An increasing share of companies’ annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission now caution investors that the technology could have a significant negative impact on their businesses. So far this year, 418 publicly traded companies valued at more than $1 billion have cited AI-related risk factors associated with reputational harm in those reports, according to an analysis conducted with…
The Gap, Inc. told investors on Tuesday that heightened scrutiny of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives posed a risk to its business. In its 10-K annual report, the clothing giant pointed to mounting attention on DEI, adding that “negative perception of our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, whether due to perceived over or under pursuit of such initiatives, may…
Corporate securities filings this year are littered with glimpses into new businesses risks, from costs related to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown to threats to employees and property from wildfires. Companies are divulging the flurry of new threats to shareholders in 10-K annual reports that typically flood into the Securities and Exchange Commission at the beginning of each year. The…
The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. and Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. are among businesses warning investors in their annual reports that weight loss drugs that curb appetites also pose a risk to curbing their sales. Keurig Dr Pepper said in its 10-K annual report Tuesday that its financial results could be impacted by new consumer preferences, including the use of weight loss…
“Is jiu-jitsu securities fraud,” I asked in this column a few months ago, because that is kind of my schtick. Specifically, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., likes to do mixed martial arts, and he occasionally gets injured doing so. If he got badly injured, that might be bad for Meta’s stock price. If that were…
Plaintiffs are increasingly focusing their securities litigation claims on risk-factor disclosures in Securities and Exchange Commission filings. In the wake of some recent decisions from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in this area, those charged with preparing risk factor disclosures should pay special attention to updating risk factor and cautionary language to make sure that disclosures do not…
You know a destructive force has gone mainstream when it starts to appear as a risk factor in company financial reports, and that is what occurred yesterday with the swine flu. CFO.com reports that the most prominent company to refer to swine flu was Burger King, in its third quarter fiscal 2009 results. Burger King CEO John Chidsey stated that…