DFIN 2017 Annual Report

Despite our substantial indebtedness, we may be able to incur significantly more debt. Despite our substantial amount of indebtedness, we may be able to incur significant additional debt, including secured debt, in the future. Although the indenture governing our Notes and the Credit Agreement governing the Credit Facilities restrict the incurrence of additional debt, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions. Also, these restrictions do not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness. In addition, as of December 31, 2017, we had $300.0 million available for additional borrowing under our Revolving Facility (as defined in Note 12, Debt ). The more indebtedness we incur, the further exposed we become to the risks associated with substantial leverage described above. The highly competitive market for our products and services and industry fragmentation may continue to create adverse price pressures. The financial communications services industry is highly competitive with relatively low barriers to entry, and the industry remains highly fragmented in North America and internationally. Management expects that competition will increase from existing competitors, as well as new and emerging entrants. Additionally, as we expand our product and service offerings, we may face competition from new and existing competitors. As a result, competition may lead to additional pricing pressure on our products and services, which could negatively impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flow. A failure to adapt to technological changes to address the changing demands of clients may adversely impact our business, and if we fail to successfully develop, introduce or integrate new services or enhancements to our products and services platforms, systems or applications, Donnelley Financial’s reputation, net sales and operating income may suffer. Our ability to attract new clients and increase sales to existing clients will depend in large part on our ability to enhance and improve our existing products and services platforms, including our application solutions, and to introduce new functionality either by acquisition or internal development. Our operating results would suffer if our innovations are not responsive to the needs of our clients, are not appropriately timed with market opportunities or are not brought to market effectively. In addition, it is possible that our assumptions about the features that we believe will drive purchasing decisions for our potential clients or renewal decisions for our existing clients could be incorrect. In the past, we have experienced delays in the planned release dates of new products and services and upgrades to such products and services. There can be no assurance that new products or services, or upgrades to our products or services, will be released on schedule or that, when released, they will not contain defects as a result of poor planning, execution or other factors during the product development lifecycle. If any of these situations were to arise, we could suffer adverse publicity, damage to our reputation, loss of net sales, delay in market acceptance or claims by clients brought against us. Moreover, upgrades and enhancements to our platforms may require substantial investment and there can be no assurance that our investments will help us achieve or sustain a durable competitive advantage in our products and services offerings. If clients do not widely adopt our solutions or new innovations to our solutions, we may not be able to justify the investments we have made. If we are unable to develop, license or acquire new solutions or enhancements to existing services on a timely and cost-effective basis, or if our new or enhanced solutions do not achieve market acceptance, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially negatively impacted. Undetected errors or failures found in our products and services may result in loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products and services that could seriously harm our business. Our products and services may contain undetected errors or scalability limitations at any point in their lives, but particularly when first introduced or as new versions are released. We frequently release new versions of our products and different aspects of our platform are in various stages of development. Despite testing by us and by current and potential clients, errors may not be found in new products and services until after commencement of commercial availability or use, resulting in a loss of or a delay in market acceptance, damage to our reputation, client dissatisfaction and reductions in net sales and margins, any of which could negatively impact our business. Changes in the rules and regulations to which clients or potential clients are subject may impact demand for our products and services. Many of our clients are subject to rules and regulations requiring certain printed or electronic communications governing the form, content and delivery methods of such communications. Changes in these regulations may impact clients’ business practices and could reduce demand for our products and services. Changes in such regulations could eliminate the need for certain types of communications altogether or such changes may impact the quantity or format of communications. 15