EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1703056
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 1703056_10-K_2021_0001703056-21-000020.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Our Company
ADT Inc., together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”, “we”, “our”, “us”, and “ADT”), is a leading provider of security, automation, and smart home solutions serving consumer and business customers in the United States (“U.S.”). Our mission is to help our customers protect and connect to what matters most-their families, homes, and businesses. We offer many ways to help protect and connect customers by providing 24/7 professional monitoring services as well as delivering lifestyle-driven solutions through professionally installed (“do-it-for-me” or “DIFM”), do-it-yourself (“DIY”), mobile, and digital-based offerings for residential, small business, and large commercial customers. The ADT brand is synonymous with monitored security and, as one of the most recognized and trusted brands in the security systems industry, is a key driver of our success. As of December 31, 2020, we served approximately 6.5 million recurring revenue customers through more than 300 locations, nine monitoring centers, and the largest network of security and home automation professionals in the U.S.
Our Formation and Business Developments
ADT Inc. was incorporated in the State of Delaware in May 2015 as a holding company with no assets or liabilities. In July 2015, we acquired Protection One, Inc. and ASG Intermediate Holding Corp. (collectively, the “Formation Transactions”), which were instrumental in the commencement of our operations. In May 2016, we acquired The ADT Security Corporation (formerly named The ADT Corporation) (“The ADT Corporation”) (the “ADT Acquisition”). The ADT Acquisition significantly increased our market share in the security systems industry making us one of the largest monitored security companies in the U.S. and Canada at the time.
The following represents key business developments in recent years:
•In January 2018, we completed an initial public offering (“IPO”) and our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, (“Common Stock”) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “ADT.”
•In December 2018, we acquired Fire & Security Holdings, LLC (“Red Hawk”) (the “Red Hawk Acquisition”), which accelerated our growth in the commercial security market and expanded our product portfolio with the introduction of commercial fire safety and related solutions.
•In November 2019, we sold ADT Security Services Canada, Inc. (“ADT Canada”), which resulted in the substantial disposition of our operations in Canada.
•In January 2020, we acquired our largest independent dealer, Defender Holdings, Inc. (“Defenders”) (the “Defenders Acquisition”).
•In February 2020, we launched a new revenue model initiative for certain residential customers which (i) revised the amount and nature of fees due at installation, (ii) introduced a 60 month monitoring contract option, and (iii) introduced a new retail installment contract which allows qualifying residential customers to repay the fees due at installation over the course of a 24, 36, or 60 month interest-free period.
•In July 2020, we entered into a Master Supply, Distribution, and Marketing Agreement (the “Commercial Agreement”) with Google LLC (“Google”) and in September 2020, we issued and sold 54,744,525 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, (“Class B Common Stock”) in a private placement to Google. The partnership with Google is anticipated to drive our next phase of growth for our DIFM and DIY solutions beginning in 2021.
•In November 2020, we announced the ongoing development of our ADT-owned next-generation professional security and automation technology platform, which is currently being developed in coordination with Google.
ADT Inc. is majority-owned by Prime Security Services TopCo Parent, L.P. (“Ultimate Parent”). Ultimate Parent is majority-owned by Apollo Investment Fund VIII, L.P. and its related funds that are directly or indirectly managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “Apollo” or the “Sponsor”). As of December 31, 2020, Apollo owned approximately 74.6% of our outstanding common stock, including Class B Common Stock on an as-converted basis and excluding unvested common shares, compared to 87.7% as of December 31, 2019.
Information about Segment and Geographic Revenue
We report results based on a single operating and reportable segment. However, we expect the manner in which the chief operating decision maker (the “CODM”) evaluates results to change during the first quarter of 2021, and as a result, we anticipate a change in our operating and reportable segment structure. For the results of our operations outside of the U.S., which consist of our operations in Canada prior to the sale of ADT Canada, refer to Note 15 “Geographic Data” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our Products and Services
We primarily offer our portfolio of products and services under our ADT brand, which is among the most recognized and trusted brands in the security systems industry. The strength of our brand is built upon a long-standing record of providing high-quality and reliable monitored security and automation services, expertise in system sales and installation, superior customer care, and industry-leading experience and knowledge. Our interactive offerings add automation and smart home capabilities to traditional security systems. We also seek opportunities that allow us to leverage our brand, our focus on security, and our trust among our customer base to expand our service offerings to help our customers protect and connect to what matters most. Due to the importance that customers place on reputation and trust when purchasing security and automation services and systems, we believe the strength of our brand is a key competitive advantage and contributor to our success.
Our baseline security and automation offerings involve the sale, installation, and monitoring of security and premises automation systems designed to detect intrusion; control access; sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal emergencies such as injuries, medical emergencies, or incapacitation. Upon the occurrence of certain initiating events, monitored security systems send event-specific signals to our monitoring centers. Our monitoring center personnel respond to alarms by relaying appropriate information to first responders, such as local police, fire departments, or medical emergency response centers; the customer; or others on the customer’s emergency contact list according to the type of service contract and customer preference. We continue to invest and innovate in our alarm verification technologies as well as partner with industry associations and various first responder agencies to help prioritize response events and enhance response policies. The breadth of our solutions allows us to meet a wide variety of customer needs.
The vast majority of our new customers enroll in our interactive and smart home solutions, which allow our customers to remotely monitor and manage their residential and commercial environments. Depending on the service plan and type of product installation, customers are able to remotely access information regarding the security of their residential or commercial environment, arm and disarm their security systems, adjust lighting or thermostat levels, monitor and react to defined events, or view real-time video from cameras covering different areas of their premises from web-enabled devices (such as smart phones, laptops, and tablet computers) and a customized web portal. Additionally, our interactive and smart home solutions enable customers to create customized and automated schedules for managing lights, thermostats, appliances, garage doors, cameras, and other connected devices. These systems can also be programmed to perform additional functions such as recording and viewing live video and sending text messages or other alerts based on triggering events or conditions.
As part of our innovative and dynamic emerging markets, we are extending the concept of security from the physical home or business to personal on-the-go security and safety with SoSecure, our mobile safety application, and other offerings. Customers’ increasingly mobile and active lifestyles have created new opportunities for us in the fast-growing market for self-monitored DIY products and mobile technology. Our technology also allows us to integrate with various third-party connected and wearable devices so that we can serve our customers whether they are at home or on-the-go. Additionally, we offer personal emergency response system products and services, which are supported by our monitoring centers and utilize our security monitoring infrastructure to provide customers with solutions helping to sustain independent living and encourage better self-care activities.
A portion of our customers use traditional land-line telephone service as the primary communication method for alarm signals to our central monitoring centers. As the use of land-line telephone service has decreased, we have implemented cellular and broadband technologies as communication methods for alarm signals, which facilitate our interactive and smart home offerings.
In addition to our sale, installation, and monitoring services, we provide our customers with other services such as routine maintenance and the installation of upgraded or additional equipment. Our customers may contract for both monitoring and maintenance services at the time of initial equipment installation, which provides additional value to the customer and generates incremental recurring monthly revenue. In certain markets, we also sell, install, integrate, maintain, and inspect commercial building safety and management technologies, which include fire detection, fire suppression, video surveillance, and access control systems. In some cases for commercial customers, we may engage in arrangements that include system installation without an on-going contractual monitoring or maintenance service relationship.
Our monitoring and maintenance services provided to our customers are generally governed by multi-year contracts with automatic renewal provisions providing us with recurring monthly revenue. Under our typical residential customer contract, the customer is charged an upfront fee, which qualifying customers can pay over the course of the contract, and is then obligated to make monthly payments for the remainder of the initial contract term. The standard contract term for residential customers is two, three, or five years, with automatic renewals for successive 30-day periods, unless canceled by either party. The standard contract term for commercial customers is typically five years with various automatic renewals with terms ranging from 30-day periods to one year. If a customer cancels or is otherwise in default under the contract prior to the end of the initial contract term, we have the right under the contract to receive a termination payment from the customer in an amount equal to a designated percentage of all remaining monthly payments. Monitoring services are generally billed monthly or quarterly in advance. More than 70% of our residential customers pay us through automated payment methods, with new residential customers generally opting for these payment methods. We periodically adjust the standard monthly monitoring rate charged to new and existing customers.
New customers for monitored security and automation services typically require us to make an upfront investment related to installation costs associated with labor, materials, and overhead, which are partially offset by fees received in connection with the initiation of a monitoring contract. While the economics of our installations can vary depending on the customer acquisition channel and type of system, we operate our business with the goal of retaining customers for sufficiently long periods of time in order to recoup our initial investment in new customers, generally achieving revenue break-even in less than two and a half years.
Sales and Distribution Channels
We utilize a complementary mix of direct and indirect sales and distribution channels, as discussed below.
•Direct Channel
Our direct channel customers are generated by our direct response and other marketing efforts and general brand awareness, customer referrals, and lead generation partners, and are supported by our internal sales force located in our four national sales call centers as well as our network of sales and service offices located throughout the U.S.
Our telephone sales consultants work to understand customer needs and then direct customers to the most suitable sales approach. In many scenarios, we close the sale of a basic system over the phone and allow our field force to augment the system at the time of installation. In other cases, we seek to schedule an appointment with a field sales consultant to work directly with the customer to select an ideal system.
Our field sales consultants undergo an in-depth screening process prior to hire. Each field sales consultant completes comprehensive centralized training prior to conducting customer sales presentations and participates in ongoing training in support of new offerings and the use of our structured model sales call. We utilize a highly structured sales approach, which includes, in addition to the structured model sales call, daily monitoring of sales activity and effectiveness metrics and regular coaching by our sales management teams.
•Indirect Channel
Our indirect channel customers are generated mainly through our network of agreements with third-party independent alarm dealers who sell alarm equipment and ADT Authorized Dealer-branded monitoring and interactive services to residential end users (the “ADT Authorized Dealer Program”). The ADT Authorized Dealer Program extends our reach by aligning us with select independent security sales and installation companies. As opportunities arise, we have in the past engaged, and we may continue to engage, in selective bulk account purchases, which typically involve the purchase of a set of customer accounts from other security service providers.
Our authorized dealers are contractually obligated to offer exclusively to us all qualified monitored accounts they generate, but we are not obligated to accept these accounts. We pay our authorized dealers for the acquisition of any qualified monitored accounts from them. In certain instances in which we reject an account, we generally still indirectly provide monitoring services for that account through a monitoring services agreement with the authorized dealer. Dealer generated customer contracts typically have an initial term of three years with automatic renewals for successive 30-day periods, unless canceled by either party. If a purchased account is canceled during the charge-back period, which is generally thirteen months, the dealer is required to refund our payment of the purchase price for the canceled account.
As of December 31, 2020, our network of authorized dealers consisted of approximately 200 authorized dealers operating across the U.S. We monitor each authorized dealer’s financial stability, use of sound and ethical business
practices, and delivery of reliable and consistent high-quality sales and installation methods. Authorized dealers are required to adhere to the same high-quality standards for sales and installation as our own sales and service offices.
The Defenders Acquisition resulted in the acquisition of our largest independent dealer, which represented approximately 55% of our indirect channel for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Field Operations
As of December 31, 2020, we served our customer base from more than 300 sales and service offices located throughout the U.S. We staff our network of sales and service offices with installation and service technicians to efficiently and effectively make sales calls, install systems, and provide service support based on customer needs and our evaluation of growth opportunities in each market. We utilize third-party subcontract labor when appropriate to assist with these efforts. We maintain the relevant and necessary licenses related to the provision of installation of security and related services in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Our objective is to provide a differentiated service experience, including by providing same-day or next-day service to the majority of our customers.
Monitoring Centers and Support Services
As of December 31, 2020, we operated nine monitoring centers, which are listed by Underwriters Laboratories (“U.L.”), located throughout the U.S. in order to provide professional monitoring services to our customers 24 hours a day on a year-round basis, of which three monitoring centers also provide outsourced monitoring services for other security companies. To obtain and maintain a U.L. listing, a security systems monitoring center must be located in a building meeting U.L.’s structural requirements, have back-up computer and power systems, and meet U.L. specifications for staffing and standard operating procedures. Many jurisdictions have laws requiring that security systems for certain buildings be monitored by U.L.-listed centers. In addition, a U.L. listing is required by insurers of certain customers as a condition of insurance coverage. Our monitoring centers are fully redundant, which means that in the event of an emergency at one of our monitoring centers such as fire, tornado, major interruption in telephone or computer service, or any other event affecting the functionality of the center, all monitoring operations can be automatically transferred to another monitoring center.
Newark, Delaware is home to our Network Operations Center (“NOC”). The NOC houses a group of highly experienced certified engineers capable of designing and provisioning broadband networks for our customers. These employees are Cisco Certified and Meraki Certified, and our NOC earned the Cisco Cloud and Managed Services Express Partner Certification, which makes us one of the few security companies in the industry with this designation.
