copper, brass, aluminum, and nickel. Additionally, the Company uses other commodity-based materials for components and packaging including, but not limited to, plastics, resins, wood and corrugated products. The Company’s cost base also reflects significant elements for freight, energy and labor. The Company also sources certain finished goods directly from vendors. If the Company is unable to mitigate inflationary increases through various customer pricing actions and cost reduction initiatives, its profitability may be adversely affected.

Conversely, in the event there is deflation, the Company may experience pressure from its customers to reduce prices, and there can be no assurance that the Company would be able to reduce its cost base (through negotiations with suppliers or other measures) to offset any such price concessions which could adversely impact results of operations and cash flows.

Further, as a result of inflationary or deflationary economic conditions, the Company believes it is possible that a limited number of suppliers may either cease operations or require additional financial assistance from the Company in order to fulfill their obligations. In a limited number of circumstances, the magnitude of the Company’s purchases of certain items is of such significance that a change in established relationships with suppliers or increase in the costs of purchased raw materials, component parts or finished goods could result in manufacturing interruptions, delays, inefficiencies or an inability to market products. Changes in value-added tax rebates, currently available to the Company or to its suppliers, could also increase the costs of the Company’s manufactured products, as well as purchased products and components, and could adversely affect the Company’s results.

In addition, many of the Company’s products incorporate battery technology. As the world moves towards a lower-carbon economy and as other industries begin to adopt similar battery technology for use in their products or increase their current consumption of battery technology, the increased demand could place capacity constraints on the Company’s supply chain. In addition, increased demand for battery technology may also increase the costs to the Company for both the battery cells as well as the underlying raw materials such as cobalt and lithium, among others. If the Company is unable to mitigate any possible supply constraints, related increased costs or drive alternative technology through innovation, its profitably and financial results could be negatively impacted.

Uncertainty about the financial stability of economies outside the U.S. could have a significant adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.

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The Company generates approximately 40% of its revenues outside the U.S., including 17% from Europe and 14% from various emerging market countries. Each of the Company’s segments generates sales in these marketplaces. While the Company believes any downturn in the European or emerging marketplaces might be offset to some degree by the relative stability in North America, the Company’s future growth, profitability and financial liquidity could be affected, in several ways, including but not limited to the following:

•depressed consumer and business confidence may decrease demand for products and services;

•customers may implement cost reduction initiatives or delay purchases to address inventory levels;

•significant declines of foreign currency values in countries where the Company operates could impact both the revenue growth and overall profitability in those geographies;

•a slowing or contracting Chinese economy could reduce China’s consumption and negatively impact the Company’s sales in that region, as well as globally;

•a devaluation of foreign currencies could have an effect on the credit worthiness (as well as the availability of funds) of customers in those regions impacting the collectability of receivables;

•a devaluation of foreign currencies could have an adverse effect on the value of financial assets of the Company in the effected countries; and

•the impact of an event (individual country default, Brexit, or break up of the Euro) could have an adverse impact on the global credit markets and global liquidity potentially impacting the Company’s ability to access these credit markets and to raise capital.

The Company is exposed to market risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates which could negatively impact profitability.

The Company manufactures and sells its products in many countries throughout the world. As a result, there is exposure to foreign currency risk as the Company enters into transactions and makes investments denominated in multiple currencies. The Company’s predominant currency exposures are related to the Euro, Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Australian Dollar, Brazilian Real, Argentine Peso, Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”) and the Taiwan Dollar. In preparing its financial statements, for foreign operations with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar, asset and liability accounts are translated at current exchange rates, while income and expenses are translated using average exchange rates. With respect to the effects on translated earnings, if the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to local currencies, the Company’s earnings could be negatively impacted. Although the Company utilizes risk management tools, including hedging, as it deems appropriate, to mitigate a portion of potential market fluctuations in foreign currencies, there can be no assurance that such measures will result in all market fluctuation exposure being eliminated. The Company generally does not hedge the translation of its non-U.S. dollar earnings in foreign subsidiaries but may choose to do so in certain instances.

