AGCO CORP /DE 10-Q

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS The following disclosure supplements and updates the discussion of certain risks and uncertainties previously disclosed in Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 . These risks and uncertainties, along with those previously disclosed, could materially adversely affect our business or financial results. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impact our business, financial condition or financial results. Our business will be adversely impacted if the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread widely or otherwise impacts our manufacturing and supply chain or demand for our products. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and we expect may continue to, negatively impact our business, and further impacts will depend on future developments, which are unpredictable. The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant volatility in the global economy and has led to substantially reduced economic activity, employment disruptions, supply chain constraints and delays, and declines in consumer demand. The duration of the pandemic is also unknown. Measures taken by governments around the world, as well as businesses, including us, and the general public in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 will continue to negatively impact our business and overall financial condition, including but not limited to the following: • Our industry may experience a further decline in global market demand, thus reducing sales of our products. • The COVID-19 pandemic is projected to have minimal impact on global crop production. Most farm operations, which generally have been deemed essential, are working to relatively normal levels. However, the consumption of grain for food, fuel (including ethanol) and livestock feed is being negatively impacted by economic constraints caused by the pandemic. As a result, grain inventories are expected to increase in 2020, and soft commodity prices are trending significantly lower. In addition, protein processing has been severely constrained, which pressure protein producers. Future market demand for agricultural equipment will be influenced by, among other things, net cash farm income, farm land values, weather conditions, the demand for agricultural commodities, commodity prices and general economic conditions, and the decrease in market demand because of these factors could negatively impact our results of operations and overall financial condition. • Deteriorating economic and political conditions, such as increased unemployment, economic slowdown or recessions, could cause further decrease in sales of our products. • We may experience adverse fluctuations in foreign currency rates, particularly an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar against key market foreign currencies, which could negatively impact our sales. • Governmental guidance, directives or regulations around the world could result in factory shutdowns and reduced production related to factory shutdowns or higher absentee rates. Additional operating costs due to the adherence of cleaning requirements and social distancing guidelines may also occur. • Our factories are dependent upon parts and components manufactured by others, and to the extent that our suppliers are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it will reduce the availability, or result in delays, of parts and components to us, which in turn could interrupt our ability to produce and sell completed products. • Freight channels may be disrupted due to additional safety requirements imposed by port authorities and/or capacity constraints experienced by our freight carriers. As a result, we may also incur increased logistics costs. • Declines in equity markets and the valuation of assets may negatively affect our pension plan assets, and, if this continues, we likely will incur increased pension expenses and funding requirements related to the fair value of our pension plan assets. • Although we currently believe we have sufficient available funding to support our business, and we have not experienced a significant increase in borrowing costs, the severity and length of the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant negative impacts to our financial condition. This, in turn, could affect our credit ratings and borrowing costs. • We have severely limited travel by our employees and have taken measures to ensure the health and safety of our employees at our factories. These measures include employee health screening, using personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning and sanitation efforts, reworking factory layouts and staggering production schedules to conform with social distancing recommendations. We also have transitioned most non-factory workforce to work-at-home arrangements. These measures may not be sufficient to prevent adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 46 Table of Contents • While we have initiated several cost-saving and capital deployment measures and strategies to monitor and manage our cash flows and operating expenses, these measures may not be sufficient to prevent adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. • We may be required to record significant impairment charges with respect to certain noncurrent assets such as goodwill and other intangible assets and equity method investments, whose fair values may be negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also may be required to write-down inventory that is deemed obsolete due to decreased sales. • If economic conditions continue to deteriorate, we may experience slower collections and larger write-offs of accounts receivable. Our customers and dealers may request payment deferrals or contract modifications. In addition, our finance joint ventures also may experience slower collections and greater write-offs of accounts receivable, which would result in reduced earnings, if not losses, for us from our investments in the retail joint ventures. • Government authorities in the U.S. and throughout the world may increase or impose new income or indirect taxes, or revise interpretations of existing tax regulations, as a means of financing the costs of stimulus and other measures taken, or that might be enacted and taken in the future, to protect populations and economies from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such actions could have a negative impact on our results of operations. • It is unclear when an economic recovery will occur and both the speed and extent of that recovery. The failure of any recovery to return the agricultural equipment economy to its pre-OVID-19 level could adversely affect our results of operations and financial position.