Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Risk Factors

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our portfolio with existing end-customers, especially large enterprise customers, including through our platformization strategy, and create demand for our new offerings. The rate at which our end-customers purchase additional products, subscriptions, and support depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional security products, including subscription and support offerings, as well as general economic conditions. If our efforts to sell additional products and subscriptions to our end-customers are not successful, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected or decline. Sales to large enterprise end-customers, which is part of our growth strategy, involve risks that may not be present, or that are present to a lesser extent, with sales to smaller entities, such as (a) longer sales cycles and the associated risk that substantial time and resources may be spent on a potential end-customer that elects not to purchase our products, subscriptions, and support, and (b) increased purchasing power and leverage held by large end-customers in negotiating contractual arrangements. Deployments for large enterprise end-customers are also more complex, require greater product functionality, scalability, and a broader range of services, and are more time-consuming. All of these factors add further risk to business conducted with these end-customers. Failure to realize sales from large enterprise end-customers could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We incorporate technology that we license from third parties, including software, into our products and subscriptions. We cannot be certain that our licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties or that our licensors have sufficient rights to the licensed intellectual property in all jurisdictions in which we may sell our products and subscriptions. In addition, some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. Some of our agreements with our licensors may be terminated for convenience by them. We may also be subject to additional fees or be required to obtain new licenses if any of our licensors allege that we have not properly paid for such licenses or that we have improperly used the technologies under such licenses, and such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to continue to license any of this technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our licensors or against us, or claims against us by our licensors, or if we are unable to continue our license agreements or enter into new licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to develop and sell products and subscriptions containing such technology would be severely limited and our business could be harmed. Additionally, if we are unable to license necessary technology from third parties, we may be forced to acquire or develop alternative technology, which we may be unable to do in a commercially feasible manner or at all, and we may be required to use alternative technology of lower quality or performance standards. This would limit and delay our ability to offer new or competitive products and subscriptions and increase our costs of production. As a result, our margins, market share, and operating results could be significantly harmed.

Because our products and subscriptions are complex, they have contained and may contain design or manufacturing defects or errors that are not detected until after their commercial release and deployment by our end-customers. For example, from time to time, certain of our end-customers have reported defects in our products related to performance, scalability, and compatibility. Additionally, defects or vulnerabilities may cause our products or subscriptions to become partially or fully unavailable temporarily or permanently, to be vulnerable to security attacks, cause them to fail to help secure networks, or interrupt end-customers' networking traffic or the availability of other information technology infrastructure or systems. For example, in April 2024, we became aware of a command injection vulnerability in the GlobalProtect feature of certain versions of our PAN-OS software. To remediate the matter, we published a security advisory to advise customers, provided software updates for affected PAN-OS versions, and engaged in customer outreach, support and remediation efforts for potentially impacted customers. Because the techniques used by computer hackers to access or sabotage networks change frequently and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques and provide a solution in time to protect our end-customers' networks. In addition, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there could be a significant increase in Russian cyberattacks against our customers, resulting in an increased risk of a security breach of our end-customers' systems. Furthermore, defects or errors in products or software, or updates to those products or software, could result in a failure to effectively update end-customers' hardware and cloud-based products or otherwise cause problems in our customers' hardware, networks or information technology infrastructure or systems. The data centers, networks, and cloud infrastructure that we use to deliver our products and services may experience technical failures and downtime or may fail to meet the increased requirements of a growing installed end-customer base, any of which could temporarily or permanently expose our end-customers' networks, leaving their networks unprotected against the latest security threats. Moreover, our products must interoperate with our end-customers' existing infrastructure, which often have varied specifications, utilize multiple protocol standards, deploy products from multiple vendors, and contain multiple generations of products that have been added over time. As a result, when problems occur in a network, it may be difficult to identify the sources of these problems. Any such technical failure, downtime or failures in general may temporarily or permanently disable our end-customers' networks, information technology infrastructure or other systems, or expose our end-customers' networks to attacks from security threats. The occurrence of any such problem in our products and subscriptions, whether real or perceived, could result in: - expenditure of significant financial and product development resources in efforts to analyze, correct, eliminate, or work-around errors or defects or to address and eliminate vulnerabilities;- loss of existing or potential end-customers or channel partners;- delayed or lost revenue;- delay or failure to attain market acceptance;- an increase in warranty claims compared with our historical experience, or an increased cost of servicing warranty claims, either of which would adversely affect our gross margins; and - litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations, or other proceedings, each of which may be costly and harm our reputation. Further, our products and subscriptions may be misused by end-customers or third parties that obtain access to our products and subscriptions. For example, our products and subscriptions could be used to censor private access to certain information on the Internet. Such use of our products and subscriptions for censorship could result in negative press coverage and negatively affect our reputation. The limitation of liability provisions in our standard terms and conditions of sale may not fully or effectively protect us from claims as a result of federal, state, or local laws or ordinances, or unfavorable judicial decisions in the United States or other countries. The sale and support of our products and subscriptions also entails the risk of product liability claims. Although we may be indemnified by our third-party manufacturers for product liability claims arising out of manufacturing defects, because we control the design of our products and subscriptions, we may not be indemnified for product liability claims arising out of design defects. While we maintain insurance coverage for certain types of losses, our insurance coverage may not adequately cover any claim asserted against us, if at all. In addition, even claims that ultimately are unsuccessful could result in our expenditure of funds in litigation, divert management's time and other resources, and harm our reputation. In addition, our classifications of application type, virus, spyware, vulnerability exploits, data, or URL categories may falsely detect, report, and act on applications, content, or threats that do not actually exist. This risk is heightened by the inclusion of a "heuristics" feature in our products and subscriptions, which attempts to identify applications and other threats not based on any known signatures but based on characteristics or anomalies which indicate that a particular item may be a threat. These false positives may impair the perceived reliability of our products and subscriptions and may therefore adversely impact market acceptance of our products and subscriptions and could result in damage to our reputation, negative publicity, loss of channel partners, end-customers and sales, increased costs to remedy any problem, and costly litigation.