The Company sources many products from China and other low-cost countries for resale in other regions. To the extent the RMB or other currencies appreciate, the Company may experience cost increases on such purchases. The Company may not be successful at implementing customer pricing or other actions in an effort to mitigate the related cost increases and thus its profitability may be adversely impacted.

Financing Risks

The Company has incurred, and may incur in the future, significant indebtedness, and may in the future issue additional equity securities, including in connection with mergers or acquisitions, which may impact the manner in which it conducts business or the Company’s access to external sources of liquidity. The potential issuance of such securities may limit the Company’s ability to implement elements of its growth strategy and may have a dilutive effect on earnings.

As described in Note H, Long-Term Debt and Financing Arrangements, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, the Company has a five-year $2.5 billion committed credit facility and $2.0 billion 364-day committed credit facilities. No amounts were outstanding against either of these facilities on January 1, 2022. As of January 1, 2022, the Company had $4.4 billion principal amount of indebtedness.

The instruments and agreements governing certain of the Company’s current indebtedness contain requirements or restrictive covenants that include, among other things:

•a limitation on creating liens on certain property of the Company and its subsidiaries;

•a restriction on entering into certain sale-leaseback transactions;

•customary events of default. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, the Company might be required to repay all amounts outstanding under the respective instrument or agreement; and

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•maintenance of a specified financial ratio. The Company has an interest coverage covenant that must be maintained to permit continued access to its committed revolving credit facilities. The interest coverage ratio tested for covenant compliance compares adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization to adjusted Interest Expense ("adjusted EBITDA"/"adjusted Interest Expense"); such adjustments to interest or EBITDA include, but are not limited to, removal of non-cash interest expense and stock-based compensation expense. The interest coverage ratio must not be less than 2.5 times through December 31, 2021 and not less than 3.5 times thereafter and is computed quarterly, on a rolling twelve months (last twelve months) basis. Under this covenant definition, the interest coverage ratio was 14.9 times EBITDA or higher in each of the 2021 quarterly measurement periods. Management does not believe it is reasonably likely the Company will breach this covenant. Failure to maintain this ratio could adversely affect further access to liquidity.

Future instruments and agreements governing indebtedness may impose other restrictive conditions or covenants. Such covenants could restrict the Company in the manner in which it conducts business and operations as well as in the pursuit of its growth and acquisition strategy.

The Company is exposed to counterparty risk in its hedging arrangements.

From time to time, the Company enters into arrangements with financial institutions to hedge exposure to fluctuations in currency and interest rates, including forward contracts, options and swap agreements. The Company may incur significant losses from hedging activities due to factors such as demand volatility. The failure of one or more counterparties to the Company’s hedging arrangements to fulfill their obligations could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations.

Tight capital and credit markets or the failure to maintain credit ratings could adversely affect the Company by limiting the Company’s ability to borrow or otherwise access liquidity.

The Company’s long-term growth plans are dependent on, among other things, the availability of funding to support corporate initiatives and complete appropriate acquisitions and the ability to increase sales of existing product lines. While the Company has not encountered financing difficulties to date, the capital and credit markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruption in the past and may again in the future. Market conditions could make it more difficult for the Company to borrow or otherwise obtain the cash required for significant new corporate initiatives and acquisitions.

Furthermore, there could be a number of follow-on effects from a credit crisis on the Company’s businesses, including insolvency of key suppliers resulting in product delays; inability of customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of the Company’s products and services and/or customer insolvencies.

In addition, the major rating agencies regularly evaluate the Company for purposes of assigning credit ratings. The Company’s ability to access the credit markets, and the cost of these borrowings, is affected by the strength of its credit ratings and current market conditions. Failure to maintain credit ratings that are acceptable to investors may adversely affect the cost and other terms upon which the Company is able to obtain financing, as well as its access to the capital markets.

Discontinuation, reform or replacement of the London Inter-bank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and other benchmark rates, or uncertainty related to the potential for any of the foregoing, may adversely affect the Company.

