US Foods Holding (USFD) Risk Factors

We obtain most of our foodservice and related products from third party suppliers. We typically do not have long-term contracts with suppliers. Although our purchasing volume can provide an advantage when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not provide the foodservice products and supplies we need in the quantities and at the time and prices requested. Our suppliers may also be affected by higher costs to source or produce and transport products, as well as by other related expenses that they pass through to their customers, which could result in higher costs for the products they supply to us. We do not control the actual production of most of the products we sell. This means we are also subject to delays caused by interruption in production and increases in product costs based on actions and conditions outside our control. These actions and conditions include changes in supplier pricing practices (including promotional allowances); labor shortages, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes or other job actions by employees of suppliers or carriers; government shutdowns; severe weather and climate conditions; crop conditions; product or raw material scarcity; water shortages; outbreak of food-borne illnesses; product recalls; transportation interruptions; unavailability of fuel or increases in fuel costs; competitive demands; impact of climate change; and natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist attacks, international hostilities, civil insurrection or social unrest; or any other catastrophic events. Moreover, commodity prices continue to be volatile and generally increased due to supply chain disruptions and labor and transportation shortages. Our inability to obtain adequate supplies of foodservice and related products because of any of these or other factors could mean that we could not fulfill our obligations to our customers and, as a result, our customers may turn to other distributors. Furthermore, any changes to the pricing practices of our suppliers, including the reduction or elimination of promotional allowances, could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Fuel costs related to outbound deliveries approximated $191 million during fiscal year 2023. Higher costs of fuel may negatively affect consumer confidence and discretionary spending. This may reduce the frequency and amount spent by consumers for food prepared away from home. In addition, higher costs of fuel may increase the price we pay for products and the costs we incur to deliver products to our customers. We require significant quantities of fuel for our vehicle fleet, and the price and supply of fuel are unpredictable and fluctuate based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments, supply and demand for oil and gas, regional production patterns, weather conditions and environmental concerns. Although, from time to time, we enter into forward purchase commitments for some of our fuel requirements at prices equal to the then-current market price, these forward purchases may prove ineffective in protecting us from changes in fuel prices or even result in us paying higher than market costs for part of our fuel. In addition, the use of such derivative instruments may expose us to the risk that our counterparties fail to perform their obligations, which could result in financial losses. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that we will be able to pass along increased fuel costs to customers in the future. Each of these factors may, in turn, adversely affect our sales, margins, operating expenses, and operating results.

In the course of our operations, we process, handle, store and transport a wide variety of food and non-food products, operate and maintain vehicle fleets, operate forklifts and other equipment, store fuel in on-site aboveground and underground storage tanks, and sell, use and dispose of hazardous substances including in connection with our use of our ammonia or freon-based refrigeration systems, propane, and battery-powered forklifts. Our operations are subject to a broad range of laws and regulations including regulations governing the processing, packaging, storage, distribution, marketing, advertising, labeling, transportation, export, quality and safety of our food and non-food products, as well as rights of our employees and the protection of the environment. Changes in legal or regulatory requirements (such as new product safety requirements, revised regulatory requirements for the sourcing, processing and packaging of products, and requirements to restrict or phase-out certain chemicals and ozone-depleting substances or otherwise regulating greenhouse gas emissions), or evolving interpretations of existing legal or regulatory requirements, may result in increased compliance cost, capital expenditures and other financial obligations including costs to upgrade, phase out, modify or replace products or equipment that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our product suppliers are also subject to various laws and regulations and their alleged noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations could create potential liability or other adverse impacts for our business. We generally seek contractual representations and warranties from suppliers that they comply with all applicable laws and regulations and we maintain supplier policies requiring their ongoing compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well. We are subject to governmental regulation regarding our relationship with our employees including minimum wage, overtime, wage payment, wage and hour, employment discrimination, harassment and immigration. Due to contracts we have with federal and state governmental entities as customers, we are subject to various disclosure obligations related to our employment practices and business operations, including the recent implementation of requirements to disclose information related to our greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are subject to audit. In addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC, OSHA and various other federal, state, and local authorities have issued guidance, new interpretations of existing requirements, and implemented new requirements for employers that affect the operation of our facilities and the management of our workforce. The various federal, state and local requirements and guidance impacting our business continue to evolve, but we are continually monitoring for updates and responding to updated requirements and guidance applicable to our business as we become aware of them. At various facilities, we are investigating and remediating known or suspected contamination from historical releases of fuel and other hazardous substances that is not currently the subject of any administrative or judicial proceeding, but we may be subject to administrative or judicial proceedings in the future for contamination related to releases of fuel or other hazardous substances. Failing to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, or encountering disagreements with respect to our contracts subject to governmental regulation, could result in a number of adverse situations. These could include investigations; litigation or other legal proceedings; administrative, civil, or criminal penalties or fines; mandatory or voluntary product recalls; cease and desist orders against operations that are not in compliance; closing facilities or operations; debarments from contracting with governmental entities; and loss or modification of existing, or denial of additional, licenses, permits, registrations, or approvals.