Our business is subject to regulation by various federal, state, local, and foreign governmental agencies, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing employment and labor laws, workplace safety, product safety, environmental laws, consumer protection laws, privacy, data security, and data-protection laws, anti-bribery laws (including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act), import/export controls, federal securities laws, and tax laws and regulations. These laws and regulations may also impact our innovation and business drivers in developing new and emerging technologies (e.g., AI and machine learning). In certain jurisdictions, these regulatory requirements may be more stringent than those in the United States. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, mandatory product recalls, enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, fines, damages, civil and criminal penalties, or injunctions. If any governmental sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation resulting from any alleged noncompliance, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of management's attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions, litigation, and sanctions could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.

A wide variety of laws and regulations apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer, and other processing of personal data in jurisdictions where we and our customers operate. Compliance with these laws and regulations is difficult and costly. These laws and regulations are also subject to frequent, inconsistent and unexpected changes; new, modified or additional laws or regulations may be adopted; and rulings that invalidate prior laws, regulations, or interpretations of such laws or regulations may be issued. For example, we are subject to the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation ("E.U. GDPR") and the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation ("U.K. GDPR," and collectively the "GDPR"), both of which impose stringent data protection requirements, provide for costly penalties for noncompliance (up to the greater of (a) €20 million under the E.U. GDPR or £17.5 million under the "U.K. GDPR," and (b) 4% of annual worldwide turnover), and confer the right upon data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations. The GDPR requires, among other things, that personal data be transferred outside of the E.U. (or, in the case of the U.K. GDPR, the U.K.) to the United States and other jurisdictions only where adequate safeguards are implemented or a derogation applies. In practice, we rely on standard contractual clauses approved under the GDPR to carry out such transfers and to receive personal data subject to the GDPR (directly or indirectly) in the United States. In addition, with respect to the personal data that we process on behalf of our customers, we self-certified to the E.U.-U.S. Data Privacy Framework ("E.U.-U.S. DPF"), which has been approved for transfers of personal data subject to the GDPR to the United States. The E.U.-U.S. DPF has been recognized as adequate under the E.U. law to allow transfers of personal data from the E.U. to companies in the U.S. that have self-certified to the framework. However, the E.U.-U.S. DPF may be subject to legal challenge, which could cause the legal requirements for data transfers from the E.U. to be uncertain. Among other effects, we may experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens, reduced demand for our offerings from current or prospective customers in the European Economic Area ("EEA"), Switzerland, and the U.K. (collectively, "Europe") to use our products, on account of the risks identified in the Schrems II decision, and we may find it necessary or desirable to make further changes to our processing of personal data of European residents. The regulatory environment applicable to the handling of European residents' personal data, and our actions taken in response, may cause us to assume additional liabilities or incur additional costs. Moreover, much like with Schrems II, we anticipate future legal challenges to the approved data transfer mechanisms between Europe and the United States, including a challenge to the E.U.-U.S. DPF. Such legal challenges could result in additional legal and regulatory risk, compliance costs, and in our business, operating results, and financial condition being harmed. We are also subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the "CCPA"). The CCPA requires, among other things, covered companies to provide enhanced disclosures to California consumers and to afford such consumers certain rights regarding their personal data, including the right to opt out of data sales for targeted advertising, and creates a private right of action to individuals affected by a data breach, if the breach was caused by a lack of reasonable security. The effects of the CCPA have been significant, requiring us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses for compliance. Moreover, other U.S. states have enacted privacy laws that are potentially relevant to us. These include laws enacted in at least 20 U.S. states, with additional state legislatures expected to consider comprehensive privacy legislation in the coming months and throughout calendar year 2025. Increasingly stringent U.S. privacy legislation may require us to modify our data practices and policies, incur substantial compliance costs and expenses, and add further complexity to our compliance efforts that could adversely affect our business or increase our potential liability if we fail to comply. We may also from time to time be subject to obligations relating to personal data by contract, or face assertions that we are subject to self-regulatory obligations or industry standards. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are more regularly bringing enforcement actions in connection with federal and state consumer protection laws for false or deceptive acts or practices in relation to the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of personal data. Internationally, data localization laws may mandate that personal data collected in a foreign country be processed and stored within that country. We and our customers may face risk of enforcement actions by regulators or data protection authorities, private litigation and adverse publicity including reputational damage and loss of customer confidence for alleged violations of any of the foregoing obligations. Any such claims could result in substantial costs, ongoing remedial, audit and reporting obligations, and diversion of resources, and distract management and technical personnel. These potential liabilities and enforcement actions could also have an overall negative effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. The amount and scope of insurance we maintain may not cover all types of claims that may arise. New legislation affecting the scope of personal data and personal information where we or our customers and partners have operations, especially relating to classification of Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses, machine identification, AI and machine learning, location data, and other information, may limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing or uses of data, and may require significant expenditures and efforts in order to comply. Notably, public perception of potential privacy, data protection, or information security concerns-whether or not valid-may harm our reputation and inhibit adoption of our products and subscriptions by current and future end-customers. Each of these laws and regulations, and any changes to these laws and regulations, or new laws and regulations, could impose significant limitations, or require changes to our business model or practices or growth strategy, which may increase our compliance expenses and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct.