Customer Care
Our call center operations provide support 24 hours a day on a year-round basis. Customer care specialists answer non-emergency inquiries regarding service, billing, and alarm testing and support, while our monitoring centers primarily handle inbound alarms and the dispatch of alarms to first responders. To ensure technical service requests are handled promptly and professionally, all requests are routed through our customer contact centers. Customer care specialists help customers resolve minor service and operating issues and, in many cases, the specialists can remotely resolve customer concerns. We continue to implement new customer-facing self-service tools via interactive voice response systems and the Internet, thereby providing customers additional choices in managing their services.
We serve our largest multi-site customers from our National Accounts Operation Center (“NAOC”) in Irving, Texas. Our multi-site customers call one location to resolve all support issues, including billing, installations, service calls, upgrades, or other service-related assistance. We believe this concept is a strong selling point for multi-site customers choosing us for their security needs.
We believe the fastest and most profitable way to grow our company is by retaining the customers we already have. To maintain our high standard of customer service, we provide ongoing training to call center and field employees and our authorized dealers. We also continually measure and monitor key performance metrics that drive a high-value customer experience, including customer satisfaction-oriented metrics across each customer touch point.
Our Markets
We serve our customers in the following three markets: Residential, Commercial, and Emerging.
•Residential: Our residential market primarily consists of owners of single-family homes who have purchased monitored security and automation services. The market is characterized by a large and homogeneous customer base with less complex system installations.
•Commercial: Our commercial market includes retail businesses, food and beverage service providers, medical offices, financial institutions, and professional service providers, among others, and can range from smaller businesses to large single-site commercial facilities, as well as multi-site national companies. The market is characterized by higher penetration rates, driven in part by fire and building codes and insurance requirements, and by a higher degree of complexity with respect to system installations.
•Emerging: Our emerging markets, which include new customer types and new offerings, present opportunities for us to leverage our brand name, our core focus on security, and our high degree of trust among our customer base to pursue complementary markets such as DIY offerings, smart home technologies, network and cybersecurity, and personal on-the-go security and safety. We also leverage our security monitoring infrastructure to provide customers with solutions that help sustain independent living and encourage better self-care activities.
Customers and Marketing
As of December 31, 2020, we served approximately 6.5 million recurring revenue customers throughout the U.S. We target new customers and manage our existing customer base to maximize customer lifetime value, which includes continually evaluating our product offerings, pricing, and service strategies; managing our costs to provide enhanced service to customers; upgrading existing customers to our interactive services, internet protocol (“IP”) video solutions, or other upgraded solutions; and achieving long customer tenure. Our ability to increase our average selling prices for individual customers is dependent on a number of factors including the quality of our service, the continued introduction of additional features and services that increase the value of our offerings to customers, and the competitive environment in which we operate.
Many of our residential customers are driven to purchase monitored security and automation services as a result of moving to a new residence, a perceived or actual increase in crime, life safety concerns in their neighborhood, or other significant life events, such as the birth of a child; or incentives provided by their insurance carriers, who may offer lower insurance premium rates if a security system is installed or may require that a system be installed as a condition of coverage.
Reasons for purchasing monitored security and automation systems vary for our business customers. Most business customers require a basic security system for insurance purposes, while certain commercial premises are required to install and maintain fire alarm and, in some cases, fire suppression systems to meet the requirements under applicable building codes and insurance policies. Additionally, as IP video solutions have become more affordable and interactive, businesses view these solutions for applications beyond just security and leverage them for operational purposes as well, including employee safety, theft prevention, and inventory management.
To support the growth of our customer base and to improve awareness of our brand, we market our monitored security and automation services through national television, radio, and direct mail advertisements, as well as through Internet advertising, which includes national search engine marketing, email, online video, local search, and social media. We continually work to optimize our marketing spend through a lead modeling process, whereby we dynamically allocate our marketing spend based on lead flow and measured marketing channel effectiveness. In addition to traditional and digital marketing, we have several affinity partnerships with organizations that promote our services to their customer bases. We also rely on marketing by social media influencers and celebrity spokespersons that represent the ADT brand to generate new customers.
We continually consider and evaluate new customer lead generation methods and channels to increase our customer base and drive greater market penetration. We also explore opportunities to expand our market presence by providing branded solutions and partnering with various third parties, including home builders, property management firms, homeowners’ associations, insurance companies, financial institutions, retailers, public utilities, and software service providers.
Competition
Technology trends are creating significant change in our industry. While providing us with many opportunities, innovation has also lowered the barriers to entry for automation, interactive, and smart home solutions, and new business models and competitors have emerged. We believe a combination of increasing customer interest in lifestyle and business productivity and technology advancements will support the increasing penetration of automation, interactive, and smart home solutions. We are focused on extending our leadership position in the traditional residential and commercial markets while also growing our share of the expanding emerging markets.
The traditional residential and commercial markets in the U.S. remain highly competitive and fragmented, with a number of major firms and thousands of smaller regional and local companies. The high fragmentation of the markets is primarily the result of relatively low barriers to entering the business in local geographies and the availability of companies providing outsourced monitoring services but not maintaining the customer relationship. We believe our principal competitors within the traditional residential market are Vivint Smart Home, Inc., Brinks Home Security (operating brand of Monitronics International, Inc.), and Xfinity Home Security (a division of Comcast Corporation). Our principal competitors within the
commercial market are Johnson Controls International plc. (“Johnson Controls”), Convergint Technologies, Stanley Security (a division of Stanley Black and Decker), and Securitas Electronic Security. Additionally, with our recent investments and enhancements in DIY offerings as well as our partnership with Google, we are positioning ourselves to grow our market share in the DIY space from competitors including SimpliSafe, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Ring.
Success in acquiring new customers is dependent on a variety of factors, including brand and reputation, market visibility, service and product capabilities, quality, price, and the ability to identify and sell to prospective customers. Our approach to competition is to emphasize the quality and reputation of our services, our superior customer service, our industry-leading brand, our monitoring centers, our commitment to consumer privacy, and our knowledge of customer needs. In addition, we continue to add new features and functionalities to further differentiate our offerings and support a pricing premium.
We believe we are well positioned to compete with traditional and new competitors due to our focus on safety, security, and pricing; our nationwide team of sales consultants; our solid reputation for and expertise in providing reliable security and monitoring services through our in-house network of redundant monitoring centers; our reliable product solutions; and our highly skilled installation and service organization.
Resources Material to Our Business
We purchase equipment and components of our products from a limited number of suppliers and distributors. Inventory is held in our regional distribution centers at levels we believe are sufficient to meet current and anticipated customer needs. We also maintain inventory of equipment and components at each field office and in technicians’ vehicles. Generally, third-party distributors maintain a minimum stocking level of certain key items to cover supply chain disruptions. We also utilize dual sourcing methods to minimize the risk of a disruption from any single supplier. We do not anticipate any major interruptions in our supply chain. Additionally, we rely on various information technology and telecommunications service providers as part of the functionality and monitoring of security systems.
Intellectual Property
Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other proprietary rights are important to our business and we continuously refine our intellectual property strategy to maintain and improve our competitive position. We register new intellectual property to protect our ongoing technological innovations and strengthen our brand, and we take appropriate action against infringements or misappropriations of our intellectual property rights by others. We review third-party intellectual property rights to help avoid infringement and to identify strategic opportunities. We typically enter into confidentiality agreements to further protect our intellectual property.
We own a portfolio of patents that relate to a variety of monitored security and automation technologies utilized in our business, including security panels and sensors as well as video and information management solutions. We also own a portfolio of trademarks in the U.S. and Canada, including ADT, ADT Pulse, Protection 1, ADT Commercial, and Blue by ADT. Our brand is critical to our success due to the importance customers place on reputation and trust when deciding on a security provider. In addition, we are a licensee of intellectual property, including from our third-party suppliers and technology partners. Patents extend for limited periods of time in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. Trademark rights may potentially extend for longer periods of time and are typically dependent upon the use of the trademarks.
Certain trademarks associated with the ADT brand that we own within the U.S. and Canada are owned outside of the U.S. and Canada by Johnson Controls (as successor to Tyco International Ltd., “Tyco”). In certain instances, such trademarks are licensed in certain territories outside the U.S. and Canada by Johnson Controls to certain third parties. Pursuant to the Tyco Trademark Agreement entered into between The ADT Corporation and Tyco in connection with the separation of The ADT Corporation from Tyco in 2012, we are generally prohibited from registering, attempting to register, or using the ADT brand outside the U.S. and its territories and Canada. As a result, if we choose to sell products or services or otherwise do business outside the U.S. and Canada, we do not have the right to use the ADT brand to promote our products and services.
In connection with the sale of ADT Canada in 2019, we entered into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement with TELUS Corporation (“TELUS”) pursuant to which we will not have any operations in Canada, subject to limited exceptions for cross-border commercial customers and mobile safety applications, for a period of seven years. Additionally, we entered into a patent and trademark license agreement with TELUS granting (i) the use of our patents in Canada for a period of seven years and (ii) exclusive use of our trademarks in Canada for a period of five years and non-exclusive use for an additional two years thereafter.
Seasonality of Our Business
Our business experiences a certain level of seasonality with respect to residential customers. Since more household moves take place during the second and third calendar quarters of each year, our disconnect rate and new customer additions are typically higher in those quarters than in the first and fourth calendar quarters. There is also a slight seasonal effect on our new customer installation volume and related cash expenses incurred in investments in new customers, however, other factors such as the level of marketing expense and relevant promotional offers can mitigate the effects of seasonality. In addition, we may see increased servicing costs related to higher alarm signals and customer service requests as a result of inclement weather-related incidents.
Government Regulation and Other Regulatory Matters
Our operations are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to consumer protection, privacy, occupational licensing, building codes, environmental protection, labor and employment, tax, and permitting. Most states in which we operate have licensing laws directed specifically toward professional installation and monitoring of security devices. In certain jurisdictions, we must obtain licenses or permits to comply with standards governing employee selection, training, and business conduct. We do not believe that federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to the discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment, or any existing or pending climate change legislation, regulation, or international treaties or accords are reasonably likely to have a material effect in the foreseeable future on our business. We will continue to monitor emerging developments in this area.
We rely extensively on telecommunications service providers to communicate signals as part of the functionality and monitoring of security systems. These telecommunications service providers are regulated in the U.S. by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and state public utilities commissions.
Our advertising and sales practices are regulated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state and consumer protection laws, which may include restrictions on the manner in which we promote the sale of our security services and require us to provide most purchasers of our services with three-day or longer rescission rights.
Our communications with current and potential customers are regulated by federal and state laws, which include restrictions on telemarketing activities, the use of auto-dialing technology, email marketing, and text communications.
Some local government authorities have adopted or are considering various measures aimed at reducing false alarms. Such measures include requiring permits for individual alarm systems, revoking such permits following a specified number of false alarms, imposing fines on customers or alarm monitoring companies for false alarms, limiting the number of times police will respond to alarms at a particular location after a specified number of false alarms, requiring additional verification of an alarm signal before the police respond, or providing no response to residential system alarms.
Our industry is also subject to requirements, codes, and standards imposed by various insurance, approval and listing, and standards organizations. Depending upon the type of customer, security service provided, and requirements of the applicable local governmental jurisdiction, adherence to the requirements, codes, and standards of such organizations is mandatory in some instances and voluntary in others. Changes in laws and regulations can affect our operations, both positively and negatively, and impact the manner in which we conduct our business.
Human Capital and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”)
Our success is built upon the success of those whose lives we touch. This includes our customer base, our employees, and the communities we serve, who we impact both directly and indirectly as we seek to accomplish our corporate mission to help our customers protect and connect to what matters most-their families, homes, and businesses.
We place a strong emphasis on environmental, social, and governance issues and believe that such emphasis enhances our corporate performance, while enabling us to hire and retain top talent whose values embrace environmental and social responsibility and who remain passionate about our organization.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2020, we employed approximately 20,500 people, of whom approximately 5,700 are installation and service technicians, approximately 4,100 are customer care professionals, and approximately 4,500 are sales consultants. Approximately 7% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we believe our relations with our employees and labor unions have generally been positive.
We are committed to fostering a culture and environment where every employee feels valued. Our success depends in large part on our hiring and retaining top talent across the entire organization, with primary emphasis on our management team and our employees who interface directly with our customers (such as sales representatives, installation and service technicians, and call center personnel). We compete for talent with other companies both smaller and larger, and both in our market and in other industries. In order to attract and retain top talent, we focus on having a diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace, while offering competitive compensation, benefits, and health and wellness programs. A majority of employees also have incentive compensation opportunities, which are primarily focused on financial, sales, operational, and customer service metrics. In addition, our long-term equity compensation is intended to align management interests with those of our stockholders and to encourage the creation of long-term value. We provide training and learning opportunities, rotational assignment opportunities, and continuous feedback in order to further our employee development.
We are committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion for our employees. Because our employees reflect the communities where we live and serve, we strive to hire and retain a workforce that is truly representative of our markets. In 2020, we took a meaningful step on our journey to create a work environment where inclusion, diversity, and belonging can truly thrive by establishing the ADT Inclusive Diversity and Belonging Council (the “AIDBC”). The AIDBC plays an integral role in laying the ground-work for establishing enterprise initiatives that will advance our mission to promote diversity and inclusion. The AIDBC represents a broad cross section of our organization, including executive and senior management, and is expected to help build an enterprise wide program by elevating inclusion and diversity as a business priority across the organization in a manner that includes measurable goals and accountability.
