INFO IHS Markit Ltd.

Risks

• We operate in competitive markets, which may adversely affect our financial results.
• We may be unsuccessful in achieving our guidance, growth and profitability objectives.
• If we are unable to identify opportunities, develop successful new products and services, or adapt to rapidly changing technology, our business could suffer serious harm.
• Fraudulent or unpermitted access to our data, services, or systems, or other cyber-security or privacy breaches may negatively impact our business and harm our reputation.
• We could experience system failures or capacity constraints that could negatively impact our business.
• Our transition to cloud-based technologies could expose us to operational disruptions.
• Design defects, errors, failures, or delays associated with our products or services could negatively impact our business.
• We depend on externally obtained software, content, and services to support our offerings, and the interruption or cessation of important third-party content or services could prove harmful to our business.
• Our relationships with third-party service providers may change, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
• Failure to comply with customer contracts or requirements could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and cash flows.
• The loss of, or the inability to attract and retain, qualified personnel could impair our future success.
• We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights and confidential information.
• We may be exposed to litigation related to products we make available to customers and we may face legal liability or damage to our reputation.
• We are subject to litigation and investigation risks which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
• Our use of open source software could result in litigation or impose unanticipated restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products and services.
• Our brand and reputation are key assets and competitive advantages of our company and our business may be affected by how we are perceived in the marketplace.
• Failure to operate our pricing and valuation services, benchmarks, and indices in a manner that maintains their independence and integrity could adversely affect our reputation and our business.
• Some of our products and services typically face long selling cycles to secure new contracts, which require significant resource commitments and result in long lead times before we receive revenue.
• Changes in the legislative, regulatory, and commercial environments in which we operate may adversely impact our ability to collect, compile, use, transfer, publish, or sell data, subject us to increased regulation or decreased demand of our products and services, or prevent us from offering certain products or services, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
• Legal, political, and economic uncertainty surrounding the planned exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union are a source of instability and uncertainty.
• Our international operations are subject to exchange rate fluctuations.
• International hostilities, terrorist or cyber-terrorist activities, natural disasters, pandemics, and infrastructure disruptions could prevent us from effectively serving our customers and thus adversely affect our results of operations.
• Acquisitions, joint ventures, or similar strategic relationships, or dispositions of our businesses, and the related integration or separation risks, may require significant resources or result in unanticipated costs or liabilities or fail to deliver anticipated benefits, and may disrupt or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
• Our indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
• A downgrade to our credit ratings would increase our cost of borrowing under our credit facility and adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets.
• We cannot provide any guaranty of future dividend payments or that we will continue to repurchase our common shares pursuant to our share repurchase program.
• The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may not agree that, after the 2016 merger of IHS Inc. and Markit Ltd., IHS Markit should be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and/or that we are not subject to certain other adverse U.S. federal income tax laws relating to certain transactions that we may undertake in the future. In addition, future changes to U.S. tax laws could adversely affect us.
• Audits, investigations, tax proceedings and future changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
• Bermuda law differs from the laws in effect in the United States and may afford less protection to holders of our common shares, including enforcing judgments against us or our directors and executive officers.
• We have anti-takeover provisions in our bye-laws that may discourage a change of control.