ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The occurrence of any of the following risks or of unknown risks and uncertainties may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Risk Factor Summary
This risk factor summary contains a high-level summary of risks associated with our business. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you, and you should read this risk factor summary together with the more detailed discussion of risks and uncertainties set forth following this summary. A summary of our risks includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Our results of operations are cyclical and could be adversely affected by fluctuations in the commodity prices for meat, livestock (primarily hogs) and feed ingredients.
• Disruption of our supply chain could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• An inability to realize savings and efficiency gains could adversely affect profitability and we may be unable to achieve any or all of our financial and operational targets.
• The food industry in which we operate is highly competitive, and our inability to compete successfully, or the effects of such competition, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• Changes in consumer preferences and failure to maintain favorable consumer perception of our brands and products could negatively impact our business.
• Outbreaks of disease among or attributed to livestock can significantly affect production, the supply of raw materials, demand for our products and our business.
• Our operations are subject to the general risks associated with the food industry, including perceived or real health risks related to our products or the food industry generally and risks associated with government regulations.
• Product liability claims or product recalls can adversely affect our business reputation, expose us to increased scrutiny by federal and state regulators and may not be covered by insurance.
• Any disruption of operations at one or more of our production facilities, distribution centers or cold storage facilities, including as a result of natural disasters, public health crises, political crises and instability, civil unrest and other catastrophic events or events outside of our control, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• Our reliance on third-party service providers can have an adverse effect on our business.
• Due to seasonality or changes in our promotional activities, our revenue and operating results may vary from quarter to quarter.
• Significant increases in the cost of distribution could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• We are increasingly dependent on IT, and our business and reputation could suffer if we are unable to protect our IT systems against, or effectively respond to, cyberattacks, other cyber-incidents or security breaches or if our IT systems are otherwise disrupted.
• Our operations are subject to the risks associated with acquisitions, investments in joint ventures and divestitures.
• Climate change, or legal, regulatory, voluntary or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business, operations or reputation.
• We are subject to risks associated with our international sales, including disruptions to the worldwide economy due to changes in U.S. trade policy.
• We depend on availability of, and satisfactory relations with, our employees.
• We are subject to various risks relating to worker employment and health and safety.
• We depend upon the continued services of certain key members of our senior management team, without whom our business operations could be significantly disrupted.
• The consolidation of customers and/or the loss of our customers could adversely impact our business.
• Impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or intangible assets could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and net worth.
• The loss of any trademark or other intellectual property right could enable other companies to compete more effectively with us.
• Deterioration of economic conditions could negatively impact our business.
• If tax laws change or we experience adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our tax returns or disagreements with taxing authorities, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• We face risks associated with the long-term trend toward increased activism against companies in the food products industry.
• We are subject to extensive governmental regulations, which require significant compliance expenditures.
• Governmental authorities may take further action restricting our ability to produce and/or sell livestock or adopt new regulations impacting our production or processing operations, which could adversely affect our business.
• We may be impacted by legislation targeting foreign ownership of land, or foreign ownership or operation of facilities, located in the U.S.
• We are, and could become, subject to legal proceedings and regulatory investigations that may result in significant expenses, fines and reputational damage.
• Government antitrust and foreign investment policies and regulations may limit our strategic growth opportunities, including certain acquisitions and joint ventures.
• Environmental regulation and related litigation and commitments could have a material adverse effect on us.
• WH Group controls us, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future.
• We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of Nasdaq and, as a result rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of other companies that are subject to such requirements.
• Our indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and liquidity by limiting our ability to service debt, exposing us to interest rate risk on variable-rate borrowings, and permitting additional indebtedness that could further increase our financial leverage and related risks.
• Changes in relations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), or in U.S. regulations concerning the PRC, may adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, our ability to raise capital or the market price of our common stock.
• Failure to comply with requirements to design, implement, and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.
• We expect to continue paying regular dividends to our shareholders, but our ability to do so is subject to the discretion of our board and may be limited by our financial condition, our credit facilities, the indentures governing the notes we previously issued and applicable law.
Risks Relating to Our Business and Operations
Our results of operations are cyclical and could be adversely affected by fluctuations in the commodity prices for meat, livestock (primarily hogs) and feed ingredients.
We are significantly impacted by the cyclical nature of commodity prices for meat, livestock (primarily hogs) and feed ingredients such as grains, as well as the selling price of our products and competing animal protein products on the market (especially beef and chicken), all of which are determined by constantly changing and volatile market forces of supply and demand. These fluctuations can be significant, as shown in recent years, with average lean hog prices published by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (“CME”), decreasing from $98 per hundredweight in fiscal year 2022 to $81 per hundredweight in fiscal year 2023 and then increasing to $94 per hundredweight in fiscal year 2025. Further, hog raising costs are largely dependent on the fluctuations of commodity prices for corn, grains, soybean meal, wheat and other feed ingredients. Our Hog Production segment generally generates higher profits when hog prices are high and feed ingredient prices are low, and lower profits (or losses) when hog prices are low and feed ingredient prices are high. When hog prices are lower than our hog production costs, our non-vertically integrated competitors (i.e., those without significant hog production operations) may have a cost advantage over us.
Other factors that may impact commodity prices and our results of operations include, but are not limited to:
• competing demand for feed ingredients, such as competing demand for corn for use in the manufacture of ethanol or other alternative fuels;
• environmental regulations;
• changes in governmental agricultural programs;
• tariffs and other import and export restrictions, such as trade barriers resulting from, among other things, developments in international relations and food safety concerns;
• transportation interruptions or increases in diesel fuel costs;
• an increase in pork processing capacity, adversely impacting fresh meat values;
• adverse weather conditions, including the impact of climate change and weather on our water supply and the availability and pricing of feed ingredients;
• energy prices, including the effect of changes in energy prices on our transportation costs and the cost of feed;
• contamination with mold or bacteria;
• the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and other similar disruptions in the future; and
• labor strikes, industrial accidents, occupational health and safety issues and animal welfare or food safety issues (including the real or perceived outbreak of food-borne illnesses or outbreaks of diseases among livestock).
Profitability in our industry is materially affected by the commodity prices of animal feed ingredients, such as grain, corn and soybean meal and wheat. The production of feed ingredients is positively or negatively affected due to various factors, primarily by the global level of supply inventories and demand for feed ingredients, the agricultural policies of the U.S. and other countries and weather patterns and climatic conditions throughout the world. Market prices for feed ingredients remain volatile. High prices for animal feed ingredients may have a material adverse effect on our operating results. In addition, geopolitical conflicts or other disruptions affecting global energy markets may increase fuel and transportation costs and may also contribute to higher prices for feed ingredients and other agricultural inputs. A significant decrease in pork prices for a sustained period of time could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated sales.
Given the volatility of the commodity prices, we have sought to reduce our reliance and exposure to commodity markets by entering into supply contracts that offer price and supply stability and implementing cost-saving programs to offset rising commodity costs. For example, we have been reducing the number of hogs we own and raise and increasing the number of hogs we purchase from contract farmers under market agreements. However, if we are not able to continue to execute and maintain marketing and purchasing contracts with independent growers or supply contracts with our contract farmers on attractive terms, or if our counterparties are unable to perform their obligations under such agreements, our results of operations would be negatively affected.
We attempt to manage certain of these risks through the use of our risk management and hedging programs. However, we may not be effective in doing so and, in any case, these programs may also limit our ability to realize gains from favorable commodity fluctuations. Additionally, a portion of our commodity derivative contracts are marked-to-market, such that the unrealized gains and losses are reported in earnings as incurred. This accounting treatment may cause significant volatility in our earnings. See “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and “Note 8: Derivative Financial Instruments” to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the effects of derivative instruments on our consolidated statements of income.
Furthermore, we may be unable to price our products to cover increased costs. Competitive considerations and customer resistance to price increases may delay or make us unable to adjust our selling prices. To the extent we are
unable to either re-engineer or otherwise offset increased costs or are unwilling or unable to build price increases into a higher quoted price or negotiating higher prices, our margins will be negatively affected. Conversely, when raw materials prices decline, we may receive customer pressure to reduce our sales prices.
Disruption of our supply chain could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The primary raw materials used in our business are hogs, fresh pork, raw beef, poultry and animal feed ingredients, including corn, grains, soybean meal and wheat. Disruption to our raw material supply due to adverse weather conditions, climate change, crop conditions, natural disaster, fire, terrorism, pandemic or epidemic, changes in governmental agricultural programs, strikes, import restrictions, transportation interruptions, increases in diesel fuel costs, increases in handling and storage costs, cold chain market fluctuations, contamination with mold or bacteria, the real or perceived outbreak of food-borne illnesses or outbreak of diseases among livestock, water shortage, industrial accidents and other occupational health and safety issues or other events beyond our control could impair, and in some cases have impaired, our ability to produce and sell our products.
In addition, we rely on specific suppliers for the provision of certain ingredients and materials, including sodium for our hogs and sourcing of carbon dioxide. Any disruption in supply of ingredients or materials could affect our ongoing operations and our ability to fulfill demand. A disruption in our supply chain may require significant costs and resources to restore and may also force us to buy material at higher prices, which can substantially increase our costs. We may not be able to pass on all or part of the increased costs to customers in the form of price increases, in a timely manner or at all. Even if we are able to increase our selling prices, sustained price increases for our products may lead to sales declines and loss of market share, particularly if our competitors do not increase their prices.
An inability to realize savings and efficiency gains could adversely affect profitability and we may be unable to achieve any or all of our financial and operational targets.
We are currently implementing multiple savings opportunities across the areas of production, procurement, commercial and logistics, which we expect will deliver productivity savings and help us effectively manage margins and profitability. In addition, we have ongoing initiatives to improve profitability and efficiency gains of the Hog Production segment, including genetic transformation, herd health improvements, procurement and nutrition savings.
However, our cost-savings expectations are based upon several assumptions and estimates that are difficult to predict, necessarily speculative in nature and subject to significant business, operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. A variety of factors could affect the realization of some or all of the expected cost savings and efficiency gains, including, but not limited to, our anticipated business strategies, our marketing strategies, our product development and licensing strategies, our ability to anticipate and react to business trends, general economic conditions, lack of sustainability in cost savings over time, unexpected costs associated with operating our business and other developments in our industry. The actual results of implementing the various cost savings and efficiency initiatives may differ materially from our current estimates. Moreover, we may not be able to identify or implement further cost savings and efficiency initiatives in the future. In addition, our continued efforts to implement cost savings and efficiency initiatives may divert management attention from the rest of our business and may preclude us from seeking attractive new product opportunities or pursuing other initiatives, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We may be unable to achieve or improve all of these cost savings and efficiency gains within the expected timeframe, or at all, and we may incur additional or unexpected costs in order to realize them.
The food industry in which we operate is highly competitive, and our inability to compete successfully, or the effects of such competition, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The food industry in which we operate is highly competitive. Numerous brands and products compete for shelf space and sales, with competition in our Packaged Meats and Fresh Pork segments based primarily on taste, product quality, nutritional profile and dietary attributes, product availability, convenience, price, brand recognition and loyalty and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. Our ability to compete effectively depends on our capacity to execute across these criteria.
Although we regularly conduct R&D activities to develop new products that meet our standards for quality and appeal to consumer preferences, the success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by our ability to anticipate changes in consumer preferences, the technical capability of our employees in developing and testing product prototypes, our ability to comply with applicable governmental regulations, and the success of our management, sales and marketing teams in introducing and marketing new products, including through current and new product categories.
The protein industry is highly competitive. We compete with large multi-brand packaged foods businesses, as well as fresh meat companies, private, category-focused companies and pork processing companies. Our products compete with many other protein sources, including chicken, beef and seafood, but our principal competition comes from other pork processors. Additionally, we face competition for export sales from both domestic and international suppliers.
