Gitlab Inc
For the period ended Jul 31, 2024. Filed Sep 4, 2024.
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A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.
Jul 31, 2024 · Filed Sep 4, 2024
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-04-30; filed 2024-06-04.
0001628280-24-026458
Item 1A. Risk FactorsUnregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of ProceedsDefaults Upon Senior SecuritiesMine Safety DisclosuresOther InformationCurrent report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-07-31; filed 2024-09-04.
0001628280-24-039196
Item 1A. Risk FactorsUnregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of ProceedsDefaults Upon Senior SecuritiesMine Safety DisclosuresOther InformationThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
Compared 330 previous paragraphs and 322 current paragraphs.
300 unchanged; 17 reworded; 3 added; 13 removed; 0 previous and 2 current paragraphs rearranged.
Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (3)
Current report
Further, in June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its longstanding approach under the Chevron doctrine, which provided for judicial deference to regulatory agencies. As a result of this decision, we cannot be sure whether there will be increased challenges to existing agency regulations or how lower courts will apply the decision in the context of other regulatory schemes without more specific guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court and/or federal appellate courts. For example, the U.S. Supreme
Current report
Court’s decision could significantly impact consumer protection, advertising, privacy, artificial intelligence, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering practices and other regulatory regimes with which we are required to comply.
Removed paragraphs (13)
Previous report
The European Commission has conducted investigations in multiple countries focusing on whether local country tax rulings or tax legislation provides preferential tax treatment that violates E.U. state aid rules and concluded that certain member states have provided illegal state aid in certain cases. These investigations may result in changes to the tax treatment of our foreign operations.
Previous report
On March 27, 2024, Merline Saintil, amember of the Company’s board of directors, entered into a pre-arranged written stock sale plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (the “Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan”) under the Exchange Act for the sale of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan was entered into during an open trading window in accordance with the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities and is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. The Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan provides for the potential sale of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, including upon the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units, so long as the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock is higher than certain minimum threshold prices specified in the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan, between June 26, 2024 and March 31, 2025. The aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock that will be available for sale under the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan is not yet determinable because the shares available will be net of shares sold to satisfy tax withholding obligations that arise in connection with the vesting and settlement of such restricted stock unit awards. As such, for purposes of this disclosure, the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock available for sale is approximately 2,511, which reflects the aggregate maximum number of shares underlying Ms. Saintil’s restricted stock units which may be sold, without excluding the shares that will be sold to satisfy the tax withholding obligations.
Previous report
The Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan includes a representation from Ms. Saintil to the broker administering the plan that she was not in possession of any material nonpublic information regarding the Company or the securities subject to the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan at the time it was entered into. A similar representation was made to the Company in connection with theadoption of the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan under the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities. Those representations were made as of the date of adoption of the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan, and speak only as of such date. In making those representations, there is no assurance with respect to any material nonpublic information of which Ms. Saintil was unaware, or with respect to any material nonpublic information acquired by Ms. Saintil or the Company after the date of the representation.
Previous report
On March 26, 2024, Karen Blasing, a member of the Company’s board of directors, entered into a pre-arranged written stock sale plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (the “Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan”) under the Exchange Act for the sale of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan was entered into during an open trading window in accordance with the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities and is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. The Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan provides for the potential sale of up to 76,430 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock so long as in each case the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock is higher than certain minimum threshold prices specified in the Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan, between June 25, 2024 and March 31, 2026. The aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock that will be available for sale under the Blasing
Previous report
Rule 10b5-1 Plan is not yet determinable because the shares available will be net of shares sold to satisfy tax withholding obligations that arise in connection with the settlement of such already vested restricted stock unit awards and exercise and settlement of such stock options. As such, for purposes of this disclosure, the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock available for sale is approximately 76,430, which reflects the aggregate maximum number of shares underlying Ms. Blasing’s restricted stock units and stock options which may be sold, without excluding the shares that will be sold to satisfy the tax withholding obligations.
