Traeger (COOK) Risk Analysis

We face the risk of exposure to product liability or other claims, including class action lawsuits, in the event our products are, or are alleged to be, defective or have resulted in harm to persons, including death, or to property as a result of product malfunction, fires, explosions, or other causes. For example, we are aware of several situations in which our grills were investigated as the cause of a fire. Our grills may cause fires if not properly used or maintained, including fires caused by buildup of fats or grease, or if there are quality, manufacturing, or design defects. Although we label our grills to warn of such risks, our sales could be reduced if our grills are considered dangerous to use or if they are implicated in causing personal injury, death, or property damage. Additionally, we may experience food safety or food-borne illness incidents with our rubs or sauces. We have in the past and may in the future incur significant liabilities if product liability lawsuits or regulatory enforcement actions against us are successful. Any losses not covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, in August 2024, we received an offer of compromise to reach an out-of-court settlement for a product liability matter. A formal settlement agreement was finalized in February 2025 and the matter was paid in March 2025 through our insurance policies in the amount of $15.0 million. For more information, see Note 14 – Commitments and Contingencies to the accompanying consolidated financial statements. We may also have to recall and/or replace defective products or parts, which could result in loss of sales and increased costs related to such recall or replacement efforts, which could be material. Any losses not covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Real or perceived quality issues, including those arising in connection with product liability lawsuits, warranty claims, or recalls could also result in adverse publicity, which could harm our brand and reputation and cause our sales to decline. In addition, any such issues may be seized on by competitors in efforts to increase their market share. We generally provide a minimum three-year limited warranty on our grills. The occurrence of any material defects in our grills could result in an increase in returns or make us liable for damages and warranty claims in excess of our current reserves, which could result in an adverse effect on our business prospects, liquidity, financial condition, and cash flows if returns or warranty claims were to materially exceed anticipated levels. In addition, we could incur significant costs to correct any defects, warranty claims, or other problems, including costs related to product recalls, and such costs may not be covered by insurance and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality and safety of our products could affect our brand image, decrease consumer confidence and demand, and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Also, while our warranty is limited to part replacement and returns, warranty claims may result in litigation, the occurrence of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, on December 14, 2023, we announced a voluntary recall of our Flatrock flat top grill. Consequently, the impact on operating results was $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. These costs were primarily due to product returns, recall charges, inventory-write offs, and expenses related to logistics, rework and legal fees. The occurrence of real or perceived defects in any of our products, now or in the future, could result in additional negative publicity, regulatory investigations, recalls, or lawsuits filed against us.

We depend on the talents and continued efforts of our senior management and key employees. The loss of members of our management or key employees may disrupt our business and harm our results of operations. We do not maintain "key person" insurance for any of our executives or other employees. Furthermore, our ability to manage further expansion will require us to continue to attract, motivate, and retain additional qualified personnel. Competition for this type of personnel is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting, integrating, and retaining the personnel required to grow and operate our business effectively. As we continue to grow, and particularly in light of past reductions in headcount as part of our historical restructuring initiatives, we may find it difficult to maintain valuable aspects of our culture, to prevent a negative effect on employee morale or attrition beyond our planned reduction in headcount, and to attract competent personnel who are willing to embrace our culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. There can be no assurance that our current management team or any new members of our management team will be able to successfully execute our business and operating strategies.