Some of our competitors have greater scale, marketing resources, name recognition, R&D capabilities and/or other resources (financial and otherwise) than we do, and some of the companies may be more innovative and able to bring new products to market faster and more quickly exploit and serve niche markets or new or burgeoning consumer preferences than us.
There can be no assurance that we will successfully develop and market new products or successfully introduce products in new categories. The development and introduction of new products requires substantial marketing expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup if the new products do not gain widespread market acceptance. If we introduce new or improved products that ultimately do not meet objectives for such products, it could impact our growth, sales and profitability. Any failure to successfully develop, market and launch future products or successfully enter into new product categories may lead to decreased growth, sales and profitability.
Further, our competitors could increase their promotional spending or market and sell their products more successfully than we do. Our competitors could also offer lower prices to customers, which could pressure us to lower prices to our customers and to achieve additional cost savings to offset these reductions. We may be unable to change our cost structure and pricing practices rapidly enough or sufficiently to successfully compete in such an environment.
We may be unable to compete successfully with any or all of these companies. Competitive pressures or other factors could cause us to lose sales, which may require us to lower prices, increase the use of discounting or promotional programs, or increase marketing expenditures, each of which would adversely affect our margins and could result in a decrease in our operating results and profitability.
Changes in consumer preferences and failure to maintain favorable consumer perception of our brands and products could negatively impact our business.
The food industry in general is subject to changing consumer trends, demands and preferences. Trends within the food industry change often, and failure to identify and react to changes in these trends could lead to, among other things, reduced demand and price reductions for our brands and products. We strive to respond to consumer preferences and social expectations, but we may not be successful in our efforts.
We have a number of widely recognized brands with significant value. Maintaining and continually enhancing the value of these brands is critical to the success of our business. Brand value is based in large part on consumer perceptions. Success in promoting and enhancing brand value depends in large part on our ability to provide high-quality products. Brand value could diminish significantly due to a number of factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products (whether or not valid), our failure to maintain the safety and quality of our food products or ingredients (or the food safety system generally), the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences or the products becoming unavailable to consumers.
Prolonged negative perceptions concerning the health implications of certain food products or ingredients or loss of confidence in the food safety system generally could influence consumer preferences and acceptance of our products
and marketing programs. Prolonged negative perceptions and failure to satisfy consumer preferences could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The use of social and digital media by consumers has greatly increased the speed and extent that information or misinformation can be shared. Individuals and organizations have in the past used social media platforms to publicize information and perceptions about the food production industry in general and our company in particular. Such publications could damage our reputation. A negative perception by consumers of one or more of our brands or a shift in consumer preferences away from animal-based products may result in reduced sales of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Outbreaks of disease among or attributed to livestock can significantly affect production, the supply of raw materials, demand for our products and our business.
We are subject to risks relating to our ability to maintain animal health and control diseases. Real or perceived livestock health problems could adversely impact our production, our supply of raw materials and consumer confidence in all of our operating segments.
From time to time, we have experienced outbreaks of livestock diseases, and we may experience additional occurrences of livestock disease in the future. For example, there have been recent outbreaks of both high- and low-pathogenic strains of avian influenza in the U.S . The outbreaks of both high- and low-pathogenic strains of avian influenza are a fairly common occurrence in Mexico. Adverse publicity concerning any disease or health concern could also cause customers to lose confidence in the safety and quality of our food products. Outbreaks of disease, including African Swine Fever (“ASF”), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Foot and Mouth Disease and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (“HPAI”), can have a significant impact on our financial results. In recent years, ASF has impacted hog herds in Asia (including in China), Europe and the Caribbean; and, if an outbreak of ASF were to occur in the U.S . , our supply of hogs and pork could be materially impacted. In 2024, HPAI was detected in the U.S. in dairy cattle, wild birds, mammals, and farm workers directly exposed to infected dairy or poultry. The U.S. pork market was significantly impacted by the spreading of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus in 2014 and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus in 2015, which affected our herds in several regions. The spread of these diseases in the U.S . reduced hog supplies, leading to higher meat prices. In 2015, the hog herds recovered and supply increase yielded lower market prices. Neither of these diseases or the corresponding fluctuations to market prices had a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. However, we cannot guarantee that the outbreak of any such diseases would not have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations in the future.
The outbreak of such diseases could adversely affect our supply of raw materials, increase the cost of production, reduce the number of livestock offspring produced, hamper the growth of livestock to finished size, result in expensive vaccination programs and require in some cases the destruction of infected livestock, any of which could adversely affect our operating margins. Additionally, the real or perceived outbreak of disease may hinder our ability to market and sell products both domestically and internationally. Any real or perceived outbreak of disease, including contamination of other livestock of our competitors, could also reduce consumer confidence in the meat products affected by the particular disease, generate adverse publicity, depress market conditions for our hogs internationally and/or domestically and result in the imposition of import or export restrictions.
Our operations are subject to the general risks associated with the food industry, including perceived or real health risks related to our products or the food industry generally and risks associated with government regulations.
We are subject to risks affecting the food industry generally, including risks posed by the following:
• food spoilage;
• food contamination;
• food allergens;
• consumer nutritional and health-related concerns;
• consumer product liability claims;
• product tampering;
• product labeling errors;
• the expense and possible unavailability of product liability insurance; and
• the potential cost and disruption of a product recall or withdrawal.
Adverse publicity concerning any perceived or real health risk associated with our brands or our products could cause customers to lose confidence in the safety and quality of our food products, which could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operation, particularly as we expand our branded products business. We could also be adversely affected by perceived or real health risks associated with similar products produced by others to the extent such risks cause customers to lose confidence in the safety and quality of such products generally and, therefore, lead customers to opt for other options that are perceived as safe.
Our manufacturing facilities and products, including the processing, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising and labeling of our products, are subject to extensive federal, state and foreign laws and regulations in the food safety area, including regular government inspections and governmental food processing controls. Loss of or failure to obtain necessary permits and registrations could delay or prevent us from meeting current product demand, introducing new products, building new facilities or acquiring new businesses and could adversely affect operating results. If we are found to be out of compliance with applicable laws and regulations, particularly if it relates to or compromises food safety or animal welfare, we could be subject to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or asset seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, future material changes in food safety and animal welfare regulations could result in increased operating costs or could be required to be implemented on schedules that cannot be met without interruptions in our operations.
Product liability claims or product recalls can adversely affect our business reputation, expose us to increased scrutiny by federal and state regulators and may not be covered by insurance.
Pork and poultry products may be subject to contamination by foreign materials, exposure to chemicals of concern from packaging or environmental exposure, or disease-producing organisms or pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Campylobacter and generic E.coli, Yersinia enterocolitica and Staphylococcus aureus. Because these pathogens are generally found in the environment, there is a risk that, as a result of food processing, they could be present in our products. We cannot assure you that our food safety monitoring systems, even when working effectively, will eliminate all such risks related to food safety. These risks cannot be eliminated entirely even with adherence to good manufacturing practices and finished product testing. We license our brand abroad and have little, if any control, over the products sold under such licenses. Any quality issues with such products could cause reputational damage to us. We also have little, if any, control over proper handling once the product has been shipped. Illness and death may result if the pathogens are not eliminated at the further processing, food service or consumer level. Even an inadvertent shipment of contaminated products is a violation of law and may lead to increased risk of exposure to product liability claims, product recalls and increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies and may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation and/or prospects. The packaging, marketing and distribution of food products entail an inherent risk of product liability and product recall and the resultant adverse publicity. We may be subject to significant liability if the consumption of any of our products causes injury, illness or death.
We could be required, and in some instances have in the past been required to, recall certain products due to such products being mislabeled, contaminated, spoiled, tampered with or damaged, whether caused by us or someone in our supply chain. A widespread product recall or market withdrawal could result in significant losses due to the cost of a recall or withdrawal, the destruction of product inventory, potential customer claims, lost sales due to the unavailability of product for a period of time. The costs associated with product recalls could be exacerbated by
issues encountered in tracing affected products either within our facilities or in the hands of third parties. In addition, such a product recall or withdrawal could also result in adverse publicity, damage to our reputation and a loss of consumer confidence in our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business results. Any product contamination or mislabeling also could subject us to, and in some instances has subjected us to, product liability claims, adverse publicity or government scrutiny, investigation or intervention, resulting in increased costs and decreased sales as customers lose confidence in the safety and quality of our food products.
In addition, we purchase ingredients, commodities and other raw materials from third-party suppliers. If these materials are alleged or prove to include contaminants that affect the safety or quality of our products or are otherwise rumored to have adverse effects, we may need to find alternate materials for our products, delay production of our products, or discard or otherwise dispose of our products, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if this occurs after the affected product has been distributed, we may need to withdraw or recall the affected product and we may experience adverse publicity or product liability claims. We cannot assure you that we will not be required to perform product recalls, or that product liability claims will not be asserted against us, in the future. Any claims that may be made may create adverse publicity that would have a material adverse effect on our ability to market our products successfully or on our business, reputation, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Moreover, claims or liabilities of this type might not be covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We do not currently maintain any product recall insurance and we cannot be sure that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of our insurance coverage. A product liability judgment against us or a widespread product recall could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. To date, product recalls have not had a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
Any disruption of operations at one or more of our production facilities, distribution centers or cold storage facilities, including as a result of natural disasters, public health crises, political crises and instability, civil unrest and other catastrophic events or events outside of our control, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our production and distribution network consists of numerous processing plants and distribution centers that are either company-owned or rented, and numerous third-party cold storage facilities in North America. Any disruption in, or the loss of operations at, one or more of these facilities, even on a short-term basis, could delay or postpone production or distribution of our products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Natural disasters, such as fires, earthquakes, power shortages or outages, floods or monsoons, public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, political crises, such as terrorism, war, civil unrest, political instability or other conflict, or other events outside of our control have in the past, and may in the future, adversely impact our results of operations.
Such disruption could be caused by a number of different events, including:
• maintenance outages;
• regulatory actions;
• prolonged power failures;
• equipment or software failure;
• widespread contamination of our equipment;
• fires, floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters; or
• other events beyond our control.
Any material malfunction or prolonged disruption in the operations of any of our facilities, including our manufacturing facilities, farms, distribution facilities, stores of our wholesale partners or the facilities of our suppliers, distributors or any of our other third-party service providers, could prevent us from fulfilling orders to existing customers and could limit our ability to sell products to new customers. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
A meaningful portion of our packaged meat and fresh pork products are distributed through our facility in Kansas and disruption to operations at this facility would require us to change our overall distribution activities which would likely have an adverse impact on our operations. We also utilize third-party warehouse and transportation providers through which a meaningful portion of our product is distributed. A disruption in storage or transportation services could be caused by a number of factors, including:
• labor issues;
• port and shipping capacity;
• failure to meet customer standards;
• acts of war;
• terrorism;
• fire, earthquakes, extreme temperatures, flooding or other natural disasters; or
• bankruptcy or other financial issues affecting the third-party providers of such services.
A disruption in storage or transportation services could result in an inability to supply materials to our facilities or finished products to our distribution centers or customers. Alternatives may not be available on short notice or could result in higher transportation costs. Any disruption in the distribution chain of our products or an increase in the cost of these services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our reliance on third-party service providers can have an adverse effect on our business.
