Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investing in our common stock involves risks. Before you invest in our common stock, you should carefully consider the risk factors below together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report. If any of the risks discussed herein were to occur, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, and our ability to service our debt and make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected (which we refer to collectively as “materially and adversely affecting us” or having “a material adverse effect on us” and comparable phrases), the market price of our common stock could decline significantly and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. Some statements in the following risk factors constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section in this Annual Report entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Summary of Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the matters discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Annual Report for factors you should consider before investing in our common stock. Some of these risks include:
•Our investments are concentrated in the temperature-controlled warehouse industry, and our business would be materially and adversely affected by an economic downturn in that industry or the market for our customers’ products.
•The temperature-controlled warehouses that comprise our global warehousing business are concentrated in certain geographic areas, some of which are particularly susceptible to adverse local conditions. Our inability to quickly and effectively restore operations following adverse weather or a localized disaster, or economic or other disturbance in a key geography could materially and adversely affect us.
•Global market and economic conditions may materially and adversely affect us.
•Many of our costs, such as operating expenses, interest expense, and real estate acquisition and construction costs could be adversely impacted by periods of heightened inflation.
•Labor shortages, increased turnover, and work stoppages have in the past disrupted, and may in the future disrupt, our or our customers’ operations, increase costs, and negatively impact our profitability.
•Supply chain disruptions have in the past, and may again in the future, negatively impact our business.
•We are exposed to risks associated with expansion and development, including greenfields, which could result in returns below expectations and unforeseen costs and liabilities.
•Our integrated solutions business depends on the performance of our global warehousing business.
•A portion of our future growth depends upon acquisitions and we may be unable to identify, complete, and successfully integrate acquisitions, which may impede our growth, and our future acquisitions may not achieve their intended benefits or may disrupt our plans and operations.
•We are dependent on Bay Grove to provide certain services to us pursuant to the transition services agreement, and it may be difficult to replace the services provided under such agreement.
•We may be vulnerable to security breaches or cybersecurity incidents, which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.
•We depend on IT systems to operate our business, and issues with maintaining, upgrading, or implementing these systems, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
•We may be subject to risks associated with artificial intelligence.
•We are subject to additional risks with respect to our current and potential international operations and properties.
•Competition in certain of our markets has increased recently and may increase further or in other markets over time if our competitors open new warehouses or expand their logistics or integrated service offerings that compete with our offerings.
•Power costs may increase or be subject to volatility, which could result in increased costs that we may be unable to recover.
•We depend on key personnel and specialty personnel, and a deterioration of employee relations could harm our business and operating and financial results.
•We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq rules and, as a result, qualify for, and may rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
•We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025. Material weaknesses or a failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from
accurately reporting our financial results in a timely manner, which would likely have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
•We could incur significant costs under environmental laws related to the presence and management of asbestos, anhydrous ammonia, and other chemicals and underground storage tanks.
•We are currently invested in various joint ventures and may invest in additional joint ventures in the future and face risks stemming from our partial ownership interests in such properties, which could materially and adversely affect the value of any such joint venture investments.
•We have significant indebtedness outstanding, which may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.
•Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and interest expense.
•Market conditions could adversely affect our ability to refinance existing indebtedness or obtain additional financing for growth on acceptable terms or at all, which could materially and adversely affect us.
•Our Co-Executive Chairmen have substantial influence over our business, and our Co-Executive Chairmen’s interests, and the interests of certain members of our management, differ from our interests and those of our other stockholders in certain respects.
•Our charter and bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer, or prevent an acquisition of our common stock or a change in control.
•There can be no assurance that we will be able to make or maintain cash distributions, and certain agreements related to our indebtedness may, under certain circumstances, limit or eliminate our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders.
•Future contractual repurchase obligations may materially and adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and may reduce future distributions.
•Failure to qualify as a REIT would cause us to be taxed as a regular C corporation, which would substantially reduce funds available for distributions to stockholders.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
Our investments are concentrated in the temperature-controlled warehouse industry, and our business would be materially and adversely affected by an economic downturn in that industry or the market for our customers’ products.
Our investments in real estate assets are concentrated in the industrial real estate industry, specifically in temperature-controlled warehouses. This concentration exposes us to the risk of economic downturns in this industry to a greater extent than if our business activities included a more significant portion of other sectors of the real estate market. We are also exposed to fluctuations in the markets for, and production of, the commodities and finished products that we store in our warehouses. For example, the demand for seafood, packaged foods and proteins such as poultry, pork and beef and the production of such products directly impacts the need for temperature-controlled warehouse space to store such products for our customers. Declines in production of or demand for our customers’ products could cause our customers to reduce their inventory levels at and throughput through our warehouses, which could reduce the storage, handling and other fees payable to us and materially and adversely affect us.
The temperature-controlled warehouses that comprise our global warehousing business are concentrated in certain geographic areas, some of which are particularly susceptible to adverse local conditions. Our inability to quickly and effectively restore operations following adverse weather or a localized disaster, or economic or other disturbance in a key geography could materially and adversely affect us.
Although we own or hold leasehold interests in warehouses across the United States and globally, many of these warehouses are concentrated in a few geographic areas. For example, approximately 10% of our owned or leased warehouses were located in California, 8% were in Washington, 8% were in the Netherlands, 6% were in Illinois, and 6% were in Texas (in each case, on a cubic-foot basis based on information as of December 31, 2025). This geographic concentration could adversely affect our operating performance if conditions become less favorable in any of the states or markets within such states in which we have a concentration of properties. We cannot assure you that any of our markets will grow, not experience adverse developments or that
underlying real estate fundamentals will be favorable to owners and operators of service-oriented or experience-based properties. Our operations may also be affected if competing properties are built in our markets. Local conditions may include natural disasters, periods of economic slowdown or recession, regulatory changes, labor shortages or strikes, localized oversupply in warehousing space or reductions in demand for warehousing space, adverse agricultural events, road or rail line closures, disruptions in logistics systems, such as transportation and tracking systems for our customers’ inventory, and power outages.
Our inability to quickly and effectively restore operations following adverse weather or a localized disaster, or economic or other disturbance in a key geography could materially and adversely affect us. Our property insurance policies are subject to deductibles and customary exclusions, and there can be no assurance that such potential liability will not exceed the applicable coverage limits under our insurance policies.
Global market and economic conditions may materially and adversely affect us.
The success of our business will be affected by general economic and market conditions, as well as by changes in laws, currency exchange controls and national and international political, environmental and socio-economic circumstances. Specifically, our business operations are sensitive to the systemic impact of inflation, tariffs, the availability and cost of credit, declines in the real estate market, increases in fuel, energy and power costs and geopolitical issues. A severe or prolonged economic downturn may adversely impact the general availability of credit to businesses and could lead to a weakening of the U.S. and global economies. While it is difficult to determine the breadth and duration of any unfavorable market or economic conditions and the many ways in which they may affect our customers and our business in general, unfavorable market or economic conditions may result in:
•changes in consumer trends, demand and preferences for products we store in our warehouses;
•customer defaults on their contracts with us;
•reduced demand for our warehouse space, increased vacancies at our warehouses and a reduced ability, or an inability, to retain our customers or acquire new customers;
•reduced demand for the other supply chain services that comprise our integrated solutions business;
•lower rates from, and economic concessions to, our customers;
•increased operating costs, including increased energy, labor and fuel costs, and supply-chain challenges;
•our inability to raise capital on favorable terms, or at all, when desired;
•decreased value of our properties and related impact on our ability to obtain attractive prices on sales or to obtain debt financing; and
•illiquidity and decreased value of our short-term investments and cash deposits.
Any of the foregoing events could result in substantial or total losses to our business in respect of certain properties, which will likely be exacerbated by the terms of our indebtedness.
Many of our costs, such as operating expenses, interest expense, and real estate acquisition and construction costs could be adversely impacted by periods of heightened inflation.
In recent years, inflation in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region rose to levels not experienced in recent decades, and we have seen its impact on various aspects of our business. While inflation levels have slowed globally throughout 2025, we continue to see the impact of rising costs. Certain of our expenses, including, but not limited to, labor costs, utility costs (power in particular), interest expense, property taxes, insurance premiums, equipment repair and replacement, and other operating expenses are subject to inflationary pressures that have and may continue to negatively impact our business and results of operations. Our efforts to reduce the impact of inflation by increased operating efficiencies and embedded rate escalation or price increases to our customers may not be successful, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to offset future inflationary cost increases in whole or in part, which could adversely impact our profit margins. We may be limited in our ability to obtain reimbursement from customers under existing contracts for any increases in operating expenses. Unless we are able to offset any unexpected costs in a timely manner, or at all, with sufficient revenues through new contracts or new customers, increases in these costs would lower our operating margins and could materially and adversely affect us. In addition, higher food costs have continued to impact end-consumers’ buying decisions for certain commodities, which could negatively impact specific customers.
Additionally, inflation may have a negative effect on the construction costs necessary to complete our greenfield development and expansion projects, including, but not limited to, costs of construction materials, labor and services from third-party contractors and suppliers. Higher construction costs could adversely impact our investments in real estate assets and expected yields on our greenfield development and expansion projects, which may make otherwise lucrative investment opportunities less profitable to us.
Labor shortages, increased turnover, and work stoppages have in the past disrupted, and may in the future disrupt, our or our customers’ operations, increase costs, and negatively impact our profitability.
We hire our own workforce to handle product in and out of storage for our customers in most of our facilities. Our ability to successfully implement our business strategy depends upon our ability to attract and retain talented people and effectively manage our human capital. The labor markets in the industries in which we operate are competitive, and we have historically experienced some level of ordinary course turnover of employees. A number of factors have had and may continue to have adverse effects on the labor force available to us, including reduced employment pools and shortages in other industries with which we compete for labor, government regulations, which include laws, regulations, and policies related to workers’ health and safety, wage and hour practices and immigration. In addition, we seek to optimize our mix of permanent and temporary team members in our facilities, as temporary team members typically result in higher costs and lower efficiency. Labor shortages and increased turnover rates within our team member ranks have led to, and could in the future lead to, increased costs, such as increased overtime to meet demand, increased time and resources related to training new team members, and increased wage rates to attract and retain team members, and could negatively affect our ability to efficiently operate our facilities or otherwise operate at full capacity. An overall or prolonged labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, inability to maintain a stable mix of permanent to temporary team members, increased turnover and labor cost inflation could have a material adverse impact on us. In addition, we may not be able to successfully implement our labor productivity and lean operating principles initiatives, which may impede our growth.
Furthermore, certain portions of our operations are subject to collective bargaining agreements. As of December 31, 2025, fewer than 5% of our team members in the United States were represented by various local labor unions and associations. Globally (including the United States), approximately 15% (based on team members for whom we are able to ascertain union status) or 22% (assuming that the entire 8% of our team members for whom we are not able to ascertain union status due to applicable privacy or freedom of association laws are represented by labor unions and associations) of our total team members were represented by various local labor unions and associations. Strikes, slowdowns, lockouts or other industrial disputes could cause us to experience a significant disruption in our operations, as well as increase our operating costs, which could materially and adversely affect us. If a greater percentage of our workforce becomes unionized, or if we fail to renegotiate our expired or expiring collective bargaining agreements on favorable terms in a timely manner or at all, we could be materially and adversely affected.
In addition, our customers’ operations are subject to labor shortages and disruptions that could negatively impact their production capability, resulting in reduced volume of product for storage. In addition, labor shortages and disruptions impacting the transportation industry may hamper the timely movement of goods into and out of our warehouses. These labor shortages and disruptions could in turn have a material adverse effect on us.
Wage increases driven by competitive pressures or applicable legislation on employee wages and benefits could negatively affect our operating margins and our ability to attract qualified personnel.
Our hourly team members in the United States and internationally are typically paid wage rates above the applicable minimum wage. However, increases in the minimum wage may increase our labor costs if we are to continue paying our hourly team members above the applicable minimum wage. If we are unable to continue paying our hourly team members above the applicable minimum wage or at otherwise competitive wages, we may be unable to hire and retain qualified personnel. For example, beginning in 2020 and through 2025, we saw wage inflation on a global basis at all levels in our organization, which increased labor costs. For each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, labor and benefits expenses in our Global Warehousing segment accounted for 60.7%, 60.2%, and 59.7% of the segment’s cost of operations, respectively. Increases in the rates we pay our team members would negatively affect our operating margins unless we are able to increase our income streams in order to pass increased labor costs on to our customers. Our standard contract forms include some rate protection for uncontrollable costs such as labor, or costs associated with regulatory action, however, despite such provisions, we may not be able to fully pass through these increased costs.
Competitive pressures may also require that we enhance our pay and benefits package to compete effectively for such personnel (including costs associated with health insurance coverage or workers’ compensation insurance) or offer retention bonuses. If we fail to attract and retain qualified and skilled personnel, we could be materially and adversely affected.
Supply chain disruptions have in the past, and may again in the future, negatively impact our business.
Our business has in the past and may from time to time be impacted by supply chain disruptions, which impact, among other things, labor availability, raw material availability, manufacturing and food production, construction materials and transportation, including increased costs, reduced options, and timing delays with respect to the foregoing. Continued disruptions in the supply chain impacting the availability of materials, causing delays in manufacturing and production, including in our customers’ products, shipping delays and other supply chain problems could materially and adversely impact us.
We are exposed to risks associated with expansion and development, including greenfields, which could result in returns below expectations and unforeseen costs and liabilities.
We have engaged, and we expect to continue to engage, in expansion and development activities, including greenfield development and expansion projects, with respect to certain of our properties. Expansion and development activities will subject us to certain risks not present in the acquisition of existing properties (the risks of which are described below), including, without limitation, the following:
•our pipeline of expansion and development opportunities is at various stages of discussion and consideration and, based on historical experiences, many of them may not be pursued or completed as contemplated or at all;
•the availability and timing of financing on favorable terms or at all;
•the availability and timely receipt of environmental studies and entitlement, zoning and regulatory approvals, which could result in increased costs and could require us to abandon our activities entirely with respect to any given warehouse for which we are unable to obtain permits or authorizations;
•the cost and timely completion within budget of construction due to increased land, materials, equipment, labor or other costs (including risks beyond our control, such as strikes, uninsurable losses, weather or labor conditions, material shortages, or increased costs resulting from the imposition of tariffs), which could make completion of any given warehouse or the expansion thereof uneconomical, and we may not be able to increase revenues to compensate for the increase in construction costs;
•inability to complete construction of a warehouse or the expansion thereof on schedule due to the availability of labor, equipment or materials or other factors outside of our control, resulting in increased debt service expense and construction costs;
•supply chain disruptions or delays in receiving materials or support from vendors or contractors could impact the timing of stabilization of expansion and development projects;
•newly developed properties do not have an operating history that would allow objective pricing decisions in determining whether to invest our capital in such properties;
•market conditions may change during the course of development, which may make such development less attractive than at the time it was commenced;
•a completed expansion project or a newly-developed warehouse may fail to achieve, or take longer than anticipated to achieve, expected occupancy rates and may fail to perform as expected;
•inability to successfully integrate expanded or newly-developed properties;
•projects to automate our existing or new warehouses may not perform as expected or achieve the anticipated operational efficiencies; and
•inability to achieve targeted returns and budgeted stabilized returns on invested capital on our expansion and development opportunities due to the risks described above, and an expansion or development may not be profitable and could lose money.
These risks could create substantial unanticipated delays and expenses and, in certain circumstances, prevent the initiation or completion of expansion or development as contemplated or at all, any of which could materially and adversely affect us.
The actual initial full year stabilized NOI yields from our greenfield development and expansion projects may not be consistent with the targeted NOI yield ranges set forth in this Annual Report.