A portion of the Company’s indebtedness bears interest at rates that fluctuate with changes in certain short-term prevailing interest rates, including the LIBOR. In March 2021, UK Financial Conduct Authority announced that all LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by any administrator or no longer be representative immediately after December 31, 2021. Banks currently reporting information used to set U.S. dollar LIBOR are presently expected to stop doing so during 2023. In addition, other regulators have suggested reforming or replacing other benchmark rates. These may be replaced by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or other benchmark rates over the next several years. The discontinuation, reform or replacement of LIBOR or any other benchmark rates may have an unpredictable impact on contractual mechanics in the credit markets or cause disruption to the broader financial markets. These changes, and related uncertainty as to the nature of such potential discontinuation, reform or replacement may create incremental uncertainty in obtaining financing or increase the cost of borrowing. At this time, the Company cannot predict the overall effect of the modification or discontinuation of LIBOR or the establishment of alternative benchmark rates.

The Company is exposed to credit risk on its accounts receivable.

The Company’s outstanding trade receivables are not generally covered by collateral or credit insurance. While the Company has procedures to monitor and limit exposure to credit risk on its trade and non-trade receivables, there can be no assurance

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such procedures will effectively limit its credit risk and avoid losses, which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and operating results.

If the Company were required to write-down all or part of its goodwill, indefinite-lived trade names, or other definite-lived intangible assets, its net income and net worth could be materially adversely affected.

As a result of the Black and Decker merger and other acquisitions, the Company has approximately $8.8 billion of goodwill, approximately $2.5 billion of indefinite-lived trade names and approximately $2.2 billion of net definite-lived intangible assets on January 1, 2022. The Company is required to periodically, at least annually, determine if its goodwill or indefinite-lived trade names have become impaired, in which case it would write down the impaired portion of the asset. The definite-lived intangible assets, including customer relationships, are amortized over their estimated useful lives and are evaluated for impairment when appropriate. Impairment of intangible assets may be triggered by developments outside of the Company’s control, such as worsening economic conditions, technological change, intensified competition or other factors, which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

If the investments in employee benefit plans do not perform as expected, the Company may have to contribute additional amounts to these plans, which would otherwise be available to cover operating expenses or other business purposes.

The Company sponsors pension and other post-retirement defined benefit plans. The Company’s defined benefit plan assets are currently invested in equity securities, government and corporate bonds and other fixed income securities, money market instruments and insurance contracts. The Company’s funding policy is generally to contribute amounts determined annually on an actuarial basis to provide for current and future benefits in accordance with applicable law which require, among other things, that the Company make cash contributions to under-funded pension plans. During 2021, the Company made cash contributions to its defined benefit plans of approximately $40 million and expects to contribute $41 million to its defined benefit plans in 2022.

There can be no assurance that the value of the defined benefit plan assets, or the investment returns on those plan assets, will be sufficient in the future. It is therefore possible that the Company may be required to make higher cash contributions to the plans in future years which would reduce the cash available for other business purposes, and that the Company will have to recognize a significant pension liability adjustment which would decrease the net assets of the Company and result in higher expense in future years. The fair value of the defined benefit plan assets on January 1, 2022 was approximately $2.6 billion.

Strategic Risks

The successful execution of the Company’s business strategy depends on its ability to recruit, retain, train, motivate, and develop employees and execute effective succession planning.

The success of the Company’s efforts to grow its business depends on the contributions and abilities of key executives and management personnel, its sales force and other personnel, including the ability of its sales force to adapt to any changes made in the sales organization and achieve adequate customer coverage. The Company must therefore continue to recruit, retain, train and motivate management, sales and other personnel sufficiently to maintain its current business and support its projected growth. In addition, the Company must invest heavily in reskilling and upskilling its employees, including placing an emphasis on lifelong learning. Additionally, any unplanned turnover or inability to attract and retain key employees could have a negative effect on the Company’s results of operations.

A shortage of key employees might jeopardize the Company’s ability to implement its growth strategy, and changes in the key management team can result in loss of continuity, loss of accumulated knowledge, departure of other key employees, disruptions to the Company’s operations and inefficiency during transitional periods. The Company’s reputation, business, revenue and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected if it is unable to recruit, retain, train, motivate, and develop employees and successfully execute organizational change and management transitions at leadership levels.