We rely on third-party service providers for many areas of our business, including transportation and cold storage. Failure by these third parties, including independent growers, to meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations to us, or our failure to adequately monitor their performance, have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in additional costs to remediate errors made by such service providers. Depending on the function involved, such errors have in the past led to and can in the future lead to business disruption, systems performance degradation, processing inefficiencies or other systems disruptions, the loss of or damage to intellectual property or sensitive data through security breaches or otherwise, incorrect or adverse effects on financial reporting, litigation or remediation costs and damage to our reputation, all of which can adversely affect our business. For example, should the refrigeration system fail at one of our third-party cold storage facilities, we could suffer the loss of some, or all, of our inventory. Should our contract manufacturers go out of business or suffer major equipment failure, we may lose the ability to produce sufficient quantities of our products for a period of time before establishing production with a new manufacturer. Any number of similar failures suffered by our service providers could prove damaging to our ongoing operations and our ability to fulfill demand.
Due to seasonality or changes in our promotional activities, our revenue and operating results may vary from quarter to quarter.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations due to the seasonal nature of our business. Hog supply and consumer purchasing patterns are impacted by seasonal factors, including weather and holidays. Seasonality could cause our results of operations for an interim financial period to fluctuate and not be indicative of our full-year results. Seasonality also impacts relative net sales and profitability of each quarter of the year, both on a quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year basis. If we fail to effectively manage our
inventories or fluctuations in business as a result of promotional activities or other factors, seasonality could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Significant increases in the cost of distribution could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our distribution costs primarily include freight and cold storage. Significant increases in these distribution costs could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We use a core group of contract carriers that have established rates based on mileage to regions or destination states. A fuel surcharge addendum is a component of all rates to offset the fluctuating price of diesel fuel, primarily to limit the contract carrier’s exposure. If these surcharges rise significantly and we do not have effective hedges in place, or if we are unable to pass increased distribution costs on to our customers in the form of higher prices for our products, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, if we increase prices to offset higher transportation and distribution costs, we could experience lower demand for our products, decreased ability to attract new customers and lower sales volumes.
We use in-house and third-party cold storage vendors to store our finished goods. A major component of cold storage operations expense is electricity cost. Any significant increase in electricity rates for the vendor are passed along to us in the form of higher storage rates. If our storage rates or electricity rates for in-house cold storage increase significantly, we may be unable to pass these costs on to our customers, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are increasingly dependent on IT, and our business and reputation could suffer if we are unable to protect our IT systems against, or effectively respond to, cyberattacks, other cyber-incidents or security breaches or if our IT systems are otherwise disrupted.
IT is an important part of our business operations, and we increasingly rely on IT systems to manage business data and increase efficiencies in our production and distribution facilities and inventory management processes. We also use IT to process financial information and results of operations and to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements. In addition, we depend on IT for digital marketing and electronic communications among our facilities, personnel, customers and suppliers. Like other companies, our IT systems are vulnerable to a variety of disruptions, including, but not limited to, the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components thereof, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, cyberattacks, hackers, unauthorized access attempts and other security issues. Cyberattacks and other cyber-incidents are occurring more frequently, constantly evolving in nature, becoming more sophisticated and being made by groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise. In particular, cyberattacks are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence, making them more complex and harder to detect and defend against. Our security initiatives and disaster recovery plans to mitigate our exposure to these risks may not be adequate. Any significant failure of our systems, including failures that prevent our systems from functioning as intended or our failure to timely identify or appropriately respond to cyberattacks or other cyber-incidents, could cause transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, loss of customers and sales, have negative consequences on our employees and our business partners, have a negative impact on our operations and business reputation and expose us to liability, litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.
In addition, targeted cyberattacks or those that result from a security incident directed at a third-party vendor that we rely on have in the past created and can in the future create a risk of compromise to our internal systems, products and offerings, which have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in interruptions or delays that could disrupt our business operations. If our supply chain cybersecurity is compromised as a result of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance, stolen or fraudulently obtained log-in credentials or otherwise, our business may be harmed and we could incur significant liabilities.
The costs to address cybersecurity risks or risks on IT failure, both before and after an incident, have in the past been and could in the future be significant, regardless of whether incidents result or resulted from an attack on us directly, or on third-party vendors upon which we rely. If we are unable to prevent security breaches, we may suffer financial and reputational damage or penalties because of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information belonging to
us or to our business partners, customers, consumers or suppliers. Finally, the disclosure of non-public information through external media channels could lead to the loss of intellectual property or damage our reputation and brand image. Any such incidents could subject us to government investigations and regulatory enforcement actions, litigation, potential liability, and damage to our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business and operations.
Our operations are subject to the risks associated with acquisitions, investments in joint ventures and divestitures.
From time to time, we review opportunities for strategic growth through acquisitions. We have also pursued and may in the future pursue strategic growth through investment in joint ventures. These acquisitions and investments may involve large transactions or realignment of existing investments. These transactions present financial, managerial and operational challenges, including:
• diversion of management attention from managing our existing business;
• difficulty with integrating businesses, operations, personnel and financial and other systems;
• lack of experience in operating in the geographical or product markets of the acquired business;
• new or additional regulatory requirements;
• failure to realize any or all of the anticipated benefits, including cost synergies;
• increased levels of debt potentially leading to associated reduction in ratings of our debt securities and adverse impact on our various financial ratios;
• the requirement that we periodically review the value at which we carry our investments in joint ventures and, in the event we determine that the value at which we carry a joint venture investment has been impaired, the requirement to record a non-cash impairment charge, which charge could substantially affect our reported earnings in the period of such charge, would negatively impact our financial ratios and could limit our ability to obtain financing in the future;
• potential loss of key employees and customers of the acquired business;
• assumption of and exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of acquired businesses;
• potential disputes with the sellers; and
• for our investments, potential lack of common business goals and strategies with, and cooperation of, our joint venture partners.
Product sales and our manufacturing facilities are subject to USDA and FDA regulation in the U.S. and comparable regulatory requirements outside the U.S. Failure to satisfy such regulatory requirements may impact our ability to manufacture and sell such products or may subject us to regulatory or judicial enforcement actions that could be costly and time consuming and could divert the attention of management, as well as negatively impact our reputation and brand. We may experience financial or other setbacks if any of the businesses that we have acquired or may acquire in the future have problems of which we are not aware or liabilities that exceed expectations.
Additionally, from time to time, we may divest businesses that do not meet our strategic objectives or do not meet our growth or profitability targets. We may not be able to complete desired or proposed divestitures on terms favorable to us. Gains or losses from the sales of, or lost operating profit from, those businesses may adversely affect our profitability and margins. Moreover, we may incur asset impairment charges related to divestitures that reduce our profitability. Our divestiture activities may present financial, managerial and operational risks, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with our international sales, including disruptions to the worldwide economy due to changes in U.S. trade policy.
We export our products to over 30 countries, including China, and we are engaged in a joint venture in Mexico. For the fiscal year 2025, U.S. export sales accounted for 11% of our total sales. Because of the growing market share of U.S. pork products in the international markets, U.S. exporters are increasingly being affected by measures taken by importing countries to protect local producers.
Our international sales and investments operations are subject to various risks related to economic or political uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the following risks:
• general economic and political conditions;
• imposition of tariffs, quotas, trade barriers and other trade protection measures by various countries;
• investigations or enforcement actions by foreign governments in jurisdictions where we do business related to alleged unfair trade practices;
• import or export licensing requirements imposed by various countries;
• the closing of borders by foreign countries to the import of our products due to, among other things, animal disease or other perceived health or safety issues;
• difficulties and costs associated with complying with, and enforcing remedies under, a wide variety of complex domestic and international laws, treaties and regulations, including anti-corruption laws, export controls and sanctions laws and anti-money laundering laws;
• the risk that the parties with which we do business, including parties that may resell our products in foreign countries, may not comply with all applicable laws, treaties and regulations, including import and export licensing requirements, anti-corruption laws (including, but not limited to, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, due to our operations in Mexico), sanctions laws, anti-bribery laws and anti-money laundering laws, and that any such non-compliance may have direct or indirect consequences on us, such as reputational harm and subjecting us to government investigations or penalties;
• different regulatory structures and unexpected changes in regulatory environments;
• tax rates that may exceed those in the U.S . and earnings that may be subject to withholding requirements and incremental taxes upon repatriation;
• potentially negative consequences from changes in tax laws;
• increased distribution costs, disruptions in shipping or reduced availability of freight transportation; and
• disruptions or halts in operations at ports in the U.S.
The U.S. has recently implemented significant changes to its trade policy, including renegotiating or terminating existing trade agreements and threatening and/or imposing new or additional tariffs on certain countries with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits, including China. Either in response to U.S. actions or on their own initiative, China and other countries have imposed their own new and additional tariffs on products shipped from the U.S. As of December 28, 2025, products we export to China faced tariffs that ranged from 25% to 47%, with most products subject to 47% tariff rates. If China were to significantly increase the tariff rates imposed on our products, whether in response to similar action by the U.S. or otherwise, we may have to reduce or even cease selling our products in China.
The U.S. pork industry depends on free and open export markets to support growth. China, Mexico and Canada are three of our largest export markets. Tariffs imposed on U.S. pork exports could increase U.S. pork supplies, which would also affect the price of pork in the U.S. We could also experience a decrease in demand or lose customers due
to anti-American sentiment. Any of the above could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot predict future trade policy and regulations in the U.S. and other countries, the terms of any renegotiated trade agreements or treaties, or tariffs and their impact on our business. Continuation of or escalations in trade tension could have a significant adverse effect on world trade and macroeconomic markets at large. To the extent that trade tariffs and other restrictions imposed by the U.S. or other countries increase the price of, or limit the amount of, our products or raw materials used in our products imported into the U.S. or other countries, or create adverse tax consequences, the sales, cost or gross margin of our products may be adversely affected and the demand from our customers for products may be diminished. Uncertainty surrounding international trade policy and regulations as well as disputes and protectionist measures could also have an adverse effect on consumer confidence and spending.
Furthermore, our foreign operations are subject to the risks described above as well as additional risks and uncertainties including:
• fluctuations in currency values, which have affected, among other things, the costs of our investments in foreign operations;
• translation of foreign currencies into U.S. dollars;
• foreign currency exchange controls; and
• unstable political environments.
Negative consequences relating to these risks and uncertainties could jeopardize or limit our ability to export our products to one or more of those markets and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on availability of, and satisfactory relations with, our employees.
As of December 28, 2025, we had approximately 32,000 employees in the U.S. and approximately 2,500 in Mexico, with approximately 44% of our total workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements or are members of labor unions. Our operations depend on the availability, retention and relative costs of labor and maintaining satisfactory relations with employees and the labor unions. Further, employee shortages can and do occur, particularly in rural areas where some of our operations are located. Labor relations issues arise from time to time, including issues in connection with union efforts to represent employees at our plants and with the negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements. If we fail to maintain satisfactory relations with our employees or with the labor unions, we may experience labor strikes, work stoppages or other labor disputes. Negotiation of collective bargaining agreements also could result in higher ongoing labor costs.
Immigration reform continues to attract significant attention in the public arena and the U.S. Congress. If new immigration legislation is enacted, such laws may contain provisions that could increase our costs in recruiting, training and retaining employees, increase our costs of complying with federal law in reviewing employees’ immigration status and create employee shortages. Furthermore, increased enforcement efforts with respect to existing immigration laws by governmental authorities may disrupt a portion of our workforce or our operations. There can be no assurance that these activities or consequences will not adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations in the future.
We also rely on an adequate supply of skilled employees in the farming and corporate areas. Trained and experienced personnel in our industry are in high demand, and we have experienced high turnover and difficulty retaining employees with appropriate training and skills. We cannot predict whether we will be able to attract, motivate and maintain an adequate skilled workforce necessary to operate our existing and future facilities efficiently, or that labor expenses will not increase as a result of a shortage in the supply of skilled personnel, thereby adversely impacting our financial performance. While our industry generally operates with high employee
turnover, any material increases in employee turnover rates or any widespread employee dissatisfaction could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to various risks relating to worker employment and health and safety.