Previous report
The Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan includes a representation from Ms. Blasing to the broker administering the plan that she was not in possession of any material nonpublic information regarding the Company or the securities subject to the Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan at the time it was entered into. A similar representation was made to the Company in connection with theadoption of the Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan under the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities. Those representations were made as of the date of adoption of the Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan, and speak only as of such date. In making those representations, there is no assurance with respect to any material nonpublic information of which Ms. Blasing was unaware, or with respect to any material nonpublic information acquired by Ms. Blasing or the Company after the date of the representation.
Previous report
On March 28, 2024, Erin Mannix, the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer, entered into a new pre-arranged written stock sale plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (the “New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan”) under the Exchange Act for the sale of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan will take effect on July 1, 2024 and on June 28, 2024 Ms. Mannix’s existing Rule 10b5-1 Plan will terminate according to its terms. The New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan was entered into during an open trading window in accordance with the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities and is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. The New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan provides for the potential sale of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, including upon the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units, so long as the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock is higher than certain minimum threshold prices specified in the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan, between July 1, 2024 and March 24, 2025. The aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock that will be available for sale under the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan is not yet determinable because the shares available will be net of shares sold to satisfy tax withholding obligations that arise in connection with the vesting and settlement of such restricted stock unit awards. As such, for purposes of this disclosure, the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock available for sale is approximately 17,797, which reflects the aggregate maximum number of shares underlying Ms. Mannix’s restricted stock units which may be sold, without excluding the shares that will be sold to satisfy the tax withholding obligations.
Previous report
The New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan includes a representation from Ms. Mannix to the broker administering the plan that she was not in possession of any material nonpublic information regarding the Company or the securities subject to the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan at the time it was entered into. A similar representation was made to the Company in connection with theadoption of the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan under the Company’s policies regarding transactions in the Company’s securities. Those representations were made as of the date of adoption of the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan, and speak only as of such date. In making those representations, there is no assurance with respect to any material nonpublic information of which Ms. Mannix was unaware, or with respect to any material nonpublic information acquired by Ms. Mannix or the Company after the date of the representation.
Previous report
Once executed, transactions under each of the Saintil Rule 10b5-1 Plan, the Blasing Rule 10b5-1 Plan and the New Mannix Rule 10b5-1 Plan will be disclosed publicly through Form 4 and/or Form 144 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with applicable securities laws, rules, and regulations. Except as may be required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or report any modification, termination, or other activity under current or future Rule 10b5-1 plans that may be adopted by Ms. Saintil, Ms. Blasing, Ms. Mannix or other officers or directors of the Company.
Reworded paragraphs (17)
Previous wording
We have experienced rapid growth, both in terms of employee headcount and customer growth, as well as increased demand for our products. We anticipate that we will continue to expand our operations and responsibly grow our headcount in the near term, and our success will depend in part on our ability to manage that growth effectively, although there is no assurance that our rate of growth will continue at its current pace. Our total number of Base Customers has grownto 8,976 as of April 30, 2024 from 7,406 as of April 30, 2023. The growth and expansion of our business places a continuous significant strain on our management and operational and financial resources. In addition, as customers adopt our products for an increasing number of use cases, we have had to support more complex commercial relationships. To effectively manage and capitalize on our growth periods, we need to manage headcount capital and processes efficiently, while continuing to make investments to improve and expand our information technology and financial infrastructure, our security and compliance requirements, our operating and administrative systems, our relationships with various partners and other third parties. Our rate of growth may also be impacted as a result of global business or macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, volatile interest rates, uncertainty with respect to the federal budget and debt ceiling and potential government shutdowns related thereto, volatility of the global debt and equity markets, and actual or perceived instability in the global banking sector, and investment decisions by our customers.