Our grills are produced by a limited number of third-party manufacturers. We face the risk that these third-party manufacturers may not produce and deliver our products on a timely basis or at all. Our reliance on a limited number of manufacturers for our products increases our risks, since we do not currently have alternative or replacement manufacturers for certain of our products beyond our existing manufacturers. In the event of interruption from our manufacturers or suppliers, we may not be able to increase capacity from other sources or develop alternate or secondary sources without incurring material additional costs and substantial delays, and we do not maintain sufficient inventory levels to mitigate the impact of such costs and delays. Further, certain of these manufacturers have developed specific processes and manufacturing procedures for certain of our products, and such processes and procedures may not be easily transferred to other manufacturers, if at all. Furthermore, we expect that as we continue to introduce new products and product enhancements, our manufacturing costs will grow increasingly more complex and the cost will continue to increase. We have experienced, and will likely continue to experience, certain operational difficulties with our manufacturers. These difficulties include reductions in the availability of production capacity, errors in complying with product specifications, insufficient quality control, failures to meet production deadlines, failure to achieve our product quality standards, increases in costs of materials, and manufacturing or other business interruptions. The ability of our manufacturers to effectively satisfy our production requirements could also be impacted by manufacturer financial difficulty or damage to their operations caused by fire, terrorist attack, riots, natural disaster, public health issues, future pandemics or epidemics, or other events. The failure of any manufacturer or distributor to perform to our expectations could result in supply shortages or delays for certain products and harm our business. In addition, recent years have seen additional focus from stakeholders, including regulators and governments in certain jurisdictions, on environmental and social considerations in the supply chains of companies. Emerging legislation, including the EU's Deforestation Regulation and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, may introduce additional requirements for us or our customers and require us to collect additional information from our suppliers and other third parties. See Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors-We are subject to risks related to sustainability and corporate responsibility issues." The United States has also adopted legislation restricting the use of certain suppliers, as well as products mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part from certain regions, due to such considerations. Such legislation may lead to increased costs for our company in sourcing materials for our products, and to the extent parties in our supply chain are seen to not meet certain standards of sustainability performance, whether by customers, regulators, or otherwise, this may lead to a requirement to change suppliers, reputational impacts to our company, or (in certain cases) import eligibility for certain of our products. If we experience significantly increased demand, or if we need to replace an existing manufacturer due to lack of performance or sustainability considerations, we may be unable to supplement or replace manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or on terms that are acceptable to us, which may increase our costs, reduce our margins, and harm our ability to deliver our products on time. For certain of our products, it may take a significant amount of time to identify and qualify a manufacturer that has the capability and resources to produce our products to our specifications in sufficient volume and satisfy our service and quality control standards. Accordingly, a loss of any of our significant manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The capacity of our manufacturers to produce our products is also dependent upon the availability of raw materials. Our manufacturers may not be able to obtain sufficient supply of raw materials, which could result in delays in deliveries of our products by our manufacturers or increased costs. Any shortage of raw materials or inability of a manufacturer to produce or ship our products in a timely manner, or at all, could impair our ability to ship orders of our products in a cost-efficient, timely manner and could cause us to miss the delivery requirements of our customers. As a result, we could experience cancellations of orders, refusals to accept deliveries, or reductions in our prices and margins, any of which could harm our financial performance, reputation, and results of operations.

The price and availability of raw materials and key components used to manufacture our products, including electronic components, such as integrated circuits, processors and system on chips, components built into our unique specifications or that are single sourced, as well as manufacturing equipment, tooling, and wood fibers, may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the cost of labor at our third-party manufacturers could increase significantly. For example, manufacturers in China have experienced increased costs in recent years due to shortages of labor and fluctuations of the Chinese yuan in relation to the U.S. dollar. Additionally, the cost of logistics and transportation fluctuates in large part due to the price of oil, global demand, and other geopolitical factors. Any fluctuations in the cost and availability of any of our raw materials or other sourcing or transportation costs related to our raw materials or products could harm our gross margins and our ability to meet customer demand. For example, disruptions to or increases in the cost of local, regional, domestic, or international transportation services for our products and other forms of infrastructure, such as electricity, due to shortages of vessels, barges, railcars, or trucks, weather-related problems, flooding, droughts, accidents, mechanical difficulties, bankruptcy, strikes, lockouts, bottlenecks, or other events could increase our costs, temporarily impair our ability to deliver products to our customers on time or at all and might, in certain circumstances, constitute a force majeure event under our customer contracts, permitting our customers to suspend taking delivery of and paying for our products or resulting in a charge to us for our customers' lost profits as a result of our failure to timely deliver our products. Relatedly, some of our contracts with our large retail customers subject us to financial penalties if we fail to ship an order that is on time or in full. If we are unable to successfully mitigate a significant portion of these product cost increases, fluctuations, or delays, our results of operations could be harmed. In addition, persistent disruptions in our access to infrastructure may force us to halt production as we reach storage capacity at our facilities. Accordingly, if the primary transportation services we use to transport our products are disrupted, and we are unable to find alternative transportation providers, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, and financial position.