Given the nature of our operations, the type of work performed by our employees and the number of plants and employees that we have, we are subject to various risks relating to employment eligibility and worker safety. We cannot assure you that no accidents will occur. Workplace accidents have previously resulted in lawsuits, regulatory or administrative investigations and inquiries and fines and penalties, and we may become subject to additional such lawsuits, investigations and inquiries, and fines and penalties in the future, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Allegations or findings that we, our suppliers, third-party staffing agencies or other business partners are not complying with applicable workplace and labor laws, including child labor laws, or regarding illegal employment of foreign workers, could negatively affect our overall reputation and brand image, which in turn could have a negative impact on our relationships with customers, consumers and our brand license partners, as well as subject us to increased regulatory and political scrutiny. In addition, the discovery by us or governmental authorities of undocumented workers could result in our having to attempt to replace those workers, which could be disruptive to our operations or may be difficult to do. Moreover, failure or perceived failure to comply with legal or regulatory requirements applicable to our business could expose us to litigation, governmental inquiries and substantial fines and penalties, as well as costs and distractions, that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Following a 2023 investigation of our plant in St. James, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry alleged that we had employed 11 underage employees during the two-year audit period. During the hiring process, we use the federal E-Verify system and trained human resources professionals to scrutinize identity documents for I-9 purposes carefully, but our process may be circumvented by underage individuals with fake documentation. Since this investigation, we have put in place new risk-based measures designed to recognize identity fraud, including visual inspection protocols, internal auditing and enhanced I-9 training. In November 2024, we entered into a consent order with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry relating to these allegations. Although we did not admit liability in connection with this consent order, we paid a $2 million administrative penalty. Under the consent order, we are required to conduct industry outreach related to underage labor compliance, contractually require underage labor compliance with our labor staffing agencies and sanitation contractors, and take other steps to enhance our compliance practices.
In addition, one of our sanitation contractors, Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (now called Fortrex, Inc.), was featured prominently in the news in 2022 and 2023 because of a federal investigation that found underage employees in its workforce. We have sought to address the risk of our contractors utilizing underage employees by increasing our efforts to monitor compliance by these third parties; however, we cannot provide any assurance that companies that provide services to us will comply with such laws and that our monitoring efforts will timely identify non-compliance, if any occurs. In addition, we cannot give any assurance that our reputation will not be adversely affected by non-compliance, governmental investigations or other inquiries in the future.
We depend upon the continued services of certain key members of our senior management team, without whom our business operations could be significantly disrupted.
Our success depends, in part, on the continued contributions of our executive leadership team and key members of our senior management. Our management team has significant industry experience, as well as in-depth knowledge of our company, and could be difficult to replace. Any loss or extended interruption in the service of one or more of our senior officers could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we do not have key-man insurance on the life of any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us. Moreover, the market for qualified individuals may be highly competitive and we may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel to replace or succeed members of our senior management, should the need arise. In addition, our compensation arrangements may not always be successful in attracting new employees or retaining our existing team members.
The consolidation of customers and/or the loss of our customers could adversely impact our business.
Continued consolidation within the retail industry, including among supermarkets, warehouse clubs and food distributors, has resulted in an increasingly concentrated retail base and increased our exposure to loss of certain customers. These consolidations have produced large, sophisticated customers with increased buying power who are more capable of operating with reduced inventories, opposing price increases, and demanding lower pricing, increased promotional programs and specifically tailored products. These customers also may use shelf space currently used for our products for their own private label products. Because of these trends, our volume growth could slow or we may need to lower prices or increase promotional spending for our products, any of which could adversely affect our financial results. Additionally, these large customers may demand more favorable terms that may expose us to greater risks, including uncapped indemnification and no limitation of liability provisions. Such terms may obligate us to pay significant amounts in connection with potential losses arising from claims and related legal proceedings, and any such claims could also affect our reputation and our relationship with customers.
Our ten largest customers represented approximately 42% of net sales of fiscal year 2025. We generally do not have long-term sales agreements or other contractual assurances as to future sales to our customers, including these major customers. Our business could be materially adversely affected and suffer significant decreases in sales and operating profit from the loss of one or more of our larger customers or if our larger customers’ plans, markets, and/or financial condition should change significantly. For example, if our customers cannot access sufficient funds or financing, then they may delay, decrease, or cancel purchases of our products, or delay or fail to pay us for previous purchases. The loss of a significant customer or a material reduction in sales to, or adverse change to trade terms with, a significant customer could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition and results of operations.
Impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or intangible assets could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and net worth.
As of December 28, 2025, we had $2,882 million of goodwill and intangible assets, which represented approximately 24% of total assets. Goodwill was allocated to our reporting units as follows: Packaged Meats, $1,503 million; Mexico, $79 million; Fresh Pork, $34 million; Hog Production, $4 million; and Bioscience, $4 million. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”), goodwill and identified intangible assets with indefinite lives must be evaluated for impairment annually or more frequently if events indicate it is warranted.
Goodwill is the excess amount of purchase consideration over the fair value of net assets acquired in a business combination. In evaluating the potential for impairment of goodwill, we make assumptions regarding future operating performance, business trends, and market and economic conditions. Such analyses further require us to make judgmental assumptions about sales, operating margins, growth rates, and discount rates. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and to management’s judgment in applying these factors to the assessment of goodwill recoverability. Goodwill reviews are prepared using estimates of the fair value of reporting units based on market multiples of EBITDA and/or on the estimated present value of future cash flows. For indefinite life intangible assets, an impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of an indefinite life intangible asset exceeds the estimated fair value of that intangible asset. Identified intangible assets with definite lives are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable.
Events and conditions that could result in impairment in the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets include changes in the industry in which we operate, particularly the impact of a downturn in the global economy or the economies of geographic regions or countries in which we operate, as well as competition, adverse changes in the regulatory environment, or other factors leading to reduction in expected long-term sales or profitability. We could be required to evaluate the recoverability of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets prior to the annual assessment if we experience disruptions to the business, unexpected significant declines in operating results, divestiture of a significant component of our business or market capitalization declines.
In addition, our equity investments in joint ventures, partnerships and other entities, both within and outside the U.S., are periodically involved in modifying and amending their credit facilities and loan agreements. The ability of these entities to refinance or amend their facilities on a successful and satisfactory basis, and to comply with the covenants in their financing facilities, affects our assessment of the carrying value of any individual investment. As of December 28, 2025, none of our equity investments represented more than 5% of our total consolidated assets. If we determine in the future that an investment is impaired, we would be required to record a non-cash impairment charge, which could substantially affect our reported earnings in the period of such charge. In addition, any such impairment charge would negatively impact our financial ratios and could limit our ability to obtain financing in the future. See “Note 9: Equity Method Investments” to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the accounting treatment of our equity investments.
The loss of any trademark or other intellectual property right could enable other companies to compete more effectively with us.
We utilize intellectual property in our business. Our registered and unregistered trademarks are valuable assets that reflect the goodwill of our brands and consumers’ favorable perception of our products. We have invested a significant amount of money in establishing, promoting and protecting our brands. We also rely on patented and unpatented proprietary methods, processes and techniques in our manufacturing operations and copyright protection in our sales and marketing materials to develop and maintain our competitive position. Our continued success depends, to a significant degree, upon our ability to protect and preserve our intellectual property rights. In certain jurisdictions, we receive access to third-party intellectual property. In particular, we have a license agreement with Nathan’s for the exclusive right to manufacture, distribute, market and sell “Nathan’s Famous” branded hot dogs and sausages in refrigerated consumer packages to be resold through retail channels within the U.S. until March 2032. We have entered into a merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Nathan’s, but we cannot assure you that we will be able to satisfy the conditions necessary to complete that acquisition, including obtaining the approval of CFIUS. If we are unable to complete the acquisition of Nathan’s, we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain or renew the license agreement with Nathan’s, We also license certain of our trademarks and other intellectual property for use by third parties. In an effort to preserve our trademark rights, we enter into license agreements with these third parties that govern the use of our trademarks and contain limitations on their use. We cannot assure you that our efforts to police the use of our trademarks by our licensees will be sufficient to ensure that our licensees abide by the terms of their licenses. In the event that our licensees fail to do so, our trademark rights could be diluted.
We rely primarily on confidentiality agreements and intellectual property law to protect our proprietary rights. Our confidentiality agreements with our employees and certain of our consultants, contract employees, suppliers, vendors and independent contractors, including some of our co-manufacturers who use our formulations to manufacture our products, generally require that all non-public information made known to them be kept strictly confidential. Further, some of our formulations have been developed by or with our suppliers and co-manufacturers. As a result, we may not hold exclusive rights to some formulations or be able to prevent others from using similar formulations.
We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights are adequate, that our intellectual property rights can be successfully defended and asserted in the future or that third parties will not infringe upon, misappropriate or challenge any such rights. In addition, our trademark rights and related registrations may be challenged in the future and could be canceled or narrowed. Failure to protect our trademark rights could prevent us in the future from using certain brands or from challenging third parties who use names and logos similar to our trademarks, which may in turn cause consumer confusion or negatively affect consumers’ perception of our brands and products. We may not be successful in enforcing our trademarks or challenging confusingly similar trademarks used by third parties. Moreover, intellectual property disputes and proceedings and infringement claims may result in a significant distraction for management and significant expense, which may not be recoverable regardless of whether we are successful. Such proceedings may be protracted with no certainty of success, and an adverse outcome could subject us to liabilities, force us to cease use of certain trademarks or other intellectual property, or force us to enter into licenses with others. Any one of these occurrences may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Deterioration of economic conditions could negatively impact our business.
Our business and results of operations have in the past been and may continue in the future to be adversely affected by changes in national or global economic conditions, including inflation, interest rates, availability of and access to capital markets, volatility in financial markets, declining consumer spending rates, recessions, decreased energy availability and increased energy costs (including fuel surcharges), supply chain challenges, labor shortages, geopolitical conflicts (including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas), the negative impacts caused by pandemics, epidemics and public health crises and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions.
Any such changes could adversely affect the demand for our products or the cost and availability of our needed raw materials, cooking ingredients and packaging materials, thereby negatively affecting our financial results. Disruptions and instability in credit and other financial markets and deterioration of national and global economic conditions, could, among other things:
• make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain financing for our operations or investments or to refinance our debt in the future;
• cause our lenders to depart from prior credit industry practice and make more difficult or expensive the granting of any technical or other waivers under our credit agreements to the extent we may seek them in the future;
• impair the financial condition of some of our customers, suppliers or counterparties to our derivative instruments, which could result in challenges in collecting accounts receivable or non-performance by suppliers;
• lead customers and consumers to delay or reduce purchases of our products as a result of unfavorable economic conditions;
• negatively impact global demand for our products, which could result in a reduction of sales, operating profit and cash flows;
• decrease the value of our investments in equity and debt securities, including our company-owned life insurance and pension plan assets, which could result in higher pension cost and statutorily mandated funding requirements; and
• impair the financial viability of our insurers.
Furthermore, inflation has and may continue to increase our operational costs, including labor costs and feed ingredient costs, and continued increases in interest rates in response to concerns about inflation may have the effect of further increasing economic uncertainty and heightening these risks. As a result, instability and weakness of the U.S. and global economies, and the negative effects on consumers’ spending, may materially negatively affect our business and results of operations. A prolonged period of reduced consumer spending could have an adverse effect on our business and our results of operations.