Current wording
We have experienced rapid growth, both in terms of employee headcount and customer growth, as well as increased demand for our products. We anticipate that we will continue to expand our operations and responsibly grow our headcount in the near term, and our success will depend in part on our ability to manage that growth effectively, although there is no assurance that our rate of growth will continue at its current pace. Our total number of Base Customers has grownto 9,314 as of July 31, 2024 from 7,815 as of July 31, 2023. The growth and expansion of our business places a continuous significant strain on our management and operational and financial resources. In addition, as customers adopt our products for an increasing number of use cases, we have had to support more complex commercial relationships. To effectively manage and capitalize on our growth periods, we need to manage headcount capital and processes efficiently, while continuing to make investments to improve and expand our information technology and financial infrastructure, our security and compliance requirements, our operating and administrative systems, our relationships with various partners and other third parties. Our rate of growth may also be impacted as a result of global business or macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, volatile interest rates, uncertainty with respect to the federal budget and debt ceiling and potential government shutdowns related thereto, volatility of the global debt and equity markets, actual or perceived instability in the global banking sector, and investment decisions by our customers.
Previous wording
Our total revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023 was $169.2 million and $126.9 million, respectively, representing a growth rate of 33%. You should not rely on the revenue growth of any prior quarter or annual period as an indication of our future performance. As a result of our limited history operating as a public company, our ability to accurately forecast our future results of operations is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Our historical revenue growth should not be considered indicative of our future performance.
Current wording
Our total revenue for the six months ended July 31, 2024 and 2023 was $351.8 million and $266.5 million, respectively, representing a growth rate of 32%. You should not rely on the revenue growth of any prior quarter or annual period as an indication of our future performance. As a result of our limited history operating as a public company, our ability to accurately forecast our future results of operations is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Our historical revenue growth should not be considered indicative of our future performance.
Previous wording
We have incurred losses in each year since our inception, including net losses of approximately $172.3 million, $424.2 million and $54.6 million in fiscal year 2023, fiscal year 2024 and for the three months ended April 30, 2024, respectively. As of April 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $1,204.5 million. While we have experienced significant growth in revenue in recent periods, we cannot assure you that we will achieve profitability in future periods or that, if at any time we are profitable, we will sustain profitability. We also expect our operating and other expenses to increase in the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in our future growth, including expanding our research and development function to drive further development of The DevSecOps Platform, expanding our sales and marketing activities, developing the functionality to expand into adjacent markets, and reaching customers in new geographic locations, which will negatively affect our operating results if our total revenue does not increase. While we consistently evaluate opportunities to reduce our operating costs and optimize efficiencies, including, for example, through our workforce reduction in February 2023, we cannot guarantee that these efforts will be successful or that we will not re-accelerate operating expenditures in the future in order to capitalize on growth opportunities. In addition to the anticipated costs to grow our business, we also expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses as a public company. These efforts and expenses may be more costly than we expect, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to increase our revenue to offset our operating expenses. Our revenue growth may slow or our revenue may decline for a number of reasons, including reduced demand for The DevSecOps Platform, increased competition, an increased use of our free product offerings, a decrease in the growth or reduction in size of our overall market, or any inability on our part to capitalize on growth opportunities. Further, as our SaaS offering makes up an increasing percentage of our total revenue, we expect to see increased associated cloud-related costs, such as hosting and infrastructure costs, which may adversely impact our gross margins. Any failure to increase our revenue or to manage our costs as we continue to grow and invest in our business would prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or achieving or maintaining positive operating cash flow at all or on a consistent basis, which would cause our business, financial condition, and results of operations to suffer.
