--- ticker: EPAM company: EPAM Systems Inc. filing_type: 10-K year_current: 2026 year_prior: 2025 risks_added: 1 risks_removed: 0 risks_modified: 5 risks_unchanged: 30 source: SEC EDGAR url: https://riskdiff.com/epam/2026-vs-2025/ markdown_url: https://riskdiff.com/epam/2026-vs-2025/index.md generated: 2026-05-10 --- # EPAM Systems Inc.: 10-K Risk Factor Changes 2026 vs 2025 > Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) > Generated: 2026-05-10 > All data extracted directly from official filings. No hallucinated content. > **[AI-Generated Summary]** The paragraph below was produced by a language > model and may contain errors. All other content on this page is deterministically > extracted from the original SEC filing. > EPAM Systems added one new risk factor in 2026 addressing the potential demand reduction from increased AI-based software tool adoption, reflecting growing concern about technological disruption to its service offerings. The company substantively modified five existing risk factors, including those covering personnel retention, service pricing, and contract profitability, indicating refinement of disclosures around core operational challenges. The risk factor framework remained largely stable with 30 unchanged risks, suggesting EPAM's primary risk profile remained consistent year-over-year. --- ## Summary | Status | Count | |--------|-------| | New risks added | 1 | | Risks removed | 0 | | Risks modified | 5 | | Unchanged | 30 | --- ## New in Current Filing: Increased Adoption of AI-Based Software Tools May Reduce Demand for Our Services Rapidly evolving digital technology innovations, such as AI, machine learning, hyperautomation, low-code/no-code application development, system observability, and predictive insights are creating new forms of competition to our services. These innovations may reduce the need for our services and the services of our clients that develop software and software-as-a-service for their end users. AI, large language model, and machine learning technologies enable clients and potential clients to develop, customize, and maintain software solutions internally and could reduce reliance on third-party service providers such as EPAM and our clients that are software product vendors. Industry-specific plug-ins and agentic features of existing AI software can perform tasks that may replace the need for specialized software to perform common business processes, such as financial analysis, due diligence, and software coding. Our current and prospective clients have and may continue to use AI-powered tools to create or modify software applications themselves, or elect to replace traditional software with agentic AI, rather than purchasing our services or licensing software from our clients. Increased competition, or the perception of increased competition, from new and non-traditional market participants like AI-based task-specific tools, has negatively impacted the price of our stock. If a significant number of our existing or future clients employ AI-driven tools as a replacement for our services or the software we build, our revenues, anticipated growth and prospects, our financial condition, and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. --- ## Modified: We must successfully attract, hire, train and retain qualified personnel to service our clients' projects and we must productively utilize those personnel to remain profitable. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "Additionally, if we are unable to effectively train existing personnel to develop new skills, our ability to win new work and implement new technologies in client projects may be impaired." - Reworded sentence: "Competition for highly skilled professionals and wage expectations is intense in the markets where we operate or plan to operate, and we may experience significant employee turnover rates or recruiting challenges due to such competition." - Reworded sentence: "We may be unable to increase the prices that our clients are willing to pay at a rate that is commensurate with the increasing compensation levels we need to pay to retain our existing personnel and hire new personnel, which may also have an adverse impact on our profitability." **Prior (2025):** Identifying, recruiting, hiring and retaining professionals with skill sets that meet our existing and anticipated demand across our business is critical to maintaining existing engagements and obtaining new business but has become more challenging in changing economic and labor climates. If we are unable to recruit professionals with the skills required by our business and if we do not productively deploy our professionals, infrastructure, and fixed-cost resources productively, our profitability will be significantly impacted. Additionally, if we are unable to effectively train existing personnel to develop new skills and adequately maintain existing skills, our ability to win new work and successfully complete existing projects may be impaired. We must manage the utilization levels of our professionals by effectively planning for future needs and staffing projects appropriately while accurately predicting the general economy, the geographies and locations where our personnel are needed, and our clients' need for our services. If we are unable to attract, hire, train, and retain highly skilled personnel and productively deploy them on client projects, we will jeopardize our ability to meet our clients' expectations and develop current and future business, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. 