SPS Commerce (SPSC) Risk Factors

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and applicable provisions of Delaware law may delay, discourage, or inhibit transactions involving an actual or potential change in our control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests, and may ultimately result in the market price of our common stock being lower than it would be without these provisions. These provisions: - permit our board of directors to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as our board may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change in our control;- provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed by resolution of the board of directors;- provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum;- provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide notice in writing in a timely manner, and also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder's notice; and - do not provide for cumulative voting rights. In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law generally limits our ability to engage in any business combination with certain persons who own 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock or any of our associates or affiliates who at any time in the past three years have owned 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These provisions may have the effect of entrenching our management team and may deprive you of the opportunity to sell your shares to potential acquirers at a premium over prevailing prices. This potential inability to obtain a control premium could reduce the price of our common stock.

We may need to raise additional capital due to shortfalls in cash flow or for other reasons, and we may not be able to obtain debt or additional equity financing on favorable terms, if at all. If we raise additional equity financing, our security holders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the value of shares of our common stock could decline. If we engage in debt financing, we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios or restrict our ability to pay dividends or make acquisitions. If we need additional capital and cannot raise it on acceptable terms, we may not be able to, among other things: - develop and enhance our products;- continue to expand our technology development, sales, and marketing organizations;- acquire new or complementary technologies, products, or businesses;- hire, train and retain employees; or - respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements. Our inability to do any of the foregoing could reduce our ability to compete successfully and adversely affect our results of operations.

The markets for supply chain management products are increasingly competitive and global. We expect competition to increase in the future both from existing competitors and new companies that may enter our markets. We face competition from: - cloud-service providers that deliver business-to-business information systems using a multi-tenant approach;- traditional on-premise software providers; and - managed service providers that combine traditional on-premise software with professional technology services. Moreover, our industry is highly fragmented, and we believe it is likely that our existing competitors will continue to consolidate or will be acquired. In addition, some of our competitors may enter into new alliances with each other or may establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with systems integrators, third-party consulting firms or other parties. New entrants not currently considered to be competitors may also enter the market through new technology offerings, acquisitions, partnerships, or other strategic relationships. Any such new offerings, consolidation, acquisition, alliance or cooperative relationship could lead to pricing pressure, loss of customers and loss of market share, and could result in one or more competitors with greater financial, technical, marketing, service and other resources, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Increased competition could reduce our market share, revenues, and operating margins, increase our costs of operations, and otherwise adversely affect our business. To remain competitive, we will need to invest continuously in software development, marketing, customer service and support, product delivery and other cloud-based network infrastructure. However, we cannot assure you that new or established competitors will not offer products that are superior to ours or lower in price than ours, or both. We may not have sufficient resources to continue the investments in all areas of software development, marketing, customer service and support and infrastructure needed to maintain our competitive position which may diminish our market share and business prospects.

Our revenues depend significantly on general economic conditions and the sustainability and health of retailers. Economic weakness and constrained retail spending may result in slower growth, or reductions, in revenues and gross profits in the future. We have experienced, and may experience in the future, reduced spending in our business due to financial turmoil affecting the U.S. and global economy, and other macroeconomic factors affecting spending behavior. Uncertainty about future economic conditions increases the difficulty of forecasting operating results and making decisions about future investments. In addition, economic conditions or uncertainty may cause customers and potential customers to reduce or delay technology purchases, including purchases of our products. Our sales cycles may lengthen if purchasing decisions are delayed as a result of uncertain technology or development budgets or contract negotiations become more protracted or difficult as customers institute additional internal approvals for technology purchases. Delays or reductions in technology spending could have a material adverse effect on demand for our products, and consequently our results of operations and prospects.

Our limited experience in operating our business outside of the United States increases the risk that our current and any future international expansion efforts will not be successful. Expanding international sales and operations subjects us to new risks that, generally, we have not faced in the U.S., including: - misjudging the markets and competitive landscape of foreign jurisdictions;- fluctuations in currency exchange rates;- longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;- difficulties in managing and staffing international operations;- differing technology standards;- potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value added tax systems and restrictions on the repatriation of earnings;- localization of our products, including translation into foreign languages and associated expenses;- the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations, and changes to such laws and regulations, including laws and regulations related to employment, privacy and tax;- increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexities;- unexpected changes in effective tax rates due to international tax liabilities subject to allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions;- political, social, and economic instability abroad, terrorist attacks and security concerns in general;- greater potential for corruption and bribery; and - reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries. The occurrence of any one of these risks could adversely affect our international business and, consequently, our results of operations generally. Additionally, operating in international markets also requires significant management attention and financial resources. We cannot be certain that the investment and additional resources required in establishing, acquiring, or integrating operations in other countries will produce desired levels of revenues or profitability. In addition, we operate in parts of the world that are recognized as having governmental corruption problems and where local customs and practices may not foster strict compliance with anti-corruption laws. Our continued operation and potential expansion outside the U.S. could increase the risk of such violations in the future. Despite our training and compliance programs, we cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures will protect us from unauthorized, reckless, or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents, including by third parties we utilize in foreign jurisdictions. In the event that we believe, or have reason to believe, that our employees or agents have or may have violated applicable anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, we may be required to investigate or have outside counsel investigate the relevant facts and circumstances, which can be expensive and require significant time and attention from senior management. Violations of these laws may result in severe civil and criminal sanctions and penalties, which could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our reputation, results of operations or financial condition. Any unrest, military activities, or sanctions impacting our international operations, should they occur, could disrupt operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business. Any such disruption to our operations may be prolonged and require a transition to alternative workforce locations. An alternative workforce location may be more expensive to train, staff, and operate and may cause delays and shortfalls in programming deliverables and services, thus potentially harming our business. Given our significant international workforce in Ukraine and the Philippines and the potentially volatile political and civil unrest situations in both areas, including but not limited to Russian interference and civil unrest with multiple groups, respectively, we are more susceptible to disruptions there. Those potentially disruptive environments are out of our control and we cannot predict the outcome of future developments or reactions to such developments by the U.S., European, Asian, Oceanic, United Nations or other international authorities and organizations.

