Company: ADPT
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-030913
Chunk: 125

Company: Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 125
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, other influential investors, customers, suppliers and other third parties are also increasingly focused on ESG practices. In particular, third party proxy advisory services which focus on shareholder rights provisions, such as majority voting, annual election of directors, and overboarding of outside directors, have recommended against voting for our directors in past elections as a result of our governance profile. 

Companies that do not adapt to or comply with the evolving investor or stakeholder expectations and standards, or which are perceived to have not responded appropriately, may suffer from reputational damage and result in the business, financial condition and/or stock price of a company being materially and adversely affected. Further, this increased focus on ESG issues may result in new regulations and/or third-party requirements that could adversely impact our business, or certain shareholders reducing or eliminating their holdings of our stock. Additionally, an allegation or perception that we have not taken sufficient action in these areas could negatively harm our reputation.

Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny relating to their ESG policies. If we are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for governance issues, investors may reconsider their capital investment as a result of their assessment of our practices, and our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be adversely affected.

Provisions in our charter documents and Washington law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult and limit attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our current management. 

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation (“Articles of Incorporation”) and our amended and restated bylaws (“Bylaws”), as well as Washington law, contain provisions that may have the effect of deterring takeovers or delaying or preventing a change in control of us or changes in our management that a shareholder might deem to be in his or her best interest. Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that: 

•authorize “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without shareholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; 

•create a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms, with one class being elected each year by our shareholders; 

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•specify that special meetings of our shareholders can be called only by our board of directors, the Chairperson of our board of directors, our chief executive officer or our president; 

•provide that a director may only be removed from the board of directors for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of our shareholders; 

•provide