$WMS Risk Factor changes from 00/05/18/23/2023 to 00/05/16/24/2024

Item 1A. Risk Factors”) and those described from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those reflected in forward-looking statements relating to our operations and business include, among other things:•fluctuations in the price and availability of resins and other raw materials and our ability to pass any increased costs of raw materials on to our customers in a timely manner;•disruption or volatility in general business and economic conditions in the markets in which we operate;•cyclicality and seasonality of the non-residential and residential construction markets and infrastructure spending;•the risks of increasing competition in our existing and future markets;•uncertainties surrounding the integration and realization of anticipated benefits of acquisitions;•the effect of any claims, litigation, investigations or proceedings, including those described under “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” of this Annual Report;•the effect of weather or seasonality;•the effect of global climate changes;•the loss of any of our significant customers;•our ability successfully integrate businesses to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or do so within the intended timeframe;•the risks of doing business internationally;•the risks of conducting a portion of our operations through joint ventures;•our ability to expand into new geographic or product markets; •the risk associated with manufacturing processes;•our ability to protect against cybersecurity incidents and disruptions or failures of our IT systems;•our ability to assess and monitor the effects of artificial intelligence on our business and operations;•our ability to manage our supply purchasing and customer credit policies;•our ability to control labor costs and to attract, train and retain highly qualified employees and key personnel;•our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;•changes in laws and regulations, including environmental laws and regulations;•our ability to appropriately address any environmental, social or governmental concerns that may arise from our activities; •the risks associated with our current levels of indebtedness, including borrowings under our existing credit agreement and outstanding indebtedness under our existing senior notes; and•other risks and uncertainties, including those listed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.

”Please read this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that actual future results may be materially different from expectations.

All forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are qualified by these cautionary statements.

All forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we do not undertake any obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends, or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.iiiTable of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.PART IItem 1.

BusinessCOMPANY OVERVIEWUnless the context otherwise indicates or requires, as used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” “ADS” and the “Company” refer to Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. and its directly- and indirectly-owned subsidiaries as a combined entity, except where it is clear that the terms mean only Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. exclusive of its subsidiaries. The term “Infiltrator” refers to Infiltrator Water Technologies, LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary.ADS is the leading manufacturer of innovative water management solutions in the stormwater and onsite septic wastewater industries, providing superior drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces. Our innovative products are used across a broad range of end markets and applications, including residential, non-residential, infrastructure and agriculture applications. We believe the ADS brand has long been associated with quality products and market-leading performance. Our trademarked green stripe, which is prominently displayed on many of our products, serves as clear identification of our commitment to the customers and markets we serve, and fortifies our brand recognition and presence. Our approach to water management is to manage the lifecycle of a raindrop from the moment water hits the ground until it is released back into the ecosystem. Our product portfolio is built around four steps of this lifecycle: Capture, Conveyance, Storage, and Treatment. Our solutions safely and efficiently manage stormwater with environmentally friendly products. We believe we are the only water management solutions company that manages stormwater from when the rain first hits the ground until the moment it is returned to lakes and streams.We estimate that the stormwater industry, annually, is an approximately $13 billion industry. We estimate that the onsite septic market is a roughly $2 billion industry and that approximately 30% of new North American single-family homes utilize septic systems. On a combined basis, we estimate that we have an addressable market opportunity of approximately $15 billion.SEGMENT INFORMATIONFor a discussion of segment and geographic information, see “Note 19. Business Segment Information” to our audited consolidated financial statements included in “Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K.1Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.As illustrated in the charts below, we provide a broad range of high performance thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related water management products to a highly diversified set of end markets and geographies.Fiscal 2024 RevenueOUR PRODUCTSWe design, manufacture and market a complete line of high performance thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related water management products for use in a wide range of end markets. Our product line includes: single, double and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipe (“Pipe”), plastic leachfield chambers and systems, septic tanks and accessories (or “Infiltrator”), and a variety of additional water management products (“Allied Products & Other” or “Allied Products”) including: storm retention/detention and septic chambers (“Chambers”); polyvinyl chloride drainage structures (“Structures”); fittings (“Fittings”); and water quality filters and separators (“Water Quality”). We also sell various complementary products distributed through resale agreements, including geotextile products, drainage grates and other products (“Other Resale”). The table below summarizes the percentage of Net Sales for Pipe, Infiltrator, International and Allied Products & Other.Our products and engineering project designs have been continuously and frequently recognized by the industry. This includes being honored many times during the past decade as the Plastics Pipe Institute’s Project of the Year.numerous awards from organizations such as the American Society of Testing & Materials (“ASTM”), the American Society of Civil Engineers, and many others.PipeDual Wall Corrugated Pipe - Our N-12 pipe is a dual wall high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”) pipe with a corrugated exterior for strength and a smooth interior wall for hydraulics and flow capacity. Our N-12 pipe competes in the storm sewer and drainage markets that are also served by concrete pipe. Our N-12 pipe is available in a wide range of diameters and sections of length. N-12 provides joint integrity, with integral bell and spigot joints for fast push-together installations and is sold either with watertight or soil-tight coupling and fitting systems. Our corrugated polyethylene pipe offers many benefits including ease of installation, job-site handling and resistance to corrosion and abrasion. Corrugated pipe can easily be cut or coupled together, providing precise laying lengths while minimizing installation waste and difficulty.HP Storm Pipe and SaniTite HP Pipe - Our HP Storm pipe utilizes polypropylene (“PP”) resin, which provides: (i) increased pipe stiffness relative to HDPE; (ii) higher Environmental Stress Crack Resistance (“ESCR”); and (iii) improved thermal properties, which improves joint performance. These improved physical characteristics result in a reduced need for select backfill, which creates installation savings for customers and expands the range of possible product applications.Our SaniTite HP pipe utilizes the same polypropylene resins as our HP Storm pipe but includes a smooth third exterior wall in 30” to 60” pipe. The highly engineered polypropylene resin along with the triple wall design enables SaniTite HP to surpass the stiffness requirement for sanitary sewer applications. SaniTite HP offers cost and performance advantages relative to reinforced concrete pipe (such as improved hydraulics and better joint integrity) and polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) pipe (such as impact resistance).Single Wall Corrugated Pipe - Our single wall corrugated HDPE pipe is ideal for drainage projects where flexibility, light weight and low cost are important. Single wall HDPE pipe products have been used for decades in agricultural drainage, highway edge drains, septic systems and other construction applications. In the agricultural market, improved technology has highlighted the favorable impact of drainage on crop yields. For homeowners, it is an economical and easily installed solution for downspout run-off, foundation drains, driveway culverts and general lawn drainage. Single wall pipe is also used for golf courses, parks and athletic fields to keep surfaces dry by channeling away excess underground moisture. Standard single wall products are available in a wide range of diameters and sold in varying lengths. Pipe can be either perforated or non-perforated depending on the particular drainage application.Triple Wall Corrugated Pipe and Smoothwall HDPE Pipe - Our ADS-3000 Triple Wall pipe, small diameter triple wall corrugated pipe, consists of a corrugated polyethylene core molded between a smooth white outer wall and a smooth black inner wall. This combination of the three-wall design adds strength and stiffness, while reducing weight as compared to PVC 2729. Triple Wall is produced and sold through our distribution network. We also manufacture smoothwall HDPE