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277 paragraphs · Services-Prepackaged Software show all sectors

Our quarterly results have fluctuated, and are likely to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a number of known and unknown factors, including: the factors described in this Item 1, Part 1A of this Annual Report; the cyclical nature and seasonality of our sales cycle and our customers’ businesses, especially our Commerce service offering customers; the global economic impact of geopolitical events, including ongoing conflicts and uncertainty about the interest rate environment; the timing of contract execution and term software license sales; the amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures related to the operations and expansion of our business; the timing of commission, bonus and other compensation payments to

Read in the 10-K filed Mar 2, 2026 ↗

Our cloud and AI strategy requires substantial investments and depends on evolving customer demand, technological developments, competitive dynamics, and regulatory conditions, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We have made and are continuing to make significant capital and operational investments to develop, train, deploy, and support AI models and related cloud-based services, including building and expanding datacenters, acquiring necessary components, and securing energy resources. These investments are being made at significant scale and on an accelerated timeline, require substantial and increasing capital expenditures and continued access to capital, and are in advance of fully developed revenue streams. The associated revenue may not be realized in the expected timeframes or at expected levels. Our capital and operational investments are complex and involve projects in multiple locations around the world that expose us to increased compliance risks and political challenges, among others. Our ability to fund these investments depends on our ability to generate sufficient cash flows and obtain financing on acceptable terms. Adverse changes in interest rates, credit markets, investor sentiment, our credit ratings, or other factors affecting capital availability could increase our cost of capital or limit our ability to execute our infrastructure strategy. The financial success of these investments depends on a number of uncertain factors, including customer demand for cloud-based and AI products and services and continued customer use of Azure to build, train, deploy, and run AI workloads, our ability to price and monetize those services at levels sufficient to recover our costs, competitive dynamics affecting pricing, and the pace of adoption of AI. Customers may reduce, delay, or shift AI workloads to competing platforms, on-premises or local deployments, or other alternatives. If adoption of our AI services develops more slowly than expected, or if customers do not continue to utilize Azure for AI workloads at anticipated levels, we may not realize the expected returns on our investments.

Read in the 10-K filed Jul 29, 2026 ↗

The construction and operation of datacenters also requires significant numbers of skilled technical, engineering, construction, and operational personnel. Labor shortages, competition for talent, wage inflation, labor disputes, immigration restrictions, or shortages of specialized contractors could increase operating and construction costs, extend project timelines, and adversely affect our ability to deploy infrastructure at the pace required to meet demand.

Read in the 10-K filed Jul 29, 2026 ↗

There are risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness. As of May 31, 2026, we had an aggregate of $129.5 billion of outstanding indebtedness that will mature between calendar year 2026 and calendar year 2066. We may incur additional indebtedness from time to time to finance capital expenditures, future investments or acquisitions, to finance the payment of cash dividends on or repurchases of our common stock, to refinance existing debt or for other purposes. Future financing or funding needs could differ from our projections. Our ability to pay interest and repay the principal for our indebtedness is dependent upon our ability to manage our business operations, generate sufficient cash flows to service such debt and the other factors discussed in this Risk Factors section. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage any of these risks successfully. The incurrence of additional indebtedness will also result in increased fixed obligations and increased interest expense and could also include covenants or other restrictions that may impede our ability to manage our operations. Some of our indebtedness may bear interest at variable rates, and increases in interest rates could increase our debt service obligations. In addition, changes in interest rates could adversely affect the economics of certain long-term commitments or customer arrangements, particularly where pricing is fixed or committed.

Read in the 10-K filed Jun 22, 2026 ↗

Revenue generated by our loan products such as Square Loans, as well as Cash App Borrow, and our BNPL products depends on our ability to recoup the loan amount and to effectively manage risk. Square Loans is our commercial lending program. Cash App Borrow is a consumer credit product, allowing our Cash App customers access to short-term loans for a fee. Our BNPL products facilitate commerce between retail merchants and consumers by allowing retail merchant clients to offer their customers the ability to buy goods and services on a BNPL basis. Our loan products are generally unsecured obligations of our borrowers. To the extent a seller breaches a contractual obligation, such as the requirement to make minimum payments or other breach, the seller would be liable for an accelerated business loan repayment, and our recourse is generally to the business and not to any individual or other asset. Although we rely on technology to assess repayment capability for our loan products, there can be no guarantee that such assessment processes will accurately predict repayments. If our underwriting processes fail to adequately capture risks or otherwise miscalculate repayment ability, we may experience higher levels of delinquencies, default and credit losses. As we expand into new products, customer segments, and geographies, including offering existing products to borrowers on different repayment terms or expanding product eligibility, or as inflation, economic downturns, or market volatility increases repayment failures, our ability to appropriately evaluate and manage credit risk may be further challenged, and we may experience higher levels of delinquencies or defaults than we have historically experienced, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Read in the 10-K filed Feb 26, 2026 ↗