11 11 11 11 11 11 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Competition for highly skilled professionals and wage expectations is intense in the markets where we operate or plan to operate, and we may experience significant employee turnover rates or recruiting challenges due to such competition. If we are unable to retain professionals with specialized skills, our revenues, operating efficiency and profitability will decrease, as will our ability to meet emerging technological challenges. Cost reductions, such as reducing headcount or voluntary departures that result from our failure to retain the professionals we hire, negatively affect our reputation as an employer and our ability to hire personnel to meet our business requirements. We may be unable to obtain price increases in-line with increasing compensation to retain personnel which may have an adverse impact on our profitability. **Current (2026):** Identifying, recruiting, hiring and retaining professionals with skill sets that meet our existing and anticipated demand across our business is critical to maintaining existing engagements and obtaining new business but has become more challenging in changing economic and labor climates. If we are unable to recruit professionals with the skills required by our business and if we do not productively deploy our professionals, infrastructure, and fixed-cost resources productively, our profitability will be significantly impacted. Additionally, if we are unable to effectively train existing personnel to develop new skills, our ability to win new work and implement new technologies in client projects may be impaired. We must manage the utilization levels of our professionals by effectively planning for future needs and staffing projects appropriately while accurately predicting the general economy, the geographies and locations where our personnel will be needed, and our clients' need for our services. If we are unable to attract, hire, train, and retain highly skilled personnel and productively deploy them on client projects, we will jeopardize our ability to meet our clients' expectations and develop current and future business, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Competition for highly skilled professionals and wage expectations is intense in the markets where we operate or plan to operate, and we may experience significant employee turnover rates or recruiting challenges due to such competition. If we are unable to retain professionals with specialized skills and deploy those professionals at profitable rates that our clients are willing to pay, our revenues, operating efficiency and profitability will decrease, as will our ability to meet emerging technological developments. Cost reductions, such as reducing headcount or voluntary departures that result from our failure to retain the professionals we hire, negatively affect our reputation as an employer and our ability to hire personnel to meet our business requirements. We may be unable to increase the prices that our clients are willing to pay at a rate that is commensurate with the increasing compensation levels we need to pay to retain our existing personnel and hire new personnel, which may also have an adverse impact on our profitability. --- ## Modified: If our pricing structures are based on inaccurate expectations and assumptions regarding the cost and complexity of performing our work, or if we are not able to maintain favorable pricing for our services, then our contracts could be unprofitable or we may not meet our profitability projections. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "Our pricing is highly dependent on our internal forecasts, assumptions and predictions about our clients and their projects, the marketplace, global economic conditions (including foreign exchange volatility and inflation) and the coordination of operations and personnel in multiple locations with different skill sets and competencies." - Reworded sentence: "The risk of underpricing our services or underestimating the costs of performing the work is heightened in fixed-price contracts, product licensing, and in contracts that require our client to receive a productivity benefit as a result of the services performed under the contract." - Added sentence: "17 17 17 17 17 17 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents" **Prior (2025):** We face a number of risks when pricing our contracts with our clients. Our pricing is highly dependent on our internal forecasts, assumptions and predictions about our projects, the marketplace, global economic conditions (including foreign exchange volatility and inflation) and the coordination of operations and personnel in multiple locations with different skill sets and competencies. Larger and more complex projects that involve multiple engagements or stages heighten those pricing risks because a client may choose not to retain us for additional stages or delay forecasted engagements, which disrupts our planned project resource requirements. If our pricing for a project includes dedicated personnel or facilities and the client slows or stops that project, we may not be able to reallocate resources to other clients. Our pricing and cost estimates may include anticipated long-term cost savings that we expect to achieve and sustain over the life of the contract. Because of such inherent uncertainties, we may underprice our projects or fail to accurately assess the risks associated with potential contracts, such as defined performance goals, service levels, and completion schedules. The risk of underpricing our services or underestimating the costs of performing the work is heightened in fixed-price contracts and in contracts that require our client to receive a productivity benefit as a result of the services performed under the contract. If we fail to accurately estimate the resources, time or quality levels required to complete such engagements, or if the cost of employees, facilities, or technology unexpectedly increases, we could be exposed to cost overruns. Any increased or unexpected costs, delays or failures to achieve