pipe sold into the residential drainage and onsite septic systems markets.InfiltratorInfiltrator is the leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered plastic chambers, synthetic aggregate leachfields, combined treatment and dispersal systems, plastic tanks, active treatment systems, and related accessories that are used in septic systems and decentralized commercial wastewater treatment systems. The onsite wastewater (septic) market is heavily reliant on rural homes and communities that do not have access to centralized sewer and will require an onsite wastewater or septic solution. Onsite wastewater technologies are scalable and can easily meet the needs of churches, schools, light commercial and small community construction projects.Leachfield Products – Our Quick4 and Arc line of septic leachfield chambers are injection molded using recycled polyolefin materials. There are Quick4 and Arc line chamber models available to meet a wide variety of regulatory and market needs. The Quick4 and Arc chambers are engineered for strength and performance, easy to install, and offer the user greater design flexibility, including a smaller footprint, as compared with traditional stone and pipe products. The product advantages are cost savings on labor, materials and time savings on the job.EZflow - EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles replace stone and pipe leachfields for effluent and drainage applications. The EZflow proprietary products are a modular design that incorporates recycled polystyrene aggregate bundles and corrugated polyethylene pipe that act as a replacement to the traditional materials stone and pipe.Tank Products – Our Infiltrator tanks line, including our IM-Series and CM-Series septic tanks, are injection or compression molded polypropylene plastic tanks manufactured from recycled materials. Our Infiltrator tanks are available in various capacities for wastewater storage. Our IM-Series is the only two-piece construction, injection molded septic tank 3Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.design in North America. In comparison to traditional concrete tanks, our Infiltrator tanks are easier to transport to the job site and require less time and energy to install.Our IM-Series line of potable tanks are injection-molded polypropylene plastic tanks manufactured from virgin materials suitable for water reuse and drinking water storage. IM-Series potable tanks are available in various capacities for water storage. IM-Series potable tanks are commonly used in water cistern applications, such as rainwater harvesting systems.Advanced Treatment Systems – Our Advanced Treatment Systems, previously known as Delta Treatment Systems, provide a higher level of wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems with daily flows up to 100,000 gallons per day. Combined Treatment and Dispersal Products - Combined Treatment and Dispersal Products includes our Advanced Enviro-Septic (“AES”), previously known as Presby Treatment Dispersal Systems, and Advanced Treatment Leachfield (“ATL”). Our AES systems are proprietary combined treatment and dispersal systems made with a twelve-inch diameter corrugated extrusion product that is encapsulated in fibrous materials and geotextiles. These systems when installed in a bed of sand provide combined treatment and dispersal in the same small footprint and at a reduced cost with minimal long-term maintenance.Our ATL product is an alternative combined treatment and dispersal system that provides advanced wastewater treatment. The ATL is a profile of polystyrene aggregates and geotextiles installed in a bed of sand.Allied Products & OtherWe produce a range of Allied Products that are complementary to our Pipe products. Our Allied Products offer adjacent technologies to our core Pipe offering, presenting a complete drainage solution for our clients and customers with this combination forming a key strategy in our sales growth, profitability and market share penetration. The practice of selling a drainage system is attractive to both distributors and end users, by providing a broad package of products that can be sold on individual projects and strengthens our competitive advantage in the marketplace. We aggressively seek and evaluate new products, technologies and regulatory changes that impact our customers’ needs for Allied Products.The underground construction industry has historically been project (not product) driven, creating the impetus for owners, engineers and contractors to seek manufacturers that deliver solution-based product portfolios. Many of the components of underground construction are related and require linear compatibility of function, regulatory approval and technology.Storm Chambers - Our StormTech and Cultec, acquired in April 2022, chambers are used for stormwater retention, detention and “first flush” underground water storage on residential and non-residential site development along with public projects. These highly engineered chambers are injection molded or thermoformed from HDPE and PP resins into a proprietary design which provides strength, durability, and resistance to corrosion. The chambers allow for the efficient storage of stormwater volume, reducing the underground construction footprint and costs to the contractors, developers, and property owners. The chambers are open bottom, which allows for high density stacking in both storage and shipment. This freight-efficient feature drives favorable cost-competitiveness in serving long-distance export markets. These chamber systems typically incorporate our other product lines such as corrugated pipe, fabricated fittings, water quality units and geotextiles.Structures - Our Nyloplast PVC drainage structures are used in non-residential, residential and municipal site development, road and highway construction, as well as landscaping, recreational, industrial and mechanical applications. The product family includes inline drains, drain basins, curb inlets and water control structures which move surface-collected stormwater vertically down to pipe conveyance systems. These custom structures are fabricated from sections of PVC pipe using a thermoforming process to achieve exact site-specific hydraulic design requirements. Our Nyloplast products are a preferred alternative to heavier and larger concrete structures, by offering greater design flexibility and improved ease of installation which reduces overall project costs and timelines. The structures incorporate rubber gaskets to ensure watertight connections, preventing soil infiltration which plagues competitive products.Fittings - We produce fittings and couplings utilizing blow molding, injection molding and custom fabrication on our pipe products. Our innovative coupling and fitting products are highly complementary to our broader product suite and include both soil-tight and water-tight capabilities across the full pipe diameter spectrum. Our fittings are sold in all end markets where we sell our current pipe products.Other Products - Our ARC, BioDiffuser, Contactor and Recharger products are chambers that are used in septic systems for residential and small volume non-residential wastewater treatment and disposal. The innovative design of our chambers are generally approved for a footprint reduction, further reducing the cost of the septic system. Injection-molded or thermoformed from HDPE or PP, these products are strong, durable, and chemical-resistant. These interconnecting 4Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.chambers are favored by septic contractors because they are lightweight and easy to install, and the Arc chamber offers articulating features which increase site-specific design flexibility. The ARC chamber products are manufactured by Infiltrator.Our Water Quality product line targets the removal of sediment, debris, oils and suspended solids throughout a stormwater rain event by separating and/or filtering unwanted pollutants.We purchase and distribute construction fabrics and other geosynthetic products for soil stabilization, reinforcement, filtration, separation, erosion control, and sub-surface drainage. Constructed of woven and non-woven PP, geotextile products provide permanent, cost-efficient site-development solutions. Construction fabrics and geotextiles have applications in all of our end markets. Our Inserta Tee product line consists of a PVC hub, rubber sleeve and stainless steel band. Inserta Tee is compression fit into the cored wall of a mainline pipe and can be used with all pipe material types and profiles. This product offers an easy tap-in to existing sanitary and storm sewers by limiting the excavation needed for installation compared to competitive products.RAW MATERIALS AND SUPPLIERSVirgin HDPE and PP resins are derivatives of ethylene and propylene, respectively. Ethylene and propylene are derived from natural gas liquids or crude oil derivatives primarily in the U.S. We currently purchase in excess of 1.1 billion pounds of virgin and recycled resin annually from approximately 525 suppliers. As a high-volume buyer of resin, we achieve economies of scale to negotiate favorable terms and pricing. Our purchasing strategies differ based on the material (virgin resin versus recycled material) ordered for delivery to our production locations. The price movements of the different materials also vary, resulting in the need to use strategies to reduce volatility and successfully pass cost increases on to our customers through timely selling price increases when needed.We have relationships with most of the North American producers of virgin high-density polyethylene and impact copolymer polypropylene producers that manufacture the grades we need to produce our products. The North American capacity for ethylene derivatives has been expanded primarily as a result of supplies of natural gas liquids being produced through sustained oil and gas exploration and production.Fiscal 2024 Materials PurchasedFurther, we are focused on a program of continuous sustainability improvement, with approximately 360 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled HDPE and 130 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled polypropylene converted each year to make our products. This industry-leading program keeps millions of used bottles out of the landfill and puts them to