Vertiv Holdings Co

Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, references to “the Company,” “Vertiv,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Vertiv Holdings Co, a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”), and other statements that Vertiv may make, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and as such are not historical facts. Such statements may include, without limitation, those regarding our future financial performance or position, capital structure, indebtedness, business performance, strategy and plans, and expectations and objectives of Vertiv management for future operations and financial performance. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of results or performance. Vertiv cautions that such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which may change over time. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this Annual Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When Vertiv discusses its strategies or plans, it is making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, Vertiv’s management.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Vertiv. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Vertiv will be those that Vertiv has anticipated.

Forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report speak only as of the date of this Annual Report or any earlier date specified for such statements. Vertiv undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Vertiv or persons acting on Vertiv’s behalf are qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond Vertiv’s control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance and include, but are not limited to: risks relating to the continued growth of Vertiv’s customers’ markets; disruption of Vertiv’s customers’ orders or Vertiv’s customers’ markets; less favorable contractual terms with large customers; risks associated with governmental contracts; failure to mitigate risks associated with long-term fixed price contracts; competition in the infrastructure technologies industry; failure to obtain performance and other guarantees from financial institutions; failure to realize sales expected from Vertiv’s backlog of orders and contracts; failure to properly manage Vertiv’s supply chain or difficulties with third-party manufacturers; our ability to forecast changes in prices, including due to inflation in material, freight and/or labor costs, and timely implement measures necessary to mitigate the impacts of any such changes; risks associated with our significant backlog, including that the impacts of any measures taken to mitigate inflation will not be reflected in our financial statements immediately; failure to meet or anticipate technology changes; risks associated with information technology disruption or security; risks associated with the implementation and enhancement of information systems; failure to realize the expected benefit from any rationalization, restructuring and improvement efforts; Vertiv’s ability to realize cost savings in connection with Vertiv’s restructuring program; disruption of, or changes in, Vertiv’s independent sales representatives, distributors and original equipment manufacturers; changes to tax law; ongoing tax audits; costs or liabilities associated with product liability; the global scope of Vertiv’s operations; risks associated with Vertiv’s sales and operations in emerging markets; risks associated with future legislation and regulation of Vertiv’s customers’ markets both in the United States and abroad; Vertiv’s ability to comply with various laws and regulations and the costs associated with legal compliance; adverse outcomes to any legal claims and proceedings filed by or against Vertiv; risks associated with current and potential litigation or claims against Vertiv; Vertiv’s ability to protect or enforce its proprietary rights on which its business depends; third party intellectual property infringement claims; liabilities associated with environmental, health and safety matters; failure to achieve environmental, social and governance goals; failure to realize the value of goodwill and intangible assets; exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; exposure to increases in interest rates set by central banking authorities; failure to maintain internal controls over financial reporting; the unpredictability of Vertiv’s future operational results, including the ability to grow and manage growth profitably; potential net losses in future periods; Vertiv’s level of indebtedness and the ability to incur additional indebtedness; Vertiv’s ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit agreements, including restrictive covenants that restrict operational flexibility; Vertiv’s ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit agreements is not fully within our control; Vertiv’s ability to access funding through capital markets; the Vertiv Stockholder’s significant ownership and influence over Vertiv; resales of Vertiv’s securities may cause volatility in the market price of our securities; Vertiv’s organizational documents contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals; Vertiv’s certificate of incorporation includes a forum selection clause, which could discourage or limit stockholders’ ability to make a claim against it; the ability of Vertiv’s subsidiaries to pay dividends; the ability of Vertiv to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; Vertiv's ability to manage the succession of its key employees; and factors relating to the business, operations and financial performance of Vertiv and its subsidiaries, including: global economic weakness and uncertainty; Vertiv’s ability to attract, train and retain key members of its leadership team and other qualified personnel; the adequacy of Vertiv’s insurance coverage; a failure to benefit from future corporate transactions; risks associated with Vertiv’s limited history of operating as an independent company; and other risks and uncertainties indicated in this Annual Report including those under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Risk Factor Summary