The Company’s acquisitions, exiting of businesses, divestitures, strategic investments and alliances and joint ventures, as well as general business reorganizations, may result in financial results that are different than expected and certain risks for its business and operations.

As part of the Company's strategy, it may acquire businesses or assets, divest businesses or assets, enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures, and make investments to further its business (collectively, “business combination and investment transactions”), and also handle any post-closing issues, such as integration. For example, in 2021, the Company completed the MTD Holdings Inc. ("MTD") and Excel Industries ("Excel") acquisitions, as well as smaller acquisitions, and may make

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additional acquisitions in the future. In December 2021, the Company announced it entered into an agreement to divest its commercial electronic security and healthcare businesses, which it expects to complete in the first half of 2022, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Risks associated with business combination and investment transactions include the following, any of which could adversely

affect the Company's financial results, including its effective tax rate:

•the failure to identify the most suitable candidates for acquisitions;

•difficulty in finding buyers or alternative exit strategies on acceptable terms in a timely manner, or the Company may dispose of a business at a price or on terms that are less desirable than the Company had anticipated for a divestiture;

•the ability to conduct due diligence with respect to business combination and investment transactions, and the ability to evaluate the results of such due diligence, which is dependent on the veracity and completeness of statements and

disclosures made or actions taken by third parties or their representatives and the failure to identify significant issues

with the target company’s product quality, financial disclosures, accounting practices or internal control deficiencies or

the factors necessary to estimate reasonably accurate costs, timing and other matters;

•for an acquisition or other combination, the acquired business may have differing or inadequate cybersecurity and

data protection controls, which could impact its exposure to data security incidents and potentially increase

anticipated costs or time to integrate the business;

•the difficulties and cost in obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals;

•the ability to identify and close on appropriate acquisition opportunities within desired time frames at reasonable cost;

•the anticipated additional revenues from the acquired companies do not materialize, despite extensive due diligence;

•the acquired businesses will lose market acceptance or profitability;

•the impact of divestitures on the Company's revenue growth may be larger than projected, as the Company may experience greater dis-synergies than expected;

•the diversion of Company management’s attention and other resources;

•incurring significant restructuring charges and amortization expense, assuming liabilities and ongoing or new lawsuits related to the transaction or otherwise, potential impairment of acquired goodwill and other intangible assets, and increasing the Company's expenses and working capital requirements;

•the incurrence of unexpected costs and liabilities, including those associated with undisclosed pre-closing regulatory violations by the acquired business;

•for a divestiture, if the Company does not satisfy pre-closing conditions and necessary regulatory and governmental approvals on acceptable terms, it may prevent the Company from completing the transaction;

•continued financial involvement in a divested business, such as through continuing equity ownership, guarantees, indemnities or other financial obligations; and

•the loss of key personnel, distributors, clients or customers of acquired companies.

In addition, the success of the Company’s long-term growth and acquisition strategy will depend in part on successful general reorganization including its ability to:

•combine businesses, product or service offerings and operations or fully realize all of the anticipated benefits of any particular business combination and investment transaction;

•integrate departments, systems and procedures; and

•obtain cost savings and other efficiencies from such reorganizations, including the Company's margin resiliency initiative.

In addition, the current and the proposed changes to the U.S. and foreign regulatory approval process and requirements in connection with an acquisition may cause approvals to take longer than anticipated to obtain, not be forthcoming or contain burdensome conditions, which may jeopardize, delay or reduce the anticipated benefits of the transaction to the Company and could impede the execution of the Company's business strategy. Failure to effectively integrate acquired companies, strategic investments and alliances, consummate or manage any future acquisitions, exit businesses or consummate divestitures, or general business reorganizations, and mitigate the related risks, may adversely affect the Company’s existing businesses and harm its operational results due to large write-offs, significant restructuring costs, contingent liabilities, substantial depreciation, and/or adverse tax or other consequences. The Company cannot ensure that such integrations and reorganizations will be successfully completed or that all of the planned synergies and other benefits will be realized.

Expansion of the Company’s activity in emerging markets may result in risks due to differences in business practices and cultures.

