ON Semiconductor Corporation: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

We routinely collect and store sensitive data, including confidential and other proprietary information about our business and our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is important to our operations and business strategy. We have experienced and expect to continue to experience disruptions, failures or breaches of our information technology environment, such as those caused by computer viruses, illegal hacking, criminal fraud or impersonation, acts of vandalism or terrorism or employee error. Our cybersecurity measures and/or those of our third-party service providers and/or customers may not detect or prevent such security breaches. Although we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business as of the year ended December 31, 2024, we continue to devote resources to reduce the risk of or alleviate cybersecurity breaches and vulnerabilities and those costs could be significant. Although we maintain a cybersecurity program to manage cybersecurity risks, our efforts may not be successful and could result in interruptions and delays that may materially impede our sales, manufacturing operations, distribution or other critical functions. Any compromise of our information security could result in the misappropriation or unauthorized publication of our confidential business or proprietary information or that of other parties with which we do business, an interruption in our operations, the unauthorized transfer of cash or other of our assets, the unauthorized release of customer or employee data or a violation of privacy or other laws. In addition, computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products, or that otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities, and any such attack, if successful, could expose us to liability to customer claims. Further, AI capabilities may be used to identify vulnerabilities and craft increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks. Any of the foregoing could irreparably damage our reputation and business, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We maintain cyber risk insurance, although an insufficiency of insurance coverage could adversely affect our cash flows and overall profitability. Furthermore, our efforts to comply with evolving laws and regulations related to cybersecurity may be costly and any failure to comply could result in investigations, proceedings, investor lawsuits and reputational damage.

We routinely collect and store sensitive data, including confidential and other proprietary information about our business and our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is important to our operations and business strategy. We have experienced and expect to continue to experience disruptions, failures or breaches of our information technology environment, such as those caused by computer viruses, illegal 21 21 21 21 21 21 hacking, criminal fraud or impersonation, acts of vandalism or terrorism or employee error. Our cyber-security measures and/or those of our third-party service providers and/or customers may not detect or prevent such security breaches. Although we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents impacting us directly that have been material to us as of the year ended December 31, 2023, we continue to devote resources to reduce the risk of or alleviate cyber-security breaches and vulnerabilities and those costs could be significant. Our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions and delays that may materially impede our sales, manufacturing operations, distribution or other critical functions. Any compromise of our information security could result in the misappropriation or unauthorized publication of our confidential business or proprietary information or that of other parties with which we do business, an interruption in our operations, the unauthorized transfer of cash or other of our assets, the unauthorized release of customer or employee data or a violation of privacy or other laws. In addition, computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products, or that otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities, and any such attack, if successful, could expose us to liability to customer claims. Further, AI capabilities may be used to identify vulnerabilities and craft increasingly sophisticated cyber-security attacks. Any of the foregoing could irreparably damage our reputation and business, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We maintain cyber risk insurance, although an insufficiency of insurance coverage could adversely affect our cash flows and overall profitability. Furthermore, our efforts to comply with evolving laws and regulations related to cybersecurity, such as the recently enacted SEC rules requiring disclosure of a material cybersecurity incident, may be costly and any failure to comply could result in investigations, proceedings, investor lawsuits and reputational damage.

We conduct operations worldwide through our foreign subsidiaries and are, therefore, subject to complex income tax and transfer pricing regulations in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Changes to, or interpretations of, tax legislation or regulations could significantly increase our effective tax rate or affect our tax obligations and ultimately reduce our cash flow from operating activities. In addition, other factors or events, such as changes to our operating structure, strategy and investment decisions, could also increase our future effective tax rate or affect our tax obligations and ultimately reduce our cash flow from operating activities. Changes in tax laws from international and domestic initiatives, such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's base erosion and profit shifting project and potential U.S. tax reforms, could adversely affect our future reported results of operations or the way we conduct our business. Most of our income is taxable in the United States with a significant portion qualifying for preferential treatment as foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”). Beginning in 2026, the effective rate for FDII increases from 13% to 16%. Additionally, if U.S. rates increase and/or the FDII deduction is eliminated or reduced, our provision for income taxes, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely (potentially materially) affected. Furthermore, if our customers move manufacturing operations to the United States, our FDII deduction may be reduced. These types of initiatives and changes, if adopted or enacted, may increase tax uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes, which could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the impact of any new tax legislation may differ from our estimates, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations and assumptions we have made and future regulatory guidance.

We conduct operations worldwide through our foreign subsidiaries and are, therefore, subject to complex income tax and transfer pricing regulations in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Changes to, or interpretations of, tax legislation or regulations could significantly increase our effective tax rate and ultimately reduce our cash flow from operating activities. In addition, other factors or events, such as changes to our operating structure, strategy and investment decisions, could also increase our future effective tax rate and ultimately reduce our cash flow from operating activities. Tax rules may change in a manner that adversely affects our future reported results of operations or the way we conduct our business. Most of our income is taxable in the United States with a significant portion qualifying for preferential treatment as foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”). Beginning in 2026, the effective rate for FDII increases from 13% to 16%. Further, if U.S. rates increase and/or the FDII deduction is eliminated or reduced, our provision for income taxes, results of operations and cash flows would be adversely (potentially materially) affected. Also, if our customers move manufacturing operations to the United States, our FDII deduction may be reduced. Further changes in tax laws of foreign jurisdictions could arise as a result of the base erosion and profit shifting project that was undertaken by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”). For example, the OECD continues to advance proposals for modernizing international tax rules, including the introduction of global minimum tax standards. These changes, if adopted by countries, may increase tax uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes, which could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the impact of any new tax legislation may differ from our estimates, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations and assumptions the Company has made and future regulatory guidance.

