Company: PSA-PH
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001393311-25-000036
Chunk: 63

Company: Public Storage
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 63
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 these restrictions could adversely impact our operations.

Our marketing and pricing strategies may fail to be effective or may be constrained by factors outside of our control.

Marketing initiatives, including our increasing dependence on Google to source customers, may fail to be effective and could negatively impact financial performance. Approximately 67% of our new storage customers in 2024 were sourced directly or indirectly through “unpaid” search and “paid” search campaigns on Google. We believe that the vast majority of customers searching for self-storage use Google at some stage in their shopping experience. Google is providing tools to allow smaller and less sophisticated operators to bid for search terms, increasing competition for self-storage search terms. The predominance of Google in the shopping experience, as well as Google’s enabling of additional competitors to bid for placements in self-storage search terms, may reduce the number of new customers that we can procure, and/or increase our costs to obtain new customers.

In addition, the inability to utilize our pricing methodology due to regulatory or market constraints could also significantly impact our financial results.

We are exposed to ongoing litigation and other legal and regulatory actions, which may divert management’s time and attention, require us to pay damages and expenses or restrict the operation of our business.

We have approximately 5,900 employees and 2.0 million customers, and we conduct business at facilities in 40 states. As a result, we are subject to the risk of legal claims and proceedings (including class actions) and regulatory enforcement actions across many jurisdictions in the ordinary course of our business and otherwise, and we could incur significant liabilities and substantial legal fees from these actions. Resolution of these claims and actions may divert time and attention of our management and could involve payment of damages or expenses by us, all of which may be significant, and could damage our reputation and our brand. In addition, any such resolution could involve our agreement to terms that restrict the operation of our business. The results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. We cannot guarantee that losses incurred in connection with any current or future legal or regulatory proceedings or actions will not exceed any provisions we may have set aside in respect of such proceedings or actions or any available insurance coverage. Any such legal claims, proceedings, and regulatory enforcement actions could negatively impact our operating results, cash flow available for distribution or reinvestment, and/or the price of our common shares.

In addition, through exercising their authority to regulate our activities, governmental agencies can otherwise negatively impact our business by increasing costs or decreasing revenues, including through restrictions on rent increases or fees.

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