As our business continues to expand, our competitors have imitated or attempted to imitate, and will likely continue to imitate or attempt to imitate, our product designs, functionality, and branding, which could harm our business and results of operations. Only a portion of the intellectual property used in the manufacture and design of our products is patented, and we therefore rely on other forms of protection, including trade and service marks, copyrights, trade dress, trade secrets, and the strength of our brand. For example, the original patent for pellet grills, which was filed by Joe Traeger in 1986, expired in 2006. Following expiration of this patent, competitors introduced competing products with similar designs and technologies, and there are currently a significant number of wood pellet grills available from a variety of competitors, including Weber and Dansons, among others. We regard our patents, trade dress, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual property and proprietary rights as critical to our success. We also rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, suppliers, manufacturers, and others to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights. Nevertheless, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights against infringement or other violation may be inadequate, and we may experience difficulty in effectively limiting the unauthorized use of our patents, trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets, copyrights and other intellectual property and proprietary rights worldwide. We also cannot guarantee that others will not independently develop technology with the same or similar functionality of the intellectual property and proprietary technology we rely on to conduct our business and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. As we continue to grow our business and strengthen our brand, we expect to experience increased counterfeiting of our products, including, among others, imitation and look-alike products and fraudulent websites and distributors. Unauthorized use or invalidation of our patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, trade secrets, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights may cause significant damage to our brand and harm our business and results of operations. While we actively develop and protect our intellectual property rights, there can be no assurance that we will be adequately protected in all countries in which we conduct our business or that we will prevail when defending our patent, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property and proprietary rights. Additionally, we could incur significant costs and management distraction in pursuing claims to enforce our intellectual property rights through litigation and defending any alleged counterclaims. If we are unable to protect or preserve the value of our patents, trade dress, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property and proprietary rights for any reason, or if we fail to maintain our brand image due to actual or perceived product or service quality issues, adverse publicity, governmental investigations, litigation, or other reasons, our brand and reputation could be damaged, and our business and results of our operations may be harmed.

We generate a significant portion of our revenue through our retail channel, which includes sales to brick-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce platforms, and multichannel retailers, who, in turn, sell our products to their end consumers. In addition, we depend on a limited number of major retailers for a majority of our revenue. For example, in the year ended December 31, 2025, our three largest retailers accounted for 29%, 14%, and 8% of our revenue, respectively, with no other customer accounting for greater than 10% of our revenue for the year. Although we generally do not have long-term contracts or purchase agreements with our retailers, we expect these major retailers to continue to make up a large portion of our revenue in the foreseeable future. Our retailers may decide to emphasize products from our competitors, to redeploy their retail floor space or digital placement to other product categories, or to take other actions that reduce their purchases of our products. Our financial performance depends in part on our ability to maintain our relationships with our retailers, particularly our major retailers, and drive end customers to their stores. The loss of all or a substantial portion of our sales to retailers, and our major retailers in particular, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows by reducing cash flows and by limiting our ability to spread our fixed costs over a larger revenue base. We may make fewer sales to our retailers for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to: - failure to accurately identify the needs of our retailers;- a lack of acceptance of new products, consumables, accessories, or services;- failure to obtain shelf space or prominent digital placement from our retailers;- loss of business relationships, including due to brand or reputational harm;- breaches of contracts with retailers, or our failure to enter into or renew our contracts or purchase orders with major retailers;- consolidation within the retail industry among retailers and retail chains;- reduced, delayed, or material changes to the business requirements or operations of our retailers;- failure to fulfil orders from our retailers in full or on a timely basis;- strikes or other work stoppages affecting sales and inventory of our major retailers;- increasing competition by our competitors or the competitors of our major retailers that do not offer or sell our products;- store closures, decreased foot traffic, recession, or other adverse effects resulting from public health crises; or - general failure or bankruptcy of any of our major retailers. Furthermore, in depressed market conditions, retailers that have entered into contracts with us may not be able to perform their obligations under our contracts and/or may no longer need the amount of our products they have contracted for or may be able to obtain comparable products at a lower price. If economic, political, regulatory, or financial market conditions deteriorate and/or our retailers experience a significant downturn in their business or financial condition, they may attempt to renegotiate, reject, or declare force majeure under our contracts. Should any counterparty fail to honor its obligations under a contract with us, we could sustain losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We may also decide to renegotiate our existing contracts on less favorable terms and/or at reduced volumes in order to preserve our relationships with our retailers. Upon the expiration of contracts, retailers may decide not to recontract on terms as favorable to us as our current contracts, or at all. For example, our current customers may acquire wood pellet grills from other providers that offer more competitive pricing. We cannot assure you that our retailers will continue to carry our current products or carry any new products that we develop. If these risks occur, they could harm our brand as well as our results of operations and financial condition. Some retailers may decide to stop selling wood pellet grills. Any reduction in the amount of wood pellet grills or other products purchased by our retailers, or our inability to renegotiate or replace our existing contracts on economically acceptable terms, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, and financial position.