work again for more than a hundred years as part of our infrastructure. This recycling capacity not only contributes to our sustainability initiatives through the promotion of a circular economy, but also allows us to better and more quickly serve the needs of our customers.We leverage our raw material blending and processing technologies to produce an HDPE pipe that incorporates recycled resin. These products, which meet an ASTM International standard and an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials standard, replaces a majority of the virgin resin that is used with optimized recycled materials.manufacturing of septic leach field chambers and tanks leverage these same core competencies in the use of recycled polypropylene material streams. ADS Recycling procures and processes recycled raw materials that can be used in products we produce and sell.We maintain relationships with several of the largest environmental companies which provide us with post-consumer HDPE and PP recycled materials. We also maintain relationships with several key post-industrial HDPE and PP suppliers which provide us with materials that cannot otherwise be utilized in their respective production processes.We are one of the largest domestic recyclers of HDPE and PP. We believe that we are well positioned for future growth as we add additional recycled material processing facilities, add capacity to existing facilities, and expand our supplier base for recycled and virgin resin. We anticipate continued growth in the availability of ethylene and propylene which are used to manufacture HDPE and PP, respectively.In August 2022, we announced plans to invest $65 million near our existing headquarters to fund the development of a 110,000 square foot Engineering & Technology Center. This new facility will be dedicated to innovation across product engineering, material science and manufacturing technology and we anticipate it will open in fiscal 2025. OUR MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMWe have a leading domestic and international manufacturing and distribution infrastructure, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and other countries worldwide through 64 manufacturing plants and 41 distribution centers, including eight manufacturing plants and seven distribution centers owned or leased by our joint ventures. In November 2023, we announced a plan to build a new pipe manufacturing facility on a 100-acre site in Lake Wales, Florida. The facility is designed with the future workforce in mind, promoting safety, efficient flow of materials and traffic, and incorporating the Company’s most advanced automation technologies for the manufacturing of corrugated thermoplastic pipe. We manufacture our corrugated pipe products using a continuous extrusion process, where polyethylene or polypropylene is extruded through a die into a moving series of corrugated U-shaped molds. We utilize customized and proprietary production equipment, which we believe produces higher quality final products and is more cost efficient than other pipe making equipment generally available in the market.United States Pipe and Allied Product FacilitiesDomestically, we can produce more than one billion pounds of pipe annually. Additional capacity is in place to support seasonal production needs and expected growth. This transportability provides us with the flexibility to optimize our capacity through centrally coordinated production planning, which helps to adapt to shifting sales demand patterns while reducing the capital needed for tooling. With our large manufacturing footprint, we can support rapid seasonal demand growth while focusing on customer service and minimizing transportation costs.6Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.A wide variety of production processes and expertise allow us to provide cost-effective finished goods at competitive prices delivered in a timely fashion to our customers. Our molds and machines have been designed to maximize interchangeability in order to optimize flexibility, maximize efficiency and minimize downtime. The standard fittings products (tees, wyes, elbows, etc.) that we produce and sell to connect our pipe on job sites are blow molded or injection molded at three domestic plants. In addition, customized fabricated fittings (e.g. more complex dual wall pipe reducers, bends or structures) are produced in specific North American plants. We produce storm and septic chambers, tanks and accessories using injection molding machines ranging in size. International Presence – We own manufacturing facilities in Canada to produce our products for sale in the Canadian markets. We serve international markets primarily in Mexico, Central America and South America through joint venture operations with local partners. Our joint venture strategy has provided us with local and regional access to key markets such as Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Peru. Our international joint ventures produce pipe and related products to be sold in their respective regional markets. We also have wholly-owned subsidiaries that distribute our pipe and related products in Europe and the Middle East. Combining local partners’ customer relationships, brand recognition and local management talent, with our world-class manufacturing and process expertise, broad product portfolio and innovation creates a powerful solution driven platform and opportunities for continued profitable international expansion.Quality Assurance Control - We have two internal quality assurance control laboratory facilities equipped and staffed to evaluate and confirm incoming raw material and finished goods quality in addition to the quality testing that is done at our manufacturing facilities. We conduct annual safety, product and process quality audits at each of our facilities, using centralized internal resources in combination with external third-party services. In the quality area, various national and international agencies such as National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (“NTPEP”), International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (“IAPMO”), Bureau de normalisation du Québec (“BNQ”), Intertek for Canadian Standards Association (“CSA”), Entidad Mexicana de Acreditacion A.C. (“EMA”) and NSF International and several state Departments of Transportation (“DOT”) and municipal agencies conduct both scheduled and unscheduled audits/inspections of our plants to verify product quality and compliance to applicable standards.Fleet – We also operate an in-house fleet of approximately 650 tractors. Our effective shipping radius is approximately 300 miles from one of our manufacturing plants or distribution centers. The combination of a dedicated fleet and team of company drivers allows greater flexibility and responsiveness in meeting dynamic customer job site delivery expectations. We strive to achieve less than three-day lead-time on deliveries and have the added benefit of redeploying fleet and driver assets to respond to short-term regional spikes in sales activity. For deliveries that are outside an economic delivery radius of our truck fleet, common carrier deliveries are tendered to a third-party to ensure that lowest delivered freight costs are achieved while maintaining high levels of customer service. In addition, in line with our commitment to sustainability, we are continuously upgrading our tractors with state-of-the-art safety features, fuel economy, and digital technology to attract the driver of the future, reduce our total emissions and keep our drivers safe on and off the road. Our North American truck fleet incorporates approximately 1,100 trailers that are specially designed to haul our lightweight pipe and Allied Products. These designs maximize payload versus conventional over the road trailers and facilitate the loading and unloading of our products at the various customer delivery locations. The trailer design assists in managing the fuel efficiency of our fleet by decreasing total trailer weight and aerodynamic design. The scope of fleet operations also includes backhaul throughout our network to lower our total delivered cost and increase our asset utilization. Facility Network - Our scale and extensive network of Pipe and Allied Products facilities provide a critical cost advantage versus our competitors, as we are able to more efficiently transport products to our customers and end users and to promote faster product shipments due to our proximity to the delivery location.SUSTAINABILITY“Our Reason is Water” and our vision is to advance the quality of life through sustainable solutions to water management challenges. We are dedicated to providing clean water management solutions to communities and delivering unparalleled service to our customers. Our commitment to sustainability was recognized when we were named on Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024. We are focused on bringing highly engineered products to market that are both sustainable and resilient. These products assist our customers in meeting sustainability targets such as LEED or ENVISION certification while also allowing them to make needed repairs to aging infrastructure, plan for and mitigate future impacts from climate change and rapidly recover from catastrophic events when necessary. Our manufacturing facilities have no material process-related by-products 7Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.released into the atmosphere, waterways, or solid waste discharge. During pipe production start-ups and size changeovers, non-compliant scrap and any damaged finished goods pipe are recycled for internal re-use. In fiscal 2022, we announced our 10 Year Sustainability Goals, which are available on our website. The goals are a set of targets focused on the “REASON” in “Our Reason is Water” and demonstrate our commitment to leadership in environment, social and governance. The goals include: a commitment to increase our use of recycled plastic, commit to operation clean sweep for plastic pellet management, implement a supplier sustainability program, reduce our total recordable injury rate, implement closed-loop water usage at all our manufacturing locations, continue our efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion and maintain transparency in our sustainability reporting efforts.