We value the health and safety of our team members and customers above all else. We continually work to foster a culture of safety that enables our employees to minimize risk and to understand and follow safety rules, as well as to identify and correct unsafe actions, behaviors, or situations. We believe that all occupational injuries and illnesses, as well as environmental incidents, are generally preventable and we focus on compliance with all applicable environmental, health, and safety requirements. We continue to institute fleet safety initiatives to protect our drivers and others across our fleet of vehicles, including collision warning and auto braking technologies. We also offer our employees and their families comprehensive health and wellness rewards to help them achieve their best overall self.
Our Environmental, Health, and Safety (“EHS”) vision is to build a culture that promotes safe behaviors on each task, every day, to achieve zero incidents and enhance employee wellness, and to minimize our environmental impact. In order to achieve our vision, we strive to incorporate our values of people, prevention, and accountability into our business and the decisions we make each day. We have implemented an EHS management system that includes expectations for compliance, accountability, sustainability, and continuous improvement.
During March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus as a pandemic (the “COVID-19 Pandemic”), which has become increasingly widespread in the U.S. In order to continue to both protect our employees and serve our customers, we have adjusted and are continuously evolving certain aspects of our operations from those as discussed above, which includes (i) detailed protocols for infectious disease safety for employees, (ii) daily wellness checks for employees, and (iii) certain work from home actions, including for the majority of our call center professionals. In addition, we have invested in personal protective equipment for our employees and other work from home initiatives,
Environmental
We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment by promoting environmental stewardship throughout our organization. We have implemented our ADT Environmental Absolutes framework, which represents our focus on complying with environmental requirements, addressing proper disposal of waste streams, and promoting recycling of materials. We invest significant time and resources to reduce building greenhouse gases and have focused on efficiency improvements in lighting, air handling, and data operations. We continually explore methods to reduce greenhouse gases from our motor vehicle fleet, including through the purchase of newer vehicle models having greater fuel efficiency and the use of hybrid vehicles. We employ waste recycling and diversion programs and continue to evolve new initiatives such as the placement of sensors inside our trash dumpsters to monitor waste levels and reduce unnecessary trash hauls. We will continue to look for new, and to improve existing, initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint.
Social
Our volunteerism and philanthropy social initiatives are varied and widespread across the organization. Our team members across the U.S. give back to their communities as part of ADT Always Cares, a corporate-wide citizenship program comprised of employee-directed volunteerism and philanthropy. Through our LifeSaver Awards program, we provide support to first responders by providing charitable contributions to the police and fire departments who helped save our customers from home fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other medical emergencies. During 2020, we increased our philanthropy campaign by providing contributions to more than 130 non-profit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, donating meals to
employees at major hospitals to express gratitude for their sacrifice and dedication in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and giving to volunteer fire departments that battled wildfires in the western U.S. We also look for opportunities to support organizations that focus on diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2020, we donated to the United Negro College Fund to provide five students with four-year college scholarships.
Governance
We are committed to making sure that every team member understands our core values of trust, collaboration, service and innovation. That understanding begins with our Code of Conduct, which outlines our commitment to our customers, our investors, our communities, and to one another. Our Code of Conduct outlines what is expected of our employees and ensures we continue to foster a culture of high integrity. We adhere to the governance requirements established by federal and state law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the NYSE, and we strive to establish appropriate risk management methods and control procedures to adequately manage, monitor, and control the major risks we may face day to day.
Recent Initiatives Within Our Business Operations
We have been successful in improving certain of our operating key performance indicators in recent years, such as customer acquisition efficiency and customer retention. We believe these improvements in our fundamentals have positioned us well to achieve long-term capital efficient growth. During 2020, we commenced certain ongoing strategic initiatives that we believe will be transformative to our business. We have seen an increase in interest in smart home offerings and other mobile technology applications that we believe is attributable to a variety of factors, including advancements in technology, younger generations of consumers, and shifts to de-urbanization. Our strategic initiatives are intended to help us satisfy consumer and commercial demands in light of these macro-level dynamics and to position us for sustainable growth for years to come.
For example, our partnership with Google represents the combination of the leading security brand and the leading technology brand joining forces to introduce the next-generation smart and helpful home. Co-branded offerings are expected to be available beginning in 2021 in the form of both DIFM and DIY solutions and will include the integration of leading Google devices paired with Google video and analytics service. As part of this partnership, each company will contribute $150 million upon the achievement of certain milestones towards the joint marketing of devices and services, customer acquisition, training of our employees for the sales, installation, customer service, and maintenance for the product and service offerings, and technology updates for products included in such offerings.
These co-branded offerings will be initially supported by our current technology platform and we then plan to transition them to be supported by our ADT-owned next-generation professional security and automation technology platform, which is currently being developed in coordination with Google. Our comprehensive interactive technology platform is expected to provide customers with a seamless experience across security, life safety, automation, and analytics through a common application. Additionally, our platform is expected to integrate the user experience, customer service experience, and back-end support.
We are also increasing our emphasis on the use of strategic partnerships and alliances with third parties to expand our market presence. For example, through our partnerships with D.R. Horton and Lyft, we are teaming up with national leaders in home construction and ride sharing, respectively, while also investing in and integrating our services with new and existing technologies and applications. We believe there is a healthy pipeline of future partnership and alliance opportunities.
Given the successful implementation of a temporary work from home strategy during 2020, we are re-imagining what our physical footprint should look like. While the COVID-19 Pandemic has presented its challenges, it has also presented opportunities, such as with respect to how employees may most effectively work from home. This shift to an at home environment may provide us with an opportunity to more permanently reduce our number of fixed physical locations. For example, we expect a portion of our monitoring and customer service employees to remain in a permanent work from home environment. We believe this will reduce operating expenses while being a significant benefit for our employees, thereby making ADT an even more attractive place to work.
In addition, we have been focused on increasing our market share and penetration in the commercial market, which began with the Red Hawk Acquisition in 2018. While we experienced significant growth in our commercial channel during 2019, our commercial growth was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic during 2020. However, we have now completed our integration of the Red Hawk business, and believe we are poised to return to commercial growth organically and through opportunistic value-add acquisitions.
Available Information
Availability of SEC Reports
Our website is located at https://www.adt.com. Our investor relations website is located at https://investor.adt.com. We make available free of charge on our investor relations website under “Financials” our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, reports filed pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and any amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding our filings at http://www.sec.gov.
Use of Website to Provide Information
From time to time, we have made and expect in the future to use our website as a channel of distribution of material information regarding the Company. Financial and other material information regarding the Company is routinely posted on our website and accessible at https://investor.adt.com. In order to receive notifications regarding new postings to our website, investors are encouraged to enroll on our website to receive automatic email alerts. None of the information on our website is incorporated into this Annual Report.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
In addition to risks and uncertainties in the ordinary course of business that are common to all businesses, important factors that are specific to our industry and the Company could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. You should carefully consider the risks described below and in our subsequent periodic filings with the SEC. The following risk factors should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and related notes in this Annual Report.
Risks Related to Our Products and Services
Our future growth is dependent upon our ability to keep pace with rapid technological and industry changes through a combination of partnerships with third parties, our own internal development, and by acquisition, in order to obtain and maintain new technologies for our products and service introductions that achieve market acceptance with acceptable margins.
Our business operates in markets that are characterized by rapidly changing technologies, evolving industry standards, potential new entrants, and changes in customer needs and expectations. For example, a number of cable and other telecommunications companies and large technology companies with home automation solutions offer interactive and security services that are competitive with our products and services. If these services gain greater market acceptance and traction, our ability to grow our business could be materially and adversely affected. Accordingly, our future success depends in part on our ability to accomplish the following: identify emerging technological trends in our target end-markets; develop, acquire, and maintain competitive products and services that capitalize on existing and emerging trends; enhance our existing products and services by adding innovative features on a timely and cost-effective basis that differentiates us from our competitors; incorporate popular third-party interactive products and services into our product and service offerings; sufficiently capture intellectual property rights in new inventions and other innovations; and develop or acquire and bring products and services, including enhancements, to market quickly and cost-effectively. Our ability to develop, alone or with third parties, or to acquire new products and services that are technologically innovative requires the investment of significant resources and can affect our competitive position. These acquisition and development efforts divert resources from other potential investments in our businesses, and they may not lead to the development of new commercially successful technologies, products, or services on a timely basis.
For example, in July 2020, we entered into the Commercial Agreement with Google pursuant to which Google has agreed to supply us with certain Google devices as well as certain Google video and analytics services and we have agreed, with certain exceptions, to exclusively provide Google end-user video and sensing analytics services and smart-home, security and safety devices to our customers. If Google fails to perform or to provide products that continually meet the demands of our customers, or if we fail to develop products and services that our customers find desirable and in a timely manner, our business will be materially, adversely impacted. In addition, while we are required to use Google exclusively for certain of our product supply, Google can sell the same or similar devices to our competitors who may more successfully commercialize products or services that are competitive to ours, thereby materially harming our business.
In addition, in November 2020, we announced the ongoing development of our ADT-owned next-generation professional security and automation technology platform, which is currently being developed in coordination with Google. Our comprehensive interactive platform is expected to provide customers with a seamless experience across security, life safety, automation, and analytics through a common application. Additionally, our platform is expected to integrate the customer experience, the customer service experience, and back-end support. We may not achieve a successful platform build in a timely manner, within budget, or in a manner that enables the commercialization of products and services that meet the continually evolving demands of our customers. The failure to successfully build a platform will significantly impact our ability to provide commercially viable products and services, and will result in the loss of a substantial amount of investment dollars. In addition, the development of this platform will take management’s time and attention away from other opportunities. A failure to successfully develop this platform could result in a material adverse impact on our business.
Any new or enhanced products and services developed in these manners may not satisfy customer preferences, and potential product failures may cause customers to reject our products and services. As a result, these products and services may not achieve market acceptance, and our brand image could suffer. In addition, our competitors may introduce superior products or business strategies, impairing our brand and the desirability of our products and services, which may cause customers to defer or forego purchases of our products and services, and impacting our ability to charge monthly service fees. If our competitors implement new technologies before we are able to implement them, those competitors may be able to provide more effective products than ours, possibly at lower prices and experience higher adoption rates and popularity. Any delay or failure in the introduction of new or enhanced solutions could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the markets for our products and services may not develop or grow as we anticipate. The failure of our technology, products, or
services to gain market acceptance, the potential for product defects, or the obsolescence of our products and services could significantly reduce our revenue, increase our operating costs, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition to developing and acquiring new technologies and introducing new offerings, we may need, from time to time, to phase out outdated and unsuitable technologies and services. If we are unable to do so on a cost-effective basis, we could experience reduced profits.
We sell our products and services in highly competitive markets, including the home security and automation markets and the commercial fire and security markets, which may result in pressure on our profit margins and limit our ability to maintain or increase the market share of our products and services.
The monitored security industry is highly fragmented and subject to significant competition and pricing pressures. We experience significant competitive pricing pressures on installation, monitoring, and service fees. Several competitors offer installation fees and monitoring fees that match or are lower than ours. Other competitors may charge significantly more for installation, but in many cases, less for monitoring. In addition, cable and telecommunications companies have expanded into the home automation and monitored security industry and are bundling their existing offerings with monitored security services, often at lower monthly monitoring rates.
In many cases, we face competition for direct sales from our independent, third-party authorized dealers, who may offer installation for considerably less than we do in particular markets. We face competition from other providers such as technology and cable and telecommunications companies that may have existing access to and relationships with subscribers and highly recognized brands, which may drive increased awareness of their security/automation offerings relative to ours, have access to greater capital and resources than us, and may spend significantly more on advertising, marketing, and promotional resources, as well as the acquisition of other companies with home automation solution offerings, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to drive awareness and demand for our products and services. In particular, these companies may be able to offer subscribers a lower price by bundling their services. We also face potential competition from DIY products such as SimpliSafe, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Ring, which enable customers to self-monitor and control their environments without third-party involvement through the Internet, text messages, emails, or similar communications, but with the disadvantage that alarm events may go unnoticed. Some DIY providers may also offer professional monitoring with the purchase of their systems and equipment without a contractual commitment, which may be attractive to some customers and put us at a competitive disadvantage. Other DIY providers may offer new internet of things (“IoT”) devices and services with automated features and capabilities that may be appealing to customers. In addition, certain DIY providers have a significantly broader customer base and product offering than us, allowing them to cross-sell interactive and security solutions that are competitive with our offerings to customers who are loyal to the competitor’s brand. Shifts in customer preferences toward DIY systems could increase our attrition rates over time and the risk of accelerated amortization of customer contracts resulting from a declining customer base. In November 2020, we announced our intention to launch a co-branded ADT | Google core professionally installed DIFM offering during the second half of 2021 and a co-branded ADT | Google DIY solution in 2021 having new distribution channels, including retail sales directly to prospective customers. We cannot be certain that either offering will launch successfully, or occur at all, or whether any such co-branded product will be commercially viable. Notwithstanding our new partnership with Google, it is possible that one or more of our competitors could develop a significant technological advantage over us that allows them to provide additional service or better-quality service or to lower their price, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage. Continued pricing pressure, improvements in technology, competitor brand loyalty, and shifts in customer preferences toward self-monitoring and DIY could adversely impact our customer base and/or pricing structure and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We also face competition in the commercial fire and security markets where many of our competitors are large, global industrial companies as well as smaller regional and local companies, which may be positioned to offer products and services at lower cost than us or which may benefit from pre-existing or highly localized relationships and knowledge. Our ability to compete in the commercial fire and security business is also dependent on our ability to acquire and resell third-party products and services demanded by commercial customers, some of which we may not be able to provide. If we fail to build relationships with commercial customers or obtain the rights to resell third-party products and services required by commercial customers, our profitability, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
The retirement of older telecommunications technology such as 3G and CDMA by telecommunications providers and shifts in our customers’ choice of telecommunications services and equipment could materially adversely affect our business, increase customer attrition, and require significant capital expenditures.