Certain of our customers finance their purchase of our grills through third-party credit providers with whom we have existing relationships. If we are unable to maintain our relationships with our financing partners, there is no guarantee that we will be able to find replacement partners who will provide our customers with financing on similar terms, and our ability to sell our grills may be adversely affected. Further, reductions in consumer lending and the availability of consumer credit could limit the number of customers with the financial means to purchase our grills. Higher interest rates could increase our costs or the monthly payments for grills financed through other sources of consumer financing. In the future, we cannot be assured that third-party financing providers will continue to provide consumers with access to credit or that available credit limits will not be reduced. Such restrictions or reductions in the availability of consumer credit, or the loss of our relationship with our current financing partners, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, and results of operations.

The Traeger name and premium brand image are integral to the growth of our business, as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our business. Our success depends on the value and reputation of our brand, which, in turn, depends on factors such as the quality, market fit, design, performance, and functionality of our physical and digital products, our communication and marketing activities, including live and digital advertising, social media, online content, and public relations, the image of our retailers' floor spaces and e-commerce platform, and our management of the customer experience, including direct interfaces through customer service. Maintaining, promoting, and positioning our brand are important to expanding our customer base and will depend largely on the success of our marketing and merchandising efforts and our ability to provide consistent, high-quality customer experiences. We intend to continue making substantial investments in these areas in order to maintain and enhance our brand, and such investments may not be successful. Ineffective marketing, negative publicity, product diversion to unauthorized distribution channels, product or manufacturing defects, including defects that may cause fires or explosions, counterfeit products, unfair labor practices, and failure to protect the intellectual property rights in our brand are some of the potential threats to the strength of our brand, and those and other factors could rapidly and severely diminish customer confidence in us. Furthermore, these factors could cause our customers to lose the personal connection they feel with the Traeger brand. Moreover, the growing use of social and digital media by us, our customers, and third parties increases the speed at and extent to which information or misinformation and opinions, including negative ones, can be shared. We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand image in our current markets and in new markets where we have limited brand recognition is important to expanding our customer base. If we are unable to maintain or enhance our brand in current or new markets, our growth strategy and results of operations could be harmed.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and possibly other anti-bribery laws in countries in which we conduct activities. These laws generally prohibit companies and their employees and agents from corruptly promising, authorizing, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments of anything of value to government officials, political parties, and private-sector recipients for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, directing business to any person, or securing any improper advantage. Certain laws, including the U.K. Bribery Act, also prohibit soliciting or receiving bribes or improper payments. In addition, U.S. public companies are required to maintain records that accurately and fairly represent their transactions and have an adequate system of internal accounting controls. We operate a global business and may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or government controlled entities. In addition, in many foreign countries, including countries in which we may conduct business, it may be a local custom that businesses engage in practices that are prohibited by the FCPA or other applicable laws and regulations. We have implemented a compliance program designed to promote compliance with these laws. However, we cannot ensure that our compliance program will be effective or that our employees, contractors, and agents, and companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, have not taken, or will not take, actions in violation of our compliance program and applicable law, for which we may take actions in violation of our policies or applicable law. We face significant risks if we or any of our directors, officers, employees, agents, or other partners or representatives fail to comply with anti-corruption laws, and governmental authorities in the United States and elsewhere could seek to impose substantial civil and/or criminal fines and penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, responding to any internal investigation or government enforcement action may result in a significant diversion of management's attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees.

Taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, revised tax law interpretations, and changes in accounting standards and guidance related to tax matters may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rate. Our effective tax rate may also be impacted by changes in the geographic mix of our earnings.

We regularly collect, obtain, store, handle, transmit, use, and otherwise process business information and information related to individuals, including from and about actual and prospective customers, as well as our employees, suppliers, and vendors in the course of conducting our business through our website, our app, and information technology systems. We also depend on a number of third party vendors in relation to the operation of our business, a number of which process personal information on our behalf. As such, we and our vendors are subject to numerous federal, state, and international data privacy and security laws, rules, regulations, industry standards, and other requirements, including those that apply generally to the handling of information about individuals, and those that are specific to certain industries, sectors, contexts, or locations, governing the collection, use, disclosure, retention, security, transfer, storage, and other processing of personal information. These requirements, and their application, interpretation and amendment are constantly evolving and developing. In the United States, the FTC and many state regulators are interpreting and enforcing federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of personal information. Such standards require us to publish statements that describe how we handle personal information and choices individuals may have about the way we handle their personal information. If such information that we publish is considered untrue or inaccurate, we may be subject to government claims of unfair or deceptive trade practices, which could lead to significant liabilities and consequences. Moreover, according to the FTC, violating consumers' privacy rights or failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers' personal information secure may constitute unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act. State consumer protection laws provide similar causes of action for unfair or deceptive practices. In addition, various federal and state legislative and regulatory bodies, or self-regulatory organizations, have (and may continue to) expanded current laws or regulations, enacted new laws or regulations, or issued revised rules or guidance regarding privacy, data protection, consumer protection, and advertising, and as the regulatory environment related to information security, data collection and use, and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, there are new and changing requirements applicable to our business. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") requires covered companies, among other things, to provide disclosures to California consumers regarding the business's collection, use and disclosure of their personal information and provide such consumers certain data protection and privacy rights, including the ability to opt-out of certain disclosure of personal information. The CCPA also provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches. This private right of action may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. The enactment of the CCPA has prompted a wave of legislation in a number of U.S. states which imposes, or has the potential to impose, additional obligations on companies that collect, store, use, retain, disclose, transfer, and otherwise process confidential, sensitive, and personal information, and will continue to shape the data privacy environment nationally. For example, since the CCPA went into effect, comprehensive privacy statutes that share similarities with the CCPA are now in effect and enforceable in twenty states, and will soon be enforceable in several other states as well. State laws are changing rapidly and there is discussion in Congress of a new federal data protection and privacy law to which we may become subject if it is enacted. Such legislation may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions, and potential legal risk and could require additional investment in resources to compliance programs, impact strategies and availability of previously useful data, and result in increased compliance costs and changes in business practices and policies. Further, in order to comply with the varying state laws around data breaches, we must maintain adequate security measures, which require significant investments in resources and ongoing attention. We may also be subject to laws, regulations, and standards in many jurisdictions outside of the United States, which apply broadly to the collection, use, retention, security, disclosure, transfer, and other processing of personal information. For example, data protection laws in the European Economic Area, and United Kingdom, including the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), impose stringent operational requirements for entities processing personal information and significant penalties for non-compliance. In particular, violations of the GDPR could lead to fines of up to 20 million Euros / £17.5 million, or up to 4% of the annual global revenue of the noncompliant company, whichever is greater. Such penalties are in addition to any civil litigation claims by data subjects and other regulatory actions that may be taken by competent authorities. In addition, we may also be subject to evolving foreign privacy laws on cookies and e-marketing. In the EU and the UK, informed consent is required for the placement of certain cookies or similar technologies on a customer's or user's device and for direct electronic marketing, and local laws impose conditions on obtaining valid consent, such as a prohibition on pre-checked consents and a requirement to ensure separate consents are sought for each type of cookie or similar technology. Regulation of cookies and similar technologies, and any decline of cookies or similar online tracking technologies as a means to identify and potentially target customers and users, may lead to broader restrictions and impairments on our marketing and personalization activities and may materially adversely impact our efforts to understand our customers and users and our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition to the GDPR, we are also subject to laws in China. Under China's Cybersecurity Law, any collection, use, transfer, and storage of personal information of a Chinese citizen through a network