Palo Alto Networks Inc.: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

The enterprise security industry has grown quickly and continues to evolve rapidly. Moreover, many of our end-customers operate in markets characterized by rapidly changing technologies and business plans, which require them to add numerous network access points and adapt increasingly complex enterprise networks, incorporating a variety of hardware, software applications, operating systems, and networking protocols. If we fail to effectively anticipate, identify, and respond to rapidly evolving technological and market developments in a timely manner, our business will be harmed. In order to anticipate and respond effectively to rapid technological changes and market developments, as well as evolving security threats, we must invest effectively in research and development to increase the reliability, availability, and scalability of our existing products and subscriptions and introduce new products and subscriptions. Our investments in research and development, including investments in AI, may not result in design or performance improvements, marketable products, subscriptions, or features, or may not achieve the cost savings or additional revenue that we expect. In addition, new and evolving products and services, including those that use AI, require significant investment and raise ethical, technological, legal, regulatory, and other challenges, which may negatively affect our brands and demand for our products and services. Because all of these investment areas are inherently risky, no assurance can be given that such strategies and offerings will be successful or will not harm our reputation, financial condition, and operating results. In addition, we must continually change our products and expand our business strategy in response to changes in network infrastructure requirements, including the expanding use of cloud computing. For example, organizations are moving portions of their data to be managed by third parties, primarily infrastructure, platform, and application service providers, and may rely on such providers’ internal security measures. While we have historically been successful in developing, acquiring, and marketing new products and product enhancements that respond to technological change and evolving industry standards, we may not be able to continue to do so, and there can be no assurance that our new or future offerings will be successful or will achieve widespread market acceptance. If we fail to accurately predict and address end-customers’ changing needs and emerging technological trends in the enterprise security industry, including in the areas of AI, mobility, virtualization, cloud computing, and software-defined networks, our business could be harmed. The technology in our portfolio is especially complex because it needs to effectively identify and respond to new and increasingly sophisticated methods of attack, while minimizing the impact on network performance. Additionally, some of our new features and related enhancements may require us to develop new hardware architectures that involve complex, expensive, and time-consuming research and development processes. The development of our portfolio is difficult and the timetable for commercial release and availability is uncertain as there can be long time periods between releases and availability of new features. If we experience unanticipated delays in the availability of new products, features, and subscriptions, and fail to meet customer expectations for such availability, our competitive position and business prospects will be harmed. The success of new features depends on several factors, including appropriate new product definition, differentiation of new products, subscriptions, and features from those of our competitors, and market acceptance of these products, services, and features. Moreover, successful new product introduction and transition depends on a number of factors, including our ability to manage the risks associated with new product production ramp-up issues, the availability of application software for new products, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory, the availability of products in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, and the risk that new products may have quality or other defects or deficiencies, especially in the early stages of introduction. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify opportunities for new products and subscriptions, develop and bring new products and subscriptions to market in a timely manner, achieve market acceptance of our products and subscriptions, or that products, subscriptions, and technologies developed by others will not render our products, subscriptions, and technologies obsolete or noncompetitive.

The enterprise security industry has grown quickly and is expected to continue to evolve rapidly. Moreover, many of our end-customers operate in markets characterized by rapidly changing technologies and business plans, which require them to add numerous network access points and adapt increasingly complex enterprise networks, incorporating a variety of hardware, software applications, operating systems, and networking protocols. We must continually change our products and expand our business strategy in response to changes in network infrastructure requirements, including the expanding use of cloud computing. For example, organizations are moving portions of their data to be managed by third parties, primarily infrastructure, platform and application service providers, and may rely on such providers’ internal security measures. While we have historically been successful in developing, acquiring, and marketing new products and product enhancements that respond to technological change and evolving industry standards, we may not be able to continue to do so, and there can be no assurance that our new or future offerings will be successful or will achieve widespread market acceptance. If we fail to accurately predict end-customers’ changing needs and emerging technological trends in the enterprise security industry, including in the areas of mobility, virtualization, cloud computing, and software defined networks (“SDN”), our business could be harmed. In addition, COVID-19 and the resulting increase in customer demand for work-from-home technologies and other technologies have caused us to reprioritize our engineering and R&D efforts and there can be no assurance that any product enhancements or new features will be successful or address our end-customer needs. The technology in our portfolio is especially complex because it needs to effectively identify and respond to new and increasingly sophisticated methods of attack, while minimizing the impact on network performance. Additionally, some of our new features and related enhancements may require us to develop new hardware architectures that involve complex, expensive, and time-consuming research and development processes. The development of our portfolio is difficult and the timetable for commercial release and availability is uncertain as there can be long time periods between releases and availability of new features. If we experience unanticipated delays in the availability of new products, features and subscriptions, and fail to meet customer expectations for such availability, our competitive position and business prospects will be harmed. Additionally, we must commit significant resources to developing new features and new cloud security, AI/analytics and other offerings before knowing whether our investments will result in products, subscriptions, and features the market will accept. The success of new features depends on several factors, including appropriate new product definition, differentiation of new products, subscriptions, and features from those of our competitors, and market acceptance of these products, services and features. Moreover, successful new product introduction and transition depends on a number of factors, including our ability to manage the risks associated with new product production ramp-up issues, the availability of application software for new products, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory, the availability of products in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, and the risk that new products may have quality or other defects or deficiencies, especially in the early stages of introduction. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify opportunities for new products and subscriptions, develop and bring new products and subscriptions to market in a timely manner, or achieve market acceptance of our products and subscriptions, including our product enhancement efforts in connection with COVID-19, or that products, subscriptions, and technologies developed by others will not render our products, subscriptions, or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. - 24 - - 24 - - 24 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

Our income tax obligations are based in part on our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements, including the manner in which we develop, value, and use our intellectual property and the valuations of our intercompany transactions. The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and various other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and certain jurisdictions may aggressively interpret their laws, regulations, and policies, including in an effort to raise additional tax revenue. The tax authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for valuing developed or acquired technology or determining the proper charges for intercompany arrangements, which could increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and operating results. Some tax authorities of jurisdictions other than the United States may seek to assert extraterritorial taxing rights on our transactions or operations. It is possible that domestic or international tax authorities may subject us to tax examinations, or audits, and such tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken, and any adverse outcome of such an examination, review or audit could result in additional tax liabilities and penalties and otherwise have a negative effect on our financial position and operating results. Further, the determination of our worldwide provision for or benefit from income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment by management, and there are transactions where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded on our consolidated financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made. In addition, our future income tax obligations could be adversely affected by changes in, or interpretations of, tax laws, regulations, policies, or decisions in the United States or in the other jurisdictions in which we operate.

Our income tax obligations are based in part on our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements, including the manner in which we develop, value, and use our intellectual property and the valuations of our intercompany transactions. The tax laws applicable to our business, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation and certain jurisdictions may aggressively interpret their laws in an effort to raise additional tax revenue. The tax authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and operating results. It is possible that tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken, and any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could have a negative effect on our financial position and operating results. Further, the determination of our worldwide provision for or benefit from income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment by management, and there are transactions where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded on our consolidated financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made. In addition, our future income tax obligations could be adversely affected by changes in, or interpretations of, tax laws in the United States or in other jurisdictions in which we operate. - 34 - - 34 - - 34 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

Subscription and support revenue accounts for a significant portion of our revenue, comprising 77.1% of total revenue in fiscal 2023, 75.2% of total revenue in fiscal 2022, and 73.7% of total revenue in fiscal 2021. Sales and renewals of subscription and support contracts may decline and fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including end-customers’ level of satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, the frequency and severity of subscription outages, our product uptime or latency, the prices of our products and subscriptions, and reductions in our end-customers’ spending levels. Existing end-customers have no contractual obligation to, and may not, renew their subscription and support contracts after the completion of their initial contract period. Additionally, our end-customers may renew their subscription and support agreements for shorter contract lengths or on other terms that are less economically beneficial to us. If our sales of new or renewal subscription and support contracts decline, our total revenue and revenue growth rate may decline, and our business will suffer. In addition, because we recognize subscription and support revenue over the term of the relevant service period, which is typically one to five years, a decline in subscription or support contracts in any one fiscal quarter will not be fully or immediately reflected in revenue in that fiscal quarter but will negatively affect our revenue in future fiscal quarters.

