Risk Factors - PANW

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$PANW Risk Factor changes from 00/09/01/23/2023 to 00/09/06/24/2024

Item 1A. Risk FactorsOur operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties including those described below. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, also may become important factors that affect us. If any of the following risks or others not specified below materialize, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially adversely affected, and the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, the impacts of any worsening of the economic environment may exacerbate the risks described below, any of which could have a material impact on us. Risk Factor SummaryOur business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:•Our operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment.•Our business and operations have experienced growth in recent periods, and if we do not effectively manage any future growth or are unable to improve our systems, processes, and controls, our operating results could be adversely affected.•Our revenue growth rate in recent periods may not be indicative of our future performance, and we may not be able to maintain profitability, which could cause our business, financial condition, and operating results to suffer.•Our operating results may vary significantly from period to period, which makes our results difficult to predict and could cause our results to fall short of expectations, and such results may not be indicative of future performance.•Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our revenue.•If we are unable to sell new and additional product, subscription, and support offerings to our end-customers, especially to large enterprise customers, our future revenue and operating results will be harmed.•If we are unable to attract new customers, our future results of operations could be harmed.•We rely on revenue from subscription and support offerings, and because we recognize revenue from subscription and support over the term of the relevant service period, downturns or upturns in sales or renewals of these subscription and support offerings are not immediately reflected in full in our operating results.•The sales prices of our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may decrease, which may reduce our revenue and gross profits and adversely impact our financial results.•We rely on our channel partners to sell substantially all of our products, including subscriptions and support, and if these channel partners fail to perform, our ability to sell and distribute our products and subscriptions will be limited and our operating results will be harmed.•We are exposed to the credit and liquidity risk of our customers, and to credit exposure in weakened markets, which could result in material losses.•A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks.•We face intense competition in our market and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position.•We may acquire other businesses, which could subject us to adverse claims or liabilities, require significant management attention, disrupt our business, adversely affect our operating results, may not result in the expected benefits of such acquisitions, and may dilute stockholder value.•If we do not accurately predict, prepare for, and respond promptly to rapidly evolving technological and market developments and successfully manage product and subscription introductions and transitions to meet changing end-customer needs in the enterprise security industry, our competitive position and prospects will be harmed.•Issues in the development and deployment of AI may result in reputational harm and legal liability and could adversely affect our results of operations. •A network or data security incident may allow unauthorized access to our network or data, harm our reputation, create additional liability, and adversely impact our financial results.•Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions, or support offerings, the failure of our products or subscriptions to block a virus or prevent a security breach or incident, misuse of our products, or risks of product liability claims could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operating results.•Our ability to sell our products and subscriptions is dependent on the quality of our technical support services and those of our channel partners, and the failure to offer high-quality technical support services could have a material adverse effect on our end-customers’ satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, our sales, and our operating results.- 15 -Table of Contents•Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could harm our business.•Our proprietary rights may be difficult to enforce or protect, which could enable others to copy or use aspects of our products or subscriptions without compensating us.•Our use of open source software in our products and subscriptions could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subscriptions and subject us to possible litigation.•We license technology from third parties, and our inability to maintain those licenses could harm our business.•Because we depend on manufacturing partners to build and ship our hardware products, we are susceptible to manufacturing and logistics delays and pricing fluctuations that could prevent us from shipping customer orders on time, if at all, or on a cost-effective basis, which may result in the loss of sales and end-customers.•Managing the supply of our hardware products and product components is complex. Insufficient supply and inventory would result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory would harm our gross margins.•Because some of the key components in our hardware products come from limited sources of supply, we are susceptible to supply shortages or supply changes, which, in certain cases, have disrupted or delayed our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers, increased our costs and may result in the loss of sales and end-customers.•If we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate our key technical, sales, and management personnel, our business could suffer.•We generate a significant amount of revenue from sales to distributors, resellers, and end-customers outside of the United States, and we are therefore subject to a number of risks associated with international sales and operations.•We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results.•We face risks associated with having operations and employees located in Israel.•We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets.•We may incur increased costs to comply with privacy and data protection laws and, if we fail to comply, we could be subject to government enforcement actions, private litigation and adverse publicity.•We may have exposure to tax liabilities that are greater than anticipated.•We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities. •If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could fall below our publicly announced guidance or the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our common stock.•We are obligated to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting. We may not complete our analysis of our internal control over financial reporting in a timely manner, or our internal control may not be determined to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in our company and, as a result, the value of our common stock.•Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by ESG matters and/or our reporting of such matters.•Failure to comply with governmental laws and regulations could harm our business.•We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of our Notes, repurchase our Notes upon a fundamental change, or repay our Notes in cash at their maturity, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of our Notes.•We may still incur substantially more debt or take other actions that would diminish our ability to make payments on our Notes when due.•The market price of our common stock historically has been volatile, and the value of an investment in our common stock could decline.•The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions may affect the value of our common stock.•The issuance of additional stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our stock incentive plans, the conversion of our Notes or exercise of the related Warrants, or otherwise will dilute stock held by all other stockholders.•We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that it will enhance shareholder value, and share repurchases could affect the price of our common stock.•We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.•Our charter documents and Delaware law, as well as certain provisions contained in the indentures governing our Notes, could discourage takeover attempts and lead to management entrenchment, which could also reduce the market price of our common stock.•Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, power outages, floods, health risks, and other catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made problems, such as terrorism.- 16 -Table of ContentsRisks Related to Global Economic and Geopolitical ConditionsOur operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment.We operate globally, and as a result, our business and revenues are impacted by global economic and geopolitical conditions. The instability in the global credit markets, inflation, changes in public policies such as domestic and international regulations, taxes, any increases in interest rates, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, or international trade agreements, international trade disputes, geopolitical turmoil, and other disruptions to global and regional economies and markets continue to add uncertainty to global economic conditions. Military actions or armed conflict, including the hostilities in Israel and the surrounding region, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and any related political or economic responses and counter-responses, and uncertainty about, or changes in, government and trade relationships, policies, and treaties could also lead to worsening economic and market conditions and geopolitical environment. Military actions or armed conflict, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and any related political or economic responses and counter-responses, and uncertainty about, or changes in, government and trade relationships, policies, and treaties could also lead to worsening economic and market conditions and geopolitical environment. