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Venture Global, Inc. Class A (VG) Risk Analysis

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Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning.

Venture Global, Inc. Class A disclosed 44 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Venture Global, Inc. Class A reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.

Risk Overview Q1, 2022

Risk Distribution

32% Finance & Corporate

20% Legal & Regulatory

18% Ability to Sell

11% Tech & Innovation

11% Production

7% Macro & Political

Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy

This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.

Risk Change Over Time

S&P500 Average

Sector Average

Risks removed

Risks added

Risks changed

Venture Global, Inc. Class A Risk Factors

New Risk (0)

Risk Changed (0)

Risk Removed (0)

No changes from previous report

The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.

The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.

Risk Highlights Q1, 2022

Main Risk Category

Finance & Corporate

With 14 Risks

Finance & Corporate

With 14 Risks

Number of Disclosed Risks

No changes from last report

S&P 500 Average: 31

No changes from last report

S&P 500 Average: 31

Recent Changes

0Risks added

0Risks removed

0Risks changed

Since Mar 2022

0Risks added

0Risks removed

0Risks changed

Since Mar 2022

Number of Risk Changed

No changes from last report

S&P 500 Average: 1

No changes from last report

S&P 500 Average: 1

See the risk highlights of Venture Global, Inc. Class A in the last period.

Risk Word Cloud

The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.

Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 44

Finance & Corporate

Total Risks: 14/44 (32%)Below Sector Average

Share Price & Shareholder Rights2 | 4.5%

Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1

Actions of activist stockholders could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert management's attention and resources, and have an adverse effect on our business.

We have been and may continue to be subject to proposals by stockholders urging us to take certain corporate actions. If activist stockholder activities continue, our business could be adversely affected because responding to proxy contests and reacting to other actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our operations, and divert the attention of management and our employees. For example, we may be required to retain the services of various professionals to advise us on activist stockholder matters, including legal, financial, and communications advisers, the costs of which may negatively impact our future financial results. This may be exploited by our competitors, cause concern to our current or potential customers, and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel. In addition, actions of activist shareholders may cause significant fluctuations in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.

Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the agreements governing our indebtedness contain provisions that could delay or discourage a takeover attempt, which could prevent the completion of a transaction in which our stockholders could receive a substantial premium over the then-current market price for their shares.

Certain provisions of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated By-laws may make it more difficult for, or have the effect of discouraging, a third party from acquiring control of us or changing our board of directors and management. These provisions permit our board of directors to issue additional shares of common stock and preferred stock and to establish the number of shares, series designation, voting powers if any, preferences, other special rights, qualifications, limitations or restrictions of any series of preferred stock; limit the ability of stockholders to amend our Restated Certificate of incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws, including supermajority requirements; allow only our board of directors, Chairman of the board of directors or Chief Executive Officer to call special meetings of our stockholders; eliminate the ability of stockholders to act by written consent; require advance notice for stockholder proposals and director nominations; and limit the removal of directors and the filling of director vacancies. Such provisions could have the effect of depriving stockholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices. Any delay or prevention of, or significant payments required to be made upon, a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors or management could deter potential acquirers or prevent the completion of a transaction in which our stockholders could receive a substantial premium over the then-current market price for their shares.

Accounting & Financial Operations2 | 4.5%

Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1

We have incurred cumulative losses since our inception and may not achieve consistent profitability in the future.

We incurred a net loss attributable to Vonage of $24,497 for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our accumulated deficit is $691,718 from our inception through December 31, 2021. Although we have achieved profitability in prior years and believe we will achieve consistent profitability in the future, we ultimately may not be successful. We believe that our ability to achieve consistent profitability will depend, among other factors, on our ability to continue to achieve and maintain substantive operational improvements and structural cost reductions while maintaining and growing our net revenues. In addition, certain of the costs of our business are not within our control and may increase. For example, we and other telecommunications providers are subject to regulatory termination charges imposed by regulatory authorities in countries to which customers make calls.

Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2

We may be unable to fully realize the benefits of our net operating loss, or NOL, carry forwards if an ownership change occurs.

If we were to experience a "change in ownership" under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, or Section 382, the NOL carryforward limitations under Section 382 would impose an annual limit on the amount of the future taxable income that may be offset by our NOL generated prior to the change in ownership. If a change in ownership were to occur, we may be unable to use a significant portion of our NOL to offset future taxable income. In general, a change in ownership occurs when, as of any testing date, there has been a cumulative change in the stock ownership of the corporation held by 5% stockholders of more than 50 percentage points over an applicable three-year period. For these purposes, a 5% stockholder is generally any person or group of persons that at any time during an applicable three-year period has owned 5% or more of our outstanding common stock. In addition, persons who own less than 5% of the outstanding common stock are grouped together as one or more "public group" 5% stockholders. Under Section 382, stock ownership would be determined under complex attribution rules and generally includes shares held directly, indirectly through intervening entities, and constructively by certain related parties and certain unrelated parties acting as a group. We have implemented a Tax Benefits Preservation Plan intended to provide a meaningful deterrent effect against acquisitions that could cause a change in ownership, however this is not a guarantee against such a change in ownership.

Debt & Financing6 | 13.6%

Debt & Financing - Risk 1

The debt agreements governing our financing contain restrictions that may limit our flexibility in operating our business or executing on our acquisition strategy.

On July 31, 2018, we entered into the 2018 Credit Facility consisting of a $100 million senior secured term loan and a $500 million revolving facility. The 2018 Credit Facility contains customary representations and warranties and affirmative covenants that limit our ability and/or the ability of certain of our subsidiaries to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants and other restrictions may under certain circumstances limit, but not necessarily preclude, our and certain of our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things: consolidate or merge; create liens; incur additional indebtedness; dispose of assets; consummate acquisitions; make investments; or pay dividends and other distributions. Under the 2018 Credit Facility, we are required to comply with financial covenants, including the following financial covenants: specified maximum consolidated leverage ratio; specified minimum consolidated fixed coverage charge ratio, minimum cash position and maximum capital expenditures. Our ability to comply with such financial and other covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, so we may not be able to comply with these covenants. A breach of any such covenant could result in a default under the 2018 Credit Facility. In that case, the lenders could elect to declare due and payable immediately all amounts due under the 2018 Credit Facility, including principal and accrued interest.

Debt & Financing - Risk 2

If we require additional capital, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on favorable terms or at all.

