---
ticker: TFX
company: TFX
filing_type: 10-K
year_current: 2024
year_prior: 2023
risks_added: 0
risks_removed: 0
risks_modified: 3
risks_unchanged: 28
source: SEC EDGAR
url: https://riskdiff.com/tfx/2024-vs-2023/
markdown_url: https://riskdiff.com/tfx/2024-vs-2023/index.md
generated: 2026-06-01
---

# TFX: 10-K Risk Factor Changes 2024 vs 2023

> Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)  
> Generated: 2026-06-01  
> All data extracted directly from official filings. No hallucinated content.

## Summary

| Status | Count |
|--------|-------|
| New risks added | 0 |
| Risks removed | 0 |
| Risks modified | 3 |
| Unchanged | 28 |

---

## Modified: Disruptions in sterilization of our products or regulatory initiatives further restricting the use of ethylene oxide in sterilization facilities could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

**Key changes:**

- Reworded sentence: "In recent years, Sterigenics' operations at both its Smyrna and Santa Teresa facilities have been subject to legal proceedings related to the facilities' use of ethylene oxide in their sterilization operations."

**Prior (2023):**

Many of our products require sterilization prior to sale. A common method for sterilizing medical products involves the use of ethylene oxide, which is listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, as amended, and emissions of which are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and other regulatory authorities. Companies in the sterilization industry may face private litigation that could result in financial difficulties that could ultimately make it difficult or undesirable for such companies to continue in the sterilization business. In addition, sterilization activities are subject to substantial governmental oversight and attention that could disrupt their operations. One of our contract sterilizers, Sterigenics U.S., LLC, uses ethylene oxide in its sterilization process, including at its facilities in Smyrna, Cobb County, Georgia and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which have sterilized some of our vascular, surgical, intermittent catheter and OEM products. During the fourth quarter of the year ended December 31, 2019, operations at the Smyrna facility were suspended by state and local officials due to issues associated with the facility's use of ethylene oxide in its sterilization operations, but have since reopened. In December 2020, the New Mexico Attorney General initiated legal proceedings involving the Santa Teresa facility, alleging that its operations have resulted in impermissible ethylene oxide emissions. While both plants are currently operating normally, should their operations be suspended or adversely affected, our ability to provide affected 18 18 18 products to our customers could be impaired if we are unable to utilize alternate facilities and sources for sterilization services. In addition, on October 10, 2019, the attorneys general of 15 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the EPA urging that the EPA promptly propose and finalize stricter standards for ethylene oxide emissions. Among other things, the attorneys general stated that the current EPA standard for ethylene oxide fails to adequately protect workers and communities, and that the use of ethylene oxide, particularly in the medical device sterilization industry, must be reduced. On December 12, 2019, the EPA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit information and request comments that will aid in the EPA's future revisions of the regulations concerning ethylene oxide omissions. Subsequently, on September 13, 2021, the EPA issued an information collection request to commercial sterilization facilities to gather additional information and data about ethylene oxide sterilization processes and emissions. The EPA has indicated it expects to issue proposed regulations for commercial sterilizers in the near term. Any additional regulatory restrictions on the emission of ethylene oxide by sterilization facilities might impair our ability to provide sufficient quantities of sterilized products to our customers and compel us to seek sterilization alternatives that do not entail the use of ethylene oxide. We cannot assure that we would be able to identify such alternatives. In the event we were to experience any disruptions in our ability to sterilize our products, whether due to capacity constraints or regulatory or other impediments (including, among other things, regulatory initiatives directed generally to sterilization facilities that utilize ethylene oxide), or we are unable to transition to alternative facilities in a timely or cost effective manner in the event one or more of the facilities we use is affected, we could experience a material adverse impact with respect to our results of operations and financial condition.

**Current (2024):**

Many of our products require sterilization prior to sale. A common method for sterilizing medical products involves the use of ethylene oxide, which is listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, as amended, and emissions of which are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and other regulatory authorities. Companies in the sterilization industry may face private litigation that could result in financial difficulties that could ultimately make it difficult or undesirable for such companies to continue in the sterilization business. In addition, sterilization activities are subject to substantial governmental oversight and attention that could disrupt their operations. One of our contract sterilizers, Sterigenics U.S., LLC, uses ethylene oxide in its sterilization process, including at its facilities in Smyrna, Cobb County, Georgia and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which have sterilized some of our vascular, surgical, intermittent catheter and OEM products. In recent years, Sterigenics' operations at both its Smyrna and Santa Teresa facilities have been subject to legal proceedings related to the facilities' use of ethylene oxide in their sterilization operations. While both plants are currently operating normally, should their operations be suspended or adversely affected, our ability to provide affected products to our customers could be impaired if we are unable to utilize alternate facilities and sources for sterilization services. In addition, in 2019, the attorneys general of 15 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the EPA urging that the EPA promptly propose and finalize stricter standards for ethylene oxide emissions. Subsequently, the EPA solicited information and comments from the public on proposed revisions to regulations regarding ethylene oxide emissions and collected information from commercial sterilizers about ethylene oxide sterilization processes and emissions. In April 2023, the EPA released a proposed rule under the Clean Air Act that would require commercial sterilizers to install pollution control equipment to reduce ethylene oxide emissions and implement methods to continuously monitor emissions and report results to the EPA. According to the terms of an August 2023 consent decree entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the EPA must issue the final rule by March 1, 2024, and contract sterilizers are anticipated to have 18 months to come into compliance. Failure of our contract sterilizers to achieve compliance with the final rule by the deadline would significantly impair our ability to provide sufficient quantities of sterilized products to our customers and compel us to seek sterilization alternatives that do not entail the use of ethylene oxide. We cannot assure that we would be able to identify such alternatives. In the event we were to experience any disruptions in our ability to sterilize our products, whether due to capacity constraints or regulatory or other impediments (including, among other things, regulatory initiatives directed generally to sterilization facilities that utilize ethylene oxide), or we are unable to transition to alternative facilities in a timely or cost effective manner in the event one or more of the facilities we use is affected, we could experience a material adverse impact with respect to our results of operations and financial condition.

