Company: GE
Filing Date: 2025-02-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000040545-25-000015
Chunk: 75

Company: GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 75
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-practicing entities. Regardless of their merit, responding to such claims can be expensive and time-consuming. We also may be found to infringe third-party rights, which could result in us being enjoined from offering some of our products and services or bringing to market new products and services, and require us to pay substantial damages. The value of, or our ability to use, our intellectual property may also be negatively impacted by dependencies on third parties, such as our ability to obtain or renew on reasonable terms, or at all, licenses that we need in the future, or our ability to secure or retain ownership or rights to use data in certain software analytics or services offerings.

OPERATIONAL RISKS. Operational risk relates to risks arising from systems, processes, people and external events that affect the operation of our business. It includes risks related to product safety, quality and performance; supply chain and business disruption; operational execution across product and service life cycles; and information management and data protection and security, including cybersecurity.  

Product safety and quality - Our products and services are highly sophisticated and specialized, and a major failure or quality issue affecting our products or third-party products with which our products are integrated can adversely affect our business, reputation, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We produce highly sophisticated products, including commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components and electric power and aircraft systems, and we provide specialized services for products that incorporate or use complex or leading-edge technology, including both hardware and software. Accordingly, the adverse impact of product quality issues can be significant. Actual or perceived design, production, performance, durability or other quality issues related to new product introductions or existing product lines can result in reputational harm to our business, in addition to the potential need for increased inspections and shop visits, and direct warranty, maintenance and other costs that may arise. In addition, a catastrophic product failure or similar event resulting in injuries or death, a fleet grounding or similar systemic consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial position, cash flows and results of operations. Even when there have not been significant or widespread product failures in the field, many of our products and services must function under demanding operating conditions and meet exacting and evolving certification, performance, reliability and durability standards that we, our customers or regulators adopt. Developing and maintaining products that meet or exceed these standards can be costly and technologically challenging, and may also involve extensive coordination of suppliers and highly skilled labor from thousands of workers; a failure to deliver products and services