riskdiff

Verizon Communications Inc.: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

2024 vs 2023 · SEC EDGAR · 2026-05-10

Other years: 2026 vs 2025 · 2025 vs 2024

⚠ AI-Generated

The summary below was generated by an AI language model and may contain errors or omissions. All other content on this page is deterministically extracted from the original SEC EDGAR filing.

Verizon added three new risk factors in 2024, including two significant operational and regulatory concerns: potential regulatory scrutiny and litigation costs related to lead sheathed copper cables in its network infrastructure, and heightened exposure to tax law changes and challenges to its tax positions. The company modified its technology deployment and economic risk disclosures, reflecting evolving concerns about 5G network implementation challenges and macroeconomic impacts. With 11 unchanged risk factors and no removals, Verizon's overall risk profile expanded modestly while maintaining consistent focus on its core operational and market vulnerabilities.

✓ Deterministic extraction — no AI-generated data

Classification is based on semantic text similarity scoring and may include approximations. “No match” means no high-confidence textual match was found — not necessarily that a section was removed.

New Risks

Removed

Modified

Unchanged

🟢 New in Current Filing

Damage to our reputation or brands could adversely affect our business.

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We believe that our reputation and brands significantly contribute to the success of our business and our relationships with our customers, employees and other stakeholders. Our reputation and brands could be negatively affected by a number of factors, including actual or alleged quality or reliability issues related to our services and products; cybersecurity incidents and data breaches; allegations of legal noncompliance; 15 15 15 Table of Contents Table of Contents litigation or regulatory activity; incidents involving unethical behavior or misconduct; material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting; safety, human rights, workplace or labor issues; environmental incidents or impacts; governance issues; our sustainability goals and practices; our actual or perceived position or lack of position on social and other sensitive matters; the conduct of our employees, representatives or partners; activists’ campaigns; negative sentiment about us shared over social media or the press; and other issues, incidents, or statements that, whether based on actual or perceived circumstances, result in adverse publicity. Damage to our reputation and brands could undermine our customers’ confidence in us and reduce demand for our products and services, which could result in decreased revenue and adversely affect our business and financial results. If our reputation or brands are damaged, it could also attract regulatory scrutiny, increase litigation risks, affect our ability to attract and retain top talent, and reduce investor confidence in us.

🟢 New in Current Filing

Our business may be impacted by changes in tax laws and regulations, or their interpretations, and challenges to our tax positions.

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Tax laws and regulations are complex, dynamic, and subject to change and varying interpretations, especially when evaluated against new technologies and telecommunications services. In addition, tax legislation has been introduced or is being considered in various jurisdictions that could significantly impact our tax rate, tax liabilities, and carrying value of deferred tax assets or deferred tax liabilities. Any of these changes could materially impact our financial performance and our tax provision, net income and cash flows. We are also subject to ongoing audits, examinations and other tax controversies in various jurisdictions. Although we regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these controversies to determine the adequacy of provisions for taxes, the final outcome of any such controversy may be materially different from our expectations. In the event that we have not accurately or fully described, disclosed or determined, calculated or remitted amounts that were due to taxing authorities or if the ultimate determination of our taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, we could be subject to additional taxes, penalties and interest, which could materially impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

🟢 New in Current Filing

Allegations related to lead sheathed copper cables in our copper network infrastructure could expose us to regulatory scrutiny, litigation, penalties, removal and compliance costs, operational impact or reputational damage.

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There have been media reports alleging that certain lead sheathed copper cables that are part of our copper-based network infrastructure may present health or environmental risks in areas where those facilities are deployed. These allegations could result in government investigations, legislative or regulatory actions, litigation, penalties and other liability, remediation and compliance costs or negative operational impacts. In addition, we are currently subject to regulatory inquiries and lawsuits related to these allegations, and additional legal proceedings and other contingencies may arise in the future. Our insurance policies may not cover or may not be sufficient to fully cover the costs of these claims. Accordingly, we may incur substantial expenses as a result of these allegations, which cannot be reasonably estimated at this time but could be material. In addition, negative assertions about the health or environmental impact of our lead sheathed cables may harm our reputation, which could adversely affect our business and our relationship with various stakeholders, even if such allegations ultimately prove to be inaccurate.

🟡 Modified

Adverse conditions in the U.S. and international economies could impact our results of operations and financial condition.

high match confidence

Sentence-level differences:

Reworded sentence: "Over the last two years, as a result of the inflationary environment in the U.S., we experienced increases in our direct costs, including electricity and other energy-related costs for our network operations, and transportation and labor costs, as well as increased interest expenses related to rising interest rates."