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States, along with the European Union (the “E. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States, along with the European Union, has imposed restrictive sanctions on Russia, Russian entities, and Russian citizens (“Sanctions on Russia”). U.”) has imposed restrictive sanctions on Russia, Russian entities, and Russian citizens (“Sanctions on Russia”). We are subject to these governmental sanctions and export controls, which may subject us to liability if we are not in full compliance with applicable laws. Any continued or further uncertainty, weakness or deterioration in economic and market conditions or the geopolitical environment could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including reductions in sales of our products and subscriptions, longer sales cycles, reductions in subscription or contract duration and value, slower adoption of new technologies, alterations in the spending patterns or priorities of current and prospective customers (including delaying purchasing decisions), increased costs for the chips and components to manufacture our products, and increased price competition.Risks Related to Our BusinessRISKS RELATED TO OUR GROWTHOur business and operations have experienced growth in recent periods, and if we do not effectively manage any future growth or are unable to improve our systems, processes, and controls, our operating results could be adversely affected.We have experienced growth and increased demand for our products and subscriptions over the last few years. As a result, our employee headcount has increased, and we expect it to continue to grow over the next year. For example, from the end of fiscal 2023 to the end of fiscal 2024, our headcount increased from 13,948 to 15,289 employees. In addition, as we have grown, the number of end-customers has also increased, and we have managed more complex deployments of our products and subscriptions with larger end-customers. The growth and expansion of our business and product, subscription, and support offerings places a significant strain on our management, operational, and financial resources. To manage any future growth effectively, we must continue to improve and expand our information technology and financial infrastructure, our operating and administrative systems and controls, and our ability to manage headcount, capital, and processes in an efficient manner.We may not be able to successfully implement, scale, or manage improvements to our systems, processes, and controls in an efficient or timely manner, which could result in material disruptions of our operations and business. In addition, our existing systems, processes, and controls may not prevent or detect all errors, omissions, or fraud. We may also experience difficulties in managing improvements to our systems, processes, and controls, or in connection with third-party software licensed to help us with such improvements. Any future growth would add complexity to our organization and require effective coordination throughout our organization. Failure to manage any future growth effectively could result in increased costs, disrupt our existing end-customer relationships, reduce demand for or limit us to smaller deployments of our products, or materially harm our business performance and operating results. Our revenue growth rate in recent periods may not be indicative of our future performance, and we may not be able to maintain profitability, which could cause our business, financial condition, and operating results to suffer.We have experienced revenue growth rates of 16.5% and 25.3% and 29. 3% in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively.3% in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022, respectively. Our revenue for any quarterly or annual period should not be relied upon as an indication of our future revenue or revenue growth for any future period. If we are unable to maintain consistent or increasing revenue or revenue growth, the market price of our common stock could be volatile, and it may be difficult for us to maintain profitability or maintain or increase cash flow on a consistent basis. - 17 -Table of ContentsIn addition, we have incurred losses in fiscal years prior to fiscal 2023. - 16 -Table of ContentsIn addition, we have incurred losses in fiscal years prior to fiscal 2023 and, as a result, we had an accumulated deficit of $1. We anticipate that our operating expenses will continue to increase in the foreseeable future as we continue to grow our business. Our growth efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenues sufficiently, or at all, to offset increasing expenses. Revenue growth may slow or revenue may decline for a number of possible reasons, including slowing demand for our products or subscriptions, increasing competition, a decrease in the growth of, or a demand shift in, our overall market, or a failure to capitalize on growth opportunities. We have also entered into a substantial amount of capital commitments for operating lease obligations and other purchase commitments. Any failure to increase our revenue as we grow our business could prevent us from maintaining profitability or maintaining or increasing cash flow on a consistent basis, or satisfying our capital commitments. If we are unable to navigate these challenges as we encounter them, our business, financial condition, and operating results may suffer.Our operating results may vary significantly from period to period, which makes our results difficult to predict and could cause our results to fall short of expectations, and such results may not be indicative of future performance.Our operating results have fluctuated in the past, and will likely continue to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control and may be difficult to predict, including those factors described in this Risk Factor section. For example, we have historically received a substantial portion of sales orders and generated a substantial portion of revenue during the last few weeks of each fiscal quarter. If expected revenue at the end of any fiscal quarter is delayed for any reason, including the failure of anticipated purchase orders to materialize (particularly for large enterprise end-customers with lengthy sales cycles), our logistics partners’ inability to ship products prior to fiscal quarter-end to fulfill purchase orders received near the end of a fiscal quarter, our failure to manage inventory to meet demand, any failure of our systems related to order review and processing, or any delays in shipments based on trade compliance requirements (including new compliance requirements imposed by new or renegotiated trade agreements), our revenue could fall below our expectations and the estimates of analysts for that quarter. Due to these fluctuations, comparing our revenue, margins, or other operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and our past results should not be relied on as an indication of our future performance. This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failure to meet our revenue, margin, or other operating result expectations contained in any forward-looking statements (including financial or business expectations we have provided) or those of securities analysts or investors for a particular period. If we fail to meet or exceed such expectations for these, or any other, reasons, the market price of our common stock could fall substantially, and we could face costly lawsuits, including securities class action suits.Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our revenue.We believe there are significant seasonal factors that may cause our second and fourth fiscal quarters to record greater revenue sequentially than our first and third fiscal quarters. We believe that this seasonality results from a number of factors, including:•end-customers with a December 31 fiscal year-end choosing to spend remaining unused portions of their discretionary budgets before their fiscal year-end, which potentially results in a positive impact on our revenue in our second fiscal quarter;•our sales compensation plans, which are typically structured around annual quotas and commission rate accelerators, which potentially results in a positive impact on our revenue in our fourth fiscal quarter; and•the timing of end-customer budget planning at the beginning of the calendar year, which can result in a delay in spending at the beginning of the calendar year, potentially resulting in a negative impact on our revenue in our third fiscal quarter.As we continue to grow, seasonal or cyclical variations in our operations may become more pronounced, and our business, operating results, and financial position may be adversely affected.RISKS RELATED TO OUR PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGYIf we are unable to sell new and additional product, subscription, and support offerings to our end-customers, especially to large enterprise customers, our future revenue and operating results will be harmed.Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our portfolio with existing end-customers, especially large enterprise customers, including through our platformization strategy, and create demand for our new offerings, The rate at which our end-customers purchase additional products, subscriptions, and support depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional security products, including subscription and support offerings, as well as general economic conditions.Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our portfolio with existing end-customers, especially large enterprise customers, and create demand for our new offerings, The rate at which our end-customers purchase additional products, subscriptions, and support depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional security products, including subscription and support offerings, as well as general economic conditions. If our efforts to sell additional products and subscriptions to our end-customers are not successful, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected or decline.