Subscription and support revenue accounts for a significant portion of our revenue, comprising 75.2% of total revenue in fiscal 2022, 73.7% of total revenue in fiscal 2021, and 68.8% of total revenue in fiscal 2020. Sales of new or renewal subscription and support contracts may decline and fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including end-customers’ level of satisfaction with our products and subscriptions (including newly integrated products and services), the prices of our products and subscriptions, the prices of products and services offered by our competitors, and reductions in our end-customers’ spending levels. If our sales of new or renewal subscription and support contracts decline, our total revenue and revenue growth rate may decline, and our business will suffer. In addition, we recognize subscription and support revenue over the term of the relevant service period, which is typically one to five years. As a result, much of the subscription and support revenue we report each fiscal quarter is the recognition of deferred revenue from subscription and support contracts entered into during previous fiscal quarters. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed subscription or support contracts in any one fiscal quarter will not be fully or immediately reflected in revenue in that fiscal quarter but will negatively affect our revenue in future fiscal quarters. Also, it is difficult for us to rapidly increase our subscription and support revenue through additional subscription and support sales in any period, as revenue from new and renewal subscription and support contracts must be recognized over the applicable service period. - 22 - - 22 - - 22 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

In June 2020, we issued our 2025 Notes (the “2025 Notes”). We will need to make cash payments (a) if holders of our 2025 Notes require us to repurchase all, or a portion of, their 2025 Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (e.g., a change of control of Palo Alto Networks, Inc.) before the maturity date, (b) upon conversion of our 2025 Notes, or (c) to repay our 2025 Notes in cash at their maturity unless earlier converted or repurchased. Effective August 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023, all of the 2025 Notes are convertible. If all of the note holders decided to convert their 2025 Notes, we would be obligated to pay the $2.0 billion principal amount of the 2025 Notes in cash. Under the terms of the 2025 Notes, we also have the option to settle the amount of our conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the 2025 Notes in cash or shares of our common stock. If our cash provided by operating activities, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents, and investments, and existing sources of financing, are inadequate to satisfy these obligations, we will need to obtain third-party financing, which may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, to meet these payment obligations. In addition, our ability to repurchase or to pay cash upon conversion of our 2025 Notes may be limited by law, regulatory authority, or agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase our 2025 Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the applicable indenture governing such 2025 Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of such 2025 Notes as required by the applicable indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the applicable indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our future indebtedness. If the payment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase our 2025 Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of our 2025 Notes.

In July 2018 we issued our 2023 Notes (the “2023 Notes”) and in June 2020 we issued our 2025 Notes (the “2025 Notes,” together with the “2023 Notes,” the “Notes”). We will need to make cash payments (1) if holders of our Notes require us to repurchase all or a portion of their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (e.g., a change of control of Palo Alto Networks, Inc.) before the maturity date, (2) upon conversion of our Notes, or (3) to repay our Notes in cash at their maturity, unless earlier converted or repurchased. Effective August 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022, all of the 2023 Notes and 2025 Notes are convertible. If all of the Noteholders decided to convert their Notes, we would be obligated to pay the $3.7 billion principal amount of the Notes in cash. Under the terms of the Notes, we also have the option to settle the amount of our conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes in cash or shares of our common stock. If our cash provided by operating activities, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, and existing sources of financing, are inadequate to satisfy these obligations, we will need to obtain third-party financing, which may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, to meet these payment obligations. In addition, our ability to repurchase or to pay cash upon conversion of our Notes may be limited by law, regulatory authority or agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase our Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the applicable indenture governing such Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of such Notes as required by the applicable indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the applicable indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our future indebtedness. If the payment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase our Notes or to pay cash upon conversion of our Notes.

We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new features to enhance our portfolio, improve our operating infrastructure, or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we engage in future debt financings, the holders of such additional debt would have priority over the holders of our common stock. Current and future indebtedness may also contain terms that, among other things, restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness. In addition, we may be required to take other actions that would otherwise be in the interests of the debt holders and would require us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios, any of which could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired, and our business may be adversely affected. - 34 - - 34 - - 34 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new features to enhance our portfolio, improve our operating infrastructure, or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional equity or equity-linked financing, our stockholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the market price of our common stock could decline. Any conversion of the outstanding Notes into common stock will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of such Notes. See the risk factor entitled “The issuance of additional stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our stock incentive plans, the conversion of our Notes or exercise of the related Warrants, or otherwise will dilute all other stockholders.” The holders of our Notes have priority over holders of our common stock, and if we engage in future debt financings, the holders of such additional debt would also have priority over the holders of our common stock. Current and future indebtedness may also contain terms that, among other things, restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness. We may also be required to take other actions that would otherwise be in the interests of the debt holders and would require us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios, any of which could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired, and our business may be adversely affected. - 39 - - 39 - - 39 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

In connection with the sale of our 2025 Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge transactions (the “2025 Note Hedges”) with certain counterparties. In connection with each such sale of the 2025 Notes, we also entered into warrant transactions with the counterparties pursuant to which we sold warrants (the “2025 Warrants”) for the purchase of our common stock. In addition, we also entered into warrant transactions in connection with our 2023 Notes (together with the 2025 Warrants, the “Warrants”). The Note Hedges for our 2025 Notes are generally expected to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of our 2025 Notes. The Warrants could separately have a dilutive effect to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds the applicable strike price of the Warrants unless, subject to certain conditions, we elect to cash settle such Warrants. The applicable counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the outstanding 2025 Notes (and are likely to do so during any applicable observation period related to a conversion of our 2025 Notes). This activity could also cause or prevent an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or our 2025 Notes, which could affect a note holder’s ability to convert its 2025 Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of our 2025 Notes, it could affect the amount and value of the consideration that the note holder will receive upon conversion of our 2025 Notes. We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our 2025 Notes or our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the counterparties or their respective affiliates will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

In connection with the sale of our 2023 Notes and 2025 Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge transactions (the “Note Hedges”) with certain counterparties. In connection with each such sale of the Notes, we also entered into warrant transactions with the counterparties pursuant to which we sold warrants (the “Warrants”) for the purchase of our common stock. The Note Hedges for our 2023 Notes and 2025 Notes are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of our Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of any such converted Notes. The Warrants could separately have a dilutive effect to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds the applicable strike price of the Warrants unless, subject to certain conditions, we elect to cash settle such Warrants. The applicable counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the outstanding Notes (and are likely to do so during any applicable observation period related to a conversion of our Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or our Notes, which could affect a note holder’s ability to convert its Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of our Notes, it could affect the amount and value of the consideration that the note holder will receive upon conversion of our Notes. We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our Notes or our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the counterparties or their respective affiliates will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

We depend on manufacturing partners, primarily our EMS provider, Flex, to manufacture our hardware product lines. Our reliance on these manufacturing partners reduces our control over the manufacturing process and exposes us to risks, including reduced control over quality assurance, product costs, product supply, timing, and transportation risk. Our hardware products are manufactured by our manufacturing partners at facilities located primarily in the United States. Some of the components in our products are sourced either through Flex or directly by us from component suppliers outside the United States. The portion of our hardware products that are sourced outside the United States may subject us to geopolitical risks, additional logistical risks or risks associated with complying with local rules and regulations in foreign countries. - 25 - - 25 - - 25 - Table of Contents Table of Contents Significant changes to existing international trade agreements could lead to sourcing or logistics disruption resulting from import delays or the imposition of increased tariffs on our sourcing partners. For example, the United States and Chinese governments have each enacted, and discussed additional, import tariffs. Some components that we import for final manufacturing in the United States have been impacted by these tariffs. As a result, our costs have increased and we have raised, and may be required to further raise, prices on our hardware products, all of which could severely impair our ability to fulfill orders. Our manufacturing partners typically fulfill our supply requirements on the basis of individual purchase orders. We do not have long-term contracts with these manufacturers that guarantee capacity, the continuation of particular pricing terms, or the extension of credit limits. Accordingly, they are not obligated to continue to fulfill our supply requirements and the prices we pay for manufacturing services could be increased on short notice. Our contract with Flex permits them to terminate the agreement for their convenience, subject to prior notice requirements. If we are required to change manufacturing partners, our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers could be adversely affected, which could cause the loss of sales to existing or potential end-customers, delayed revenue or an increase in our costs which could adversely affect our gross margins. Any production interruptions for any reason, such as a natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, capacity shortages, or quality problems at one of our manufacturing partners would negatively affect sales of our product lines manufactured by that manufacturing partner and adversely affect our business and operating results.