We are subject to income and other taxes in the U.S. and various state and local jurisdictions, and changes in tax laws or regulations or tax rulings may have an adverse impact on our effective tax rate. The U.S. and many state and local jurisdictions where we do business from time to time enact changes in relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations and interpretations. Given the unpredictability of possible changes to U.S. federal and state and local tax laws and regulations, it is very difficult to predict their cumulative effect on our results of operations and cash flows, but new and changed laws and regulations could adversely impact our results of operations. We are also subject to the examination of our tax returns and other tax matters by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") and other state and local tax authorities and governmental bodies, for which we regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome. If the ultimate determination of these examinations is that taxes are owed by us for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We consider our intellectual property rights, particularly our trademarks, to be a valuable aspect of our business. We protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret protection. Our failure to obtain or adequately protect our intellectual property or any change in law that lessens or removes the current legal protections of our intellectual property may diminish our competitiveness and adversely affect our business and financial results. Competing intellectual property claims that impact our brands may arise unexpectedly. Any litigation or disputes regarding intellectual property may be costly and time-consuming and may divert the attention of key personnel from our business operations. We also may be subject to significant damages or injunctions against development, launch and sale of certain products. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to serve customers most effectively, as well as to control costs and maximize profits, depends on the reliability of our information technology systems and related data entry processes in our transaction intensive business. We rely on software and other information technology to manage significant aspects of our business, such as purchasing, order processing, warehouse/inventory management, truck loading and logistics and optimization of storage space. We also rely on access to those systems online including through mobile devices to connect with our employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners. The importance of such networks and systems has increased due to many of our employees, and the employees of our customers, suppliers and business partners, working remotely. Any disruption to this information technology could negatively affect our customer service, decrease the volume of our business, impair operations and profits and result in increased costs. If we do not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build, sustain and protect appropriate information technology systems, we could experience service disruptions or other system failures and our business or financial results could be adversely impacted. We have also outsourced several information technology support services and administrative functions to third-party service providers, and may outsource other functions in the future to achieve cost savings and efficiencies. If these service providers do not perform effectively due to breach or system failure, we may not be able to achieve the expected benefits and our business may be disrupted. Information technology evolves rapidly. To compete effectively, we are required to integrate new technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner. If competitors implement new technologies before we do, allowing them to provide lower priced or enhanced services of superior quality compared to those we provide, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Changes in consumer eating habits (such as a decline in consuming food away from home, a decline in portion sizes, or a shift in preferences toward restaurants that are not our customers) could reduce demand for our products. Consumer eating habits could be affected by a number of factors, including changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the health effects of consuming certain foods. There is a growing consumer preference for sustainable, organic and locally grown products. Changes to consumer eating habits also occur due to generational shifts. Millennials, the largest demographic group in the U.S. in terms of spend, generally seek new and different, as well as more ethnic and diverse, menu options and menu innovation. If consumer eating habits change significantly, we may be required to modify or discontinue sales of certain items in our product portfolio, and we may experience higher costs associated with the implementation of those changes. Changing consumer eating habits may reduce the frequency with which consumers purchase meals outside of the home. Additionally, changes in consumer eating habits may result in the enactment or amendment of laws and regulations that impact the sourcing, ingredients and nutritional content of our food products, or laws and regulations requiring us to make additional disclosures regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our food products. Compliance with these and other laws and regulations may be costly and time-consuming. If we are not able to effectively adapt our product portfolio to trends in eating habits or respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or resulting new laws and regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Most of our customers buy from us pursuant to individual purchase orders, and we often do not enter into long-term agreements with these customers. Because these customers are not contractually obligated to continue purchasing products from us, we cannot be assured that the volume and/or number of our customers' purchase orders will remain consistent or increase or that we will be able to maintain our existing customer base. Further, some of our customers purchase their products under arrangements with GPOs. GPOs act as agents on behalf of their members by negotiating pricing, delivery, and other terms with us. Our customers who are members of GPOs purchase products directly from us on the terms negotiated by their GPO. GPOs use the combined purchasing power of their members to negotiate more favorable prices than their members would typically be able to negotiate on their own, and we have experienced some pricing pressure from customers that associate themselves with a GPO. While no single customer represented more than 2% of our total net sales in fiscal year 2023, approximately 23% of our net sales in fiscal year 2023 were made to customers under terms negotiated by GPOs (including approximately 14% of our net sales in fiscal year 2023 that were made to customers that are members of one GPO). If an independent restaurant customer becomes a member of a GPO that has a contract with us, we may be forced to lower our prices to that customer, which would negatively impact our operating margin. In addition, if we are unable to maintain our relationships with GPOs, or if GPOs are able to negotiate more favorable terms for their members with our competitors, we could lose some or all of that business. Market competition, customer requirements, customer financial condition and customer consolidation through mergers and acquisitions also could adversely affect our ability to continue or expand our relationships with customers and GPOs. There is no guarantee that we will be able to retain or renew existing agreements, maintain relationships with any of our customers or GPOs on acceptable terms or at all or collect amounts owed to us from insolvent customers. Our customer and GPO agreements are generally terminable upon advance written notice (typically ranging from 30 days to 6 months) by either us or the customer or GPO, which provides our customers and GPOs with the opportunity to renegotiate their contracts with us or to award more business to our competitors. Significant decreases in the number and/or size of our customers' purchase orders, the loss of one or more of our major customers or GPOs or our inability to grow to our current customer base could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Some of our facilities and our customers' and suppliers' facilities are located in areas that may be subject to extreme, and occasionally prolonged, weather conditions, including hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and extreme cold. Extreme weather conditions, whether caused by global climate change or otherwise, may interrupt our operations in such areas. Furthermore, extreme weather conditions may disrupt critical infrastructure in the United States and interrupt or impede access to our customers' facilities, reduce the number of consumers who visit our customers' facilities, interrupt our suppliers' production or shipments or increase our suppliers' product costs, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our business could be affected by large-scale terrorist acts or the outbreak or escalation of armed hostilities (especially those directed against or otherwise involving the U.S.), the outbreak of food-borne illnesses, the widespread outbreak of infectious diseases, or the occurrence of other catastrophic events. Any of these events could impair our ability to manage our business and/or cause disruption of economic activity, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.