We may need to pursue additional financing to respond to new competitive pressures, pay extraordinary expenses such as litigation settlements or judgments or fund growth, including through acquisitions. Because of our past significant losses and our limited tangible assets, we do not fit traditional credit lending criteria, which, in particular, could make it difficult for us to obtain loans or to access the capital markets. In addition, the credit documentation for our recent financing contains affirmative and negative covenants that affect, and in many respects may significantly limit or prohibit, among other things, our and certain of our subsidiaries' ability to incur, refinance or modify indebtedness and create liens. Our credit card processors have the ability to impose significant holdbacks in certain circumstances. The reinstatement of such holdbacks likely would have a material adverse effect on our liquidity. Under our credit card processing agreements with our Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit card processors, the credit card processor has the right, in certain circumstances, including adverse events affecting our business, to impose a holdback of our advanced payments purchased using a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card, as applicable, or demand additional reserves or other security. If circumstances were to occur that would allow any of these processors to reinstate a holdback, the negative impact on our liquidity likely would be significant. In addition, our Visa and MasterCard credit card processing agreement may be terminated by the credit card processor at its discretion if we are deemed to be financially insecure. As a significant portion of payments to us are made through Visa and MasterCard credit cards, if the credit card processor does not assist in transitioning our business to another credit card processor, the negative impact on our liquidity likely would be significant. There were no cash reserves and cash-collateralized letters of credit with any credit card processors as of December 31, 2021.

Debt & Financing - Risk 3

We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of the convertible senior notes due 2024 in cash or to repurchase the notes upon a fundamental change, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of the notes.

Holders of our 1.75% convertible senior notes due 2024 (the "Convertible Senior Notes") have the right to require us to repurchase their Convertible Senior Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, upon conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Convertible Senior Notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of Convertible Senior Notes surrendered therefor or Convertible Senior Notes being converted. In addition, our ability to repurchase the Convertible Senior Notes or to pay cash upon conversions of the Convertible Senior Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase Convertible Senior Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture setting forth the terms of the Convertible Senior Notes or to pay any cash payable on future conversions of the Convertible Senior Notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the indenture setting forth the terms of the Convertible Senior Notes or the occurrence of the fundamental change itself may lead to a default under our 2018 Credit Facility or other agreements governing our future indebtedness. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Convertible Senior Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof. The increase in the conversion rate for Convertible Senior Notes converted in connection with a make-whole fundamental change or notice of redemption may not adequately compensate holders for any lost value of such holders' Convertible Senior Notes as a result of such transaction. If a make-whole fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date or if we issue a notice of redemption with respect to the Convertible Senior Notes, under certain circumstances, we will increase the conversion rate by a number of additional shares of our common stock for Convertible Senior Notes converted in connection with such make-whole fundamental change or notice of redemption, as the case may be. The increase in the conversion rate will be determined based on the date on which the specified corporate transaction becomes effective, or the date of the notice of redemption, as the case may be and the price paid (or deemed to be paid) per share of our common stock in such transaction or with respect to such redemption, as the case may be. The increase in the conversion rate for Convertible Senior Notes converted in connection with a make-whole fundamental change or notice of redemption may not adequately compensate holders for any lost value of such holders' Convertible Senior Notes as a result of such transaction or redemption. In addition, if the price per share of our common stock paid (or deemed paid) in the transaction is greater than $60.00 per share or less than $11.73 per share (in each case, subject to adjustment), no additional shares will be added to the conversion rate. Moreover, in no event will the conversion rate per $1,000 aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes as a result of this adjustment exceed 85.2514 shares of common stock, subject to adjustment in the same manner as the conversion rate. Our obligation to increase the conversion rate for Convertible Senior Notes converted in connection with a make-whole fundamental change or notice of redemption could be considered a penalty, in which case the enforceability thereof would be subject to general principles of reasonableness and equitable remedies.

Debt & Financing - Risk 4

The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Senior Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Senior Notes is triggered, holders of Convertible Senior Notes will be entitled to convert the Convertible Senior Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their Convertible Senior Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders of Convertible Senior Notes do not elect to convert their Convertible Senior Notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Convertible Senior Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.

Debt & Financing - Risk 5

Convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the Convertible Senior Notes, could have a material effect on our reported financial results.

Under certain circumstances, convertible debt instruments (such as the Convertible Senior Notes) that may be settled entirely or partly in cash may be accounted for utilizing the treasury stock method, the effect of which is that the shares issuable upon conversion of such Convertible Senior Notes are not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share except to the extent that the conversion value of such Convertible Senior Notes exceeds their principal amount. Under the treasury stock method, for diluted earnings per share purposes, the transaction is accounted for as if the number of shares of common stock that would be necessary to settle such excess, if we elected to settle such excess in shares, are issued. We cannot be sure that the accounting standards in the future will continue to permit the use of the treasury stock method. If we are unable or otherwise elect not to use the treasury stock method in accounting for the shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes, then our diluted earnings per share could be adversely affected.

Debt & Financing - Risk 6

The capped call transactions entered into in connection with the pricing of the Convertible Senior Notes may affect the value of the Convertible Senior Notes and our common stock.

In connection with the pricing of the Convertible Senior Notes and subsequently in connection with the exercise of the initial purchasers' exercise of their option to purchase additional Convertible Senior Notes, we entered into capped call transactions (the "Capped Calls") with certain option counterparties. The Capped Calls are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the aggregate principal amount of converted Convertible Senior Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap. In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the Convertible Senior Notes and prior to the maturity of the Convertible Senior Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the Convertible Senior Notes, which could affect holders' ability to convert the Convertible Senior Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of Convertible Senior Notes, it could affect the number of shares and value of the consideration that holders will receive upon conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes. In addition, if any such Capped Call fails to become effective, the option counterparty party thereto may unwind its hedge positions with respect to our common stock, which could adversely affect the value of our common stock and, if the Convertible Senior Notes have been issued, the value of the Convertible Senior Notes.

Corporate Activity and Growth4 | 9.1%

Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1

Our Vonage Communications Platform segment is growing rapidly, and any inability to scale our business and grow efficiently could materially and adversely harm our business and results of operations.

As our VCP segment expands, we will need to continue to improve our application architecture, integrate our products and applications across our technology platforms, integrate with third-party systems, and maintain infrastructure performance. We expect the number of users, the amount of data transferred and processed, the number of locations where our service is being used, and the volume of communications over our networks to continue to expand. To address this growth, we will need to scale our systems and customer services organization. Our ability to execute on these initiatives may impact system and network performance, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, sales and revenue. These efforts may also divert management resources. These factors may materially and adversely harm our business and results of operations.

Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2

We may face difficulties related to the acquisition or integration of businesses, which could harm our growth or operating results.

In August 2018, we acquired TokBox with the intention of integrating and adding video to our VCP offerings in voice, SMS, and IP messaging. In October 2018, we completed the acquisition of NewVoiceMedia as a contact center provider, with the intention of combining our UC, CC and API solutions to provide an end-to-end communications experience for a company's employees and customers. In August 2019, we acquired intellectual property assets from Over.ai in order to integrate conversational artificial intelligence into our VCP product offerings. In October 2021, we acquired Jumper.ai to integrate omnichannel conversational commerce solutions into our VCP product offerings. In addition, we have made several acquisitions over the past several years to build our business services and continue to periodically review acquisition opportunities. Acquisition and integration activities require substantial management time and resources. Acquisitions of existing businesses involve substantial risks, including the risk that we may not be able to integrate the operations, personnel, services, or technologies, the potential disruption of our ongoing businesses, the diversion of management attention, the maximization of financial and strategic opportunities, the difficulty in developing or maintaining controls and procedures, and the dilution to our existing stockholders from the issuance of additional shares of common stock. We may elect to acquire additional businesses or assets in the future. However, we cannot predict or guarantee that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or consummate any acquisition. As a result of these and other risks, we may not produce anticipated revenue, profitability, or synergies. Acquisitions may require us to issue debt or equity securities, use our cash resources, incur debt or contingent liabilities, amortize intangibles, or write-off acquisition-related expenses. If we are unable to successfully integrate any acquired businesses or assets we may not receive the intended benefits of such acquisition. In addition, we cannot predict market reactions to any acquisitions we may make or to any failure to announce any future acquisitions. Further, there may be risks or liabilities that such due diligence efforts fail to discover, are not disclosed to us, or that we inadequately assess. The discovery of material liabilities associated with acquisitions or joint venture opportunities, economic risks faced by joint venture partners, or any failure of joint venture partners to perform their obligations could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3

We may not fully realize the expected benefits of our business optimization plans or other cost-saving initiatives, which may negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Since the third quarter of 2020, the Company has been implementing a business optimization and alignment project to focus the use of Company resources and drive operational execution. The Company may pursue similar cost-saving initiatives in the future. We may not achieve the operational improvements and efficiencies that we have targeted in this project. Implementing any restructuring, optimization, or cost-savings plan presents significant potential risks that may impair our ability to achieve anticipated operating improvements and/or cost reductions. These risks include (but are not limited to) higher than anticipated costs in implementing these plans, management distraction from ongoing business activities, failure to maintain adequate controls and procedures while executing these plans, damage to our reputation, brand image, and workforce attrition beyond our planned reductions, and our ability to provide optimal service to our customers. Any of these risks could have a negative impact on our profitability and on our results of operations and financial condition.

Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 4

Our pending merger with Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) ("Ericsson") creates incremental business, regulatory and reputational risks and failure to close the merger could negatively impact the share price and the future business and financial results of the Company.

On November 22, 2021, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Ericsson and Ericsson Muon Holding Inc.. The proposed transaction with Ericsson entails important risks, including, among others: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement; the inability to complete the proposed merger due to the failure to satisfy conditions to completion of the proposed merger, including obtaining the requisite Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. clearance; risks related to disruption of management's attention from the Company's ongoing business operations due to the proposed merger; the risk that we will not be able to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel; the effect of the announcement of the proposed merger on the Company's relationships with its customers, operating results and business generally; the risk that litigation associated with the proposed merger affects the merger or the business otherwise; and the risk that the proposed merger will not be consummated in a timely manner.

Legal & Regulatory

Total Risks: 9/44 (20%)Above Sector Average

Regulation4 | 9.1%

Regulation - Risk 1

The regulatory framework for API services continues to develop, as many existing regulations may not fully contemplate this type of service or business model; future legislative, regulatory or judicial actions impacting API could adversely affect our business and financial results of operations, increase the cost and complexity of compliance, and expose us to liability.

In many countries where we offer API products, it is not clear how our APIs fit into the communications regulatory framework. The Company is also expanding into new regions, such as the Asia Pacific (including China), where regulations are unclear and subject to rapid change. Regulators could claim that our API products are subject to licensing and substantive communications regulatory requirements, could modify their regulations to explicitly expand the obligations to which our API products are subject, or could increase the level of scrutiny and enforcement they apply. Future legislative, judicial or other regulatory actions could have a negative effect on our business. If our API products become subject to additional rules and regulations applicable to technology or communications providers, we may incur significant litigation and compliance costs, or it may significantly impact our ability to compete. Moreover, the regulatory environment is constantly evolving and changes to the applicable regulations could impose additional compliance costs and require modifications to our technology operations. We may also experience interruptions or limitations on the delivery and use of our API products on our platform, or incur significant losses based on the timing of customer payments and any difficulty in collecting accounts receivable from our API customers. Any decreased use of our products and services or limitation on our ability to collect payments from our customers could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We may also have to restructure or discontinue certain of our service offerings, exit certain markets, or raise the price of our services in response to regulatory changes or actions, any of which could cause our services to be less attractive to customers. In addition, future regulatory developments could increase our cost or complexity of doing business, limit our growth, or impact our results of operations.

Regulation - Risk 2

Our VoIP services are subject to regulation in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, and in additional countries as we expand globally. Future legislative, regulatory or judicial actions could adversely affect our business and expose us to liability and limit our growth potential.