We depend on manufacturing partners, primarily our electronics manufacturing service provider (“EMS provider”) Flex, to manufacture our hardware product lines. Our reliance on these manufacturing partners reduces our control over the manufacturing process and exposes us to risks, including reduced control over quality assurance, product costs, product supply, timing and transportation risk. Our products are manufactured by our manufacturing partners at facilities located primarily in the United States. Some of the components in our products are sourced either through Flex or directly by us from component suppliers outside the United States. The portion of our products that are sourced outside the United States may subject us to additional logistical risks (which may increase due to the global impact of COVID-19) or risks associated with complying with local rules and regulations in foreign countries. Significant changes to existing international trade agreements could lead to sourcing or logistics disruption resulting from import delays or the imposition of increased tariffs on our sourcing partners. For example, the United States and Chinese governments have each enacted, and discussed additional, import tariffs. These tariffs, depending on their ultimate scope and how they are implemented, could negatively impact our business by increasing our costs. For example, some components that we import for final manufacturing in the United States have been impacted by these recent tariffs. As a result, our costs have increased and we have raised, and may be required to further raise, prices on our hardware products. Each of these factors could severely impair our ability to fulfill orders. In addition, we are subject to requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) to conduct due diligence, disclose, and report whether or not our products contain minerals originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries, or conflict minerals. Although the SEC has provided guidance with respect to a portion of the conflict minerals filing requirements that may somewhat reduce our reporting practices, we have incurred and expect to incur additional costs to comply with these disclosure requirements, including costs related to determining the source of any of the relevant minerals and metals used in our products. These requirements could adversely affect the sourcing, availability, and pricing of minerals used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices or other components used in our products. We may also encounter end-customers who require that all of the components of our products be certified as conflict free. If we are not able to meet this requirement, such end-customers may choose not to purchase our products. Our manufacturing partners typically fulfill our supply requirements on the basis of individual purchase orders. We do not have long-term contracts with these manufacturers that guarantee capacity, the continuation of particular pricing terms, or the extension of credit limits. Accordingly, they are not obligated to continue to fulfill our supply requirements and the prices we pay for manufacturing services could be increased on short notice. Our contract with Flex permits them to terminate the agreement for their convenience, subject to prior notice requirements. If we are required to change manufacturing partners, our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers could be adversely affected, which could cause the loss of sales to existing or potential end-customers, delayed revenue or an increase in our costs which could adversely affect our gross margins. COVID-19 and the global semiconductor shortage have in certain cases caused delays and challenges in obtaining components and inventory, as well as increases to freight and shipping costs, and may result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Any production interruptions for any reason, such as a natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic such as COVID-19, capacity shortages, or quality problems at one of our manufacturing partners would negatively affect sales of our product lines manufactured by that manufacturing partner and adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following: •Our operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment. •Our business and operations have experienced growth in recent periods, and if we do not effectively manage any future growth or are unable to improve our systems, processes, and controls, our operating results could be adversely affected. •Our revenue growth rate in recent periods may not be indicative of our future performance, and we may not be able to maintain profitability, which could cause our business, financial condition, and operating results to suffer. •Our operating results may vary significantly from period to period, which makes our results difficult to predict and could cause our results to fall short of expectations, and such results may not be indicative of future performance. •Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our revenue. •If we are unable to sell new and additional product, subscription, and support offerings to our end-customers, especially to large enterprise customers, our future revenue and operating results will be harmed. •We rely on revenue from subscription and support offerings, and because we recognize revenue from subscription and support over the term of the relevant service period, downturns or upturns in sales or renewals of these subscription and support offerings are not immediately reflected in full in our operating results. •The sales prices of our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may decrease, which may reduce our revenue and gross profits and adversely impact our financial results. •We rely on our channel partners to sell substantially all of our products, including subscriptions and support, and if these channel partners fail to perform, our ability to sell and distribute our products and subscriptions will be limited and our operating results will be harmed. •We are exposed to the credit and liquidity risk of our customers, and to credit exposure in weakened markets, which could result in material losses. •A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks. •We face intense competition in our market and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position. •We may acquire other businesses, which could subject us to adverse claims or liabilities, require significant management attention, disrupt our business, adversely affect our operating results, may not result in the expected benefits of such acquisitions, and may dilute stockholder value. •If we do not accurately predict, prepare for, and respond promptly to rapidly evolving technological and market developments and successfully manage product and subscription introductions and transitions to meet changing end-customer needs in the enterprise security industry, our competitive position and prospects will be harmed. •Issues in the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) may result in reputational harm and legal liability and could adversely affect our results of operations. •A network or data security incident may allow unauthorized access to our network or data, harm our reputation, create additional liability, and adversely impact our financial results. •Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions, or support offerings, the failure of our products or subscriptions to block a virus or prevent a security breach or incident, misuse of our products, or risks of product liability claims could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operating results. •Our ability to sell our products and subscriptions is dependent on the quality of our technical support services and those of our channel partners, and the failure to offer high-quality technical support services could have a material adverse effect on our end-customers’ satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, our sales, and our operating results. •Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could harm our business. - 14 - - 14 - - 14 - Table of Contents Table of Contents •Our proprietary rights may be difficult to enforce or protect, which could enable others to copy or use aspects of our products or subscriptions without compensating us. •Our use of open source software in our products and subscriptions could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subscriptions and subject us to possible litigation. •We license technology from third parties, and our inability to maintain those licenses could harm our business. •Because we depend on manufacturing partners to build and ship our hardware products, we are susceptible to manufacturing and logistics delays and pricing fluctuations that could prevent us from shipping customer orders on time, if at all, or on a cost-effective basis, which may result in the loss of sales and end-customers. •Managing the supply of our hardware products and product components is complex. Insufficient supply and inventory would result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory would harm our gross margins. •Because some of the key components in our hardware products come from limited sources of supply, we are susceptible to supply shortages or supply changes, which, in certain cases, have disrupted or delayed our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers, increased our costs and may result in the loss of sales and end-customers. •If we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate our key technical, sales, and management personnel, our business could suffer. •We generate a significant amount of revenue from sales to distributors, resellers, and end-customers outside of the United States, and we are therefore subject to a number of risks associated with international sales and operations. •We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results. •We face risks associated with having operations and employees located in Israel. •We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets. •Our actual or perceived failure to adequately protect personal data could have a material adverse effect on our business. •We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities. •If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could fall below our publicly announced guidance or the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our common stock. •We are obligated to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting. We may not complete our analysis of our internal control over financial reporting in a timely manner, or our internal control may not be determined to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in our company and, as a result, the value of our common stock. •Our reputation and/or business could be negatively impacted by environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters and/or our reporting of such matters. •Failure to comply with governmental laws and regulations could harm our business. •We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle conversions of our Notes, repurchase our Notes upon a fundamental change, or repay our Notes in cash at their maturity, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion or repurchase of our Notes. •We may still incur substantially more debt or take other actions that would diminish our ability to make payments on our Notes when due. •The market price of our common stock historically has been volatile, and the value of an investment in our common stock could decline. •The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions may affect the value of our common stock. •The issuance of additional stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our stock incentive plans, the conversion of our Notes or exercise of the related Warrants, or otherwise will dilute stock held by all other stockholders. •We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that it will enhance shareholder value, and share repurchases could affect the price of our common stock. •We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. •Our charter documents and Delaware law, as well as certain provisions contained in the indentures governing our Notes, could discourage takeover attempts and lead to management entrenchment, which could also reduce the market price of our common stock. •Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, power outages, floods, health risks, and other catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made problems, such as terrorism. •Our failure to raise additional capital or generate the significant capital necessary to expand our operations and invest in new products and subscriptions could reduce our ability to compete and could harm our business. - 15 - - 15 - - 15 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following: •The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic could harm our business and results of operations. •Our business and operations have experienced growth in recent periods, and if we do not effectively manage any future growth or are unable to improve our systems, processes, and controls, our operating results could be adversely affected. •Our operating results may vary significantly from period to period and be unpredictable, which could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. •Our operating results may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic and market conditions and the uncertain geopolitical environment. •Our revenue growth rate in recent periods may not be indicative of our future performance. •We have a history of losses, anticipate increasing our operating expenses in the future, and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability or maintain or increase cash flow on a consistent basis, which could cause our business, financial condition, and operating results to suffer. •If we are unable to sell new and additional product, subscription, and support offerings to our end-customers, our future revenue and operating results will be harmed. •We face intense competition in our market and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position. •A network or data security incident may allow unauthorized access to our network or data, harm our reputation, create additional liability and adversely impact our financial results. •Reliance on shipments at the end of the quarter could cause our revenue for the applicable period to fall below expected levels. •Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our revenue. •If we are unable to hire, integrate, train, retain, and motivate qualified personnel and senior management, our business could suffer. •If we are not successful in executing our strategy to increase sales of our products, subscriptions and support offerings to new and existing enterprise end-customers, our operating results may suffer. •We rely on revenue from subscription and support offerings, and because we recognize revenue from subscription and support over the term of the relevant service period, downturns or upturns in sales of these subscription and support offerings are not immediately reflected in full in our operating results. •Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions, or support offerings, the failure of our products or subscriptions to block a virus or prevent a security breach or incident, misuse of our products, or risks of product liability claims could harm our reputation and adversely impact our operating results. •False detection of applications, viruses, spyware, vulnerability exploits, data patterns, or URL categories could adversely affect our business. •We rely on our channel partners to sell substantially all of our products, including subscriptions and support, and if these channel partners fail to perform, our ability to sell and distribute our products and subscriptions will be limited, and our operating results will be harmed. •If we do not accurately predict, prepare for, and respond promptly to rapidly evolving technological and market developments and successfully manage product and subscription introductions and transitions to meet changing end-customer needs in the enterprise security industry, our competitive position and prospects will be harmed. - 14 - - 14 - - 14 - Table of Contents Table of Contents •Our current research and development efforts may not produce successful products, subscriptions, or features that result in significant revenue, cost savings or other benefits in the near future, if at all. •We may acquire other businesses, which could subject us to adverse claims or liabilities, require significant management attention, disrupt our business, adversely affect our operating results, may not result in the expected benefits of such acquisitions and may dilute stockholder value. •Because we depend on manufacturing partners to build and ship our products, we are susceptible to manufacturing and logistics delays and pricing fluctuations that could prevent us from shipping customer orders on time, if at all, or on a cost-effective basis, which may result in the loss of sales and end-customers. •Managing the supply of our products and product components is complex. Insufficient supply and inventory would result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory would harm our gross margins. •Because some of the key components in our products come from limited sources of supply, we are susceptible to supply shortages or supply changes, which has disrupted or delayed our scheduled product deliveries to our end-customers, increase our costs and may result in the loss of sales and end-customers. •The sales prices of our products, subscriptions and support offerings may decrease, which may reduce our gross profits and adversely impact our financial results. •We generate a significant amount of revenue from sales to distributors, resellers, and end-customers outside of the United States, and we are therefore subject to a number of risks associated with international sales and operations. •We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results. •We are exposed to the credit and liquidity risk of some of our channel partners and end-customers, and to credit exposure in weakened markets, which could result in material losses. •A portion of our revenue is generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks. •Our ability to sell our products and subscriptions is dependent on the quality of our technical support services and those of our channel partners, and the failure to offer high-quality technical support services could have a material adverse effect on our end-customers’ satisfaction with our products and subscriptions, our sales, and our operating results. •Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could harm our business. •Our proprietary rights may be difficult to enforce or protect, which could enable others to copy or use aspects of our products or subscriptions without compensating us. •Our use of open source software in our products and subscriptions could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subscriptions and subject us to possible litigation. •We license technology from third parties, and our inability to maintain those licenses could harm our business. - 15 - - 15 - - 15 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

