Home Depot (HD)

Risks

• Strong competition could adversely affect prices and demand for our products and services and could decrease our market share.
• We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer needs, expectations or trends, which could adversely affect our relationship with customers, the demand for our products and services, and our market share.
• A positive brand and reputation are critical to our business success, and, if our brand and reputation are damaged, it could negatively impact our relationships with our customers, associates, suppliers, vendors, and shareholders, and, consequently, our business and results of operations or the price of our stock.
• The execution of initiatives to expand our supply chain and enhance the interconnected shopping experience could disrupt our operations in the near term, and these initiatives might not provide the anticipated benefits or might fail.
• If we are unable to effectively manage and expand our alliances and relationships with selected suppliers of both brand name and proprietary products, we may be unable to effectively execute our strategy to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
• Our strategic transactions involve risks, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and we may not realize the anticipated benefits of these transactions.
• Our success depends upon our ability to attract, develop and retain highly qualified associates to provide excellent customer service and to support our strategic initiatives while also controlling our labor costs.
• A failure of a key information technology system or process could adversely affect our business.
• Disruptions in our customer-facing technology systems could impair our interconnected retail strategy and give rise to negative customer experiences.
• Disruptions in our supply chain and other factors affecting the distribution of our merchandise could adversely impact our business.
• If our efforts to maintain the privacy and security of customer, associate, supplier and Company information are not successful, we could incur substantial costs and reputational damage and could become subject to litigation and enforcement actions.
• We are subject to payment-related risks that could increase our operating costs, expose us to fraud or theft, subject us to potential liability, and potentially disrupt our business.
• Our business is subject to seasonal influences, and uncharacteristic or significant weather conditions, climate change, natural disasters, as well as other catastrophic events, could impact our operations.
• If we fail to identify and develop relationships with a sufficient number of qualified suppliers, or if our suppliers experience financial difficulties or other challenges, our ability to timely and efficiently access products that meet our high standards for quality could be adversely affected.
• Failure to achieve and maintain a high level of product and service quality and safety and ensure compliance with responsible sourcing laws and standards could damage our reputation with customers, expose us to litigation or enforcement actions, and negatively impact our sales and results of operations.
• Our proprietary products subject us to certain increased risks, including regulatory, product liability, intellectual property, supplier relations, and reputational risks.
• If we are unable to effectively manage our installation services business, we could suffer lost sales and be subject to fines, lawsuits and reputational damage, or the loss of our general contractor licenses.
• Uncertainty regarding the housing market, economic conditions, political and social climate, public health issues, and other factors beyond our control could adversely affect demand for our products and services, our costs of doing business, and our financial performance.
• The continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are highly unpredictable, volatile, and uncertain, and could adversely affect our business operations, demand for our products and services, our costs of doing business, availability of labor, access to inventory, supply chain operations, our ability to predict future performance, our exposure to litigation, and our financial performance, among other things.
• Our costs of doing business could increase as a result of changes in, expanded enforcement of, or adoption of new federal, state or local laws and regulations.
• The inflation or deflation of commodity and other prices could affect our prices, demand for our products, our sales and our profit margins.
• Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial results or financial condition.
• We are involved in a number of legal, regulatory and governmental enforcement proceedings, and while we cannot predict the outcomes of those proceedings and other contingencies with certainty, some of these outcomes may adversely affect our operations or increase our costs.