The Company’s growth plans include efforts to increase revenue from emerging markets through both organic growth and acquisitions. Local business practices in these regions may not comply with U.S. laws, local laws or other laws applicable to the Company. When investigating potential acquisitions, the Company seeks to identify historical practices of target companies that

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would create liability or other exposures for the Company were they to continue post-completion or as a successor to the target. Where such practices are discovered, the Company assesses the risk to determine whether it is prepared to proceed with the transaction. In assessing the risk, the Company looks at, among other factors, the nature of the violation, the potential liability, including any fines or penalties that might be incurred, the ability to avoid, minimize or obtain indemnity for the risks, and the likelihood that the Company would be able to ensure that any such practices are discontinued following completion of the acquisition through implementation of its own policies and procedures. Due diligence and risk assessment are, however, imperfect processes, and it is possible that the Company will not discover problematic practices until after completion, or that the Company will underestimate the risks associated with historical activities. Should that occur, the Company may incur fees, fines, penalties, injury to its reputation or other damage that could negatively impact the Company's earnings.

Legal, Tax, Regulatory and Compliance Risks

The Company’s brands are important assets of its businesses and violation of its trademark rights by imitators, or the failure of its licensees or vendors to comply with the Company’s product quality, manufacturing requirements, marketing standards, and other requirements could negatively impact revenues and brand reputation. Any inability to protect the Company's other intellectual property rights could also reduce the value of its products and services or diminish its competitiveness.

The Company considers its intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, and licenses held, to be a significant part and valuable aspect of its business. The Company attempts to protect its intellectual property rights through a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as licensing agreements and third-party nondisclosure and assignment agreements.

The Company’s trademarks have a reputation for quality and value and are important to the Company's success and competitive position. Unauthorized use of the Company’s trademark rights may not only erode sales of the Company’s products, but may also cause significant damage to its brand name and reputation, interfere with its ability to effectively represent the Company to its customers, contractors, suppliers, and/or licensees, and increase litigation costs. Similarly, failure by licensees or vendors to adhere to the Company’s standards of quality and other contractual requirements could result in loss of revenue, increased litigation, and/or damage to the Company’s reputation and business. There can be no assurance that the Company’s ongoing efforts to protect its brand and trademark rights and ensure compliance with its licensing and vendor agreements will prevent all violations.

In addition, the Company's ability to compete could be negatively impacted by its failure to obtain and adequately protect its intellectual property and preserve its associated intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and licenses, as well as its products and any new features of its products or processes. The Company's patent applications may not be approved and any patents owned could be challenged, invalidated or designed around by third parties. In addition, the Company's patents may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage.

The Company is exposed to risks related to cybersecurity.

The Company’s operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential, sensitive, proprietary and other types of information relating to its business operations, as well as confidential and sensitive information about its customers and employees maintained in the Company’s computer systems and networks, certain products and services, and in the computer systems and networks of its third-party vendors. Cyber threats are rapidly evolving as data thieves and hackers have become increasingly sophisticated and carry out direct large-scale, complex attacks against a company or through vendor software supply chain compromises. In particular, the Company is increasingly relying on its digital technology to support its operations as it manages the impact of COVID-19, including supporting remote-work protocols for a substantial number of the Company’s employees in regions impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and future, ongoing hybrid-work protocols, which can increase cyber risks. The Company is not able to anticipate or prevent all such attacks and could be held liable for any resulting material security breach or data loss. In addition, it is not always possible to deter misconduct by employees or third-party vendors.

Breaches of the Company’s technology systems, or those of the Company’s vendors, whether from circumvention of security systems, denial-of-service attacks or other cyber-attacks, hacking, “phishing” attacks, computer viruses, ransomware or malware, employee or insider error, malfeasance, social engineering, vendor software supply chain compromises, physical breaches or other actions, have and may result in manipulation or corruption of sensitive data, material interruptions or malfunctions in the Company’s or such vendors’ websites, applications, data processing, and certain products and services, or disruption of other business operations. Furthermore, any such breaches could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of material information held by the Company (including information about the Company’s business, employees or customers), as

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well as sensitive personally identifiable information, the disclosure of which could lead to identity theft. Breaches of the Company’s products that rely on technology and internet connectivity can expose the Company to product and other liability risk and reputational harm. Measures that the Company takes to avoid, detect, mitigate or recover from material incidents, including implementing and conducting training on insider trading policies for the Company’s employees and maintaining contractual obligations for the Company’s third-party vendors, can be expensive, and may be insufficient, circumvented, or may become ineffective.