The goals are not included as part of, or incorporated by reference, into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.SALES AND MARKETINGWe believe we have one of the largest and most experienced sales and engineering forces in the industry. Offering the broadest product line in the industry enables our sales force to source the greatest number of new opportunities and more effectively cross-sell products than any of our competitors. We consistently maintain thousands of touch points with customers, civil engineers and municipal authorities, continuously educating them on new product innovations and their advantages relative to traditional products. We believe we are the industry leader in these efforts, and we view this work as an important part of our marketing strategy, particularly in promoting N-12 and SaniTite HP for storm and sanitary sewer systems, as regulatory approvals are essential to the specification and acceptance of these product lines.Our sales and marketing strategy is divided into four components: comprehensive market coverage, diverse product offerings, readily-available local inventory and specification efforts. Our goal is to provide the distributor/owner with the most complete, readily available product line in our industry. We strive to use our manufacturing footprint, product portfolio and market expertise to efficiently service our customers.Our sales and engineering objective is to influence, track and quote all selling opportunities as early in the project life cycle as possible. We strive to be meaningfully involved in all phases of the project cycle, including design, bidding, award and installation. Conceptual project visibility allows sales and engineering professionals the ability to influence design specifications and increase the probability of inclusion of our products in bid documents. The inclusion of our products in bid documents improves the probability of completing the sale. On-demand installation support allows us to maintain customer relationships and ensure positive installation experience. In addition to direct channel customers, we also maintain and develop relationships with federal agencies, municipal agencies, national standard regulators, private consulting engineers and architects. Our consistent interaction with these market participants enables us to continue our market penetration. This ongoing dialogue has positioned us as an industry resource for design guidance and product development and as a respected expert in water management solutions.CUSTOMERSWe have a large, active customer base of approximately 16,000 customers, with two customers representing 10% or more of fiscal 2024 net sales. Ferguson Enterprises (“Ferguson”) accounted for 13.3% and Core and Main accounted for 12.5% of fiscal 2024 net sales. Our customer base is diversified across the range of end markets that we serve.A majority of our sales are made through distributors, including many of the largest national and independent waterworks distributors, with whom we have long-standing distribution relationships and who sell primarily to the storm sewer and sanitary sewer markets. We also utilize a network of hundreds of small to medium-sized independent distributors across the United States. We have strong relationships with major national retailers that carry drainage products. We offer the most complete line of HDPE products in the industry and are the only national manufacturer that can service the “Big-Box” retailers from coast-to-coast. We also sell to buying groups and co-ops in the United States that serve the plumbing, hardware, irrigation and landscaping markets. Selling to buying groups and co-ops provides us a further presence on a national, regional and local basis for the distribution of our products. Our preferred vendor status with these groups allows us to reach thousands of locations in an effective manner. Members of these groups and co-ops generally are independent businesses with strong relationships and brand recognition with smaller contractors and homeowners in their local markets. The combination of our large sales force, long-standing retail and contractor customer relationships and extensive network of manufacturing and distribution facilities complements and strengthens our broad customer and market coverage.Our customer service organization is supplemented by the employees of our manufacturing plants, distribution centers and drivers of our tractor-trailers. In conjunction with our field sales and engineering team, this highly trained and competent staff allows us to maintain more customer touch points and interaction than any of our competitors.8Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.SEASONALITYHistorically, sales of our products have been higher in the first and second quarters of each fiscal year due to favorable weather and longer daylight conditions accelerating construction activity during these periods. Seasonal variations in operating results may also be impacted by inclement weather conditions, such as cold or wet weather, which can delay projects. In the non-residential, residential and infrastructure markets in the northern United States and Canada, construction activity typically begins to increase in late March and is slower in December, January and February. In the southern and western United States, Mexico, Central America and South America, the construction markets are less seasonal. The agricultural drainage market is concentrated in the early spring just prior to planting and in the fall just after crops are harvested prior to freezing of the ground in winter.COMPETITIONWe operate in a highly fragmented industry and hold leading positions in multiple market sectors. Competition, including our competitors and specific competitive factors, varies for each market sector. Our products are generally lighter, more durable, more cost effective and easier to install than comparable alternatives made with traditional materials. Following our entrance into the non-residential construction market with the introduction of N-12 corrugated HDPE pipe in the late 1980s, our pipe has been displacing traditional materials, such as reinforced concrete, corrugated steel and PVC, across an ever-expanding range of end markets, including non-residential, residential, agriculture and infrastructure applications. In the United States, our nationwide footprint combined with our strong local presence and broad product offering make us the leader in an otherwise highly fragmented sector comprised of many smaller competitors. We believe the principal competitive factors for our market sectors include local selling coverage, product availability, breadth and cost of products, technical knowledge and expertise, customer and supplier relationships, reliability and accuracy of service, effective use of technology, delivery capabilities and timeliness, pricing of products, and the provision of credit. We believe that our competitive strengths and strategy allow us to compete effectively in our market sectors.The stormwater drainage industry, in particular, is highly fragmented with many smaller specialty and regional competitors providing a variety of product technologies and solutions. We compete against concrete pipe, corrugated steel pipe and PVC pipe producers on a national, regional and local basis. In addition, there are many HDPE pipe producers in the United States. We believe we are the only corrugated HDPE pipe producer with a national footprint, and our competitors operate primarily on a regional and local level.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYWe rely upon a combination of patents, trademarks, trade names, licensing arrangements, trade secrets, know-how and proprietary technology in order to secure and protect our intellectual property rights, both in the United States and in foreign countries.We seek to protect our new technologies with patents and trademarks and defend against patent infringement allegations. We hold a significant amount of intellectual property rights pertaining to product patents, process patents and trademarks. We continually seek to expand and improve our existing product offerings through product development and acquisitions. Although our intellectual property is important to our business operations and in the aggregate constitutes a valuable asset, we do not believe that any single patent, trademark or trade secret is critical to the success of our business as a whole. We cannot be certain that our patent applications will be issued or that any issued patents will provide us with any competitive advantages or will not be challenged by third parties.In addition, we generally control access to and use of our proprietary and other confidential information through the use of internal and external controls, including contractual protections with employees, distributors and others. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Risks Relating to Our Business - If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, or we infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.”HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCESAt the core of the Company’s history are the people, many of whom have been with the Company for several decades. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive culture, empowering employees and communities by embracing the dynamics of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and fully engaged to contribute to our future success. The ability to recruit, retain, develop and protect our global workforce is key to our success. In addition to providing competitive compensation and benefits, this includes the following categories: Health and Safety; Values; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Training.9Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.Employees - As of March 31, 2024, in our domestic and international operations, the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries had both hourly personnel and salaried employees. As of March 31, 2024, approximately 230 hourly personnel in our Mexican joint venture were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Five employees at one US location are negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.Health and Safety – Employee safety is our highest priority and a key component of our company culture. Our operations follow a comprehensive, proactive safety and health management system that includes a collaborative process to find and fix workplace hazards prior to injury occurrence. Our U.S. facilities follow the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) safety and health general industry standards under the Department of Labor and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the Department of Transportation, as required by law; our Canadian facilities follow the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations under the Canada Labour Code for the Minister of Labour and Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (“CMVSS”) under Transport Canada as required by law; and our Mexico locations follow the NOMs as required by the Federal Labor Law for the Labor Ministry (“STPS”) and Secretary of Communication and Transportation as required by law.Values – Our success as a company is built on the Honesty, Professionalism, and Core Values of our employees, directors, and agents. These three tenets serve as the guiding principles of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Ethics Code”). •Honesty: We believe in always being honest in dealing with our customers, suppliers, and others and complying with all laws and regulations applicable to our business at all levels.