Our ability to grow our business and our future success will depend to a significant extent on our ability to expand our operations and customer base worldwide. Many of our customers, resellers, partners, suppliers, and manufacturers operate around the world. Operating in a global marketplace, we are subject to risks associated with having an international reach and compliance and regulatory requirements. We may experience difficulties in attracting, managing, and retaining an international staff, and we may not be able to recruit and maintain successful strategic distributor relationships internationally. Business practices in the international markets that we serve may differ from those in the United States and may require us in the future to include terms other than our standard terms related to payment, warranties, or performance obligations in end-customer contracts. Additionally, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following: - political, economic, and social uncertainty around the world, health risks such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, macroeconomic challenges, terrorist activities, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, the hostilities in Israel and the surrounding region, and continued hostilities in the Middle East;- unexpected changes in, or the application of, foreign and domestic laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights protections), regulatory practices, trade restrictions, and foreign legal requirements, including those applicable to the importation, certification, and localization of our products, tariffs, and tax laws and treaties, including regulatory and trade policy changes adopted by the current administration, such as the Sanctions on Russia, or foreign countries in response to regulatory changes adopted by the current administration; and - non-compliance with U.S. and foreign laws, including antitrust regulations, anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom ("U.K.") Bribery Act, U.S. or foreign sanctions regimes and export or import control laws, and any trade regulations ensuring fair trade practices. These and other factors could harm our future international revenues and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our failure to successfully manage our international operations and the associated risks effectively could limit the future growth of our business.

We depend on manufacturing partners, primarily our EMS provider, Flex, to manufacture our hardware product lines. Our substantial reliance on Flex, as well as other manufacturing partners subjects us to potential concentration risks, such as reduced control over the manufacturing process, quality assurance, product costs, product supply, and timing. Our hardware products are manufactured by our manufacturing partners at facilities located primarily in the United States. Some of the components in our products are sourced either through Flex or directly by us from component suppliers outside the United States. The portion of our hardware products that are sourced outside the United States may subject us to geopolitical risks, additional logistical risks, risks associated with trade regulations, or risks associated with complying with local rules and regulations in foreign countries. Significant changes to existing international trade agreements could lead to sourcing or logistics disruption resulting from import delays or the imposition of increased tariffs on our sourcing partners. For example, the United States and Chinese governments have each enacted, and discussed additional, import tariffs. Some components that we import for final manufacturing in the United States have been impacted by these tariffs. As a result, our costs have increased and we have raised, and may be required to further raise, prices on our hardware products in response to these and potential new trade regulations. Our manufacturing partners typically fulfill our supply requirements on the basis of individual purchase orders. We do not have long-term contracts with these manufacturers that guarantee capacity, the continuation of particular pricing terms, or the extension of credit limits. Accordingly, they are not obligated to continue to fulfill our supply requirements and the prices we pay for manufacturing services could be increased on short notice. Our contract with Flex permits them to terminate the agreement for their convenience, subject to prior notice requirements. If we are required to change manufacturing partners, our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers could be adversely affected, which could cause the loss of sales to existing or potential end-customers, delayed revenue or an increase in our costs which could adversely affect our gross margins. Any production interruptions for any reason, such as a natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, capacity shortages, or quality problems at one of our manufacturing partners would negatively affect sales of our product lines manufactured by that manufacturing partner and adversely affect our business and operating results.