The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have applied some traditional telephone company regulations to VoIP and continue to evaluate how VoIP should be regulated, as are other countries as we expand globally. The effects of future regulatory developments are uncertain. At the federal level in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission has imposed certain telecommunications regulations on VoIP services including, but not limited to; requirements to provide E-911 service; communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act obligations; obligation to support Universal Service; customer Proprietary Network Information, or CPNI, requirements; disability access obligations; local Number Portability requirements; and consumer protection, including protection from unwanted telemarketing and other calls. As we expand globally, these types of regulations are likely to be similarly enacted and enforced by local regulatory authorities. In general, the focus of interconnected VoIP telecommunications regulation is at the federal level. On November 12, 2004, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling providing that our service is subject to federal regulation and preempted the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission from imposing certain of its regulations on us. While this ruling does not exempt us from all state oversight of our service, it effectively prevents state telecommunications regulators from imposing certain burdensome and inconsistent market entry requirements and certain other state utility rules and regulations on our service. Despite this, Vonage may be subject to state and local regulatory requirements including: payment of state and local E-911 fees; and State Universal Service support obligations. In Canada, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, regulates VOIP Service. In the UK, the Office of Communications, or OFCOM, regulates voice services. Other regulatory bodies in various jurisdictions regulate services Vonage offers its customers. These regulated services are similar to those regulated in the United States discussed above. Future legislative, judicial or other regulatory actions could have a negative effect on our business. If we become subject to the rules and regulations applicable to telecommunications providers in individual states or other foreign jurisdictions, we may incur significant litigation and compliance costs, and we may have to restructure our service offerings, exit certain markets, or raise the price of our services, any of which could cause our services to be less attractive to customers. In addition, future regulatory developments could increase our cost of doing business and limit our growth.

Regulation - Risk 3

Customer misuse of our API products in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act may cause us to face litigation risk.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 restricts telemarketing and the use of automatic SMS text messages without proper consent. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to the delivery of text messages are continuously evolving and developing. If we do not comply with these laws or regulations or if we become liable under these laws or regulations due to the failure of our customers to comply with these laws by obtaining proper consent, we could face liability.

Regulation - Risk 4

We may be exposed to liabilities under anti-corruption, export control and economic sanction regulations, and similar laws and regulations, and any determination that we violated any of these laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, the UK Bribery Act and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials, political parties, and/or private parties by persons and entities for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations, agreements with third parties, and make sales internationally. In addition, we plan to expand our international operations through potential joint ventures with local partners. Our international activities create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, consultants, partners, sales agents or distributors, even though these parties are not always subject to our control. It is our policy to prohibit these practices by our employees, consultants, partners, sales agents or distributors, however, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and our employees, consultants, partners, sales agents or distributors may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act or other laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. Our products and services may be subject to export control and economic sanctions regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations and various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Controls. Our products and services must be offered and sold in compliance with these laws and regulations. If we do not comply with these laws or regulations or if we become liable under these laws or regulations due to the failure of our customers to comply with these laws by obtaining proper consent, we could face liability. In addition, changes in our products or services, changes in applicable regulations, or change in the target of such regulations, could also result in decreased use of our products and services, or in our decreased ability to sell our products or provide our services to existing or prospective customers with international operations. Any decreased use of our products and services or limitation on our ability to export our products and provide our services could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Litigation & Legal Liabilities2 | 4.5%

Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1

Our API offerings may be subject to liability for historic and future sales, use and similar taxes, that may increase our costs or impact our product offerings.

In some United States tax jurisdictions in which we conduct operations, sales and use and telecommunications taxes could apply to our API products. Historically, we have not billed or collected these taxes from our API customers. It is possible that some tax jurisdictions may assert that such taxes are applicable to our API products, which could result in tax assessments, penalties and interest, and we may be required to collect such taxes on our API customers in the future. Such tax assessments, penalties and interest or future requirements may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. To the extent that we decide to collect such taxes from our API customers in the future, we may have some customers that question the incremental tax charges and some may seek to negotiate lower pricing from us, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2

Unfavorable litigation or governmental investigation results could require us to pay significant amounts or lead to onerous operating procedures.

We are subject from time to time to lawsuits both in the United States and in foreign countries, including claims and investigations relating to competition, intellectual property rights (including patents), employment and labor matters, personal injury and property damage, customer privacy, regulatory requirements, advertising, marketing and selling practices, and credit and collection issues. Greater constraints on the use of arbitration to resolve certain of these disputes could adversely affect our business. We also spend substantial resources complying with various regulatory and government standards, including any related investigations and litigation. We may incur significant expenses defending any such suit or government investigation and may be required to pay amounts or otherwise change our operations in ways that could adversely impact our businesses, results of operations or financial condition.

Taxation & Government Incentives2 | 4.5%

Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1

The global scope of our operations may subject us to potentially adverse tax consequences.

We generally report our taxable income in various jurisdictions worldwide based upon our business operations in those jurisdictions. Intercompany relationships are subject to complex transfer pricing regulations in various jurisdictions. If revenue and taxing authorities disagree with positions we have taken we could be required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties, which could result in one-time tax charges, higher effective tax rates, reduced cash flows and lower overall profitability of our operations. In addition, changes in tax laws of countries in which we do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could increase our liabilities for taxes, interest and penalties, and therefore could harm our business, cash flows, results of operations and financial position.

Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2

Our VoIP services are subject to country-specific governmental regulation and related actions and taxes that may increase our costs or impact our product offerings.

In many countries, we are not a regulated telecommunications business subject primarily to regulations surrounding provision of emergency services and payment into universal service type funds. In some countries, providing VoIP services is or may be illegal. We may need to change our service offerings to avoid regulation as a telecommunications business in a jurisdiction, or if we are treated as a fully regulated telecommunications business, we may be required to incur additional expenses. In addition, if governments believe that we are providing unauthorized service in their countries, they may pursue fines, penalties, or other governmental action, including criminal action, that may damage our brand and reputation. If we use a local partner to provide services in a country and the local partner does not comply with applicable governmental regulations, we may face additional regulation, liabilities, penalties or other governmental action, and our brand and reputation may be harmed. In addition to the risk of being directly subjected to regulation, decisions by foreign regulators to increase the charge for terminating international calls into their countries could cause increased costs, impact margin, and impact churn. These regulatory actions may be taken without notice and cause us to react quickly to changing market conditions. These efforts could divert management's efforts and attention from ordinary business operations which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. As a United States-based company, any foreign subsidiary or joint venture that we use for international operations may be subject to a variety of governmental regulations in the countries where we market our products, including tariffs, taxes and employment regulations different from those in the U.S. For example, distributions of earnings and other payments, including interest, received from our foreign subsidiaries may be subject to withholding taxes imposed by the jurisdiction in which such entities are formed or operating, which will reduce the amount of after-tax cash we can receive. In general, as a United States corporation, we may claim a foreign tax credit against our federal income tax expense for such foreign withholding taxes and for foreign income taxes paid directly by foreign corporate entities in which we own 10% or more of the voting stock. The ability to claim such foreign tax credits and to utilize net foreign losses is, however, subject to numerous limitations, and we may incur incremental tax costs as a result of these limitations or because we are not currently in a tax-paying position in the United States. We may also be required to include in our income for United States federal income tax purposes our proportionate share of certain earnings of those foreign subsidiaries that are classified as "controlled foreign corporations" without regard to whether distributions have been actually received from such subsidiaries.