Certain elements of our operating model have historically relied on our customers’ continued selection and use of traditional copper wireline telecommunications service to transmit alarm signals to our monitoring centers. There is a growing trend for
customers to switch to the exclusive use of cellular, or IP based technology in their homes and businesses, as telecommunication providers discontinue their copper wireline services in favor of IP-based technology. Many of our customers also have security systems that rely on technology that is not operable with newer cellular networks or IP-based networks, and as such, will not be able to transmit alarm signals on these networks. The discontinuation of copper landline service, older cellular technologies, and other services by telecommunications providers, as well as the switch by customers to the exclusive use of cellular or IP technology, may require system upgrades to alternative, and potentially more expensive, alarm systems to transmit alarm signals and function properly. This could increase our customer revenue attrition, as was the case when we sought to migrate certain customers off of the earlier 2G networks, and slow new customer generation.
We have received notice from the providers of 3G and Code-Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) cellular networks that they will be retiring their 3G and CDMA networks by the first quarter of 2022. One carrier that sunset CDMA in 2019 has agreed to continue to provide such service only until the end of 2022. As of December 31, 2020, we provided services to approximately 1.9 million customer sites that transmit signals via 3G or CDMA networks. A failure to effectively transition these customers away from retiring networks would result in a loss of signal to the systems and services we provide, which may result in a loss of related recurring monthly revenue. Implementation of additional service charges in connection with our transition plans, may cause customers to view such charges unfavorably, which could cause customer attrition to increase. If we are unable to upgrade cellular equipment at customer sites to meet new network standards prior to the retirement of 3G and CDMA networks, or to respond to other changes carriers are or may make to their networks in a timely and cost-effective manner, whether due to an insufficient supply of electronic components or parts, an insufficient skilled labor force, or due to any other reason, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, could be materially adversely affected.
During November 2020, we acquired Cell Bounce, a technology company with proprietary radio conversion technology in the form of a user-installable device, which is expected to allow for the transition of customers on 3G networks in a cost efficient and timely manner. The Cell Bounce technology is unproven on a large commercial scale and any long term failure in the technology or inability to install the technology in a cost effective and timely manner, including as a result of the unwillingness of customers to self-install the device, or their prolonged delay in doing so, would result in a loss of our investment to date to acquire and integrate Cell Bounce into our operations and could have a material, adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In November 2017, as part of the FCC’s efforts to facilitate the transition from traditional copper-based wireline networks to IP-based fiber broadband networks, the FCC repealed its rules requiring telecommunications carriers to provide direct advanced public notice to consumers of the retirement of copper-based wireline networks. Many of our customers rely solely on copper-based telephone networks to transmit alarm signals from their premises to our monitoring stations. Since some customer alarm systems are not compatible with IP-based communication paths, we will be required to upgrade or install new technologies, which may include the need to subsidize the replacement of the customers’ outdated systems at our expense. The carrier’s ability to retire copper-based wireline networks without advanced notice could lead to customer confusion and impede our ability to timely transfer customers to new network technologies. Any technology upgrades or implementations could require significant capital expenditures, may increase our attrition rates, and may also divert management and other resource attention away from customer service and sales efforts for new customers. In the future, we may not be able to successfully implement new technologies or adapt existing technologies to changing market demands. If we are unable to adapt in a timely manner to changing technologies, market conditions or customer preferences, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, we use broadband Internet access service to support our product offerings, such as video monitoring and surveillance, and as a communications option for alarm monitoring and other services. Video monitoring and surveillance services use significantly more bandwidth than non-video Internet activity. As utilization rates and penetration of these services increase, the need for increased network capacity will necessitate our incurring significant capital expenditures to avoid service disruptions as well as ensure a seamless video experience for our customers, which could materially, adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Police departments could refuse to respond to calls from monitored security service companies.
Police departments in certain jurisdictions do not respond to calls from monitored security service companies unless certain conditions are met, such as video or other verification or eyewitness accounts of suspicious activities, either as a matter of policy or by local ordinance. We offer video verification in certain jurisdictions which increases costs of some security systems, which may increase costs to customers. As an alternative to video cameras in some jurisdictions, we have offered affected customers the option of receiving response from private guard companies, at least as an initial means to verify suspicious activities. In most cases this is accomplished through contracts with private guard companies, which increases the overall cost to customers. If more police departments were to refuse to respond or be prohibited from responding to calls from monitored security service companies unless certain conditions are met, such as video or other verification or eyewitness accounts of
suspicious activities, our ability to attract and retain customers could be negatively impacted and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Our reputation as a service provider of high-quality security offerings may be materially adversely affected by product defects or shortfalls in customer service.
Our business depends on our reputation and ability to maintain good relationships with our subscribers, dealers, suppliers, and local regulators, among others. Our reputation may be harmed either through product defects, such as the failure of one or more of our subscribers’ alarm systems, or shortfalls in customer service. Subscribers generally judge our performance through their interactions with the staff at the monitoring and customer care centers, dealers, and technicians who perform on-site installation and maintenance services, as well as their day to day interactions with the product and the mobile application. Any failure to meet subscribers’ expectations in such customer service areas could cause an increase in attrition rates or make it difficult to recruit new subscribers. Any harm to our reputation or subscriber relationships caused by the actions of our dealers, personnel, or third-party product or service providers or any other factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If the insurance industry changes its practice of providing incentives to homeowners for the use of alarm monitoring services, we may experience a reduction in new customer growth or an increase in our subscriber attrition rate.
It has been common practice in the insurance industry to provide a reduction in rates for policies written on homes that have monitored alarm systems. There can be no assurance that insurance companies will continue to offer these rate reductions. If these incentives were reduced or eliminated, new homeowners who otherwise might not feel the need for alarm monitoring services would be removed from our potential customer pool, which could hinder the growth of our business, and existing subscribers may choose to disconnect or not renew their service contracts, which could increase our attrition rates. In either case, our growth prospects and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We have invested and will continue to invest in new businesses, services, and technologies outside the traditional security and interactive services market, which is inherently risky and could disrupt our current operations.
We have invested and will continue to invest in new businesses, products, services, and technologies beyond traditional security and interactive services. Our investments may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including capital loss on some or all of our investments, insufficient revenue from such investments to offset any new liabilities assumed and expenses associated with these new investments, distraction of management from current operations, and issues not identified during pre-investment planning and due diligence that could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such investments and incur unanticipated liabilities. Since these investments are inherently risky, these new businesses, products, services, and technologies may not be successful and as a result, may materially adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Unauthorized use of our brand names by third parties, and the expenses incurred in developing and preserving the value of our brand names, may materially adversely affect our business.
Our brand names are critical to our success. Unauthorized use of our brand names by third parties may materially adversely affect our business and reputation, including the perceived quality and reliability of our products and services. We rely on trademark law, company brand name protection policies, and agreements with our employees, customers, business partners, and others to protect the value of our brand names. Despite our precautions, we cannot provide assurance that those procedures are sufficiently effective to protect against unauthorized third-party use of our brand names. In particular, in recent years, various third parties have used our brand names to engage in fraudulent activities, including unauthorized telemarketing conducted in our names to induce our existing customers to switch to competing monitoring service providers, lead generation activities for competitors, and obtaining personally identifiable or personal financial information. Third parties sometimes use our names and trademarks, or other confusingly similar variances thereof, in other contexts that may impact our brands. We may not be successful in detecting, investigating, preventing, or prosecuting all unauthorized third-party use of our brand names. Future litigation with respect to such unauthorized use could also result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. These factors could materially adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Third parties hold rights to certain of our key brand names outside of the U.S.
Our success depends in part on our continued ability to use trademarks to capitalize on our brands’ name-recognition and to further develop our brands in the U.S, as well as in other international markets should we choose to expand and continue to grow our business outside of the U.S. in the future. Not all of the trademarks that are used by our brands have been registered in
all of the countries in which we may do business in the future, and some trademarks may never be registered in any or all of these countries. Rights in trademarks are generally territorial in nature and are obtained on a country-by-country basis by the first person to obtain protection through use or registration in that country in connection with specified products and services. Some countries’ laws do not protect unregistered trademarks at all, or make them more difficult to enforce, and third parties may have filed for “ADT,” “PROTECTION ONE,” or similar marks in countries where we have not registered these brands as trademarks. Accordingly, we may not be able to adequately protect our brands everywhere in the world and use of such brands may result in liability for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, or unfair competition.