- 18 -Table of ContentsSales to large enterprise end-customers, which is part of our growth strategy, involve risks that may not be present, or that are present to a lesser extent, with sales to smaller entities, such as (a) longer sales cycles and the associated risk that substantial time and resources may be spent on a potential end-customer that elects not to purchase our products, subscriptions, and support, and (b) increased purchasing power and leverage held by large end-customers in negotiating contractual arrangements. Deployments for large enterprise end-customers are also more complex, require greater product functionality, scalability, and a broader range of services, and are more time-consuming. All of these factors add further risk to business conducted with these end-customers. Failure to realize sales from large enterprise end-customers could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.If we are unable to attract new customers, our future results of operations could be harmed.To increase our revenue and maintain profitability, we must add new customers. To do so, we must successfully convince prospective customers of the value of adopting our solutions. We are engaging in costly marketing and sales efforts to accelerate platformization and attract new customers, which may fail or may not be as successful as intended or at all. Additionally, prospective customers’ decisions to purchase our solutions depend on a variety of factors, many of which are out of our control. These factors significantly impact our ability to add new customers and increase the time, resources and sophistication required to do so. For example, prospective customers may face real or perceived switching costs when switching to our solutions from legacy security vendors and products. Deployment of our solutions may require a significant commitment of resources from our customers. Any deterioration in general economic conditions, including as a result of the geopolitical environment or inflation (as well as government policies such as raising interest rates in response to inflation), have in the past caused, and may in the future cause, our current and prospective customers to delay or cut their overall security and IT operations spending. If our efforts to attract new customers are not successful, our sales may not grow as quickly as anticipated, or at all, and our business, operating results, and financial condition will be harmed.We rely on revenue from subscription and support offerings, and because we recognize revenue from subscription and support over the term of the relevant service period, downturns or upturns in sales or renewals of these subscription and support offerings are not immediately reflected in full in our operating results.Subscription and support revenue accounts for a significant portion of our revenue, comprising 80.0% of total revenue in fiscal 2024, 77.1% of total revenue in fiscal 2023, 75. 1% of total revenue in fiscal 2023, and 75.2% of total revenue in fiscal 2022. Sales and renewals of subscription and support contracts may decline and fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including end-customers’ level of satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, the frequency and severity of subscription outages, our product uptime or latency, the prices of our products and subscriptions, and reductions in our end-customers’ spending levels. Existing end-customers have no contractual obligation to, and may not, renew their subscription and support contracts after the completion of their initial contract period. Additionally, our end-customers may renew their subscription and support agreements for shorter contract lengths or on other terms that are less economically beneficial to us. If our sales of new or renewal subscription and support contracts decline, our total revenue and revenue growth rate may decline, and our business will suffer. In addition, because we recognize subscription and support revenue over the term of the relevant service period, which is typically one to five years, a decline in subscription or support contracts in any one fiscal quarter will not be fully or immediately reflected in revenue in that fiscal quarter but will negatively affect our revenue in future fiscal quarters.The sales prices of our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may decrease, which may reduce our revenue and gross profits and adversely impact our financial results.The sales prices for our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may decline for a variety of reasons, including competitive pricing pressures, discounts, a change in our mix of products, subscriptions, and support offerings, anticipation of the introduction of new products, subscriptions, or support offerings, or promotional programs or pricing pressures. Furthermore, we anticipate that the sales prices and gross profits for our products could decrease over product life cycles. Declining sales prices could adversely affect our revenue, gross profits, and profitability.We rely on our channel partners to sell substantially all of our products, including subscriptions and support, and if these channel partners fail to perform, our ability to sell and distribute our products and subscriptions will be limited and our operating results will be harmed.Substantially all of our revenue is generated by sales through our channel partners, including distributors and resellers. For fiscal 2024, four distributors individually represented 10% or more of our total revenue and in the aggregate represented 59. For fiscal 2023, three distributors individually represented 10% or more of our total revenue and in the aggregate represented 49. 0% of our total revenue. As of July 31, 2024, two distributors individually represented 10% or more of our gross accounts receivable and in the aggregate represented 31.5% of our gross accounts receivable.- 19 -Table of ContentsWe provide our channel partners with specific training and programs to assist them in selling our products, including subscriptions and support offerings, but there can be no assurance that these steps will be utilized or effective.We provide our channel partners with specific training and programs to assist them in selling our products, including subscriptions and support offerings, but there can be no assurance that these steps will be utilized or effective. In addition, our channel partners may be unsuccessful in marketing, selling, and supporting our products and subscriptions. We may not be able to incentivize these channel partners to sell our products and subscriptions to end-customers and, in particular, to large enterprises. These channel partners may also have incentives to promote our competitors’ products and may devote more resources to the marketing, sales, and support of competitive products. Our agreements with our channel partners may generally be terminated for any reason by either party with advance notice prior to each annual renewal date. We cannot be certain that we will retain these channel partners or that we will be able to secure additional or replacement channel partners. In addition, any new channel partner requires extensive training and may take several months or more to achieve productivity. Our channel partner sales structure could subject us to lawsuits, potential liability, and reputational harm if, for example, any of our channel partners misrepresent the functionality of our products or subscriptions to end-customers or violate laws or our corporate policies. If we fail to effectively manage our sales channels or channel partners, our ability to sell our products and subscriptions and operating results will be harmed.We are exposed to the credit and liquidity risk of our customers, and to credit exposure in weakened markets, which could result in material losses.Most of our sales are made on an open credit basis. Beyond our open credit arrangements, we have also experienced demands for customer financing and deferred payments due to, among other things, macro-economic conditions. Increases in deferred payments result in payments being made over time, negatively impacting our short-term cash flows, and subject us to risk of non-payment by our customers, including as a result of insolvency. We monitor customer payment capability in granting such financing arrangements, seek to limit the amounts to what we believe customers can pay and maintain reserves we believe are adequate to cover exposure for doubtful accounts to mitigate credit risks of these customers. However, there can be no assurance that these programs will be effective in reducing our credit risks. To the degree that turmoil in the credit markets makes it more difficult for some customers to obtain financing, those customers’ ability to pay could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.Our exposure to the credit risks relating to the financing activities described above may increase if our customers are adversely affected by a global economic downturn or periods of economic uncertainty. If we are unable to adequately control these risks, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, in the past, we have experienced non-material losses due to bankruptcies among customers. If these losses increase due to global economic conditions, they could harm our business and financial condition.A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks.Sales to government entities are subject to a number of risks. Selling to government entities can be highly competitive, expensive, and time-consuming, often requiring significant upfront time and expense without any assurance that these efforts will generate a sale. The substantial majority of our sales to date to government entities have been made indirectly through our channel partners. Government certification requirements for products and subscriptions like ours may change, thereby restricting our ability to sell into the federal government sector until we have attained the revised certification. If our products and subscriptions are late in achieving or fail to achieve compliance with these certifications and standards, or our competitors achieve compliance with these certifications and standards, we may be disqualified from selling our products, subscriptions, and support offerings to such governmental entity, or be at a competitive disadvantage, which would harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. Government demand and payment for our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may be impacted by government shutdowns, public sector budgetary cycles, contracting requirements, and funding authorizations, with funding reductions or delays adversely affecting public sector demand for our products, subscriptions, and support offerings. Government entities may have statutory, contractual, or other legal rights to terminate contracts with our distributors and resellers for convenience or due to a default, and any such termination may adversely impact our future operating results. Governments routinely investigate and audit government contractors’ administrative processes, and any unfavorable audit could result in the government refusing to continue buying our products, subscriptions, and support offerings, a reduction of revenue, or fines or civil or criminal liability if the audit uncovers improper or illegal activities, which could adversely impact our operating results in a material way. Additionally, the U.S. government may require certain of the products that it purchases to be manufactured in the United States and other relatively high-cost manufacturing locations, and we may not manufacture all products in locations that meet such requirements, affecting our ability to sell these products, subscriptions, and support offerings to the U.S. government.