Current (2024):

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Unfavorable economic conditions, such as a recession or economic slowdown in the U.S. or elsewhere, or inflation in the markets in which we operate, could negatively affect the affordability of and demand for some of our products and services and our cost of doing business. In difficult economic conditions, consumers may seek to reduce discretionary spending by forgoing purchases of our products, electing to use fewer higher margin services, dropping down in price plans or obtaining lower-cost products and services offered by other companies. Similarly, under these conditions, the business customers that we serve may delay purchasing decisions, delay full implementation of service offerings or reduce their use of services. In addition, adverse economic conditions may lead to an increased number of our consumer and business customers that are unable to pay for services. Unfavorable economic conditions could also amplify other risk factors discussed in this section, including, but not limited to, our competitive position and margins. Over the last two years, as a result of the inflationary environment in the U.S., we experienced increases in our direct costs, including electricity and other energy-related costs for our network operations, and transportation and labor costs, as well as increased interest expenses related to rising interest rates. In 2022, these factors, along with impacts of the intense competition in our industries, resulted in lower earnings per share and caused us to lower our growth expectations and related financial guidance for that year. We expect the inflationary environment and related pressures to continue into 2024. In that case and if other unfavorable economic conditions continue or worsen, they could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

View prior text (2023)

Unfavorable economic conditions, such as a recession or economic slowdown in the U.S. or elsewhere, or inflation in the markets in which we operate, could negatively affect the affordability of and demand for some of our products and services and our cost of doing business. In difficult economic conditions, consumers may seek to reduce discretionary spending by forgoing purchases of our products, electing to use fewer higher margin services, dropping down in price plans or obtaining lower-cost products and services offered by other companies. Similarly, under these conditions, the business customers that we serve may delay purchasing decisions, delay full implementation of service offerings or reduce their use of services. In addition, adverse economic conditions may lead to an increased number of our consumer and business customers that are unable to pay for services. Unfavorable economic conditions could also amplify other risk factors discussed in this section, including, but not limited to, our competitive position and margins. In 2022, as a result of the inflationary environment in the U.S., we experienced increases in our direct costs, including electricity and other energy-related costs for our network operations, and transportation and labor costs, as well as increased interest expenses related to rising interest rates. We believe that this inflationary environment and the resulting decline in real wages in the U.S. are altering consumer preferences and causing consumers to become more price conscious. These factors, along with impacts of the intense competition in our industries, resulted in increased costs and lower earnings per share during 2022, and caused us to lower our growth expectations and related financial guidance. We expect the inflationary environment and these other pressures to continue into 2023. Although we are taking various measures to improve efficiency and reduce costs, those measures may ultimately be ineffective or insufficient. If the economic slowdown in the U.S., inflation and other unfavorable economic conditions continue or worsen, they could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

🟡 Modified

If we are not able to take advantage of developments in technology and address changing consumer demand on a timely basis, or if the deployment of our 5G network is delayed or hindered for any reason, we may experience a decline in the demand for our services, be unable to implement our business strategy and experience reduced profits.

high match confidence

Sentence-level differences:

Reworded sentence: "The deployment of our 5G network is subject to a variety of risks, including those related to equipment availability, unexpected costs, and regulatory matters that could cause deployment delays or network performance issues."
Reworded sentence: "As we introduce new offerings and technologies, we expect to phase out outdated and unprofitable technologies and services."

Current (2024):

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Our industries are rapidly changing as new technologies are developed that offer consumers an array of choices for their communications needs and allow new entrants into the markets we serve. In order to grow and remain competitive, we will need to adapt to future changes in technology, enhance our existing offerings and introduce new offerings to address our customers’ changing demands. If we are unable to meet future challenges from competing technologies on a timely basis or at an acceptable cost, we could lose customers to our competitors. We may not be able to accurately predict technological trends or the success of new services in the market. If our new services fail to gain acceptance in the marketplace, or if costs associated with the implementation and introduction of these services materially increase, our ability to retain and attract customers could be adversely affected. The deployment of our 5G network is subject to a variety of risks, including those related to equipment availability, unexpected costs, and regulatory matters that could cause deployment delays or network performance issues. In addition, certain use cases for 5G technologies and related ecosystems are still in early development stages and their ultimate adoption or success is uncertain. These issues could result in significant costs, put us at a competitive disadvantage, or reduce the anticipated benefits of the enhancements to our networks. As we introduce new offerings and technologies, we expect to phase out outdated and unprofitable technologies and services. If we are unable to do so on a cost-effective basis, we could experience reduced profits. In addition, there could be legal or regulatory restraints on our ability to phase out current services.

View prior text (2023)

Our industries are rapidly changing as new technologies are developed that offer consumers an array of choices for their communications needs and allow new entrants into the markets we serve. In order to grow and remain competitive, we will need to adapt to future changes in technology, enhance our existing offerings and introduce new offerings to address our customers’ changing demands. If we are unable to meet future challenges from competing technologies on a timely basis or at an acceptable cost, we could lose customers to our competitors. We may not be able to accurately predict technological trends or the success of new services in the market. If our new services fail to gain acceptance in the marketplace, or if costs associated with the implementation and introduction of these services materially increase, our ability to retain and attract customers could be adversely affected. In addition, the deployment of our 5G network is subject to a variety of risks, including those related to equipment and spectrum availability, unexpected costs, and regulatory matters that could cause deployment delays or network performance issues. These issues could result in significant costs, put us at a competitive disadvantage, or reduce the anticipated benefits of the enhancements to our networks. As we introduce new offerings and technologies, such as 5G technology, we must phase out outdated and unprofitable technologies and services. If we are unable to do so on a cost-effective basis, we could experience reduced profits. In addition, there could be legal or regulatory restraints on our ability to phase out current services.