Current wording
We have incurred losses in each year since our inception, including net losses of approximately $172.3 million, $424.2 million and $41.7 million in fiscal year 2023, fiscal year 2024 and for thesix months ended July 31, 2024, respectively. As of July 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $1.2 billion. While we have experienced significant growth in revenue in recent periods, we cannot assure you that we will achieve profitability in future periods or that, if at any time we are profitable, we will sustain profitability. We also expect our operating and other expenses to increase in the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in our future growth, including expanding our research and development function to drive further development of The DevSecOps Platform, expanding our sales and marketing activities, developing the functionality to expand into adjacent markets, and reaching customers in new geographic locations, which will negatively affect our operating results if our total revenue does not increase. While we consistently evaluate opportunities to reduce our operating costs and optimize efficiencies, including, for example, through our workforce reduction in February 2023, we cannot guarantee that these efforts will be successful or that we will not re-accelerate operating expenditures in the future in order to capitalize on growth opportunities. In addition to the anticipated costs to grow our business, we also expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses as a public company. These efforts and expenses may be more costly than we expect, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to increase our revenue to offset our operating expenses. Our revenue growth may slow or our revenue may decline for a number of reasons, including reduced demand for The DevSecOps Platform, increased competition, an increased use of our free product offerings, a decrease in the growth or reduction in size of our overall market, or any inability on our part to capitalize on growth opportunities. Further, as our SaaS offering makes up an increasing percentage of our total revenue, we expect to see increased associated cloud-related costs, such as hosting and infrastructure costs, which may adversely impact our gross margins. Any failure to increase our revenue or to manage our costs as we continue to grow and invest in our business would prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or achieving or maintaining positive operating cash flow at all or on a consistent basis, which would cause our business, financial condition, and results of operations to suffer.
Previous wording
We have contractual and legal obligations to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches. Most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify affected individuals, regulatory authorities, and relevant others of security breaches involving certain types of data, including personal data. In addition, our agreements with certain customers and partners may require us to notify them in the event of a security breach. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures, and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. In addition, in July 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, adopted a new cybersecurity rule requiring companies subject to SEC reporting requirements to formally report material cyber security incidents, where failure to report may result in the SEC imposing injunctions, fines and other penalties.
Current wording
We have contractual and legal obligations to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches. Most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify affected individuals, regulatory authorities, and relevant others of security breaches involving certain types of data, including personal data. In addition, our agreements with certain customers and partners may require us to notify them in the event of a security breach. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures, and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. In addition, in July 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, adopted a new cybersecurity rule requiring companies subject to SEC reporting requirements to formally report material cybersecurity incidents, where failure to report may result in the SEC imposing injunctions, fines and other penalties.
Previous wording
We may also encounter service interruptions due to issues interfacing with our customers’ IT systems, including stack misconfigurations or improper environment scaling, or due to cyber security attacks on ours or our customers’ IT systems. Any such service interruption may have an adverse impact on our reputation and future operating results.
Current wording
We may also encounter service interruptions, outage, or disruption due to issues interfacing with our customers’ IT systems, including stack misconfigurations or improper environment scaling, defective updates or upgrades, or due to cybersecurity attacks on ours or our customers’ IT systems. Any such service interruption may have an adverse impact on our reputation and future operating results.
Previous wording
Because of the (nature and importance of the data) that our customers collect and manage by means of our services, it is possible that failures or errors in our systems could result in data loss or corruption, and/or cause the information that we or our customers collect to be incomplete or contain inaccuracies that our customers regard as material. Furthermore, the availability or performance of our products could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including customers’ inability to access the internet, the failure of our network or software systems, security breaches, or variability in user traffic for our services. We may be required to issue credits or refunds for prepaid amounts related to unused services or otherwise be liable to our customers for damages they may incur resulting from certain of these events. For example, our customers access our products through their internet service providers. If a service provider fails to provide sufficient capacity to support our products, otherwise experiences service outages, or intentionally or unintentionally restricts or limits our ability to send, deliver, or receive electronic communications or provide services, such failure could interrupt our customers’ access to our products, adversely affect their perception of our products’ reliability and reduce our revenues. In addition to potential liability, if we experience interruptions in the availability of our products or services, our reputation could be adversely affected and we could lose customers. Our production systems might not be sufficiently resilient against regional outages and recovery from such an outage might take an extended period of time. Further, while we have in place a data recovery plan, our data backup systems might fail and our data recovery plans may be insufficient to fully recover all of ours or our customers’ data hosted on our system.