Investing in Vertiv’s common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider all information in this Annual Report prior to investing in Vertiv common stock. These risks are discussed more fully in the section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

•Risks relating to the continued growth of our customers’ markets;

•The long sales cycles for certain of our products and solutions offerings, as well as unpredictable placing or canceling of customer orders;

•Disruption of our customers’ orders or the markets;

•Less favorable contractual terms with large customers;

•The risks associated with governmental contracts;

•Any failure to mitigate risks associated with long-term fixed price contracts;

•We operate in a highly competitive environment;

•Any failure to obtain performance and other guarantees from financial institutions;

•Failure to realize sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts;

•Failure to properly manage our supply chain or difficulties with third-party manufacturers and increases in costs of materials, labor and freight;

•Competition in the infrastructure technologies;

•Risks associated with information technology disruption or security;

•Risks associated with the implementation and enhancement of information systems;

•Failure to realize the expected benefit from any rationalization, restructuring, and improvement efforts;

•Disruption of, or changes in, our independent sales representatives, distributors and original equipment manufacturers;

•Global operations subject us to income and other taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign entities which increases variability in our effective tax rate;

•Costs or liabilities associated with product liability and damage to our reputation and brands;

•The global scope of our operations;

•Any failure to benefit from future significant corporate transactions;

•Risks associated with our operations in emerging markets including economic, political, and production level risk;

•Risks associated with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia;

•Risks associated with future legislation and regulation of our customers’ markets both in the United States and abroad;

•Our ability to comply with various laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, laws and regulations relating to data protection and data privacy;

•Failure to properly address legal compliance issues, particularly those related to imports/exports, anti-corruption laws, and foreign operations;

•Risks associated with foreign trade policies, including tariffs or global trade conflicts;

•Risks associated with litigation or claims against the Company, including the risk of adverse outcomes in any such legal claims or proceedings;

•Our ability to protect or enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights on which our business depends and risk of third-party intellectual property infringement claims;

•Liabilities associated with environmental, health and safety matters;

•Risks related to increased visibility and emphasis placed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and any failure to achieve those goals;

•Failure to realize the value of goodwill and intangible assets;

•Exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

•Any failure to remediate material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting;

•Our level of indebtedness;

•Our ability to incur additional indebtedness;

•Our ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit agreements, including restrictive covenants that restrict operational flexibility;

•Our ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit agreements are not fully within our control;

•Our ability to access funds through capital markets;

•The Vertiv Stockholder’s significant ownership and influence over Vertiv;

•Resales of our securities may cause volatility in the market price of our securities;

•Provisions contained in our organizational documents that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals;

•A forum selection clause included in our Certificate of Incorporation, which could discourage or limit stockholders’ ability to make a claim against us;

•The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends;

•Risk related to the increase in Class A common stock upon the exercise of outstanding warrants;

•Increased volatility in our net income (loss) due to the valuation of our Warrants;

•Risks associated with global macroeconomics conditions in the areas in which we operate;

•Our ability to attract, train and retain key members of its leadership team and other qualified personnel;

•The adequacy of our insurance coverage;

•Fluctuations in interest rates materially affecting our financial results and increasing the risk our counterparties default on our interest rate hedges; and

•Our incurrence of significant costs and devotion of substantial management time as a result of operating as a public company.

The discussion of risk factors contained in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” herein includes forward-looking statements. These risks, which may be affected by a number of factors, whether currently known or unknown, including but not limited to those described herein, may impact our actual financial condition, operating results and prospects, and are important to understanding other statements included in this Annual Report. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significant may also impact our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following risk factors occur, in whole or in part, our business, operating results, financial condition, cash flows, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected and vary materially from past, or anticipated future, results. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Because of the risk factors included herein, as well as other factors affecting our financial condition and operating results, past financial performance should not be considered to be a reliable indicator of future performance, and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods.