Huntington Ingalls (HII) Risk Analysis

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our current or future indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash from operations, financings, or asset sales, which may be subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. If we are not able to repay or refinance our debt as it becomes due, we may be forced to sell assets or take other unfavorable actions, including reducing funding for working capital, capital expenditures, and general corporate purposes; reducing our cash dividend rate and/or share repurchases; or dedicating an unsustainable level of our cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness. In addition, our ability to withstand competitive pressures and to react to changes in the defense industry could be impaired. In the event of a default on any of our indebtedness, the lenders who hold such debt could accelerate amounts due, which could potentially trigger a default or acceleration of our other indebtedness.

As part of our business strategy, we regularly review, identify, and evaluate potential investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and teaming or other collaborative arrangements. We aim to pursue opportunities that align with and complement our business and growth objectives. When evaluating potential opportunities, we make significant judgments regarding the value of the opportunity, potential costs, and other liabilities associated with opportunity. These transactions often involve other risks and uncertainties and require substantial management resources and can divert management's attention from our existing business. Unidentified or identified but un-indemnified or uninsured pre-closing liabilities could affect our future financial results, particularly through successor liability under procurement laws and regulations, such as the False Claims Act or Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act, anti-corruption, environmental, tax, import export, and technology transfer laws, which provide for civil and criminal penalties and the potential for debarment. We also may incur unanticipated costs or expenses, including post-closing asset impairment charges, expenses associated with eliminating duplicate facilities, employee retention, transaction-related or other litigation, and other liabilities. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Joint ventures, partnerships, and other non-controlling investments operate under shared control with other parties. These arrangements typically include many of the same risks and uncertainties, but may also expose us to additional risks not present if we retained full control. A joint venture partner may have economic or other business interests that are inconsistent with our interests, and we may be unable to prevent strategic decisions that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We also could be adversely affected by, or liable for, actions taken by joint ventures that we do not control, or actions taken by members of the joint ventures, including violations of anti-corruption, import and export, taxation, and anti-boycott laws.

The size, nature, and complexity of our business make us highly susceptible to investigations, claims, litigation, disputes, and other legal proceedings. We are and may become subject to various legal proceedings across a broad array of matters, including but not limited to, administrative, civil, and criminal litigation, class actions, environmental claims, income tax proceedings, antitrust claims, compliance proceedings, customer claims, enforcement actions, audits, investigations and other legal proceedings, which can divert financial and management resources and result in fines, penalties, compensatory, treble, or other damages, or nonmonetary sanctions. Government regulations also provide that certain allegations against a contractor may lead to suspension or debarment from government contracts or suspension of export privileges. Suspension or debarment or criminal resolutions in particular could have a material adverse effect on our business because of our reliance on government contracts and authorizations. Any litigation, claim, dispute, audit, or investigation, even if pending or not ultimately substantiated or if fully indemnified or insured, could negatively impact our reputation among our customers and the public and make it more difficult for us to compete effectively or acquire adequate insurance in the future. The negative resolution of investigations, claims, litigation, disputes or other legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. See Note 14: Investigations, Claims, and Litigation in Item 8.

We design, develop, and manufacture products and perform services that often involve innovative designs, new technologies, and complex manufacturing processes. Delays and issues with product development, technology implementation, manufacturing, or subcontractor components or services can impact our contract performance. First-in-class ships, also known as lead ships, usually include new technologies supplied by the U.S. Navy or other contractors or developed by us. Problems associated with development or implementation of these new technologies or design changes in the construction process can lead to delays in the design and construction schedule. The risks associated with new technologies or design changes during construction can both increase the cost of a ship and delay delivery. Our products cannot always be tested and proven and are otherwise subject to unforeseen problems, including premature failure of elements that cannot be accessed for repair or replacement, substandard quality or workmanship, and unexpected degradation of product performance. These failures could result in loss of life or property and could negatively affect our results of operations as a result of unanticipated expenses that we don't recover, diversion of management attention, loss of follow-on work, and, in the case of certain contracts, reimbursement to the customer of contract costs and fee payments previously received. We periodically experience quality issues with respect to products and services that we sell to our U.S. Government customers. These issues can and have required significant resources to determine the source of the deficiencies and implement corrective actions. We may discover quality issues in the future related to our products and services that require analysis and corrective action. Such issues and our responses and corrective actions could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