Current wording
Because of the (nature and importance of the data) that our customers collect and manage by means of our services, it is possible that failures or errors in our systems could result in data loss or corruption, and/or cause the information that we or our customers collect to be incomplete or contain inaccuracies that our customers regard as material. Furthermore, the availability or performance of our products could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including customers’ inability to access the internet, the failure of our network or software systems, security breaches, or variability in user traffic for our services. We may be required to issue credits or refunds for prepaid amounts related to unused services or otherwise be liable to our customers for damages they may incur resulting from certain of these events. For example, our customers access our products through their internet service providers. If a service provider fails to provide sufficient capacity to support our products, otherwise experiences service outages, interruption or disruption, or intentionally or unintentionally restricts or limits our ability to send, deliver, or receive electronic communications or provide services, such failure could interrupt our customers’ access to our products, adversely affect their perception of our products’ reliability and reduce our revenues. In addition to potential liability, if we experience interruptions in the availability of our products or services, our reputation could be adversely affected and we could lose customers. Our production systems might not be sufficiently resilient against regional outages and recovery from such an outage might take an extended period of time. Further, while we have in place a data recovery plan, our data backup systems might fail and our data recovery plans may be insufficient to fully recover all of ours or our customers’ data hosted on our system.
Previous wording
•general economic, industry and market conditions, in both domestic and our foreign markets, including inflation, volatile interest rates, uncertainty with respect to the federal budget and debt ceiling and potential government shutdowns related thereto, volatility of the global debt and equity markets, and actual or perceived instability in the global banking sector, the potential effects of health pandemics or epidemics and other global events, including ongoing armed conflicts in different regions of the world;
Current wording
•general economic, industry and market conditions, in both domestic and our foreign markets, including inflation, volatile interest rates, uncertainty with respect to the federal budget and debt ceiling and potential government shutdowns related thereto, volatility of the global debt and equity markets, and actual or perceived instability in the global banking sector, the potential effects of health pandemics or epidemics and other global events, including the U.S. presidential election and ongoing armed conflicts in different regions of the world;
Previous wording
Many states, regions, and supranational bodies, including the European Union, have proposed new regulations related to the use of AI and machine learning technologies. The final form of these may impose onerous obligations related to our, and our vendors’, development, offering, and use of AI technologies and expose us to an increased risk of regulatory enforcement and litigation.
Current wording
Many states, regions, and supranational bodies, including the European Union, have proposed or enacted regulations related to the use of AI and machine learning technologies. These regulations may impose onerous obligations related to our, and our vendors’, development, offering, and use of AI technologies and expose us to an increased risk of regulatory enforcement and litigation.
Previous wording
Further, from time to time, we may receive letters from third parties alleging that we are infringing upon their intellectual property rights or inviting us to license their intellectual property rights. Our technologies and other intellectual property may be found to infringe upon such third-party rights, and such successful claims against us could result in significant monetary liability, prevent us from selling some of our products and services, or require us to change our branding. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to redesign our products, license rights from third parties at a significant expense, or cease using those rights altogether. We may in the future bring claims against third parties for infringing our intellectual property rights. Costs of supporting such litigation and disputes may be considerable, and there can be no assurances that a favorable outcome will be obtained. Patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and other intellectual property claims and proceedings brought against us or brought by us, whether successful or not, could require significant attention of our management and resources and have in the past and could further result in substantial costs, harm to our brand, and have an adverse effect on our business.
Current wording
Further, from time to time, we may receive letters from third parties alleging that we are infringing upon their intellectual property rights or inviting us to license their intellectual property rights. Our technologies and other intellectual property may be found to infringe upon such third-party rights, and such successful claims against us could result in significant monetary liability, prevent us from selling some of our products and services, or require us to change our branding. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to redesign our products, license rights from third parties at a significant expense, or cease using those rights altogether. And we may in the future bring claims against third parties for infringing our intellectual property rights. Costs of supporting such litigation and disputes may be considerable, and there can be no assurances that a favorable outcome will be obtained. Patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and other intellectual property claims and proceedings brought against us or brought by us, whether successful or not, could require significant attention of our management and resources and have in the past and could further result in substantial costs, harm to our brand, and have an adverse effect on our business.