As of December 31, 2025, we had 15 greenfield development and expansion projects that had been completed since January 1, 2023 and nine greenfield development and expansion projects under construction. As a part of our standard development and expansion underwriting process, we analyze the estimated initial full year stabilized NOI yield we expect to derive from each greenfield development project and the estimated incremental initial full year stabilized NOI yield we expect to derive from each expansion project, as applicable, and establish a targeted NOI yield range. We define estimated initial full year stabilized NOI yield as the percentage of the total estimated cost to complete the greenfield development or expansion project represented by the estimated initial full year stabilized NOI from the greenfield development project or the estimated incremental initial full year stabilized NOI from the expansion project. For greenfield development projects, we calculate the estimated initial full year stabilized NOI by subtracting the greenfield development project’s estimated initial full year stabilized operating expenses (before interest expense, income taxes (if any) and depreciation and amortization) from its estimated initial full year stabilized revenue. For expansion projects, we calculate the estimated incremental initial full year stabilized NOI by subtracting the expansion project’s estimated incremental initial full year stabilized operating expenses (before interest expense, income taxes (if any) and depreciation and amortization) from its estimated incremental initial full year stabilized revenue.
We caution you not to place undue reliance on the targeted NOI yield ranges for our greenfield development and expansion projects because they are based solely on our estimates, using data currently available to us in our development and expansion underwriting processes. For our greenfield development and expansion projects under construction, our total cost to complete the project may differ substantially from our estimates due to various factors, including unanticipated expenses, delays in the estimated start and/or completion date and other contingencies. In addition, our actual initial full year stabilized NOI from our greenfield development and expansion projects may differ substantially from our estimates based on numerous other factors, including delays and/or difficulties in leasing or stabilizing the facilities, failure to achieve estimated occupancy and rental rates, inability to collect anticipated revenues, customer bankruptcies and unanticipated expenses at the facilities that we cannot pass on to customers. We can provide no assurance that the actual initial full year stabilized NOI yields from our greenfield development and expansion projects will be consistent with the targeted NOI yield ranges set forth in this Annual Report.
The short-term nature and lack of minimum storage guarantees in many of our customer contracts exposes us to certain risks that could have a material adverse effect on us.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, approximately 46.1% of our storage revenues were generated from agreements with customers that contained minimum storage guarantees. However, despite such guarantees, in the event a customer were to terminate such a contract with us, our remedies are typically limited to the amount of the guarantee.
Our customer contracts that do not contain minimum storage guarantees typically do not require our customers to utilize a minimum number of pallet positions or provide for guaranteed fixed payment obligations from our customers to us. As a result, most of our customers may discontinue or otherwise reduce their use of our warehouses or other services in their discretion at any time, which could have a material adverse effect on us. Additionally, we have discrete pricing for our customers based upon their unique profiles. Therefore, a shift in the mix of business types or customers could negatively impact our financial results.
The storage and other fees we generate from customers with month-to-month warehouse rate agreements may be adversely affected by declines in market storage and other fee rates more quickly than with respect to our contracts that contain stated terms. There also can be no assurance that we will be able to retain any customers upon the expiration of their contracts (whether month-to-month warehouse rate agreements or contracts) or leases. If we cannot retain our customers, or if our customers that are not party to contracts with minimum storage guarantees elect not to store goods in our warehouses, we may be unable to find replacement customers on favorable terms or at all or on a timely basis and we may incur significant expenses in obtaining replacement customers, repositioning warehouses to meet their needs, or temporarily idling warehouses. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect us.
In addition, while we plan to expand our use of contracts with minimum storage guarantees, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so or that this strategy will result in increases in recurring revenue, enhanced stability of cash flows or increases in our economic occupancy, which could impede our growth.
Our integrated solutions business depends on the performance of our global warehousing business.
Our integrated solutions business complements our global warehousing services. For example, within transportation, which is the largest area within our integrated solutions business, our core focus areas are multi-vendor less-than-full-truckload
consolidation, transportation brokerage and drayage services to and from ports. Because we provide this integrated solutions business to our warehouse customers, the success of our integrated solutions business depends on the performance of our global warehousing business. A reduction in the number of our customers or in our customers’ inventory or throughput levels for any reason could in turn result in reduced demand for our integrated solutions services, which may adversely affect our operations.
Our growth may strain our management and resources, which may have a material adverse effect on us.
We have grown rapidly in recent years, including by expanding our internal resources, undertaking expansion and development projects, making acquisitions, providing expanded service offerings and entering new markets. Our growth has, and may continue to, place a strain on our management, operational, financial and information systems, and procedures and controls to expand, train and control our employee base. Our need for working capital will increase as our operations grow. There can be no assurance that we will be able to adapt our portfolio management, administrative, accounting, information technology (“IT”) and operational systems to support any growth we may experience. Failure to oversee our current portfolio of properties and manage our growth effectively, or to obtain necessary working capital and funds for capital improvements, could have a material adverse effect on us.
A portion of our future growth depends upon acquisitions and we may be unable to identify, complete, and successfully integrate acquisitions, which may impede our growth, and our future acquisitions may not achieve their intended benefits or may disrupt our plans and operations.
We have executed 126 acquisitions since our first acquisition in 2008 through December 31, 2025. Our ability to expand through acquisitions requires us to identify and complete acquisitions that are compatible with our growth strategy and to successfully integrate and operate these newly-acquired companies and/or properties. We continually evaluate acquisition opportunities but cannot guarantee that suitable opportunities currently exist or will exist in the future. In addition, future acquisitions may generate lower returns than past acquisitions, and past acquisitions may not generate the same returns as they did previously.
Our ability to identify and complete acquisitions of suitable companies and/or properties on favorable terms, or at all, and to successfully integrate and operate them to meet our financial, operational and strategic expectations may be constrained. We face competition from other potential acquirers that may significantly increase the purchase price for a company or property. We may fail to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals or other approvals required in connection with any potential acquisition or we may fail to satisfy certain conditions required to complete a transaction in a timely manner. We may, without any recourse, or with only limited recourse, acquire properties subject to liabilities, such as liabilities for clean-up of undisclosed environmental contamination, defects of design, construction, title or other problems, claims by employees, customers, vendors or other persons dealing with the former owners of the properties, liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business and claims for indemnification by general partners, directors, officers and others indemnified by the former owners of the properties.
In addition, we may be required to acquire a company or property through one or more of our taxable REIT subsidiary, or TRS, entities, but no more than 20% (25% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025) of the value of our gross assets may consist of securities in TRSs, and as a result, compliance with these requirements could limit our ability to complete a transaction.
We may be unable to successfully expand our operations into new markets or new lines of business.
If the opportunity arises, we may acquire or develop properties in new markets. In addition to the risks described above related to our acquisition, expansion and development activities, the acquisition, expansion or development of properties in new markets will subject us to the risks associated with a lack of understanding of the related economy and unfamiliarity with government and permitting procedures. We will also not possess the same level of familiarity with the dynamics and market conditions of any new market that we may enter, which could adversely affect our ability to successfully expand and operate in such market. We may be unable to build a significant market share or achieve a desired return on our investments in new markets. If we are unsuccessful in expanding and operating in new, high-growth markets, it could have a material adverse effect on us.
In addition, from time to time, we may develop, grow and/or acquire new lines of business or offer new services within existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets for these services are not fully developed. In developing and marketing new lines of business and/or new services, we may invest significant time and resources. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new services may not be achieved, and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors,
such as compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new service. Furthermore, the burden on management and our IT of introducing any new line of business and/or new service could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of our system of internal controls. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new services could have a material adverse effect on us.
We are dependent on Bay Grove to provide certain services to us pursuant to the transition services agreement, and it may be difficult to replace the services provided under such agreement.
Prior to our IPO, we relied on Bay Grove to provide certain operating, consulting, strategic development and financial services, including advice and assistance concerning operational aspects of Lineage Logistics Holdings, LLC (“Lineage Holdings”) and its subsidiaries, and we will continue to rely on Bay Grove for transition services supporting capital deployment and mergers and acquisitions activity for three years following our IPO pursuant to the transition services agreement that we entered into in connection with our IPO. It may be difficult for us to replace the services provided by Bay Grove under the transition services agreement, and the terms of any agreements to replace such services may be less favorable to us. Any failure by Bay Grove in the performance of such services, or any failure on our part to successfully transition these services away from Bay Grove by the expiration of the transition services agreement, could materially harm our business and financial performance.
We have uncapped expense payment and indemnification obligations with respect to various costs incurred by BGLH, Bay Grove, and their affiliates.
In connection with our IPO, Lineage Holdings entered into an expense reimbursement and indemnification agreement with BGLH, the LHR, and Bay Grove, pursuant to which Lineage Holdings agreed to (i) advance to or reimburse such entities for all of their expenses in any way related to our company, including expenses incurred in connection with the coordinated settlement process that will occur for up to three years post-IPO for all legacy investors in both BGLH and our operating partnership, and (ii) indemnify such entities to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law against liabilities that may arise in any way related to our company, including liabilities incurred in connection with or as a result of the coordinated settlement process. There is no limit to the amounts we may be required to pay under this agreement. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that our future payment obligations under this agreement will not have a material adverse effect on us.
Pandemics or disease outbreaks, and associated responses, may disrupt our business, including among other things, increasing our costs, impacting our supply chain, and impacting demand for cold storage, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.
We face various risks and uncertainties related to public health crises, including supply chain disruptions, potential work stoppages, volatility in demand for temperature-controlled warehouse storage, and other operational challenges.
The extent to which a public health emergency impacts our operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence, including the scope, severity, duration and geographies of the outbreak, the actions taken or not taken to contain the outbreak or mitigate its impact requested or mandated by governmental authorities or otherwise voluntarily taken or not taken by individuals or businesses, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the illness and containment measures, among others.
We may be vulnerable to security breaches or cybersecurity incidents, which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.
We rely extensively on information systems to process transactions, operate and manage our business. As with any IT system, our IT system and any third-party system on which we rely are vulnerable to failure and a variety of interruptions due to events, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, power outages, fire, sabotage, equipment failures, known and unknown cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and cyber-related attacks or computer crimes (e.g., ransomware and distributed denial-of-service attacks). Our ability to efficiently manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attack or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our IT networks and related systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day-to-day operations (including managing and operating our warehouses and our integrated solutions business), and, in some cases, may be critical to the operations of our customers. We have acquired and continue to acquire companies with cybersecurity vulnerabilities and unsophisticated security measures, which exposes us to
cybersecurity, operational, and financial risks, including where the IT systems of such companies have not been fully integrated into Lineage’s networks. The failure of our IT systems to perform as anticipated, and the failure to integrate disparate systems effectively or to collect data accurately and consolidate it in a usable manner efficiently could adversely affect our business through transaction errors, billing and invoicing errors, processing inefficiencies or errors and loss of sales, receivables, collections and customers, in each case, which could result in reputational damage and have an ongoing adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.
We recognize the increasing volume of cybersecurity incidents and employ commercially practical efforts to provide reasonable assurance such attacks are appropriately mitigated. There can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information. We may be required to expend significant financial resources and management time to protect against or respond to such breaches. Techniques used to breach security change frequently and are generally not recognized until launched against a target, so we may not be able to promptly detect that a security breach or unauthorized access has occurred. We also may not be able to implement security measures in a timely manner or, if and when implemented, we may not be able to determine the extent to which these measures could be circumvented. If an actual or perceived security breach occurs, the market’s perception of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose current and potential tenants, and such a breach could be harmful to our brand and reputation. Any breaches that may occur could expose us to increased risk of lawsuits, material monetary damages, potential violations of applicable privacy and other laws, penalties and fines, harm to our reputation and increases in our security and insurance costs. In the event of a breach resulting in loss of data, such as personally identifiable information or other such data protected by data privacy or other laws, we may be liable for damages, fines and penalties for such losses under applicable regulatory frameworks despite not handling the data. We cannot guarantee that any backup systems, regular data backups, security protocols, network protection mechanisms and other procedures currently in place, or that may be in place in the future, will be adequate to prevent network and service interruption, system failure, damage to one or more of our systems or data loss in the event of a security breach or attack. In addition, our customers rely extensively on computer systems to process transactions and manage their businesses and thus their businesses are also at risk from, and may be impacted by, cybersecurity attacks. An interruption in the business operations of our customers or a deterioration in their reputation resulting from a cybersecurity attack could indirectly impact our business operations. There can be no assurance that such potential liability will not exceed the applicable coverage limits under our insurance policies.
In addition, there can be no assurance that our efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these types of IT networks and related systems will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Like other businesses, we have been and expect to continue to be subject to unauthorized access, mishandling or misuse, computer viruses or malware, cybersecurity incidents and other events of varying degrees. Historically, these events have not significantly affected our operations or business and were not individually or in the aggregate material. While these incidents did not have a material impact on us, there can be no assurance that future incidents will not have a material adverse effect on us.
We depend on IT systems to operate our business, and issues with maintaining, upgrading, or implementing these systems, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We rely on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of IT systems to process, transmit and store electronic information in our day-to-day operations. All IT systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources. Our business has grown in size and complexity; this has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our IT systems. In connection with this growth, we rely on 83 fully- and semi-automated warehouses in a traditionally analog industry. To effectively manage this growth, our information systems and applications require an ongoing commitment of significant resources to maintain, protect, enhance and upgrade existing systems and develop and implement new systems to keep pace with changing technology and our business needs. We have invested in transformational technology initiatives, which include developing, acquiring and deploying both proprietary operating systems and third-party platforms. This investment encompasses migrating workloads to the cloud, implementing SaaS-based tools, rolling out next-generation SD-WAN, and upgrading our core human capital and financial ERP software. These initiatives are strategically designed to standardize, integrate and enhance the technological framework across our enterprise. This development entails certain risks, including difficulties with changes in business processes that could disrupt our operations, manage our supply chain and aggregate financial and operational data. We may continue to rely on legacy information systems, which may be costly or inefficient, while the implementation of new initiatives may not achieve the anticipated benefits and may divert management’s attention from other operational activities, negatively affect team member morale, or have other unintended consequences. Delays in integration or disruptions to our business from implementation of new or upgraded systems could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.
Additionally, if we are not able to accurately anticipate expenses and capitalized costs related to system upgrades and changes or if we are unable to realize the expected benefits from our technology initiatives, this may have an adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.
We may be subject to risks associated with artificial intelligence.
We have incorporated artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions into some of our information systems, offerings, services, and features, and these solutions, and possible future generative AI solutions, may become more important in our operations over time. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing and AI, creates opportunities for the potential loss or misuse of personal, confidential, and/or proprietary data that forms part of any data set and was collected, used, stored, or transferred to run our business, and unintentional dissemination or intentional destruction of confidential information stored in our or our third-party providers' systems, portable media, or storage devices, which may result in significantly increased business and security costs, a damaged reputation, administrative penalties, or costs related to defending legal claims. AI also presents emerging ethical issues and if our use of AI becomes controversial, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, or legal liability.
The rapid evolution of AI, including potential government regulation of AI, will require significant resources to develop, test, and maintain our platform, offerings, services, and features to help us implement AI ethically in order to minimize unintended, harmful impact. The use of AI technology in our business processes requires a strong tailored governance framework. The regulatory framework for AI is continuously developing, and our internal governance framework over AI may fail to meet new emerging standards, which could lead to potential loss or misuse of data, or other harmful consequences.
If the information we rely upon to run our businesses were to be found to be inaccurate or unreliable, if we fail to maintain or protect our IT systems and data integrity effectively, if we fail to develop and implement new or upgraded systems to meet our business needs in a timely manner, or if we fail to anticipate, plan for or manage significant disruptions to these systems, our competitive position could be harmed, we could have operational disruptions, we could lose existing customers, have difficulty preventing, detecting, and controlling fraud, have disputes with customers, have regulatory sanctions or penalties imposed or other legal problems, incur increased operating and administrative expenses, lose revenues as a result of a data privacy breach or theft of intellectual property or suffer other adverse consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
Privacy and data security concerns, and data collection and transfer restrictions and related regulations may adversely affect our business.