If tax laws change or we experience adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our tax returns or disagreements with taxing authorities, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to federal, state, and local tax laws and regulations in the U.S. The application and interpretation of these laws in different jurisdictions affect our operations in complex ways and are subject to change, and some changes may be retroactively applied. Our future effective tax rates and the value of our deferred tax assets and liabilities could be adversely affected by changes in tax laws. Furthermore, the European carve-out may result in incremental tax liability to us. The U.S. and U.S. states and localities are also actively considering changes to existing tax laws that, if enacted, could increase our tax obligations or require us to change the manner in which we operate our business. For more information on the European carve-out, see “Note 3: Discontinued Operations” to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In addition, we are subject to the examination of our income and other tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from such examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. Although we believe we have made appropriate provisions for taxes in the jurisdictions in which we operate, changes in the tax laws, or challenges from tax authorities under existing tax laws could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We face risks associated with the long-term trend toward increased activism against companies in the food products industry.
The treatment of animals and related standards of care in the food products industry have been subject to increasing focus by animal rights groups. We and many of our customers face pressure from animal rights groups to operate our respective businesses in a manner that treats animals in conformity with certain standards developed or approved by these groups. Some of our customers also require us to comply with specified animal rights standards and audits of our facilities. Animal rights groups have also engaged in legislative efforts to ban any form of gestation crates in various states. Conforming to requirements imposed on our business by animal rights groups has caused us and may in the future cause us to incur increased costs.
Animal rights groups have in the past:
• used pressure tactics in an effort to generate adverse publicity regarding our company;
• trespassed on and otherwise damaged our properties; and
• sought to disrupt our business operations or those of our suppliers and customers through protests.
These groups have, and may continue to, coordinate their actions with other groups, threaten strikes or boycotts or enlist the support of well-known persons or organizations in order to increase the pressure on us to achieve their stated aims. Future activist actions could include one or more of the following:
• property damage;
• disruptions to our business operations;
• contamination of our hogs and food supply;
• outbreak of disease;
• cyberattacks;
• legal challenges or lawsuits;
• negative publicity about our business or the food products industry in general;
• reduction in demand for our products; and
• other adverse effects on our ability to develop our properties and expand our operations.
These actions could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and, in turn, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. We may need to incur significant costs associated with responding to these or other initiatives, and there is no guarantee that our responses will produce favorable outcomes.
Risks Relating to Government Regulations
We are subject to extensive governmental regulations, which require significant compliance expenditures.
We are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulations. Our food processing facilities and products are subject to frequent inspection by the USDA, the FDA and various state and local health and agricultural agencies. Applicable statutes and regulations governing food products include rules for labeling the content of specific types of foods, the nutritional value of that food and its serving size, as well as rules that protect against contamination of
products by food-borne pathogens. Many jurisdictions also require that food producers adhere to good production practices (the definition of which may vary by jurisdiction) with respect to production processes. Recently, the food safety practices and procedures in the meat processing industry have been subject to more intense scrutiny and oversight by the USDA and state authorities and future outbreaks of diseases among cattle, poultry or pigs could lead to further governmental regulation. In addition, our production facilities and distribution centers are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and workplace health. Our exported products are often inspected by foreign food safety authorities, and any violation discovered during these inspections may result in a partial or total return of a shipment, partial or total destruction of the shipment and costs due to delays in product deliveries to our customers.
Our Bioscience operations are also subject to regulations from various government authorities, including the FDA, USDA and EPA. Compliance with these and other agency requirements, which are subject to change, affect our operations and may impact our results at one or more of our facilities. Additionally, the loss of or failure to obtain necessary permits or registrations, or failure to comply with these regulations, at any of our facilities could result in (1) the suspension or restriction of our heparin operations, (2) administrative penalties and injunctive relief, (3) civil penalties such as fines, injunctions and product recalls and/or (4) negative publicity.
We seek to comply with applicable regulations through using internationally recognized management systems to manage our regulatory and compliance programs, employing data analytics to monitor food safety indicators and taking corrective action if necessary, and working with the USDA and the FDA on projects aimed at improving food safety and increasing consumer protection. Failure by us, our contract farms or our co-manufacturers to comply with applicable laws and regulations or maintain permits, licenses or registrations relating to our or our co-manufacturers’ operations could subject us to civil remedies or penalties, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, warning letters, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of products, or refusals to permit the import or export of products, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could result in increased operating costs resulting in a material effect on our operating results and business.
In addition, developments or changes in the regulatory environment may have a material impact on our business. For example, an executive order issued in July 2021 directed federal agencies to enforce antitrust laws more vigorously and an executive order issued in December 2025 directed the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to pursue antitrust investigations across the food supply sector. As a subsidiary of a public company based outside of the U.S., we may also face heightened scrutiny in respect of potential acquisition transactions. See the section titled “Item 1. Business—Quality Assurance and Food Safety—Regulation” for further information on the regulations to which we are subject.
Governmental authorities may take further action restricting our ability to produce and/or sell livestock or adopt new regulations impacting our production or processing operations, which could adversely affect our business.
A number of states have adopted legislation that prohibits or restricts the ability of meat packers, or in some cases corporations generally, from owning livestock or engaging in farming. In addition, the U.S. Congress has in the past considered, and may in the future consider, federal legislation that would restrict or prohibit meat packers from owning livestock or otherwise participating in certain livestock production activities. For example, legislation recently has been proposed in Congress that would impose additional restrictions on meat packer ownership of certain livestock or vertical integration within the meat industry. We cannot assure you that such or similar legislation affecting our operations will not be adopted at the federal or state levels in the future. Such legislation, if adopted and applicable to our current operations and not successfully challenged or settled, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and our financial statements.
In addition, the State of California enacted Proposition 12, which became enforceable on July 1, 2023. Proposition 12 prohibits the sale within the state of certain uncooked pork produced from breeding sows or their offspring unless the animals have been housed in confinement systems that meet certain minimum standards and other conditions are met. Similarly, Massachusetts Question 3 prohibits the sale of certain pork products within the State of Massachusetts, as well as the shipment of certain pork products through the state, unless the products came from animals that were also housed in confinement systems that meet certain minimum standards. Our sales into California and into or through Massachusetts accounted for approximately 6% of our consolidated sales for the year
ended December 28, 2025, and approximately 19% of those sales into California and into or through Massachusetts were subject to either Proposition 12 in California or Question 3 in Massachusetts.
In fiscal year 2008, North Carolina enacted a permanent moratorium on the construction of new hog farms that use the lagoon and sprayfield system. The moratorium limits us from expanding our North Carolina hog production operations. This permanent moratorium replaced a 10-year moratorium on the construction of hog farms with more than 250 hogs or the expansion of existing large farms. This moratorium may over time lead to increased difficulties in our ability to contract with independent growers.
We may be impacted by legislation targeting foreign ownership of land, or foreign ownership or operation of facilities, located in the U.S.
An increasing number of states and the federal government are proposing or adopting legislation and/or regulations that prohibit or limit entities directly or indirectly controlled by individuals or entities based in the PRC, the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau, and other jurisdictions deemed national security threats to the U.S., from acquiring or owning an interest in private agricultural land within the boundaries of the state, or pursuant to federal law. In some cases, the adopted or proposed legislation or regulation goes beyond private agricultural land to include any land, including land on which we currently maintain production plants or other facilities. For example, the State of Indiana has enacted legislation that will be effective on July 1, 2026 that prohibits companies owned or controlled directly or indirectly by individuals domiciled in the PRC or majority owned by such individuals, from purchasing or otherwise acquiring an interest in real property in Indiana other than pursuant to a lease with not more than a two-year duration. In addition, there have been preliminary legislative proposals in Congress that seek to regulate the operations of certain foreign-owned entities. More recently, additional legislative proposals have been introduced in Congress that would impose restrictions on foreign ownership of U.S. meat packing companies or other participants in the U.S. agricultural supply chain. We cannot assure you that federal or state legislation and/or regulation impacting our ownership of land, or ownership and operation of facilities, will not be proposed or enacted in the future. We currently own 87,000 acres of land in the U.S. (having sold over 40,000 acres in 2024 and 2,500 acres in 2025) on which many of our production, processing and distribution facilities are located. Such legislation or regulation, if adopted and applicable to our current operations, including such facilities, and not successfully challenged, could require us to divest land or operations that are critical to our business, which would have a material adverse impact on our operations and our financial statements going forward.
We are, and could become, subject to legal proceedings and regulatory investigations that may result in significant expenses, fines and reputational damage.
We are involved on an ongoing basis in litigation arising in the ordinary course of business or otherwise. For example, we have been named as one of 16 defendants in a series of purported class actions alleging antitrust violations in the pork industry. The plaintiffs in all of these cases also challenge the defendant pork producers’ use of benchmarking reports from defendant Agri Stats, Inc., alleging that the reports allowed the pork producers to share proprietary information and monitor each producer’s compliance with the supposed agreement to reduce supply. Payments in an aggregated amount of $194 million were made by us to settle all class claims against us by the direct purchasers, commercial and institutional indirect purchasers and consumer indirect purchasers. In addition to the class actions, we have been named as a defendant in similar claims and suits brought by a number of individual purchasers who opted out of their class and three states or commonwealths. We have entered into negotiations with many of these claimants and have settled certain of the pending non-class cases and related claims. Currently, 14 opt-out cases remain pending against us. In addition, in July 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand from the Attorney General for the state of Washington seeking information related to this antitrust litigation.
We intend to vigorously defend against these claims, but we cannot assure you that we will be successful or that additional similar claims will not arise in the future. We established a reserve for these claims, however we cannot assure you that the reserve will not have to be increased, as applicable.
Trends in litigation may include class actions involving consumers, shareholders, employees or injured persons and claims related to commercial, labor, employment, antitrust, securities or environmental matters. Moreover, the
process of litigating cases, even if we are successful, may be costly, and may approximate the cost of damages sought. These actions could also expose us to adverse publicity, which might adversely affect our brands, reputation and/or customer preference for our products and distract management from other tasks. Litigation trends and expenses and the outcome of litigation cannot be predicted with certainty and adverse litigation trends, expenses and outcomes could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “—Risks Relating to Government Regulations—Environmental regulation and related litigation and commitments could have a material adverse effect on us” for further information regarding ligation involving environmental matters.
Government antitrust and foreign investment policies and regulations may limit our strategic growth opportunities, including certain acquisitions and joint ventures.
The U.S. and many non-U.S. jurisdictions have laws designed to protect national security or to restrict foreign direct investment. In the U.S. , CFIUS has the authority to review transactions that afford foreign investors the ability to “control” a U.S. business, as well as certain non-controlling investments. If CFIUS identifies a national security risk arising from a particular transaction, it can impose mitigation measures and can also intervene to prohibit the transaction or order a divestment if the transaction has already closed. Many non-U.S. jurisdictions restrict foreign investment in assets important to national security by taking steps including, but not limited to, placing limitations, restrictions or conditions on foreign equity investment, implementing investment screening or approval mechanisms and restricting the employment of foreigners as key personnel. These U.S. and foreign laws could limit our ability to invest in certain businesses or joint ventures or impose burdensome notification requirements, operational restrictions or delays in pursuing and consummating transactions.
Certain of our acquisitions or investments may be subject to review and approval by CFIUS or any non-U.S. equivalents thereof based on our ownership structure and scope of operations. We also may seek approval from CFIUS even where not technically required, as we have done for our proposed acquisition of Nathan’s. This may have outsized impacts on transaction certainty, timing, feasibility and cost, and could prevent us from maintaining or pursuing acquisition or investment opportunities that we otherwise would have maintained or pursued. CFIUS or any non-U.S. equivalents thereof may seek to impose limitations, conditions or restrictions on or prohibit one or more of our acquisitions or investments, which may adversely affect our flexibility in structuring or financing certain acquisition transactions. In addition, CFIUS is actively pursuing transactions that were not notified to it voluntarily and may ask questions regarding, or impose restrictions, conditions or limitations on, transactions post-closing. Although CFIUS reviews (and in some cases mitigates) foreign investment originating from various countries, it has placed significant focus on reviews involving investors either directly or indirectly controlled by individuals or entities based in the PRC. As a result, acquisitions or investments undertaken by us could be subject to heightened CFIUS scrutiny compared to acquisitions or investments made by other foreign investors. These risks have increased and may continue to increase due to geopolitical, policy or regulatory developments, particularly with regard to U.S.-PRC relations. On February 21, 2025, President Trump issued a National Security Memorandum on America First Investment Policy directing CFIUS to impose greater scrutiny on acquisitions or investments by PRC-affiliated persons, including a call to “restrict PRC-affiliated persons from investing in U.S. technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials or other strategic sectors.”