by the network operator should be based on the three principles of legitimacy, justification, and necessity and requires the consent of the data subject. The rules, purposes, methods, and ranges of such collection should also be disclosed to the data subject. China's data localization requirements are becoming increasingly common in sector-specific regulations. For example, China's Cybersecurity Law requires operators of critical information infrastructure ("CIIOs") to store personal information and important data collected and generated from the critical information infrastructure within China. Non-compliance with China's Cybersecurity Law as recently amended effective as of January 1, 2026, can result in fines of up to RMB 10 million (approximately US$1.43 million) for violations that cause particularly serious consequences and RMB 1 million (approximately US$143,000) for the violator's directly responsible personnel and potentially five times the illegal gains where the illegal gains exceed RMB 100,000 (approximately US$14,300. Building on this, China's Data Security Law ("Data Security Law") aims to regulate data activities, safeguard data security, promote data development and usage, protect individuals and entities' legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard state sovereignty, state security, and development interests. The Data Security Law applies extraterritorially and to a broad range of activities that involve "data" (not only personal or sensitive data). Under the Data Security Law, entities and individuals carrying out data activities must abide by various data security obligations. For example, the Data Security Law proposes to classify and protect data based on the importance of data to the state's economic development, as well as the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, or illegally acquired or used. The appropriate level of protective measures is required to be taken for each respective class of data. The Data Security Law also echoes the data localization requirement in the Cybersecurity Law and requires important data to be stored locally in China. Such important data may only be transferred outside of China subject to compliance with certain data transfer restrictions, such as passing a security assessment organized by the relevant authorities. Additionally, China's Personal Information Protection Law ("PIPL") clarifies the scope of application, the definitions of personal information and sensitive personal information, the legality of personal information processing, and the basic requirements of notice and consent, among other things. The PIPL also sets out data localization requirements for CIIOs and personal information processors who process personal information above a certain threshold prescribed by the relevant authorities. The PIPL also requires data processors to rely on a data export mechanism and comply with certain requirements prior to the transfer of personal information outside of China, such as compliance with a security assessment ("Security Assessment") or certification by an agency designated by the relevant authorities ("Certification") or entering into standard form model contracts approved by the relevant authorities ("SCCs") with the overseas recipient, unless an exemption under the Provisions for Promoting and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows ("Provisions") applies, such as the transfer being necessary for the performance of a contract which the individual is a party to or necessary for cross-border HR management or the number of individuals' whose personal information is transferred is less than 100,000 since January 1st of the current year. According to the Provisions published by the CAC on March 22, 2024, a data processor must apply for the Security Assessment organized by the CAC under any of the following circumstances and receive an approval from the relevant authorities before the information may be transferred outside of the PRC: (i) where a data processor or a CIIO provides important data overseas, (ii) where a CIIO transfers personal information overseas (unless an exemption applies), or (iii) where a personal information processor either transfers more than 1 million individuals' personal information or more than 10,000 individuals' sensitive personal information overseas since January 1st of the current year, in each case unless an exemption applies. Additionally, a data processor must enter into the SCCs with the overseas recipient and file this with the local CAC and obtain a pass result or obtain a Certification before transferring information overseas if the data processor either transfers more than 100,000 but less than 1 million individuals' personal information or transfers less than 10,000 individuals' sensitive personal information since January 1st of the current year, unless an exemption applies. Notably, the PIPL, similar to the GDPR, applies extraterritorially. Failure to comply with PIPL can result in fines of up to RMB 50 million or 5% of the prior year's total annual revenue for the personal information processor and/or a suspension of services or data processing activities. Other potential penalties include a fine of up to RMB 1 million on the person in charge or directly responsible personnel and, in serious cases, individuals and entities may be exposed to criminal liabilities under other local Chinese law, such as the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The PIPL also prohibits responsible personnel for violations of the PIPL from holding high level management or data protection officer positions in relevant enterprises. In addition to China's Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the PIPL, the relevant government authorities of the People Republic of China promulgated several regulations or released a number of draft regulations for public comments which are designed to provide further implemental guidance in accordance with the laws mentioned above. For example, recently, the Regulations on Network Data Security Management ("Regulations") took effect on January 1, 2025 in China and have extraterritorial effect. The Regulations apply broadly to any network data processing activities (not only personal information processing activities) and reiterate and expand on the existing obligations on data processors under the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and the PIPL and introduce new network and data security obligations, such as a requirement to report any risks arising from network products and services that may endanger national security or public interest to the relevant authorities