Many foreign countries and governmental bodies, including the European Union, where we conduct business, have laws and regulations concerning the collection and use of personal data obtained from their residents or by businesses operating within their jurisdiction. These laws and regulations often are more restrictive than those in the United States. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and security of data that identifies or may be used to identify or locate an individual, such as names, email addresses and, in some jurisdictions, IP addresses.
Recently, there has been heightened interest and enforcement focus on data protection regulations and standards both in the United States and abroad. For example, in January 2023, amendments to California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 went into effect, increasing data privacy requirements for our business. We expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws, regulations and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection and information security in the United States, the European Union, and other jurisdictions. In addition, the European Commission adopted a General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), that became fully effective on May 25, 2018, superseding prior European Union data protection legislation, imposing more stringent European Union data protection requirements, and providing for greater penalties for noncompliance. The United Kingdom enacted the Data Protection Act that substantially implements the GDPR. More generally, we cannot yet fully determine the impact these or future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. Privacy, data protection and information security laws and regulations are often subject to differing interpretations, may be inconsistent among jurisdictions, and may be alleged to be inconsistent with our current or future practices. Additionally, we may be bound by contractual requirements applicable to our collection, use, processing, and disclosure of various types of data, including personal data, and may be bound by, or voluntarily comply with, self-regulatory or other industry standards related to these matters. These and other requirements could increase our costs, impair our ability to grow our business, or restrict our ability to store and process data or, in some cases, impact our ability to operate our business in some locations and may subject us to liability. Any failure or perceived failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations, industry standards, and contractual obligations may adversely affect our business.
Further, in view of new or modified foreign laws and regulations, industry standards, contractual obligations and other legal obligations, or any changes in their interpretation, we may find it necessary or desirable to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or to expend significant resources to adapt to these changes. We may be unable to make such changes and modifications in a commercially reasonable manner or at all.
The costs of compliance with and other burdens imposed by laws, regulations and standards may limit the use and adoption of our service and reduce overall demand for it. Failure to comply with applicable data protection regulations or standards may expose us to litigation, fines, sanctions or other penalties, which could damage our reputation and adversely impact our business, results of operation and financial condition. Privacy, information security, and data protection concerns may inhibit market adoption of our business, particularly in certain industries and foreign countries.
If any of the foregoing risks were to materialize, they could materially and adversely affect us.
We are subject to additional risks with respect to our current and potential international operations and properties.
As of December 31, 2025, we owned or had a leasehold interest in 207 temperature-controlled warehouses outside the United States. We also intend to strategically grow our portfolio globally through acquisitions of temperature-controlled warehouses in attractive international markets to service demonstrable customer demand where we believe the anticipated risk-adjusted returns are consistent with our investment objectives. However, there can be no assurance that our existing customer relationships will support our international operations in any meaningful way or at all. Our international operations and properties could be affected by factors specific to the laws, regulations and business practices of the jurisdictions in which our warehouses are located. These laws, regulations and business practices expose us to risks that are different than or in addition to those commonly found in the United States. Risks related to our international operations and properties include:
•changing governmental rules and policies, including changes in land use and zoning laws;
•enactment of laws related to the international ownership and leasing of real property or mortgages and laws restricting the ability to remove profits earned from activities within a particular country to a person’s or company’s country of origin;
•changes in laws or policies governing foreign trade or investment and use of foreign operations or workers, and any negative sentiments towards multinational companies as a result of any such changes to laws, regulations or policies or due to trends such as political populism and economic nationalism;
•variations in currency exchange rates and the imposition of currency controls;
•adverse market conditions caused by terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, infectious disease and changes in international, national or local governmental or economic conditions;
•the imposition of non-U.S. income and withholding taxes, value added taxes, and other taxes on dividends, interest, capital gains, income, gains, gross sales or other disposition proceeds and changes in real estate and other tax rates and other operating expenses in particular countries, including the potential imposition of adverse or confiscatory taxes;
•general political and economic instability;
•geopolitical risks, including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and disruptions in the Suez Canal affecting the flow of trade out of Asia;
•potential liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, anticorruption regulations with broad jurisdictional authority;
•our limited experience and expertise in foreign countries relative to our experience and expertise in the United States;
•restrictions on our ability to repatriate earnings generated from our international operations and adverse tax consequences in the applicable jurisdictions, such as double taxation;
•potential liability under, and costs of complying with, more stringent environmental laws or changes in the requirements or interpretation of existing laws, or environmental consequences of less stringent environmental management practices in foreign countries relative to the United States; and
•disruptions to our business or that of our customers and/or our suppliers and economic uncertainty and aggravated inflation in certain sectors resulting from trade tensions, tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other governments, actual or
threatened modifications to or withdrawals from international trade agreements, treaties, policies, tariffs, quotas or any other trade rules or restrictions.
If any of the foregoing risks were to materialize, they could materially and adversely affect us.
Competition in certain of our markets has increased recently and may increase further or in other markets over time if our competitors open new warehouses or expand their logistics or integrated service offerings that compete with our offerings.
We compete with other owners and operators of temperature-controlled warehouses (including our customers or potential customers who may choose to provide temperature-controlled warehousing in-house), some of which own properties similar to ours in similar geographic locations, as well as with various logistics companies. In recent years, certain of our competitors have added, through construction, development and acquisition, temperature-controlled warehouses in certain of our markets, which has caused pricing pressure and impacted occupancy and throughput in certain markets with excess capacity and may continue to do so. In addition, our customers or potential customers may choose to develop new temperature-controlled warehouses, expand their existing temperature-controlled warehouses or upgrade their equipment. As newer warehouses and equipment come onto the market, we may lose existing or potential customers, and we may be pressured to reduce our rent and storage and other fees below those we currently charge in order to retain customers. If we lose one or more customers, we cannot assure you that we would be able to replace those customers on attractive terms or at all. From time to time we invest in new construction, reposition or consolidate existing operations or warehouses, or temporarily idle existing warehouses in order to remain competitive or optimize our global warehousing network. To the extent these actions impact customers in affected warehouses, we strive to relocate them into other warehouses in our global warehousing network. However, such efforts may not be successful. Increased capital expenditures or the loss of global warehousing segment revenues resulting from lower occupancy or storage rates or the repositioning, consolidating, or idling of warehouses could have a material adverse effect on us. We may also compete with other logistics providers that are able to offer more attractive services or rates. Such competition may affect our profitability in respect of our integrated solutions services and our intended expansion of such services. In addition, such competition could make it difficult to gain new customers and expand our business with existing customers, which could continue to impede our utilization initiatives to increase physical occupancy. Such competition could also make it difficult to successfully implement our commercial optimization initiatives and our initiative to align rates with costs to serve, which could adversely impact our results of operations and our growth.
Power costs may increase or be subject to volatility, which could result in increased costs that we may be unable to recover.
Power is a major operating cost for temperature-controlled warehouses, and the price of power varies substantially between the markets in which we operate, depending on the power source and supply and demand factors. For each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 power costs in our global warehousing segment accounted for 8.8%, 8.8%, and 8.7% of the segment’s cost of operations, respectively. If the cost of electric power to operate our warehouses increases dramatically or fluctuates widely and we are unable to pass such costs through to customers, we could be materially and adversely affected.
Our programs across several of our warehouses to reduce overall consumption and consumption during peak demand periods, and to introduce alternative sources of energy through on-site solar and battery capacity and linear generators, may not be effective, which could adversely impact our growth and the predictability of our margins.
We have entered into, or may in the future enter into, fixed price power purchase agreements in certain deregulated markets whereby we contract for the right to purchase an amount of electric capacity at a fixed rate per kilowatt. Typically, these contracts do not obligate us to purchase any minimum amounts but would require negotiation if our capacity requirements were to materially differ from historical usage or exceed the thresholds agreed upon. For example, exceeding these thresholds could have an adverse impact on our incremental power purchase costs if we were to be unable to obtain favorable rates on the incremental purchases.
We depend on certain customers for a substantial amount of our revenues.
Our 25 largest customers contributed approximately 33% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, we had four customers that each accounted for at least 2% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2025. In addition, as of December 31, 2025, approximately 50 of our warehouses were single-customer warehouses. If any of our most significant customers were to discontinue or otherwise reduce their use of our warehouses or other services, which they are generally free to do at any time, unless they are party to a contract that includes a minimum storage commitment or a long-term lease, we could be materially and adversely affected. While we have contracts with stated terms with
certain of our customers, many of our contracts do not obligate our customers to use our warehouses or provide for minimum storage commitments. Moreover, a decrease in demand for certain commodities or products produced by our significant customers and stored in our temperature-controlled warehouses would lower our physical occupancy rates and use of our services, without lowering our fixed costs, which could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, any of our significant customers could experience a downturn in their businesses which may weaken their financial condition and liquidity and result in their failure to make timely payments to us or otherwise default under their contracts. Cancellation of, or failure of a significant customer to perform under, a contract could require us to seek replacement customers. However, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find suitable replacements on favorable terms in a timely manner or at all or reposition the warehouses without incurring significant costs. Moreover, a bankruptcy filing by or related to any of our significant customers could prevent or delay us from collecting pre-bankruptcy obligations. The bankruptcy, insolvency or financial deterioration of our significant customers, could materially and adversely affect us. In addition, some of our significant customers also utilize our integrated solutions, and a loss of such customer as a warehouse customer would also impact our integrated solutions segment, thereby exacerbating the risks described above.
In addition, while some of our warehouses are located in primary markets, others are located in secondary and tertiary markets that are specifically suited to the particular needs of the customer utilizing these warehouses. For example, our production advantaged warehouses typically serve one or a small number of customers. These warehouses are also generally located adjacent to or otherwise in close proximity to customer processing or production facilities and were often build-to-suit at the time of their construction. If customers who utilize this type of warehouse, which may be located in remote areas, relocate their processing or production plants, default or otherwise cease to use our warehouses, then we may be unable to find replacement customers for these warehouses on favorable terms or at all or, if we find replacement customers, we may have to incur significant costs to reposition these warehouses for the replacement customers’ needs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us.
Interest rate and hedging activity exposes us to risks, including the risks that a counterparty will not perform and that the hedge will not yield the economic benefits we anticipate.
We hedge our interest rate risk through the use of hedging arrangements. In addition, we have entered into certain forward contracts and other hedging arrangements in order to fix power costs for anticipated electricity requirements. These hedging transactions expose us to certain risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements, and that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate and power cost changes. Moreover, there can be no assurance that our hedging arrangements will qualify for hedge accounting or that our hedging activities will have the desired beneficial impact on our results of operations or cash flows. Should we desire to terminate a hedging agreement, there could be significant costs and cash requirements involved to fulfill our obligation under the hedging agreement. Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate and power cost changes could have a material adverse effect on us.
Our business operations outside the United States expose us to losses resulting from currency fluctuations, as the revenues associated with our international operations and properties are typically generated in the local currency of each of the countries in which the properties are located. Fluctuations in exchange rates between these currencies and the U.S. dollar will therefore give rise to non-U.S. currency exposure, which could materially and adversely affect us. We hedge this exposure by incurring operating costs in the same currency as the revenue generated by the related property. We also attempt to mitigate any such effects by entering into currency exchange rate hedging arrangements where it is practical to do so and where such hedging arrangements are available and by structuring debt in local currency. As of December 31, 2025, we were a party to interest rate swaps on our variable rate indebtedness. Periodically we enter into foreign currency forward contracts to manage our exposure to fluctuations in exchange rates. In addition, we have entered into certain forward contracts in order to fix power costs for anticipated electricity requirements.
These hedging arrangements may bear substantial costs, however, and may not eliminate all related risks. These hedging transactions also expose us to certain risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements, and that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to foreign exchange rate, interest rate, and power cost changes. We cannot assure you that our efforts will successfully mitigate our currency risks. Moreover, if we do engage in currency exchange rate hedging activities, any income recognized with respect to these hedges (as well as any foreign currency gain recognized with respect to changes in exchange rates) may not qualify under the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test that we must satisfy annually in order to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Accordingly, our ability to enter into hedging activities may be limited. In addition, changes in foreign currency exchange rates used to value a REIT’s foreign assets may be considered changes in the value of the REIT’s assets. These changes may adversely affect our status as a REIT. Further, bank accounts in a foreign currency which are not considered cash or
cash equivalents may adversely affect our status as a REIT. Moreover, there can be no assurance that our hedging arrangements will qualify for hedge accounting or that our hedging activities will have the desired beneficial impact on our results of operations or cash flows. Should we desire to terminate a hedging agreement, there could be significant costs and cash requirements involved to fulfill our obligation under the hedging agreement. Failure to hedge effectively against foreign exchange rates, interest rates and power cost changes could have a material adverse effect on us.
We may incur liabilities or harm our reputation as a result of quality-control issues associated with our global warehouse storage business and other services provided by our integrated solutions business.
We store frozen and perishable food and other products and provide food processing, repackaging and other services. Product contamination, spoilage, other adulteration, product tampering or other quality control issues could occur at any of our facilities or during the transportation of these products, which could cause our customers to lose all or a portion of their inventory. We could be liable for the costs incurred by our customers as a result of the lost inventory, and we also may be subject to liability, which could be material, if any of the frozen and perishable food products we stored, processed, repackaged or transported caused injury, illness or death. The occurrence of any of the foregoing may negatively impact our brand and reputation and otherwise have a material adverse effect on us.
We are subject to risks related to corporate social and environmental responsibility and reputation.
A number of factors influence our reputation and brand value, including how we are perceived by our customers, business partners, investors, team members, other stakeholders and the communities in which we do business. We face increasing, evolving, and diverging scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) activities and disclosures and risk damage to our reputation if we fail to act appropriately or responsibly in ESG matters, including, among others, environmental stewardship, supply chain management, climate change, human rights, diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”), workplace ethics and conduct, philanthropic activity and support for the communities we serve and in which we operate. Increasingly, different stakeholder groups have divergent views on ESG or DEI matters, which increases the risk that any action or lack thereof with respect to ESG matters will be perceived negatively by at least some stakeholders and adversely impact our reputation and business. Any damage to our reputation could impact the willingness of our business partners and customers to do business with us, or could negatively impact our team member hiring, engagement and retention, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows. We could also incur additional costs and devote additional resources to monitoring, reporting, and implementing various ESG practices.
We may be unable to achieve or demonstrate progress on our net-zero goal, or face heightened scrutiny, for our global operations by calendar 2040.
In 2021, we announced we had signed onto The Climate Pledge and committed to a goal to achieve net-zero by calendar 2040. Achievement of this goal depends on our execution of operational strategies related to energy efficiency measures, onsite energy generation and storage, and network-wide standards to minimize and eliminate carbon emissions associated with daily operations.
Execution of these strategies, as well as demonstrable progress on and achievement of our calendar 2040 net-zero goal, is subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully execute our strategies, or execute on time, and achieve or demonstrate progress on our calendar 2040 net-zero goal. Additionally, we may determine that it is in our best interests to prioritize other business, social, governance or sustainable investments and/or initiatives over the achievement of our calendar 2040 net-zero goal based on economic, legal, regulatory or social factors, business strategy or other reasons. Failure to achieve or demonstrate progress on our calendar 2040 net-zero goal could damage our reputation and customer and other stakeholder relationships.
Our temperature-controlled warehouse infrastructure and systems may become obsolete or unmarketable, and we may not be able to upgrade our equipment cost-effectively or at all.