In particular, certain trademarks associated with the ADT brand, including “ADT” and the blue octagon, are owned in all territories outside of the U.S and Canada by Johnson Controls, which acquired and merged with and into Tyco. In certain instances, such trademarks are licensed in certain territories outside the U.S. and Canada by Johnson Controls to third parties. Pursuant to a trademark agreement entered into between The ADT Corporation and Tyco (the “Tyco Trademark Agreement”) in connection with the separation of The ADT Corporation from Tyco in 2012, which endures in perpetuity, we are prohibited from ever registering, attempting to register or using such trademarks outside the U.S. (including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) and Canada, and we may not challenge Tyco’s rights in such trademarks outside the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, under the Tyco Trademark Agreement, we and Tyco each has the right to propose new secondary source indicators (e.g., “Pulse”) to become designated source indicators of such party. To qualify as a designated source indicator, certain specified criteria must be met, including that the indicator has not been used as a material indicator by the non-proposing party or its affiliates over the previous seven years. If we are unable to object to Tyco’s proposal for a new designated source indicator by successfully asserting that the new indicator did not meet the requisite criteria, we would subsequently be precluded from using, registering, or attempting to register such indicator in any jurisdiction, including the U.S. and Canada, whether alone or in connection with an ADT brand. While we and Tyco are each required to (i) adhere to specified quality control standards with respect to the use of the subject trademarks in their respective jurisdictions, (ii) cooperate with respect to enforcement in their respective territories, and (iii) cooperate to avoid and correct any potential or actual customer confusion over the proper ownership of the ADT brand in any particular territory, it is nonetheless possible that dilution, infringement, or customer confusion may result from the arrangement, which could materially adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, in November 2019, we sold all of our shares of ADT Canada to TELUS. In connection with the sale of ADT Canada, we and TELUS, among other things, entered into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement pursuant to which we agreed not to directly or indirectly engage in a business competitive with ADT Canada, subject to limited exceptions for cross-border commercial customers and mobile safety applications, for a period of seven years. In connection with our sale of ADT Canada, we also entered into a patent and trademark license agreement with TELUS granting them (i) the use of our patents in Canada for a period of seven years and (ii) the exclusive rights to use our trademarks in Canada for a period of five years followed by non-exclusive use of our trademarks for an additional two years. Any violation by TELUS of our agreements with them, or their misuse of our intellectual property or behavior by TELUS in a manner that incorrectly reflects poorly on us because of TELUS’s use of our intellectual property could damage our brand and reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Operations
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had and could continue to have a significant negative impact on our employees, our customers, our suppliers, and our ability to carry on our normal operations given its impact on the economy generally, as well as the resulting “shelter in place” and other operational requirements we have or must continue to adhere to, or which could be reinstituted upon a re-emergence of COVID-19 in a particular jurisdiction, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on all aspects of our business. This includes the health of our employees, the protection of our customers, and our ability to continue to operate all aspects of our operations. Our employees are susceptible to COVID-19 in the ordinary course of their work. While we seek to protect our employees’ health through various initiatives, we cannot be certain that our employees will not contract COVID-19, be required to quarantine as a result of coming in contact with others who have the disease, or be unable to work in order to care for someone with the disease. Any such instances, whether on a large scale basis or concentrated in any one area of the business could result in legal claims and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The health and safety of our customers is also a top priority and we similarly take precautions to protect their health and well-being. The refusal of customers to allow us to enter their residences or businesses due to the fear of COVID-19 could have a material impact on our business, and the spreading of the disease between our customers and our employees could interrupt our operations, result in legal claims and damage our brand. Any such result could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We rely on monitoring centers and customer care centers as an integral part of our ongoing business operations. While we have taken steps to enable the majority of the employees who staff these operations to conduct their jobs from home, the closure of any such site or the widespread illness of the employees remaining in any such site could result in a material disruption to our business. Similarly, our work from home environment could subject us to the failure of the communications networks serving our employees which we no longer control and who may not have sufficient back up capabilities. In addition, this work from home environment results in more home access points that are susceptible to cybersecurity attacks, such as computer hacking, computer viruses, worms or other malicious software or malicious activities. In addition, our monitoring centers are listed by U.L. and must meet certain requirements to maintain that listing. Permitting some of our monitoring center or customer care center employees to work from home during the duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic or for any period of time or permanently thereafter may impact our U.L. listing and our ability to provide our services in situations where a U.L. listing is required or otherwise negatively impact the customer experience. Our employees who work from home may also experience a decrease in the quality of job performance, whether immediate or over time. Any such impact with respect to our employees who are working from home could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Any continued widespread growth in infections could also result in additional, or the re-institution of prior, travel restrictions or “shelter-in-place” mandates that further impact the ability of our employees to reach our operations, be available to install new or repair existing systems within residential homes or commercial operations, or to enter such homes or commercial operations. Such inability to access residences, or any unwillingness of customers to allow us to enter their sites, to proactively continue our program to replace the 3G and CDMA cellular equipment used in many of our security systems could also negatively impact the pace of our 3G and CDMA radio replacement program, which could impair our ability to convert all of those radios across our system by the applicable technology sunset dates. In addition, the continuation of infections has resulted, and could continue to result, in a change in policy of emergency responders in certain jurisdictions who have declined, and may continue temporarily or permanently to decline, to respond to certain verified or non-verified burglar alarm calls from our monitoring centers or from our employees who are working from home, and restrictions on business operations may continue, or be re-instituted, or expand in certain jurisdictions with only limited exceptions. Such restrictions, which could impact us directly should we fail to fall within a permissible exception, and which could also result in future sustained business closures among our customer and potential customer bases, would magnify the negative impact already experienced across our operations and, most significantly, within our commercial operations. Any of the foregoing impacts on our employees, first responders, customers, operations, or business generally, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our dealers and suppliers may be similarly impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our indirect channel customers are generated mainly through our network of agreements with third-party independent alarm dealers who sell alarm equipment and ADT Authorized Dealer-branded monitoring and interactive services to end users. These dealers face many of the same challenges we face due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the impact on their respective employees, customers and operations generally. These dealers may not have sufficient financial strength or operational diversity to enable them to maintain their operations throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. We may also find that it is difficult or impossible to receive equipment from our suppliers or that we have an impaired ability to deliver products and services to customers, or to even make repairs, on a timely basis. If we experience such disruptions, we may experience customer dissatisfaction and potential loss of confidence, and liabilities to customers or other third parties, each of which could harm our reputation and impact future revenues from these customers. We could also be subject to claims or litigation with respect to losses caused by such disruptions. Our property and business interruption insurance and our cyber liability insurance may not be sufficient to fully cover these losses, or any of the other losses we may experience as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of which we may not even be able to contemplate or quantify at this time, and such insurance may not cover a particular event at all. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has also caused significant disruption to and volatility within the financial markets. A long-term refusal of residential or commercial customers to allow us to access their premises, significant cancellations or non-payment of accounts, or an inability to obtain new customers, could impact our liquidity. We may not be able to timely access the financial markets or be able to do so on terms that are favorable to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are also concerned with the impacts that have and could continue to result as cases of COVID-19 re-emerge in jurisdictions which have and will continue to reopen for business and / or no longer require social distancing. COVID-19 cases have increased significantly in many jurisdictions that have re-opened, prompting new restrictions. Even if current containment efforts or a successful vaccine lead to dramatic reductions in COVID-19 cases, we are also concerned with the uncertainty around the subsequent re-emergence or mutation of COVID-19. If individuals cease to undertake appropriate protective measures or if any vaccine proves ineffective in the long term or is not commercially available to the entire population, a re-emergence of COVID-19 could cause additional significant disruptions in the economy continuing into the future, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The COVID-19 Pandemic may also exacerbate the other risks noted in this Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” including, but not limited to: our ability to comply with the terms of our indebtedness, our ability to generate revenues, earn profits and maintain adequate liquidity, our ability to service existing and attract new customers, our ability to maintain our overall competitiveness in the market, the potential for significant fluctuations in demand for our services, overall industry trends impacting our business, as well as potential volatility in our stock price.
We rely on a significant number of our customers remaining with us as customers for long periods of time.
We operate our business with the goal of retaining customers for long periods of time to recoup our initial investment in new customers, generally achieving revenue break-even in less than two and a half years. Accordingly, our long-term profitability is dependent on long customer tenure. This requires that we minimize our rate of customer disconnects, or attrition. Factors that can increase disconnects include customer relocations, problems experienced with our product or service quality, customer service, customer non-pay, unfavorable general economic conditions, and the preference for lower pricing of competitors’ products and services over ours. If we fail to keep our customers for a sufficiently long period of time, our profitability, business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In addition, if attrition rates were to rise significantly, we may be required to accelerate the depreciation and amortization expense for, or to impair, certain of our assets, which would cause a material adverse effect on our financial condition, and results of operations.
Failure to successfully upgrade, integrate, and maintain the security of our information and technology networks, including personally identifiable information and other data, could materially adversely affect us.
We are dependent on information technology networks and systems, including Internet and Internet-based or “cloud” computing services, to collect, process, transmit, and store electronic information. We have completed a significant number of acquisitions of companies that operate different technology platforms and systems. We are currently implementing modifications and upgrades to our information technology systems and also integrating systems from our various acquisitions, including making changes to legacy systems, replacing legacy systems with successor systems with new functionality, and implementing new systems. Any delay in making such changes or replacements or in purchasing new systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. There are inherent costs and risks associated with integrating, replacing and changing these systems and implementing new systems, including potential disruption of our sales, operations and customer service functions, potential disruption of our internal control structure, substantial capital expenditures, additional administration and operating expenses, retention of sufficiently skilled personnel to integrate, implement and operate the new systems, demands on management time, and other risks and costs of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems or of integrating new systems into our current systems. In addition, our information technology system implementations may not result in productivity improvements at a level that outweighs the costs of implementation, or at all. The implementation of or delay in implementing new information technology systems may also cause disruptions in our business operations, impede our ability to comply with constantly evolving laws, regulations and industry standards addressing information and technology networks, privacy and data security, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Due to the ever-changing threat landscape, our products may be subject to potential vulnerabilities of wireless and IoT devices, and our services may be subject to certain risks, including hacking or other unauthorized access to control or view systems and obtain private information.
Companies that collect and retain sensitive and confidential information are under increasing attack by cybercriminals and other actors around the world. While we implement security measures within our products, services, operations, and other actors’ systems, those measures may not prevent cybersecurity breaches; the access, capture, or alteration of information by criminals; the exposure or exploitation of potential security vulnerabilities; distributed denial of service attacks; the installation of malware or ransomware; acts of vandalism; computer viruses; or misplaced data or data loss that could be detrimental to our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Third parties, including our partners and vendors, could also be a source of security risk to us in the event of a failure of their own products, components, networks, security systems, and infrastructure. In addition, we cannot be certain that advances in criminal capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, or other developments will not compromise or breach the technology protecting the networks that access our products and services.
A significant actual or perceived (whether or not valid) theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, employee, or other personally identifiable data, whether by us, our partners and vendors, or other third parties, or as a result of employee error or malfeasance or otherwise, non-compliance with applicable industry standards or our contractual or other legal obligations regarding such data, or a violation of our privacy and information security policies with respect to such data, could result in costs, fines, litigation, or regulatory actions against us. Such an event could additionally result in unfavorable publicity and therefore materially and adversely affect the market’s perception of the security and reliability of our services and our
credibility and reputation with our customers, which may lead to customer dissatisfaction and could result in lost sales and increased customer revenue attrition.
In addition, we depend on our information technology infrastructure for business-to-business and business-to-consumer electronic commerce. Security breaches of, or sustained attacks against, this infrastructure could create system disruptions and shutdowns that could negatively impact our operations. Increasingly, our products and services are accessed through the Internet, and security breaches in connection with the delivery of our services via the Internet may affect us and could be detrimental to our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We continue to invest in new and emerging technology and other solutions to protect our network and information systems, but there can be no assurance that these investments and solutions will prevent any of the risks described above. In addition, any delay in making such investments due to conflicting budget priorities or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. While we maintain cyber liability insurance that provides both third-party liability and first-party insurance coverages, our insurance may not be sufficient to protect against all of our losses from any future disruptions or breaches of our systems or other event as described above.
We depend on third-party providers and suppliers for components of our security and automation systems, third-party software licenses for our products and services, and third-party providers to transmit signals to our monitoring facilities and provide other services to our subscribers. Any failure or interruption in products or services provided by these third parties could harm our ability to operate our business.
The components for the security and automation systems that we install are manufactured by third parties. We are therefore susceptible to interruptions in supply and to the receipt of components that do not meet our standards. Our suppliers may be susceptible to disruptions from fire, natural disasters, weather and the effects of climate change (such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, and increased storm severity), pandemics, malicious acts, terrorism, government action, or other concerns impacting their local workforce, all of which are beyond our and their control. Any financial or other difficulties our providers face may have negative effects on our business. We exercise no control over our suppliers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the products and services they provide or to their choice of which companies they will allow to sell their products. We are also aware that there exists a worldwide shortage of electronic components, that lead times for such components is increasing, and that existing commitments by certain manufacturers are being extended and, in certain cases, allocations are being made. While a single cause of the shortages has not been identified, it is believed that among other reasons, there has been a surge in demand for such components and exponential growth in certain sectors which rely on such components, and these trends may continue and increase. Certain of our key suppliers have begun to see the impact on their ability to obtain certain components which could present challenges to our ability to obtain the inventory necessary to meet the demands of our new and existing customers, and to complete crucial initiatives such as the upgrading of cellular equipment at customer sites to meet new network standards prior to the retirement of 3G and CDMA networks. While we strive to utilize dual-sourcing methods to allow similar hardware components for our security systems to be interchangeable to minimize the risk of a disruption from a single supplier, any interruption in supply could cause delays in installations and repairs and the loss of current and potential customers. Also, if a previously installed component were found to be defective, we might not be able to recover the costs associated with its repair or replacement across our installed customer base, and these costs, or the diversion of technical personnel to address the defect could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In the event of a product recall or litigation against our suppliers or us, we could experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We rely on third-party software for key automation features in certain of our offerings and on the interoperation of that software with our own, such as our mobile applications and related platform. We could experience service disruptions if customer usage patterns for such offerings exceed, or are otherwise outside of, design parameters for the system and the ability for us or our third-party provider to make corrections. Such interruptions in the provision of services could result in our inability to meet customer demand, damage our reputation and customer relationships, and materially and adversely affect our business. We also rely on certain software technology that we license from third parties and use in our products and services to perform key functions and provide critical functionality. For example, we license the software platform for our monitoring operations from third parties. Because a number of our products and services incorporate technology developed and maintained by third parties, we are, to a certain extent, dependent upon such third parties’ ability to update, maintain, or enhance their current products and services; to ensure that their products are free of defects or security vulnerabilities; to develop new products and services on a timely and cost-effective basis; and to respond to emerging industry standards, customer preferences, and other technological changes. Further, these third-party technology licenses may not always be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If our agreements with third-party vendors are not renewed or the third-party software becomes obsolete, is incompatible with future versions of our products or services, or otherwise fails to address our needs, we cannot provide assurance that we would be able to replace the functionality provided by the third-party software with technology from alternative providers. Furthermore, even if we obtain licenses to alternative software products or services that provide the functionality we need, we may be required to replace hardware installed at our monitoring centers and at our customers’ sites, including security system
control panels and peripherals, in order to execute our integration of or migration to alternative software products. Any of these factors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We also rely on various third-party telecommunications providers and signal processing centers to transmit and communicate signals to our monitoring facility in a timely and consistent manner. These telecommunications providers and signal processing centers could deprioritize or fail to transmit or communicate these signals to the monitoring facility for many reasons, including disruptions from fire, natural disasters, weather and the effects of climate change (such as flooding, wildfires, and increased storm severity), transmission interruption, malicious acts, provider preference, government action, or terrorism. The failure of one or more of these telecommunications providers or signal processing centers to transmit and communicate signals to the monitoring facility in a timely manner could affect our ability to provide alarm monitoring, home automation, and interactive services to our subscribers. We also rely on third-party technology companies to provide automation and interactive services to our customers. These technology companies could fail to provide these services consistently, or at all, which could result in our inability to meet customer demand and damage our reputation. There can be no assurance that third-party telecommunications providers, signal processing centers, and other technology companies will continue to transmit and communicate signals to the monitoring facility or provide home automation and interactive services to subscribers without disruption. Any such failure or disruption, particularly one of a prolonged duration, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic could impact any or all of the third party providers and suppliers on whom we rely. While the full impact of this disease and worldwide reaction to it are not fully known, any disruption of such providers and suppliers caused by this disease could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
An event causing a disruption in the ability of our monitoring facilities or customer care resources to operate could materially adversely affect our business.
A disruption in our ability to provide security monitoring services and otherwise serve our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business. A disruption could occur for many reasons, including fire, natural disasters, weather and the effects of climate change (such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, and increased storm severity), health epidemics or pandemics, transportation interruption, extended power outages, human or other error, war, terrorism, sabotage, or other conflicts, or as a result of disruptions to internal and external networks or third-party transmission lines. Monitoring and customer care could also be disrupted by information systems and network-related events or cybersecurity attacks, such as computer hacking, computer viruses, worms or other malicious software, distributed denial of service attacks, malicious social engineering, or other destructive or disruptive activities that could also cause damage to our properties, equipment, and data. While our monitoring centers are redundant, a failure of our back-up procedures or a disruption affecting multiple monitoring facilities could disrupt our ability to provide security monitoring services to our customers. These events could also make it difficult or impossible to receive equipment from suppliers or impair our ability to deliver products and services to customers on a timely basis. If we experience such disruptions, we may experience customer dissatisfaction and potential loss of confidence, and liabilities to customers or other third parties, each of which could harm our reputation and impact future revenues from these customers. We could also be subject to claims or litigation with respect to losses caused by such disruptions. Our property and business interruption insurance and our cyber liability insurance may not be sufficient to fully cover our losses or may not cover a particular event at all. During 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we took steps to enable the majority of the employees who staff our monitoring and customer care facilities to conduct their jobs remotely, which could subject us to the failure of the communications networks serving our employees which we no longer control and who may not have sufficient back up capabilities. In addition, this remote working environment results in more home access points that are susceptible to cybersecurity attacks, such as computer hacking, computer viruses, worms or other malicious software or malicious activities. In addition, the COVID-19 Pandemic could lead to disruptions in our supply chain, causing shortages or unavailability of equipment necessary to install or repair systems and to maintain our monitoring and customer care facilities. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our independent, third-party authorized dealers may not be able to mitigate certain risks such as information technology breaches, data security breaches, product liability, errors and omissions, and marketing compliance.
We generate a portion of our new customers through our authorized dealer network. We rely on independent, third-party authorized dealers to implement mitigation plans for certain risks they may experience, including, but not limited to, information technology breaches, data security breaches, product liability, errors and omissions, and marketing compliance. If our authorized dealers experience any of these risks, or fail to implement mitigation plans for their risks, or if such implemented mitigation plans are inadequate or fail, we may be susceptible to business, legal, or reputational risks associated with our authorized dealers on which we rely to generate customers. Any interruption or permanent disruption in the generation of customer accounts or services provided by our authorized dealers could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We may pursue business opportunities that diverge from our current business model, which may materially adversely affect our business results.
We may pursue business opportunities that diverge from our current business model, including expanding our products or service offerings, investing in new and unproven technologies, adding customer acquisition channels, and forming new alliances with companies to market our services. We can provide no assurance that any such business opportunities will prove to be successful. Among other negative effects, our pursuit of such business opportunities could cause our cost of investment in new customers to grow at a faster rate than our recurring revenue and fees collected at the time of installation. In addition, any new business partner may not agree to the terms and conditions or limitations on liability that we typically impose upon third parties. Acquisitions in recent years have also significantly expanded our risk profile. We have acquired companies which provide cybersecurity services for business customers and as companies are under increasing attack by cybercriminals around the world, a breach by such cybercriminals of our customers’ systems or operations could result in claims and lawsuits against us and result in damage to our brand and reputation. We have also acquired several companies that sell and service fire and integrated security systems to business customers, which significantly expanded our commercial fire and security capabilities, reach, and customer base. In addition, as we expand our products and services to larger commercial installations, we may have customers who experience large commercial losses that result in claims and lawsuits against us and result in damage to our brand and reputation. In January 2020, we acquired Defenders, which was our largest authorized dealer in 2019. While this acquisition expands our direct go-to-market operations, we cannot be certain that we can maintain the level of new account generation through Defenders as was achieved through Defenders prior to the acquisition or that we can maintain as effective a third-party dealer model, having removed our largest dealer from this sales channel. We are also currently exploring the option of offering certain of our monitoring and cybersecurity services under non-ADT brands to international markets outside of the U.S. Additionally, any new alliances or customer acquisition channels could require developmental investments or have higher cost structures than our current arrangements, which could reduce operating margins and require more working capital. In the event that working capital requirements exceed operating cash flow, we could be required to draw on our revolving credit facility, or pursue other external financing, which may not be readily available. Any of these factors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We continue to integrate our acquisitions, which may divert management’s attention from our ongoing operations. We may not achieve all of the anticipated benefits, synergies, or cost savings from our acquisitions.
Our acquisitions require the integration of many separate companies that have previously operated independently. While the integration of our acquisitions with our business and systems is ongoing, the anticipated financial and operational benefits, including increased revenues, synergies, and cost savings depends in part on our ability to successfully combine and integrate our acquisitions with our other business. There can be no assurance regarding the extent to which we will be able to realize increased revenues, synergies, cost savings, or other benefits from our acquisitions. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame and we may not realize all of these anticipated benefits.
The continued integration of operations, products, and personnel from our acquisitions will continue to require the attention of our management and place demands on other internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention, and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, the overall continued integration of our acquired businesses may result in material unanticipated problems, expenses, liabilities, competitive responses, and loss of customer relationships. The difficulties of combining the operations of the companies may generally include, among others:
•difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, business opportunities, and growth prospects from the combination;
•difficulties in the integration of operations and systems;
•difficulties in replacing numerous systems, including those involving management information, purchasing, accounting and finance, sales, billing, employee benefits, payroll, data privacy, physical security, cyber security, and regulatory compliance, many of which may be dissimilar;
•conforming standards, controls, procedures, accounting and other policies, equipment ownership models, business cultures, and compensation structures;
•difficulties in establishing a SOX compliant control environment across all companies;
•difficulties which may arise from matters not revealed or understood in the pre-acquisition diligence process such as external and internal threats and vulnerabilities in systems, websites or products and other cyber-related concerns, theft of data or other assets of the acquired company, legacy claims in tax, litigation or otherwise of the acquired company;
•difficulties in the assimilation of employees, including possible culture conflicts and different opinions on technical decisions and product roadmaps;
•difficulties in managing the expanded operations of a significantly larger and more complex company;
•challenges in keeping existing customers and obtaining new customers;
•challenges in gaining acceptance of the acquisition within the investment community;
•challenges in attracting and retaining key personnel, particularly with acquired businesses having rates of employee attrition that are significantly higher than our own;
•challenges in ensuring the sales practices of acquired businesses conform to the regulatory environment within which we operate, including, among others, with respect to marketing and sales practices;
•coordinating a geographically dispersed organization; and
•challenges with ensuring that environmental, social and governance or corporate social responsibility policies of acquired companies are in compliance with ADT’s policies and practices.
In addition, we continue to integrate the financial reporting systems and processes of various companies we have acquired. Successfully implementing our business plan and complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations requires us to be able to prepare timely and accurate consolidated financial statements. Any delay in this implementation of, or disruption in, the transition to new or enhanced systems, procedures, or controls, may cause us to present restatements or cause our operations to suffer, and we may be unable to conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective and to obtain an unqualified report on internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm.
While we have not experienced any material difficulties to date in connection with integrating our acquisitions, many of these factors are outside our control and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues, and further diversion of management’s time and energy, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our customer generation strategies through third parties, including our authorized dealer and affinity marketing programs, and our use of celebrities and social media influencers, and the competitive market for customer accounts may expose us to risk and affect our future profitability.
An element of our business strategy is the generation of new customer accounts through third parties, including our authorized dealers, which authorized dealers accounted for approximately one-fourth of our new customer accounts for 2020. Our future operating results will depend in large part on our ability to continue to manage this business generation strategy effectively. We currently generate accounts through hundreds of independent third parties, including authorized dealers, and a significant portion of our accounts originate from a smaller number of such third parties. We experience loss of third-party sales partnerships, including authorized dealers from our authorized dealer program, due to various factors, such as dealers and third parties becoming inactive or discontinuing their electronic security business, non-renewal of our dealer and sales generation contracts, and competition from other alarm monitoring companies. If we experience a loss of authorized dealers or third-party sellers representing a significant portion of our customer account generation, or if we are unable to replace or recruit authorized dealers, other third-party sellers, or alternate distribution channel partners in accordance with our business strategy, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, we are subject to reputational risks that may arise from the actions of our dealers and their employees, independent contractors, and other agents that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such as violations of our marketing policies and procedures as well as any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If our dealers engage in marketing practices
that are not in compliance with local laws and regulations, we may be in breach of such laws and regulations, which may result in regulatory proceedings and potential penalties that could materially impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, unauthorized activities in connection with sales efforts by employees, independent contractors, and other agents or our dealers, including calling consumers in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and predatory door-to-door sales tactics and fraudulent misrepresentations, could subject us to governmental investigations and class action lawsuits for, among others, false advertising and deceptive trade practice damage claims, against which we will be required to defend. Such defense efforts will be costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that such defense efforts will be successful, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The successful promotion of our brands also depends on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and on our ability to offer member discounts and special offers for our products and services to our partners. We have actively pursued affinity marketing programs, which provide members of participating organizations with special offers on our products and services. The organizations with which we have affinity marketing programs typically closely monitor their relationships with us, as well as their members’ satisfaction with our products and services. These organizations may require us to pay higher fees to them, decrease our pricing for their members, introduce additional competitive options, or otherwise alter the terms of our participation in their marketing programs in ways that are unfavorable to us. These organizations may also terminate their relationships with us if we fail to meet contract service levels and/ or member satisfaction standards, among other things. If any of our affinity or marketing relationships is terminated or altered in an unfavorable manner, we may lose a source of sales leads, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We also rely on marketing by social media influencers and celebrity spokespersons that represent the ADT brand to generate new customers. The promotion of our brand, products and services by social media influencers and celebrities is subject to FTC regulations, including the requirement to disclose any compensatory arrangements between ADT and the influencer in any reviews or public statements by the influencer about ADT or our products and services. These social media influencers and celebrities, with whom we maintain relationships, could also engage in activities or behaviors or use their platforms to communicate directly with our customers in a manner that violates applicable regulations or reflects poorly on our brand and may be attributed to us or otherwise adversely affect us, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In connection with the promotion of ADT’s brand by influences and celebrities, ADT is also subject to an FTC consent decree from 2014 which requires adherence to a robust internal compliance process. Any failure to adhere to such compliance process could result in financial penalties.
We face risks in acquiring and integrating customer accounts.
An element of our business strategy may involve the bulk acquisition of customer accounts. Acquisitions of customer accounts involve a number of special risks, including the possibility of unexpectedly high rates of attrition and unanticipated deficiencies in the accounts and systems acquired despite our investigations prior to acquisition. We face competition from other alarm monitoring companies, including companies that may offer higher prices and more favorable terms for customer accounts purchased, and/or lower minimum financial or operational qualification or requirements for purchased accounts. This competition could reduce the acquisition opportunities available to us, slowing our rate of growth, and/or increase the price we pay for such account acquisitions, thus reducing our return on investment and negatively impacting our revenue and results of operations. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to purchase customer accounts on favorable terms in the future.
The purchase price we pay for customer accounts is affected by the recurring revenue historically generated by such accounts, as well as several other factors, including the level of competition, our prior experience with accounts purchased in bulk from specific sellers, the geographic location of accounts, the number of accounts purchased, the customers’ credit scores, and the type of security or automation equipment or platform used by the customers. In purchasing accounts, we have relied on management’s knowledge of the industry, due diligence procedures, and representations and warranties of bulk account sellers. We can provide no assurance that in all instances the representations and warranties made by bulk account sellers are true and complete or, if the representations and warranties are inaccurate, that we will be able to recover damages from bulk account sellers in an amount sufficient to fully compensate us for any resulting losses. In addition, we may need to incorporate and maintain specialized equipment and knowledge in order to service customer accounts purchased, or pay to upgrade such customers to ADT equipment. If any of these risks materialize, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
If we are unable to recruit and retain key personnel, our ability to manage our business could be materially and adversely affected.
Our success will depend in part upon the continued services of key talent, including, our management team, sales representatives, installation and service technicians and call center talent. Our ability to recruit and retain key talent for management, sales, technician and call center positions could be impacted adversely by the competitive labor environment and
require us to pay wages and incur other costs in excess of our planned expenditure. In addition, we may acquire businesses from time to time that have rates of employee attrition significantly higher than our own and we may experience difficulty or delay in hiring to fill positions at these higher rates or in bringing the employee attrition rate of such acquired businesses to a level consistent with our own. The loss, incapacity, or unavailability for any reason of key members of our management team, higher than expected payroll and other costs associated with the hiring and retention of key talent and the inability or delay in hiring new key employees, such as, sales, technician and call center personnel, could materially adversely affect our ability to manage our business and our future operational and financial results.
