Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Other than the updated risk factors below, there have been no material changes in our risk factors as previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Any acquisition, divestiture, investment, joint venture or merger may subject us to significant risks, any of which may harm our business.
We may pursue acquisitions of, investments in, or joint ventures or mergers with, other companies, or the acquisition of technologies, services, products or other assets that we believe would complement or expand our business. We may also elect to divest some of our assets to third parties. Some of these potential transactions could be significant relative to the size of our business and operations. Any such transaction would involve a number of risks and could present financial, managerial and operational challenges, including:
• diversion of management attention from running our existing business;
• increased costs to integrate the networks, spectrum, technology, personnel, customer base, distributors and business partners and business practices of the company involved in any such transaction with our business;
• increased interest expense and leverage or limits on other uses of cash;
• potential loss of talent during integration due to differences in culture, locations, or other factors;
• difficulties in effectively integrating the financial, operational and sustainability systems of the business involved in any such transaction into (or supplanting such systems with) our financial, operational and sustainability reporting infrastructure and internal control framework in an effective and timely manner;
• risks of entering markets in which the Company has no or limited experience and where competitors have stronger market positions;
• to the extent any acquired business has any international operations, potential exposures to risks associated with maintaining and expanding such operations, including unfavorable and uncertain regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions;
• potential exposure to material liabilities not discovered in the due diligence process or as a result of any litigation arising in connection with any such transaction;
• significant transaction-related expenses in connection with any such transaction, whether consummated or not;
• risks related to our ability to obtain any required regulatory approvals necessary to consummate any such transaction; and
• any business, technology, service, or product involved in any such transaction may significantly under-perform relative to our expectations, and we may not achieve the benefits we expect from the transaction, which could, among other things, also result in a write-down of goodwill and other intangible assets associated with such transaction.
We have entered into joint venture agreements aimed at establishing a robust fiber broadband network that complements our fixed wireless services. Once closed, differences in views among the joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or disputes. Operating through joint ventures in which we do not hold a majority ownership interest results in us having limited control over many decisions made with respect to the businesses of the joint ventures. We also cannot control the actions of our joint venture partners. These joint ventures may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls and internal control over financial reporting that we follow. As a result, internal control problems may arise with respect to these joint ventures. Any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could also affect our reputation.
Additionally, in connection with our Sprint Merger and related transactions, including the acquisition by DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”) of certain prepaid wireless business (the “Prepaid Transaction”), we agreed to fulfill various government commitments (the “Government Commitments”), including, among others, extensive 5G network build-out, delivering high-speed wireless services to the vast majority of Americans and marketing our in-home fixed wireless product to households
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where spectrum capacity is sufficient, as well as commitments related to national security, pricing and availability of rate plans. These Government Commitments materially increased our compliance obligations and could result in additional expenses and/or penalties in the future. In connection with the Prepaid Transaction, we and DISH entered into certain arrangements, including a Master Network Services Agreement (the “MNSA”), pursuant to which we provide DISH, for a period of seven years, network services for certain end users and infrastructure mobile network operator services to assist in the access and integration of the DISH network.
Any failure to fulfill our obligations under the Government Commitments and the MNSA in a timely manner could result in substantial fines, penalties, or other legal and administrative actions, liabilities, and reputational harm.
Economic, political and market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Our business, financial condition, and operating results are affected by changes in general economic conditions, including interest rates, consumer credit conditions, consumer debt levels, consumer confidence, unemployment rates, economic growth, tariffs and trade restrictions, fluctuations in global currencies, immigration policies, energy costs, rates of inflation (or concerns about deflation), supply chain disruptions, impacts of current geopolitical conflict or instability, such as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars and further escalations thereof, and other macroeconomic factors.
The wireless industry, broadly, is dependent on population growth, including growth in the immigrant population. As a result, we expect the wireless industry’s customer growth rate to be moderate in comparison with historical growth rates, leading to ongoing competition for customers. In addition, the Government Commitments place certain limitations on our ability to increase prices, which limits our ability to pass along growing costs to customers. Rising prices for goods, services, and labor due to inflation, including inflation resulting from higher tariffs, restrictions and other economic disincentives to trade, could adversely impact our margins and/or growth.
Our services and device financing plans are available to a broad customer base, a significant segment of which may be vulnerable to weak economic conditions, particularly our subprime customers. We may have greater difficulty in gaining new customers within this segment, and existing customers may be more likely to terminate service and default on device financing plans due to an inability to pay.
Weak economic and credit conditions may also adversely impact our suppliers, dealers, wholesale partners or MVNOs, and enterprise and government customers, some of which may file for bankruptcy, or may experience cash flow or liquidity problems, or may be unable to obtain or refinance credit such that they may no longer be able to operate. Any of these could adversely impact our ability to distribute, market, or sell our products and services.
Changes to trade policies, including higher tariffs, restrictions and other economic disincentives to trade, may lead to operational delays, higher procurement and operational costs, and regulatory and compliance complexities, resulting in supply chain disruptions and higher prices and lower demand for devices and services we sell.
As a provider of telecommunications services, we depend on suppliers to provide us, directly or through other suppliers, with items such as equipment for our network, handsets, tablets, accessories, other mobile communication devices, other components and raw materials. Changes or proposed changes in U.S. or other countries’ trade policies that result in higher tariffs, restrictions and other economic disincentives to international trade may materially increase the costs we incur in developing, deploying and maintaining our network and offering products and services to our customers. A certain portion of the increased costs may be absorbed by certain suppliers, but some suppliers may struggle to absorb the increased costs, especially over the long term, potentially leading to supply disruptions or cost pass-throughs to us, which may lead to us increasing the prices we charge our customers. In addition, rapid changes in trade policies may negatively affect procurement timelines and supplier relationships and may introduce new compliance requirements. We may face potential delays in sourcing critical equipment due to customs clearance and supply chain bottlenecks, and material changes to cost structures could pressure our expenses and customer pricing.
Our attempts to mitigate potential disruptions to our supply chain and offset procurement and operational cost pressures, such as through alternative sourcing and/or increases in the selling prices of some of our products and services, may not be successful. Higher product or service prices for our customers may make it more difficult to attract new customers or cause increases in customer churn. Furthermore, we may not be able to offset any cost increases through productivity and cost-saving initiatives. To the extent that cost increases result in significant increases in our expenditures, or if our price increases are not sufficient to offset these increased costs adequately or in a timely manner, and/or if our revenues decrease, our business, financial condition or operating results may be adversely affected.
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