GrafTech International (EAF) Risk Analysis

Our Amended Certificate of Incorporation and Amended By-Laws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us without the consent of our Board of Directors, including: - provisions in our Amended Certificate of Incorporation and Amended By-Laws that prevent stockholders from calling special meetings of our stockholders, except where the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL") confers the right to fix the date of such meetings upon stockholders;- advance notice requirements by stockholders with respect to director nominations and actions to be taken at annual meetings;- provisions in our Amended Certificate of Incorporation provide for a classified Board of Directors such that only one of three classes of directors is elected each year, which prevents our stockholders from replacing the majority of our directors at once;- no provision in our Amended Certificate of Incorporation or Amended By-Laws provides for cumulative voting in the election of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock can elect all the directors standing for election;- under our Amended Certificate of Incorporation, our Board of Directors has authority to cause the issuance of preferred stock from time to time in one or more series and to establish the terms, preferences and rights of any such series of preferred stock, all without approval of our stockholders; and - nothing in our Amended Certificate of Incorporation precludes future issuances without stockholder approval of the authorized but unissued shares of our common stock. These provisions may make it difficult and expensive for a third-party to pursue a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by our Board of Directors. Stockholders who might desire to participate in these types of transactions may not have an opportunity to do so, even if the transaction is favorable to such stockholders. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of stockholders to benefit from a change in control or to change our management and Board of Directors and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium.

Our credit agreement (as amended, the "2018 Credit Agreement") currently provides for a $225 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the "2018 Revolving Credit Facility"). As any borrowings under the 2018 Revolving Credit Facility remain subject to compliance with the financial covenant in our 2018 Revolving Credit Facility, our operating performance resulted in a reduction of the availability under our 2018 Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately $1.1 billion of secured indebtedness outstanding including borrowings under our new 4.625% notes due 2029 (the "New 4.625% Notes") and our new 9.875% notes due 2029 (the "New 9.875% Notes", together with the New 4.625% Notes, the "New Notes"). As of December 31, 2025, we had $106.4 million available for borrowing under the 2018 Revolving Credit Facility (taking into account approximately $9.0 million of outstanding letters of credit issued thereunder). Our indebtedness could: - require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to the payment of principal and interest, thereby reducing the funds available for operations and future business opportunities;- make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations;- limit our ability to borrow additional money if needed for other purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes, on satisfactory terms or at all;- limit our ability to adjust to changing economic, business and competitive conditions;- place us at a competitive disadvantage with competitors who may have less indebtedness or greater access to financing;- cause us to reduce or delay capital expenditures or sell assets or operations to meet our scheduled debt service obligations;- make us more vulnerable to a downturn in our operating performance or a decline in general economic conditions; and - make us more susceptible to changes in credit ratings, which could impact our ability to obtain financing in the future and increase the cost of such financing. Compliance with our debt obligations under the 2018 Revolving Credit Facility, the New Notes and the Initial First Lien Term Loan Facility (as defined below), and any future indebtedness could materially limit our financial or operating activities, or hinder our ability to adapt to changing industry conditions, which could result in our losing market share, a decline in our revenue or a negative impact on our operating results.

Pricing for graphite electrodes has historically been cyclical, reflecting the demand trends of the global EAF steelmaking industry and the supply of graphite electrodes. In addition, as petroleum needle coke reflects a significant percentage of the raw material cost of graphite electrodes, graphite electrodes have historically been priced at a spread to petroleum needle coke, which in the past has increased in tight demand markets. Between 2006 and 2025, our weighted-average realized price of graphite electrodes was approximately $6,200 per MT (on an inflation-adjusted basis using constant 2025 dollars). During the last demand trough in 2016, our weighted-average realized price of graphite electrodes fell to approximately $3,000 per MT, on an inflation-adjusted basis using constant 2025 dollars. Following the significant rationalization of graphite electrode production globally, the resumption of growth in EAF steel production, falling scrap prices, reductions in Chinese steel exports and constrained supply of needle coke, graphite electrode prices reached record highs in 2018. Prices as of December 31, 2025 have receded from the highs of 2018, and the price of graphite electrodes may continue to decline in the future. Beginning in 2023 and continuing through 2025, spot prices began decreasing given the softer commercial environment. Spot prices for the year ended December 31, 2025 were approximately 4,100 per MT on a weighted-average basis. Our business, financial condition and operating results have been, and are being, materially and adversely affected by the depressed spot price of graphite electrodes throughout 2024 and 2025 and could be materially and adversely affected further to the extent prices for graphite electrodes remain at depressed levels or continue to decline or remain at current levels in the future.