- 20 -Table of ContentsWe face intense competition in our market and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position.We face intense competition in our market and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position. The industry for enterprise security products is intensely competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future from established competitors and new market entrants. Our main competitors fall into four categories:•large companies that incorporate security features in their products, such as Cisco, Microsoft, Alphabet or those that have acquired, or may acquire, security vendors and have the technical and financial resources to bring competitive solutions to the market;•independent security vendors, such as Check Point, Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and Wiz, that offer a mix of security products;•startups and point-product vendors that offer independent or emerging solutions across various areas of security; and•public cloud vendors and startups that offer solutions for cloud security (private, public, and hybrid cloud). Our main competitors fall into four categories:•large companies that incorporate security features in their products, such as Cisco, Microsoft, or those that have acquired, or may acquire, security vendors and have the technical and financial resources to bring competitive solutions to the market;•independent security vendors, such as Check Point, Fortinet, Crowdstrike, and Zscaler, that offer a mix of security products;•startups and point-product vendors that offer independent or emerging solutions across various areas of security; and•public cloud vendors and startups that offer solutions for cloud security (private, public, and hybrid cloud). Many of our competitors have greater financial, technical, marketing, sales, and other resources, greater name recognition, longer operating histories, and a larger base of customers than we do.- 19 -Table of ContentsMany of our competitors have greater financial, technical, marketing, sales, and other resources, greater name recognition, longer operating histories, and a larger base of customers than we do. They may be able to devote greater resources to the promotion and sale of products and services than we can, and they may offer lower pricing than we do. Further, they may have greater resources for research and development of new technologies, the provision of customer support, and the pursuit of acquisitions. They may also have larger and more mature intellectual property portfolios, and broader and more diverse product and service offerings, which allow them to leverage their relationships based on other products or incorporate functionality into existing products to gain business in a manner that discourages users from purchasing our products and subscriptions, including incorporating cybersecurity features into their existing products or services and product bundling, selling at zero or negative margins, and offering concessions or a closed technology offering. Some competitors may have broader distribution and established relationships with distribution partners and end-customers. Other competitors specialize in providing protection from a single type of security threat, which may allow them to deliver these specialized security products to the market more quickly than we can.We also face competition from companies that have entrenched legacy offerings at end-user customers. End-user customers have also often invested substantial personnel and financial resources to design and operate their networks and have established deep relationships with other providers of networking and security products. As a result, these organizations may prefer to purchase from their existing suppliers rather than add or switch to a new supplier such as us. In addition, as our customers refresh the security products bought in prior years, they may seek to consolidate vendors, which may result in current customers choosing to purchase products from our competitors. Due to budget constraints or economic downturns, organizations may add solutions to their existing network security infrastructure rather than replacing it with our products and subscriptions.Conditions in our market could change rapidly and significantly as a result of technological advancements, partnering or acquisitions by our competitors, or continuing market consolidation. Our competitors and potential competitors may be able to develop new or disruptive technologies, products, or services, and leverage new business models that are equal or superior to ours, achieve greater market acceptance of their products and services, disrupt our markets, and increase sales by utilizing different distribution channels than we do. In addition, new and enhanced technologies, including AI and machine learning, continue to increase our competition. To compete successfully, we must accurately anticipate technology developments and deliver innovative, relevant, and useful products, services, and technologies in a timely manner. Some of our competitors have made or could make acquisitions of businesses that may allow them to offer more directly competitive and comprehensive solutions than they had previously offered and adapt more quickly to new technologies and end-customer needs. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources. These competitive pressures in our market or our failure to compete effectively may result in price reductions, fewer orders, reduced revenue and gross margins, and loss of market share. If we are unable to compete successfully, or if competing successfully requires us to take aggressive pricing or other actions, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be adversely affected.We may acquire other businesses, which could subject us to adverse claims or liabilities, require significant management attention, disrupt our business, adversely affect our operating results, may not result in the expected benefits of such acquisitions, and may dilute stockholder value.As part of our business strategy, we acquire and make investments in complementary companies, products, or technologies. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates is difficult, and we may not be able to complete such acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. In addition, we may be subject to claims or liabilities assumed from an acquired company, product, or technology; acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by our end-customers, investors, and securities analysts; and we may incur costs and expenses necessary to address an acquired company’s failure to comply with laws and governmental rules and regulations. Additionally, we may be subject to litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired company, including claims from terminated employees, customers, former stockholders, or other third parties, which may differ from or be more significant than the risks our business faces. - 21 -Table of ContentsIf we are unsuccessful at integrating past or future acquisitions in a timely manner, or the technologies, products, or operations associated with such acquisitions, into our company, our revenue and operating results could be adversely affected. If we are unsuccessful at integrating past or future acquisitions in a timely manner, or the technologies and operations associated with such acquisitions, into our company, our revenue and operating results could be adversely affected. Any integration process may require significant time and resources, which may disrupt our ongoing business and divert management’s attention, and we may not be able to manage the integration process successfully or in a timely manner. We may have difficulty retaining key personnel of the acquired business. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology, products, or personnel, realize anticipated synergies from the acquisition, or accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction and integration of such acquisition, including accounting charges and any potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets recognized in connection with such acquisitions. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology or personnel, realize anticipated synergies from the acquisition, or accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction and integration of such acquisition, including accounting charges and any potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets recognized in connection with such acquisitions. In addition, any acquisitions may be viewed negatively by our customers, financial markets, or investors and may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals and business strategy.We may have to pay cash, incur debt, or issue equity or equity-linked securities to pay for any future acquisitions, each of which could adversely affect our financial condition or the market price of our common stock. Furthermore, the sale of equity or issuance of equity-linked debt to finance any future acquisitions could result in dilution to our stockholders. The occurrence of any of these risks could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.If we do not accurately predict, prepare for, and respond promptly to rapidly evolving technological and market developments and successfully manage product and subscription introductions and transitions to meet changing end-customer needs in the enterprise security industry, our competitive position and prospects will be harmed.The enterprise security industry has grown quickly and continues to evolve rapidly. Moreover, many of our end-customers operate in markets characterized by rapidly changing technologies and business plans, which require them to add numerous network access points and adapt increasingly complex enterprise networks, incorporating a variety of hardware, software applications, operating systems, and networking protocols. If we fail to effectively anticipate, identify, and respond to rapidly evolving technological and market developments in a timely