•Professionalism: We believe in providing our products and services in a prompt and professional manner, gaining the loyalty and trust of our customers and suppliers. •Core Values: We believe in certain “core values” centered upon ensuring quality throughout our product and organization for long-term growth and profitability.The Ethics Code provides a framework by which we maintain the highest ethical standards in the conduct of our business and is an integral part of implementing our vision of ethically and sustainably maximizing value. All members of our organization are expected to adhere to each of the policies of the Ethics Code, while also employing good ethical judgment. The Ethics Code provides guidelines in relation to conflicts of interest, fair dealing, confidential information and intellectual property, fair employment practices, environmental health and safety, and improper payments to third parties, among many other areas of ethical business conduct.Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – As a global company, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive culture, empowering employees and communities by embracing the dynamics of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and fully engaged to contribute to our future success.We base hiring and promotional decisions on job qualifications, such as work records, performance history and length of service, to ensure equal opportunity to all. We also ensure equal opportunity across all relevant aspects of employment such as recruiting, job assignment, compensation, benefits, transfers, promotional opportunities, Company sponsored training, and recreation programs, among others.Training – Our operational and management training programs are core to our commitment and enablement of a safe and productive manufacturing environment.quality, product knowledge and manufacturing process. Our learning management system serves as the foundation of our operational training programs and provides us with appropriate scale, efficiency, and governance to support our growth. We have a strong commitment to the training of our manufacturing supervisors and managers in technical, management, and leadership subjects through intense role-based assimilation plans, e-learning and classroom-based development experiences.REGULATIONOur operations are affected by various statutes, regulations and laws in the markets in which we operate, which historically have not had a material effect on our business. We are subject to various laws applicable to businesses generally, including laws affecting land usage, zoning, the environment, health and safety, transportation, labor and employment practices, competition, immigration and other matters. Additionally, building codes may affect the products our customers are allowed to use, and, consequently, changes in building codes may affect the salability of our products. The transportation and disposal of many of our products are also subject to federal regulations. We are subject to safety requirements governing interstate operations prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (“U.S. DOT”). Vehicle dimensions and driver hours of service also remain subject to both federal and state regulation.We have been able to consistently capitalize on changes in both local and federal regulatory statutes relating to storm and sanitary sewer construction, repair and replacement. Most noteworthy is the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972 and the subsequent EPA Phase I, II and sustainable infrastructure regulations relating to storm sewer construction, stormwater quantity, stormwater quality, and combined sewer separation. Our diversity of products offering a solution-based selling approach coupled with detailed market knowledge makes us an integral industry resource in both regulatory changes and compliance.An important element of our growth strategy has been our focus on industry education efforts to drive regulatory approvals for our core HDPE products at national, state and local levels. We employ field-based engineers who work closely with government agencies to obtain regulatory approvals for our products, and also with civil engineering firms to specify our products on non-residential construction and road-building projects. Additional state and local regulatory approvals will continue to present new growth opportunities in new and existing geographic markets for us. For example, in November 2022, we announced that the Texas Department of Transportation released a new special specification to approve the use of thermoplastic pipe in storm sewer and culvert applications. The trend of substituting traditional materials for HDPE and PP is expected to continue as more states and municipalities recognize the benefits of our HDPE N-12 pipe and our polypropylene HP pipe by approving it for use in a broader range of applications.Our Infiltrator products are used primarily in onsite septic and decentralized wastewater treatment systems and cannot be sold without a regulatory approval. We have a dedicated regulatory team with a track record of gaining favorable regulatory approvals and advancing policy and legislation. Over the past 10 years, the team has successfully embarked in over 100 regulatory initiatives increasing the addressability and size of markets across the U.S. and Canada. To a limited extent, our current and past operations, and those of many of the companies we have acquired, involve materials that are, or could be classified as, toxic or hazardous. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business — We could incur significant costs in complying with environmental, health and safety laws or permits or as a result of satisfying any liability or obligation imposed under such laws or permits.”PRACTICES RELATED TO WORKING CAPITAL ITEMSInformation about the Company’s working capital practices is incorporated herein by reference to “Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Form 10-K.CORPORATE AND AVAILABLE INFORMATIONWe were founded in 1966 and are a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 4640 Trueman Boulevard, Hilliard, Ohio 43026, and our telephone number at that address is (614) 658-0050. Our corporate website is www.adspipe.com.11Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (“Exchange Act”) are filed with the SEC. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and file or furnish reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. Such reports and other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on our website at www.adspipe.com when such reports are available on the SEC’s website. We use our www.adspipe.com website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor such portions of www.adspipe.com in addition to following press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of the websites are not incorporated into this filing. Further, our references to these websites are intended to be inactive textual references.Item 1A.

Risk FactorsPlease carefully consider the risks described below, together with all other information included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In these circumstances, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly.Risks Relating to Our BusinessFluctuations in the price and availability of resins, our principal raw materials, and our inability to obtain adequate supplies of resins from suppliers and pass on resin price increases to customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.Resin prices fluctuate substantially as a result of changes in crude oil and natural gas prices, changes in existing processing capabilities and the capacity of resin suppliers. Polypropylene resin suppliers are limited, high-density polyethylene suppliers are geographically concentrated, and supply of recycled resin is also limited. Supply interruptions could arise from disruptions to existing petrochemical capacity and recycled resin sources caused by labor disputes and shortages, weather conditions or natural disasters affecting supplies or shipments, transportation disruptions or other factors beyond our control. An extended disruption in the timely availability of raw materials from our key suppliers would result in a decrease in our revenues and profitability. Additionally, our customers’ production schedules could be impacted by these shortages, which could result in reduced sales of our products.Inflation in these raw material costs could also result in significant cost increases, further affecting our business. Our ability to maintain profitability heavily depends on our ability to pass through to our customers any increase in raw material costs. If increases in the cost of raw materials cannot be passed on to our customers, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be adversely affected. Conversely, in the event that there is deflation, we may experience pressure from our customers to reduce prices. We may not be able to reduce our cost base to offset any such price concessions which could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.Any disruption or volatility in general business and economic conditions in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our products and services.The markets in which we operate are sensitive to regional, U.S. and worldwide economic conditions, including availability of credit, interest rates, inflation, fluctuations in capital and business and consumer confidence. The difficult conditions in these markets and the overall economy affect our business in a number of ways. For example:•The volatility of the U.S. economy, including recent volatility experienced in 2023 in the banking sector and recent bank failures, can have an adverse effect on our sales that are dependent on the non-residential construction market if participants in this industry may postpone spending or are otherwise unable to secure financing for construction projects.•Our business depends upon general activity levels in the agriculture market. The nature of the agriculture market is such that a downturn in demand can occur suddenly, resulting in excess inventories, underutilized production capacity and reduced prices for pipe products. •Shifts in residential housing trends (urban vs. •Demand for our products and services depend to a significant degree on spending on infrastructure. Infrastructure spending is affected by a variety of factors beyond our control, including interest rates, inflation, availability and commitment of public funds for municipal spending and highway spending and general economic conditions. Weakness in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Bank failures and market disruptions could impact banks used by our customers, 12Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.which could negatively affect our customers. Delays in the placement of new orders and extended uncertainties may reduce future sales of our products and services. The revenue growth and profitability of our business depends on the overall demand for our product and services. We may have to close under-performing facilities as warranted by general economic conditions and/or weakness in the markets in which we operate. In addition to a reduction in demand for our products, these factors may also reduce the price we are able to charge for our products and restrict our ability to pass raw material cost increases to our customers. This, combined with an increase in excess capacity, will negatively impact our profitability, cash flows and our financial condition, generally.Demand for our products and services could decrease if we are unable to compete effectively, and our success depends largely on our ability to convert current demand for competitive products into demand for our products.Competitors may have financial and other resources that are greater than ours and may be better able to withstand price competition and inflationary pressures. In addition, consolidation by industry participants could result in competitors with increased market share, larger customer bases, greater diversified product offerings and greater technological and marketing expertise, which would allow them to compete more effectively against us. Moreover, our competitors may develop products that are