MSCI (MSCI)

Risks

• We are dependent on third parties to supply data, applications and services for our products and services and are dependent on certain vendors to distribute our products. A refusal or failure by a key vendor to distribute our products or any loss of key outside suppliers of data, applications or services or a reduction in the accuracy or quality of such data, applications or services or any failure by us to comply with our suppliers’ or distributors’ licensing requirements could impair our ability to provide our clients with our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• If our products contain undetected errors or fail to perform properly due to defects, malfunctions or similar problems, we may, among other things, become subject to increased costs or liability based on the use of our products or services to support our clients’ investment processes, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• The COVID-19 pandemic, or other widespread health crises, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Our clients that pay us a fee based on the assets under management or total expense ratio of an indexed investment product may seek to negotiate a lower asset-based fee percentage or lower the total expense ratio of such products or may cease using our indexes, which could limit the growth of or decrease our revenues from asset-based fees.
• Cancellations or reductions by any of our largest clients could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Our clients may become more self-sufficient, which may reduce demand for our products or services and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Any failures, disruptions, instability or vulnerabilities in our information technology architecture, platforms, vendors and service providers, production and delivery systems, software, code, internal network, the Internet or other systems or applications may disrupt our operations, cause our products to be unavailable or fail and impose delays or additional costs in deploying our products, or impose conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products or keep them confidential and result in reputational and other harm and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Any failure to ensure and protect the confidentiality of data could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Successful cyber-attacks and the failure of cyber-security plans, systems and procedures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Migration of our applications, systems, processes and infrastructure to new technologies, cloud providers, data centers, processes, platforms or applications could result in unanticipated failures, interruptions or delays in the performance and delivery of our products, services and client support. Such incidents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Our use of open source code could introduce security vulnerabilities, impose unanticipated delays or costs in deploying our products or services, or impose conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products or services or keep them confidential.
• Our business may be affected by changes in the global capital markets, including adverse equity market conditions, volatility in the financial markets and evolving investment trends. Such changes could decrease the use of our products and services which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Competition and financial and budgetary pressures affecting clients in our industry may cause price reductions or loss of market share, which may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Our global operations and any future expansions may continue to place significant strain on our management and other resources, as well as subject us to additional, and in some cases unanticipated, risks and costs in connection with political, economic, legal, operational and other issues resulting from our increased global footprint, which could materially adversely impact our businesses.
• Failure to comply with regulations, or the introduction of new regulations or changes to existing regulations could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Legal protections for our intellectual property rights and other rights may not be sufficient or available to protect our competitive advantages. Third parties may infringe on our intellectual property rights or we may infringe upon their intellectual property rights, which, in each case, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• Our revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities are subject to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuation risk.
• Our indebtedness could materially adversely affect our cash flows and financial flexibility.
• A change in our credit ratings could materially adversely affect our financial condition.
• We may have exposure to tax liabilities in various jurisdictions. Future changes in tax law could materially affect our tax obligations and effective tax rate.
• Our business performance might not be sufficient for us to meet the full-year financial guidance or long-term targets that we provide publicly.
• Our growth and profitability may not continue at the same rate as we have experienced in the past for several reasons, including if our operating costs are higher than expected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
• We may be exposed to liabilities as a result of failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to our global operations, including anti-corruption laws, and any determination that we violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.
• If we are unable to successfully identify, execute and realize expected returns and synergies from acquisitions or strategic partnerships or investments, or if we experience integration, financing, or other risks resulting from our acquisitions or strategic partnerships or investments, our financial results may be materially adversely affected.
• Our goodwill and other intangible assets resulting from our acquisitions could be impaired as a result of future business conditions, requiring us to record substantial write-downs that would reduce our operating income.
• If we fail to attract or retain the necessary qualified personnel, including through our compensation programs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
• We cannot provide any guaranty that we will continue to repurchase shares of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program.