Our business operations and financial results may be adversely impacted by public health emergencies, such as epidemics, pandemics, and similar outbreaks. Despite our efforts to manage these impacts, their ultimate impact also depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of any such outbreak and actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate its public health effects. Public health emergencies could have adverse impacts on our business operations by limiting our employees' ability to work and travel, disrupting our third-party technology providers, or causing internal operational workflow to change, among other potentially unforeseen circumstances given the uncertainties related to public health emergencies. Additionally, public health emergencies may cause significant disruptions and changes in the economic or political conditions in markets in which we operate. This may cause significant volatility in demand for our services due to, among other adverse impacts, disruption and downturns in our customers' businesses and related supply chains, an acceleration of existing customer bankruptcies, or our customers' inability to pay for our services when due or in full. Although certain customers may have a reduced demand for our services, we also may see increased demand by certain customer segments, potentially offsetting reduced demand.

Our customers and potential customers do business in a variety of industries. Regulators in certain industries have adopted and may in the future adopt regulations or interpretive positions regarding the use of cloud computing and other outsourced services. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, industry-specific laws, regulations and interpretive positions may limit customers' use and adoption of our services and reduce overall demand for our services. In addition, an inability to satisfy the standards of certain voluntary third-party certification bodies that our customers may expect may have an adverse impact on our business. If in the future we are unable to achieve or maintain these industry-specific certifications or other requirements or standards relevant to our customers, it may harm our business. In some cases, industry-specific laws, regulations, or interpretive positions may also apply directly to us as a service provider. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with such requirements could have an adverse impact on our business.

Regulation related to the provision of services on the internet is increasing, as federal, state, and foreign governments continue to adopt new laws and regulations addressing eCommerce generally, data privacy and the collection, processing, storage and use of personal information, including but not limited to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. We are particularly sensitive to these risks because the internet and the collection, processing, storage, and use of personal information are critical components of our cloud-based business model. Further, laws are increasingly aimed at the use of personal information for marketing purposes, such as the European Union's e-Privacy Directive, and the country-specific regulations that implement that directive. Such laws and regulations are subject to differing interpretations and are inconsistent among jurisdictions. These and other requirements could reduce demand for our products or restrict our ability to store and process data or, in some cases, impact our ability to offer, or develop new, services and products in certain locations. In addition to government activity, privacy advocacy and other industry groups have established or may establish new self-regulatory standards that may place additional burdens on us. Our customers may expect us to meet voluntary certification or other standards established by third parties. If we are unable to maintain these certifications or meet these standards, it could adversely affect our ability to provide our products to certain customers and could harm our business. The costs of compliance with and other burdens imposed by laws, regulations and standards are significant and may limit the use and adoption of our services and reduce overall demand for them, or lead to material fines, penalties, or liabilities for noncompliance. Furthermore, concerns regarding data privacy may cause our customers' customers to resist providing the data necessary to allow our customers to use our service effectively. Even the perception that the privacy of personal information is not satisfactorily protected or does not meet regulatory requirements could inhibit sales and adoption of our cloud-based products.

Given the complex nature of the cloud-based technology through which our business operates and the speed with which such technology advances, our future success is dependent, in large part, upon our ability to attract, retain, and train highly qualified key executive, managerial, technology, and sales personnel. Competition for talented personnel is intense and we cannot be certain that we can retain our key personnel or that we can attract, assimilate, or retain such personnel in the future to adequately scale our business. Additionally, the loss of any key or a significant number of personnel in our technology, customer success, or sales teams might significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and could materially harm our business, customer relationships, results of operations and financial condition. Further, our former Chief Executive Officer, Archie Black, retired as Chief Executive Officer effective October 2, 2023, and the board of directors appointed his successor, Chad Collins, as of that date. We also announced the planned retirement of our President and Chief Operating Officer, James Frome, effective December 31, 2024. Leadership transitions and management changes involve inherent risks, can be difficult to manage and may cause uncertainty or a disruption, which could adversely affect our business.