Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) Risk Analysis

In July 2014, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC (SAFE) promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents' Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles (SAFE Circular 37). SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents (including PRC citizens, PRC corporate entities and other persons that are deemed PRC residents) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE Circular 37 is applicable to our shareholders who are PRC residents. SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the SAFE registrations in the event of any changes with respect to the basic information and material matters of the offshore special purpose vehicle, including an increase or decrease of capital contribution by the PRC residents, share transfer or exchange, or mergers or divisions. However, due to inherent uncertainty in the implementation of the regulatory requirements by the PRC authorities, such registration might not always be practically available in all circumstances as provided in those regulations. While it is uncertain whether we will be deemed a "special purpose vehicle" as regulated by SAFE Circular 37, our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents may be required to conduct the registration, which registrations are yet to be completed, sometimes due to reasons beyond their control. Further, PRC citizens and certain PRC residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas listed companies are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiaries of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. Our employees who are PRC citizens or residents and who have been or will be granted incentive shares or options may be subject to these regulations. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject our PRC subsidiaries or our executive officers and other employees to fines and legal sanctions. We may not at all times be fully informed of the identities of all the PRC residents holding direct or indirect interests in our company, and we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities, or all of our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or residents and who have been or will be granted incentive shares or options, have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE regulations. Failure or inability by our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or by our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or residents and who have been or will be granted incentive shares or options to comply with SAFE regulations, failure by us to conduct or amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiaries, or failure to disclose or a misrepresentation of the controller(s) or ultimate shareholders of the foreign invested enterprise that is established through round trip investment, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, such as restrictions on our overseas or cross-border investment activities or our PRC subsidiaries' ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us. As a result, our ability to contribute capital to fund our business operations in the PRC and our ability to receive distributions from our PRC subsidiaries could be materially and adversely affected. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under PRC law.

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company's memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, breach of fiduciary duty, unconscionable behavior or behavior which falls within the broad stable of conduct identifiable as ‘equitable' fraud on the part of the director or officer in question. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful neglect or willful default. Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder's investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

The trading price and volume of our ordinary shares is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including but not limited to: - actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations due to, among other things, changes in customer demand, product life cycles, pricing, ordering patterns and unforeseen operating costs;- the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;- failure of securities analysts or industry analysts to initiate or maintain coverage of us, publish negative research or reports, changes in financial estimates or ratings by any securities analysts who follow us or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;- announcements by our significant customers of changes to their product offerings, business plans or strategies;- announcements by us or our competitors of significant technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;- changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in the data infrastructure or semiconductor industry;- timing and seasonality of the end-market demand;- cyclical fluctuations in the data infrastructure market and semiconductor industry;- price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole;- actual or anticipated developments in our business or our competitors' businesses or the competitive landscape generally;- new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws, or regulations applicable to our business;- changes in our management;- general economic and market conditions;- lawsuits threatened or filed against us; and - other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism or responses to these events. In addition, the market for technology stocks and the stock markets in general have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. Stock prices of many technology companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, shareholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The market price of our ordinary shares could decline as a result of substantial sales of our ordinary shares, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant shareholders, or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares. As of May 2, 2026, we had outstanding a total of 185.4 million ordinary shares. All of these shares are freely tradable in the public market without restriction, except for any shares held by one of our existing "affiliates," as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As of May 2, 2026, we also had outstanding options and restricted stock units covering 10.8 million of our ordinary shares. All of the ordinary shares that are issuable upon exercise of the outstanding options and restricted stock units have been registered for public resale under the Securities Act. The warrants and ordinary shares will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent such warrants and options are vested and exercised or such restricted stock units are settled, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws. Moreover, certain of our shareholders have rights, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or our shareholders.

As of May 2, 2026, our executive officers, directors and their affiliates, in the aggregate, beneficially owned approximately 9% of our outstanding ordinary shares. As a result, such persons, acting together, will have the ability to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our board of directors or shareholders for approval, including the appointment of our management, the election and removal of directors and approval of any significant transaction, as well as our management and business affairs. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us, or discouraging a potential acquiror from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our business, even if such a transaction would benefit other shareholders.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association include provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of us, modify our structure or cause us to engage in change of control transactions. These provisions include, among other things: - a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms;- the authorization of the issuance of "blank check" preferred shares that our board of directors could use to implement a shareholder rights plan;- restrictions on the ability of our shareholders to call meetings or make shareholder proposals;- our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a vote of shareholders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding ordinary shares or by a unanimous written consent;- shareholders are not permitted to increase the size of our board, fill vacancies on our board or remove directors without cause; and - the ability of our board of directors, without action by our shareholders, to issue 50,000,000 preferred shares and to issue additional ordinary shares that could have the effect of impeding the success of an attempt to acquire us or otherwise effect a change in control. These provisions could deter, delay or prevent a third party from acquiring control of us in a tender offer or similar transactions, even if such transaction would benefit our shareholders. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our ordinary shares if they are viewed as discouraging future takeover attempts.

If a United States person is treated as owning (directly, indirectly or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of our outstanding equity, such person may be treated as a "United States shareholder" with respect to each controlled foreign corporation, or CFC, in our group. Because our group includes a U.S. subsidiary, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries will be treated as CFCs (regardless of whether we are treated as a CFC). A United States shareholder of a CFC may be required to report annually and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of such CFC's "Subpart F income," "global intangible low-taxed income," and investments in U.S. property, regardless of whether we make any distributions to the United States shareholder. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a CFC generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder's U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We are not required to assist investors in determining whether we are or any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is treated as a CFC or whether any investor is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to us or our non-U.S. subsidiaries or furnish to any United States shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax paying obligations. The United States Internal Revenue Service has provided limited guidance on situations in which investors may rely on publicly available information to comply with their reporting and tax paying obligations with respect to foreign-controlled CFCs. A United States investor should consult its advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to an investment in our ordinary shares.