We have approximately $9,442 million of borrowings outstanding as of December 31, 2023, and we may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Our existing debt, together with any additional indebtedness that we may incur, could have important consequences, including, but not limited to:
- requiring a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make principal and interest payments;
- making it more difficult to satisfy other obligations;
- reducing the cash flows available to fund capital expenditures and other corporate purposes and to grow our business;
- increasing the risk of a future credit ratings downgrade of our debt, which could increase future debt costs and limit the future availability of debt financing;
- increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
- limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and
- limiting our ability to borrow additional funds as needed to take advantage of business opportunities as they arise, pay cash dividends, or repurchase our common stock.
The debt instruments that compromise our indebtedness may contain restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. To the extent that we incur additional indebtedness, the risks described above could increase.
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, as well as any future debt that we may incur, will depend on our ability to generate cash from operations, financings, or asset sales. Our ability to generate cash is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. Additionally, a substantial portion of our total consolidated cash is held overseas and may not be efficiently accessible to fund our debt obligations, which are primarily held in the United States.