within 24 hours. We cannot predict what impact the new laws and regulations or the increased costs of compliance, if any, will have on our operations in China, in particular the Data Security Law or PIPL and its implementation regulations, or the increased costs of compliance, if any, will have on our operations in China due to their recent enactment and the limited guidance available, particularly on PIPL, which entities are awaiting further guidance on. It is also generally unclear how the laws will be interpreted and enforced in practice by the relevant government authorities as often the above mentioned laws are drafted broadly and thus leaves great discretion to the relevant government authorities to exercise. Finally, we make public statements about our use and disclosure of personal information through our privacy policy, information provided on our website, and press statements. Any failure or perceived failure by us to ensure that our public statements are complete, accurate, and fully implemented may result in regulatory investigations and enforcement, claims or proceedings, fines and penalties, and negative reputational impacts or other legal action if such policies or statements are found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices. In addition, from time to time, concerns may be expressed about whether our products and services compromise the data privacy of our users and others. Any concerns about our data privacy and security practices (even if unfounded), or any failure, real or perceived, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or public statements or with any legal or regulatory requirements, standards, certifications or orders, or other privacy or consumer protection-related laws and regulations applicable to us, may result in regulatory investigations and enforcement, claims or proceedings, fines and penalties, and negative reputational impacts and could cause our users to reduce their use of our products and services. Any or all of the foregoing could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We may be subject to claims that we have violated applicable laws or codes of conduct, and there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully defend against such claims or that we will not be subject to significant fines and penalties in the event of non-compliance. Additionally, in the United States, to the extent multiple state-level laws are introduced with inconsistent or conflicting standards and there is no federal law to preempt such laws, compliance with such laws could be difficult and costly to achieve and we could be subject to fines and penalties in the event of non-compliance. Further, we may incur significant costs to comply with laws regarding the protection and unauthorized disclosure of personal information. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with applicable privacy, security, and data protection laws, rules, regulations, and standards, or with other obligations to which we may be or may become subject, may result in proceedings, investigations, or actions against us by individuals, consumer rights groups governmental entities or regulators. We could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims and, if found liable, pay significant damages, fines, penalties, or other liabilities or result in orders or consent decrees forcing us to modify our business practices. Any such action and any subsequent adverse outcomes could be expensive to defend, damage our reputation, and materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on actions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. federal courts, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce patents that we have licensed or that we might obtain or license in the future. Similarly, changes in patent laws or regulations in other countries or jurisdictions, changes in the governmental bodies that enact them or changes in how the relevant governmental authority enforces patent laws or regulations may weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce patents that we have licensed or that we may obtain or license in the future.

Our business relies on computer systems, hardware, software, technology infrastructure, and online sites and networks for both internal and external operations that are critical to our business (collectively, "IT Systems"). We own and manage some of these IT Systems but also rely on third parties for a range of IT Systems and related products and services, including but not limited to cloud computing services. Our ability to effectively manage and maintain our inventory and internal reports, and to ship products to customers and invoice them on a timely basis, depends significantly on our enterprise resource planning, warehouse management, and other IT Systems, including those operated or managed by certain of our third-party partners. We also heavily rely on IT Systems to process financial and accounting information for financial reporting purposes. Any of these IT Systems could fail or experience a service interruption for a number of reasons, including human or technological error, malicious code embedded in open-source software, misconfigurations, "bugs," other vulnerabilities in commercial software that are integrated into our (or our suppliers' or service providers') IT Systems, products, or services, or disasters or our failure to properly maintain IT System redundancy or protect, repair, maintain, or upgrade our IT Systems. The failure of our or our third-party partners' IT Systems to operate effectively or to integrate with other systems, or a breach in security of these IT Systems, could cause delays in product fulfillment and reduced efficiency of our operations, which could materially negatively impact our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial results. If we or our third-party partners experienced any significant disruption to our IT Systems that we are unable to mitigate, our ability to timely report our financial results could be impacted, which could negatively impact our stock price. We also communicate electronically throughout the world with our employees and with third parties, such as customers, suppliers, vendors, and consumers. A service interruption or shutdown could have a materially adverse impact on our operating activities and could result in material financial, reputational, competitive, and business harm. Incident response, remediation and repair of any failure, problem or breach of our key IT Systems, or future compliance costs could require significant capital investments, which could materially adversely affect our business.