superior to our products or may adapt more quickly to new technologies or evolving customer requirements. In many markets in which we operate there are no significant entry barriers that would prevent new competitors from entering the market, especially on the local level, or existing competitors from expanding in the market. Increased competition by existing and future competitors could result in reductions in sales, prices, volumes and gross margins that would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to maintain our market share, generate adequate demand for our products and gain market share from competitors.We may be affected by global climate change or by legal, regulatory or market responses to such change.Many of our products are made from a material whose manufacturing process involves the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas (“GHG”) that scientists have attributed as a cause of climate change. Our products require transportation from our facilities to the site where they are used, which consumes energy. Concern over climate change, including the impact of global warming, has led to federal, state, and international efforts to limit GHG emissions. Although it is uncertain what actions various governmental bodies will take to address the effects of climate change and to achieve goals in response to the effects of climate change, including in what timeframe those actions would be implemented, new laws or regulations could directly and indirectly affect our customers and suppliers (through an increase in the cost of production or their ability to produce satisfactory products) and our business (through the impact on our inventory availability, cost of sales, operations or demands for the products we sell). Until the timing, scope and extent of any regulation becomes known, we cannot predict its effect on our cost structure or our operating results, but it is likely our costs will increase in relation to any climate change legislation and regulations concerning GHG, which could have an adverse effect on our future financial position, results of operations or cash flows.In January 2022, we communicated our initial 10-year goals regarding sustainability. To reduce our environmental impact, we have committed to pursuing science-based targets consistent with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. We are working to define absolute targets for reduction of scope 1 (direct) & 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions that align with limiting future temperature rise to 1.5°C above baseline. These goals reflect our current plans and there is no guarantee that they will be achieved. Our ability to achieve any goal is subject to factors and conditions, many of which are outside of our control, including technology, or the availability of recycled resin.In March 2024, the SEC adopted final rules on climate-related disclosure, which require issuers to make a significant amount of climate-related disclosure, including, among others, material scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions, climate-related financial metrics, climate-related strategy, governance, targets and goals, that could significantly increase compliance burdens and associated regulatory costs and complexity.In addition, regardless of whether governmental bodies enact legislation to address climate change and reduce GHG emissions or we achieve our 10-year goals, the public perception of carbon-intensive industries may change adversely over time and additional focus on environmental, social and governance issues by the public and/or investors may harm our business as it could damage our reputation, require us to expend resources in reducing our net carbon emissions, or reduce demand for our products, which could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.Our results of operations could be adversely affected by the effects of weather.Most of our business units experience seasonal variation as a result of the dependence of our customers on suitable weather to engage in construction projects. Generally, during the winter months, construction activity declines due to inclement weather, frozen ground and shorter daylight hours. In addition, to the extent that hurricanes, severe storms, floods, other 13Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.natural disasters or similar events occur in the geographic regions in which we operate, our results of operations may be adversely affected. We anticipate that fluctuations of our operations results from period to period due to seasonality will continue in the future.Notwithstanding our commitment to advancing sustainable business practices, climate change may also have adverse physical or financial impacts on our business to the extent that it causes more severe or more frequent major storm events, flooding, drought-induced wildfires, or other shifts in weather patterns. Increases in the intensity and frequency of acute weather events have been linked to climate change, and this risk may increase to the extent global warming continues or is unabated. These types of extreme weather events may include disruptions to operations or production, disruptions to supply chains or damage to our physical plants, which could lead to reduced financial performance of our business.The loss of any of our significant customers could adversely affect our business.Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to maintain the quality of our customer service, and selling and marketing efforts, as well as our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers. Our ten largest customers generated approximately 43% of our net sales in fiscal 2024. Because we do not have long-term arrangements with many of our customers, such customers may cease purchasing our products without notice or upon short notice to us. In addition, consolidation among customers could also result in a loss of some of our present customers to our competitors. The loss of one or more of our significant customers, a significant customer’s decision to purchase our products in significantly lower quantities than they have in the past, or deterioration in our relationship with any of them could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.Because our business is working capital intensive, we rely on our ability to manage our supply purchasing and customer credit policies.The majority of our net sales volume is facilitated through the extension of credit to our customers whose ability to pay is dependent, in part, upon the economic strength of the industry in the areas where they operate. The inability of our customers to pay in a timely manner, or at all, would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, our collections efforts with respect to non-paying or slow-paying customers could negatively impact our customer relations going forward.Our operations are working capital intensive, and our inventories, accounts receivable and accounts payable are significant components of our net asset base. We manage our inventories and accounts payable through our purchasing policies and our accounts receivable through our customer credit policies. If we fail to adequately manage our supply purchasing or customer credit policies, our working capital and financial condition may be adversely affected.We may be unable to successfully integrate businesses to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or do so within the intended timeframe.We have completed and may complete additional acquisitions in the future. The success of any acquisition, including anticipated synergies, benefits and cost savings, will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully combine and integrate our current operations with the acquisition. If we experience difficulties with the integration process or other unforeseen costs, the anticipated benefits and cost savings of the acquisition may not be realized fully or may take longer to realize than expected. These integration matters could have an adverse effect on our combined company for an undetermined period after completion of the acquisition. In addition, the actual cost savings of the acquisition could be less than anticipated, or otherwise offset by other factors.Our international operations expose us to political, economic and regulatory risks not normally faced by businesses that operate only in the U.S. As a result of our international operations, we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar foreign anti-corruption laws.Our international operations are subject to risks similar to those affecting our operations in the U.S. in addition to a number of other risks, including: difficulties in enforcing contractual and intellectual property rights; impositions or increases of withholding and other taxes on remittances and other payments by subsidiaries and affiliates; exposure to different or changing legal standards, including potential changes in government mandated regulatory product standards in those countries in which we or our joint ventures operate; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; impositions or increases of investment and other restrictions by foreign governments; the requirements of a wide variety of foreign laws; political and economic instability; war; and difficulties in staffing and managing operations, particularly in remote locations.The U.S.government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or obtaining an unfair advantage, and generally require companies to maintain accurate books and records and internal controls, including at foreign controlled subsidiaries. Our internal policies provide for compliance with all applicable anti-corruption laws for both us and for our joint venture operations. Our continued operation and expansion outside the U.S., including in developing countries, could increase the risk of such violations in the future. Despite our training and compliance programs, our internal control policies and procedures may not always protect us from unauthorized, reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees, agents or joint venture partners.Conducting a portion of our operations through joint ventures exposes us to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.With respect to our existing joint ventures, any differences in views among the joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or in failures to agree on major issues. We also cannot control the actions of our joint venture partners, including any nonperformance, default or bankruptcy of our joint venture partners. We may be unable to control the quality of products produced by the joint ventures or achieve consistency of product quality as compared with our other operations. In addition to net sales and market share, this may have a material negative impact on our brand and how it is perceived thereafter. Moreover, if our partners also fail to invest in the joint venture in the manner that is anticipated or otherwise fail to meet their contractual obligations, the joint ventures may be unable to adequately perform and conduct their respective operations, requiring us to make additional investments or perform additional services to ensure the adequate performance and delivery of products and/or services to the joint ventures’ customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.We may not be able to successfully expand into new products.We may develop new products and processes based on our existing manufacturing, design and engineering capabilities and services. Our business depends in part on our ability to identify future products and product lines that complement existing products and product lines and that respond to our customers’ needs. We may not be able to compete effectively unless our product selection keeps up with trends in the markets in which we compete or trends in new products. In addition, our ability to integrate new products and product lines into our distribution network