The Company has invested and continues to invest in risk management and information security and data privacy measures in order to protect its systems and data, including employee training, organizational investments, incident response plans, table top exercises and technical defenses. The cost and operational consequences of implementing, maintaining and enhancing further data or system protection measures could increase significantly to overcome increasingly intense, complex, and sophisticated global cyber threats. Despite the Company’s best efforts, it is not fully insulated from data breaches and system disruptions. Recent well-publicized security breaches at other companies have led to enhanced government and regulatory scrutiny of the measures taken by companies to protect against cyber-attacks, and may in the future result in heightened cybersecurity requirements, including additional regulatory expectations for oversight of vendors and service providers. Any material breaches of cybersecurity, including the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data, or media reports of perceived security vulnerabilities to the Company’s systems, products and services or those of the Company’s third parties could cause the Company to experience reputational harm, loss of customers and revenue, fines, regulatory actions and scrutiny, sanctions or other statutory penalties, litigation, liability for failure to safeguard the Company’s customers’ information, or financial losses that are either not insured against or not fully covered through any insurance maintained by the Company. The report, rumor or assumption regarding a potential breach may have similar results, even if no breach has been attempted or occurred. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition.

The Company is exposed to risks related to compliance with data privacy laws.

To conduct its operations, the Company regularly moves data across national borders, and consequently is subject to a variety of continuously evolving and developing laws and regulations in the United States and abroad regarding privacy, data protection and data security. The scope of the laws that may be applicable to the Company is often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became effective in May 2018, greatly increased the jurisdictional reach of European Union law and added a broad array of requirements for handling personal data, including the public disclosure of significant data breaches. Similarly, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), which became effective in January 2020, provided, among other things, a new private right of action for data breaches, required companies that process information on California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about their data collection, use and sharing practices, and provided consumers with additional rights. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, which will become effective on January 1, 2023, amends and expands the CCPA, creating new industry requirements, consumer privacy rights and enforcement mechanisms. Virginia and Colorado have also passed robust privacy laws that will come into effect on January 1 and July 1, 2023, respectively. The Company's reputation and brand and its ability to attract new customers could also be adversely impacted if the Company fails, or is perceived to have failed, to properly respond to security breaches of its or third party’s information technology systems. Such failure to properly respond could also result in similar exposure to liability.

Additionally, other countries have enacted or are enacting data localization laws that require data to stay within their borders. In many cases, these laws and regulations apply not only to transfers between unrelated third parties but also to transfers between the Company and its subsidiaries.

All of these evolving compliance and operational requirements impose significant costs that are likely to increase over time. Privacy laws that may be implemented in the future, and court decisions impacting activities across borders, including the Schrems II decision invalidating the EU - U.S. Privacy Shield, will continue to require changes to certain business practices, thereby increasing costs, or may result in negative publicity, require significant management time and attention, and may subject the Company to remedies that may harm its business, including fines or demands or orders that the Company modify or cease existing business practices.

Significant judgment and certain estimates are required in determining the Company’s worldwide provision for income taxes. Future tax law changes and audit results may materially increase the Company’s prospective income tax expense.

