DFS Annual Report

Our business may be adversely affected by new technologies enabling clients to produce and file documents on their own. The Company’s business may be adversely affected as clients seek out opportunities to produce and file regulatory documentation on their own and begin to implement technologies that assist them in this process. For example, clients and their financial advisors have increasingly relied on web-based services which allow clients to autonomously file and distribute reports required pursuant to the Exchange Act, prospectuses and other materials as a replacement for using our EDGAR filing services. If technologies are further developed to provide our clients with the ability to autonomously produce and file documents to meet their regulatory obligations, and we do not develop products or provide services to compete with such new technologies, our business may be adversely affected by those clients who choose alternative solutions, including self-serving or filing themselves. Our performance and growth depend on our ability to generate client referrals and to develop referenceable client relationships that will enhance our sales and marketing efforts. We depend on users of our solutions to generate client referrals for our services. We depend in part on the financial institutions, law firms and other third parties who use our products and services to recommend our solutions to their client base, which allows us to reach a larger client base than we can reach through our direct sales and internal marketing efforts. For instance, a portion of our net sales from GCM clients is derived from referrals by investment banks, financial advisors and law firms that have utilized our services in connection with prior transactions. These referrals are an important source of new clients for our services. A decline in the number of referrals we receive could require us to devote substantially more resources to the sales and marketing of our services, which would increase our costs, potentially lead to a decline in our net sales, slow our growth and negatively impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flow. The results of the United Kingdom’s referendum on withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on global economic conditions, financial markets and our business. In June 2016, a majority of voters in the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the European Union in a national referendum. The referendum was advisory, and the terms of any withdrawal are subject to a negotiation period that could last up to two years after the government of the United Kingdom formally initiates a withdrawal process. Nevertheless, the referendum has created significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, including with respect to the laws and regulations that will apply as the United Kingdom determines which European Union- derived laws to replace or replicate in the event of a withdrawal. The referendum has also given rise to calls for the governments of other European Union member states to consider withdrawal. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, have had and may continue to have an adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global market liquidity and restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets. Any of these factors could depress economic activity and restrict our access to capital, which could negatively impact our results of operations, financial positions and cash flow. As part of RRD, we received favorable terms and prices from existing third-party vendors that we source products and services from based on the full purchasing power of RRD. Following the Separation, we are a smaller company and may experience increased costs resulting from a decrease in purchasing power. Prior to the Separation, we were able to take advantage of RRD’s size and purchasing power in sourcing products and services from third-party vendors. Following the Separation, we are a smaller company and are unlikely to have the same purchasing power that we had as part of RRD. Although we are seeking to expand our direct purchasing relationships with many of our most important third-party vendors, we may be unable to obtain products and services at prices and on terms as favorable as those available to us prior to the Separation, which could negatively impact our results of operations, financial positions and cash flow. 11