The market price of our common stock has historically been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control and unrelated to our business, operating results, or financial condition. These fluctuations could cause a loss of all or part of an investment in our common stock. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include, but are not limited to: •announcements of new products, subscriptions or technologies, commercial relationships, strategic partnerships, acquisitions, or other events by us or our competitors; •price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; •news announcements that affect investor perception of our industry, including reports related to the discovery of significant cyberattacks; •significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of technology companies in general and of companies in our industry; •fluctuations in the trading volume of our shares or the size of our public float; - 31 - - 31 - - 31 - Table of Contents Table of Contents •actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or fluctuations in our operating results; •whether our operating results meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors; •actual or anticipated changes in the expectations of securities analysts or investors, whether as a result of our forward-looking statements, our failure to meet such expectations or otherwise; •inaccurate or unfavorable research reports about our business and industry published by securities analysts or reduced coverage of our company by securities analysts; •litigation involving us, our industry, or both; •actions instituted by activist shareholders or others; •regulatory developments in the United States, foreign countries, or both; •major catastrophic events; •sales or repurchases of large blocks of our common stock or substantial future sales by our directors, executive officers, employees, and significant stockholders; •departures of key personnel; or •geopolitical or economic uncertainty around the world. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources from our business, and have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

The market price of our common stock has been volatile since our initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2012. The reported high and low sales prices of our common stock during the last 12 months have ranged from $367.21 to $640.90 per share, as measured through August 22, 2022. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate widely in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include: •announcements of new products, subscriptions or technologies, commercial relationships, strategic partnerships, acquisitions, or other events by us or our competitors; •price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; •news announcements that affect investor perception of our industry, including reports related to the discovery of significant cyberattacks; •significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of technology companies in general and of companies in our industry; •fluctuations in the trading volume of our shares or the size of our public float; •actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or fluctuations in our operating results; •whether our operating results meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors; •actual or anticipated changes in the expectations of securities analysts or investors, whether as a result of our forward- looking statements, our failure to meet such expectations or otherwise; •inaccurate or unfavorable research reports about our business and industry published by securities analysts or reduced coverage of our company by securities analysts; •litigation involving us, our industry, or both; •actions instituted by activist shareholders or others; •regulatory developments in the United States, foreign countries or both; •major catastrophic events, such as COVID-19; •sales or repurchases of large blocks of our common stock or substantial future sales by our directors, executive officers, employees and significant stockholders; •sales of our common stock by investors who view our Notes as a more attractive means of equity participation in us; •hedging or arbitrage trading activity involving our common stock as a result of the existence of our Notes; •departures of key personnel; or •economic uncertainty around the world. The market price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results, or financial condition and as a result of events that do not directly affect us. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources from our business. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. - 37 - - 37 - - 37 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional debt in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our debt instruments, some of which may be secured debt. We are not restricted under the terms of the indenture governing our Notes from incurring additional debt, securing existing or future debt, recapitalizing our debt or taking a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of such indenture governing our Notes that could have the effect of diminishing our ability to make payments on our Notes when due. While the terms of any future indebtedness we may incur could restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, any such restrictions will indirectly benefit holders of our Notes only to the extent any such indebtedness or credit facility is not repaid or does not mature while our Notes are outstanding.

Our hardware products rely on key components, including integrated circuit components, which our manufacturing partners purchase on our behalf from a limited number of component suppliers, including sole source providers. The manufacturing operations of some of our component suppliers are geographically concentrated in Asia and elsewhere, which makes our supply chain vulnerable to regional disruptions, such as natural disasters, fire, political instability, civil unrest, power outages, or health risks. In addition, we continue to experience supply chain disruption and have incurred increased costs resulting from inflationary pressures. We are also monitoring the tensions between China and Taiwan, and between the U.S. and China, which could have an adverse impact on our business or results of operations in future periods. Further, we do not have volume purchase contracts with any of our component suppliers, and they could cease selling to us at any time. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of these components in a timely manner for any reason, sales of our hardware products could be delayed or halted, or we could be forced to expedite shipment of such components or our hardware products at dramatically increased costs. Our component suppliers also change their selling prices frequently in response to market trends, including industry-wide increases in demand. Because we do not have, for the most part, volume purchase contracts with our component suppliers, we are susceptible to price fluctuations related to raw materials and components and may not be able to adjust our prices accordingly. Additionally, poor quality in any of the sole-sourced components in our products could result in lost sales or sales opportunities. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient volume of the necessary components for our hardware products on commercially reasonable terms or the quality of the components do not meet our requirements, we could also be forced to redesign our products and qualify new components from alternate component suppliers. The resulting stoppage or delay in selling our hardware products and the expense of redesigning our hardware products would result in lost sales opportunities and damage to customer relationships, which would adversely affect our business and operating results. - 26 - - 26 - - 26 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