We may from time to time be subject to claims that we may be infringing the IP rights of others. If necessary or desirable, we may seek licenses under such IP rights. However, we cannot assure you that we will obtain such licenses or that the terms of any offered licenses will be acceptable to us. The failure to obtain a license from a third party for IP we use could cause us to incur substantial liabilities or to suspend the manufacture or shipment of products or our use of processes requiring such technologies. Further, we may be subject to IP litigation, which could cause us to incur significant expense, materially adversely affect sales of the challenged product or technologies and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, whether or not such litigation is resolved in our favor. In the event of an adverse outcome or pursuant to the terms of a settlement of any such litigation, we may be required to: pay substantial damages or settlement costs; indemnify customers or distributors; cease the manufacture, use, sale or importation of infringing products; expend significant resources to develop or acquire non-infringing technologies; discontinue the use of certain processes; or obtain licenses, which may not be available on reasonable terms, to continue the use, development and/or sale of the allegedly infringing technologies. The outcome of IP litigation is inherently uncertain and, if not resolved in our favor, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may from time to time be subject to claims that we may be infringing the IP rights of others. If necessary or desirable, we may seek licenses under such IP rights. However, we cannot assure you that we will obtain such licenses or that the terms of any offered licenses will be acceptable to us. The failure to obtain a license from a third party for IP we use could cause us to incur substantial liabilities or to suspend the manufacture or shipment of products or our use of processes requiring such technologies. Further, we may be subject to IP litigation, which could cause us to incur significant expense, materially adversely affect sales of the challenged product or technologies and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, whether or not such litigation is resolved in our favor. In the event of an adverse outcome or pursuant to the terms of a settlement of any such litigation, we may be required to: pay substantial damages or settlement costs; indemnify customers or distributors; cease the manufacture, use, sale or importation of infringing products; expend significant resources to develop or acquire non-infringing technologies; discontinue the use of certain processes; or obtain licenses, which may not be available on reasonable terms, to continue the use, development and/or sale of the allegedly infringing technologies. The outcome of IP litigation is inherently uncertain and, if not resolved in our favor, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have made, and may continue to make, strategic acquisitions, investments and other alliances including the formation of joint ventures that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Successful acquisitions and alliances in our industry require, among other things, efficient integration and aligning of product offerings and manufacturing operations and coordination of sales and marketing and research and development efforts, often in markets or regions in which we have less experience. Risks related to successful integration of an acquisition include, but are not limited to: (1) the ability to integrate information technology and other systems; (2) issues not discovered in our due diligence; (3) customers responding by changing their existing business relationships with us or the acquired company; (4) diversion of management’s attention from our day to day operations; and (5) loss of key employees post-integration. In addition, we may incur unexpected costs or taxes resulting from the acquisition or integration of the newly acquired business. Missteps or delays in integrating our acquisitions, which could be caused by factors outside of our control, or our failure to realize the expected benefits of the acquisitions on the timeline we anticipate, could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Depending on the level of our ownership interest in and the extent to which we can exercise control over the acquired business, we may be required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and SEC rules and regulations to consolidate newly acquired businesses into our consolidated financial statements. The acquired businesses may not have independent audited financial statements or statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, or the acquired businesses may have financial controls and systems that are not compatible with our financial controls and systems, any of which could materially impair our ability to properly integrate such businesses into our consolidated financial statements on a timely basis. Any revisions to, inaccuracies in or restatements of our consolidated financial statements due to accounting for our acquisitions could have a material adverse effect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have made, and may continue to make, strategic acquisitions (including the acquisition of EFK and the acquisition of GTAT, a producer of SiC-based products and technology) and alliances that involve significant risks and uncertainties. Successful acquisitions and alliances in our industry require, among other things, efficient integration and aligning of product offerings and manufacturing operations and coordination of sales and marketing and research and development efforts, often in markets or regions in which we have less experience. Risks related to successful integration of an acquisition include, but are not limited to: (1) the ability to integrate information technology and other systems; (2) issues not discovered in our due diligence; (3) customers responding by changing their existing business relationships with us or the acquired company; (4) diversion of management’s attention from our day to day operations; and (5) loss of key employees post-integration. In addition, we may incur unexpected costs or taxes resulting from the acquisition or integration of the newly acquired business. Missteps or delays in integrating our acquisitions, which could be caused by factors outside of our control, or our failure to realize the expected benefits of the acquisitions on the timeline we anticipate, could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Depending on the level of our ownership interest in and the extent to which we can exercise control over the acquired business, we may be required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and SEC rules and regulations to consolidate newly acquired businesses into our consolidated financial statements. The acquired businesses may not have independent audited financial statements or statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, or the acquired businesses may have financial controls and systems that are not compatible with our financial controls and systems, any of which could materially impair our ability to properly integrate such businesses into our consolidated financial statements on a timely basis. Any revisions to, inaccuracies in or restatements of our consolidated financial statements due to accounting for our acquisitions could have a 27 27 27 27 27 27 material adverse effect our financial condition and results of operations.