Environmental / Social1 | 2.3%

Environmental / Social - Risk 1

The storage, processing, and use of personal information and other confidential information subjects us to evolving governmental laws and regulation, commercial standards, contractual obligations, and other legal obligations related to consumer and data privacy, which may have a material impact on our costs, use of our products and services, or expose us to increased liability.

Federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, commercial commitments and industry standards, each provide for obligations and restrictions with respect to data privacy and security, as well as the collection, storage, retention, use, processing, transmission, sharing, disclosure and protection of personal information and other customer data. The evolving nature of these obligations and restrictions dictates that differing interpretations, inconsistency or conflicts among countries or rules, and general uncertainty impact the application to our business. These new laws, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), also impact our innovation and business drivers in developing new and emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and machine learning). These obligations and restrictions may limit our ability to collect, store, retain, process, use, transmit and share data with our customers, employees, and third party providers, which in turn could limit the ability of our customers to collect, store, retain, protect, use, process, transmit, share and disclose data with others through our products and services. Compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such obligations and restrictions could increase the cost of our operations and impact our ability to market our products and services through effective segmentation. Failure to comply with obligations and restrictions related to applicable data protection laws, regulations, standards, and codes of conduct, as well as our own posted privacy policies and contractual commitments could subject us to lawsuits, fines, criminal penalties, statutory damages, consent decrees, injunctions, adverse publicity, loss of user confidence in our services, and loss of users, which could materially harm our business. Additionally, third-party contractors may have access to customer or employee data. If these or other third-party vendors violate obligations and restrictions related to applicable data protection laws or our policies, such violations may also put our customers' or employees' information at risk and could in turn have a material and adverse effect on our business.

Ability to Sell

Total Risks: 8/44 (18%)Above Sector Average

Competition2 | 4.5%

Competition - Risk 1

As the cloud communications services market evolves, and the convergence of voice, video, messaging, mobility, artificial intelligence and data networking technologies accelerates, we may face competition in the future from companies that do not currently compete in the cloud communications services market.

As the cloud communications services market evolves, combining voice, video, messaging, mobility, artificial intelligence and data networks, and information technology and communication applications, opportunity is created for new competitors to enter the cloud communications services market and offer competing products, including companies that currently compete in other sectors, companies that serve consumer rather than business customers, or companies which expand their market presence to include business communications. This new competition may take many forms, and may offer products and applications similar to ours. If these new competitors emerge, the cloud communications services market may become increasingly competitive and we may not be able to maintain or improve our market position. Our failure to do so could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Competition - Risk 2

If we are unable to compete successfully, we could lose market share and revenue.

The business cloud communications markets and consumer services markets in which we participate are highly competitive. We face intense competition from a broad set of companies, including: software as a service companies, contact center as a service companies, other alternative communication providers, and other providers of cloud communications services; and traditional telephone, wireless service providers, cable companies and alternative communications providers with consumer offerings Many of these providers are substantially larger and better capitalized than us and have the advantage of greater name and brand name recognition, and have a large existing customer base. These service providers may have the ability to devote greater resources to their communications services and may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities. Our competitors' financial resources may allow them to offer services at prices below cost or even for free in order to maintain and gain market share or otherwise improve their competitive positions. Some of our competitors also could use their greater financial resources to develop and market services with more attractive features and more robust customer service. To the extent that these or other companies strengthen their offerings, we may have to reduce our prices, increase promotions, or offer additional features, which may adversely impact our revenues and profitability.

Demand2 | 4.5%

Demand - Risk 1

The market for our API products and platform is relatively nascent and may not experience the growth that we anticipate.

The utilization of APIs to embed contextual, programmable real time communications into mobile apps, websites and business systems workflows, remains a relatively new market, and developers and organizations may not yet recognize the need for, or benefits of, our products and platform. It is important that we are able to educate developers, organizational leaders, and other potential customers regarding our products and platform in order to help grow the market and to realize our market share. If we fail to achieve the foregoing, the market for our products and platform or our share of that market could fail to grow significantly. If the API market, or our share of that market, does not experience significant growth, then our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Demand - Risk 2

If we fail to adapt to rapid changes in the market for cloud communications services, then our products and services could become obsolete.

The market for our products and services is constantly and rapidly evolving as we and our competitors introduce new and enhanced products and services and react to changes in the cloud communications services industry and customer demands. We may not be able to develop or acquire new products and plans or product and plan enhancements that compete effectively with present or emerging cloud communications services technologies or differentiate our products and plans based on functionality and performance. In addition, we may not be able to establish or maintain strategic alliances that will permit enhancement opportunities or innovative distribution methods for our products and plans. To address these issues, we are targeting revenue growth in large, existing markets, which require us to enhance our current products and plans, and develop new products and plans on a timely basis to keep pace with market needs and satisfy the increasingly sophisticated requirements of customers. If we are unable to attract users of these services our net revenues may fail to grow as we expect. Cloud communications services are complex, and new products and plans and enhancements to existing products and plans can require long development and testing periods. Any delays in developing and releasing new or enhanced products and plans could cause us to lose revenue opportunities and customers. Any technical flaws in products we release could diminish the innovative impact of the products and have a negative effect on customer adoption and our reputation. We also are subject to the risk of future disruptive technologies. New products based on new technologies or new industry standards could render our existing products obsolete and unmarketable. If new technologies develop that are able to deliver competing voice and messaging services at lower prices, better or more conveniently, it could have a material adverse effect on us.

Sales & Marketing3 | 6.8%

Sales & Marketing - Risk 1

If we are unsuccessful at retaining customers or attracting new customers, we may experience a reduction in revenue or may be required to spend more money or alter our marketing approaches to grow our customer base.

