Materials," our manufacturing and other operations employ a wide variety of components, raw materials and other commodities, including metallic-based components, electronic components, chemicals, and plastics. Prices for and availability of these components, raw materials and other commodities have fluctuated significantly in the past. Any sustained interruption in the supply of these items, including as a result of shipping risks, such as container shortages, blocked shipping lanes, and port backlogs, could adversely affect our business. In addition, due to, among other items, the highly competitive nature of the industries that we serve, the cost-containment efforts of our customers, and the terms of certain contracts we are party to, there can be no assurance that the marketplace will support higher prices or that price increases and productivity gains, procurement deflation projects or savings will fully offset any raw material cost increases in the future. If we are unable to fully recover higher commodity costs through price increases or offset these increases through cost reductions, or if there is a time delay between the increase in costs and our ability to recover or offset these costs, our margins and profitability could decline and our financial statements could be adversely affected.
If we cannot adjust our manufacturing capacity or the purchases required for our manufacturing activities to reflect changes in market conditions and customer demand, our profitability may suffer. In addition, our reliance upon sole or limited sources of supply for certain materials, components and services could cause production interruptions, delays and inefficiencies.
We purchase materials, components and equipment from third parties for use in our manufacturing operations, including metallic-based components, electronic components, chemicals, and plastics. Our profitability could be adversely impacted if we are unable to adjust our purchases to reflect changes in customer demand and market fluctuations, including those caused by seasonality or cyclicality. During a market upturn, suppliers may extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices. If we cannot purchase sufficient products at competitive prices and quality and on a timely enough basis to meet increasing demand, we may not be able to satisfy market demand, product shipments may be delayed, our costs may increase or we may breach our contractual commitments and incur liabilities. Conversely, in order to secure supplies for the production of products, we sometimes enter into non-cancelable purchase commitments with vendors, which could impact our ability to adjust our inventory to reflect declining market demands. If demand for our products is less than we expect, we may experience additional excess and obsolete inventories and be forced to incur additional charges and our profitability may suffer. For example, we have recently experienced and may continue to experience inflationary increases in our manufacturing costs and operating expenses. Prolonged inflation may also reduce or delay orders for our products and for certain products we may be unable to satisfy demand, both of which could adversely impact our sales and results of operations.
In addition, some of our businesses purchase certain materials, components and services from sole or limited source suppliers for reasons of quality assurance, regulatory requirements, cost effectiveness, availability or uniqueness of design. If these or other suppliers encounter financial, operating or other difficulties or if our relationship with them changes, we may not be able to establish additional or replacement suppliers in a timely or cost-effective manner, including as a result of FDA and other regulations that require, among other things, validation of materials and components prior to their use in our products, which could further negatively impact our business and results of operations. The supply chains for our businesses could also be disrupted by supplier capacity constraints, bankruptcy or exiting of the business for other reasons, work stoppages, decreased availability of key raw materials or commodities and external events such as natural disasters, pandemic health issues and restrictions, war, terrorist actions, cyberattacks, widespread protests and civil unrest, governmental actions and legislative or regulatory changes. Any of these factors could result in production interruptions, delays, extended lead times and inefficiencies. The supply chains for our businesses have also been impacted by global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war. Failure to obtain the needed supply of these products or to offset the increased costs could adversely impact our operating results.
Quoted from the business section of this company’s 10-K filed February 12, 2026. Read the filing