The infrastructure at our temperature-controlled warehouses and systems may become obsolete or unmarketable due to the development of, or demand for, more advanced equipment or enhanced technologies, including increased automation of our warehouses. Increased automation may entail significant time and start-up costs and lost revenue opportunity, and may not perform as expected. In addition, our IT platform pursuant to which we provide inventory management and other services to our
customers may become outdated. When customers demand new equipment or technologies, the cost could be significant and we may not be able to upgrade our warehouses on a cost-effective basis in a timely manner, or at all, due to, among other things, increased expenses to us that cannot be passed on to customers or insufficient resources to fund the necessary capital expenditures. The obsolescence of our infrastructure or our inability to upgrade our warehouses would likely reduce global warehousing segment revenues, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
The transportation services provided by our integrated solutions business are dependent in part on in-house trucking services and in part on third-party truckload carrier and rail services, each of which subjects us to risks.
We use in-house trucking transportation services to provide refrigerated transportation services to certain customers. The potential liability associated with accidents in the trucking industry is severe and occurrences are unpredictable. A material increase in the frequency or severity of accidents or workers’ compensation claims or the unfavorable development of existing claims could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. In the event that accidents occur, we may be unable to obtain desired contractual indemnities, and, although we believe our aggregate insurance limits should be sufficient to cover our historic claims amounts, the commercial trucking industry has experienced a wave of blockbuster or so-called “nuclear” verdicts, including some instances in which juries have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to those injured in accidents and their families. As a result, our insurance coverage may prove inadequate in certain cases. The occurrence of an event not fully insured or indemnified against or the failure or inability of a customer or insurer to meet its indemnification or insurance obligations could result in substantial losses. Moreover, in connection with any such delays or disruptions, or if customers’ products are damaged or destroyed during transport, we may incur financial obligations or be subject to lawsuits by our customers. Any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, our trucking services are subject to regulation as a motor carrier by the U.S. Department of Transportation, by various state agencies and by similar authorities in our international operations, whose regulations include certain permit requirements of state highway and safety authorities. These regulatory authorities exercise broad powers over our trucking operations. The trucking industry is subject to possible regulatory and legislative changes that may impact our operations and affect the economics of the industry by requiring changes in operating practices or by changing the demand for or the costs of providing trucking services. Some of these possible changes include increasingly stringent fuel emission limits, including potential limits on carbon emissions, changes in the regulations that govern the amount of time a driver may drive or work in any specific period, classification of independent drivers, “restart” rules, limits on vehicle weight and size and other matters including safety requirements.
We also act as a transportation broker and depend on third-party truckload carriers and rail services to transport customer inventory. We do not have an exclusive or long-term contractual relationship with third-party trucking or rail service providers, and there can be no assurance that our customers will have uninterrupted or unlimited access to their transportation assets or services. Additionally, we may not be able to renegotiate additional transportation contracts to expand capacity, add additional routes, obtain multiple providers, or obtain services at current cost levels, any of which may limit the availability of services to our customers. Our ability to secure the services of these third parties, or increases in the prices we or our customers must pay to secure such services, is affected by many factors outside our control and failure to secure transportation services, or to obtain such services on desirable terms, may adversely affect us.
Factors outside our control could adversely affect our ability to offer transportation services, which could reduce the confidence our customers have in our ability to provide transportation services and could impair our ability to retain existing customers and/or attract new customers and could otherwise increase operating costs, reduce profits and affect our relationships with our customers. Such factors include increases in the cost of transportation services, including in relation to any increase in fuel costs, the overall attractiveness of transportation service options, changes in the reliability of available transportation options, transportation delays or disruptions, including those caused by weather-related events, labor shortages, supply-chain issues and delays related to manufacture and delivery of new equipment, equipment failures and national security or other incidents that affect transportation routes or rail lines.
We may be unable to maintain railcar assets on lease at satisfactory lease rates.
The profitability of our railcar leasing business depends on our ability to lease railcars to customers at satisfactory lease rates, to re-lease railcars at satisfactory lease rates upon the expiration and non-renewal of existing leases, and to sell railcars in the secondary market as part of our ordinary course of business. Our ability to accomplish these objectives is dependent upon several factors, including, among others:
•the cost of and demand for leases or ownership of newer or specific-use railcar types;
•the general availability in the market of competing used or new railcars;
•the degree of obsolescence of leased or unleased railcars, including railcars subject to regulatory obsolescence;
•the prevailing market and economic conditions, including the availability of credit, interest rates, and inflation rates;
•the market demand or governmental mandate for refurbishment; and
•the volume and nature of railcar traffic and loadings.
A downturn in the industries in which our lessees operate and decreased demand for railcars could also increase our exposure to re-marketing risk because lessees may demand shorter lease terms or newer railcars, requiring us to re-market leased railcars more frequently. Furthermore, the resale market for previously leased railcars has a limited number of potential buyers. Our inability to re-lease or sell leased or unleased railcars in a timely manner on favorable terms could result in lower lease rates, lower lease utilization percentages, and reduced revenues and operating profit.
Our railcar leasing business is regulated by multiple governmental regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation and the administrative agencies it oversees and industry authorities such as the Association of American Railroads. All such agencies and authorities promulgate rules, regulations, specifications, or operating standards affecting railcar design, configuration, and mechanics; maintenance; and rail-related safety standards for railroad equipment. Future regulatory changes or the determination that our railcars are not in compliance with applicable requirements, rules, regulations, specifications or standards could result in additional operating expenses, administrative fines or penalties or loss of business that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operations.
We depend on key personnel and specialty personnel, and a deterioration of employee relations could harm our business and operating and financial results.
Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of certain key personnel, including our Co-Executive Chairmen, Adam Forste and Kevin Marchetti, as well as our President and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Lehmkuhl, each of whom would be difficult to replace. If any of our key personnel were to cease employment with us, our operating and financial results could suffer. Further, such a loss could be negatively perceived in the capital markets. We have not obtained and do not expect to obtain key man life insurance on any of our key personnel. Our ability to retain our management group or to attract suitable replacements should any members of our management team leave is dependent on the competitive nature of the employment market. The loss of services from key members of our management team or a limitation of their availability could materially and adversely affect us.
We also believe that our future success, particularly in international markets, will depend in large part upon our ability to hire and retain highly skilled managerial, investment, financing, operational and marketing personnel. The customer service, marketing skills and knowledge of local market demand and competitive dynamics of our employees are contributing factors to our ability to maximize our income and to achieve the highest sustainable storage levels at each of our warehouses. We may be unsuccessful in attracting and retaining such skilled personnel. In addition, our temperature-controlled warehouse business depends on the continued availability of skilled personnel with engineering expertise and experience. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may be unable to hire and retain such personnel.
We could experience power outages, disruptions in the supply of utilities, outbreak of fire or other calamity or breakdowns of our refrigeration equipment.
Our warehouses are subject to electrical power outages, disruptions in the supply of utilities such as water, outbreak of fire or other calamity and breakdowns of our refrigeration equipment. We attempt to limit exposure to such occasions by conducting regular maintenance and upgrades to our refrigeration equipment, and, in several locations, using backup generators and power supplies, generally at a significantly higher operating cost than we would pay for an equivalent amount of power from a local utility. However, we may not be able to limit our exposure entirely even with these protections in place. Power outages that last beyond our backup and alternative power arrangements and refrigeration equipment breakdowns would harm our customers and our business. During prolonged power outages and refrigeration equipment breakdowns, changes in humidity and temperature could spoil or otherwise contaminate the frozen and perishable food and other products stored by our customers. We could incur financial obligations to, or be subject to lawsuits by, our customers in connection with these occurrences, which may not be covered by insurance. Any loss of services or product damage could reduce the confidence of our customers in our services and could consequently impair our ability to attract and retain customers. Additionally, in the event of the complete failure of our refrigeration equipment, we would incur significant costs in repairing or replacing our refrigeration equipment, which may not be
covered by insurance. In addition, an outbreak of fire in a warehouse could result in significant damage or even total loss of the warehouse, which would harm our customers and our business, and the business interruption insurance we carry may not be sufficient to compensate us fully for losses or damages that may occur because of such events. In April 2024, we experienced a fire at a warehouse, which represented 0.5% of our global warehousing segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023, that resulted in a complete loss of the warehouse. There can be no assurance that insurance will be sufficient to fully compensate us for all losses. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on us.
We hold leasehold interests in over 100 of our warehouses, and we may be forced to vacate our warehouses if we default on our obligations thereunder and we will be forced to vacate our warehouses if we are unable to renew such leases upon their expiration.
As of December 31, 2025, we held leasehold interests in over 100 of our warehouses. These leases have a weighted average remaining term of 15 years. If we default on any of these leases, we may be liable for damages and could lose our leasehold interest in the applicable property, including all improvements. We would incur significant costs if we were forced to vacate any of these leased warehouses due to, among other matters, the high costs of relocating the equipment in our warehouses. If we were forced to vacate any of these leased warehouses, we could lose customers that chose our storage or other services based on our location, which could have a material adverse effect on us. Our landlords could attempt to evict us for reasons beyond our control. Further, we may be unable to maintain good working relationships with our landlords, which could adversely affect our relationship with our customers and could result in the loss of customers. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to renew these leases prior to their expiration dates on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to renew our lease agreements, we will lose our right to operate these warehouses and be unable to derive revenues from these warehouses and, in the case of ground leases, we forfeit all improvements on the land. We could also lose the customers using these warehouses who are unwilling to relocate to another one of our warehouses, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
Our results of operations are affected by certain commodity markets.
Our results of operations are affected by certain commodity markets. Changes in the overall environment affecting any specific commodity can have a significant and potentially negative impact on our results of operation. The commodity markets may be affected by factors such as weather patterns, fluctuations in input prices, trade barriers, international political conflicts, change in consumer preference, disease outbreaks, seasonal availability, or overall economic conditions. Our concentration of customers in commodity businesses ties our performance to the health of the commodity markets. Any adverse change in the commodity markets may have negative derivative impact on our financial performance.
We face ongoing litigation risks which could result in material liabilities and harm to our business regardless of whether we prevail in any particular matter.
We operate in multiple U.S. and international jurisdictions, with thousands of team members and business counterparts. As such, there is an ongoing risk that we may become involved in legal disputes or litigation with these parties or others. For example, refer to the St. Clair Lawsuit, as defined and discussed in Note 20, Commitments and contingencies to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. The costs and liabilities with respect to such legal disputes may be material and may exceed our amounts accrued, if any, for such liabilities and costs. In addition, our defense of legal disputes or resulting litigation could result in the diversion of our management’s time and attention from the operation of our business, each of which could impede our ability to achieve our business objectives. Some or all of the amounts we may be required to pay to defend or to satisfy a judgment or settlement of any or all of our disputes and litigation may not be covered by insurance.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq rules and, as a result, qualify for, and may rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
BGLH and affiliates continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of all classes of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. Moreover, under the stockholders agreement, so long as BGLH and its affiliates together continue to beneficially own at least 5% of the total outstanding equity interests in our company, we agree to nominate for election to our board of directors individuals designated by BGLH, whom we refer to as the “BGLH Directors,” as specified in our stockholders agreement. As a result, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power in the election of directors is held by an
individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
•a majority of our board of directors consist of independent directors;
•our board of directors have a compensation committee that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
•our board of directors have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.
Although the majority of our board of directors consists of independent directors, our compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees are not composed entirely of independent directors, and we may utilize any of these exemptions prior to the time we cease to be a “controlled company.” Accordingly, to the extent and for so long as we utilize these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of these corporate governance requirements. Accordingly, you do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
We have and expect to continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a newly public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time and attention to compliance efforts.
We have and expect to continue to incur legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses as a result of becoming a public company following our 2024 IPO. As a public company with listed equity securities, we need to comply with new laws, regulations and requirements, including the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, certain corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, related regulations of the SEC and requirements of Nasdaq, with which we were not required to comply as a private company. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business, operations, and financial statements. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires our management and independent registered public accounting firm to report annually on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our second Annual Report on Form 10-K. Substantial work on our part has been done to implement appropriate processes, document the system of internal control over key processes, assess their design, remediate any deficiencies identified, and test their operation. These reporting and other obligations place significant demands on our management and our administrative, operational, and accounting resources, and we may continue to incur significant expenses to maintain the processes implemented.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately determine or disclose our financial results. As a result, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial results.
As a publicly-traded company, we are required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file with, or submit to, the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. They include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in reports filed with, or submitted to, the SEC is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Effective disclosure controls and procedures are necessary for us to provide reliable reports, effectively prevent and detect fraud, and to operate successfully as a public company. Designing and implementing effective disclosure controls and procedures is a continuous effort that requires significant resources and devotion of time. We have discovered and may continue to discover deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures that may be difficult or time consuming to remediate in a timely manner. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures or to timely effect any necessary improvements thereto could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations (which could affect the listing of our common stock on Nasdaq). Additionally, ineffective disclosure controls and procedures could also adversely affect our ability to prevent or detect fraud, harm our reputation and cause investors to lose confidence in our reports filed with, or submitted to, the SEC, which would likely have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025. Material weaknesses or a failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from
accurately reporting our financial results in a timely manner, which would likely have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
We rely on our internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). More broadly, effective internal control over financial reporting is a necessary component of our program to seek to prevent, and to detect any, fraud and to operate successfully as a public company.
As disclosed in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting included in Part II Item 9A. of this Annual Report, as of December 31, 2025, management identified a material weakness related to ineffective information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) in the areas of user access and program change management for certain systems supporting the Company’s financial reporting and related processes. These deficiencies, in aggregate, could impact maintaining effective segregation of duties, as well as the effectiveness of IT-dependent controls (such as automated controls that address the risk of material misstatement to one or more assertions, along with the IT controls and underlying data that support the effectiveness of system-generated data and reports) that could result in misstatements potentially impacting all financial statement accounts and disclosures that would not be prevented or detected. There can be no assurance that the remediation efforts we have committed to will be successful or that we will not identify material weaknesses in our ITGCs in the future.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or are otherwise unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, it could adversely affect our ability to prevent or detect fraud, harm our reputation, subject us to regulatory scrutiny, and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which would likely have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
Charges for impairment of goodwill, long-lived assets, or finite lived intangible assets and declines in real estate valuations could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We regularly monitor the recoverability of our long-lived assets, such as buildings and improvements and machinery and equipment, and our finite lived intangible assets, such as customer relationships, and evaluate their carrying values for potential impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be fully recoverable or when the assets are held for sale. We evaluate goodwill on an annual basis to determine if impairment has occurred and evaluate the recoverability of long-lived assets and finite lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred or the value of such assets may not be fully recoverable. Examples of indicators of potential impairment of our long-lived assets and finite lived intangible assets may include material adverse changes in projected revenues or operating performance measures, a pattern of net losses, significant relevant negative industry trends, internal plans to dispose of an asset group, significant deterioration in the condition of the asset, and an identified impairment of related goodwill or other non-amortizable intangible assets. Examples of indicators of potential impairment of goodwill may include the financial performance of the reporting unit as compared to budget, macroeconomic conditions, labor and energy cost trends, growth in pricing of our capital raises, and other events and trends impacting fair values of our reporting units. If such reviews indicate that impairment has occurred, we are required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value and fair value of the asset or reporting unit in the period the determination is made.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded a $35 million impairment of long-lived assets, primarily related to impairment of an entire warehouse in Kennewick, Washington due to a fire, and a $63 million impairment of finite lived intangible assets related to two customer relationship assets in the Global Integrated Solutions segment. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we recorded a $28 million goodwill impairment in our Global Integrated Solutions segment and a $20 million goodwill impairment in our Global Warehousing segment. The testing of long-lived assets and goodwill for impairment requires the use of estimates based on significant assumptions about our future revenue, profitability, cash flows, fair value of assets and liabilities, weighted average cost of capital, as well as other assumptions. Changes in these estimates, or changes in actual performance compared with these estimates, may affect the fair value of long-lived assets, finite lived intangible assets, or goodwill, which could result in additional impairment charges.
