Beyond Inc (BYON) Risk Factors

Our business involves the storage and transmission of users' proprietary information, and security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, and to resulting claims, fines, and litigation. We have developed certain software products to assist with the operation and management of our business, which could contain flaws or vulnerabilities that could present cybersecurity-related risks or result in data loss, other security breaches, or damage to our business, our suppliers, or our customers. We have been subjected to a variety of cyber-attacks, which have increased in number and variety over time. We believe our systems are probed by potential hackers virtually 24/7, and we expect the problem will continue to grow worse over time. Cyber-attacks may target us, our customers, our suppliers, banks, credit card processors, delivery services, public cloud providers, e-commerce in general or the communication infrastructure on which we depend. Any flaws or vulnerabilities in the software we created or technologies designed to prevent attacks on our systems and other third-party systems, compromise of our security, data breaches, malfunctions, or errors, could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and business. Moreover, any insurance coverage we may carry may be inadequate to cover the expenses and other potential financial exposure we could face as a result of a cyber-attack or data breach.

The online retail market is evolving rapidly and is intensely competitive. Barriers to entry are minimal, and current and new competitors can launch new websites at a relatively low cost. We currently compete with numerous competitors, including: - online retailers with or without discount departments, including Amazon.com, AliExpress (part of the Alibaba Group), eBay, Temu, and Rakuten.com;- online shopping services, including Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok;- online specialty retailers such as Wayfair, Build.com, Houzz, Hayneedle, Rugs.com, Groupon, and World Market;- furniture specialists including Bob's Discount Furniture, Havertys, Raymour & Flanigan, At Home, Tuesday Morning, Living Spaces, Nebraska Furniture Mart, RC Willey, and Rooms To Go;- traditional general merchandise and specialty retailers and liquidators including Ashley Furniture, Best Buy, Big Lots, Costco, Crate and Barrel, Ethan Allen, Gilt, Home Depot, HomeGoods, Hudson's Bay Company, IKEA, J.C. Penney Company, Kirkland's, Kohl's, Lands' End, Lowe's, Macy's, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Ross Stores, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, T.J. Maxx, Target, Walmart, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma, all of which also have an online presence; and - online liquidators such as SmartBargains. We expect that existing and future traditional manufacturers and retailers will continue to add or improve their e-commerce offerings, and that our existing and future e-commerce competitors, including Amazon, will continue to increase their offerings, their delivery capabilities, and the ways in which they enable shoppers to purchase goods, including their mobile technology and the voice-activated shopping services offered by Amazon. Further, large marketplace websites and sites which aggregate marketplace sellers with a large product selection are becoming increasingly popular, and we may not be able to place our products on these sites to take advantage of their internal search platforms and some shoppers may begin their searches at these websites rather than utilize traditional search engines at all. Many of our competitors specialize in one or more of the areas in which we offer products. For example, our furniture offerings compete with numerous retail furniture websites and traditional furniture retail specialists. We also face competition from shopping services such as Google Shopping, which offers products from Walmart, Costco, Target and many other retailers. Competition from our competitors, many of whom have longer operating histories, larger customer bases, greater brand recognition, greater access to capital and significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do, affects us and has had and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and prospects.

We changed our company name from Overstock.com, Inc. to Beyond, Inc., purchased the Bed Bath & Beyond brand, changed our company ticker symbol from OSTK to BYON, and transferred the listing of our common stock from NASDAQ to the NYSE. These changes may cause negative impacts to our business, including customers and shareholders, confusion about our brands, the need for higher promotional discounting or marketing costs to acquire and maintain customers, diversion of the attention of management or key personnel, employee fatigue resulting from implementation efforts, disruptions to existing business relationships, unexpected economic, political, or regulatory risks; or any other unforeseen costs, expenses, losses, disruptions, delays, or negative impacts.