---

## Modified: Fluctuations in our effective tax rate and changes to tax laws may adversely affect us.

**Key changes:**

- Reworded sentence: "Our effective tax rate may, however, differ from the estimated amount 22 22 22 due to numerous factors, including a change in the mix of our profitability from country to country."

**Prior (2023):**

As a global company, we are subject to taxation in numerous countries, states and other jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of applicable tax rates in the various countries, states and other jurisdictions in which we operate. In preparing our financial statements, we estimate the amount of tax that will become payable in each of these jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate may, however, differ from the estimated amount due to numerous factors, including a change in the mix of our profitability from country to country and changes in tax laws. Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different from previous periods or our current expectations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

**Current (2024):**

As a global company, we are subject to taxation in numerous countries, states and other jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of applicable tax rates in the various countries, states and other jurisdictions in which we operate. In preparing our financial statements, we estimate the amount of tax that will become payable in each of these jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate may, however, differ from the estimated amount 22 22 22 due to numerous factors, including a change in the mix of our profitability from country to country. Further, many countries continue to consider changes in their tax laws by implementing new initiatives such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Pillar Two global minimum tax, which will likely impact the amount of taxes that multinational companies such as Teleflex pay in the future. Various countries have already enacted or are in the process of incorporating the Pillar Two framework within their tax laws. While we continue to monitor these changes and their potential implications, the aggressive nature of the timeline set by the OECD for adoption of this framework, the lack of detailed guidance provided to date and the complexities surrounding its implementation may mean that all implications for business may not have been fully analyzed or understood before rules are finalized. Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different from previous periods or our current expectations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

---

## Modified: Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by public health epidemics or pandemics, as occurred with respect to the recent COVID-19 epidemic and pandemic.

**Key changes:**

- Reworded sentence: "We are subject to risks associated with public health threats, such as the recent COVID-19 epidemic and pandemic."

**Prior (2023):**

We are subject to risks associated with public health threats, such as the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted economic activity and markets around the world and negatively impacted our operations, financial performance and cash flows. These effects continue, and their impact going forward is uncertain because the trajectory and nature of the pandemic remain uncertain and difficult to predict. Such effects depend on various factors, including, but not limited, to: the occurrence, spread, duration and severity of any subsequent wave or waves of outbreaks, including the emergence and spread of variants of the COVID-19 virus; governmental, business and individuals' actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic (including restrictions on travel, transport and workforce pressures, and deferrals or 16 16 16 postponements of elective procedures); the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response on global and regional economies, travel and economic activity; the availability of federal, state, local or non-U.S. funding programs; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the timing and pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, which could be impacted by a number of factors, including limited provider capacity to perform procedures using our products that were deferred as a result of the pandemic. With respect to our company, the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and may continue to have, an impact on our operations, financial performance and financial condition in several ways, including, but not limited to, those discussed below: •It has caused and may continue to cause disruptions in our manufacturing operations globally, which are subject to governmental or regulatory actions taken in response to COVID-19. These actions could impact our ability, or that of our employees or suppliers, to perform our and their respective responsibilities and obligations relative to the conduct of our business and create a risk to our ability to manufacture our products in a timely manner, or at all. •The effects of the pandemic have caused, and could in the future continue to cause, disruptions in our workforce and our global supply chain. These disruptions, or our failure to respond to them, could increase manufacturing or distribution costs or cause further delays in delivering, or an inability to deliver, products to our customers. •The effects of the pandemic have resulted, and could in the future continue to result, in lower revenues in certain of our product categories. These and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other pandemics or epidemics, could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described herein. We might not be able to predict or respond to all impacts on a timely basis to prevent near- or long-term adverse impacts to our results. However, these effects could have an adverse impact on our liquidity, capital resources, operations and business and those of the third parties on which we rely, and such impact could be material.

**Current (2024):**

We are subject to risks associated with public health threats, such as the recent COVID-19 epidemic and pandemic. As with COVID-19, such events could significantly impact economic activity and markets around the world and, as a result, have negative effects on our operations, financial performance and cash flows. Such effects would depend on various factors, including, but not limited, to: the occurrence, spread, duration and severity of any outbreaks; governmental, business and individuals' actions that may be taken in response to an epidemic or pandemic (including restrictions on travel, transport and workforce pressures, and deferrals or postponements of elective procedures); the impact of such a crisis, and actions taken in response thereto, on global and regional economies, travel and economic activity; the availability of federal, state, local or non-U.S. funding programs; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the timing and pace of recovery as such a crisis subsides, which could be impacted by a number of factors, including limited provider capacity to perform procedures using our products that were deferred as a result of the epidemic or pandemic. These and other impacts of epidemics or pandemics could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described herein. We might not be able to predict or respond to all impacts on a timely basis to prevent near- or long-term adverse impacts to our results. However, these effects could have an adverse impact on our liquidity, capital resources, operations and business and those of the third parties on which we rely, and such impact could be material.

---

*Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Last updated 2026-06-01.*