The loss of or changes to our senior management could disrupt our business.
Our senior management is important to the success of our business and there is significant competition for executive talent with experience in the security and home automation industry. As a result, we may not be able to retain our existing senior management. Our future success will partly depend on our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. James D. DeVries’ ability, along with the ability of other senior management and key employees, to effectively implement our business strategies. In addition, we may not be able to fill new positions or vacancies created by expansion or turnover. The loss of any member of our senior management team or changes in strategy or execution as a result of their replacement (either from inside or outside our existing management team) could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Adverse developments in our relationship with our employees could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
As of December 31, 2020, approximately 1,490 of our employees at various sites, or approximately 7% of our total workforce, were represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. We are currently a party to approximately 28 collective bargaining agreements. Almost one-third of these agreements are up for renewal in any given year. We cannot predict the outcome of negotiations of the collective bargaining agreements covering our employees. If we are unable to reach new agreements or renew existing agreements, employees subject to collective bargaining agreements may engage in strikes, work slowdowns, or other labor actions, which could materially disrupt our ability to provide services. New labor agreements or the renewal of existing agreements may impose significant new costs on us, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in the future.
If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor confidence in our business and the trading prices of our securities.
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 a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If material weaknesses in our internal controls are discovered, they may adversely affect our ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information timely and accurately and, as a result, our financial statements may contain material misstatements or omissions.
In addition, it is possible that control deficiencies could be identified by our management or by our independent registered public accounting firm in the future or may occur without being identified. Such a failure could result in regulatory scrutiny, and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial condition, lead to a default under our indebtedness and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations.
Risks Related to Regulations and Litigation
If we fail to comply with constantly evolving laws, regulations, and industry standards addressing information and technology networks, privacy, and data security, we could face substantial penalties, liability, and reputational harm, and our business, operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Along with our own confidential data and information retained in the normal course of our business, we or our partners collect and retain significant volumes of third party data, some of which is subject to certain laws and regulations. Our ability to analyze this data to present the subscriber with an improved user experience is a valuable component of our services, but we cannot ensure you that the data we require will be available from these sources in the future or that the cost of such data will not increase. If the data that we require is not available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we may not be able to provide certain parts of our current or planned products and services, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, we may also collect and retain other sensitive types of data, including, among other things, audio recordings of telephone calls and video images of customer sites. We must comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations governing the collection, retention, processing, storage, disclosure, access, use, security, and privacy of such information in addition to our own posted information security and privacy policies and applicable industry standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. The legal, regulatory, and contractual environment surrounding the foregoing continues to evolve, and there has been an increasing amount of focus on privacy and data security issues with the potential to affect our business. These privacy and data security laws, regulations, and standards, as well as contractual requirements, could increase our cost of doing business, and failure to comply with these laws, regulations, standards, and contractual requirements could result in government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties), private litigation, and/or adverse publicity. In the event of a breach of personal information that we hold or that is held by third parties on our behalf, we may be subject to governmental fines, individual and class action claims, remediation expenses, and/or harm to our reputation. In 2020, we disclosed that a Company technician had secured unauthorized personal access to certain customers’ in-home security systems, resulting in legal claims against us, which have and may continue to arise either as individual claims or as class actions. We could incur significant legal costs in defending existing or new claims or in the ultimate resolution of such claims, and we may suffer reputational harm and damage to our brand as a result of such claims or any related publicity. Further, if we fail to comply with applicable privacy and security laws, regulations, policies, and standards; properly protect the integrity and security of our facilities and systems and the data located within them; or defend against cybersecurity attacks; or if our third-party service providers, partners, or vendors fail to do any of the foregoing with respect to data and information assessed, used, stored, or collected on our behalf; or if we fail to successfully defend against any matters that may arise as a result of the rogue conduct of the technician as described above or should we fail to prevent future rogue actors from undertaking similar actions, our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
For example, the data that we collect and retain includes personally identifiable information related to our customers and employees and may be protected health information subject to certain requirements under the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and its implementing regulations, which regulate the use, storage, and disclosure of personally identifiable health information. We may change our processes or modify our product and service offerings in a manner that requires us to adopt additional or different policies and procedures to meet our obligations under HIPAA. Becoming fully HIPAA-compliant involves adopting and implementing privacy and security policies and procedures as well as administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Additionally, HIPAA compliance requires certain agreements with contracting partners to be in place. Endeavoring to become fully HIPAA-compliant may be costly both financially and in terms of administrative resources. It may take substantial time and require the assistance of external resources, such as attorneys, information technology, and/or other consultants. We would have to be HIPAA-compliant to provide services pursuant to which we are required to collect or manage patient information for or on behalf of a health care provider or health plan. Thus, if we do not become fully HIPAA-compliant, our expansion opportunities may be limited. Furthermore, it is possible that HIPAA may be expanded in the future to apply to certain of our current products or services.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which became effective in 2020, gives California residents certain rights in relation to their personal information, requires that companies take certain actions, and applies to activities regarding personal information that is collected by us, directly or indirectly, from California residents. The CCPA creates and may continue to create, as its interpretation and enforcement evolves, a range of new compliance obligations, which could cause us to change our business practices, with the possibility for significant financial penalties for noncompliance that may materially adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, in November of 2020, California voters passed Proposition 24, also known as the California Privacy Rights Act, which will impose additional requirements on businesses with regard to the collection, use, and sharing of data beginning in 2023 and which could materially impact our business.
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) applies to our activities regarding personal data of which we may come in to possession, directly or indirectly through vendors and subcontractors, from persons or businesses in the European Union. As interpretation and enforcement of the GDPR evolves, it will create a range of new compliance obligations, which could cause us to change our business practices, with the possibility for significant financial penalties for noncompliance. The European Commission in July 2016 and the Swiss Government in January 2017 approved the EU-U.S. and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks, respectively, which are designed to allow U.S. companies that self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce and publicly commit to comply with the Privacy Shield requirements to freely import personal data from the EU and Switzerland. However, these frameworks face a number of legal challenges and their validity remains subject to legal, regulatory, and political developments in both Europe and the U.S. This has resulted in some uncertainty, and compliance obligations could cause us to incur costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business and failure to comply could result in significant penalties that may materially adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Infringement of our intellectual property rights could negatively affect us.
We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, confidentiality provisions, and licensing arrangements to establish and protect our proprietary rights. We cannot guarantee, however, that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights or misappropriation of our intellectual property or technology. Adverse events affecting the use of our trademarks could affect our use of those trademarks and negatively impact our brands. In addition, if we expand our business outside of the U.S. in the future, effective patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in some jurisdictions. Furthermore, while we enter into confidentiality agreements with certain of our employees and third parties to protect our intellectual property, such confidentiality agreements could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our confidential information, trade secrets, and know-how related to the design, manufacture, or operation of our products and services. If it becomes necessary for us to resort to litigation to protect our intellectual property rights, any proceedings could be burdensome and costly, and we may not prevail. Further, adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, trade secrets, or know-how. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could suffer, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Allegations that we have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of third parties could negatively affect us.
We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement by third parties. In particular, as our services have expanded, we have become subject to claims alleging infringement of intellectual property, including litigation brought by special purpose or so-called “non-practicing” entities that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by alleging infringement and threatening enforcement of patent rights. These companies typically have little or no business or operations, and there are few effective deterrents available to prevent such companies from filing patent infringement lawsuits against us. Our exposure to intellectual property infringement claims may increase as we continue to build our new proprietary platform announced in November 2020 or expand upon our existing intellectual property in the future. In addition, we rely on licenses and other arrangements with third parties covering intellectual property related to many of the products and services that we market. Notwithstanding these arrangements, we could be at risk for infringement claims from third parties. Additionally, while we are party to a patent agreement with Tyco, which generally includes a covenant by Tyco not to bring an action against us alleging that the manufacture, use, or sale of any products or services in existence as of the date of our separation from Tyco infringes any patents owned or controlled by Tyco and used by us on or prior to such date, such agreement does not protect us from infringement claims for future product or service expansions. In general, if a court determines that one or more of our services infringes on intellectual property rights owned by others, we may be required to cease marketing those services, to obtain licenses from the holders of the intellectual property at a material cost or on unfavorable terms, or to take other potentially costly or burdensome actions to avoid infringing third-party intellectual property rights. The litigation process is costly and subject to inherent uncertainties, and we may not prevail in litigation matters regardless of the merits of our position. Intellectual property lawsuits or claims may become extremely disruptive if the plaintiffs succeed in blocking the trade of our products and services and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We may be subject to class actions and other lawsuits which may harm our business and results of operations.
We have and we may continue to be subject to class action litigation involving alleged violations of privacy, consumer protection laws, employment laws or other matters. In addition, we have previously been subject to securities class actions relating to our IPO and we may in the future be subject to additional securities litigation in connection with our IPO, in connection with issues arising subsequent to the IPO or in connection with issues that may have arisen prior to the acquisition of what was then The ADT Corporation. This type of litigation may be lengthy and may result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources. Results cannot be predicted with certainty and an adverse outcome in such litigation could result in monetary damages or injunctive relief that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, we are currently and may in the future become subject to legal proceedings and commercial or contractual disputes other than class actions. These are typically claims that arise in the normal course of business including, without limitation, commercial or contractual disputes with our suppliers, intellectual property matters, third-party liability matters, which may include product liability claims, automobile negligence claims and property/casualty claims, and employment law matters. There is a possibility that such claims may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows that is greater than we anticipate and/or negatively affect our reputation.
Increasing government regulation of telemarketing, email marketing, door-to-door sales, and other marketing methods may increase our costs and restrict the operation and growth of our business.
We rely on telemarketing, email marketing, door-to-door sales, and other marketing channels, including social media conducted internally and through third parties to generate a substantial number of leads for our business, all of which is subject to federal, state and local regulation. Telemarketing and email marketing activities are subject to an increasing amount of regulation in the U.S. Regulations have been issued by the FTC and the FCC that place restrictions on unsolicited telephone calls to residential and wireless telephone subscribers, whether direct dial or by means of automatic telephone dialing systems, prerecorded, or artificial voice messages and telephone fax machines, and require us to maintain a “do not call” list and to train our personnel to comply with these restrictions. The FTC regulates sales practices generally and email marketing and telemarketing specifically, including through their consent decree on ADT that regulates our use of social media influencers and celebrities, and has broad authority to prohibit a variety of advertising or marketing practices that may constitute “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” Most of the statutes and regulations in the U.S. applicable to telemarketing and email marketing allow a private right of action for the recovery of damages or provide for enforcement by the FTC and FCC, state attorneys general, or state agencies permitting the recovery of significant civil or criminal penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees if regulations are violated. We strive to comply with all such applicable regulations, but can provide no assurance that we, our authorized dealers or third parties that we rely on for telemarketing, email marketing, and other lead generation activities will be in compliance with all applicable regulations at all times. Although our contractual arrangements with our authorized dealers, affinity marketing partners, and other third parties generally require them to comply with all such regulations and to indemnify us for damages arising from their failure to do so, we can provide no assurance that the FTC and FCC, private litigants, or others will not attempt to hold us responsible for any unlawful acts conducted by our authorized dealers, affinity marketing partners and other third parties or that we could successfully enforce or collect upon any indemnities. Additionally, certain FCC rulings and FTC enforcement actions may support the legal position that we may be held vicariously liable for the actions of third parties, including any telemarketing violations by our independent, third-party authorized dealers that are performed without our authorization or that are otherwise prohibited by our policies. The FCC and FTC have relied on certain actions to support the notion of vicarious liability, including, but not limited to, the use of our brand or trademark, the authorization or approval of telemarketing scripts, or the sharing of consumer prospect lists. Changes in such regulations or the interpretation thereof that further restrict such activities could result in a material reduction in the number of leads for our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our business operates in a regulated industry.
Our operations and employees are subject to various federal, state, and local laws and regulations in such areas as consumer protection, occupational licensing, environmental protection (including climate change regulations), labor and employment, tax, and other laws and regulations. Most states in which we operate have licensing laws directed specifically toward the sale, installation, monitoring and maintenance of fire and security devices. Our business relies heavily upon the use of both wireline and wireless telecommunications to communicate signals, and telecommunications companies are regulated by federal, state, and local governments.
Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change may result in more international, regional and/or federal or other requirements or expectations that could mandate more restrictive or expansive standards than existing regulations. There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. If environmental laws or regulations are either changed or adopted and impose significant operational restrictions and compliance requirements upon our business or products, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
In certain jurisdictions, we are required to obtain licenses or permits to comply with standards governing employee selection and training and to meet certain standards in the conduct of our business. The loss of such licenses or permits or the imposition of conditions to the granting or retention of such licenses or permits could have a material adverse effect on us. Furthermore, in certain jurisdictions, certain security systems must meet fire and building codes to be installed, and it is possible that our current or future products and service offerings will fail to meet such codes, which could require us to make costly modifications to our products and services or to forego operating in certain jurisdictions.