In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission, the two agencies responsible for enforcing federal antitrust and competition laws, issued new Merger Guidelines in December 2023, designed to invigorate enforcement of the antitrust and competition laws. These initiatives are expected to increase scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions subject to premerger review and those already consummated. As a result, the review process from U.S. antitrust agencies and other non-U.S. antitrust authorities for mergers and acquisitions undertaken by us is expected to become more challenging, more time consuming and more expensive. We may even be required to undergo investigations concerning previously closed transactions. If certain proposed acquisitions are delayed or rejected by antitrust enforcers, or if previously closed transactions are investigated, it could have an adverse impact on our business, as well as limit our opportunities for future strategic growth through acquisitions. In addition, competition rules from other U.S. federal agencies, including the USDA, as well as state competition laws could create additional hurdles.
Furthermore, complying with these laws imposes potentially significant costs and complex additional burdens, and any failure by us to comply with them could expose us to significant penalties, sanctions, loss of future investment opportunities, additional regulatory scrutiny and reputational harm.
Environmental regulation and related litigation and commitments could have a material adverse effect on us.
Our past and present business operations and properties are subject to extensive and increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations pertaining to protection of the environment, including:
• the treatment of hazardous materials and the discharge of such materials into the environment;
• the handling and disposition of manure and liquid and solid wastes; and
• air emissions.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs complying with environmental laws and regulations. Failure to comply with, and liabilities under, these laws and regulations in the future may result in significant additional consequences to us, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, cleanup and other environmental damages, negative publicity and increased compliance costs. Some requirements applicable to us, including the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, may also be enforced by citizen groups or other third parties. Natural disasters, such as flooding and hurricanes, can cause the discharge of effluents or other waste into the environment, which have in the past and may in the future result in litigation and governmental enforcement actions against us or new or additional governmental regulations applicable to our operations. See “Item 1. Business—Quality Assurance and Food Safety—Regulation” for further discussion of regulatory compliance as it relates to environmental risk. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant capital and operating expenditures to comply with these laws and regulations.
We also face the risk of lawsuits even if we are operating in compliance with applicable regulations. For example, in recent years various nuisance suits were filed against us and our subsidiary Murphy-Brown LLC in North Carolina. Several of these lawsuits resulted in unfavorable outcomes to us. We resolved all then-existing filed cases in July 2019 pursuant to a settlement agreement, however we have since been involved in other pending and threatened nuisance suits and claims related to both farms and other facilities. We cannot assure you that additional or similar claims relating to our farming operations (whether sounding in nuisance or other torts or causes of action) will not arise in the future.
In addition, new environmental issues could arise that would cause currently unanticipated investigations, assessments or expenditures. U.S. federal, international, state and local authorities may, from time to time, adopt revisions to environmental rules and regulations with which we must comply. New or more stringent laws or regulations that impose additional requirements on our operations or on us could increase the cost of doing business for us. For example, in January 2024, the EPA published draft revised Effluent Limitations Guidelines (“ELGs”) for wastewater discharges of meat and poultry facilities. The draft proposal included a number of options for revised ELGs that the EPA was evaluating. While the EPA withdrew the proposed ELGs in August 2025, litigation challenging this action is ongoing.
Significant upgrades related to our direct and indirect wastewater discharge streams, including to treatment systems at our Sioux City and Denison, Iowa, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Tar Heel, North Carolina facilities, would be required to meet the standards that were proposed, which we estimate would require material capital expenditures in the aggregate.
Additionally, increased public interest in farm animal welfare could result in additional government regulation and additional or unplanned capital expenditures. Further, the regulation or taxation of carbon or other greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions to address climate change concerns could result in increased compliance costs and capital expenditures and may also affect the prices of commodities, energy and other inputs to our business. It is not possible at this time to predict the complete structure or outcome of any future legislative or regulatory efforts to address GHG emissions and climate change or whether costs of compliance with such efforts will have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.
Climate change, or legal, regulatory, voluntary or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business, operations or reputation.
There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other GHGs in the atmosphere have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. In the event that climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products, such as grains. We may also be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water as a result of climate change, which could impact our farming, manufacturing and distribution operations. In addition, natural disasters and extreme weather conditions may disrupt the productivity of our facilities or the operation of our supply chain.
The increasing concern over climate change also has resulted and may continue to result in more state, regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements including changes to energy policies, increased mandatory climate-related disclosure, carbon pricing regulations or carbon taxes. For example, in March 2024 the SEC published its final rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures, requiring covered entities, including us, to disclose certain climate-related metrics and GHG emissions data, information about climate-related targets and goals and climate-related risks and obtain attestation requirements. The rules were subsequently withdrawn by the new administration . At this time, we cannot predict the costs of implementation or any potential adverse impacts resulting from similar rules, should they be proposed and become effective. However, we may incur increased costs relating to the assessment and disclosure of climate-related risks and targets. We may also be subject to increased litigation risks related to disclosures made pursuant to any federal or state reporting requirements or voluntary climate-related reporting, which could materially and adversely affect our future results of operations and financial condition.
Collecting, measuring and analyzing information relating to our GHG emissions or impacts of climate change on our business is costly, time-consuming, and dependent on third-party cooperation and such information may ultimately be unreliable. Furthermore, methodologies for measuring, tracking and reporting on such matters are evolving, and may be ambiguous and subject to rapid change, which may require our processes, benchmarks, baselines and controls for such data to evolve as well. Organizational changes may result in data recalculations. Quantifying GHG emissions within the boundaries of a business is a relatively nascent exercise, and we, like other companies in our industry, have refined and updated our methodologies following prior publication of data. For example, there have been inconsistent practices across many U.S. pork/poultry and dairy producers in quantifying our GHG emissions where biogas eligible for carbon reduction credits is also produced on farms. We have revised baselines and previously reported GHG emissions for our U.S. operations, as well as our carbon reduction goals, as a result of guidance clarifying the accounting for biogas credits in this context. Our GHG footprint has also changed as a result of closure or sale of plants, acquisition of new plants and reduction of farm operations. Furthermore, like many peer companies, our data collection, analysis and reporting capabilities have developed from a starting point with very limited established guidance or methodology. We have engaged a third-party consultant to prepare a limited assurance of the GHG emissions attributable to our worldwide businesses, our energy use and our value chain to ensure their accuracy and to meet potential regulatory requirements.
Like many companies, our quantification of GHG emissions attributable to our business and our carbon reduction goals have been voluntary to date. The process of quantifying our GHG emissions and setting carbon reduction goals, as well as a perceived or actual lack of progress in these endeavors, can subject companies such as ours to criticism, investigations, regulatory enforcement, litigation and other risks. In addition, failure to achieve our GHG emissions reduction goals could harm our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. We may also face increased pressure from customers, consumers, investors, activists and other stakeholders to modify our products or operations to exclude ingredients or activities that are considered to have a greater impact on climate change.
Our ability to achieve any of our climate-related strategies, expectations, goals and targets is also subject to factors and conditions that are outside of our control. Examples of such factors include, but are not limited to, evolving regulatory and other standards, processes and assumptions, the pace of scientific and technological developments, increased costs and the availability of requisite financing, market trends that may alter business opportunities, the conduct of third-party manufacturers and suppliers, constraints or disruptions to our supply chain and changes in
carbon markets or carbon taxes. We may be required to expend significant resources in the near or long-term future to achieve these strategies and expectations, which could significantly increase our operational costs and, despite such efforts, may be unable to achieve such strategies or meet customer or investor expectations.
Risks Relating to our Capital Structure
We may require additional financing to achieve our goals, and the failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, may force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product manufacturing and development, and other operations.
We have funded our operations primarily through equity financing, long-term senior unsecured notes, committed revolving credit facilities, commercial paper and sales of our products. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant capital expenditures related to the expansion and automation of our processing capacity and maintenance of our facilities. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future as we consider additional markets to pursue and other growth opportunities. In addition, our operating performance and cash flow may not be sufficient to meet all our debt service requirements, return value to shareholders such as through payment of dividends or repurchase of shares of our common stock, and achieve our target Ratio of Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA or our target minimum liquidity.
Our operating plan may change because of factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financing or other sources. We may also seek financing in connection with potential new product introductions or acquisitions or investments in businesses or technologies that we believe could offer growth opportunities. Such financing may result in dilution to shareholders, imposition of affirmative and negative covenants and debt repayment obligations, or other restrictions, any of which may adversely affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.
Our affiliation with WH Group has historically provided us with higher credit ratings. The terms of additional financing we incur in the future may not be as favorable as those previously obtained. Our ability to access additional capital may further be affected by adverse or uncertain economic conditions. Weakness and volatility in the capital markets and the economy in general could make it more difficult to access the capital markets and could increase our cost of borrowing.
Our level of indebtedness and the terms of our indebtedness could adversely affect our business and liquidity position.
As of December 28, 2025, we had, on a consolidated basis, $2,003 million of outstanding total debt and finance lease obligations and $2,298 million of undrawn capacity including $2,100 million under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Credit Facilities—Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility”) and $198 million under the Securitization Facility (as defined in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Credit Facilities—Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility”) (after giving effect to $27 million of issued but undrawn letters of credit).
Because the borrowing capacity under the Securitization Facility depends, in part, on accounts receivable levels, which fluctuate from time to time, such amounts may not reflect actual borrowing capacity. The Senior Revolving Credit Facility is a fixed commitment facility and is not dependent on a borrowing base. In addition, on or before the maturity date of the Senior Revolving Credit Facility, we have the right, but not the obligation, to request an increase in the amount of commitments under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $500 million under customary terms and conditions.
Our indebtedness may increase from time to time for various reasons, including fluctuations in operating results, working capital needs, capital expenditures, dividends and potential acquisitions or joint ventures. In addition, due to the volatile nature of the commodities markets, we may need to borrow significant amounts to cover any margin calls under our risk management and hedging programs. Over the past three years, the maximum amount of margin deposits held by our brokers and counterparties at any given time was $121 million.
Our consolidated indebtedness level could significantly affect our business and the value of our common stock because:
• it may, together with the financial and other affirmative and negative covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness, limit or impair our ability in the future to obtain financing, refinance any of our indebtedness, sell assets or raise equity or debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could cause us to default on our obligations, materially impair our liquidity or otherwise adversely affect our business and the value of our common stock;
• a downgrade in our credit rating (including the loss of our investment grade credit ratings) could restrict or impede our ability to access capital markets at attractive rates and increase the cost of future borrowings;
• it may, through event of default provisions, limit our ability to enter into change of control transactions, which may impede our ability to enter into certain transactions;
• it may reduce our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions or to take advantage of business opportunities that may arise;
• it may place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to some of our competitors that have less indebtedness than we do;
• a portion of our cash flow from operations must be dedicated to interest payments on our indebtedness and is not available for other purposes, which amount could increase if prevailing interest rates rise or if we incur additional indebtedness;
• substantially all of our accounts receivable in the U.S. secure the Securitization Facility, all of which could limit our ability to dispose of such assets or utilize the proceeds of such dispositions and, upon an event of default under any such secured indebtedness, the lender thereunder could foreclose upon our pledged assets; and
• it could make us more vulnerable to downturns in general economic or industry conditions or in our business.