Previous wording
Additionally, we are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA, which came into effect in 2020 and increases privacy rights for California consumers and imposes obligations on companies that process their personal data. The CCPA requires covered companies to, among other things, provide new disclosures to California consumers and affords such consumers new privacy rights such as the ability to opt out of certain sales of personal data and expanded rights to access and deletion of their personal data, opt out of certain personal data sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal data is collected, used and shared. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for security breaches that may increase the likelihood of, and the risks associated with, security breach litigation. Additionally, in November 2020, California passed the California Privacy Rights Act, or the CPRA, which expands the CCPA significantly, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain personal data and creating a new state agency to oversee implementation and enforcement efforts, potentially resulting in further uncertainty and requiring us to incur additional costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Many of the CPRA’s provisions became effective on January 1, 2023. The CCPA has also prompted a number of passed laws and proposals for new federal and state privacy legislation that, if passed, could increase our potential liability and compliance costs, particularly in the event of a data breach, and adversely affect our business, including how we use personal data, our financial condition, and the results of our operations or prospects. Changing definitions of personal data and information may also limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing of data. Also, some jurisdictions require that certain types of data be retained on servers within these jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with applicable laws, directives, and regulations may result in enforcement action against us, including fines, and damage to our reputation, any of which may have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.
Current wording
Additionally, we are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA, which came into effect in 2020 and increases privacy rights for California consumers and imposes obligations on companies that process their personal data. The CCPA requires covered companies to, among other things, provide new disclosures to California consumers and affords such consumers new privacy rights such as the ability to opt out of certain sales of personal data and expanded rights to access and deletion of their personal data, opt out of certain personal data sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal data is collected, used and shared. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for security breaches that may increase the likelihood of, and the risks associated with, security breach litigation. Additionally, in November 2020, California passed the California Privacy Rights Act, or the CPRA, which expands the CCPA significantly, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain personal data and creating a new state agency to oversee implementation and enforcement efforts, potentially resulting in further uncertainty and requiring us to incur additional costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Many of the CPRA’s provisions became effective on January 1, 2023. The CCPA has also prompted a number of passed laws and proposals for new federal and state privacy legislation that, if passed, could increase our potential liability and compliance costs, particularly in the event of a data breach, and adversely affect our business, including how we use personal data, our financial condition, and the results of our operations or prospects. For instance, a comprehensive federal privacy bill, which includes a private right of action for violations, has been proposed and is under review by the U.S. House of Representatives. Compliance with this new privacy legislation adds complexity and may require investment in additional resources for compliance programs, thus potentially resulting in additional costs and expense of resources to maintain compliance. Changing definitions of personal data and information may also limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing of data. Also, some jurisdictions require that certain types of data be retained on servers within these jurisdictions. Our failure to comply with applicable laws, directives, and regulations may result in enforcement action against us, including fines, and damage to our reputation, any of which may have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.
Previous wording
In some cases, our software is subject to export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and our activities may be subject to trade and economic sanctions, including those administered by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, and collectively, Trade Controls. As such, a license may be required to export or re-export our products, or provide related services, to certain countries and end-users, and for certain end-uses. For example, the recent Trade Controls targeting Russia and Belarus, impose a license requirement for the export of our product to those countries and have sanctioned various entities and individuals located there. Those Trade Controls, which are unprecedented and expansive, continue to evolve and further restrict our ability to do business in that region. Processing payments from those customers, even when legally permissible, has become very difficult, in part because most U.S. and E.U. banks are unwilling to facilitate those transactions. Further, our products incorporating encryption functionality may be subject to special controls applying to encryption items and/or certain reporting requirements.
Current wording
In some cases, our software is subject to export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and our activities may be subject to trade and economic sanctions, including those administered by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, and collectively, Trade Controls. As such, a license may be required to export or re-export our products, or provide related services, to certain countries and end-users, and for certain end-uses. For example, Trade Controls targeting Russia and Belarus, impose a license requirement for the export of our product to those countries and have sanctioned various entities and individuals located there, while recent sanctions restrict the provision of certain cloud services to Russia. Those Trade Controls, which are unprecedented and expansive, continue to evolve and further restrict our ability to do business in that region. Processing payments from those customers, even when legally permissible, has become very difficult, in part because most U.S. and E.U. banks are unwilling to facilitate those transactions. Further, our products incorporating encryption functionality may be subject to special controls applying to encryption items and/or certain reporting requirements.