manner, our business will be harmed. In order to anticipate and respond effectively to rapid technological changes and market developments, as well as evolving security threats, we must invest effectively in research and development to increase the reliability, availability, and scalability of our existing products and subscriptions and introduce new products and subscriptions. Our investments in research and development, including investments in AI, may not result in design or performance improvements, marketable products, subscriptions, or features, or may not achieve the cost savings or additional revenue that we expect. In addition, new and evolving products and services, including those that use AI, require significant investment and raise ethical, technological, legal, regulatory, and other challenges, which may negatively affect our brands and demand for our products and services. Because all of these investment areas are inherently risky, no assurance can be given that such strategies and offerings will be successful or will not harm our reputation, financial condition, and operating results.In addition, we must continually change our products and expand our business strategy in response to changes in network infrastructure requirements, including the expanding use of cloud computing. For example, organizations are moving portions of their data to be managed by third parties, primarily infrastructure, platform, and application service providers, and may rely on such providers’ internal security measures. While we have historically been successful in developing, acquiring, and marketing new products and product enhancements that respond to technological change and evolving industry standards, we may not be able to continue to do so, and there can be no assurance that our new or future offerings will be successful or will achieve widespread market acceptance. If we fail to accurately predict and address end-customers’ changing needs and emerging technological trends in the enterprise security industry, including in the areas of AI, mobility, virtualization, cloud computing, and software-defined networks, our business could be harmed. The technology in our portfolio is especially complex because it needs to effectively identify and respond to new and increasingly sophisticated methods of attack, while minimizing the impact on network performance. Additionally, some of our new features and related enhancements may require us to develop new hardware architectures that involve complex, expensive, and time-consuming research and development processes. The development of our portfolio is difficult and the timetable for commercial release and availability is uncertain as there can be long time periods between releases and availability of new features. If we experience unanticipated delays in the availability of new products, features, and subscriptions, and fail to meet customer expectations for such availability, our competitive position and business prospects will be harmed. The success of new features depends on several factors, including appropriate new product definition, differentiation of new products, subscriptions, and features from those of our competitors, and market acceptance of these products, services, and features. Moreover, successful new product introduction and transition depends on a number of factors, including our ability to manage the risks associated with new product production ramp-up issues, the availability of application software for new products, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory, the availability of products in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, and the risk that new products may have quality or other defects or deficiencies, especially in the early stages of introduction. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify opportunities for new products and subscriptions, develop and bring new products and subscriptions to market in a timely manner, achieve market acceptance of our products and subscriptions, or that products, subscriptions, and technologies developed by others will not render our products, subscriptions, and technologies obsolete or noncompetitive.- 22 -Table of ContentsIssues in the development and deployment of AI may result in reputational harm and legal liability and could adversely affect our results of operations.Issues in the development and deployment of AI may result in reputational harm and legal liability and could adversely affect our results of operations. We have incorporated, and are continuing to develop and deploy, AI into many of our products and solutions, including services that support our products and solutions. We are also incorporating AI into the operations of our business. AI presents challenges and risks that could affect our products and solutions, and the operations of our business. AI presents challenges and risks that could affect our products and solutions, and therefore our business. For example, AI algorithms may have flaws, and datasets used to train models may be insufficient or contain biased information. The AI that is being incorporated into our products, solutions, and business operation tools may not be successful or beneficial, and instead may cause technical, legal or ethical problems or result in increased costs. The investments that we are making across our business in AI reflect our ongoing efforts to innovate and provide products and services that are useful to our customers, as well as provide efficiencies in our business. Such investments ultimately may not be commercially viable or may not result in an adequate return of capital and we may incur unanticipated liabilities. These efforts could subject us to regulatory risk, legal liability, including under new proposed legislation regulating AI in jurisdictions such as the E.U. and regulations being considered in other jurisdictions, or brand or reputational harm.The rapid evolution of AI, including potential government regulation of AI, requires us to invest significant resources to develop, test, and maintain AI in our products and services in a manner that meets evolving requirements and expectations. The rules and regulations adopted by policymakers over time may require us to make changes to our business practices. Developing, testing, and deploying AI systems may also increase the cost profile of our offerings due to the nature of the computing costs involved in such systems.The intellectual property ownership and license rights surrounding AI technologies, as well as data protection laws related to the use and development of AI, are currently not fully addressed by courts or regulators.- 21 -Table of ContentsThe intellectual property ownership and license rights surrounding AI technologies, as well as data protection laws related to the use and development of AI, are currently not fully addressed by courts or regulators. The use or adoption of AI technologies in our products may result in exposure to claims by third parties of copyright infringement or other intellectual property misappropriation, which may require us to pay compensation or license fees to third parties. The evolving legal, regulatory, and compliance framework for AI technologies may also impact our ability to protect our own data and intellectual property against infringing use.A network or data security incident may allow unauthorized access to our network or data, harm our reputation, create additional liability, and adversely impact our financial results.Increasingly, companies are subject to a wide variety of attacks on their networks on an ongoing basis. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” malicious code (such as viruses and worms), phishing attempts, employee theft or misuse, and denial of service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors engage in intrusions and attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions and supply chain attacks), and add to the risks to our internal networks, cloud-deployed enterprise and customer-facing environments and the information they store and process. Incidences of cyberattacks and other cybersecurity breaches and incidents have increased and are likely to continue to increase. We and our third-party service providers face security threats and attacks from a variety of sources. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent breaches of our internal networks, systems, and websites, our data, corporate systems, and security measures, as well as those of our third-party service providers, are still vulnerable to computer viruses, break-ins, phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, or other types of attacks from outside parties, or breaches due to employee error, malfeasance, or some combination of these. We cannot guarantee that the measures we have taken to protect our networks, systems, and websites will provide adequate security. Furthermore, as a well-known provider of security solutions, we may be a more attractive target for such attacks. The conflict in Ukraine and associated activities in Ukraine and Russia may increase the risk of cyberattacks on various types of infrastructure and operations, and the United States government has warned companies to be prepared for a significant increase in Russian cyberattacks in response to the Sanctions on Russia. A security breach or incident, or an attack against our service availability suffered by us, or our third-party service providers, could impact our networks or networks secured by our products and subscriptions, creating system disruptions or slowdowns and exploiting security vulnerabilities of our products. In addition, the information stored or otherwise processed on our networks, or those of our third-party service providers, could be accessed, publicly disclosed, altered, lost, stolen, rendered unavailable, or otherwise used or processed without authorization, which could subject us to liability and cause us financial harm. Any actual or perceived breach of security in our systems or networks, or any other actual or perceived data security incident we or our third-party service providers suffer, could result in significant damage to our reputation, negative publicity, loss of channel partners, end-customers, and sales, loss of competitive advantages over our competitors, increased costs to remedy any problems and otherwise respond to any incident, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, demands, costly litigation, and other liability. In addition, we may incur significant costs and operational consequences of investigating, remediating, eliminating, and putting in place additional tools, devices, and other measures designed to prevent actual or perceived security breaches and other security incidents, as well as the costs to comply with any notification obligations resulting from any security incidents. Any of these negative outcomes could adversely impact the market perception of our products and subscriptions and end-customer and investor confidence in our company and could seriously harm our business or operating results. - 23 -Table of ContentsDefects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions, or support offerings, the failure of our products or subscriptions to block a virus or prevent a security breach or incident, misuse of our products, or risks of product liability claims could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operating results. Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions, or support offerings, the failure of our products or subscriptions to block a virus or prevent a security breach or incident, misuse of our products, or risks of product liability claims could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operating results. Because our products and subscriptions are complex, they have contained and may contain design or manufacturing defects or errors that are not detected until after their commercial release and deployment by our end-customers. For example, from time to time, certain of our end-customers have reported defects in our products related to performance, scalability, and compatibility. Additionally, defects or vulnerabilities may cause our products or subscriptions to become temporarily unavailable, to be vulnerable to security attacks, cause them to fail to help secure networks, or temporarily interrupt end-customers’ networking traffic, or the availability of other information technology infrastructure or systems. For example, in April 2024, we became aware of a command injection vulnerability in the GlobalProtect feature of certain versions of our PAN-OS software. To remediate the matter, we published a security advisory to advise customers, provided software updates for affected PAN-OS versions, and are actively engaged in customer outreach, support and remediation efforts for potentially impacted customers. Because the techniques used by computer hackers to access or sabotage networks change frequently and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques and provide a solution in time to protect our end-customers’ networks. In addition, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there could be a significant increase in Russian cyberattacks against our customers, resulting in an increased risk of a security breach of our end-customers’ systems.Furthermore, defects or errors in products or software or updates to those products or software could result in a failure to effectively update end-customers’ hardware and cloud-based products or otherwise cause problems in our customers hardware, networks or information technology infrastructure or systems. The data centers, networks, and cloud infrastructure that we use to deliver our products and services may experience technical failures and downtime or may fail to meet the increased requirements of a growing installed end-customer base, any of which could temporarily or permanently expose our end-customers’ networks, leaving their networks unprotected against the latest security threats. Moreover, our products must interoperate with our end-customers’ existing infrastructure, which often have varied specifications, utilize multiple protocol standards, deploy products from multiple vendors, and contain multiple generations of products that have been added over time. As a result, when problems occur in a network, it may be difficult to identify the sources of these problems. Any such technical failure, downtime or failures in general may temporarily or permanently disable our end-customers’ networks, information technology infrastructure or other systems, or expose our end-customers’ networks to attacks from security threats.The occurrence of any such problem in our products and subscriptions, whether real or perceived, could result in:•expenditure of significant financial and product development resources in efforts to analyze, correct, eliminate, or work-around errors or defects or to address and eliminate vulnerabilities;•loss of existing or potential end-customers or channel partners;•delayed or lost revenue;•delay or failure to attain market acceptance;•an increase in warranty claims compared with our historical experience, or an increased cost of servicing warranty claims, either of which would adversely affect our gross margins; and•litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations, or other proceedings, each of which may be costly and harm our reputation. - 22 -Table of ContentsThe occurrence of any such problem in our products and subscriptions, whether real or perceived, could result in:•expenditure of significant financial and product development resources in efforts to analyze, correct, eliminate, or work-around errors or defects or to address and eliminate vulnerabilities;•loss of existing or potential end-customers or channel partners;•delayed or lost revenue;•delay or failure to attain market acceptance;•an increase in warranty claims compared with our historical experience, or an increased cost of servicing warranty claims, either of which would adversely affect our gross margins; and•litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations, or other proceedings, each of which may be costly and harm our reputation. Further, our products and subscriptions may be misused by end-customers or third parties that obtain access to our products and subscriptions. For example, our products and subscriptions could be used to censor private access to certain information on the Internet. Such use of our products and subscriptions for censorship could result in negative press coverage and negatively affect our reputation.The limitation of liability provisions in our standard terms and conditions of sale may not fully or effectively protect us from claims as a result of federal, state, or local laws or ordinances, or unfavorable judicial decisions in the United States or other countries. The sale and support of our products and subscriptions also entails the risk of product liability claims. Although we may be indemnified by our third-party manufacturers for product liability claims arising out of manufacturing defects, because we control the design of our products and subscriptions, we may not be indemnified for product liability claims arising out of design defects. While we maintain insurance coverage for certain types of losses, our insurance coverage may not adequately cover any claim asserted against us, if at all. In addition, even claims that ultimately are unsuccessful could result in our expenditure of funds in litigation, divert management’s time and other resources, and harm our reputation.- 24 -Table of ContentsIn addition, our classifications of application type, virus, spyware, vulnerability exploits, data, or URL categories may falsely detect, report, and act on applications, content, or threats that do not actually exist.In addition, our classifications of application type, virus, spyware, vulnerability exploits, data, or URL categories may falsely detect, report, and act on applications, content, or threats that do not actually exist. This risk is heightened by the inclusion of a “heuristics” feature in our products and subscriptions, which attempts to identify applications and other threats not based on any known signatures but based on characteristics or anomalies which indicate that a particular item may be a threat. These false positives may impair the perceived reliability of our products and subscriptions and may therefore adversely impact market acceptance of our products and subscriptions and could result in damage to our reputation, negative publicity, loss of channel partners, end-customers and sales, increased costs to remedy any problem, and costly litigation.Our ability to sell our products and subscriptions is dependent on the quality of our technical support services and those of our channel partners, and the failure to offer high-quality technical support services could have a material adverse effect on our end-customers’ satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, our sales, and our operating results.After our products and subscriptions are deployed within our end-customers’ networks, our end-customers depend on our technical support services, as well as the support of our channel partners, to resolve any issues relating to our products. Many larger enterprise, service provider, and government entity end-customers have more complex networks and require higher levels of support than smaller end-customers. If our channel partners do not effectively provide support to the satisfaction of our end-customers, we may be required to provide direct support to such end-customers, which would require us to hire additional personnel and to invest in additional resources. If we are not able to hire such resources fast enough to keep up with unexpected demand, support to our end-customers will be negatively impacted, and our end-customers’ satisfaction with our products and subscriptions will be adversely affected. Additionally, to the extent that we may need to rely on our sales engineers to provide post-sales support while we are ramping up our support resources, our sales productivity will be negatively impacted, which would harm our revenues. Accordingly, our failure, or our channel partners’ failure, to provide and maintain high-quality support services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.RISKS RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSINGClaims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could harm our business.Companies in the enterprise security industry own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks, domain names, and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, non-practicing entities also frequently bring claims of infringement of intellectual property rights. Third parties are asserting, have asserted, and may in the future assert claims of infringement of intellectual property rights against us. For example, on January 31, 2024, in the Centripetal Networks, Inc. lawsuit against us, a jury returned a verdict of non-willful infringement with a lump sum amount of $151.5 million, plus statutory interest, for which we have accrued $184.4 million for the verdict amount and estimated interest as of July 31, 2024. Additional examples of patent infringement cases have been disclosed in Note 12.

Commitments and Contingencies in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Third parties may also assert such claims against our end-customers or channel partners, whom our standard license and other agreements obligate us to indemnify against claims that our products and subscriptions infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties. - 23 -Table of ContentsThird parties may also assert such claims against our end-customers or channel partners, whom our standard license and other agreements obligate us to indemnify against claims that our products and subscriptions infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties. In addition, to the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited, that they have divulged proprietary or other confidential information, or that their former employers own their inventions or other work product. Furthermore, we may be unaware of the intellectual property rights of others that may cover some or all of our technology, products, subscriptions, and services. As we expand our footprint, both in our platforms, products, subscriptions, and services and geographically, more overlaps occur and we may face more infringement claims both in the United States and abroad. While we have been increasing the size of our patent portfolio, our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than we have. In addition, litigation has involved and will likely continue to involve patent-holding companies or other adverse patent owners who have no relevant product revenue and against whom our own patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. In addition, we have not registered our trademarks in all of our geographic markets and failure to secure those registrations could adversely affect our ability to enforce and defend our trademark rights. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, could distract our management from our business, and could require us to cease use of such intellectual property. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. A successful claimant could secure a judgment, or we may agree to a settlement that prevents us from distributing certain products or performing certain services or that requires us to pay substantial damages, royalties, or other fees. Any of these events could seriously harm our business, financial condition, and operating results.- 25 -Table of ContentsOur proprietary rights may be difficult to enforce or protect, which could enable others to copy or use aspects of our products or subscriptions without compensating us.We rely and expect to continue to rely on a combination of confidentiality and license agreements with our employees, consultants, and third parties with whom we have relationships, as well as trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret protection laws, to protect our proprietary rights. We have filed various applications for certain aspects of our intellectual property. Valid patents may not issue from our pending applications, and the claims eventually allowed on any patents may not be sufficiently broad to comprehensively protect our technology or products and subscriptions. Valid patents may not issue from our pending applications, and the claims eventually allowed on any patents may not be sufficiently broad to protect our technology or products and subscriptions. We cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our pending patent applications or that we were the first to file for patent protection, which could prevent our patent applications from issuing as patents or invalidate our patents following issuance. Additionally, the process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Any issued patents may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, and any rights granted under these patents may not actually provide adequate defensive protection or competitive advantages to us. Additional uncertainty may result from changes to patent-related laws and court rulings in the United States and other jurisdictions. As a result, we may not be able to obtain adequate patent protection or effectively enforce any issued patents.Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our products or subscriptions or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. We generally enter into confidentiality or license agreements with our employees, consultants, vendors, and end-customers, and generally limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information. However, we cannot be certain that we have entered into such agreements with all parties who may have or have had access to our confidential information or that the agreements we have entered into will not be breached. We cannot guarantee that any of the measures we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our technology. Because we may be an attractive target for computer hackers, we may have a greater risk of unauthorized access to, and misappropriation of, our proprietary information. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as the laws of the United States, and many foreign countries do not enforce these laws as diligently as government agencies and private parties in the United States. From time to time, we may need to take legal action to enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could negatively affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. Attempts to enforce our rights against third parties could also provoke these third parties to assert their own intellectual property or other rights against us or result in a holding that invalidates or narrows the scope of our rights, in whole or in part. If we are unable to protect our proprietary rights (including aspects of our software and products protected other than by patent rights), we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage to others who need not incur the additional expense, time, and effort required to create the innovative products that have enabled us to be successful to date. Any of these events would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.Our use of open source software in our products and subscriptions could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subscriptions and subject us to possible litigation.Our products and subscriptions contain software modules licensed to us by third-party authors under “open source” licenses. Some open source licenses contain requirements that we make available applicable source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the type of open source software we use. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain open source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar products or subscriptions with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of product sales for us.Although we take reasonable steps to monitor our use of open source software to avoid subjecting our products and subscriptions to conditions we do not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by United States courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products and subscriptions.Although we monitor our use of open source software to avoid subjecting our products and subscriptions to conditions we do not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by United States courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products and subscriptions. From time to time, there have been claims against companies that distribute or use open source software in their products and subscriptions, asserting that open source software infringes the claimants’ intellectual property rights. We could be subject to suits by parties claiming infringement of intellectual property rights in what we believe to be licensed open source software. If we are held to have breached the terms of an open source software license, we could be required to seek licenses from third parties to continue offering our products and subscriptions on terms that are not economically feasible, to reengineer our products and subscriptions, to discontinue the sale of our products and subscriptions if reengineering could not be accomplished on a timely basis, or to make generally available, in source code form, our proprietary code, any of which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.- 26 -Table of ContentsIn addition to risks related to license requirements, usage of open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or assurance of title or controls on origin of the software.In addition to risks related to license requirements, usage of open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or assurance of title or controls on origin of the software. In addition, many of the risks associated with usage of open source software, such as the lack of warranties or assurances of title, cannot be eliminated, and could, if not properly addressed, negatively affect our business. We have established processes to help alleviate these risks, including a review process for screening requests from our development organizations for the use of open source software, but we cannot be sure that our processes for controlling our use of open source software in our products and subscriptions will be effective. We license technology from third parties, and our inability to maintain those licenses could harm our business.We incorporate technology that we license from third parties, including software, into our products and subscriptions. We cannot be certain that our licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties or that our licensors have sufficient rights to the licensed intellectual property in all jurisdictions in which we may sell our products and subscriptions. In addition, some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. Some of our agreements with our licensors may be terminated for convenience by them. We may also be subject to additional fees or be required to obtain new licenses if any of our licensors allege that we have not properly paid for such licenses or that we have improperly used the technologies under such licenses, and such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to continue to license any of this technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our licensors or against us, or claims against us by our licensors, or if we are unable to continue our license agreements or enter into new licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to develop and sell products and subscriptions containing such technology would be severely limited and our business could be harmed. Additionally, if we are unable to license necessary technology from third parties, we may be forced to acquire or develop alternative technology, which we may be unable to do in a commercially feasible manner or at all, and we may be required to use alternative technology of lower quality or performance standards. This would limit and delay our ability to offer new or competitive products and subscriptions and increase our costs of production. As a result, our margins, market share, and operating results could be significantly harmed.RISKS RELATED TO OPERATIONSBecause we depend on manufacturing partners to build and ship our hardware products, we are susceptible to manufacturing and logistics delays and pricing fluctuations that could prevent us from shipping customer orders on time, if at all, or on a cost-effective basis, which may result in the loss of sales and end-customers.We depend on manufacturing partners, primarily our EMS provider, Flex, to manufacture our hardware product lines. Our substantial reliance on Flex, as well as other manufacturing partners subjects us to potential concentration risks, such as reduced control over the manufacturing process, quality assurance, product costs, product supply, and timing. Our reliance on these manufacturing partners reduces our control over the manufacturing process and exposes us to risks, including reduced control over quality assurance, product costs, product supply, timing, and transportation risk. Our hardware products are manufactured by our manufacturing partners at facilities located primarily in the United States. Some of the components in our products are sourced either through Flex or directly by us from component suppliers outside the United States. The portion of our hardware products that are sourced outside the United States may subject us to geopolitical risks, additional logistical risks or risks associated with complying with local rules and regulations in foreign countries. Significant changes to existing international trade agreements could lead to sourcing or logistics disruption resulting from import delays or the imposition of increased tariffs on our sourcing partners. - 25 -Table of ContentsSignificant changes to existing international trade agreements could lead to sourcing or logistics disruption resulting from import delays or the imposition of increased tariffs on our sourcing partners. For example, the United States and Chinese governments have each enacted, and discussed additional, import tariffs. Some components that we import for final manufacturing in the United States have been impacted by these tariffs. As a result, our costs have increased and we have raised, and may be required to further raise, prices on our hardware products. As a result, our costs have increased and we have raised, and may be required to further raise, prices on our hardware products, all of which could severely impair our ability to fulfill orders. Our manufacturing partners typically fulfill our supply requirements on the basis of individual purchase orders. We do not have long-term contracts with these manufacturers that guarantee capacity, the continuation of particular pricing terms, or the extension of credit limits. Accordingly, they are not obligated to continue to fulfill our supply requirements and the prices we pay for manufacturing services could be increased on short notice. Our contract with Flex permits them to terminate the agreement for their convenience, subject to prior notice requirements. If we are required to change manufacturing partners, our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers could be adversely affected, which could cause the loss of sales to existing or potential end-customers, delayed revenue or an increase in our costs which could adversely affect our gross margins. Any production interruptions for any reason, such as a natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, capacity shortages, or quality problems at one of our manufacturing partners would negatively affect sales of our product lines manufactured by that manufacturing partner and adversely affect our business and operating results.