Our rate of customer terminations for our UC and CC services could increase in the future if customers are not satisfied with the quality and reliability of our network, the value proposition of our products, and the ability of our customer service to meet the needs and expectations of our customers. For our API customers, our ability to grow revenue depends, in part, on our ability to maintain and grow usage of our platform by new and existing customers. If we are not able to increase customer usage of our products, our revenue may decline which would adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our API customers are charged based on their usage of our products and generally our customers do not have long-term contractual financial commitments to us, therefore, usage rates may fluctuate at any time. In addition, our agreements with business customers typically provide for service level commitments. If we are unable to meet these commitments or if we suffer extended periods of downtime for our products or platform, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Our ability to attract and retain customers for our consumer services are impacted by our pricing, brand awareness, customer service, network and system reliability and service features and capabilities. A material decline in the usage of our business and consumer products could cause us to spend significantly more on sales and marketing than we currently budget in order to maintain or increase revenue from customers, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Sales & Marketing - Risk 2

Sales of our UC and CC business services to medium-sized and enterprise customers involve significant risks which, if not managed effectively, could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

As we continue to expand our sales efforts to medium-sized and larger businesses, we may incur higher selling expense and longer, more complex, sales cycles. Customers in this market segment may also require bespoke features and integration services, increasing the complexity and expense related to the sales and delivery process, and requiring highly skilled sales and support personnel. As a result, we may devote greater sales and support to these customers, which may result in increased costs and a strain on our support resources. In addition, the rollout of our products with medium-sized and enterprise customers can take longer periods of time compared to smaller customers, which can result in longer lead times in realizing revenues. These factors could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and our overall ability to grow our customer base.

Sales & Marketing - Risk 3

Third parties may be capable of fraudulently using our name to obtain access to customer accounts and other personal information, use our services to commit fraud or steal our services or equipment, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth, and cause us to incur additional expenses.

Our customers have been subject to "phishing," which occurs when a third party calls or sends an email or pop-up message to a customer that claims to be from a business or organization that provides services to the customer. The purpose of the inquiry is typically to encourage the customer to visit a bogus website designed to look like a website operated by the legitimate business or organization or provide information to the operator. At the bogus website, the operator attempts to trick the customer into divulging customer account or other personal information such as credit card information or to introduce viruses through "Trojan horse" programs to the customers' computers. This has resulted in identity theft from our customers and the unauthorized use of Vonage services. Third parties have also used our communications services to commit fraud. Although we have engaged a third party to assist in the shutdown of purported phishing sites, if we are unable to detect and prevent "phishing," use of our services for fraud, and similar activities, our brand reputation and growth may suffer and we may incur additional costs, including costs to increase security, or be required to credit significant amounts to customers. Third parties also have used our communications services and obtained delivery of our equipment without paying, including by submitting fraudulent credit card information. This has resulted in our incurring the cost of providing the services, including incurring call termination fees, or providing the equipment without any corresponding revenues. We have implemented anti-fraud procedures in order to limit the expenses resulting from theft of service or equipment. If our procedures are not effective, theft of service or equipment could significantly increase our expenses and negatively impact our profitability.

Brand / Reputation1 | 2.3%

Brand / Reputation - Risk 1

Growth of our business will depend on market awareness and a strong brand, and any failure to develop, maintain, protect and enhance our brand would hurt our ability to retain or attract subscribers.

Beginning in 2020, we introduced a rebranding of the Company and began implementing a new marketing campaign. Building and maintaining market awareness, brand recognition and goodwill in a cost-effective manner is important to our overall success in achieving widespread acceptance of our existing and future solutions and products and is an important element in attracting new customers. While we may choose to engage in a broader marketing campaign to further promote our brand, this effort may not be successful, or our marketing techniques or content may be challenged. The success of our business also relies on our ability to attract new customers in a cost-effective manner by using a variety of marketing channels. Our efforts in developing our brand may be hindered by the marketing efforts of our competitors and our reliance on any strategic partners to promote our brand. If we are unable to cost-effectively maintain and increase awareness of our brand, our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations could be harmed.

Tech & Innovation

Total Risks: 5/44 (11%)Below Sector Average

Innovation / R&D1 | 2.3%

Innovation / R&D - Risk 1

Our success in the cloud communications market for our business services depends in part on developing and maintaining effective distribution channels. The failure to develop and maintain these channels could materially and adversely affect our business.

A portion of our business revenue is generated through our direct sales, or "field sales," team. This channel consists of sales agents that market and sell our business services products to customers to customers through direct, commonly face-to-face interaction. Our continued success requires that we continue developing and maintaining a successful sales organization. If we fail to do so, or if our sales agents are not successful in their sales efforts, our sales may decrease and our operating results would suffer. A portion of our business revenue is generated through indirect channel sales. These channels consist of third-party resellers and value-added distributors that market and sell our business services products to customers. These channels may generate an increasing portion of our business revenue in the future. Generally, we do not have long-term contracts with these third-party resellers and value-added distributors, and the loss of or reduction in sales through these third parties could materially reduce our revenues. We also compete for preference amongst our current or potential resellers with our competitors. Our continued success requires that we continue developing and maintaining successful relationships with these third-party resellers and value-added distributors. If we fail to do so, or if our resellers are not successful in their sales efforts, our sales may decrease and our operating results would suffer.

Trade Secrets2 | 4.5%

Trade Secrets - Risk 1

If we fail to protect unique aspects of our internally developed systems, technology, products, and software and our trademarks, we may become involved in costly litigation or our business or brand may be harmed.

Our ability to compete effectively is dependent in large part upon the maintenance and protection of systems and software that we have developed internally based on open standards. While we own over 250 U.S. patents as well as a number of foreign patents and pending U.S. and foreign patent applications, we cannot patent much of the technology that is important to our business. Our pending patent applications may not be granted. Any issued patent that we own may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated, or circumvented. To date, we have relied on patent, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements, to establish and protect our rights to this technology. We typically enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, customers, partners, and vendors in an effort to control access to and distribution of technology, software, documentation, and other information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use this technology without authorization. Policing unauthorized use of this technology is difficult. The steps we take may not prevent misappropriation of the technology we rely on. In addition, effective protection may be unavailable or limited in some jurisdictions outside the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or protect our rights or to determine the validity and scope of the rights of others. That litigation could cause us to incur substantial costs and divert resources away from our daily business, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business.

Trade Secrets - Risk 2

We may be subject to damaging and disruptive intellectual property disputes that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as the continued viability of our company.