anticipated cost savings, or unexpected risks we encounter in connection with the performance of the services, including those caused by factors outside our control, could make these contracts less profitable or unprofitable. Our industry is sensitive to the economic environment and the industry tends to decline during general or perceived economic downturns. Given our significant revenues from North America and Europe, if those economies weaken or enter a recession, pricing for our services may be depressed and our clients may reduce or postpone their technology related spending significantly, which in turn lowers the demand for our services and negatively affects our revenues and profitability. **Current (2026):** We face a number of risks when pricing our contracts with our clients. Our pricing is highly dependent on our internal forecasts, assumptions and predictions about our clients and their projects, the marketplace, global economic conditions (including foreign exchange volatility and inflation) and the coordination of operations and personnel in multiple locations with different skill sets and competencies. Larger and more complex projects that involve multiple engagements or stages heighten those pricing risks because a client may choose not to retain us for additional stages or delay forecasted engagements, which disrupts our planned project resource requirements. If our pricing for a project includes dedicated personnel or facilities and the client slows or stops that project, we may not be able to reallocate resources to other clients. Our pricing and cost estimates may include anticipated long-term cost savings that we expect to achieve and sustain over the life of the contract. Because of such inherent uncertainties, we may underprice our projects or fail to accurately assess the risks associated with potential contracts, such as defined performance goals, service levels, and completion schedules. The risk of underpricing our services or underestimating the costs of performing the work is heightened in fixed-price contracts, product licensing, and in contracts that require our client to receive a productivity benefit as a result of the services performed under the contract. Our industry is adopting, and our clients are expecting, new pricing models, especially as AI tools evolve and are integrated into business processes. If we use unproven pricing models or are unable to successfully convince clients of the value of our AI tools and expertise, we increase the risk that we could underprice a client project and the project could become less profitable than we expected or even unprofitable. If we do not adopt new pricing models, our competitors that are willing to risk trying new models may take market share from us. If we fail to accurately estimate the resources, time or quality levels required to complete such engagements, or if the cost of employees, facilities, or technology unexpectedly increases, we could be exposed to cost overruns. Any increased or unexpected costs, delays or failures to achieve anticipated cost savings, or unexpected risks we encounter in connection with the performance of the services, including those caused by factors outside our control, could make these contracts less profitable or unprofitable. Our industry is sensitive to the economic environment and the industry tends to decline during general or perceived economic downturns. Given our significant revenues from North America and Europe, if those economies weaken or enter a recession, pricing for our services may be depressed and our clients may reduce or postpone their technology related spending significantly, which in turn lowers the demand for our services and negatively affects our revenues and profitability. 17 17 17 17 17 17 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents --- ## Modified: Existing policy and substantial changes to fiscal, political, regulatory and other federal policies may adversely affect our business and financial results. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "General economic or political conditions in the U.S." - Reworded sentence: "policy with respect to a variety of issues, including AI, international trade agreements, conducting business offshore, inflation mitigation, interest rates, climate change, import and export regulations, tariffs and customs duties, foreign relations, immigration laws, travel restrictions, antitrust controls and enforcement, financial reporting, and corporate governance laws, could have a positive or negative impact on our business." - Reworded sentence: "Companies that outsource services to subsidiaries or third parties operating in other countries remain a topic of political discussion in many countries, including the U.S., which is our largest source of revenues." - Reworded sentence: "Obtaining the required visas and work permits for the U.S." - Added sentence: "15 15 15 15 15 15 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents" **Prior (2025):** Changes in general economic or political conditions in the U. S. could adversely affect our business. U.S. policy with respect to a variety of issues, including AI, international trade agreements, conducting business offshore, inflation mitigation, interest rates, climate change, import and export regulations, tariffs and customs duties, foreign relations, immigration laws and travel restrictions, antitrust controls and enforcement, and corporate governance laws, could have a positive or negative impact on our business. The U.S. administration has announced plans to levy tariffs, economic sanctions, and other restrictions on trade with the countries where we employ professionals and conduct significant operations and may also levy restrictions with little or no warning. The majority of our professionals are offshore. Companies that outsource