Our products rely on key components, including integrated circuit components, which our manufacturing partners purchase on our behalf from a limited number of component suppliers, including sole source providers. The manufacturing operations of some of our component suppliers are geographically concentrated in Asia and elsewhere, which makes our supply chain vulnerable to regional disruptions, such as natural disasters, fire, political instability, civil unrest, a power outage, or health risks, such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, and as a result have impaired, and could impair in the future, the volume of components that we are able to obtain. Lead times for components have also been adversely impacted by factors outside of our control, including COVID-19 and the recent global shortage of semiconductors. For example, we have experienced, and could continue to experience, increased difficulties in obtaining a sufficient amount of materials in the semiconductor market, which could reduce our flexibility to react to product mix changes and unforecasted orders. In addition, we have experienced increased costs because of these shortages. Further, we do not have volume purchase contracts with any of our component suppliers, and they could cease selling to us at any time. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of these components in a timely manner for any reason, sales of our products could be delayed or halted, or we could be forced to expedite shipment of such components or our products at dramatically increased costs. Our component suppliers also change their selling prices frequently in response to market trends, including industry-wide increases in demand. Because we do not have, for the most part, volume purchase contracts with our component suppliers, we are susceptible to price fluctuations related to raw materials and components and may not be able to adjust our prices accordingly. Additionally, poor quality in any of the sole-sourced components in our products could result in lost sales or sales opportunities. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient volume of the necessary components for our products on commercially reasonable terms or the quality of the components do not meet our requirements, we could also be forced to redesign our products and qualify new components from alternate component suppliers. The resulting stoppage or delay in selling our products and the expense of redesigning our products would result in lost sales opportunities and damage to customer relationships, which would adversely affect our business and operating results.

The sales prices for our products, subscriptions, and support offerings may decline for a variety of reasons, including competitive pricing pressures, discounts, a change in our mix of products, subscriptions, and support offerings, anticipation of the introduction of new products, subscriptions, or support offerings, or promotional programs or pricing pressures. Furthermore, we anticipate that the sales prices and gross profits for our products could decrease over product life cycles. Declining sales prices could adversely affect our revenue, gross profits, and profitability.

The sales prices for our products, subscriptions and support offerings may decline for a variety of reasons, including competitive pricing pressures, discounts, a change in our mix of products, subscriptions and support offerings, anticipation of the introduction of new products, subscriptions or support offerings, or promotional programs or pricing pressures as a result of the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19. Competition continues to increase in the market segments in which we participate, and we expect competition to further increase in the future, thereby leading to increased pricing pressures. Larger competitors with more diverse product and service offerings may reduce the price of products or subscriptions that compete with ours or may bundle them with other products and subscriptions. Additionally, although we price our products, subscriptions and support offerings worldwide in U.S. dollars, currency fluctuations in certain countries and regions may negatively impact actual prices that channel partners and end-customers are willing to pay in those countries and regions. Furthermore, we anticipate that the sales prices and gross profits for our products could decrease over product life cycles. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in developing and introducing new offerings with enhanced functionality on a timely basis, or that our products, subscriptions and support offerings, if introduced, will enable us to maintain our prices and gross profits at levels that will allow us to achieve and maintain profitability.

A wide variety of laws and regulations apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer, and other processing of personal data in jurisdictions where we and our customers operate. Compliance with these laws and regulations is difficult and costly. These laws and regulations are also subject to frequent and unexpected changes, new or additional laws or regulations may be adopted, and rulings that invalidate prior laws or regulations may be issued. For example, we are subject to the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (“E.U. GDPR”) and the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation (‘U.K. GDPR,” and collectively the “GDPR”), both of which impose stringent data protection requirements, provide for costly penalties for noncompliance (up to the greater of (a) €20 million under the “E.U. GDPR” or £17.5 million under the “U.K. GDPR,” and (b) 4% of annual worldwide turnover), and confer the right upon data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations. The GDPR requires, among other things, that personal data be transferred outside of the E.U. (or, in the case of the U.K. GDPR, the U.K.) to the United States and other jurisdictions only where adequate safeguards are implemented or a derogation applies. In practice, we rely on standard contractual clauses approved under the GDPR to carry out such transfers and to receive personal data subject to the GDPR (directly or indirectly) in the United States. In the future, we may self-certify to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“EU-U.S. DPF”), which has been approved for transfers of personal data subject to the GDPR to the United States and requires public disclosures of adherence to data protection principles and the submission of jurisdiction to European regulatory authorities. Following the “Schrems II” decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, transfers of personal data to recipients in third countries are also subject to additional assessments and safeguards beyond the implementation of approved transfer mechanisms. The decision imposed a requirement for companies to carry out an assessment of the laws and practices governing access to personal data in the third country to ensure an essentially equivalent level of data protection to that afforded in the E.U. Among other effects, we may experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens, reduced demand for our offerings from current or prospective customers in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, and the U.K. (collectively, “Europe”) to use our products, on account of the risks identified in the Schrems II decision, and we may find it necessary or desirable to make further changes to our processing of personal data of European residents. The regulatory environment applicable to the handling of European residents’ personal data, and our actions taken in response, may cause us to assume additional liabilities or incur additional costs, including in the event we self-certify to the EU-U.S. DPF. Moreover, much like with Schrems II, we anticipate future legal challenges to the approved data transfer mechanisms between Europe and the United States, including a challenge to the EU-U.S. DPF. Such legal challenges could result in additional legal and regulatory risk, compliance costs, and in our business, operating results, and financial condition being harmed. Additionally, we and our customers may face risk of enforcement actions by data protection authorities in Europe relating to personal data transfers to us and by us from Europe. Any such enforcement actions could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, and distract management and technical personnel. These potential liabilities and enforcement actions could also have an overall negative affect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. We are also subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the “CCPA”). The CCPA requires, among other things, covered companies to provide enhanced disclosures to California consumers and to afford such consumers certain rights regarding their personal data, including the right to opt out of data sales for targeted advertising, and creates a private right of action to individuals affected by a data breach, if the breach was caused by a lack of reasonable security. The effects of the CCPA have been significant, requiring us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses for compliance. Moreover, additional state privacy laws have been passed and will require potentially substantial efforts to obtain compliance. These include laws enacted in at least ten states, which all go into effect by January 1, 2026. We may also from time to time be subject to obligations relating to personal data by contract, or face assertions that we are subject to self-regulatory obligations or industry standards. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are more regularly bringing enforcement actions in connection with federal and state consumer protection laws for false or deceptive acts or practices in relation to the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of personal data. Internationally, data localization laws may mandate that personal data collected in a foreign country be processed and stored within that country. New legislation affecting the scope of personal data and personal information where we or our customers and partners have operations, especially relating to classification of Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses, machine identification, AI, location data, and other information, may limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing or uses of data, and may require significant expenditures and efforts in order to comply. Notably, public perception of potential privacy, data protection, or information security concerns—whether or not valid—may harm our reputation and inhibit adoption of our products and subscriptions by current and future end-customers. Each of these laws and regulations, and any changes to these laws and regulations, or new laws and regulations, could impose significant limitations, or require changes to our business model or practices or growth strategy, which may increase our compliance expenses and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct. - 29 - - 29 - - 29 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