As previously disclosed, in October 2019, we received a subpoena from the SEC requiring us to produce documents and other information related to the Series A-1 Preferred stock dividend we announced to stockholders in June 2019 and requesting copies of 10b5-1 plans entered into by certain officers and directors. In December 2019, we received a subpoena from the SEC requesting our insider trading policies and certain employment and consulting agreements. We also received requests from the SEC for our communications with our former Chief Executive Officer and Director, Patrick Byrne, and the matters referenced in the December 2019 subpoenas. In January 2021, we received a subpoena from the SEC requesting information regarding our Retail guidance in 2019 and certain communications with current and former executives, board members, and investors. We continue to cooperate with the SEC in these matters. Although we believe that we have fully complied with all relevant laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that the SEC will not commence an enforcement action against us, or members of our management or former management, or as to the ultimate resolution of any enforcement action that the SEC may decide to bring. Under applicable law, the SEC has the ability to impose significant sanctions on companies and individuals who are found to have violated the provisions of applicable federal securities laws, including cease and desist orders, civil money penalties, and barring individuals from serving as directors or officers of public companies. We have expended significant financial and legal resources responding to the SEC subpoena and such responses have required a significant amount of time and attention of our senior management and personnel. Defending any enforcement action brought by the SEC against us or members of our management would involve further significant expenditures and the resolution of any such enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, the outcome of any investigation related to the activities of tZERO could result in negative publicity for tZERO or us or limit the products which tZERO may be able to offer, which may have an adverse effect on the current and future business ventures of tZERO or us.

Our performance is substantially dependent on the continued service and performance of our senior management, our board of directors, and other key personnel. In 2024, we underwent significant changes to our executive management team and board of directors, structural changes to our organization, and changes to our workforce with reductions in force. Additionally, in 2023, we adjusted our approach to equity compensation provided to our executives from a time-based approach to a performance-based approach. Uncertainties, including any substantial changes in leadership, our organization, our workforce, or any negative impacts associated with performance-based compensation, may cause employees to seek other opportunities or impair our ability to recruit new employees. With more businesses allowing employees to work remotely, we are forced to compete with businesses in other locations and states to attract and retain key employees. Currently, most of our local workforce works a hybrid schedule, where they work onsite three days each week and perform the remaining workdays in that week remotely. We have entered into an agreement to sell our corporate headquarters which is scheduled to close on or before November 30, 2024, which if completed, could impact our hybrid schedule. The changes in leadership, structural changes to our organization, reductions in force, changed approach to performance-based compensation, and uncertainty of the future job structure could create consequences such as a lack of productivity, a lack of engagement, employee dissatisfaction, and employee fatigue and could result in key employees finding other employers more attractive than working for our Company. The loss of, or the inability to retain or engage the services of key employees for any reason, could harm our business. Our future success depends on our ability to identify, attract, hire, train, engage, retain, and motivate highly-skilled personnel. Our failure to attract, retain, and engage the personnel necessary to successfully operate our business could have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and prospects.

Since January 1, 2017, we have been partially self-insured with respect to our employees' health insurance, except to the extent of stop-loss coverage that limits our losses both on a per employee basis and an aggregate basis. The actual costs of our employees' health insurance claims could exceed our estimates of those costs for a number of reasons, including more claims or larger claims than we expect, and increases in the costs of healthcare generally. If the actual cost of our employees' health insurance claims and related expenses exceeds the amounts we have accrued, we may be required to record additional charges for these claims and/or to establish additional cash reserves, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and prospects.

We sell products in international markets and are seeking to expand our international sales. International sales and transactions are subject to inherent risks and challenges that could adversely affect us, including: - the need to develop new supplier and manufacturer relationships and create new logistics capabilities;- the need to comply with additional U.S. and foreign laws and regulations;- changes in international laws, regulatory requirements, taxes and tariffs;- our limited experience with different local cultures and standards;- geopolitical events, such as war and terrorist attacks;- the risk that the products we offer may not appeal to customers in international markets, whether due to the products themselves, the time to deliver, a lack of brand recognition, or another reason; and - the additional resources and management attention required for such expansion. Our international business could expose us to penalties for non-compliance with laws applicable to international business and trade, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Foreign data protection, privacy and other laws and regulations are different and often more restrictive than those in the United States. Compliance with such laws and regulations will result in additional costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which may adversely affect our business. A lack of brand recognition, increased costs associated with shipping products cross-border, increased times to deliver products to customers, or other matters that may reduce customer demand, could adversely affect our business. To the extent that we make purchases or sales denominated in foreign currencies, we would have foreign currency risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and prospects.

We and many of our suppliers and fulfillment partners source a large percentage of the products we offer on our Website from China and other countries. If the United States imposes tariffs or bans on imports, or if other factors that are outside of our control increase the prices of imported products sold on our Website or limit our ability to access products sold on our Website, the increased prices and/or supply chain challenges could have a material adverse effect on our financial results, business and prospects.