O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC

Previous wording

In addition, economic conditions, including decreased access to credit, may result in financial difficulties leading to restructurings, bankruptcies, liquidations, and other unfavorable events for our customers, suppliers, logistics, and other service providers and financial institutions that are counterparties to our credit facilities. Furthermore, the ability of these third parties to overcome these difficulties may worsen. If third parties, on whom we rely for merchandise, are unable to overcome difficulties resulting from the deterioration in economic conditions, the cause of which could include a prolonged public health crisis or pandemic, and provide us with the merchandise we need, or if counterparties to our credit facilities do not perform their obligations, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be adversely affected.

Current wording

In addition, economic conditions, including decreased access to credit, may result in financial difficulties leading to restructurings, bankruptcies, liquidations, and other unfavorable events for our customers, suppliers, logistics, and other service providers and financial institutions that are counterparties to our credit facilities. Furthermore, the ability of these third parties to overcome these difficulties may worsen. If third parties, on whom we rely for merchandise, are unable to overcome difficulties resulting from the deterioration in economic conditions, the cause of which could include a prolonged public health crisis or pandemic, and provide us with the merchandise

Previous wording

Both the DIY and professional service provider portions of our business are highly competitive, particularly in the more densely populated areas that we serve. Some of our competitors are larger than we are and have greater financial resources. In addition, some of our competitors are smaller than we are, but have a greater presence than we do in a particular market. Online and mobile platforms may allow customers to quickly compare prices and product assortment and availability between us and a range of competitors, which could result in pricing pressure. Some online competitors may have a lower cost structure than we do, as a result of our strategy of

Current wording

Both the DIY and professional service provider portions of our business are highly competitive, particularly in the more densely populated areas that we serve. Some of our competitors are larger than we are and have greater financial resources. In addition, some of our competitors are smaller than we are, but have a greater presence than we do in a particular market. Online and mobile platforms may allow customers to quickly compare prices and product assortment and availability between us and a range of competitors, which could result in pricing pressure. Some online competitors may have a lower cost structure than we do, as a result of our strategy of providing an exceptional in-store experience and superior parts availability supported by our extensive store network and robust, regional distribution footprint, which could also create pricing pressure. We may have to expend more resources and risk additional capital to remain competitive and our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be adversely affected. For a list of our principal competitors, see the “Competition” section of Item 1 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Previous wording

In addition, we rely extensively on various systems, some of which are provided by third-party service providers, to manage inventory, process transactions, and timely provide products to our stores and customers. These systems are subject to failure, damage, or interruption, including power outages, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, security breaches, or other catastrophic events. If these systems are damaged or fail to function properly, we may experience loss of critical data and interruptions or delays in our ability to manage inventories, deliver product, or process customer transactions. Such a disruption of these systems, and the response to remedy, could result in a negative impact on our business operations and increased costs, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Current wording

In addition, we rely extensively on various systems, some of which are provided by third-party service providers, to manage inventory, process transactions, and timely provide products to our stores and customers. These systems are subject to failure, damage, or interruption, including power outages, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, security breaches, or other catastrophic events. If these systems are damaged or fail to function properly, we may experience loss of critical data and interruptions or delays in our ability to manage inventories, deliver product, or process customer transactions. Such a disruption of these systems,

Previous wording

We believe our Company has built an excellent reputation as a leading retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry. We believe our continued success depends, in part, on our ability to preserve, grow, and leverage the value of our brand. Our reputation is based, in part, on perceptions of subjective qualities; negative publicity involving the Company, our merchandise or our industry in general that erode customer trust or confidence could adversely affect our reputation and business. Failure to comply with ethical, social, product, labor, health and safety, accounting or environmental standards, or existing or future laws or regulations, as well as failure or perceived failure to achieve or make progress with environmental, social, and governance goals, could also jeopardize our reputation and

Current wording

We believe our Company has built an excellent reputation as a leading retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry. We believe our continued success depends, in part, on our ability to preserve, grow, and leverage the value of our brand. Our reputation is based, in part, on perceptions of subjective qualities; negative publicity involving the Company, our merchandise or our industry in general that erode customer trust or confidence could adversely affect our reputation and business. Failure to comply with ethical, social, product, labor, health and safety, accounting or environmental standards, or existing or future laws or regulations, as well as failure or perceived failure to achieve or make progress with environmental, social, and governance goals, could also jeopardize our reputation and potentially lead to various adverse actions from consumer or environmental groups, employees, or regulatory bodies, which could require us to incur substantial legal fees and costs. In addition, negative claims or publicity, including the availability of information and opinions on social media, as its impact is immediate, could adversely affect our reputation. The opportunity for the rapid dissemination of information, including inaccurate and inflammatory information and opinions, is virtually limitless and easily accessible. Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence for any of these or other reasons could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.