Geopolitical conflicts may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We have operations or activities in numerous countries and regions outside the United States, including throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. As a result, our global operations are affected by economic, political, and other conditions in the foreign countries in which we do business, as well as U.S. laws regulating international trade.
For example, the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions against Russia have caused us to make changes in our supply chain and have significantly impacted some of our customers’ businesses, which adversely impacted our operations. This and other geopolitical conflicts and any retaliatory measures that could be taken in the future, by the U.S., NATO, and other countries have created global security concerns that could result in broader military and political conflicts and otherwise have a substantial impact on regional and global economies, any or all of which could adversely affect our business.
The geopolitical instability could lead to increased inflation, significant volatility in capital markets, increased cyberattacks, challenges in our transportation network, disruptions in global supply chains, specifically within the food supply chain and construction materials, increased exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, and other potential issues that could have an adverse impact on our business.
General Risks Related to the Real Estate Industry
Our performance and value are subject to economic conditions affecting the real estate market generally, and temperature-controlled warehouses in particular, as well as the broader economy.
Our performance and value depend on the amount of revenues earned, as well as the expenses incurred, in connection with operating our warehouses. If our temperature-controlled warehouses do not generate revenues and operating cash flows sufficient to meet our operating expenses, including debt service and capital expenditures, we could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, there are significant expenditures associated with our real estate (such as real estate taxes, maintenance costs and debt service payments) that generally do not decline when circumstances reduce the revenues from our warehouses. Accordingly, our expenditures may stay constant, or increase, even if our revenues decline. The real estate market is affected by many factors that are beyond our control, and revenues from, and the value of, our properties may be materially and adversely affected by:
•changes in the national, international or local economic climate;
•availability, cost, and terms of financing;
•technological changes, such as expansion of e-commerce, reconfiguration of supply chains, automation, robotics or other technologies;
•the attractiveness of our properties to potential customers;
•inability to collect storage charges, rent, and other fees from customers;
•the ongoing need for, and significant expense of, capital improvements and addressing obsolescence in a timely manner, particularly in older structures;
•changes in supply of, or demand for, similar or competing properties in an area;
•customer retention and turnover;
•excess supply in the market area;
•availability of labor and transportation to service our sites;
•financial difficulties, defaults or bankruptcies by our customers;
•changes in operating costs and expenses and a general decrease in real estate property rental rates;
•changes in or increased costs of compliance with governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies, including changes in tax, real estate, environmental and zoning laws, and our potential liability thereunder;
•our ability to provide adequate maintenance and insurance;
•changes in the cost or availability of insurance, including coverage for mold or asbestos;
•unanticipated changes in costs associated with known adverse environmental conditions, newly discovered environmental conditions and retained liabilities for such conditions;
•changes in interest rates or other changes in monetary policy;
•disruptions in the global supply-chain caused by political, regulatory or other factors such as terrorism, political instability, and public health crises; and
•civil unrest, acts of war, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters, including earthquakes and floods, which may result in uninsured and underinsured losses.
In addition, periods of economic slowdown or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, could result in a general decrease in rates or an increased occurrence of defaults under existing contracts, which could materially and adversely affect us. For these and other reasons, we cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve our business objectives.
We could incur significant costs under environmental laws related to the presence and management of asbestos, anhydrous ammonia, and other chemicals and underground storage tanks.
Environmental laws in certain jurisdictions require that owners or operators of buildings containing asbestos properly manage asbestos, adequately inform or train those who may come into contact with asbestos and undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, in the event that asbestos is damaged, is decayed, poses a health risk or is disturbed during building renovation or demolition. These laws impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos and other toxic or hazardous substances. Some of our properties may contain asbestos or asbestos-containing building materials. Asbestos exposure can also cause damage to our customers’ goods stored with us.
Most of our warehouses utilize anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant. Anhydrous ammonia is classified as a hazardous chemical regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA and similar international agencies. Releases of anhydrous ammonia occur at our warehouses from time to time, which we have historically identified and reported when required, and any number of unplanned events, including severe storms, fires, earthquakes, vandalism, equipment failure, operational errors, accidents, deliberate acts of team members or third parties, and terrorist acts could result in a significant release of anhydrous ammonia that could result in injuries, loss of life, property damage and a significant interruption at affected facilities. Anhydrous ammonia exposure can also cause damage to our customers’ goods stored with us.
Although our warehouses have risk management programs required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, or OSHA, the EPA and other regulatory agencies in place in the jurisdictions in which we operate, we could incur significant liability in the event of an unanticipated release of anhydrous ammonia from one of our refrigeration systems. Releases could occur at locations or at times when trained personnel may not be available to respond quickly, increasing the risk of injury, loss of life or property damage. Some of our warehouses are not staffed 24 hours a day and, as a result, we may not respond to intentional or accidental events during closed hours as quickly as we could during open hours, which could exacerbate any injuries, loss of life or property damage. We also could incur liability in the event we fail to report such anhydrous ammonia releases in a timely fashion.
Environmental laws and regulations subject us and our customers to liability in connection with the storage, handling and use of anhydrous ammonia and other hazardous substances utilized in our operations. Our warehouses also may have under-floor heating systems, some of which utilize ethylene glycol, petroleum compounds, or other hazardous substances; releases from these systems could potentially contaminate soil and groundwater.
We could incur significant costs related to environmental conditions, liabilities, and regulations.
The properties we own or have owned in the past may subject us to known and unknown environmental liabilities. Under various federal, state and local laws and regulations related to the environment, as a current or former owner or operator of real property, we may be liable for costs and damages resulting from environmental matters, including the presence or discharge of hazardous or toxic substances, waste or petroleum products at, on, in, under or migrating from such property, including costs to investigate or clean up such contamination and liability for personal injury, property damage or harm to natural resources. We may face liability regardless of:
•our knowledge of the contamination;
•the timing of the contamination;
•the cause of the contamination; or
•the party responsible for the contamination of the property.
There may be environmental liabilities associated with our properties of which we are unaware. In addition, some of our properties have been operated for decades and have known or potential environmental impacts. We obtain Phase I environmental site assessments on nearly all properties we finance or acquire. The Phase I environmental site assessments are limited in scope and therefore may not reveal all environmental conditions affecting a property. Therefore, there could be undiscovered environmental liabilities on the properties we own. Many of our properties contain, or may in the past have contained, features that pose environmental risks including underground tanks for the storage of petroleum products and other hazardous substances as well as floor drains and wastewater collection and discharge systems, hazardous materials storage areas and septic systems. All of these features create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous substances. Some of our properties are adjacent to or near properties that have known environmental impacts or have in the past stored or handled petroleum products or other hazardous substances that could have resulted in environmental impacts to soils or groundwater that could affect our properties. If environmental contamination exists on our properties, we could be subject to strict, joint and/or several liability for the contamination by virtue of our ownership interest. Some of our properties may contain asbestos-containing materials (“ACM”). Environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance and removal of ACM and such laws may impose fines, penalties, or other obligations for failure to comply with these requirements or expose us to third-party liability (e.g., liability for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos). Environmental laws also apply to other activities that can occur on a property, such as storage of petroleum products or other hazardous toxic substances, air emissions, water discharges and exposure to lead-based paint. Such laws may impose fines and penalties for violations, and may require permits or other governmental approvals to be obtained for the operation of a business involving such activities.
The known or potential presence of hazardous substances on a property may adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or improve the property or to borrow using the property as collateral. In addition, environmental laws may create liens on contaminated properties in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address such contamination. Moreover, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which they may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures.
Our environmental liabilities may include property and natural resources damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs, among other potential environmental liabilities. These costs could be substantial. Although we may obtain insurance for environmental liability for certain properties that are deemed to warrant coverage, our insurance may be insufficient to address any particular environmental situation and we may be unable to continue to obtain insurance for environmental matters, at a reasonable cost or at all, in the future. If our environmental liability insurance is inadequate, we may become subject to material losses for environmental liabilities. Our ability to receive the benefits of any environmental liability insurance policy will depend on the financial stability of our insurance company and the position it takes with respect to our insurance policies. If we were to become subject to significant environmental liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.
Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will not incur material liabilities in connection with both known and undiscovered environmental conditions arising out of past activities on our properties or our properties will not be materially and adversely affected by the operations of customers, environmental impacts, operations on neighboring properties (such as releases from underground storage tanks), or by the actions of parties unrelated to us.
Additionally, our operations are subject to a wide range of environmental laws and regulations in each of the locations in which we operate, and compliance with these requirements involves expertise, significant capital and operating costs. Failure to comply with these environmental requirements can result in civil or criminal fines or sanctions, claims for environmental damages, remediation obligations, revocation of permits or restrictions on our operations. There can be no assurance that future laws, ordinances, or regulations will not impose new material environmental obligations or costs, including the potential effects of climate change or new climate change regulations, and future changes in environmental laws or in the interpretation of those laws, including stricter requirements affecting our operations, could result in increased capital and operating costs.
The cost of resolving environmental, property damage, or personal injury claims, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, of paying fines or meeting new or stricter environmental requirements, or of remediating contaminated properties could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects, and, consequently, amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.
In the future, our customers may demand lower indirect emissions associated with the storage and transportation of frozen and perishable foods, which could lead customers to seek temperature-controlled storage from our competitors. Further, such demand could require us to implement various processes to reduce emissions from our operations in order to remain competitive, which could materially and adversely affect us.
Risks related to climate change could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Climate change, including the impact of global warming, creates physical and transition risks that may adversely affect our operations, financial condition and cash flows. As described in our 2025 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) report, as identified through a climate-related risk assessment and scenario analysis, we face exposure to acute physical risks, such as extreme heat, extreme precipitation, flooding, wildfires, and tropical cyclones, and chronic risks associated with long-term shifts in temperature and precipitation. These risks may result in considerable damage to our warehouses, disrupt our operations, and negatively affect our financial performance (whether or not caused by climate change).
In addition, climate-driven shifts in agricultural patterns and growing regions may reduce agricultural yields or crop quality and change sourcing regions, which could reduce demand for temperature-controlled storage and transport in specific areas, lower utilization of certain facilities, or require capital reallocation to new geographies. Such changes may increase revenue volatility and necessitate higher operating, transportation, or compliance costs. Additional risks related to our business and operations as a result of climate change include physical and transition risks such as:
•higher energy costs as a result of extreme weather events, extreme temperatures, or increased demand for limited resources;
•utility disruptions or outages due to demand or stress on electrical grids resulting from extreme weather events;
•limited availability of water and higher costs due to limited sources and droughts;
•higher materials cost due to limited availability and environmental impacts of extraction and processing of raw materials and production of finished goods;
•lost revenue or increased expense as a result of higher insurance costs, potential uninsured or under insured losses, diminished customer retention stemming from extreme weather events or resource availability constraints;
•reduced storage revenue due to crop damage or failure or to reduced protein production as a result of extreme weather events;
•decreased occupancy in certain regions as a result of global shifts in shipping routes to account for droughts, such as the ongoing drought in Panama, and extreme weather events;
•delays during transit of customers’ products resulting from natural disasters or extreme weather events; and
•spoiled, damaged, or destroyed customer inventory as a result of natural disasters or other serious disruptions caused by fire or earthquakes.
In addition, risks associated with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretations of existing laws could directly or indirectly affect our customers and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. For example, various federal, state and regional laws and regulations have been implemented or are under consideration to mitigate the effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Among other things, “green” building codes may seek to reduce emissions through the imposition of standards for design, construction materials, water and energy usage and efficiency, and waste management. Such codes could require us to make improvements to our properties, increase the cost of maintaining, operating or improving our warehouses, or increase taxes and fees assessed on us. Changing transportation, fuel-efficiency, and electric-vehicle requirements may involve investments to replace or retrofit portions of our fleet, deploy charging infrastructure and adjust routing and scheduling. These changes could increase capital and operating costs and may require additional workforce training and compliance monitoring. Non-compliance could result in penalties or restricted market access.
Climate change regulations could also adversely impact companies with which we do business, which in turn may adversely impact our business, financial condition, results or operations or cash flows. In the future, our customers may demand lower indirect emissions associated with the storage and transportation of frozen and perishable food, which could make our facilities
less competitive. Further, such demand could require us to implement various processes to reduce emissions from our operations in order to remain competitive, which could materially and adversely affect us.
Our insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover potential environmental liabilities.
We maintain a portfolio environmental insurance policy that provides coverage for sudden and accidental environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions, deductibles and limits, for most of our properties. There can be no assurance that future environmental claims will be covered under these policies or that, if covered, the loss will not exceed policy limits. From time to time, we may acquire properties, or interests in properties, with known adverse environmental conditions where we believe that the environmental liabilities associated with these conditions are quantifiable and that the acquisition will yield an attractive risk-adjusted return. In such an instance, we factor the estimated costs of environmental investigation, cleanup and monitoring into the net cost. Further, in connection with property dispositions, we may agree to remain responsible for, and to bear the cost of, remediating or monitoring certain environmental conditions on the properties. A failure to accurately estimate these costs, or uninsured environmental liabilities, could materially and adversely affect us.
Our properties may contain or develop harmful molds or have other air quality issues, which could lead to financial liability for adverse health effects to our employees or third parties, and costs of remediating the problem.
Our properties may contain or develop harmful molds or suffer from other air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediating the problem. When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, poor equipment maintenance, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources and other biological contaminants, such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants present above certain levels can cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property, to reduce indoor moisture levels, or to upgrade ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our team members, our customers, associates of our customers and others if property damage or health concerns arise.
Illiquidity of real estate investments, particularly our specialized temperature-controlled warehouses, could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our business and properties.
Real estate investments are relatively illiquid, and given that our properties are highly specialized temperature-controlled warehouses, including built-in automation, our properties may be more illiquid than other real estate investments. This illiquidity is driven by a number of factors, including the specialized and often customer-specific design of our warehouses, the relatively small number of potential purchasers of temperature-controlled warehouses, the difficulty and expense of repurposing our warehouses and the location of some of our warehouses in secondary or tertiary markets. As a result, we may be unable to complete an exit strategy or quickly sell properties in our portfolio in response to adverse changes in the performance of our properties or in our business generally. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective buyer would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time it would take to complete the sale of any such property. Such sales might also require us to expend funds to mitigate or correct defects to the property or make changes or improvements to the property prior to its sale. The ability to sell assets in our portfolio may also be restricted by certain covenants in our credit agreements. Code requirements related to our status as a REIT may also limit our ability to vary our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions.
We could experience uninsured or under-insured losses related to our global warehousing business, including our real property, as well as our integrated solutions business.
We carry insurance for the risks arising out of our business and operations, including coverage on all of our properties in an amount that we believe adequately covers any potential casualty losses. However, there are certain losses, including losses from floods, earthquakes, acts of war or riots, that we are not generally insured against or that we are not generally fully insured against because it is not deemed economically feasible or prudent to do so. In addition, changes in the cost or availability of insurance could expose us to uninsured casualty losses. In the event that any of our properties incurs a casualty loss that is not covered by
insurance (in part or at all), the value of our assets will be reduced by the amount of any such uninsured loss, and we could experience a significant loss of capital invested and potential revenues in these properties. Any such losses could materially and adversely affect us. In addition, we may have no source of funding to repair or reconstruct the damaged property, and we cannot assure you that any such sources of funding will be available to us for such purposes in the future on favorable terms or at all. In the event of a fire, flood, or other occurrence involving the loss of or damage to stored products held by us but belonging to others, we may be liable for such loss or damage. In addition, the business interruption insurance we carry may not be sufficient to compensate us fully for losses or damages that may occur because of such events.