We own patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property related to our business, and we license intellectual property rights to and from third parties. The U.S. Government generally receives non-exclusive licenses to certain intellectual property we develop in the performance of U.S. Government contracts, and the U.S. Government may use or, in some cases, authorize third parties to use such intellectual property. The U.S. Government can take aggressive positions both as to the intellectual property to which they believe government use rights apply and to the acquisition of broad license rights. To the extent the U.S. Government is successful, the intellectual property on which we depend and our access to and use of certain supplier intellectual property could be negatively affected. We also rely upon proprietary technology, information, processes, and know-how that are not protected by patents. We seek to protect this information through trade secret or confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, subcontractors, and other parties, as well as through other measures. These agreements and other measures may not, however, adequately protect the trade secrets on which we depend. In addition, trade secrets may be independently developed by competitors. Our intellectual property is also subject to challenge, invalidation, infringement, misappropriation, or circumvention by third parties. In the event of infringement, misappropriation, breach of a confidentiality agreement, or unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information, we may not have adequate legal remedies to protect our intellectual property. Litigation to determine the scope of our rights or to protect our rights, even if successful, could be costly and a diversion of management's attention. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, our business could be adversely affected. We also use certain intellectual property licensed to us by third parties. In the case of such licensed intellectual property, we may be unable in the future to secure the necessary licenses to use such intellectual property, or to secure the licenses on commercially reasonable terms.

As a defense contractor, we face significant cyber and other security threats. These threats include, among others, threats to our information technology infrastructure, including attempts to gain unauthorized access to classified, proprietary or other sensitive information or otherwise compromise the integrity, confidentiality and/or availability of our systems, hardware and networks or those of our suppliers and subcontractors; insider threats; ransomware; threats to the safety of our directors, officers and employees; threats to our facilities, infrastructure, products (we produce and use), and subcontractors or other suppliers; and threats from terrorist acts, espionage, civil unrest and other acts of aggression. Our information technology infrastructure is critical to the efficient operation of our business and essential to our ability to perform day-to-day operations. We rely on this infrastructure to process, transmit, and store electronic information, including classified and other sensitive information of the U.S. Government. We face substantial cybersecurity threats, including threats to our and the U.S. Government's proprietary and classified information from advanced nation state threat actors and non-state actors, sophisticated cybercrime syndicates, hacktivists, and insiders. These cybersecurity threats are continuously evolving and include security breaches (whether through cyber attack, cyber intrusion, or insider threat) via the internet; malicious software, including ransomware; computer viruses; attachments to emails; persons inside our organization or with access to systems inside our organization; subcontractors or suppliers; or other significant disruptions of our information technology networks and related systems or those of our suppliers or subcontractors, including through the use of new and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. Some of these threats are zero-day attacks associated with previously unknown vulnerabilities in third party software products we utilize in our business. We have experienced cybersecurity attacks and expect we will continue to experience additional attacks in the future. Cybersecurity attacks or other incidents can lead to the loss or misuse of sensitive information or capabilities; theft or corruption of data; harm to personnel, infrastructure or products; financial costs and liabilities; protracted interruptions of our operations and performance; significant recovery and restoration expenses; degraded performance on existing contracts; and misuse of our products. They also can harm our reputation, result in the loss of current or future contracts, including work on sensitive or classified systems for the U.S. Government, and cause us to incur significant costs or other potential liabilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Given the persistence, sophistication, volume, and novelty of threats we face, we may not be successful in preventing or mitigating an attack that could have a material adverse effect on us, and the costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. While we use robust countermeasures to mitigate the risks posed by cybersecurity threats, external and internal threat actors continuously seek to evade our cybersecurity countermeasures to gain unauthorized and unlawful access to our information technology infrastructure, assets, and data, both on premises and in the cloud. Even the most well-protected information, networks, systems, and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because attempted security breaches, particularly cybersecurity attacks and cyber intrusions or disruptions, regularly occur and will continue to occur in the future and the techniques used in such attempts are constantly evolving and generally are not recognized until launched against a target. As a result, we are not always able to anticipate techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures. Our customers, suppliers, subcontractors, and other business partners also face cyber and other security threats. Although we undertake cooperative efforts with our customers, suppliers, subcontractors, and other business partners to facilitate their understanding of cybersecurity threats they face and potential cybersecurity countermeasures to mitigate potential cyber attacks and other security threats, we rely substantially on the safeguards implemented by these organizations, which affects the security of our information. These organizations have varying levels of cybersecurity expertise and safeguards, and their relationships with U.S. Government contractors increases the likelihood that they are or will be impacted by the same cybersecurity threats we face. We are also subject to disclosure and reporting obligations related to cybersecurity events. Despite rigorous processes, we may be unable to meet existing or future disclosure obligations and risk potentially having our disclosures when made misinterpreted. National security or public safety considerations may further affect, or in some instances prevent, our public disclosure of a cybersecurity incident in certain circumstances. We could also encounter threats to our physical security, including our facilities and personnel, and threats from workplace violence, civil unrest, acts of sabotage or terrorism, and other local security issues, any of which could disrupt our business. Our customers and suppliers face similar risks that, if realized, could also adversely impact our operations. Any such events could cause delays or disruption or otherwise impact our business, and may require us to incur greater costs for security or to shut down operations for a period of time. The occurrence and impact of these various risks are difficult to predict, but one or more of them could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