Previous wording

In addition, our information technology systems, infrastructure, and personnel require substantial investments, such as replacing systems, maintaining or enhancing systems, or designing or acquiring new systems. These efforts can result in significant potential risks, including failure of the systems to operate as designed, potential loss or corruption of data, incurring more costs than expected, or implementation delays or errors, and may result in operational challenges, security control failures, reputational harm, and increased costs, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Current wording

including failure of the systems to operate as designed, potential loss or corruption of data, incurring more costs than expected, or implementation delays or errors, and may result in operational challenges, security control failures, reputational harm, and increased costs, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Previous wording

Our business involves the receiving, storage, and transmitting of certain personally identifiable or confidential information about our customers, suppliers, Team Members, and the Company, some of which is entrusted to third-party service providers and suppliers. We and our third-party service providers and suppliers have taken significant and appropriate steps to protect this information, including maintaining compliance with payment card industry and National Clearing House standards and a security program that includes updating technology and security policies, employee training, and monitoring and routine testing of our systems. However, these security measures are costly and require constant, ongoing attention and may not prevent a security breach due to cyber-attacks, computer malware viruses, exploitation of hardware or software vulnerabilities, Team Member error, malfeasance, system compromises, fraud, hacking, trickery, or other intentional or unintentional acts, which could result in unauthorized parties gaining access to such information. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access are constantly evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of

Current wording

Our business involves the receiving, storage, and transmitting of certain personally identifiable or confidential information about our customers, suppliers, Team Members, and the Company, some of which is entrusted to third-party service providers and suppliers. We and our third-party service providers and suppliers have taken significant and appropriate steps to protect this information, including maintaining compliance with payment card industry and National Clearing House standards and a security program that includes updating technology and security policies, employee training, and monitoring and routine testing of our systems. However, these security measures are costly and require constant, ongoing attention and may not prevent a security breach due to cyber-attacks, computer malware viruses, exploitation of hardware or software vulnerabilities, Team Member error, malfeasance, system compromises, fraud, hacking, trickery, or other intentional or unintentional acts, which could result in unauthorized parties gaining access to such information. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access are constantly evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of time. There is no guarantee that the security measures that we and our third-party service providers and suppliers have implemented, or will introduce in the future, to protect against unauthorized access to secured data are adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches, or provide us with sufficient visibility to determine if data security breaches have occurred. A compromise of our security measures or those of a third-party we entrust could result in information related to our customers, suppliers, Team Members, or the Company being obtained or misused by unauthorized persons; damage to our reputation; adverse operational effects or interruptions; costs to the Company to address the breach, which could require extensive time and financial resources to resolve; or claims, litigation, or possible regulatory action against us, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Previous wording

We are, and in the future may become, involved in lawsuits, regulatory inquiries, and governmental and other legal proceedings, arising out of the ordinary course of our business. The damages sought against us in some of these litigation proceedings may be material and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Current wording

We are, and in the future may become, involved in lawsuits, including litigation relating to motor vehicle accidents incurred through the operation of our large vehicle fleet, regulatory inquiries, and governmental and other legal proceedings, arising out of the ordinary course of our business. The damages sought against us in some of these litigation proceedings may be material and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Previous wording

New tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances could harm our business operations, results of operations, and financial condition, and existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified, or applied adversely to us, which could adversely impact our costs directly or indirectly through our suppliers and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Current wording

New laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances, including as a result of executive orders, could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, existing laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances, including those related to tax, could be interpreted, changed, modified, or applied adversely to us, which could adversely impact our costs directly or indirectly through our suppliers and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.