could impact our ability to compete. Furthermore, the success of new products and new product lines will depend on market demand and there is a risk that new products and new product lines will not deliver expected results, which could negatively impact our future sales and results of operations.We continue to invest in our initiatives. If we fail to implement these initiatives as expected, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.Our financial performance and future growth depend on our management’s ability to successfully implement our initiatives. Our operational initiatives are focused on capacity expansion, automation, safety, order management and transportation. Automation in our plants will allow for production efficiency and improved safety for plant personnel. Any failure to successfully implement these initiatives and related strategies could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including increases in our severance and impairment charges.Prices and availability of petroleum products are subject to political, economic and market factors that are outside our control. We consume a large amount of energy and petroleum products in our operations, including the manufacturing process and delivering products to our customers by our in-house fleet. While we utilize a diesel hedging program associated with our in-house fleet to mitigate against higher fuel prices, our operating profit will be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain the energy and fuel we require or to fully offset the anticipated impact of higher energy and fuel prices through increased prices or surcharges to our customers or through other hedging strategies. If shortages occur in the supply of energy or necessary petroleum products and we are not able to pass along the full impact of increased energy or petroleum prices to our customers, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows would be adversely affected.Internally manufacturing our products at our own facilities subjects our business to risks associated with manufacturing processes and supply chain disruption.We internally manufacture our own products at our facilities with substantial fixed costs.condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our business interruption insurance may not be sufficient to offset the lost revenues or increased costs that we may experience during a disruption of our operations.Unexpected failures of our equipment and machinery may result in production delays, revenue loss and significant repair costs, injuries to our employees, and customer claims. Increasing manufacturing capacity requires successful execution of capital projects, including adding, upgrading and replacing equipment, which may be subject to supply chain delays for equipment or parts. Global supply chain disruptions and the related impacts on our third-party suppliers to deliver the raw materials, components, systems and parts that we need to manufacture and service our products could also adversely impact our production.The nature of our business exposes us to construction defect and product liability claims as well as other legal proceedings.We are exposed to construction defect and product liability claims relating to our various products if our products do not meet customer expectations. Such liabilities may arise out of the quality of raw materials we purchase from third-party suppliers. We also operate a large fleet of trucks and other vehicles and therefore face the risk of traffic accidents. We cannot make assurances that our insurance will provide adequate coverage against claims or that we will be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms in the future, if at all.From time to time, we are also involved in government inquiries and investigations, as well as consumer, employment, tort proceedings and other litigation. We cannot predict with certainty the outcomes of these legal proceedings and other contingencies. The outcome of some of these legal proceedings and other contingencies could require us to take actions which would adversely affect our operations, negatively impact customer confidence in us and our products or could require us to pay substantial amounts of money. Additionally, defending against these lawsuits and proceedings may involve significant expense and diversion of management’s attention and resources from other matters.Our operations are affected by various laws and regulations in the markets in which we operate, including government mandated regulatory product standards, and our failure to obtain or maintain approvals by municipalities, state departments of transportation, engineers and developers may affect our results of operations.While we are not engaged in a regulated industry, we are subject to various laws applicable to businesses generally, including laws affecting land usage, zoning, the environment, health and safety, transportation, labor and employment practices (including pensions), competition, immigration and other matters. Approvals by municipalities, the U.S. and state departments of transportation, engineers and developers may affect the products our customers are allowed to use, and, consequently, failure to obtain or maintain such approvals may affect the salability of our products. Building codes may also affect the products our customers use, and, consequently, changes in building codes may also affect the salability of our products. Changes in applicable regulations governing the sale of some of our products, including changes in government mandated regulatory product standards in countries in which we or our joint ventures operate, could increase our costs. In addition, changes to applicable tax laws and regulations could increase our costs of doing business. We may incur material costs or liabilities in connection with regulatory requirements.We deliver products to many of our customers through our own fleet of vehicles. The U.S. DOT regulates our operations in domestic interstate commerce. Vehicle dimensions and driver hours of service are subject to both federal and state regulation. More restrictive limitations on vehicle weight and size, trailer length and configuration, or driver hours of service could increase our costs, which, if we are unable to pass these cost increases on to our customers, would reduce our gross profit and net income (loss) and increase our selling, general and administrative expenses.We cannot predict whether future developments or changes in law, regulations or government mandated product standards will affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in a negative manner. Similarly, we cannot assess whether we will be successful in meeting future demands of regulatory agencies in a manner which will not materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.Interruptions in the proper functioning of information technology systems could disrupt operations and cause unanticipated increases in costs, decreases in revenues, or both. The implementation of our technology initiatives could disrupt our operations in the near term, and our technology initiatives might not provide the anticipated benefits or might fail.Because we use our information technology (“IT”) systems to, among other things, manage inventories and accounts receivable, make purchasing decisions and monitor our results of operations, the proper functioning of our IT systems is important to the successful operation of our business. Although our IT systems are protected through physical and software 16Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.safeguards and remote processing capabilities exist, IT systems are still vulnerable to natural disasters, power losses, unauthorized access, telecommunication failures and other problems. If critical IT systems fail, or are otherwise unavailable, our ability to process orders, track credit risk, identify business opportunities, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable and pay expenses and otherwise manage our business units would be adversely affected.Management uses IT systems to support decision making and to monitor business performance. We may fail to generate accurate financial and operational reports essential for making decisions at various levels of management. In addition, if we do not maintain adequate controls such as reconciliations, segregation of duties and verification to prevent errors or incomplete information, our ability to operate our business could be limited.We have made, and will continue to make, significant investments in technology. Our technology initiatives are designed to provide our customers a better order management and fulfillment experience, streamline our manufacturing operations and improve the quality of our internal control environment. The cost and potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of our technology initiatives could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations in the near term. In addition, our new or upgraded technology might not provide the anticipated benefits, take longer than expected to realize the anticipated benefits or might fail altogether. The occurrence of such issues could have a material adverse effect on our business financial condition and results of operations.In the conduct of our business, we collect, use, transmit and store data on information systems, which are vulnerable todisruption and an increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. New developments in the fields of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”), machine learning, and robotics may create new vulnerabilities and cybersecurity risks. Cybersecurity failures may be caused by employee error, malfeasance, other corporate or governmental actors, system errors or vulnerabilities, including vulnerabilities of our vendors, suppliers, and their products. The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect our reputation and could result in litigation, regulatory action, financial loss, project delay claims and increased costs and operational consequences of implementing further data protection systems. The occurrence of such events could have a material adverse effect on our business financial condition and results of operations.All of these risks are also applicable where we rely on outside vendors to provide services. We are dependent on third-party vendors to operate secure and reliable systems which may include data transfers over the internet. Any events which deny us use of vital operating or information systems may seriously disrupt our normal business operations.Our success depends upon our ability to control labor costs and to attract, train and retain highly qualified employees and key personnel.To be successful, we must attract, train and retain a large number of highly qualified employees while controlling related labor costs. Our ability to control labor costs is subject to numerous external factors, including prevailing wage rates and health and other insurance costs. However, if a number of our employees were to unionize, the effect on us may be negative. In addition, our business results of operations depend largely upon our chief executive officer and senior management team as well as our plant managers and sales personnel, including those of companies acquired, and their experience, knowledge of local market dynamics and specifications and long-standing customer relationships. Our inability to retain, develop or hire qualified employees would restrict our ability to grow our business, limit our ability to continue to successfully operate our business and result in lower operating results and profitability.If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, or we infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.Our ability to compete effectively depends, in part, upon our ability to protect and preserve proprietary aspects of our intellectual property through a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as licensing agreements and third-party nondisclosure and assignment agreements. Because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other laws concerning proprietary rights, our intellectual property rights may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as they would in the U.S. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.We could incur significant costs in complying with environmental, health and safety laws or permits or as a result of satisfying any liability or obligation imposed under such laws or permits.Our operations are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Violations of these laws and regulations, failure to obtain or maintain required environmental permits or non-compliance with any conditions contained in any environmental permit can result in substantial fines or penalties, injunctive relief, requirements to install pollution or other controls or equipment, civil and criminal sanctions, permit revocations and/or facility shutdowns. We could be held liable for the costs to address contamination of any real property we have ever owned, leased, operated or used, including as a disposal site. We could also incur fines, penalties, sanctions or be subject to third-party claims for property damage, personal injury or nuisance or otherwise as a result of violations of or liabilities under environmental laws in connection with releases of hazardous or other materials.In addition, changes in, or new interpretations of, existing laws, regulations or enforcement policies, the discovery of previously unknown contamination, or the imposition of other environmental liabilities or obligations in the future, including additional investigation or other obligations with respect to any potential health hazards of our products or business activities or the imposition of new permit requirements, may lead to additional compliance or other costs that could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.Risks Relating to Our IndebtednessOur level of indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial conditions or results of operations and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under the agreements governing the terms of our indebtedness.Our indebtedness could have risks.•limit our ability to execute business development and acquisition activities to support our strategies;•limit our ability to obtain additional indebtedness or equity due to applicable financial and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements; and•limit our ability to refinance our indebtedness on more favorable terms.We expect to pay principal and interest on current and future debt from cash provided by operating activities. Therefore, our ability to meet these payment obligations will depend on future financial performance and cash availability. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay expansion plans and capital expenditures, limit payment of dividends, sell material assets or operations, obtain additional capital or restructure our debt.Risks Relating to Our Common StockFuture sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. Based on shares outstanding as of May 9, 2024, we have 77.4 million outstanding shares of common stock, including 0.2 million outstanding shares of our restricted stock, a significant portion of which are freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (“Securities Act”) unless held by “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As of March 31, 2024, there were stock options outstanding to purchase a total of approximately 1.1 million shares of our common stock. In addition, approximately 2.0 million shares of common stock are available for grant under our 2017 Omnibus Plan. Certain of our significant stockholders may distribute shares that they hold to their investors who themselves may then sell into the public market. Such sales may not be subject to the volume, manner of sale, holding period and other limitations of Rule 144 of the Securities Act (“Rule 144”). As resale restrictions end, the market price of our common stock could decline if the holders of those shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.In the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock in connection with a financing, acquisition, litigation settlement or employee arrangement or otherwise.Our directors, officers and principal stockholders have significant voting power and may take actions that may not be in the best interests of our other stockholders. The trustee of our retirement plan has certain limited powers to vote a large block of shares on matters presented to stockholders for approval.As of May 9, 2024, our directors, officers and principal stockholders and their affiliates collectively own approximately 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Thus, the collective voting power of our directors, officers and principal stockholders and their affiliates as of May 9, 2024 is approximately 28%, inclusive of the outstanding shares of common stock held by the KSOP. As a result, these stockholders, if they act together, may be able to control our management and affairs and most matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock. This concentration of ownership may not be in the best interests of our other stockholders.The KSOP trustee has the ability to vote a significant block of shares on certain matters presented to stockholders for approval. Each participant with an ESOP account in the KSOP may direct the KSOP trustee on how to vote the shares of common stock allocated to the participant’s ESOP accounts in the KSOP; and the KSOP trustee may vote any shares of common stock for which no participant instructions were received in the same proportion as the allocated stock for which participants’ voting instructions have been received is voted.Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of us and may affect the trading price of our common stock.Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. For example, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, each as further amended, authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our board of directors to thwart a takeover attempt; provide that vacancies on our board of directors, including newly-created directorships, may be 19Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office; prohibit stockholders from calling special meetings of stockholders; prohibit stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all actions to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders; do not give the holders of our common stock cumulative voting rights with respect to the election of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock can elect all directors standing for election; establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings; require a super-majority stockholders vote of 75% to approve any reorganization, recapitalization, share exchange, share reclassification, consolidation, merger, conversion or sale of all or substantially all assets to which we are a party that is not approved by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the members of our board of directors; and require the approval of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our voting common stock to amend the bylaws and at least 75% of the outstanding shares of our voting common stock to amend certain provisions of the certificate of incorporation.Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws or Delaware General Corporation Law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may also make it difficult for stockholders to replace or remove our management. These provisions may facilitate management entrenchment that may delay, deter, render more difficult or prevent a change in our control, which may not be in the best interests of our stockholders. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our common stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation described above. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us or our directors, officers, employees or agents. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.General Risk FactorsAs a publicly-traded manufacturing company, we are subject to a variety of risks in addition to the risks described above, each of which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.Item 1B. Unresolved Staff CommentsNone.20Table of ContentsAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc. CybersecurityRisk Management and StrategyOur cybersecurity program is designed to assess, identify and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats, and is a component of our overall enterprise risk program. Our cybersecurity program is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, version 2.0 (“NIST CSF”). We conduct regular scans, penetration tests, and vulnerability assessments to identify potential threats or vulnerabilities in our systems. Our processes to assess, identify and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats include potential threats associated with third party service providers, including cloud-based platforms.We believe we have invested in monitoring practices to reduce cybersecurity risks and continue to monitor our systems on an ongoing basis for compliance with applicable privacy regulations and any current or potential threats. We engage third-party service providers to enhance our risk prevention and mitigation efforts. We have periodically engaged third parties to serve in a consultative and advisory manner to review current and future strategies. We also purchase insurance to help protect us against the risk of cybersecurity breaches.Cybersecurity GovernanceBoard and Committee Oversight - Our Board of Directors has ultimate oversight of the Company’s cybersecurity programs and strategy, with the Audit Committee maintaining oversight responsibility in reviewing cybersecurity and other information technology risks. The Audit Committee assess the steps management has taken to monitor, minimize or control such risks or exposures. The Company’s Chief Information Officer presents a cybersecurity report to the Audit Committee each quarter. The report includes updates of recent cybersecurity threats, current key performance indicators of security controls and summaries of any recent incidents at the Company. Management’s Role – The Company’s Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), supported by the Director of IT Security and Compliance, manages cybersecurity risk. Our CIO has over 25 years of experience in information technology and six years of experience with the Company. The Company’s enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy is supported by policies, procedures, security controls and training designed to protect the Company’s IT systems, operations and sensitive data. Specifically, our Cyber Incident Response Plan provides a process by which our Company is informed about and monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents and includes engaging the Cybersecurity and Risk Management Committee (“CRMC”). The CRMC is a management committee established to identify, assess and manage material cybersecurity incidents, including the incident recovery process within the Company. Depending on the significance of the incident, the Cyber Incident Response Plan could include engaging affected internal and external parties, escalating the issue to executive management, notifying one or more members of our Audit Committee, maintaining communication with users and notifying law enforcement and government agencies as warranted. For additional information regarding cybersecurity risks, see the risk factor captioned “Cybersecurity incidents may threaten our confidential information, disrupt operations and result in harm to our reputation and adversely impact our business and financial performance” under Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors”..

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