We utilize artificial intelligence, including generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, and similar tools and technologies that collect, aggregate, analyze, or generate data or other materials or content (collectively, "AI") in connection with our business, including to enhance productivity and operational efficiency and optimize processes utilized in our business. There is inherent risk and uncertainty involved in using AI and we cannot provide assurances that our use of AI will enhance our products or services, produce the intended results, or keep pace with our competitors. We have implemented an AI Governance and Enablement Program to oversee the use of AI in our business. If the AI tools that we use are deficient, incomplete, inaccurate, biased, controversial, or otherwise flawed, we could incur operational inefficiencies, competitive harm, legal liability, brand or reputational harm, or other adverse impacts on our business and financial results. The degraded or flawed performance of the AI tools we utilize may not be easily detectable despite internal policies and processes to identify and mitigate such deficiencies and may result from adversarial attacks that include data poisoning, malware risks, and evasion techniques which are not readily detectable. If we do not have sufficient rights to use the data or other material or content on which the AI tools we use rely, we also may incur liability through the violation of applicable laws and regulations, third-party intellectual property, data privacy, or other rights, or contracts to which we are a party. In addition, AI regulation is rapidly evolving worldwide as legislators and regulators increasingly focus on these powerful emerging technologies. The technologies underlying AI and its uses are subject to a variety of laws and regulations, and are expected to be subject to increased regulation and new laws or new applications of existing laws and regulations. AI is the subject of ongoing review by various U.S. governmental and regulatory agencies, and various U.S. states and other foreign jurisdictions are applying, or are considering applying, their platform moderation, data privacy, and security laws and regulations to AI or are considering general legal frameworks for AI. We may not be able to anticipate how to respond to these rapidly evolving frameworks, and we may need to expend resources to adjust our operations or offerings in certain jurisdictions if the legal frameworks are inconsistent across jurisdictions. Furthermore, because AI technology itself is highly complex and rapidly developing, it is not possible to predict all of the legal, operational, or technological risks that may arise relating to the use of AI.

We conduct most of our business with the U.S. Government, primarily the Department. Substantially all of our revenues in 2025 was derived from products and services sold to the U.S. Government. We expect this to continue for the foreseeable future. Our U.S. Government contracts are subject to various risks. We cannot predict the impact on our existing or future contracts due to changes in the global geopolitical and economic environment, including inflationary pressures, defense spending levels and priorities, government efficiency and other budgetary priorities, customer procurement practices and processes, and other factors that may impact our customer's short- and long-term plans and priorities or our ability to compete, capture, and perform successfully on such contracts. Any of these factors could materially adversely affect our business with the U.S. Government and our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The U.S. Government generally has the ability to terminate contracts, in whole or in part, with little or no prior notice, for convenience or for default based upon performance. In the event of termination for convenience, a contractor generally is able to recover costs incurred and profit on costs up to the amount authorized under the contract, but not the profit that would have been earned had the contract been completed. However, the U.S. Government may assert that it is not required to provide additional funding for such costs if sufficient funding has not been appropriated to cover them. Any termination also could result in the cancellation of future work on the related program. A termination resulting from our default can expose us to various liabilities, including excess re-procurement costs, and could negatively affect our ability to compete for future contracts. Any contract termination (including a termination of a prime contract for which we are a subcontractor) could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. The U.S. Government also can stop work under a contract for a limited period of time for its convenience. In the event of a stop work order, contracts typically are protected by provisions covering reimbursement for costs incurred to date and for costs associated with the temporary stoppage of work plus a reasonable fee. However, such temporary stoppages may result in financial or other damages for which contractors may not be able to recover fully. In some cases, they could result in termination of a contract for convenience or reduced future orders.