The Company is subject to income taxation in the U.S. as well as numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining the Company’s worldwide income tax provision and accordingly there are many transactions and computations for which the final income tax determination is uncertain. The Company considers many factors when evaluating and estimating its tax positions and tax benefits, which may require periodic adjustments, and which may not accurately

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anticipate actual outcomes. The Company periodically assesses its liabilities and contingencies for all tax years still subject to audit based on the most currently available information, which involves inherent uncertainty. The Company is routinely audited by income tax authorities in many tax jurisdictions. Although management believes the recorded tax estimates are reasonable, the ultimate outcome of any audit (or related litigation) could differ materially from amounts reflected in the Company’s income tax accruals. Additionally, the global income tax provision can be materially impacted due to foreign currency fluctuations against the U.S. dollar since a significant amount of the Company’s earnings are generated outside the United States. Lastly, it is possible that future income tax legislation may be enacted that could have a material impact on the Company’s worldwide income tax provision, cash tax liability, and effective tax rate beginning with the period that such legislation becomes enacted.

Climate change and climate change legislation or regulations may adversely affect the Company's business.

The effects of climate change, such as severe weather, including droughts and water scarcity, could impact the Company’s business. The effects of climate change could also disrupt the Company’s operations by impacting the availability and costs of materials needed for manufacturing and could increase insurance and other operating costs. There may be operational risk due to the significant impact climate change could pose to employees’ lives, the Company’s supply chain, or electrical power availability from climate-related weather events. The Company also face risks related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy, such as its ability to successfully adopt new technology or to comply with more stringent and increasingly complex environmental regulations or requirements for the Company's manufacturing facilities and business operations, increased prices related to freight and shipping costs and other permitting requirements.

There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change may result in more international, regional and/or federal requirements or other stakeholder expectations that could mandate more restrictive or expansive standards, more prescriptive reporting of environmental, social and governance metrics than the voluntary commitments the Company adopted, or require related changes on a more accelerated time frame than the Company anticipates. A number of governmental bodies have finalized, proposed or are contemplating legislative and regulatory changes in response to the potential effect of climate change. Such legislation or regulation has and potentially could include provisions for a “cap and trade” system of allowances and credits or a carbon tax or require increased measurement of metrics and disclosure, among other provisions. The Company currently purchases renewable energy certificates (“RECs”) to mitigate the impact of carbon tax and is also assessing expanding its use of solar panels as an alternative energy source. If carbon tax legislation is changed or adopted, the Company may not be able to mitigate the future impact of carbon tax through the purchase of RECs and the use of solar panels or other measures. The Company may also face reputational risks and risks to the Company's investor confidence and market share if the Company is unable to make progress on the Company's voluntary environmental goals or is unable to keep apace with the progress made by the Company's peers. If environmental laws or regulations are either changed or adopted and impose significant operational restrictions and compliance requirements on the Company, they may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, access to credit, capital expenditures, operating results and financial condition.

The Company’s failure to continue to successfully avoid, manage, defend, litigate and accrue for claims and litigation could negatively impact its results of operations or cash flows.

The Company is exposed to and becomes involved in various litigation matters arising out of the ordinary routine conduct of its business, including, from time to time, actual or threatened litigation relating to such items as commercial transactions, product liability, workers compensation, arrangements between the Company and its distributors, franchisees or vendors, intellectual property claims and regulatory actions.

In addition, the Company is subject to environmental laws in each jurisdiction in which business is conducted. Some of the Company’s products incorporate substances that are regulated in some jurisdictions in which it conducts manufacturing operations. The Company has been and could be in the future subject to liability if it does not comply with these regulations. In addition, the Company is currently, and may in the future be held responsible for remedial investigations and clean-up costs resulting from the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment, including sites that have never been owned or operated by the Company but at which it has been identified as a potentially responsible party under federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Changes in environmental and other laws and regulations in both domestic and foreign jurisdictions could adversely affect the Company’s operations due to increased costs of compliance and potential liability for non-compliance.

The Company manufactures products, configures and installs security systems and performs various services that create exposure to product and professional liability claims and litigation. The failure of the Company’s products, systems and services to be properly manufactured, configured, installed, designed or delivered, resulting in personal injuries, property damage or business interruption could subject the Company to claims for damages. The Company has and is currently

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defending product liability claims, some of which have resulted in settlements or monetary judgments against the Company. The costs associated with defending ongoing or future product liability claims and payment of damages could be substantial. The Company’s reputation could also be adversely affected by such claims, whether or not successful.