- 27 -Table of ContentsManaging the supply of our hardware products and product components is complex. Insufficient supply and inventory would result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory would harm our gross margins.Our manufacturing partners procure components and build our hardware products based on our forecasts, and we generally do not hold inventory for a prolonged period of time. These forecasts are based on estimates of future demand for our products, which are in turn based on historical trends and analyses from our sales and product management organizations, adjusted for overall market conditions. In order to reduce manufacturing lead times and plan for adequate component supply, from time to time we may issue forecasts for components and products that are non-cancelable and non-returnable.Our inventory management systems and related supply chain visibility tools may be inadequate to enable us to forecast accurately and effectively manage supply of our hardware products and product components. If we ultimately determine that we have excess supply, we may have to reduce our prices and write-down inventory, which in turn could result in lower gross margins. If our actual component usage and product demand are lower than the forecast we provide to our manufacturing partners, we accrue for losses on manufacturing commitments in excess of forecasted demand. Alternatively, insufficient supply levels may lead to shortages that result in delayed hardware product revenue or loss of sales opportunities altogether as potential end-customers turn to competitors’ products that are readily available. If we are unable to effectively manage our supply and inventory, our operating results could be adversely affected.Because some of the key components in our hardware products come from limited sources of supply, we are susceptible to supply shortages or supply changes, which, in certain cases, have disrupted or delayed our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers, increased our costs and may result in the loss of sales and end-customers.Our hardware products rely on key components, including integrated circuit components, which our manufacturing partners purchase on our behalf from a limited number of component suppliers, including sole source providers. The manufacturing operations of some of our component suppliers are geographically concentrated in Asia and elsewhere, which makes our supply chain vulnerable to regional disruptions, such as natural disasters, fire, political instability, civil unrest, power outages, or health risks. In the past, we experienced supply chain disruption and have incurred increased costs resulting from inflationary pressures. In addition, we continue to experience supply chain disruption and have incurred increased costs resulting from inflationary pressures. We are also monitoring the tensions between China and Taiwan, and between the U.S. and China, which could have an adverse impact on our business or results of operations in future periods.Further, we do not have volume purchase contracts with any of our component suppliers, and they could cease selling to us at any time. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of these components in a timely manner for any reason, sales of our hardware products could be delayed or halted, or we could be forced to expedite shipment of such components or our hardware products at dramatically increased costs. Our component suppliers also change their selling prices frequently in response to market trends, including industry-wide increases in demand. Because we do not have, for the most part, volume purchase contracts with our component suppliers, we are susceptible to price fluctuations related to raw materials and components and may not be able to adjust our prices accordingly. Additionally, poor quality in any of the sole-sourced components in our products could result in lost sales or sales opportunities.If we are unable to obtain a sufficient volume of the necessary components for our hardware products on commercially reasonable terms or the quality of the components do not meet our requirements, we could also be forced to redesign our products and qualify new components from alternate component suppliers. The resulting stoppage or delay in selling our hardware products and the expense of redesigning our hardware products would result in lost sales opportunities and damage to customer relationships, which would adversely affect our business and operating results.If we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate our key technical, sales, and management personnel, our business could suffer.Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract, retain, and motivate the members of our management team and other key employees. For example, we are substantially dependent on the continued service of our engineering personnel because of the complexity of our offerings. Competition for highly skilled personnel, particularly in engineering, including in the areas of AI and machine learning, is often intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we have a substantial presence and need for such personnel. In addition, the industry in which we operate generally experiences high employee attrition. Our future performance depends on the continuing services and contributions of our senior management to execute on our business plan and to identify and pursue new opportunities and product innovations. If we are unable to hire, integrate, train, or retain the qualified and highly skilled personnel required to fulfill our current or future needs, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be harmed.- 28 -Table of ContentsFurther, we believe that a critical contributor to our success and our ability to retain highly skilled personnel has been our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, inclusion, teamwork, passion for end-customers, focus on execution, and the facilitation of critical knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing.Further, we believe that a critical contributor to our success and our ability to retain highly skilled personnel has been our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, inclusion, teamwork, passion for end-customers, focus on execution, and the facilitation of critical knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. As we grow and change, we may find it difficult to maintain these important aspects of our corporate culture. While we are taking steps to develop a more inclusive and diverse workforce, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so. Any failure to preserve our culture as we grow could limit our ability to innovate and could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, continue to perform at current levels or execute on our business strategy.We generate a significant amount of revenue from sales to distributors, resellers, and end-customers outside of the United States, and we are therefore subject to a number of risks associated with international sales and operations.Our ability to grow our business and our future success will depend to a significant extent on our ability to expand our operations and customer base worldwide. Many of our customers, resellers, partners, suppliers, and manufacturers operate around the world. Operating in a global marketplace, we are subject to risks associated with having an international reach and compliance and regulatory requirements. We may experience difficulties in attracting, managing, and retaining an international staff, and we may not be able to recruit and maintain successful strategic distributor relationships internationally. Business practices in the international markets that we serve may differ from those in the United States and may require us in the future to include terms other than our standard terms related to payment, warranties, or performance obligations in end-customer contracts. Additionally, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following:•political, economic, and social uncertainty around the world, health risks such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, macroeconomic challenges, terrorist activities, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, the hostilities in Israel and the surrounding region, and continued hostilities in the Middle East;•unexpected changes in, or the application of, foreign and domestic laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights protections), regulatory practices, trade restrictions, and foreign legal requirements, including those applicable to the importation, certification, and localization of our products, tariffs, and tax laws and treaties, including regulatory and trade policy changes adopted by the current administration, such as the Sanctions on Russia, or foreign countries in response to regulatory changes adopted by the current administration; and•non-compliance with U. Additionally, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following:•political, economic, and social uncertainty around the world, health risks such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, macroeconomic challenges in Europe, terrorist activities, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, and continued hostilities in the Middle East;•unexpected changes in, or the application of, foreign and domestic laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights protections), regulatory practices, trade restrictions, and foreign legal requirements, including those applicable to the importation, certification, and localization of our products, tariffs, and tax laws and treaties, including regulatory and trade policy changes adopted by the current administration, such as the Sanctions on Russia, or foreign countries in response to regulatory changes adopted by the current administration; and•non-compliance with U. S. and foreign laws, including antitrust regulations, anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom (“U. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U. K.”) Bribery Act, U.S. or foreign sanctions regimes and export or import control laws, and any trade regulations ensuring fair trade practices.These and other factors could harm our future international revenues and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our failure to successfully manage our international operations and the associated risks effectively could limit the future growth of our business.We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results.Our sales contracts are denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore, our revenue is not subject to foreign currency risk; however, in the event of a strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies in which we conduct business, the cost of our products to our end-customers outside of the United States would increase, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. In addition, increased international sales in the future, including through our channel partners and other partnerships or as a result of our acquisitions, may result in foreign currency denominated sales, increasing our foreign currency risk. In addition, increased international sales in the future, including through our channel partners and other partnerships, may result in foreign currency denominated sales, increasing our foreign currency risk. Our operating expenses incurred outside the United States and denominated in foreign currencies are generally increasing and are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. - 27 -Table of ContentsOur operating expenses incurred outside the United States and denominated in foreign currencies are generally increasing and are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. If we are not able to successfully hedge against the risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations, our financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. We have entered into forward contracts in an effort to reduce our foreign currency exchange exposure related to our foreign currency denominated expenditures. As of July 31, 2024, the total notional amount of our outstanding foreign currency forward contracts was $1.2 billion.5 million. For more information on our hedging transactions, refer to Note 6.

Derivative Instruments in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The effectiveness of our existing hedging transactions and the availability and effectiveness of any hedging transactions we may decide to enter into in the future may be limited and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.