We have been, and may in the future be, exposed to damaging storms and other extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes and floods (which may be exacerbated by changing weather patterns or environmental conditions), rising sea waters, environmental disasters such as oil spills, acts of terrorism, and health epidemics, pandemics, and similar outbreaks. We also may experience disruptions to electrical and other power distribution networks, information technology, and other critical infrastructure needed for normal business operations and our performance. We anticipate that our facilities and operations, particularly in regions prone to natural disasters and extreme weather events, will continue to be at risk for future natural disasters. Natural disasters, environmental disasters, and other events outside of our control can result in significant adverse impacts to our business, including by adversely impacting our workforce and supply chain, resulting in increased costs or other financial impacts, causing schedule or production delays or temporary closures of our facilities or facilities of our customers or suppliers, or other impacts. Events impacting waterways and bodies of water used for transporting or testing our ships can cause schedule delays under our contracts with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. These events also may impact our suppliers' and subcontractors' ability to perform and may disrupt the availability of raw materials and supplies needed for our performance. Although we endeavor to mitigate the risk associated with these events, if insurance or other means of recovery or risk mitigation are unavailable or insufficient, or if we experience delays in such recovery, the damage and adverse impacts caused by such events may be significant, and our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

The financial markets experience high levels of volatility and disruption from time to time, reducing the availability of credit for certain issuers. We access these markets from time to time to support certain business activities, including funding acquisitions and capital projects and refinancing existing indebtedness. We may also access these markets to acquire credit support for our workers' compensation self-insurance program and letters of credit. A number of factors could cause us to incur higher borrowing costs and experience greater difficulty accessing public and private debt markets, including disruptions or declines in the global capital markets and/or a decline in our financial performance, outlook, or credit ratings. The occurrence of any or all of these events may adversely affect our ability to fund our operations, meet contractual commitments, make future investments or desirable acquisitions, or respond to competitive challenges.

We operate in a highly competitive environment and our competitors may have more financial capacity or other resource or capabilities. Our shipbuilding business is highly competitive, in part, due to the limited number of U.S. shipyards that compete for contracts to construct, overhaul, repair, maintain, and convert naval vessels. In addition, the competition for certain of our products, such as aircraft carriers, submarines, amphibious assault ships, surface combatants, and other ships, is heightened due to changes in budgetary pressures and priorities, and our programs may compete with each other for available funding in addition to our competitors. We expect competition for future shipbuilding programs to continue to be intense. We compete with another large defense contractor for contracts to build surface combatants, submarines, and large deck amphibious ships, and smaller shipyards have entered the market for surface combatants. We may compete in the future with the same contractor and other shipyards to build new and different classes of ships, as well as ships for which we are currently the sole source, including amphibious assault ships. Moreover, changes in U.S. defense spending priorities that reduce the demand for the types of ships we build and services we provide increase our exposure to market competition risk. If we are unable to compete successfully, we may generate lower revenues and lose market share, which would negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows and our ability to compete for future defense contracts could be impacted. Although we are the only company currently capable of refueling nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, existing U.S. Government shipyards may be able to refuel nuclear-powered aircraft carriers if substantial investments in facilities, personnel, and training are made. If a U.S. Government-owned shipyard became capable of, and engaged in, the refueling of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows would likely be adversely affected. We also compete in the shipbuilding engineering, planning, and design market with companies that provide engineering support services. Such competition increases the risk we may not be the successful bidder on future U.S. Navy engineering proposals, including aircraft carrier research and development, submarine design, and surface combatant and amphibious assault ship program contracts. Our Mission Technologies segment also is highly competitive and competes domestically and internationally against mid to large A&D companies and non-traditional defense companies that may have more financial resources or capabilities. The success of our Mission Technologies division in competing depends, in part, on its ability to remain cost-competitive, respond to changes in customer acquisition strategies, accurately anticipate our customers' needs, and differentiate its products and services offerings from other market participants. Our competitive environment also is affected by bid protests from unsuccessful bidders on new program awards. As the competitive environment intensifies, the number of bid protests may increase. Bid protests can result in an award decision being overturned, requiring a re-bid of the contract. Even when a bid protest does not result in a re-bid, resolution of the matter typically extends the time until contract performance can begin, which can reduce our earnings in the period in which the contract would otherwise be performed.