We sell and distribute our products in many key international markets in Europe, North America, and elsewhere around the world. These activities have resulted and will continue to result in investments in inventory, accounts receivable, employees, corporate infrastructure, and facilities. In addition, we source most of our products through manufacturing relationships involving suppliers and vendors located outside of the United States. The operation of foreign distribution in our international markets, as well as the management of relationships with manufacturers and foreign suppliers, will continue to require the dedication of management and other resources. As a result of this international business, we are exposed to increased risks inherent in conducting business outside of the United States. These risks include the following: - adverse changes in foreign currency exchange rates can have a significant effect upon our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows;- increased difficulty in protecting our intellectual property rights and trade secrets, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation;- increased exposure to events that could impair our ability to operate internationally with third parties such as problems with such third parties' operations, finances, insolvency, labor relations, manufacturing capabilities, costs, or insurance, or with natural disasters or other catastrophic events;- unexpected legal or government action or changes in legal or regulatory requirements;- social, economic, or political instability, including the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas;- potential negative consequences from changes to taxation or tariff policies;- the effects of any anti-American sentiments on our brands or sales of our products;- increased difficulty in ensuring compliance by employees, agents and contractors with our policies as well as with the laws of multiple jurisdictions, including but not limited to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, international environmental, health, and safety laws, and increasingly complex regulations relating to the conduct of international commerce, including import/export laws and regulations, economic sanctions laws, and regulations and trade controls;- increased difficulty in controlling and monitoring foreign operations from the United States, including increased difficulty in identifying and recruiting qualified personnel for our foreign operations; and - increased exposure to interruptions in land, air carrier, or vessel shipping services. We have limited experience with international regulatory environments and market practices and may not be able to penetrate or successfully operate in any foreign markets we choose to enter. In addition, we may incur significant expenses as a result of our continued international expansion, and we may not be successful. We may face limited brand recognition in certain parts of the world that could lead to non-acceptance or delayed acceptance of our products and services by consumers in new markets. We may also face challenges to acceptance of our products and content in new markets. Our failure to successfully manage these risks could harm our international operations and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

As our international business grows, our results of operations could be adversely impacted by changes in foreign currency exchange rates, such as the Euro, the British Pound, the Canadian Dollar, and the Chinese Renminbi, and we may transact in more foreign currencies in the future. Revenues and certain expenses in markets outside of the United States are recognized in local foreign currencies, and we are exposed to potential gains or losses from the translation and remeasurement of those amounts into U.S. dollars for consolidation into our financial statements. Similarly, we are exposed to gains and losses resulting from currency exchange rate fluctuations on transactions generated by our foreign subsidiaries in currencies other than their local currencies. In addition, the business of our independent manufacturers in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam may also be disrupted by currency exchange rate fluctuations by making their purchases of raw materials more expensive and more difficult to finance. Changes in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar can affect our revenue and results of operations. As we increase the extent of our international operations, such foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations could make it more difficult to detect underlying trends in our business and results of operations, such as our margins and cash flows. From time to time, we use hedging strategies to reduce our exposure to currency fluctuations and may continue to use derivative instruments, such as foreign currency forward and option contracts, to hedge certain exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Given the volatility of exchange rates, there can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively manage our currency transaction risks. The use of such hedging activities may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place and may introduce additional risks if we are unable to structure effective hedges with such instruments.