services to organizations operating in other countries remain a topic of political discussion in many countries, including the U. S., which is our largest source of revenues. The U.S. administration periodically proposes rules that could impose restrictions on offshore outsourcing and on our ability to deploy employees holding U.S. work visas to client locations, both of which could adversely impact our business. Such measures could broaden restrictions on outsourcing by federal and state government agencies and contracts and impact private industry with tax disincentives, intellectual property transfer restrictions, and restrictions on the use or availability of certain work visas. Some of our projects require our personnel to obtain visas to travel and work at client sites outside of our personnel's home countries and often in the U.S. Our reliance on visas to staff projects with employees who are not citizens of the country where the work is performed makes us vulnerable to changes in the number of visas to be issued in any particular year and other work permit laws and regulations. Obtaining the required visas and work permits can be lengthy and difficult due to political forces and economic conditions limiting the number of permitted applications and application and enforcement processes may cause delays or rejections when trying to obtain visas. Delays in obtaining visas or other work authorizations may delay the ability of our personnel to travel to meet with and provide services to our clients or to continue to provide services on a timely basis. In addition, the availability of a sufficient number of visas without significant additional costs could limit our ability to provide services to our clients on a timely and cost-effective basis or manage our sales and delivery centers as efficiently as we otherwise could. Delays in or the unavailability of visas and work permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. **Current (2026):** General economic or political conditions in the U.S. could adversely affect our business. U.S. policy with respect to a variety of issues, including AI, international trade agreements, conducting business offshore, inflation mitigation, interest rates, climate change, import and export regulations, tariffs and customs duties, foreign relations, immigration laws, travel restrictions, antitrust controls and enforcement, financial reporting, and corporate governance laws, could have a positive or negative impact on our business. The U.S. administration has levied tariffs, imposed economic sanctions, and created other restrictions on trade with the countries where we employ professionals and conduct significant operations and may also institute additional impediments to global trade with little or no warning. The majority of our professionals are offshore. Companies that outsource services to subsidiaries or third parties operating in other countries remain a topic of political discussion in many countries, including the U.S., which is our largest source of revenues. The U.S. administration periodically proposes and enacts rules that restrict offshore outsourcing and discourage employing non-U.S. residents in the U.S., both of which could adversely impact our business. Broadened restrictions on outsourcing by federal and state government agencies, private industry tax disincentives, including excise taxes on payments to foreign subsidiaries and personnel, intellectual property transfer restrictions, and restrictions on the use or availability of certain work visas could have a negative effect on our business. Some of our projects require our personnel to obtain visas to travel and work at client sites outside of our personnel's home countries. Our reliance on visas to staff projects with employees who are not citizens of the country where the work is performed makes us vulnerable to changes in the number of visas to be issued in any particular year and other work permit laws and regulations. Obtaining the required visas and work permits for the U.S. has become more lengthy and difficult. Political forces and economic conditions limiting the number of permitted applications and application and enforcement processes may cause additional delays or rejections when trying to obtain visas. Delays in obtaining visas or other work authorizations may delay the ability of our personnel to travel to meet with and provide services to our clients or to continue to provide services on a timely basis. In addition, the availability of a sufficient number of visas without significant additional costs could limit our ability to provide services to our clients on a timely and cost-effective basis or manage our sales and delivery centers as efficiently as we otherwise could. Delays in or the unavailability of visas and work permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. 15 15 15 15 15 15 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents --- ## Modified: Our stock price is volatile. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "Furthermore, to the extent that our stock price reflects future growth and profitability expectations, failure to meet these expectations will cause our stock price to significantly decline." - Removed sentence: "22 22 22 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents" **Prior (2025):** Our common stock has experienced substantial price volatility as a result of variations between our actual and anticipated financial results, announcements by our competitors, third parties, or us, projections or speculation about our business or that of our competitors or industry by the media or investment analysts, geopolitical events or uncertainty about inflation or other current global economic conditions. The stock market, as a whole, has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many technology companies in ways that may have been unrelated to these companies' operating performance. Furthermore, we believe our stock price should reflect future growth and profitability expectations and, if we fail to meet these expectations, our stock price may significantly decline. Expense related to our liability-classified restricted stock units, which are subject to mark-to-market accounting, and the calculation of the weighted average diluted shares outstanding in accordance with the treasury method are both affected by our stock price. Any fluctuations in the price of our stock will affect our future operating results. 22 22 22 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents **Current (2026):** Our common stock has experienced substantial price volatility as a result of variations between our actual and anticipated financial results, announcements by our competitors, third parties, or us, projections or speculation about our business or that of our competitors or industry by the media or investment analysts, geopolitical events or uncertainty about inflation or other current global economic conditions. The stock market, as a whole, has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many technology companies in ways that may have been unrelated to these companies' operating performance. Furthermore, to the extent that our stock price reflects future growth and profitability expectations, failure to meet these expectations will cause our stock price to significantly decline. Expense related to our liability-classified restricted stock units, which are subject to mark-to-market accounting, and the calculation of the weighted average diluted shares outstanding in accordance with the treasury method are both affected by our stock price. Any fluctuations in the price of our stock will affect our future operating results. --- ## Modified: If we are unable to keep pace with the adoption and use of AI technology in our business and effectively implement AI in our workforce planning and deployment, we could become less competitive in our industry. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "We have been incorporating AI into our products, services, and business, both due to client demand and because we expect that integrating AI into our services is a competitive requirement in a rapidly evolving market." - Reworded sentence: "If we are unable or slow to develop, adopt, and deploy AI technologies in our business, we will not remain competitive in our industry, and the growth we are expecting to realize from AI-related services may not materialize." **Prior (2025):** We have been incorporating AI, and particularly generative AI, into our products, services, and business, both due to client demand and because we expect that integrating generative AI into our services is a competitive requirement in a rapidly evolving market. We have made significant investments to build and support AI capabilities, products, and services to meet clients' needs and remain competitive in our industry and expect to make additional investments in the future. If we are unable or slow to develop, adopt, and deploy generative AI technologies in our business, we will not remain competitive against our industry peers. Generative AI technologies have changed how we identify, recruit, hire, retain, and efficiently utilize our professionals and are changing how we can charge for their services. Our clients have asked, and may come to expect, that we use generative AI along with human delivery personnel to develop software for them at comparatively lower costs than software developed solely by our human delivery personnel. As we plan, develop, and implement changes to our delivery model to balance those services that can only be performed by humans against those that can be performed leveraging generative AI, we may have insufficient or excess delivery personnel than we require to meet client demand. Clients may be unwilling to pay rates for human delivery personnel if they perceive that the same services can be performed less expensively by generative AI and may seek other service providers or expect price concessions to retain their business, which could adversely affect our financial results. **Current (2026):** We have been incorporating AI into our products, services, and business, both due to client demand and because we expect that integrating AI into our services is a competitive requirement in a rapidly evolving market. We have made significant investments to build and support AI capabilities, products, and services to meet clients' needs and remain competitive in our industry and expect to make additional investments in the future. If we are unable or slow to develop, adopt, and deploy AI technologies in our business, we will not remain competitive in our industry, and the growth we are expecting to realize from AI-related services may not materialize. AI technologies have changed how we identify, recruit, hire, retain, and efficiently utilize our professionals and are changing how we perform and charge for services. Our clients have asked, and may come to expect, that we use AI along with human delivery personnel to develop software for them at comparatively lower costs than software developed solely by our human delivery personnel. If comparable services can be performed less expensively using AI, clients may seek other service providers or expect price concessions to retain their business, which could adversely affect our financial results. As we plan, develop, and implement changes to our delivery model to balance those services that can only be performed by humans against those that can be performed by leveraging AI, we may have insufficient or excess delivery personnel than required by client demand. --- *Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Last updated 2026-05-10.*