There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to successfully avoid, manage and defend such matters. In addition, given the inherent uncertainties in evaluating certain exposures, actual costs to be incurred in future periods may vary from the Company’s estimates for such contingent liabilities.

The Company’s products could be recalled.

The Company maintains an awareness of and responsibility for the potential health and safety impacts on its customers. The Company's product development processes include tollgates for product safety review, and extensive testing is conducted on product safety. Safety reviews are performed at various product development milestones, including a review of product labeling and marking to ensure safety and operational hazards are identified for the customer.

Despite safety and quality reviews, the Consumer Product Safety Commission or other applicable regulatory bodies may require, or the Company may voluntarily institute, the recall, repair or replacement of the Company’s products if those products are found not to be in compliance with applicable standards or regulations. A recall could increase the Company's costs and adversely impact its reputation.

The Company’s sales to government customers exposes it to business volatility and risks, including government budgeting cycles and appropriations, procurement regulations, governmental policy shifts, early termination of contracts, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.

The Company derives a portion of its revenues from contracts with the U.S. government, state and local governments and foreign governments. Government contractors must comply with specific procurement regulations and other requirements. These requirements, although customary in government contracts, could impact the Company’s performance and compliance costs, including limiting or delaying the Company’s ability to share information with its business partners, customers and investors, which may negatively impact the Company’s business and reputation.

The U.S. government may demand contract terms that are less favorable than standard arrangements with private sector customers and may have statutory, contractual or other legal rights to terminate contracts with the Company. For example, the U.S. government may have contract clauses that permit it to terminate any of the Company’s government contracts and subcontracts at its convenience, and procurement regulations permit termination for default based on the Company’s performance. In addition, changes in U.S. government budgetary priorities could lead to changes in the procurement environment, affecting availability of government contracting or funding opportunities. Changes in government procurement policy, priorities, regulations, technology initiatives and requirements, and/or contract award criteria may negatively impact the Company’s potential for growth in the government sector. Changes in government cybersecurity and system requirements could negatively impact the Company’s eligibility for the award of future contracts, negatively impacting the Company’s business and reputation.

Government contracts laws and regulations impose certain risks, and contracts are generally subject to audits, investigations and approval of policies, procedures and internal controls for compliance with procurement regulations and applicable law. If violations of law are found, they could result in civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, refund of a portion of fees received, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from future government business. Each of these factors could negatively impact the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and reputation.

Other Risks

The Company’s results of operations and earnings may not meet guidance or expectations.

The Company’s results of operations and earnings may not meet guidance or expectations. The Company may provide public guidance on expected results of operations for future periods. This guidance is comprised of forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties described in this Form 10-K and in the Company’s other public filings and public statements, and is based necessarily on assumptions the Company makes at the time it provides such guidance. The Company’s guidance may not always be accurate. The Company may also choose to withdraw guidance, as it did in response to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, or lower guidance in future periods. If, in the future, the Company’s results of operations for a particular period do not meet its guidance or the expectations of investment analysts, the Company

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reduces its guidance for future periods, or the Company withdraws guidance, the market price of the Company’s common stock could decline significantly.

The Company has identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. If not remediated, the Company’s failure to establish and maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in its financial statements and a failure to meet its reporting and financial obligations, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and the trading price of its common stock.

Subsequent to the filing of its 2020 Form 10-K, the Company received comments from the SEC Staff regarding its accounting for equity units issued in May 2017 and November 2019 (the “Equity Units”). Upon further reflection of the comments received by the Staff and the nature of the Equity Units, the Company determined that errors were made in its original accounting conclusions resulting from material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting for such instruments. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

As discussed in Item 9A. Controls and Procedures of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company’s management has evaluated its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and its disclosure controls and procedures and concluded that they were not effective as of January 1, 2022.

The Company is committed to remediating its material weaknesses as promptly as possible. Management is in the process of implementing its remediation plan. However, there can be no assurance as to when the material weaknesses will be remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future. If the Company is unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, its ability to record, process and report financial information timely and accurately could be adversely affected, which could subject the Company to litigation or investigations, require management resources, increase costs, negatively affect investor confidence and adversely impact its stock price.