Previous wording
Competition for highly skilled personnel in our industry is intense, and we may not be successful in hiring or retaining qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs. We have, from time to time, experienced, and we may experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled team members with appropriate qualifications. In particular, recruiting and hiring senior product engineering personnel with AI and machine learning backgrounds has been, and we expect it to continue to be, challenging. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, we conducted a reduction in workforce of approximately 7% across all areas of our business. Any future reduction in force could be disruptive to our operations and could yield unanticipated consequences, such as attrition beyond planned staff reductions, or disruptions in our day-to-day operations, or could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain qualified management, technology software professionals or other personnel who are critical to our business.
Current wording
Competition for highly skilled personnel in our industry is intense, and we may not be successful in hiring or retaining qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs. We have, from time to time, experienced, and we may experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled team members with appropriate qualifications. In particular, recruiting and hiring senior product engineering personnel with AI and machine learning backgrounds has been, and we expect it to continue to be, challenging.
Previous wording
Our participation in this joint venture in China is subject to general, as well as industry-specific, economic, political, tax, and legal developments and risks in China. The Chinese government exercises significant control over the Chinese economy, including but not limited to controlling capital investments, allocating resources, setting monetary policy, controlling and monitoring foreign exchange rates, implementing and overseeing tax regulations, providing preferential treatment to certain industry segments or companies and issuing necessary licenses to conduct business. In addition, we could face additional risks resulting from changes in China’s data privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including China’s adoption of the Personal Information Protection Law, or PIPL, which went into effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL shares similarities with the GDPR, including extraterritorial application, data minimization, data localization, and purpose limitation requirements, and obligations to provide certain notices and rights to citizens of China. Accordingly, any adverse change in the Chinese economy, the Chinese legal system or Chinese governmental, economic or other policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations in China and our prospects generally.
Current wording
Our participation in this joint venture in China is subject to general, as well as industry-specific, economic, political, tax, and legal developments and risks in China. The Chinese government exercises significant control over the Chinese economy, including but not limited to controlling capital investments, allocating resources, setting monetary policy, controlling and monitoring foreign exchange rates, implementing and overseeing tax regulations, providing preferential treatment to certain industry segments or companies and issuing necessary licenses to conduct business. In addition, we could face additional risks resulting from changes in China’s data privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including China’s adoption of the Personal Information Protection Law, or PIPL, which went into effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL shares similarities with the GDPR, including extraterritorial application, data minimization, data localization, and purpose limitation requirements, and obligations to provide certain notices and rights to citizens of China. Accordingly, any adverse change in the Chinese economy, the
Previous wording
In December 2017, the U.S. federal government enacted the tax reform legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the 2017 Tax Act. The 2017 Tax Act significantly changed the existing U.S. corporate income tax laws by, among other things, lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate, implementing a partially territorial tax system, and imposing a one-time deemed repatriation tax on certain post-1986 foreign earnings. Recently the U.S. Treasury Department issued regulations for the purpose of interpreting the 2017 Tax Act, including regulations disallowing foreign tax credits for taxes which are dissimilar to income taxes, limiting the deductibility of interest, and requiring the capitalization of research and development expenses. Also, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, enacted on August 16, 2022, further amended the U.S. federal tax code, imposing a 15% minimum tax on “adjusted financial statement income” of certain corporations as well as an excise tax on the repurchase or redemption of stock by certain corporations, beginning in the 2023 tax year.