If we or one or more of our customers experiences a loss for which we are liable and that loss is uninsured or exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged.
We are self-insured for workers’ compensation and health insurance under a large deductible program, meaning that we have accrued liabilities in amounts that we consider appropriate to cover losses in these areas. In addition, we maintain excess loss coverage to insure against losses in excess of the reserves that we have established for these claims in amounts that we consider appropriate. However, in the event that our loss experience exceeds our reserves and the limits of our excess loss policies, we could be materially and adversely affected.
Costs of complying with governmental laws and regulations could adversely affect us and our customers.
Our business is highly regulated at the federal, state and local level, as well as regulation outside of the United States in the jurisdictions in which we operate our business. The food industry in all jurisdictions in which we operate is subject to numerous government standards and regulations. While we believe that we are currently in compliance with all applicable government standards and regulations, there can be no assurance that all of our warehouses or our customers’ operations are currently in compliance with, or will be able to comply in the future with, all applicable standards and regulations or that the costs of compliance will not increase in the future.
All real property and the operations conducted on real property are subject to governmental laws and regulations related to environmental protection and human health and safety. For example, our U.S. warehouses are subject to regulation and inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and our domestic trucking operations are subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. In addition, our international facilities are subject to many local laws and regulations which govern a wide range of matters, including food safety, building, environmental, health and safety, hazardous substances, waste minimization, as well as specific requirements for the storage of meats, dairy products, fish, poultry, agricultural and other products. To the extent we fail to comply with existing food safety regulations or contractual obligations, or are required to comply with new regulations or obligations in the future, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects, as well as the amount of funds available for distribution to our stockholders. Any products destined for export must also satisfy applicable export requirements. We are required to comply with applicable economic and trade sanctions and export controls imposed by governments around the world with jurisdiction over the operations of our business. These measures can prohibit or restrict transactions and dealings with certain countries, territories, governments and persons. The failure to comply with such applicable laws and regulations could result in civil or criminal penalties, other remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could have a material and adverse effect on us. Our ability to operate and to satisfy our contractual obligations may be affected by permitting and compliance obligations arising under such laws and regulations. Some of these laws and regulations could increase our operating costs, result in fines or impose joint and several liability on customers, owners or operators for the costs to investigate or remediate contamination, regardless of fault or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal.
Some of these laws and regulations have been amended so as to require compliance with new or more stringent standards in the future. Compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require that we or our customers incur material expenditures. In addition, there are various governmental, environmental, fire, health, safety and similar regulations with which we and our customers may be required to comply and which may subject us and our customers to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance. Any material expenditures, fines or damages imposed on our customers or us could directly or indirectly have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, changes in these governmental laws and regulations, or their interpretation by agencies and courts, could occur.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, or the ADA, generally requires that public buildings, including portions of our warehouses, be made accessible to disabled persons. Noncompliance could result in the imposition of fines by the
federal government or the award of damages to private litigants. If, under the ADA, we are required to make substantial alterations and capital expenditures in one or more of our warehouses, including the removal of access barriers, it could materially and adversely affect us.
Our U.S. properties are subject to regulation under OSHA, which requires employers to protect team members against many workplace hazards, such as exposure to harmful levels of toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress and unsanitary conditions. The cost of complying with OSHA and similar laws enacted by other jurisdictions in which we operate is substantial and any failure to comply with these regulations could expose us to penalties and potentially to liabilities to team members who may be injured at our warehouses, any of which could be material. Furthermore, any fines or violations that we face under OSHA could expose us to reputational risk.
We are currently invested in various joint ventures and may invest in additional joint ventures in the future and face risks stemming from our partial ownership interests in such properties, which could materially and adversely affect the value of any such joint venture investments.
Our current and future joint-venture investments involve risks not present in investments in which a third party is not involved, including the possibility that:
•we and a co-venturer or partner may reach an impasse on a major decision that requires the approval of both parties;
•we may not have exclusive control over the development, financing, management and other aspects of the property or joint venture, which may prevent us from taking actions that are in our best interest but opposed by a co-venturer or partner;
•a co-venturer or partner may at any time have economic or business interests or goals that are or may become inconsistent with ours;
•a co-venturer or partner may encounter liquidity or insolvency issues or may become bankrupt, which may mean that we and any other remaining co-venturers or partners generally would remain liable for the joint venture’s liabilities;
•a co-venturer or partner may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions, requests, policies or investment objectives, including our current policy with respect to maintaining our qualification as a REIT under the Code;
•a co-venturer or partner may take actions that subject us to liabilities in excess of, or other than, those contemplated;
•in certain circumstances, we may be liable for actions of our co-venturer or partner;
•our joint venture agreements may restrict the transfer of a co-venturer’s or partner’s interest or otherwise restrict our ability to sell the interest when we desire or on advantageous terms;
•our joint venture agreements may contain buy-sell provisions pursuant to which one co-venturer or partner may initiate procedures requiring the other co-venturer or partner to choose between buying the other co-venturer’s or partner’s interest or selling its interest to that co-venturer or partner;
•if a joint venture agreement is terminated or dissolved, we may not continue to own or operate the interests or investments underlying the joint venture relationship or may need to purchase such interests or investments at a premium to the market price to continue ownership; or
•disputes between us and a co-venturer or partner may result in litigation or arbitration that could increase our expenses and prevent our management from focusing their time and attention on our business.
Any of the above could materially and adversely affect the value of our current joint venture investment or any future joint venture investments and potentially have a material adverse effect on us.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
We have significant indebtedness outstanding, which may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $6.1 billion of total consolidated indebtedness outstanding, of which $0.5 billion was secured, and borrowing capacity under our Revolving Credit Facility of $1.9 billion (net of outstanding standby letters of credit in the amount of $61 million, which reduce availability). See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Outstanding Indebtedness.” We expect to meet our repayment requirements primarily through financing activity or net cash from operating activities. Our organizational documents contain no limitations regarding the maximum level of indebtedness that we may incur or keep outstanding. Payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash resources to meet our cash needs or make the distributions to our common stockholders currently contemplated or necessary to maintain our status as a REIT. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:
•our cash flow may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments;
•cash interest expense and financial covenants related to our indebtedness may limit or eliminate our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders;
•we may be unable to borrow additional funds as needed or on favorable terms, which could, among other things, adversely affect our ability to capitalize upon investment opportunities or meet operational needs;
•we may be unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or the refinancing terms may be less favorable than the terms of our original indebtedness;
•in order to service our debt or to meet our covenants, we may be forced to dispose of properties or issue equity, possibly at unfavorable terms;
•we may default on our obligations and the lenders or mortgagees may foreclose on our properties or our interests in the entities that own the properties that secure their loans and receive an assignment of rents and leases;
•we may violate restrictive covenants in our loan documents, which would entitle the lenders to accelerate our debt obligations; and
•our default under any loan with cross default provisions could result in a default on other indebtedness.
The occurrence of any of these events could materially and adversely affect us. Furthermore, foreclosures could create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code.
Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and interest expense.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $2.6 billion of our outstanding consolidated indebtedness that is variable-rate debt, and we may continue to incur variable-rate debt in the future. We have entered into interest rate swaps to convert $0.5 billion of this indebtedness to fixed-rate. As of December 31, 2025, we have entered into $1.1 billion of interest rate caps to protect the majority of remaining variable debt against increases in interest rates.
Increases in interest rates may raise our interest costs under any variable-rate debt that is not effectively converted to fixed-rate debt and increase our overall cost of capital, which could materially and adversely affect us, reduce our cash flows and funds from operations, and reduce our ability to use the capital that is being paid in interest in other ways, including to make distributions to our stockholders. Increases in interest rates would also increase our interest expense on future fixed rate borrowings and have the same collateral effects described above. In addition, if we need to repay existing debt during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments in properties at times which may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments. Interest rate increases may also increase the risk that the counterparties to our swap contracts will default on their obligations, which could further increase our exposure to interest rate increases. Conversely, if interest rates are lower than our swapped fixed rates, we will be required to pay more to service our debt than if we had not entered into the interest rate swaps.
In addition, historically, during periods of increasing interest rates, real estate valuations have generally decreased as a result of rising capitalization rates, which tend to be positively correlated with interest rates. Consequently, prolonged periods of higher interest rates may negatively impact the valuation of our portfolio and result in the decline of the quoted trading price of our securities and market capitalization, as well as lower sales proceeds from future dispositions.
Market conditions could adversely affect our ability to refinance existing indebtedness or obtain additional financing for growth on acceptable terms or at all, which could materially and adversely affect us.
Credit markets have experienced over the past several years, and may continue to experience, significant price volatility, displacement and liquidity disruptions, including the bankruptcy, insolvency or restructuring of certain financial institutions. Such
circumstances could materially impact liquidity in the financial markets, making financing terms for borrowers less attractive, and potentially result in the unavailability of various types of debt financing. As a result, we may be unable to obtain debt financing on favorable terms or at all or fully refinance maturing indebtedness with new indebtedness. Reductions in our available borrowing capacity or inability to obtain credit when required or when business conditions warrant could materially and adversely affect us.
Our existing indebtedness contains, and any future indebtedness is likely to contain, covenants that restrict our ability to engage in certain activities.
The agreements governing our borrowings contain or are likely to contain financial and other covenants with which we are or will be required to comply and that limit or are likely to limit our ability to operate our business. These covenants, as well as any additional covenants to which we may be subject in the future because of additional borrowings, could cause us to have to forego investment opportunities, reduce or eliminate distributions to our common stockholders or obtain financing that is more expensive than financing we could obtain if we were not subject to the covenants. In addition, the agreements governing our borrowing may have cross default provisions, which provide that a default under one of our debt financing agreements would lead to a default on all of our debt financing agreements.
The covenants and other restrictions under our debt agreements may affect, among other things, our ability to:
•incur indebtedness;
•create liens on assets;
•cause our subsidiaries to distribute cash to us to fund distributions to stockholders or to otherwise use in our business;
•sell or substitute assets;
•modify certain terms of our leases;
•manage our cash flows; and
•make distributions to equity holders, including our common stockholders.
Additionally, these restrictions may adversely affect our operating and financial flexibility and may limit our ability to respond to changes in our business or competitive environment, all of which may materially and adversely affect us.
Secured indebtedness exposes us to the possibility of foreclosure, which could result in the loss of our investment in certain of our subsidiaries or in a property or group of properties or other assets subject to indebtedness and limits our ability to raise future capital.
We have granted certain of our lenders security interests in certain of our assets, including security interests in certain of our real property. Incurring secured indebtedness, including mortgage indebtedness, increases our risk of asset and property losses because defaults on indebtedness secured by our assets, including certain of our real property, may result in foreclosure actions initiated by lenders and ultimately our loss of the property or other assets securing any loans for which we are in default. Any foreclosure on a mortgaged property or group of properties could have a material adverse effect on the overall value of our portfolio of properties and more generally on us. For tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our properties would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the indebtedness secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the indebtedness secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds, which could materially and adversely affect us, including hindering our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code. As a result, our substantial secured indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on us.
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure
Our Co-Executive Chairmen have substantial influence over our business, and our Co-Executive Chairmen’s interests, and the interests of certain members of our management, differ from our interests and those of our other stockholders in certain respects.
As of December 31, 2025, BG Capital, through its affiliates, including BGLH, beneficially owned approximately 68% of our outstanding shares of common stock, and because of voting and dispositive control, are deemed to beneficially own 100% of
our outstanding Legacy OP Units and OPEUs, resulting in total deemed beneficial ownership of shares of common stock of approximately 71%. Our Co-Executive Chairmen, as managing members of BG Capital, are deemed to beneficially own all of the securities beneficially owned by BG Capital, including the securities beneficially owned by BGLH. As a result, BG Capital and its affiliates, including BGLH, and our Co-Executive Chairmen have significant influence in the election of our directors, who in turn will elect our executive officers, set our management policies and exercise overall supervision and control over us and our subsidiaries. Certain potential transactions will affect Bay Grove, BGLH and/or our Co-Executive Chairmen differently than other stockholders and it is possible that Bay Grove, BGLH and/or our Co-Executive Chairmen will have different interests than those other stockholders with respect to such transactions.
The interests of Bay Grove, BGLH, and our Co-Executive Chairmen, as well as the interests of other investors in BGLH, differ from the interests of our other stockholders in certain respects, and their significant stockholdings and rights described above may limit other stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters. In this regard, sales or other dispositions of our properties may have adverse tax implications for Bay Grove, its affiliates and/or investors in BGLH. In addition, certain additional members of our management have certain equity interests in BGLH, that cause Bay Grove and BGLH to have interests that differ from our other stockholders. The concentration of ownership and voting power of Bay Grove, BGLH, and our Co-Executive Chairmen may also delay, defer, or even prevent an acquisition by a third party or other change of control of our company and may make some transactions more difficult or impossible without their support, even if such events are in the best interests of our other stockholders. This concentration of voting power may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. As a result of Bay Grove’s, BGLH’s, and our Co-Executive Chairmen’s influence, we may take actions that our other stockholders do not view as beneficial, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and cause the value of your investment in us to decline.
Investors in BGLH engage in a broad spectrum of activities, including investments in real estate. In the ordinary course of their business activities, investors in BGLH may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our stockholders. Our charter provides that, if any director of our company who is also an officer, employee or agent of BentallGreenOak, D1 Capital, Oxford Properties Group, OMERS Administration Corporation or Stonepeak or any of their respective affiliates acquires knowledge of a potential business opportunity, we renounce any potential interest or expectation in, or right to be offered to participate in, such business opportunity unless it is a retained opportunity (as defined in our charter). Investors in BGLH also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to or competitive with our business without our consent and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited.
Maryland law provides that a director has no liability in the capacity as a director if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. As permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law (the “MGCL”), our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from the following:
•actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services; or
•a final judgment based upon a finding of active and deliberate dishonesty by the director or officer that was material to the cause of action adjudicated.
In addition, our charter requires us to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities and to pay or reimburse their reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, and we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist under common law. Accordingly, in the event that any of our directors or officers are exculpated from, or indemnified against, liability but whose actions impede our performance, our stockholders’ ability to recover damages from that director or officer will be limited.
Our charter and bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer, or prevent an acquisition of our common stock or a change in control.
Our charter and bylaws contain a number of provisions, the exercise or existence of which could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our stockholders or otherwise be in their best interests, including the following:
•Our Charter Contains Restrictions on the Ownership and Transfer of Our Stock. In order for us to qualify as a REIT, no more than 50% of the value of outstanding shares of our stock may be owned, beneficially or constructively, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of each taxable year other than the first year for which we elect to be taxed as a REIT. Subject to certain exceptions, our charter prohibits any stockholder from owning beneficially or constructively more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock, or 9.8% in value of the aggregate of the outstanding shares of all classes or series of our stock. We refer to these restrictions collectively as the “ownership limits.” The constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may cause the outstanding stock owned by a group of related individuals or entities to be deemed to be constructively owned by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock or the outstanding shares of all classes or series of our stock by an individual or entity could cause that individual or entity or another individual or entity to own constructively in excess of the relevant ownership limits. Our charter also prohibits any person from owning shares of our stock that could result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code, otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT or cause us not to qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity until the third anniversary of our IPO or such other date that our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to attempt to, or continue to, qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity (the “Foreign Ownership Limitation Period”). Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our stock in violation of these restrictions may result in the shares being automatically transferred to a charitable trust or may be void. These ownership limits may prevent a third-party from acquiring control of us if our board of directors does not grant an exemption from the ownership limits, even if our stockholders believe the change in control is in their best interests.
•Our Board of Directors Has the Power to Cause Us to Issue Additional Shares of Our Stock Without Stockholder Approval. Our charter authorizes us to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of common or preferred stock. In addition, our board of directors may, without stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of our shares of common stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue and classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common or preferred stock and set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our board of directors may establish a class or series of shares of common or preferred stock that could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve payment of a premium price for our shares of common stock or that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interests.
