Forrester Research (FORR) Risk Analysis

In December of 2021, we entered into an amendment of our existing credit agreement to eliminate our term loan facility, increase the available amount of our revolving credit facility to $150.0 million, and extend the maturity date to December 2026 (as so amended, "the Facility"). As of December 31, 2024, we had outstanding debt of $35.0 million under the Facility (refer to Note 5 – Debt in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information). The obligations incurred under this Facility could impair our future financial condition and operating results. In addition, the affirmative, negative, and financial covenants of the Facility could limit our future financial flexibility. A failure to comply with these covenants could result in acceleration of all amounts outstanding, which could materially impact our financial condition unless accommodations could be negotiated with our lenders. No assurance can be given that we would be successful in doing so, or that any accommodations that we were able to negotiate would be on terms as favorable as those currently. The outstanding debt may limit the amount of cash or additional credit available to us, which could restrain our ability to expand or enhance products and services, respond to competitive pressures or pursue future business opportunities requiring substantial investments of additional capital.

We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. Unauthorized third parties may obtain or use our proprietary information despite our efforts to protect it. The laws of certain countries do not protect our intellectual property to the same extent as the laws of the United States and accordingly we may not be able to protect our intellectual property against unauthorized use or distribution, which could adversely affect our business.

We face risks from network disruptions or security breaches caused by computer viruses, illegal break-ins or hacking, sabotage, acts of vandalism by third parties, or terrorism. To date, none have resulted in any material adverse impact to our business, operations, products, services or customers. However, our security measures or those of our third-party service providers may not detect or prevent such security breaches. Any such compromise of our information security could result in the unauthorized publication of our confidential business or proprietary information, cause an interruption in our operations, result in the unauthorized release of customer or employee data, result in a violation of privacy or other laws, expose us to a risk of litigation, or damage our reputation, which could harm our business and operating results.

In October of 2023, we introduced Izola, a generative AI tool that allows our clients to query our research database. We are also in the process of implementing various other generative AI initiatives within our company. While we believe that generative AI technologies offer significant opportunities, they are rapidly evolving and the integration of generative AI technologies into our and our vendors' systems (potentially without the vendor disclosing such use to us) poses novel risks that could result in negative consequences to our business, reputation and financial results. These risks include the potential for factual errors or inaccuracies, unintentional distribution of confidential information, ethical concerns, data privacy or security risks, and risks related to intellectual property rights. In addition, third parties may be able to use generative AI to compete with and reduce demand for our products and services or may load our proprietary research into large language models in violation of our terms of use, which could reduce the value of our services and our ability to protect our intellectual property.

Our business is in part dependent on technology spending and is impacted by economic conditions such as inflation, slowing growth, rising interest rates, trade policies and tariffs, threat of recession and supply chain issues that may impact us and our customers. The economic environment may materially and adversely affect demand for our products and services. If conditions in the United States and the global economy were to lead to a decrease in technology spending, or in demand for our products and services, this could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Although we do not have any employees or material client relationships in Russia or Ukraine and only a limited presence in the Middle East, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Gaza may cause negative effects on both the United States and the global economy that could materially and adversely affect our business.

As of December 31, 2024, we have clients in approximately 73 countries and approximately 23% of our revenues come from international sales. Our operating results are subject to the risks inherent in international business activities, including general political and economic conditions in each country, challenges in staffing and managing foreign operations, changes in regulatory requirements, compliance with numerous foreign laws and regulations, differences between U.S. and foreign tax rates and laws, trade policies and tariffs, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, difficulty of enforcing client agreements, collecting accounts receivable and protecting intellectual property rights in international jurisdictions, and potential disruptions caused by foreign wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we rely on local independent sales representatives in some international locations. If any of these arrangements are terminated by our representatives or us, we may not be able to replace the arrangement on beneficial terms or on a timely basis, or clients sourced by the local sales representative may not want to continue to do business with us or our new representative.

Our success depends in part upon our ability to anticipate rapidly changing technologies and market trends and to adapt our research and consulting services, and other related products and services to meet the changing needs of our clients. The technology and commerce sectors that we analyze undergo frequent and often dramatic changes. The environment of rapid and continuous change presents significant challenges to our ability to provide our clients with current and timely analysis, strategies, and advice on issues of importance to them. Meeting these challenges requires the commitment of substantial resources. Any failure to continue to provide insightful and timely analysis of developments, technologies, and trends in a manner that meets market needs could have an adverse effect on our market position and results of operations.

We operate in numerous jurisdictions around the world. A portion of our income is generated outside of the United States and is taxed at lower rates than rates applicable to income generated in the U.S. or in other jurisdictions in which we do business. Our effective tax rate in the future, and accordingly our results of operations and financial position, could be adversely affected by changes in applicable tax law or if more of our income becomes taxable in jurisdictions with higher tax rates.

Privacy laws and regulations, and the interpretation and application of these laws and regulations, in the U.S, Europe and other countries around the world where we conduct business are sometimes inconsistent and frequently changing. This includes, but is not limited to, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (the "CCPA")) and other similar laws in a number of U.S. states which require, among other things, covered companies to provide disclosure to consumers about such companies' data collection, use and sharing practices, provide such consumers ways to make requests about their personal information, including requests to delete their personal information, to know what information a company has about the consumer, and to opt-out of certain sales, transfers, or sharing of personal information. Some U.S. state data privacy laws, including the CCPA, also provide consumers with additional causes of action. In 2023, Europe finalized the first-ever comprehensive legal framework for governance of the development and use of artificial intelligence, the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act, with rolling effective dates beginning in 2025, and is moving forward with finalizing applicable regulations. Many jurisdictions in the U.S. are considering or have passed laws governing the development or use of Artificial Intelligence. Similarly, Europe has enacted laws governing cyber resilience, and we expect more laws will be considered and passed on this issue. Compliance with these laws, or changing interpretations and application of these laws, could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to take action in a manner that would be adverse to our business.