FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS INC 10-Q

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS There were no material changes during the first nine months of fiscal 2020 to the risk factors identified in the Company’s fiscal 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as noted below. The current COVID-19 pandemic and other global public health epidemics may adversely impact our business, our future results of operations and our overall financial performance. Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the risk, or the public perception of risk, related to a pandemic or widespread health crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. A significant outbreak, epidemic or pandemic of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis adversely affecting the broader economies, financial markets and overall demand for our products. In addition, any preventative or protective actions that governments implement or that we take in respect of a global health crisis such as COVID-19, such as travel restrictions, quarantines or site closures, may interfere with the ability of our employees, vendors, and data suppliers to perform their respective responsibilities and obligations relative to the conduct of our business, including our ability to gather content. Such results could have a material adverse effect on our operations, business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. Our operations have been affected by a range of external factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are not within our control. For example, many jurisdictions have imposed a wide range of restrictions on the physical movement of our employees and vendors to limit the spread of COVID-19. If the COVID-19 pandemic has a substantial impact on our employees' or vendors' attendance or productivity, our operations, including our ability to gather content, may suffer, and in turn our results of operations and overall financial performance may be impacted. Furthermore, if our employees incur substantial medical expenses due to COVID-19, our expenses may increase due to our self-funded employee medical insurance model. Our management is focused on mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on our business, which has required and will continue to require a substantial investment of their time and may delay their other efforts. The impact of COVID-19, and the volatile regional and global economic conditions stemming from the pandemic, may also increase the severity or likelihood of other risks discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, any of which could have a material effect on us. We are closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and continually assessing its potential effects on our business. Given the dynamic nature of these circumstances, the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. The extent to which our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows are affected by COVID-19 will largely depend on future developments which cannot be accurately predicted and are uncertain, as there are no comparable recent events that provide guidance as to the potential effect of the spread of a global pandemic. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will depend upon various uncertainties, including the ultimate geographic spread of the virus, the severity of the virus, the duration of the outbreak, and actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the virus. This situation is changing continually, and additional effects may arise that we are not presently aware of or that we currently do not consider to be significant risks to our operations. If we are not able to respond to and manage the impact of such events effectively, our business and financial condition could be negatively impacted. Refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - COVID-19 Update for additional information. 52 Table of Content s