PC Connection (CNXN) Risk Analysis

? We acquire a majority of our products for resale from a limited number of vendors. The loss of any one of these vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business. We acquire products for resale both directly from manufacturers and increasingly indirectly through distributors and other sources. Although we purchase from a diverse vendor base, product purchases from Ingram Micro, Inc., TD Synnex Corporation, and Microsoft Corporation accounted for approximately 21%, 19%, and 11%, respectively, of our total product purchases in 2023. No other singular vendor supplied more than 10% of our total product purchases in the year 2023. If we are unable to acquire products, or if we experienced a change in business relationship with any of these vendors, we could experience a short-term disruption in the availability of products, and such disruption could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Products manufactured by Microsoft Corporation, HP Inc., and Dell Inc. represented approximately 15%, 13%, and 11%, respectively, of our total product purchases in 2023. No other singular product manufacturer produced more than 10% of our total product purchases in the year 2023. We believe that in the event we experience either a short-term or permanent disruption of supply of Microsoft Corporation, HP Inc., or Dell Inc. products, such disruption would likely have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. We typically do not have long-term contracts with our vendor partners. As such, substantially all of these arrangements with partners are easily terminable, and there can be no assurance that manufacturers and publishers will continue to sell or will not limit or curtail the availability of their product to resellers like us. Most of our product vendors provide us with trade credit, of which the amount outstanding at December 31, 2023 was $263.7 million. Termination, interruption, or contraction of relationships with our vendors, including a reduction in the level of trade credit provided to us, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position. Some product manufacturers either do not permit us to sell the full line of their products or limit the number of product units available to national solutions providers such as us. An element of our business strategy is to continue increasing our participation in first-to-market purchase opportunities. The availability of certain desired products, especially in the direct marketing channel, has been constrained in the past due to these limits imposed by product manufacturers. We could experience a material adverse effect to our business if we are unable to source first-to-market purchases or similar opportunities, or if significant availability constraints reoccur.

The market for IT products is characterized by rapid technological change and the frequent introduction of new products and product enhancements. Our success depends in large part on our ability to identify and market products that meet the needs of customers in that marketplace. In order to satisfy customer demand and to obtain favorable purchasing discounts, we have and may continue to carry increased inventory levels of certain products. By doing so, we are subject to the increased risk of inventory obsolescence. Also, in order to implement our business strategy, we intend to continue, among other things, placing larger than typical inventory stocking orders of selected products and increasing our participation in first-to-market purchase opportunities. We may also, from time to time, make large inventory purchases of certain end-of-life products, which would increase the risk of inventory obsolescence. In addition, we sometimes acquire special purchase products without return privileges. For these and other reasons, we may not be able to avoid losses related to obsolete inventory. Manufacturers have limited return rights and have taken steps to reduce their inventory exposure by supporting "configure-to-order" programs authorizing distributors and resellers to assemble computer hardware under the manufacturers' brands. These actions reduce the costs to manufacturers and shift the burden of inventory risk to resellers like us, which could negatively impact our business.

Generally, pricing is very aggressive in our industry, and we expect pricing pressures to escalate should economic conditions deteriorate or inflationary pressures increase in excess of the amounts our customers are willing to pay. An increase in price competition could result in a reduction of our profit margins. We may not be able to offset the effects of price reductions with an increase in the number of customers we serve, higher sales to existing customers, cost reductions, or otherwise. Such pricing pressures could result in the erosion of our market share, reduced sales, and reduced operating margins, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Several factors have caused our results of operations to fluctuate and we expect some of these fluctuations to continue. Causes of these fluctuations include: - shifts in customer demand that affect our distribution models, including demand for total solutions;- loss of customers to competitors;- rising interest rates;- inflation;- industry shipments of new products or upgrades;- changes in overall demand and timing of product shipments related to economic markets and to government spending;- supply constraints;- changes in vendor distribution of products;- changes in our product offerings and in merchandise returns;- changes in distribution models as a result of the growing adoption of cloud and software-as-a-service, or SaaS, offerings; and - adverse weather conditions that affect response, distribution, or shipping. Our results also may vary based on our ability to manage personnel levels in response to fluctuations in revenue. We base personnel levels and other operating expenditures on sales forecasts. If our revenues do not meet anticipated levels in the future, we may not be able to reduce our staffing levels and operating expenses in a timely manner to avoid significant losses from operations.

Revenues from the Public Sector Solutions segment are derived from sales to federal, state, and local government departments and agencies, as well as to educational institutions, through various contracts and open market sales. Government contracting is a highly regulated area. Noncompliance with government procurement regulations or contract provisions could result in civil, criminal, and administrative liability, including substantial monetary fines or damages, termination of government contracts, and suspension, debarment, or ineligibility from doing business with the government. Our current arrangements with these government agencies allow them to cancel orders with little or no notice and do not require them to purchase products from us in the future. The effect of any of these possible actions by any government department or agency could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

We collect and remit sales and use taxes in states in which we have either voluntarily registered or have a physical presence. Various states have sought to impose on direct marketers the burden of collecting state sales and use taxes on the sales of products shipped to their residents. Many states have adopted rules that require companies and their affiliates to register in those states as a condition of doing business with those state agencies. Our three sales companies are registered in substantially all states, however, if a state were to determine that our earlier contacts with that state exceeded the constitutionally permitted contacts, the state could assess a tax liability relating to our prior year sales.

Our business has been affected by changes in economic conditions that are outside of our control, including reductions in business investment, loss of consumer confidence, and fiscal uncertainty. Weak economic conditions generally or any broad-based reduction in IT spending would further adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. A prolonged slowdown in the global economy, including the possibility of recession or financial market instability or similar crisis, or in a business or industry sector, or the tightening of credit markets, could cause our clients to have difficulty accessing capital and credit sources, delay contractual payments, or delay or forgo decisions to upgrade or add to their existing IT environments, license new software or purchase products or services (particularly with respect to discretionary spending for hardware, software and services). For example, our customers exercised greater caution and selectivity with their short-term IT investment plans during 2023, which resulted in lower than anticipated sales across our customer base. Such events have in the past had and may in the future have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Economic or industry downturns could result in longer payment cycles, increased collection costs and defaults in excess of our expectations. A significant deterioration in our ability to collect on accounts receivable could also impact the cost or availability of financing under our credit facility. Moreover, an adverse change in government spending policies (such as budget cuts or limitations or temporary shutdowns of government operations), shifts in budget priorities or reductions in revenue levels, could cause our Public Sector Solutions customers to reduce or delay their purchases or to terminate or not renew their contracts with us, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations or cash flows. These possible actions or the adoption of new or modified procurement regulations or practices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. Worldwide economic conditions and market volatility as a result of political leadership in certain countries and other disruptions to global and regional economies and markets, including continuing increases in inflation and interest rates, the possibility of recession, or financial market instability, may impact future business activities. External factors, such as potential terrorist attacks, acts of war, geopolitical and social turmoil or epidemics and other similar outbreaks in many parts of the world, could prevent or hinder our ability to do business, increase our costs and negatively affect our stock price. More generally, these geopolitical, social and economic conditions could result in increased volatility in the United States and worldwide in financial markets and in the economy, as well as other adverse impacts. For example, on February 24, 2022, Russian forces launched significant military actions against Ukraine, and sustained conflict and disruption in the region remains ongoing. Potential impacts related to the conflict include further market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, supply chain and logistics disruptions, adverse global economic conditions resulting from escalating domestic and geopolitical tensions, volatility and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, inflationary pressures on raw materials and heightened cybersecurity threats, all of which could adversely impact our business.