Further, our debt agreements, under certain circumstances, either currently or in the future, may require us to maintain investment grade credit ratings and certain financial ratio covenants, and may limit additional borrowings, investments, the payment of dividends and other restricted payments, the acquisition or disposition of assets, mergers and consolidations, transactions with affiliates, the creation of liens, entrance into swap agreements, sale/leaseback transactions and the repayment of certain debt. We cannot assure you that any of these limitations will not hinder our ability to finance operations and capital needs and our ability to pursue business opportunities and activities that may be in our interest.
In addition, should market conditions deteriorate, or should our operating results otherwise be depressed in the future, we may have to request amendments or waivers to our covenants and restrictions under our debt agreements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such relief should it be needed in the future. A breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default that would permit our senior lenders, including lenders under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility and the Securitization Facility and the holders of our other debt financing facilities, as the case may be, to declare all amounts outstanding under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility, the Securitization Facility and our other debt financing facilities, as applicable, to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, and the commitments of the relevant lenders to make further extensions of credit under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility and the Securitization Facility could be terminated. If we were unable to repay our secured indebtedness to our lenders, these lenders could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness, which could include substantially all of our accounts receivable assets in the U.S.
Our future ability to comply with financial covenants and other conditions, make scheduled payments of principal and interest, or refinance existing borrowings depends on our future business performance which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors, including the other risks set forth in this section, and may be
affected by events beyond our control. Any failure to comply with the covenants of our debt agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Additionally, the repayment obligations under our outstanding debt may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a takeover of our company.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness.
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures and other strategic investments will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. We may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, and we cannot assure you that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs.
If we do not generate cash flow from operations sufficient to pay our debt service obligations, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. Our ability to refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at that time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations.
In addition, we conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, certain of which are not, and in the future may not be, guarantors of our indebtedness. Accordingly, repayment of our indebtedness is dependent on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, intercompany transfer, debt repayment or otherwise. Due to the restrictive covenants under certain debt agreements, our subsidiaries may be restricted from distributing dividends to enable us to make payments in respect of our indebtedness. In addition, unless they are guarantors of our indebtedness, our subsidiaries do not have any obligation to pay amounts due on our indebtedness or to make funds available for that purpose.
If drawn upon, our current variable rate indebtedness would subject us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase.
Our Senior Revolving Credit Facility and Securitization Facility have variable interest rates. Market interest rates have fluctuated over the past several years and may increase in the future as a result of action by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other factors, and as a result, variable-rate debt may create higher debt service requirements, which would adversely affect our cash flow. If we draw upon our variable rate indebtedness and interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed would remain the same.
In particular, our borrowings under the Senior Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), or the Eurocurrency Rate (as defined in the Senior Revolving Credit Facility), plus a margin ranging from 0.875% to 1.50% per annum, or, at our election, at a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 0.50% per annum, in each case depending on our senior unsecured debt rating. To the extent we draw from our Senior Revolving Credit Facility, we may subject to interest rate risk which could cause our debt service obligations to increase. We may also enter into additional variable rate indebtedness in the future.
Despite current indebtedness levels and restrictive covenants, we may incur additional indebtedness. This could further exacerbate the risks associated with our financial leverage.
Despite current indebtedness levels and restrictive covenants, we may incur other indebtedness to finance our operations and other capital needs. Although the agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of thresholds, qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. If additional debt is incurred, the related risks that we now face as a result of our leverage would intensify.
Risks Relating to our Relationship with WH Group
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of Nasdaq and, as a result, qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of other companies that are subject to such requirements.
As of March 24, 2026, WH Group beneficially owned approximately 87% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of Nasdaq. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including requirements that:
• a majority of our board consist of “independent directors” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq;
• our director nominees be selected, or recommended for our board’s selection, by a nominating and governance committee comprised solely of independent directors; and
• the compensation of our executive officers be determined, or recommended to our board for determination, by a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors.
We currently utilize these exemptions. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq. These exemptions do not modify the independence requirements for our audit committee. There is no single shareholder or group of shareholders which owns 50% or more of the voting power of WH Group as of March 24, 2026. As a result, WH Group is not considered a controlled company within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of Nasdaq.
WH Group controls us, and their interests may conflict with ours or yours in the future.
For so long as WH Group owns, in the aggregate, a majority of our then outstanding shares of our common stock, WH Group has the right to designate, for inclusion in the slate of directors nominated by our board for election to our board, a majority of the directors on our board and control the composition of our board and the approval of actions requiring shareholder approval through its voting power. Even when WH Group ceases to own a majority of our then outstanding shares of common stock, for so long as WH Group continues to own, in the aggregate, at least 10% of our then outstanding shares of common stock, WH Group is entitled to designate, for inclusion in the slate of directors nominated by the board for election to our board, a number of the total number of directors entitled to serve on the board proportionate to the percentage of our outstanding common stock owned by WH Group, rounded up to the nearest whole number. In addition, our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that at any time that WH Group owns at least a majority of our then outstanding shares of common stock, shareholders are permitted to take action by written consent. For the purpose of determining ownership of our common stock for these purposes, references to WH Group include WH Group, its successors by way of merger or transfer of all or substantially all of its assets, any entity that is 50% beneficially owned by WH Group, and any entity that acquires a majority of our then outstanding shares of common stock directly from any of the foregoing that is a shareholder of our company.
As a result, WH Group is generally able to control, whether directly or indirectly through its ability to remove and elect directors, and subject to applicable law, substantially all matters affecting us, including:
• any determination with respect to our business direction and policies, including the election and removal or directors and the appointment and removal of officers;
• any determinations with respect to mergers, amalgamations, business combinations or disposition of assets;
• our financing and dividend policy, and the payment of dividends on our common stock, if any;
• compensation and benefit programs and other human resources policy decisions;
• changes to any other agreements that may adversely affect us; and
• determinations with respect to our tax returns and other tax matters.
In particular, for so long as WH Group continues to own a significant percentage of our common stock, WH Group will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of our company or a change in the composition of our board, and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of our company. The concentration of ownership could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your common stock as part of a sale of our company and ultimately might affect the market price of our common stock.
If WH Group sells a controlling interest in our company to a third party in a private transaction, you may not realize any change of control premium on shares of our common stock and we may become subject to the control of a presently unknown third party.
WH Group owns a controlling equity interest in our company and therefore has the ability, should it choose to do so, to sell some or all of its shares of our common stock in a privately negotiated transaction, which, if sufficient in size, could result in a change of control of our company.
The ability of WH Group to privately sell its shares of our common stock, with no requirement for a concurrent offer to be made to acquire all of the shares of our common stock that will be publicly traded hereafter, could prevent you from realizing any change of control premium on your shares of our common stock that may otherwise accrue to WH Group on its private sale of our common stock. Additionally, if WH Group privately sells its controlling interest in our company, we may become subject to the control of a presently unknown third party. Such third party may have interests that conflict with those of other shareholders.
Certain of our directors may have actual or potential conflicts of interest because of their equity interest in WH Group. Also, certain of WH Group’s current executive officers also serve as directors of our company, which may create conflicts of interest, or the appearance of conflicts of interest.
Because of their positions with WH Group, certain of our directors own equity interests in WH Group. Continuing ownership of shares of WH Group’s common stock and equity awards could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest if we and WH Group face decisions that could have implications for both WH Group and us. In addition, certain of WH Group’s current executive officers also serve as directors of our company, and this could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest when we and WH Group encounter opportunities or face decisions that could have implications for both companies or in connection with the allocation of such directors’ time between WH Group and us. These potential conflicts could arise, for example, over matters such as the desirability of changes in our business and operations, funding and capital matters, regulatory matters and other agreements with WH Group relating to the commercial arrangements in the future, employee retention or recruiting or our dividend policy.
While our b oard believes that, given its size and structure, such actual or potential conflicts of interest can be managed adequately, including that the independent members of our b oard may meet in the absence of senior executive officers or non-independent directors in respect of the relevant matter, the actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may arise could cause reputational or other harm.
In addition, we have, and expect to continue to be, engaged in related party transactions with WH Group and its affiliates. In all related party transactions, there is a risk that a related party’s influence may be such that the transaction terms could be viewed as favorable to that related party, even if we strive to reach arms-length transaction terms. The appearance of conflicts of interest created by related party transactions could impair the confidence of our investors. Furthermore, WH Group has certain non-compete arrangements with Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co., Ltd. (“Shuanghui Development”) , which provide that there will be no competition between Shuanghui Development on the one hand, and WH Group and entities controlled by WH Group, on the other hand, regarding the operation of meat business in the PRC. Such undertaking by WH Group may restrict us from engaging in certain activities that would compete with Shuanghui Development and may limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in the manner that we desire, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
WH Group indemnifies us for certain liabilities. However, there can be no assurance that the indemnity will be sufficient to insure us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that WH Group’s ability to satisfy its indemnification obligation will not be impaired in the future.
Pursuant to the shareholders agreement and certain other agreements with WH Group, WH Group has agreed to indemnify us, our affiliates and subsidiaries and each of our officers, directors, employees and agents for any losses arising out of or due to liabilities or alleged liabilities for the operation of WH Group’s business or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any document filed with the SEC, or any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated in any document filed with the SEC and to the extent such statement or omission was made based on information provided by WH Group. However, third parties could also seek to hold us responsible for any of the liabilities that WH Group has agreed to retain, and there can be no assurance that the indemnity from WH Group will be sufficient to protect us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that WH Group will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. In addition, WH Group’s insurance will not necessarily be available to us for liabilities associated with occurrences of indemnified liabilities prior to the closing of our IPO, and in any event WH Group’s insurers may deny coverage to us for liabilities associated with certain occurrences of indemnified liabilities prior to the closing of our IPO. Moreover, even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from WH Group or such insurance providers any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be temporarily required to bear these losses. Each of these risks could negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Changes in relations between the U.S. and the PRC, or in U.S. regulations concerning the PRC, may adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, our ability to raise capital or the market price of our common stock.
The U.S. government, including its agencies such as the SEC, and state and local governments have made statements and taken certain actions that have led to, and may in the future make statements or take actions that would lead to, changes in relations between the U.S. and the PRC, which statements and actions could impact companies, including us, with connections to the PRC. In particular, the U.S. may in the future impose policies on or increase scrutiny of companies having operations in the PRC, such as WH Group, or companies in the U.S.with significant PRC ownership. These could restrict or negatively impact our business or our ability to access the U.S. capital markets. More broadly, changes in political conditions in the PRC and changes in the state of U.S.-PRC relations, including any tensions relating to potential military conflict between the PRC and Taiwan, are difficult to predict and could lead to policies or regulations that adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations on account of our controlling shareholder’s ties to the PRC. Furthermore, continued or increased tension in U.S. PRC relations or any deterioration in political or trade relations between the U.S. and the PRC may lead to negative investor sentiment towards companies controlled by shareholders with significant ties to the PRC, which could make our common stock less attractive to U.S. investors and affect the market price of our common stock.
Our controlling shareholder is required by the stock exchange on which its shares are listed to disclose and obtain approval from its board of directors or shareholders for certain corporate actions that we undertake.
WH Group is listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and is therefore subject to the applicable Hong Kong laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKEx Listing Rules”). Under the HKEx Listing Rules, WH Group is obligated to obtain approval from its board of directors and/or shareholders for certain transactions in which we, as a subsidiary of WH Group, engage, such as the purchase or sale of assets, mergers and acquisitions, lending, leasing of assets, donation or acceptance of assets, debt restructuring, license agreements, R&D joint ventures, and transactions with connected persons (as defined under the HKEx Listing Rules) of WH Group, the value of which exceeds certain financial thresholds established by the applicable listing rules and/or otherwise not exempted under the applicable listing rules. In addition, the HKEx Listing Rules require our controlling shareholder to obtain shareholders’ approval for certain corporate actions that we undertake, including but not limited to (i) any issuance of shares by us that results in a reduction of WH Group’s equity interest in us in excess of certain dilution thresholds and (ii) the implementation of a share option and/or award scheme involving the issuance of new shares by us.