Certain provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a third-party to acquire control of us.
Certain provisions of the MGCL may have the effect of inhibiting a third-party from acquiring us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide our common stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:
•“business combination” provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding shares of voting stock or an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period immediately prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding stock of the corporation) or an affiliate of any interested stockholder and us for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, and thereafter imposes two super-majority stockholder voting requirements on these combinations; and
•“control share” provisions that provide that holders of “control shares” of our company (defined as voting shares of stock that, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned or controlled by the acquirer, would entitle the acquirer to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of issued and outstanding “control shares”) have no voting
rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares.
Pursuant to the Maryland Business Combination Act, our board of directors has by resolution exempted from the provisions of the Maryland Business Combination Act business combinations between us and any other person, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of our directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person). Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act any and all acquisitions by any person of shares of our stock. There can be no assurance that these exemptions or resolutions will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.
Additionally, Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permits our board of directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain corporate governance provisions, some of which we do not have. In accordance with the MGCL, our charter provides that, without the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our stockholders entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, we may not elect to be subject to the provision of Subtitle 8 that permits our board of directors to classify itself.
Termination of the employment of certain members of our senior management team could be costly and prevent a change in control of our company.
The employment, severance and equity award arrangements with certain members of our senior management team provide that if their employment with us terminates under certain circumstances (including in connection with a change in control of our company), we may be required to provide them significant amounts of severance compensation and benefits, thereby making it costly to terminate their employment. Furthermore, these provisions could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our company that might involve a premium paid for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.
Our board of directors may change our investment and financing policies without stockholder approval, and we may become more highly leveraged, which may increase our risk of default under our debt obligations.
Our investment and financing policies are exclusively determined by our board of directors. Accordingly, our stockholders do not control these policies. Further, our organizational documents do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur. Although we are not required to maintain a particular leverage ratio, we generally intend to target a level of net debt (which includes recourse and non-recourse borrowings and any outstanding preferred stock issuance less unrestricted cash and cash equivalents) that, over time, is less than six times our Adjusted EBITDA. However, from time to time, our ratio of net debt to our Adjusted EBITDA may exceed six times, which we expect to occur in 2026. Our strategic plans to reduce such ratio to less than six times our Adjusted EBITDA over the next two years may not be successful.
Our board of directors may alter or eliminate our current policy on borrowing at any time without stockholder approval. If this policy changed, we could become more highly leveraged, which could result in an increase in our debt service. Higher leverage also increases the risk of default on our obligations. In addition, a change in our investment policies, including the manner in which we allocate our resources across our portfolio or the types of assets in which we seek to invest, may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risk. Changes to our policies with regards to the foregoing could materially and adversely affect us. We plan to notify stockholders of any material change to our investment and financing policies by disclosing such changes in documents furnished to the SEC, posted on our website or filed with the SEC, such as a current report on Form 8-K and/or a periodic report on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K, as appropriate, to the extent required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
We are a holding company with no direct operations and rely on funds received from our operating partnership to pay liabilities and distributions to our stockholders.
We are a holding company and conduct substantially all of our operations through our operating partnership. We do not have, apart from an interest in our operating partnership, any independent operations. As a result, we rely on distributions from our operating partnership to pay any distributions we might declare on shares of our common stock. We also rely on distributions from our operating partnership to meet any of our obligations, including any tax liability on taxable income allocated to us from our operating partnership. In addition, because we are a holding company, your claims as stockholders are structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations (whether or not for borrowed money) of our operating partnership and its subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, our assets and those of our operating
partnership and its subsidiaries will be able to satisfy the claims of our stockholders only after all of our and our operating partnership’s and its subsidiaries’ liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.
In connection with our future acquisition of properties or otherwise, we may issue units of our operating partnership to third parties. Such issuances would reduce our ownership in our operating partnership. Because you will not directly own units of our operating partnership, you will not have any voting rights with respect to any such issuances or other partnership level activities of our operating partnership.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future with our operating partnership or its partners.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our operating partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under applicable Maryland law in connection with their direction of the management of our company. At the same time, we, as general partner of our operating partnership, have duties to our operating partnership and to the limited partners under Maryland law in connection with the management of our operating partnership. Under Maryland law, the general partner of a Maryland limited partnership has fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, and an obligation of good faith, to the partnership and its partners. While these duties and obligations cannot be eliminated entirely in the partnership agreement, Maryland law permits the parties to a partnership agreement to specify certain types or categories of activities that do not violate the general partner’s duty of loyalty and to modify the duty of care and obligation of good faith, so long as such modifications are not unreasonable. These duties as general partner of our operating partnership to the partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the interests of our company. Under the partnership agreement of our operating partnership, the limited partners of our operating partnership expressly agree that the general partner of our operating partnership is acting for the benefit of the operating partnership, the limited partners of our operating partnership and our stockholders, collectively. The general partner is under no obligation to give priority to the separate interests of the limited partners in deciding whether to cause our operating partnership to take or decline to take any actions. If there is a conflict between the interests of us or our stockholders, on the one hand, and the interests of the limited partners of our operating partnership, on the other, the partnership agreement of our operating partnership provides that any action or failure to act by the general partner that gives priority to the separate interests of us or our stockholders that does not result in a violation of the contractual rights of the limited partners of our operating partnership under the partnership agreement will not violate the duties that the general partner owes to our operating partnership and its partners.
Additionally, the partnership agreement of our operating partnership expressly limits our liability by providing that we and our directors, officers, agents and employees are not liable or accountable to our operating partnership or its partners for money damages. In addition, our operating partnership is required to indemnify us, as general partner, our directors, officers and employees, employees of our operating partnership and any other persons whom we, as general partner, may designate from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our operating partnership in which any indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise unless it is established by a final judgment that the act or omission of the indemnitee constituted fraud, intentional harm or gross negligence on the part of the indemnitee, the claim is brought by the indemnitee (other than to enforce the indemnitee’s rights to indemnification or advance of expenses) or the indemnitee is found to be liable to our operating partnership, and then only with respect to each such claim.
No reported decision of a Maryland appellate court has interpreted provisions that are similar to the provisions of the partnership agreement of our operating partnership that modify the fiduciary duties of the general partner of our operating partnership, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel regarding the enforceability of the provisions of the partnership agreement that purport to waive or modify the fiduciary duties and obligations of the general partner of our operating partnership.
In addition, the stockholders agreement provides that we, on our own behalf and in our capacity as general partner of the operating partnership, must use commercially reasonable efforts to (i) structure certain significant exit transactions (including mergers, consolidations and sales of substantially all of our assets or the assets of our operating partnership and its subsidiaries) in a manner that is tax-deferred to Messrs. Marchetti and Forste, their respective estate planning vehicles, family members and controlled affiliates, does not cause such parties to recognize gain for federal income tax purposes, and provides for substantially similar tax protections after such transactions, and (ii) cause our operating partnership or its subsidiaries to continuously maintain sufficient levels of indebtedness that are allocable for federal income tax purposes to Messrs. Marchetti and Forste and their respective personal holding entities to prevent them from recognizing gain as a result of any negative tax capital account or insufficient debt allocation, provided that such amount of debt shall not be required to exceed the amount allocable to the parties immediately following our IPO, subject to certain exceptions. In connection with the obligation to maintain sufficient liability allocations, if we or our operating partnership believes insufficient liabilities may be allocated to Messrs. Marchetti and Forste
and their respective personal holding entities, we shall, and shall cause our subsidiaries to, provide Messrs. Marchetti and Forste, their respective estate planning vehicles, family members and controlled affiliates with an opportunity to guarantee indebtedness. These rights granted to Messrs. Marchetti and Forste, their respective estate planning vehicles, family members and controlled affiliates will last with respect to each as long as such person (or his estate planning vehicles, family members and controlled affiliates) has not disposed of more than 60% of his interest in us or obtained a fair market value adjusted tax basis as a result of the death of Messrs. Marchetti or Forste, respectively. These requirements could limit our ability to allocate debt to other members of our operating partnership or structure certain transactions in a way that may otherwise be favorable to us and/or our stockholders.
Our bylaws designate any state court of competent jurisdiction in Maryland and the United States District Court located in Maryland, as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders and provide that claims related to causes of action under the Securities Act may only be brought in federal district courts, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the stockholders believe is a more favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, any state court of competent jurisdiction in Maryland, or, if such state courts do not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court located within the State of Maryland will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any Internal Corporate Claim, as such term is defined in the MGCL, including, without limitation, (i) any action asserting a claim based on an alleged breach of any duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or to our stockholders or (ii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL or our charter or bylaws, or (c) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. These choice of forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Furthermore, our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any claim arising under the Securities Act. This provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the stockholder believes is more favorable for disputes against us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.
Risks Related to Ownership of Shares of Our Common Stock
The market price and trading volume of shares of our common stock may be volatile.
The market price of shares of our common stock may fluctuate. In addition, the trading volume in shares of our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of shares of our common stock declines significantly, our common stockholders may experience a decrease in the value of their shares. We cannot assure you that the market price of shares of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future.
Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the market price or trading volume of shares of our common stock include:
•actual or anticipated declines in our quarterly operating results or distributions;
•changes in government regulations;
•changes in laws affecting REITs and related tax matters;
•the announcement of new contracts by us or our competitors;
•reductions in our FFO, Core FFO, Adjusted FFO or earnings estimates;
•publication of research reports about us or the real estate industry;
•increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of shares of our common stock to demand a higher yield;
•future equity issuances, or the perception that they may occur, including issuances of common stock upon exercise or vesting of equity awards or redemption of OP units;
•changes in market valuations of similar companies;
•adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future;
•additions or departures of key management personnel;
•actions by institutional stockholders;
•differences between our actual financial and operating results and those expected by investors and analysts;
•changes in analysts’ recommendations or projections;
•speculation in the press or investment community; and
•the realization of any of the other risk factors presented herein.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to make or maintain cash distributions, and certain agreements related to our indebtedness may, under certain circumstances, limit or eliminate our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders.
We intend to make cash distributions to our stockholders in amounts such that all or substantially all of our taxable income in each year, subject to adjustments, is distributed. Our ability to continue to make distributions in the future may be adversely affected by the risk factors described herein. There can be no assurance that we will be able to make or maintain distributions and certain agreements related to our indebtedness may, under certain circumstances, limit or eliminate our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders. There can be no assurance that rents from our properties will increase, or that future acquisitions of real properties or other investments will increase our cash available for distributions to stockholders. In addition, any distributions will be authorized at the sole discretion of our board of directors, and their form, timing and amount, if any, will depend upon a number of factors, including our actual and projected results of operations, FFO, Core FFO Adjusted FFO, EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDA, liquidity, cash flows and financial condition, the revenue we actually receive from our properties, our operating expenses, our debt service requirements, our capital expenditures, prohibitions and other limitations under our financing arrangements, our REIT taxable income, the annual REIT distribution requirements, applicable law and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant.
If we do not have sufficient cash available for distributions, we may need to fund the shortage out of working capital or borrow to provide funds for such distributions, which would reduce the amount of proceeds available for real estate investments and increase our future interest costs. Our inability to make distributions, or to make distributions at expected levels, could result in a decrease in the market price of our common stock.
Increases in market interest rates may result in a decrease in the value of shares of our common stock.
One of the factors that influences the price of shares of our common stock is the distribution yield on shares of our common stock (as a percentage of the price of shares of our common stock) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates may lead prospective purchasers of shares of our common stock to expect a higher distribution yield, and higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for distribution. Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.
Broad market fluctuations could negatively impact the market price of shares of our common stock.
The stock market may experience extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many companies in industries similar or related to ours and that have been unrelated to these companies’ operating performances. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance or prospects of the affected companies. Hence, the price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with us in particular. These broad market fluctuations could reduce the market price of shares of our common stock. Furthermore, our operating results and prospects may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors or may be lower than those of companies with comparable market capitalizations. Either of these factors could lead to a material decline in the market price of our common stock.
Future offerings of debt, which would be senior to shares of our common stock upon liquidation, and/or preferred equity securities that may be senior to shares of our common stock for purposes of distributions or upon liquidation, may materially and adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock.
In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making additional offerings of debt or preferred equity securities (or causing our operating partnership, or one or more other subsidiaries, to issue debt securities or guarantees of debt securities). Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and preferred stock and lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive distributions of our available assets prior to our common stockholders. Additionally, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock and may result in dilution to owners of our common stock. Our stockholders are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against dilution. Our preferred stock, if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on distribution payments that could limit our right to make distributions to our stockholders. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Our stockholders bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock.
Future contractual repurchase obligations may materially and adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and may reduce future distributions.
We have issued rollover equity to various sellers of assets acquired by us as part of the purchase price consideration for those assets. This rollover equity has generally taken the form of units in BGLH or units in Lineage OP, although in certain circumstances we have issued such rollover equity at our subsidiaries. Some of these sellers who received rollover equity were provided with separate classes of equity that included special one-time redemption features such as minimum value guarantees and in some cases the alternative option to elect cash or equity top-up rights to achieve a certain minimum equity valuation at a specified date (collectively, the “Guarantee Rights”). The ultimate obligations in respect of the Guarantee Rights became obligations of Lineage Holdings in connection with our IPO in order to ensure that the financial obligations associated with the Guarantee Rights impact investors in Lineage, our operating partnership and Lineage Holdings proportionately at the time they arise. Any trigger of the Guarantee Rights at BGLH or our operating partnership will result in successive redemptions or successive top-up cash payments or equity issuances between Lineage, our operating partnership and Lineage Holdings to effect this result, which may reduce our liquidity or dilute the ownership interest of our common stockholders. Such amounts could be material and could materially and adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and reduce future distributions to our stockholders.
In addition, pursuant to the coordinated settlement process that will occur for up to three years following our IPO, all of the shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to our IPO will transition from the control of BGLH, and all of the Legacy OP Units will transition from the control of BGLH’s subsidiary, the LHR, through (i) the settlement by our legacy investors of their BGLH equity or Legacy OP Units for cash (the “Cash Settlements”) in amounts that are expected to be material in connection with liquidity that we will have arranged, which settlement for cash will generally be effected pursuant to a sale of shares of our common stock back to us or a sale of OP units to us, and (ii) the settlement by our legacy investors of all remaining amounts of their BGLH equity for shares of our common stock or their Legacy OP Units for OP Units (the “Securities Settlements”), resulting in the transfer of control of all such securities to the underlying legacy investors who will then determine the timing of their future disposition of such securities. Such transactions may reduce our liquidity and materially and adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and reduce funds available for distribution to our stockholders.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that they might occur, could reduce the price of our common stock and may dilute your voting power and your ownership interest in us.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for you to sell your common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
The shares of our common stock that were sold in our IPO may be resold in the public market without restrictions or further registration under the Securities Act unless they are held by “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act. The common stock, OP units, Legacy OP Units and OPEUs that were issued in the formation transactions in connection with our IPO are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act and may not be sold in the absence of registration under the Securities Act unless an exemption from registration is available, including the exemptions contained in Rule 144. Pursuant to the coordinated settlement process that will occur for up to three years following our IPO, all of the shares
of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to our IPO will transition from the control of BGLH and all of the Legacy OP Units will transition from the control of BGLH’s subsidiary, the LHR, through (i) Cash Settlements of such equity in amounts that are expected to be material and (ii) Securities Settlements for all remaining amounts of such equity, resulting in the transfer of control of all such securities to the underlying legacy investors who will then determine the timing of their future disposition of such securities. Legacy investors that receive Securities Settlements will have registration rights with respect to shares of our common stock, including common stock that may be issued in exchange for OP units (including OP units that may be issued upon reclassification of Legacy OP Units or exchange of OPEUs). As a result of these registration rights agreements, however, all of these shares of our common stock, including common stock that may be issued in exchange for OP units (including OP units that may be issued upon reclassification of Legacy OP Units or exchange of OPEUs), may be eligible for future sale without restriction. Sales of a substantial number of such shares, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to fall or make it more difficult for you to sell your common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
In addition, our charter provides that we may issue up to 500,000,000 shares of common stock and 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. Moreover, under Maryland law and as provided in our charter, a majority of our entire board of directors has the power to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we are authorized to issue without stockholder approval. Future issuances of shares of our common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock may dilute the ownership interest of our common stockholders. Because our decision to issue additional equity or convertible or exchangeable securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future issuances. In addition, we are not required to offer any such securities to existing stockholders on a preemptive basis. Therefore, it may not be possible for existing stockholders to participate in such future issuances, which may dilute the existing stockholders’ interests in us.