There has been substantial litigation in the cloud communications, VoIP, telecommunications, hosted services, and related industries regarding intellectual property rights and, given the rapid technological change in our industry, expansion into new technological and geographical markets, and our continual development of new products and services, we and/or our commercial partners may be subject to infringement claims from time to time. For example, we may be unaware of filed patent applications and issued patents that could include claims that might be interpreted to cover our products and services. We have been subject to patent infringement claims in the past, and from time to time we receive letters from third parties offering an opportunity for us to obtain licenses to patents that may be relevant to our business or alleging that our services infringe upon third party patents or other intellectual property. We may seek to obtain rights to third party technology in the future, but may not be able to agree upon commercially reasonable terms or at all with respect to obtaining such rights. If we are unable to extend existing licenses or are unable to obtain rights to other technology that may be commercially advantageous or necessary for our product and service offerings, we may experience a decrease in the quality of our products or services or we may lose the ability to provide our products and services on a non-infringing basis until alternative technology or suitable alternative products and services can be developed, identified, obtained either through acquisition, license or other grants of rights, and integrated.

Cyber Security1 | 2.3%

Cyber Security - Risk 1

Security breaches and other cybersecurity or technological risks could compromise our information systems and network and expose us to liability, which could cause our business and reputation to suffer and which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

There are several inherent risks to engaging in a technology business, including our reliance on our data centers and networks, and the use and interconnectivity of those networks. A significant portion of our operations relies heavily on our ability to provide secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data centers and on our networks. The secure processing, storage, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. As seen in our industry and others, these activities have been, and will continue to be, subject to continually evolving cybersecurity and other technological risks. Targeted attacks, such as advanced persistent threat is prevalent throughout the Internet and associated with the theft of intellectual property and state-sponsored espionage. Due to the nature of our business and reliance on the Internet, we are susceptible to this type of attack. In addition, physical security of devices located within our offices, and/or remote devices, pose cybersecurity and other technological risks that could negatively impact our business and reputation. We also operate Internet based, worldwide data, voice, video communications, and messaging services and electronic billing, which require the transmission of confidential and at times personal or sensitive customer or employee information over public networks that may or may not support end to end security. Despite our security measures, which include the development, operation and maintenance of systems and processes that are designed to protect consumer and employee information and prevent fraudulent credit card transactions and other security breaches, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to error, malfeasance or other disruptions by a current or former employee or third-party provider and our failure to mitigate such fraud or breaches may adversely affect our operating results. Any such breach could compromise our systems and network and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, disruption to our operations, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in our products and services, as well as our ability to keep personally identifiable information confidential, which could adversely affect our business. We have been subject to cybersecurity incidents from external sources including "brute force" and distributed denial of service attacks, as well as attacks that introduce fraudulent VoIP traffic. Although these incidents have not had a material adverse effect financially or on our ability to provide services, this may not continue to be the case going forward. There can be no assurance that cybersecurity incidents will not occur in the future, potentially more frequently and/or on a more significant scale. There can be no assurance that we are adequately protecting our information or that we will not experience future incidents. The expenses associated with protecting our information could reduce our operating margins. We maintain insurance intended to cover some of these risks, however, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses from any future breaches of our systems. In addition, third parties with which we do business may also be sources of cybersecurity or other technological risks. We outsource certain functions, which results in the storage and processing of customer information by third parties. While we engage in certain actions to reduce the exposure resulting from outsourcing, unauthorized access, loss or destruction of data or other cybersecurity incidents could occur, resulting in similar costs and consequences as those discussed above.

Technology1 | 2.3%

Technology - Risk 1

Flaws in our technology and systems or our failure to adapt our systems to any new Internet Protocol could cause delays or interruptions of service, which could damage our reputation, cause us to lose customers, and limit our growth.

Our service may be disrupted by problems with our technology and systems that we provide to customers, software or facilities and overloading of our network. As we attract new customers, we expect increased call volume that we need to manage to avoid network interruptions. Interruptions have caused and may in the future cause us to lose customers and offer substantial customer credits, which could adversely affect our revenue and profitability. Network interruptions have also impaired our ability at times to sign-up new customers and the ability of customers to manage their accounts. If service interruptions or other outages adversely affect the perceived reliability of our service or customer service, we may have difficulty attracting and retaining customers and our brand reputation and growth may suffer.

Production

Total Risks: 5/44 (11%)Below Sector Average

Employment / Personnel1 | 2.3%

Employment / Personnel - Risk 1

We depend on the continued services of our senior management and other key employees, the loss of any of whom could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our future performance depends on the continued services and contributions of our senior management and other key employees to execute on our business plan, and to identify and pursue opportunities and services innovations. The loss of services of senior management or other key employees could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our development and strategic objectives. None of our executive officers or other senior management personnel is bound by a written employment agreement and any of them may therefore terminate employment with us at any time with no advance notice. The replacement of any of these senior management personnel would likely involve significant time and costs, and such loss could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and acquisition integrations. The loss of the services of our senior management or other key employees for any reason could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Supply Chain4 | 9.1%

Supply Chain - Risk 1

We rely on third parties to provide a portion of our customer service representatives, provide aspects of our E-911 service, which differs from traditional 911 service, and initiate local number portability for our customers. If these third parties do not provide our customers with reliable, high-quality service, our reputation will be harmed and we may lose customers.

We offer our customers support 24 hours a day, seven days a week through both our comprehensive online account management website and our toll free number. Our customer support is currently provided via United States based employees as well as third party partners located in various global locations. Our third-party providers generally represent us without identifying themselves as independent parties. The ability to support our customers may be disrupted by natural disasters, inclement weather conditions, civil unrest, and other adverse events in the locations where our customer support is provided. We also contract for services required to provide E-911 services including assistance in routing emergency calls, terminating E-911 calls, operating a national call center that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive certain emergency calls, and maintaining PSAP databases for the purpose of deploying and operating E-911 services. Interruptions in service from our vendor could cause failures in our customers' access to E-911 services and expose us to liability and damage our reputation. We also have agreements with companies that initiate our local number portability, which allow new customers to retain their existing telephone numbers when subscribing to our services. If any of these third parties do not provide reliable, high-quality service, our reputation and our business will be harmed. In addition, industry consolidation among providers of services to us may impact our ability to obtain these services or increase our expense for these services.

Supply Chain - Risk 2

We depend on third-party vendors to supply, configure and deliver the phones that we sell. Any delays in delivery, or failure to operate effectively with our own servers and systems, may result in delay or failure of our services, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on Yealink Inc. and Polycom, Inc. to provide, and a single fulfillment agent to configure and deliver, the phones that we offer for sale to our customers that use our UC and CC services. If these third parties are unable to deliver phones of acceptable quality or quantity, or in a timely manner, we may be forced to offer replacements at a higher cost than what is currently contracted. In addition, these phones must interoperate with our servers and systems. If either of our providers changes the operation of their phones, we may be required to engage in development efforts to ensure that the new phones interoperate with our system. The failure of our vendor-supplied phones to operate effectively with our system could impact our customers' ability to use our services and could cause customers to cancel our services, which may cause material harm to our business or results of operations.