A wide variety of provincial, state, national, and international laws and regulations apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer, and other processing of personal data. These laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and security are evolving and being tested in courts and may result in ever-increasing regulatory and public scrutiny, as well as escalating levels of enforcement and sanctions. Further, the interpretation and application of foreign laws and regulations in many cases is uncertain, and our legal and regulatory obligations in foreign jurisdictions are subject to frequent and unexpected changes, including the potential for various regulatory or other governmental bodies to enact new or additional laws or regulations, to issue rulings that invalidate prior laws or regulations, or to increase penalties significantly. For example, the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (“E.U. GDPR”), which became effective in May 2018, imposes more stringent data protection requirements, provides for greater penalties for noncompliance than E.U. laws that previously applied (up to the greater of €20 million or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover), and confers a private right of action on data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations of the E.U. GDPR. The E.U. GDPR requires, among other things, that personal data only be transferred outside of the E.U. to the United States and other jurisdictions that the European Commission has not yet recognized as having “adequate” data protection laws (a “third country”), where a data transfer mechanism under the E.U. GDPR has been put in place. Historically, we have relied on the E.U.-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield programs, and the use of model contractual clauses approved by the E.U. Commission, to legitimize these transfers (also referred to as standard contractual clauses or SCCs). In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union in its “Schrems II” decision invalidated the E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield for purposes of transfers to the U.S. and imposed a requirement for companies to carry out an assessment of the laws and practices governing access to personal data in the third country to ensure an essentially equivalent level of data protection to that afforded in the E.U. Though we no longer rely on the Privacy Shield programs and instead employ model contractual clauses for personal data transfers, the Schrems II decision raises questions as to implications under European and UK law and adequate data protection in the United States. Among other effects, we may experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens, putting in place any additional data transfer mechanisms and new contract negotiations with third parties that aid in processing data on our behalf. We may experience reluctance or refusal by current or prospective customers in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, and the U.K. (collectively, “Europe”) to use our products, and we may find it necessary or desirable to make further changes to our handling of personal data of residents of Europe. The regulatory environment applicable to the handling of European residents’ personal data, and our actions taken in response, may cause us to assume additional liabilities or incur additional costs and could result in our business, operating results and financial condition being harmed. Additionally, we and our customers may face risk of enforcement actions by data protection authorities in Europe relating to personal data transfers to us and by us from Europe. Any such enforcement actions could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, distract management and technical personnel and negatively affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. - 32 - - 32 - - 32 - Table of Contents Table of Contents Following the withdrawal of the U.K. from the E.U. (i.e., Brexit), and the expiry of the Brexit transition period, which ended on December 31, 2020, the E.U. GDPR has been implemented in the U.K. (as the “U.K. GDPR”). The U.K. GDPR sits alongside the U.K. Data Protection Act 2018, which implements certain derogations in the E.U. GDPR into English law. The requirements of the U.K. GDPR, which are (at this time) largely aligned with those under the E.U. GDPR, may lead to similar compliance and operational costs with potential fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of total worldwide annual turnover. In the United States, companies that do business in California are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which requires, among other things, covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers, afford such consumers certain rights regarding their personal information, and also affords a private right of action to individuals affected by a data breach, if the breach was caused by a lack of reasonable security. The enforcement of the CCPA by the California Attorney General commenced on July 1, 2020. The CCPA has been amended on multiple occasions and the California Attorney General has issued initial and revised regulations that also govern the CCPA. It remains unclear how this legislation will be interpreted and enforced. The effects of the CCPA potentially are significant, however, and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses for compliance. Moreover, additional state privacy laws have been passed and will require potentially substantial efforts to obtain compliance. This includes the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) which was approved by California voters, and significantly modifies the CCPA. The U.S. federal government also is contemplating privacy legislation. We may also from time to time be subject to, or face assertions that we are subject to, additional obligations relating to personal data by contract or due to assertions that self-regulatory obligations or industry standards apply to our practices. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. Further, we may be or become subject to data localization laws mandating that data collected in a foreign country be processed and stored within that country. Each of these privacy, security, and data protection laws and regulations, and any other such changes or new laws or regulations, could impose significant limitations, or require changes to our business model or practices or growth strategy, which may increase our compliance expenses and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations or other obligations to which we are now or which we may be subject relating to personal data, or to protect personal data from unauthorized acquisition, use or other processing, could result in consequences such as enforcement actions and regulatory investigations against us, fines, public censure, claims for damages by end-customers and other affected individuals, damage to our reputation and loss of goodwill (both in relation to existing end-customers and prospective end-customers), any of which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial performance, and business. Evolving and changing definitions of personal data and personal information, within the E.U., the United States, and elsewhere, especially relating to classification of Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses, machine identification, location data, and other information, may limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing or uses of data, and may require significant expenditures and efforts in order to comply. Even the perception of privacy, data protection or information security concerns, whether or not valid, may harm our reputation and inhibit adoption of our products and subscriptions by current and future end-customers.

Our ability to grow our business and our future success will depend to a significant extent on our ability to expand our operations and customer base worldwide. Many of our customers, resellers, partners, suppliers, and manufacturers operate around the world. Operating in a global marketplace, we are subject to risks associated with having an international reach and compliance and regulatory requirements. We may experience difficulties in attracting, managing, and retaining an international staff, and we may not be able to recruit and maintain successful strategic distributor relationships internationally. Business practices in the international markets that we serve may differ from those in the United States and may require us in the future to include terms other than our standard terms related to payment, warranties, or performance obligations in end-customer contracts. Additionally, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following: •political, economic, and social uncertainty around the world, health risks such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, macroeconomic challenges in Europe, terrorist activities, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, and continued hostilities in the Middle East; •unexpected changes in, or the application of, foreign and domestic laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights protections), regulatory practices, trade restrictions, and foreign legal requirements, including those applicable to the importation, certification, and localization of our products, tariffs, and tax laws and treaties, including regulatory and trade policy changes adopted by the current administration, such as the Sanctions on Russia, or foreign countries in response to regulatory changes adopted by the current administration; and •non-compliance with U.S. and foreign laws, including antitrust regulations, anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, U.S. or foreign sanctions regimes and export or import control laws, and any trade regulations ensuring fair trade practices. These and other factors could harm our future international revenues and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our failure to successfully manage our international operations and the associated risks effectively could limit the future growth of our business.

We have a limited history of marketing, selling, and supporting our products, subscriptions and support offerings internationally. We may experience difficulties in recruiting, training, managing, and retaining an international staff, and specifically staff related to sales management and sales personnel. We also may not be able to maintain successful strategic distributor relationships internationally or recruit additional companies to enter into strategic distributor relationships. Business practices in the international markets that we serve may differ from those in the United States and may require us in the future to include terms other than our standard terms related to payment, warranties, or performance obligations in end-customer contracts. Additionally, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following: •political, economic and social uncertainty around the world, health risks such as epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, macroeconomic challenges in Europe, terrorist activities, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and continued hostilities in the Middle East; •greater difficulty in enforcing contracts and accounts receivable collection and longer collection periods; •the uncertainty of protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; - 27 - - 27 - - 27 - Table of Contents Table of Contents •greater risk of unexpected changes in foreign and domestic regulatory practices, tariffs, and tax laws and treaties, including regulatory and trade policy changes adopted by the current administration, such as the recently imposed Sanctions on Russia, or foreign countries in response to regulatory changes adopted by the current administration; •risks associated with trade restrictions and foreign legal requirements, including the importation, certification, and localization of our products required in foreign countries; •greater risk of a failure of foreign employees, channel partners, distributors, and resellers to comply with both U.S. and foreign laws, including antitrust regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, U.S. or foreign sanctions regimes and export or import control laws, and any trade regulations ensuring fair trade practices, which non-compliance could include increased costs; •heightened risk of unfair or corrupt business practices in certain geographies and of improper or fraudulent sales arrangements; •increased expenses incurred in establishing and maintaining office space and equipment for our international operations; •management communication and integration problems resulting from cultural and geographic dispersion; and •fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies in markets where we do business and related impact on sales cycles. These and other factors could harm our future international revenues and, consequently, materially impact our business, operating results, and financial condition. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our failure to successfully manage our international operations and the associated risks effectively could limit the future growth of our business. Further, we are subject to risks associated with changes in economic and political conditions in countries in which we operate or sell our products and subscriptions. For instance, Brexit creates an uncertain political and economic environment in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) and across European Union (“E.U.”) member states for the foreseeable future. On January 31, 2020 the U.K. left the E.U. and the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force on January 1, 2021. Our financial condition and operating results may be impacted by such uncertainty with potential disruptions to our relationships with existing and future customers, suppliers and employees all possibly having a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or operating results.