Current wording
In December 2017, the U.S. federal government enacted the tax reform legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the 2017 Tax Act. The 2017 Tax Act significantly changed the existing U.S. corporate income tax laws by, among other things, lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate, implementing a partially territorial tax system, and imposing a one-time deemed repatriation tax on certain post-1986 foreign earnings. Recently the U.S. Treasury Department issued regulations for the purpose of interpreting the 2017 Tax Act, including regulations disallowing foreign tax credits for taxes which are dissimilar to income taxes, limiting the deductibility of interest, and requiring the capitalization of research and development expenses. Due to the reconciliation process used to pass the 2017 Tax Act, many provisions are in the process of being phased out, and it is uncertain whether many of the provisions in the 2017 Tax Act will be restored. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, enacted on August 16, 2022, further amended the U.S. federal tax code, imposing a 15% minimum tax on “adjusted financial statement income” of certain corporations as well as an excise tax on the repurchase or redemption of stock by certain corporations, beginning in the 2023 tax year.
Previous wording
Over the last several years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD, has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project that, if implemented, would change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in many of the countries in which we do business. The OECD has a framework to implement a global minimum corporate tax of 15% for companies with global revenues and profits above certain thresholds (referred to as Pillar 2), with certain aspects of Pillar 2 effective January 1, 2024 and other aspects effective January 1, 2025. While it is uncertain whether the United States will enact legislation to adopt Pillar 2, certain countries in which we operate have adopted legislation, and other countries are in the process of introducing legislation to implement Pillar 2. On December 15, 2022, the European Union member states agreed to implement the OECD’s global minimum tax rate of 15%. Similarly, the European Union and several countries have issued proposals that would apply to various aspects of the current tax framework under which we are taxed. These proposals include changes to the existing framework to calculate income tax, as well as proposals to change or impose new types of non-income taxes, including taxes based on a percentage of revenue. For example, several jurisdictions have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to digital services, which include business activities on digital advertising and online marketplaces, and which apply to our business.
Current wording
Over the last several years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD, has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project that, if implemented, would change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in many of the countries in which we do business. The OECD has a framework to implement a global minimum corporate tax of 15% for companies with global revenues and profits above certain thresholds (referred to as Pillar 2), with certain aspects of Pillar 2 effective January 1, 2024 and other aspects effective January 1, 2025. While it is uncertain whether the United States will enact legislation to adopt Pillar 2, certain countries in which we operate have adopted legislation. On December 15, 2022, the European Union member states agreed to implement the OECD’s global minimum tax rate of 15%. Similarly, the European
Previous wording
The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and certain jurisdictions are aggressively interpreting their laws in new ways. Our existing corporate structure has been implemented in a manner we believe is in compliance with current tax laws. However, the taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies, including for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, possibly with retroactive effect. Moreover, changes to our corporate structure could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Current wording
The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and certain jurisdictions are aggressively interpreting their laws to expand the tax bases. Our existing corporate structure has been implemented in a manner we believe is in compliance with current tax laws. However, the taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies, including for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, possibly with retroactive effect. Moreover, changes to our corporate structure could impact our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Previous wording
The trading market for our Class A common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. If any of the analysts who cover us issues an inaccurate or unfavorable opinion regarding our stock price, our stock price may decline. In addition, the stock prices of many companies in the technology industry have declined significantly after those companies have failed to meet, or exceed, the financial guidance publicly announced by the companies or the expectations of analysts. If our financial results fail to meet, or exceed, our announced guidance or the expectations of analysts or public investors, analysts could downgrade our Class A common stock or publish unfavorable research about us.
Current wording
The trading market for our Class A common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. If any of the analysts who cover us issues an inaccurate or unfavorable opinion regarding our stock price, our stock price may decline. In addition, if our financial results fail to meet, or exceed, our announced guidance or the expectations of analysts or public investors, analysts could downgrade our Class A common stock or publish unfavorable research about us.
Rearranged current paragraphs (2)
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Chinese legal system or Chinese governmental, economic or other policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations in China and our prospects generally.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Union and several countries have issued proposals that would apply to various aspects of the current tax framework under which we are taxed. These proposals include changes to the existing framework to calculate income tax, as well as proposals to change or impose new types of non-income taxes, including taxes based on a percentage of revenue. For example, several jurisdictions have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to digital services, which include business activities on digital advertising and online marketplaces, and which apply to our business.