Risks Related to Our REIT Status and Other Tax Risks
Failure to qualify as a REIT would cause us to be taxed as a regular C corporation, which would substantially reduce funds available for distributions to stockholders.
We elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2020. We believe that our organization and method of operation has enabled and will continue to enable us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, we cannot assure you that we will qualify as such. This is because qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code as to which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations and involves the determination of facts and circumstances not entirely within our control. The complexity of these provisions and of the applicable regulations (as in effect from time to time) of the United States Department of the Treasury under the Code is greater in the case of a REIT, like us, that holds assets through a partnership. Future legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may significantly change the tax laws or the application of the tax laws with respect to qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification.
In order to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy a number of requirements, including requirements regarding the ownership of our stock and the composition of our gross income and assets. Also, a REIT must make distributions to stockholders aggregating annually at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gains. Furthermore, we own a direct or indirect interest in certain subsidiaries that have elected to be taxed as REITs for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the Code (collectively, “Subsidiary REITs”). Provided that each Subsidiary REIT qualifies as a REIT, our interest in such Subsidiary REIT will be treated as a qualifying real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests. To qualify as a REIT, the Subsidiary REIT must independently satisfy all of the REIT qualification requirements. The failure of a Subsidiary REIT to qualify as a REIT could have an adverse effect on our ability to comply with the REIT income and asset tests, and thus our ability to qualify as a REIT.
If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and are unable to obtain relief under certain statutory provisions, we will face material tax consequences that will substantially reduce the funds available for distributions to our stockholders because:
•we would be subject to regular United States federal corporate income tax on our net income for the years we did not qualify for taxation as a REIT (and, for such years, would not be allowed a deduction for dividends paid to stockholders in computing our taxable income);
•we could be subject to a federal alternative minimum tax and possibly increased state and local taxes for such periods;
•unless we are entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions, neither we nor any “successor” company could elect to be taxed as a REIT until the fifth taxable year following the year during which we were disqualified; and
•for five years following re-election of REIT status, upon a taxable disposition of an asset owned as of such re-election, we could be subject to tax with respect to any built-in gain inherent in such asset at the time of re-election.
As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and it could adversely affect the value of our common stock. If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we would no longer be required to make distributions to our stockholders.
Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Even if we have qualified and continue to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, property and transfer taxes. In addition, we conduct a significant portion of our U.S. business through TRSs that are regular taxable corporations. Furthermore, our status as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally does not reduce non-U.S. taxes on our operations and assets outside of the United States. Moreover, to the extent that we incur non-U.S. taxes outside of a domestic TRS, we have limited ability to utilize credits against our U.S. federal income tax liabilities for foreign taxes paid or accrued. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distributions to stockholders.
If our operating partnership or any other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company fails to qualify as a partnership or disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could fail to qualify as a REIT and would suffer adverse consequences.
We believe that our operating partnership is organized and is operated in a manner so as to be treated as a partnership, and not an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a partnership, our operating partnership will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its income. Instead, each of its partners, including us, will be allocated that partner’s share of our operating partnership’s income. No assurance can be provided, however, that the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, will not challenge the status of our operating partnership or any other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest as a partnership or disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating our operating partnership or any such other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company as an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we could fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, accordingly, could cease to qualify as a REIT. Also, the failure of our operating partnership or of any such other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company to qualify as a partnership or disregarded entity would cause it to become subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax, which would reduce significantly the amount of its cash available for debt service and for distribution to its partners or members, including us.
Our operating partnership has a carryover tax basis on certain of its assets as a result of certain transactions, and the amount that we have to distribute to stockholders therefore may be higher.
Certain of our operating partnership’s assets were acquired in tax-deferred transactions and have carryover tax bases that are lower than the fair market values of these assets at the time of the acquisition. As a result of this lower aggregate tax basis, our operating partnership will recognize higher taxable gain upon the sale of these assets and our operating partnership will be entitled to lower depreciation deductions on these assets than if it had purchased these assets in taxable transactions at the time of the acquisition. Such lower depreciation deductions and increased gains on sales allocated to us generally will increase the amount of our required distribution under the REIT rules, and will decrease the portion of any distribution that otherwise would have been treated as a “return of capital” distribution.
Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes or reassessment, which could impact our cash flow.
Even if we qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we are required to pay state and local property taxes on certain of our assets. The property taxes on our assets may increase as property tax rates change or as our assets are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Therefore, the amount of property taxes we pay in the future may increase substantially from
what we have paid in the past. If the property taxes we pay increase, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common stock, and ability to satisfy our principal and interest obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected.
We use TRSs, which may cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.
To qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we hold, and plan to continue to hold, substantially all of our non-qualifying REIT assets and conduct certain of our non-qualifying REIT income activities in or through one or more TRS entities. A TRS is a corporation other than a REIT in which a REIT directly or indirectly holds stock, and that has made a joint election with such REIT to be treated as a TRS. A TRS also includes any corporation other than a REIT with respect to which a TRS owns securities possessing more than 35% of the total voting power or value of the outstanding securities of such corporation. Other than some activities related to lodging and health care facilities, a TRS may generally engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to tenants of its parent REIT. A TRS is subject to U.S. federal income tax as a regular C corporation at a current rate of 21%.
The net income of our TRS entities is not required to be distributed to us, and income that is not distributed to us will generally not be subject to the REIT income distribution requirement. However, our TRS entities may pay dividends. Such dividend income should qualify under the 95%, but not the 75%, gross income test. We will monitor the amount of the dividend and other income from our TRS entities and will take actions intended to keep this income, and any other non-qualifying income, within the limitations of the REIT income tests. While we expect these actions will prevent a violation of the REIT income tests, we cannot guarantee that such actions will in all cases prevent such a violation.
Our ownership of TRS entities is subject to limitations that could prevent us from growing the portion of our business that does not qualify for operating through a REIT, and our transactions with our TRS entities could cause us to be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain income or deductions if those transactions are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis.
No more than 20% (25% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025) of the value of a REIT’s gross assets may consist of interests in TRS entities. We hold a portion of our business that could adversely impact our status as a REIT, if conducted directly by the REIT, through one or more TRS entities. In addition, we may acquire companies and properties through our TRS entities until such companies or properties can be restructured to operate in a REIT compliant manner. Compliance with the TRS ownership limitation could limit our ability to grow the portion of our business that does not qualify for operating through a REIT. The Code also imposes a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Our board of directors may determine in good faith the valuation of our gross assets, including the value of securities in our TRS entities, on a quarterly basis. We will monitor the value of investments in our TRS entities in order to comply with TRS ownership limitations and will structure our transactions with our TRS entities on terms that we believe are arm’s-length to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to comply with the TRS ownership limitation or be able to avoid application of the 100% excise tax.
REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plans, including because we may be required to borrow funds to make distributions to stockholders or otherwise depend on external sources of capital to fund such distributions.
We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (which is determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction or net capital gain for this purpose) in order to continue to qualify as a REIT. To the extent that we satisfy the distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and including any net capital gains), we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we may elect to retain and pay income tax on our net long-term capital gain. In that case, if we so elect, a stockholder would be taxed on its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term gain and would receive a credit or refund for its proportionate share of the tax we paid. A stockholder, including a tax-exempt or non-U.S. stockholder, would have to file a U.S. federal income tax return to claim that credit or refund. Furthermore, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we distribute to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under federal tax laws.
We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the REIT requirements of the Code and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax. We may be required to make distributions to our stockholders at times when it would be more advantageous to reinvest cash in our business or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits.
If we do not have other funds available, we could be required to borrow funds on unfavorable terms, sell investments at disadvantageous prices, distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions or capital expenditures or used for the repayment of debt, pay dividends in the form of taxable stock dividends or find another alternative source of funds to make distributions sufficient to enable us to distribute enough of our taxable income to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could increase our costs or adversely affect the value of our common stock.
Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forgo otherwise attractive opportunities or liquidate otherwise attractive investments.
To continue to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to stockholders and the ownership of our stock. As discussed above, we may be required to make distributions to you at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Additionally, we may be unable to pursue investments that would be otherwise attractive to us in order to satisfy the requirements for qualifying as a REIT.
At the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash items, U.S. government securities and qualified real estate assets, including certain mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than U.S. government securities and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets can consist of the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and qualified real estate assets) and no more than 20% (25% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025) of the value of our gross assets may be represented by securities of one or more TRS entities. Finally, no more than 25% of our assets may consist of debt investments that are issued by “publicly offered REITs” and would not otherwise be treated as qualifying real estate assets. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct such failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter to avoid losing our REIT status and being subject to adverse tax consequences, unless certain relief provisions apply. As a result, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of profit maximization and may require us to liquidate investments from our portfolio, or refrain from making otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to stockholders.
The prohibited transactions tax may limit our ability to engage in transactions, including disposition of assets, which would be treated as sales for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of dealer property (i.e., property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of our trade or business), other than foreclosure property. We may be subject to the prohibited transaction tax upon a disposition of real property. Although a safe-harbor exception to prohibited transaction treatment is available, we cannot assure you that we can comply with such safe harbor or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as dealer property. Consequently, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of real property or may conduct such sales through a TRS.
It may be possible to reduce the impact of the prohibited transaction tax by conducting certain activities through a TRS. However, to the extent that we engage in such activities through a TRS, the income associated with such activities will be subject to a corporate income tax. In addition, the IRS may attempt to ignore or otherwise recast such activities in order to impose a prohibited transaction tax on us, and there can be no assurance that such recast will not be successful.
We may recognize substantial amounts of REIT taxable income, which we would be required to distribute to our stockholders, in a year in which we are not profitable under GAAP or other economic measures.
We may recognize substantial amounts of REIT taxable income in years in which we are not profitable under GAAP or other economic measures as a result of the differences between GAAP and tax accounting methods. For instance, certain of our assets may be marked-to-market for GAAP purposes but not for tax purposes, which could result in losses for GAAP purposes that are not recognized in computing our REIT taxable income. Additionally, we may deduct our capital losses only to the extent of our capital gains in computing our REIT taxable income for a given taxable year. Consequently, we could recognize substantial amounts of REIT taxable income and would be required to distribute such income to you in a year in which we are not profitable under GAAP or other economic measures.
Our qualification as a REIT could be jeopardized as a result of an interest in joint ventures.
We may hold certain limited partner or non-managing member interests in partnerships or limited liability companies that are joint ventures. If a partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize our qualification as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action which could cause us to fail a REIT gross income or asset test, and that we would not become aware of such action in time to dispose of our interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In that case, we could fail to continue to qualify as a REIT unless we are able to qualify for a statutory REIT “savings” provision, which may require us to pay a significant penalty tax to maintain our REIT qualification.
Dividends payable by REITs may be taxed at higher rates.
Dividends payable by REITs may be taxed at higher rates than dividends of non-REIT corporations. The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate for qualified dividends paid by domestic non-REIT corporations to U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates is generally 20%. Dividends paid by REITs to such stockholders are generally not eligible for that rate, but under current tax law, such stockholders may deduct up to 20% of ordinary dividends (i.e., dividends not designated as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income) received from a REIT. Although this deduction reduces the effective tax rate applicable to certain dividends paid by REITs, such tax rate may still be higher than the tax rate applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends. This may cause investors to view REIT investments as less attractive than investments in non-REIT corporations, which in turn may adversely affect the value of stock of REITs, including our stock. In addition, the relative attractiveness of real estate in general may be adversely affected by the favorable tax treatment given to corporate dividends, which could negatively affect the value of certain of our assets.
In the event we acquire assets of C corporations (including by merger) in carry-over basis transactions, we may inherit material tax liabilities and other tax attributes from such acquired corporations, and we may be required to distribute earnings and profits.
From time to time, we may acquire assets from C corporations in transactions in which the basis of the corporations’ assets in our hands is determined by reference to the basis of the assets in the hands of the acquired corporations (including in connection with post-acquisition integration transactions), or carry-over basis transactions.
If Lineage, Inc. or one of our Subsidiary REITs acquires any asset from a corporation that is or has been a C corporation in a carry-over basis transaction and Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT subsequently recognizes gain on the disposition of the asset during the five-year period beginning on the date on which Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT acquired the asset, then Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT will be required to pay tax at the regular corporate tax rate on this gain to the extent of the excess of the fair market value of the asset over Lineage, Inc.’s or its applicable Subsidiary REIT’s adjusted basis in the asset, in each case determined as of the date on which Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT acquired the asset (the so-called “sting tax”). The results described in this paragraph with respect to the recognition of gain assume that the C corporation will refrain from making an election to receive different treatment under applicable Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code (the “Treasury Regulations”) on its tax return for the year in which Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT acquires the asset from the C corporation.
Any such sting taxes Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT pays would reduce the amount available for distribution to our stockholders. The imposition of such tax may require Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT to forgo an otherwise attractive disposition of any assets acquired from a C corporation in a carry-over basis transaction and, as a result, may reduce the liquidity of our portfolio of investments. In addition, in such a carry-over basis transaction, Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT will succeed to any tax liabilities and earnings and profits of the acquired C corporation. To qualify as a REIT, Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT must distribute any non-REIT earnings and profits by the close of the taxable year in which such transaction occurs. Any adjustments to the acquired corporation’s income for taxable years ending on or before the date of the transaction, including as a result of an examination of the corporation’s tax returns by the IRS, could affect the calculation of the corporation’s earnings and profits.
If the IRS were to determine that Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT acquired non-REIT earnings and profits from a corporation that Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT failed to distribute prior to the end of the taxable year in which the carry-over basis transaction occurred, Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT could avoid disqualification as a REIT by paying a “deficiency dividend.” Under these procedures, Lineage, Inc. or its applicable Subsidiary REIT generally would
be required to (i) pay a statutory interest charge at a specified rate to the IRS on 50% of any such non-REIT earnings and profits and (ii) distribute any such non-REIT earnings and profits (less any interest charge paid to the IRS) to its stockholders within 90 days of the determination. Such a distribution would be in addition to the distribution of REIT taxable income necessary to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and may require that we borrow funds to make the distribution even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for borrowings. In addition, payment of the statutory interest charge could materially and adversely affect us.
Legislative or regulatory tax changes could adversely affect us or our stockholders, and challenges to our tax positions could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.
At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new or amended law or interpretation may be issued or become effective and any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. Any such change could result in an increase in our, or our stockholders’, tax liability or require changes in the manner in which we operate in order to minimize increases in our tax liability. We are also subject to tax laws and regulations of state, local, and foreign governments. Changes in tax legislation, interpretations, or enforcement practices, including those related to global minimum tax regimes, could increase our effective tax rate, result in additional tax liabilities, or impact our profitability. In addition, challenges arising from taxing authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state, local, and foreign jurisdictions, on the interpretation of tax laws and regulations could result in adjustments to our effective tax rate or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.