The industry for enterprise security products is intensely competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future from established competitors and new market entrants. Our main competitors fall into four categories: •large companies that incorporate security features in their products, such as Cisco, Microsoft, or those that have acquired, or may acquire, security vendors and have the technical and financial resources to bring competitive solutions to the market; •independent security vendors, such as Check Point, Fortinet, Crowdstrike, and Zscaler, that offer a mix of security products; •startups and point-product vendors that offer independent or emerging solutions across various areas of security; and •public cloud vendors and startups that offer solutions for cloud security (private, public, and hybrid cloud). - 19 - - 19 - - 19 - Table of Contents Table of Contents Many of our competitors have greater financial, technical, marketing, sales, and other resources, greater name recognition, longer operating histories, and a larger base of customers than we do. They may be able to devote greater resources to the promotion and sale of products and services than we can, and they may offer lower pricing than we do. Further, they may have greater resources for research and development of new technologies, the provision of customer support, and the pursuit of acquisitions. They may also have larger and more mature intellectual property portfolios, and broader and more diverse product and service offerings, which allow them to leverage their relationships based on other products or incorporate functionality into existing products to gain business in a manner that discourages users from purchasing our products and subscriptions, including incorporating cybersecurity features into their existing products or services and product bundling, selling at zero or negative margins, and offering concessions or a closed technology offering. Some competitors may have broader distribution and established relationships with distribution partners and end-customers. Other competitors specialize in providing protection from a single type of security threat, which may allow them to deliver these specialized security products to the market more quickly than we can. We also face competition from companies that have entrenched legacy offerings at end-user customers. End-user customers have also often invested substantial personnel and financial resources to design and operate their networks and have established deep relationships with other providers of networking and security products. As a result, these organizations may prefer to purchase from their existing suppliers rather than add or switch to a new supplier such as us. In addition, as our customers refresh the security products bought in prior years, they may seek to consolidate vendors, which may result in current customers choosing to purchase products from our competitors. Due to budget constraints or economic downturns, organizations may add solutions to their existing network security infrastructure rather than replacing it with our products and subscriptions. Conditions in our market could change rapidly and significantly as a result of technological advancements, partnering or acquisitions by our competitors, or continuing market consolidation. Our competitors and potential competitors may be able to develop new or disruptive technologies, products, or services, and leverage new business models that are equal or superior to ours, achieve greater market acceptance of their products and services, disrupt our markets, and increase sales by utilizing different distribution channels than we do. In addition, new and enhanced technologies, including AI and machine learning, continue to increase our competition. To compete successfully, we must accurately anticipate technology developments and deliver innovative, relevant, and useful products, services, and technologies in a timely manner. Some of our competitors have made or could make acquisitions of businesses that may allow them to offer more directly competitive and comprehensive solutions than they had previously offered and adapt more quickly to new technologies and end-customer needs. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources. These competitive pressures in our market or our failure to compete effectively may result in price reductions, fewer orders, reduced revenue and gross margins, and loss of market share. If we are unable to compete successfully, or if competing successfully requires us to take aggressive pricing or other actions, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be adversely affected.

The industry for enterprise security products is intensely competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future from established competitors and new market entrants. Our main competitors fall into five categories: •large companies that incorporate security features in their products, such as Cisco Systems, Inc. (“Cisco”), or those that have acquired, or may acquire, large network and endpoint security vendors and have the technical and financial resources to bring competitive solutions to the market; •independent security vendors, such as Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (“Check Point”), Fortinet, Inc. (“Fortinet”), and Zscaler, Inc. (“Zscaler”), that offer a mix of network and endpoint security products; •startups and single-vertical vendors that offer independent or emerging solutions across various areas of security; •public cloud vendors and startups that offer solutions for cloud security (private, public and hybrid cloud); and •large and small companies, such as Crowdstrike, Inc. (“Crowdstrike”), that offer solutions for security operations and endpoint security. Many of our existing competitors have, and some of our potential competitors could have, substantial competitive advantages such as: •greater name recognition and longer operating histories; •larger sales and marketing budgets and resources; •broader distribution and established relationships with distribution partners and end-customers; •greater customer support resources; •greater resources to make strategic acquisitions or enter into strategic partnerships; •lower levels of indebtedness; •lower labor and development costs; •newer or disruptive products or technologies; •larger and more mature intellectual property portfolios; and •substantially greater financial, technical, and other resources. In addition, some of our larger competitors have substantially broader and more diverse product and services offerings, which may make them less susceptible to downturns in a particular market and allow them to leverage their relationships based on other products or incorporate functionality into existing products to gain business in a manner that discourages users from purchasing our products and subscriptions, including through selling at zero or negative margins, offering concessions, product bundling, or a closed technology offering. Many of our smaller competitors that specialize in providing protection from a single type of security threat are often able to deliver these specialized security products to the market more quickly than we can. - 19 - - 19 - - 19 - Table of Contents Table of Contents Organizations that use legacy products and services may believe that these products and services are sufficient to meet their security needs or that our offerings only serve the needs of a portion of the enterprise security industry. Accordingly, these organizations may continue allocating their information technology budgets for legacy products and services and may not adopt our security offerings. Further, many organizations have invested substantial personnel and financial resources to design and operate their networks and have established deep relationships with other providers of networking and security products. As a result, these organizations may prefer to purchase from their existing suppliers rather than add or switch to a new supplier such as us, regardless of product performance, features, or greater services offerings or may be more willing to incrementally add solutions to their existing security infrastructure from existing suppliers than to replace it wholesale with our solutions. Conditions in our market could change rapidly and significantly as a result of technological advancements, partnering or acquisitions by our competitors, or continuing market consolidation. New start-up companies that innovate and large competitors that are making significant investments in research and development may invent similar or superior products and technologies that compete with our products and subscriptions. Some of our competitors have made or could make acquisitions of businesses that may allow them to offer more directly competitive and comprehensive solutions than they had previously offered and adapt more quickly to new technologies and end-customer needs. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources. These competitive pressures in our market or our failure to compete effectively may result in price reductions, fewer orders, reduced revenue and gross margins, and loss of market share. Any failure to meet and address these factors could seriously harm our business and operating results.

Most of our sales are made on an open credit basis. Beyond our open credit arrangements, we have also experienced demands for customer financing and deferred payments due to, among other things, macro-economic conditions. To respond to this demand, our customer financing activities have increased and will likely continue to increase in the future. Increases in deferred payments result in payments being made over time, negatively impacting our short-term cash flows, and subject us to risk of non-payment by our customers, including as a result of insolvency. We monitor customer payment capability in granting such financing arrangements, seek to limit the amounts to what we believe customers can pay and maintain reserves we believe are adequate to cover exposure for doubtful accounts to mitigate credit risks of these customers. However, there can be no assurance that these programs will be effective in reducing our credit risks. To the degree that turmoil in the credit markets makes it more difficult for some customers to obtain financing, those customers’ ability to pay could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Our exposure to the credit risks relating to the financing activities described above may increase if our customers are adversely affected by a global economic downturn or periods of economic uncertainty. If we are unable to adequately control these risks, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, in the past, we have experienced non-material losses due to bankruptcies among customers. If these losses increase due to global economic conditions, they could harm our business and financial condition.