We believe that our intellectual property, consisting primarily of patents and proprietary know-how and information, is important to our growth. Our intellectual property portfolio is extensive, with approximately 113 U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications, which we believe is more than any of our major competitors in the businesses in which we operate. Failure to protect our intellectual property may result in the loss of the exclusive right to use our technologies. We rely on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws and confidentiality and restricted-use agreements to protect our intellectual property. However, some of our intellectual property is not covered by any patent or patent application or any such agreement. Intellectual property protection does not protect against technological obsolescence due to developments by others or changes in customer needs. Patents are subject to complex factual and legal considerations. Accordingly, the validity, scope and enforceability of any particular patent can be uncertain. Therefore, we cannot assure that: - any of the U.S. or non-U.S. patents now or hereafter owned by us, or that third parties have licensed to us or may in the future license to us, will not be circumvented, challenged or invalidated;- any of the U.S. or non-U.S. patents that third parties have non-exclusively licensed to us, or may non-exclusively license to us in the future, will not be licensed to others; or - any of the patents for which we have applied or may in the future apply will be issued at all or with the breadth of claim coverage we seek. Moreover, patents, even if valid, only provide protection for a specified limited duration. In addition, effective patent, trademark and trade secret protection may be limited or unavailable or we may not apply for it in the United States or in any of the other countries in which we operate. The protection of our intellectual property rights may be achieved, in part, by prosecuting claims against others who we believe have misappropriated our technology or have infringed upon our intellectual property rights, as well as by defending against misappropriation or infringement claims brought by others against us. Our involvement in litigation to protect or defend our rights in these areas could result in a significant expense to us, adversely affect the development of sales of the related products, and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, regardless of the outcome of such litigation. We cannot assure that agreements designed to protect our proprietary know-how and information will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any such breach, or that our strategic alliance suppliers and customers, consultants, employees or others will not assert rights against us with respect to intellectual property arising out of our relationships with them.

We are subject to stringent environmental, health and safety laws and regulations relating to our current and former properties (including former onsite landfills over which we have retained ownership), other properties that neighbor ours or to which we sent wastes for treatment or disposal, as well as our current raw materials, products, and operations. Some of our products (including our raw materials) are subject to extensive environmental and industrial hygiene regulations governing the registration and safety analysis of their component substances. Coal tar pitch, which is classified as a substance of very high concern under the EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Regulation ("REACH") regulations, is used in certain of our processes but in a manner that we believe does not currently require us to obtain a specific authorization under the REACH guidelines. Violations of these laws and regulations, or of the terms and conditions of permits required for our operations, can result in damage claims, reputational harm, the imposition of substantial fines and sanctions and require the installation of costly pollution control or safety equipment or costly changes in operations to limit pollution or decrease the likelihood of injuries. In addition, we are currently conducting remediation and/or monitoring at certain current and former properties and may become subject to material liabilities in the future for the investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties, including with respect to emerging contaminants or for properties on which we have ceased operations. We have been in the past, and could be in the future, subject to claims alleging personal injury, death or property damage resulting from exposure to hazardous substances, accidents or otherwise for conditions creating an unsafe workplace. Further, noncompliance or alleged noncompliance with or stricter enforcement of, or changes in interpretations of, existing laws and regulations, adoption of more stringent new laws and regulations, discovery of previously unknown contamination or imposition of new or increased requirements could require us to incur costs or become the basis of new or increased liabilities or reputational harm that have a material adverse impact on our operations, costs or results of operations. It is also possible that the impact of safety and environmental regulations on our suppliers could affect the availability and cost of our raw materials. For example, legislators, regulators and others, as well as many companies, are considering ways to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases ("GHGs") due to scientific, political and public concern that GHG emissions are altering the atmosphere in ways that are affecting, and are expected to continue to affect, the global climate. The EU has established GHG regulations and is revising its emission trading system for the period after 2020 in a manner that may require us to incur additional costs. The United States has required annual reporting of GHG emissions from certain large sources beginning in 2011 and various and regional state efforts to reduce GHG emissions have also been implemented. Further measures in the United States, EU and many other countries, may be enacted in the future. In particular, in December 2015, more than 190 countries participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reached an international agreement related to curbing GHG emissions (the "Paris Agreement"). Further, GHG regulations under the Paris Agreement or otherwise may take the form of a national or international cap-and-trade emissions permit system, a carbon tax, emissions controls, reporting requirements, or other regulatory initiatives. For more information, see the section entitled "Business." The further regulation of GHG emissions or other environmental regulations in countries in which we operate or market our products could impose additional costs, both direct and indirect, on our business, and on the businesses of our customers and suppliers, such as increased energy and insurance rates, higher taxes, new environmental compliance program expenses,including capital improvements, environmental monitoring and the purchase of emission credits, and other administrative costs necessary to comply with current and potential future requirements or limitations that may be imposed, as well as other unforeseen or unknown costs. To the extent that similar requirements and limitations are not imposed globally, this regulation may impact our ability to compete with companies located in countries that do not have these requirements or limitations. We may also experience a change in competitive position relative to industry peers, changes in prices received for products sold and changes to profit or loss arising from increased or decreased demand for our products. The impact of any future GHG regulatory requirements on our global business will be dependent upon the design of the regulatory schemes that are ultimately adopted and, as a result, we are unable to predict their significance to our operations at this time.