Supply Chain - Risk 3

We rely on third-party vendors that may be difficult to replace or may not perform adequately.

It is vital to our customers that there be a minimum of disruption to the performance of our API, UC and CC services. We are therefore vulnerable to service interruptions of our third-party data center providers, such as IBM Softlayer and Amazon Web Services, or AWS; and of third-party hosted services. We also rely on third-party vendors that support our internal operations, including Genpact, which provides certain accounting transaction-processing activities. We may experience interruptions, delays and outages in third-party service and availability due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions and capacity constraints caused by technical failures, natural disasters, fraud or security attacks. To the extent that we do not effectively address interruptions, delays and outages in our data center providers' and other hosted providers' service and availability or capacity constraints, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. In some cases we rely on purchased or leased hardware and software licensed from third parties in order to provide our services. For example, Broadsoft, Inc. provides us with infrastructure, call termination and origination services, and other hardware and software in connection with certain of our Enterprise offerings. We also integrate third-party licensed software components into our platform. This hardware and software may not continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or pricing or may fail to continue to be updated to remain competitive. The loss of the right to use this third party hardware or software may increase our expenses or impact the provisioning of our services. The failure of this third party hardware or software could materially impact the performance of our services and may cause material harm to our business or results of operations.

Supply Chain - Risk 4

Our ability to provide our telephony service and manage related customer accounts is dependent upon third-party facilities, equipment, and systems, the failure of which could cause delays of or interruptions to our service, damage our reputation, cause us to lose customers, limit our growth, and affect our financial condition.

Our success depends on our ability to provide quality and reliable telephony service, which is in part dependent upon the proper functioning of facilities and equipment owned and operated by third parties and is, therefore, beyond our control. Unlike traditional wireline telephone service or wireless service, our telephony service typically requires our customers to have an operative broadband Internet connection and an electrical power supply, which are provided by the customer's Internet service provider and electric utility company, respectively, and not by us. The quality of some broadband Internet connections may be too poor for customers to use our telephony services properly. In addition, if there is any interruption to a customer's broadband Internet service or electrical power supply, that customer will be unable to make or receive calls, including emergency calls, using our telephony service. We outsource several of our network functions to third-party providers. For example, we outsource the maintenance of our regional data connection points, which are the facilities at which our network interconnects with the public switched telephone network. If our third-party service providers fail to maintain these facilities properly, or fail to respond quickly to problems, our customers may experience service interruptions. Interruptions in our service caused by third-party facilities have in the past caused and may in the future cause us to lose customers or cause us to offer substantial customer credits, which could adversely affect our revenue and profitability. If interruptions adversely affect the perceived reliability of our service, we may have difficulty attracting new customers, and our brand, reputation, and growth will be negatively impacted. There can be no guarantee that these third party providers will be able or willing to supply services to us in the future on commercially reasonable terms, or that we will be able to engage alternative or additional providers. Our ability to provide our services may be impacted during any transition, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Macro & Political

Total Risks: 3/44 (7%)Below Sector Average

Economy & Political Environment1 | 2.3%

Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1

We market our products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, which may be disproportionately impacted by fluctuations in economic conditions.

We market our products to small and medium-sized businesses. Customers in this market may be affected by economic downturns to a greater extent, and may have more limited financial resources, than larger or more established businesses. If customers in our VCP markets experience financial hardship as a result of a weak economy, the demand for our services could be materially and adversely affected.

Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 2.3%

Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1

The recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the global attempt to contain it has impacted and may continue to impact our business and results of operations.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the various measures to contain its effects have created significant volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption worldwide. COVID-19 has impacted some of our customers more than others, including customers in the travel, hospitality, retail, and other industries where physical interaction is critical. We have experienced and expect that we will continue to experience slowdowns in bookings and customer payments; increased customer churn and reduced usage; and issuance of customer credits to distressed customers served by certain product lines, including SMS API, Vonage Business Cloud, and Vonage Business Enterprise. Moreover, as businesses and educational institutions have pivoted to cloud-based communications in light of social distancing, we are experiencing and expect to experience intense competition from our existing competitors, and also emerging competitors seeking to capitalize on the growing industry. In addition to COVID-19, our operations, and the operations of our vendors and customers, may also suffer interruptions caused by other pandemic diseases, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, acts of war, military conflict (including escalating military tension between Russia and Ukraine), economic sanctions, and such operations may be further affected by government reactions due to such incidents. Such uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on the continuity of our business and our results of operations and financial condition.

Capital Markets1 | 2.3%

Capital Markets - Risk 1

Significant foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our financial results.

Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies in which we transact business could materially adversely affect our financial results. For example, our API business collects revenues in Euros, and accordingly the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro adversely affects our revenue and operating results presented in U.S. dollars. In addition, Following the departure of the U.K. from the EU and the EEA on January 31, 2020 (commonly referred to as "Brexit") and the expiration of a transition period on December 31, 2020, there continues to be uncertainty over the practical consequences of Brexit including the potential for Brexit to contribute to long-term instability in financial, stock and currency exchange markets, greater restrictions on the supply and availability of goods and services between the U.K. and EEA region, and a general deterioration in consumer sentiment and credit conditions leading to overall negative economic growth and increased risk of merchant default. Brexit has continued to cause significant volatility in global stock markets and currency exchange rate fluctuations that resulted in the fluctuation of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies in which we conduct business, such as the British Pound, Euro and other currencies. Such fluctuations of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies may adversely affect our revenue and operating results. In addition, Brexit may affect our ability to negotiate future customer and vendor contracts, and changes to U.K. border and immigration policy could likewise occur as a result of Brexit, affecting our U.K. operation's ability to recruit and retain employees from outside the U.K.

See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.

FAQ

What are “Risk Factors”?

Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.

They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.

It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.

How do companies disclose their risk factors?

Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.

Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.

Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.

According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.

How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?

Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.

You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.

Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.

A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.

What are all the risk factor categories?

TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.

1. Financial & Corporate

Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.

2. Legal & Regulatory

Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.

3. Production

Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.

4. Technology & Innovation

Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.

5. Ability to Sell

Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.

6. Macro & Political

Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.