Most of our sales are made on an open credit basis. Beyond our open credit arrangements, we have also experienced demands for customer financing due to COVID-19 and our competitors’ offerings. The majority of these demands are currently facilitated by leasing and other financing arrangements provided by our distributors and resellers. To respond to this demand, our customer financing activities may increase in the future. We also provide financings to certain end-customers. We monitor customer payment capability in granting such financing arrangements, seek to limit such open credit to amounts we believe the end-customers can pay and maintain reserves we believe are adequate to cover exposure for doubtful accounts to mitigate credit risks of these end-customers. However, there can be no assurance that these programs will be effective in reducing our credit risks. We believe customer financing is a competitive factor in obtaining business. The loan financing arrangements provided by our distributors and resellers may include not only financing the acquisition of our products and services but also providing additional funds for other costs associated with network installation and integration of our products and services. Our exposure to the credit risks relating to the financing activities described above may increase if our customers are adversely affected by a global economic downturn or periods of economic uncertainty. Although we have programs in place with our distributors and resellers that are designed to monitor and mitigate these risks, we cannot guarantee these programs will be effective in reducing the credit risks, especially as we expand our business internationally. If we are unable to adequately control these risks, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed. In the past, we have experienced non-material losses due to bankruptcies among customers. If these losses increase due to COVID-19 or global economic conditions, they could harm our business and financial condition. A material portion of our sales is derived through our distributors. For fiscal 2022, three distributors individually represented 10% or more of our total revenue, and in the aggregate represented 53.6% of our total revenue. As of July 31, 2022, three distributors individually represented 10% or more of our gross accounts receivable, and in the aggregate represented 47.7% of our gross accounts receivable. Additionally, to the degree that turmoil in the credit markets makes it more difficult for some customers to obtain financing, those customers’ ability to pay could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract, retain, and motivate the members of our management team and other key employees. For example, we are substantially dependent on the continued service of our engineering personnel because of the complexity of our offerings. Competition for highly skilled personnel, particularly in engineering, including in the areas of AI and machine learning, is often intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we have a substantial presence and need for such personnel. In addition, the industry in which we operate generally experiences high employee attrition. Our future performance depends on the continuing services and contributions of our senior management to execute on our business plan and to identify and pursue new opportunities and product innovations. If we are unable to hire, integrate, train, or retain the qualified and highly skilled personnel required to fulfill our current or future needs, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be harmed. Further, we believe that a critical contributor to our success and our ability to retain highly skilled personnel has been our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, inclusion, teamwork, passion for end-customers, focus on execution, and the facilitation of critical knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. As we grow and change, we may find it difficult to maintain these important aspects of our corporate culture. While we are taking steps to develop a more inclusive and diverse workforce, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so. Any failure to preserve our culture as we grow could limit our ability to innovate and could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, continue to perform at current levels or execute on our business strategy.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to hire, integrate, train, and retain qualified and highly skilled personnel. We are substantially dependent on the continued service of our existing engineering personnel because of the complexity of our offerings. Additionally, any failure to hire, integrate, train, and adequately incentivize our sales personnel or the inability of our recently hired sales personnel to effectively ramp to target productivity levels could negatively impact our growth and operating margins. Competition for highly skilled personnel, particularly in engineering, is often intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we have a substantial presence and need for such personnel. Additionally, potential changes in U.S. immigration and work authorization laws and regulations, including in reaction to COVID-19, may make it difficult to renew or obtain visas for any highly skilled personnel that we have hired or are actively recruiting. In addition, the industry in which we operate generally experiences high employee attrition. Although we have entered into employment offer letters with our key personnel, these agreements have no specific duration and constitute at-will employment. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our employees. The loss of one or more of our key employees, and any failure to have in place and execute an effective succession plan for key executives, could seriously harm our business. If we are unable to hire, integrate, train, or retain the qualified and highly skilled personnel required to fulfill our current or future needs, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be harmed. Our future performance also depends on the continued services and continuing contributions of our senior management to execute on our business plan and to identify and pursue new opportunities and product innovations. The loss of services of senior management, the decrease in the effectiveness of such services due to working remotely from home, or the ineffective management of any leadership transitions, especially within our sales organization, could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our development and strategic objectives, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results. Further, we believe that a critical contributor to our success and our ability to retain highly skilled personnel has been our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, inclusion, teamwork, passion for end-customers, focus on execution, and the facilitation of critical knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. As we grow and change, we may find it difficult to maintain these important aspects of our corporate culture. While we are taking steps to develop a more inclusive and diverse workforce, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so. Any failure to preserve our culture as we grow could limit our ability to innovate and could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, continue to perform at current levels or execute on our business strategy. - 21 - - 21 - - 21 - Table of Contents Table of Contents

We have experienced revenue growth rates of 25.3% and 29.3% in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022, respectively. Our revenue for any quarterly or annual period should not be relied upon as an indication of our future revenue or revenue growth for any future period. If we are unable to maintain consistent or increasing revenue or revenue growth, the market price of our common stock could be volatile, and it may be difficult for us to maintain profitability or maintain or increase cash flow on a consistent basis. - 16 - - 16 - - 16 - Table of Contents Table of Contents In addition, we have incurred losses in fiscal years prior to fiscal 2023 and, as a result, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.2 billion as of July 31, 2023. We anticipate that our operating expenses will continue to increase in the foreseeable future as we continue to grow our business. Our growth efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenues sufficiently, or at all, to offset increasing expenses. Revenue growth may slow or revenue may decline for a number of possible reasons, including slowing demand for our products or subscriptions, increasing competition, a decrease in the growth of, or a demand shift in, our overall market, or a failure to capitalize on growth opportunities. We have also entered into a substantial amount of capital commitments for operating lease obligations and other purchase commitments. Any failure to increase our revenue as we grow our business could prevent us from maintaining profitability or maintaining or increasing cash flow on a consistent basis, or satisfying our capital commitments. If we are unable to navigate these challenges as we encounter them, our business, financial condition, and operating results may suffer.

We have experienced revenue growth rates of 29.3% and 24.9% in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021, respectively. Our revenue for any prior quarterly or annual period should not be relied upon as an indication of our future revenue or revenue growth for any future period. If we are unable to maintain consistent or increasing revenue or revenue growth, the market price of our common stock could be volatile, and it may be difficult for us to achieve and maintain profitability or maintain or increase cash flow on a consistent basis.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our portfolio with existing end-customers, especially large enterprise customers, and create demand for our new offerings, The rate at which our end-customers purchase additional products, subscriptions, and support depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional security products, including subscription and support offerings, as well as general economic conditions. If our efforts to sell additional products and subscriptions to our end-customers are not successful, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected or decline. - 17 - - 17 - - 17 - Table of Contents Table of Contents Sales to large enterprise end-customers, which is part of our growth strategy, involve risks that may not be present, or that are present to a lesser extent, with sales to smaller entities, such as (a) longer sales cycles and the associated risk that substantial time and resources may be spent on a potential end-customer that elects not to purchase our products, subscriptions, and support, and (b) increased purchasing power and leverage held by large end-customers in negotiating contractual arrangements. Deployments for large enterprise end-customers are also more complex, require greater product functionality, scalability, and a broader range of services, and are more time-consuming. All of these factors add further risk to business conducted with these end-customers. Failure to realize sales from large enterprise end-customers could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our portfolio with existing end-customers and create demand for our new offerings, including cloud security, AI, and analytics offerings. This may require increasingly sophisticated and costly sales efforts that may not result in additional sales. The rate at which our end-customers purchase additional products, subscriptions, and support depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional security products, including subscription and support offerings, as well as general economic conditions. Further, existing end-customers have no contractual obligation to and may not renew their subscription and support contracts after the completion of their initial contract period. Our end-customers’ renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including their level of satisfaction with our subscriptions and our support offerings, the frequency and severity of subscription outages, our product uptime or latency, and the pricing of our, or competing, subscriptions. Additionally, our end-customers may renew their subscription and support agreements for shorter contract lengths or on other terms that are less economically beneficial to us. We also cannot be certain that our end-customers will renew their subscription and support agreements. If our efforts to sell additional products and subscriptions to our end-customers are not successful or our end-customers do not renew their subscription and support agreements or renew them on less favorable terms, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected or decline.

Our operating results have fluctuated in the past, and will likely continue to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control and may be difficult to predict, including those factors described in this Risk Factor section. For example, we have historically received a substantial portion of sales orders and generated a substantial portion of revenue during the last few weeks of each fiscal quarter. If expected revenue at the end of any fiscal quarter is delayed for any reason, including the failure of anticipated purchase orders to materialize (particularly for large enterprise end-customers with lengthy sales cycles), our logistics partners’ inability to ship products prior to fiscal quarter-end to fulfill purchase orders received near the end of a fiscal quarter, our failure to manage inventory to meet demand, any failure of our systems related to order review and processing, or any delays in shipments based on trade compliance requirements (including new compliance requirements imposed by new or renegotiated trade agreements), our revenue could fall below our expectations and the estimates of analysts for that quarter. Due to these fluctuations, comparing our revenue, margins, or other operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and our past results should not be relied on as an indication of our future performance. This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failure to meet our revenue, margin, or other operating result expectations contained in any forward-looking statements (including financial or business expectations we have provided) or those of securities analysts or investors for a particular period. If we fail to meet or exceed such expectations for these, or any other, reasons, the market price of our common stock could fall substantially, and we could face costly lawsuits, including securities class action suits.

As a result of end-customer buying patterns and the efforts of our sales force and channel partners to meet or exceed their sales objectives, we have historically received a substantial portion of sales orders and generated a substantial portion of revenue during the last few weeks of each fiscal quarter. If expected revenue at the end of any fiscal quarter is delayed for any reason, including the failure of anticipated purchase orders to materialize (particularly for large enterprise end-customers with lengthy sales cycles), our logistics partners’ inability to ship products prior to fiscal quarter-end to fulfill purchase orders received near the end of a fiscal quarter (including due to the effects of COVID-19), our failure to manage inventory to meet demand, any failure of our systems related to order review and processing, or any delays in shipments based on trade compliance requirements (including new compliance requirements imposed by new or renegotiated trade agreements), revenue could fall below our expectations and the estimates of analysts for that quarter, which could adversely impact our business and operating results and cause a decline in the market price of our common stock.