There can be no assurance that WH Group will obtain the requisite approvals if we desire to enter into any of the transactions as required under the applicable listing rules, and a failure to do so would restrict our ability to engage in such transactions. Furthermore, regulators including The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and/or the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong could impose additional restrictions or approval requirements that could impact our ability to undertake certain corporate actions. We cannot guarantee that our controlling shareholder
will be able to successfully or timely obtain any of the approvals needed to permit us to undertake any of the corporate actions as required under the applicable listing rules, and the failure to do so may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Relating to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
The obligations associated with being an independent, publicly traded company require significant resources and management attention.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, regulatory, finance, accounting, investor relations, insurance and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements and costs of recruiting and retaining non-executive directors. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related rules implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. These rules and regulations have increased our compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. Our management must devote a substantial amount of time to related compliance requirements, diverting the attention of management away from revenue-producing activities. These laws and regulations also could make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board, our board committees or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action, and civil litigation.
Failure to comply with requirements to design, implement, and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.
As a public company, we have significant requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls. The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environment, and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company. If we are unable to establish or maintain appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements, and harm our results of operations.
We may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404, or our independent registered public accounting firm may not issue an unqualified opinion. If either we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting or our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified report, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.
In addition, the preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our combined financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, equity, net sales and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. If our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from our assumptions, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
We cannot be certain that an active trading market for our common stock will be sustained.
We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our common stock will be sustained. If an active and liquid trading market is not sustained, you may have difficulty selling your shares of our common stock at an attractive price or at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock and may impair our ability to acquire other companies by using our shares of common stock as consideration .
Our stock price may fluctuate significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment as a result.
We cannot predict the prices at which shares of our common stock may trade. The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations due to a number of factors such as those listed elsewhere in this section and the following:
• results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors;
• results of operations that vary from those of our competitors;
• changes in expectations as to our future financial performance, including financial estimates and investment recommendations by securities analysts and investors;
• changes in market valuations of, or earnings and other announcements by, companies in our industries;
• declines in the market prices of stocks generally, particularly those of companies in our industry;
• additions or departures of key management personnel;
• strategic actions by us or our competitors;
• announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, price reductions, new services, acquisitions, dispositions, joint marketing relationships, joint ventures, other strategic relationships or capital commitments;
• changes in our market share;
• an increase in our indebtedness or the interest rates applicable to our indebtedness;
• changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in our industries or the economy as a whole;
• changes in business or regulatory conditions;
• future sales of our common stock or other securities;
• actions by WH Group or other institutional shareholders;
• investor perceptions of or the investment opportunity associated with our common stock relative to other investment alternatives;
• changes in the way we are perceived in the marketplace, including due to negative publicity or campaigns on social media to boycott certain of our products, our business or our industries;
• the public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by us or third parties, including our filings with the SEC;
• changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations or differing interpretations or enforcement thereof affecting our business;
• announcements relating to litigation or governmental investigations;
• guidance, if any, that we provide to the public, any changes in this guidance or our failure to meet this guidance;
• the development and sustainability of an active trading market for our common stock;
• changes in accounting principles; and
• other events or factors, including those resulting from informational technology system failures and disruptions, epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism, civil unrest, or responses to these events.
Further, the global equity markets in general have recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, economic uncertainty and changes or anticipated changes in interest rates, inflation, liquidity concerns at financial institutions and trade tensions among the U.S. and other countries. These fluctuations have been and in the future may be unrelated to our operating performance. Continued market fluctuations could result in extreme volatility in the price of our common stock, which could cause a decline in the value of our common stock. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our common stock is low.
In the past, following periods of market volatility, shareholders have instituted securities class action litigation against various issuers. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from our business regardless of the outcome of such litigation, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We expect to continue paying regular dividends to our shareholders, but our ability to do so is subject to the discretion of our board and may be limited by our financial condition, our credit facilities, the indentures governing the notes we previously issued and applicable law.
We have historically paid dividends to WH Group annually, along with special dividends in some years. For fiscal year 2026, we intend to pay annual cash dividends in an amount equal to $1.25 per share of common stock. However, the payment of dividends and other distributions is at the discretion of our board and our board may, in its discretion, increase, decrease or eliminate the payment of dividends. Our ability to pay dividends on our common stock depends on many factors, including financial condition, earnings, liquidity and capital requirements, regulatory constraints, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to the payment of dividends, restrictions in our debt agreements and in any preferred stock, general business conditions and any other factors that our board may deem relevant in making such a determination. In particular, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock is limited by covenants in our credit facilities and the indentures governing the notes and may be further restricted by the terms of any future debt or preferred securities. Furthermore, Virginia law prohibits us from paying dividends or other distributions if, after giving effect to the dividend or other distribution, we would not be able to pay our debts as they become due in the usual course of business or our total assets would be less than the sum of our total liabilities plus the amount that would be needed, if we were to be dissolved at the time of the dividend or other distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights of any then outstanding shares of our preferred stock. While we do not currently believe that these restrictions will impair our ability to continue to pay regular quarterly cash dividends, there can be no assurance that we will not need to reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends on our common stock in the future.
Any shareholder whose principal currency is not the U.S. dollar will be subject to exchange rate fluctuations.
Our common stock is traded in, and any cash dividends or other distributions to be declared in respect of them, if any, will be denominated in U.S. dollars. Shareholders whose principal currency is not the U.S. dollar are thus exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk. Any depreciation of the U.S. dollar in relation to such foreign currency would reduce the value of our common stock held by such shareholders, whereas any appreciation of the U.S. dollar would increase their value in foreign currency terms. In addition, we have not offered to our shareholders, and we do not intend to offer to our shareholders, the option to elect to receive dividends, if any, in any other currency. Consequently, our shareholders may be required to arrange their own foreign currency exchange, either through a brokerage house or otherwise, which could incur additional commissions or expenses.
Future sales or issuances, or the perception of future sales or issuances, by us or our existing shareholders in the public market could cause the market price for our common stock to decline.
The sale or issuance of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock or other securities convertible or exchangeable into shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales or issuances could occur, including sales by our existing shareholders, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our
common stock. These sales or issuances, or the possibility that these sales or issuances may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.
As of March 24, 2026, WH Group beneficially owned approximately 87% of our outstanding shares of common stock. These shares are “restricted securities” as that term is defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act (“Rule 144”) and we have granted WH Group certain registration rights with respect to its remaining shares of our common stock. WH Group is entitled to sell these shares in the public market only if the sale of such shares is registered with the SEC or if the sale of such shares qualifies for an exemption from registration under Rule 144 or any other applicable exemption under the Securities Act. We are unable to predict with certainty whether or when WH Group will sell shares of our common stock.
In addition, pursuant to the registration rights agreement entered into between us and WH Group, WH Group has the right, subject to certain conditions, to require us to register the sale of its shares of our common stock under the Securities Act. By exercising its registration rights and selling a large number of shares, WH Group could cause the prevailing market price of our common stock to decline.
In the future, we may attempt to obtain financing or to further increase our capital resources by issuing additional shares of our common stock or by offering debt or other equity securities, including senior or subordinated notes, debt securities convertible into equity or shares of preferred stock. Our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, which may have a material adverse effect on the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common stock bear the risk that our future offerings may reduce the market price of our common stock and dilute their stockholdings in us.
As restrictions on resale end, or if the existing shareholders exercise their registration rights, or we register additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock, or if the market anticipates any of the foregoing, the market price of our shares of common stock could drop significantly. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional funds through future offerings of our shares of common stock or other securities.
Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due to seasonality and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting in a decline in our stock price.
Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate due to seasonal or other factors. Accordingly, results for any one quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year. In addition, if we increase our marketing or promotional activity in certain periods, the seasonality of our business may be amplified. Typically, our third and fourth quarters have higher revenue due to weather and holidays. Fluctuations or changes in these seasonal patterns may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. As a result, it may be difficult to accurately forecast our results of operations and, if our forecasts are not accurate, we may fail to meet the expectations of investors and securities analysts, which could cause the trading price of our common stock to fall substantially and potentially subject us to costly lawsuits, including securities class action suits.
If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they downgrade our stock or our sector, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover us downgrade our stock or our industries, or the stock of any of our competitors, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and provisions in existing and future debt agreements could delay or prevent a change of control.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated articles of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, defer or prevent a merger, acquisition, tender offer, takeover attempt or other change of control transaction that a shareholder might consider to be in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by our shareholders.
These provisions provide for, among other things:
• a classified board of directors, as a result of which our board will be divided into three classes, with each class serving for staggered three-year terms;
• the ability of our board to issue one or more classes or series of preferred stock and to determine the preferences, rights and limitations of those shares without shareholder approval;
• advance notice requirements for nominations of directors and proposals of other business by shareholders to be considered at our annual or special meetings;
• at any time after WH Group ceases to own directly or indirectly a majority of the combined voting power of our then-outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote generally in director elections (“WHG Trigger Event”), our shareholders will not be able to act by less-than-unanimous written consent without a duly called annual or special meeting of our shareholders;
• at any time after the WHG Trigger Event, special meetings may only be called by the Chair of the board, the President or the board;
• from and after the WHG Trigger Event, our directors may only be removed for cause, by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote on the election of directors;
• restrictions on engaging in mergers, share exchanges, certain dispositions of corporate assets and other transactions with an interested shareholder (generally defined as any person, other than any member of WH Group or any entity that acquires a majority of our then outstanding shares of common stock directly from any member of WH Group that is a shareholder of our company, that acquires more than 10% of any class of our outstanding voting shares without the approval of a majority of our disinterested directors) unless the transaction is approved by a majority of our disinterested directors and holders of two-thirds of our voting shares (excluding shares owned by the interested shareholder); and
• that our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the total voting power of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote.
These anti-takeover provisions could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if the third party’s offer may be considered beneficial by many of our shareholders. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our board and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that shareholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests. As a result, our shareholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their shares.
Our board is authorized to issue and designate shares of our preferred stock in additional classes and series without shareholder approval.
Our amended and restated articles of incorporation authorize our board, without the approval of our shareholders, to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of our preferred stock, subject to limitations prescribed by applicable law and the provisions of our amended and restated articles of incorporation, in one or more classes or series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such class or series and to fix the preferences, rights and limitations of the shares of each such class or series. The preferences, rights and limitations of these classes or series of preferred stock may be senior to or on parity with our common stock, which may reduce the value of our common stock.
Our amended and restated bylaws designate the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division (or if it does not have jurisdiction over certain action, the Circuit Court of Henrico County, Virginia) as the sole and exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division (or, if the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia does not have jurisdiction over certain action, the Circuit Court of Henrico County) is the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a duty owed by any of our directors, officers or shareholders to us or our shareholders, (3) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act, our amended and restated articles of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or (4) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the foregoing provision will not apply to claims arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the U.S. shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. There is no guarantee that a court will enforce such provisions. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, our shareholders cannot waive compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The forum selection clause in our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors, officers or shareholders.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated bylaws, except our shareholders will not be deemed to have waived (and cannot waive) compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. This exclusive forum provision may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our current or former directors, officers or shareholders. There is also a risk that this exclusive forum provision may result in increased costs for a shareholder to bring a claim. Alternatively, if a court were to find the exclusive forum provision contained in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