We must also comply with numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations that govern matters relating to our interactions with residential customers, including those pertaining to privacy and data security, consumer financial and credit transactions, home improvement contracts, warranties, and door-to-door solicitation. These laws and regulations are dynamic and subject to potentially differing interpretations, and various federal, state, and local legislative and regulatory bodies may initiate investigations, expand current laws or regulations, or enact new laws and regulations, regarding these matters. As we expand our product and service offerings and enter into new jurisdictions, we may be subject to more expansive regulation and oversight. For example, as a result of internal growth and through our acquisition of various commercial businesses, we are expanding commercial offerings and exploring markets outside of the U.S, and we will need to identify and comply with laws
and regulations that apply to such services and our operations generally in the relevant jurisdictions. In addition, any financing or lending activity will subject us to various rules and regulations, such as the U.S. federal Truth in Lending Act and analogous state legislation. Also, as we continue to expand our sales to government entities, we will be subject to additional contracting regulations, disclosure obligations, and various civil and criminal penalties, among other things, in a significant manner that we are not subject to today.
Changes in these laws or regulations or their interpretation could dramatically affect how we do business, acquire customers, and manage and use information we collect from and about current and prospective customers and the costs associated therewith. We strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to our interactions with all customers. It is possible, however, that these requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices.
Changes in laws or regulations could require us to change the way we operate or to utilize resources to maintain compliance, which could increase costs or otherwise disrupt operations. In addition, failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations could result in substantial fines or revocation of our operating permits and licenses. If laws and regulations were to change or if we or our products failed to comply with them, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We could be assessed penalties for false alarms.
Some local governments impose assessments, fines, penalties, and limitations on either customers or the alarm companies for false alarms. Certain municipalities have adopted ordinances under which both permit and alarm dispatch fees are charged directly to the alarm companies. Our alarm service contracts generally allow us to pass these charges on to customers, but we may not be able to collect these charges if customers are unwilling or unable to pay them and such outcome may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, our customers may elect to terminate or not renew our services if assessments, fines, or penalties for false alarms become significant. If more local governments were to impose assessments, fines, or penalties, our customer base, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Adoption of statutes and governmental policies purporting to characterize certain of our charges as unlawful may adversely affect our business.
Generally, if a customer cancels their contract with us prior to the end of the initial contract term, other than in accordance with the contract, we may charge the customer an early cancellation fee. Consumer protection policies or legal precedents could be proposed or adopted to restrict the charges we can impose upon contract cancellation. Such initiatives could compel us to increase our prices during the initial term of our contracts and consequently lead to less demand for our services and increased customer attrition. Adverse judicial determinations regarding these matters could cause us to incur legal exposure to customers against whom such charges have been imposed and expose us to the risk that certain of our customers may seek to recover such charges through litigation, including class action lawsuits. Any such loss in demand for our services, increase in attrition, or the costs of defending such litigation and enforcement actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In the absence of net neutrality or similar regulation, certain providers of Internet access may block our services or charge their customers more for using our services, or government regulations relating to the Internet could change, which could materially adversely affect our revenue and growth.
Our interactive and home automation services are primarily accessed through the Internet and our security monitoring services, including those utilizing video streaming, are increasingly delivered using Internet technologies. Users who access our services through mobile devices, such as smart phones, laptops, and tablet computers must have a high-speed Internet connection, such as broadband, 3G, CDMA, 4G/LTE, or 5G, to use our services. Currently, this access is provided by telecommunications companies and Internet access service providers that have significant and increasing market power in the broadband and Internet access marketplace. In the absence of government regulation, these providers could take measures that affect their customers’ ability to use our products and services, such as degrading the quality of the data packets we transmit over their lines, giving our packets low priority, giving other packets higher priority than ours, blocking our packets entirely, or attempting to charge their customers more for using our products and services. To the extent that Internet service providers implement usage-based pricing, including meaningful bandwidth caps, or otherwise try to monetize access to their networks, we could incur greater operating expenses and customer acquisition and retention could be negatively impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Furthermore, to the extent network operators were to create tiers of Internet access service and either charge us for or prohibit our services from being available to our customers through these tiers, our business could be negatively impacted. Some of these providers also offer products and services that directly compete with our own offerings, which could potentially give them a competitive
advantage. In addition, the FCC recently rolled back net neutrality protections in the U.S. as described below and most other countries have not adopted formal net neutrality or open Internet rules.
On February 26, 2015, the FCC reclassified broadband Internet access services in the U.S. as a telecommunications service subject to some elements of common carrier regulation, including the obligation to provide service on just and reasonable terms, and adopted specific net neutrality rules prohibiting the blocking, throttling, or “paid prioritization” of content or services. However, in December 2017, the FCC re-classified broadband Internet access service as an unregulated information service and repealed the specific rules against blocking, throttling, or “paid prioritization” of content or services. It retained a rule requiring Internet service providers to disclose their practices to consumers, entrepreneurs and the FCC. A number of parties appealed this order, and on October 1, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a portion of the FCC’s 2017 ruling, while invalidating the portion that preempted states and local governments from enacting their own net neutrality rules. On December 13, 2019, the plaintiffs asked the full DC Circuit to rehear their case. The petition was denied on February 6, 2020. It is possible Congress may adopt legislation establishing clear net neutrality requirements at some point, or the FCC under the Biden Administration could reverse the current FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The elimination of net neutrality rules and any changes to the rules could affect the market for broadband Internet access service in a way that impacts our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are exposed to greater risks of liability for employee acts or omissions or system failures than may be inherent in other businesses.
If a customer or third-party believes that it has suffered harm to person or property due to an actual or alleged act or omission of one of our authorized dealers, independent contractors, employees or other agents, or due to a security or interactive system failure, they (or their insurers) may pursue legal action against us, and the cost of defending the legal action and of any judgment against us could be substantial. In particular, because our products and services are intended to help protect lives and real and personal property, we may have greater exposure to litigation risks than businesses that provide other commercial, consumer, and small business products and services. Our standard customer contracts contain a series of risk-mitigation provisions that serve to limit our liability and/or limit a claimant’s ability to pursue legal action. However, in the event of litigation with respect to such matters, it is possible that these risk-mitigation provisions may be deemed not applicable or unenforceable and, regardless of the ultimate outcome, we may incur significant costs of defense that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, and there can be no assurance that any such defense efforts will be successful.
We may be required to make indemnification payments relating to the sale of our Canadian business to Telus Corporation.
In connection with the sale of ADT Canada, we entered into an agreement with TELUS which provides that we are liable for all taxes of the Canadian business for all pre-closing tax periods. We are liable to indemnify TELUS for any tax liabilities assessed by the Canadian tax authorities in the future that are related to pre-closing tax years. We have no assurance that adjustments that would affect our pre-disposition tax liabilities will not be proposed by the tax authorities, as there is a potential for adverse determinations to be made on tax years that remain subject to audit. Our agreement with TELUS provides that we manage all tax audits relating to the pre-closing tax years. As of December 31, 2020, ADT Canada has resolved all income tax audits through the 2015 tax year.
We may be subject to liability for obligations of The Brink’s Company under the Coal Act or other coal-related liabilities of The Brink’s Company.
On May 14, 2010, The ADT Corporation acquired Broadview Security, a business formerly owned by The Brink’s Company. Under the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, as amended (“Coal Act”), The Brink’s Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries as of July 20, 1992 (including certain legal entities acquired in the Broadview Security acquisition) are jointly and severally liable with certain of The Brink’s Company’s other current and former subsidiaries for health care coverage obligations provided for by the Coal Act. A Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (“VEBA”) trust has been established by The Brink’s Company to pay for these liabilities, although the trust may have insufficient funds to satisfy all future obligations. We cannot rule out the possibility that certain legal entities acquired in the Broadview Security acquisition may also be liable for other liabilities in connection with The Brink’s Company’s former coal operations. At the time of the separation of Broadview Security from The Brink’s Company in 2008, Broadview Security entered into an agreement pursuant to which The Brink’s Company agreed to indemnify it for any and all liabilities and expenses related to The Brink’s Company’s former coal operations, including any health care coverage obligations. The Brink’s Company has agreed that this indemnification survives The ADT Corporation’s acquisition of Broadview Security. We in turn agreed to indemnify Tyco for such liabilities in our separation from it. If The Brink’s Company and the VEBA are unable to satisfy all such obligations, we could be held liable, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our use of independent contractors for certain functions may expose us to additional risks.
In order to meet our evolving customer needs, we rely on third-party independent contractors in addition to our existing workforce to perform certain tasks including installation and service of our customer alarm systems. From time to time, we are involved in lawsuits and claims that assert that certain independent contractors should be treated as our employees. The state of the law regarding independent contractor status varies from state to state and is subject to change based on court decisions, legislation, and regulation. For example, on April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court adopted a new standard, the “ABC” test, for determining whether a company “employs” or is the “employer” for purposes of the California Wage Orders in its decision in the Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court case. The California legislature adopted this standard as the test not only for purposes of the California Wage Order, but also for all provisions of the California Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code. The “ABC” test alters the analysis of whether an individual, who is classified by a hiring entity as an independent contractor in California, has been properly classified as an independent contractor. Under the new test, an individual is considered an employee unless the hiring entity establishes three criteria: (i) the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact; (ii) the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and (iii) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.
Adverse determinations regarding the independent contractor status of any of our subcontractors could, among other things, entitle such individuals to the reimbursement of certain expenses and to the benefit of wage-and-hour laws, result in ADT being liable for employment and withholding tax and benefits for such individuals, and result in ADT being liable to such individuals for violations of other laws protecting employees. Any such adverse determination could result in a material reduction of the number of subcontractors we can use for our business or significantly increase our costs to serve our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
New tariffs and other trade restrictions imposed on imports from China or other countries where our end-user equipment is manufactured, or any counter-measures taken in response, may harm our business and results of operations.
New tariffs imposed on imports from China, where certain components included in our end-user equipment are manufactured, and any counter-measures taken in response to such new tariffs, may harm our business and results of operations. In 2018 and 2019, the U.S. federal government imposed tariffs on certain alarm equipment components manufactured in China, and on other categories of electronic equipment manufactured in China that we install in our customers’ premises, such as batteries and thermostats. Certain of these tariffs are as high as 25% and such tariffs have increased our costs for such equipment as a result of some or all of such new tariffs being passed on to us by the sellers of such equipment. If any or all of the costs of these tariffs continue to be passed on to us by the sellers of our end-user equipment, we may be required to raise our prices, which could result in the loss of customers and harm our business and results of operations. Alternatively, we may seek to find new sources of end-user products, which may result in higher costs and disruption to our business. In addition, the U.S. federal government’s 2018 National Defense Authorization Act imposed a ban on the use of certain surveillance, telecommunications, and other equipment manufactured by certain of our suppliers based in China, to help protect critical infrastructure and other sites deemed to be sensitive for national security purposes in the U.S. This federal government ban implemented in August 2019, and the ban on use of certain covered equipment by federal contractors implemented in August 2020, has required us to find new sources of end-user products, which may result in higher costs and disruption to our business. In addition to the current tariffs, it is possible further tariffs will be imposed on imports of equipment that we install in end-user premises, or that our business will be impacted by retaliatory trade measures taken by China or other countries, causing us to raise our prices or make changes to our business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Risks Related to Macroeconomic and Related Factors
General economic conditions can affect our business, and we are susceptible to changes in the business economy, in the housing market, and in business and consumer discretionary income, which may inhibit our ability to grow our customer base and impact our results of operations.
Demand for our products and services is affected by the general economy, the business environment, and the turnover in the housing market, among other things. Downturns in the general economy, the business environment, and the housing market would reduce opportunities to make sales of our products and services. Downturns in the rate of the sale of new and existing homes, which we believe drives a substantial portion of our new customer volume in any given year, and downturns in the rate of commercial property development, which drives demand for our commercial offerings, would reduce opportunities to make sales of new security, fire, and home automation systems and services and reduce opportunities to take over existing security,
fire, and home automation systems. Recoveries in the housing market increase the occurrence of relocations, which may lead to customers disconnecting service and not contracting with us in their new homes.
The demand for our products and services is also dependent, in part, on national, regional, and local economic conditions, as well as our customers’ level of discretionary income. When our customers’ disposable income available for discretionary spending is reduced (such as by higher housing, energy, interest, operating or other costs, or where the actual or perceived wealth of customers has decreased as a result of circumstances such as lower real estate values, increased foreclosure rates, inflation, increased tax rates, or other economic disruptions), we could experience increased attrition rates and reduced customer demand. Where levels of business activity decline, the commercial fire and security business could experience increased attrition rates and reduced demand. No assurance can be given that we will be able to continue acquiring quality customers or that we will not experience higher attrition rates. Our long-term revenue growth rate primarily depends on installations and new contracts exceeding disconnects. If customer disconnects and defaults increase, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We are subject to credit risk and other risks associated with our subscribers and dealers.
A substantial part of our revenue is derived from the recurring monthly revenue due from subscribers under alarm monitoring contracts. Therefore, we are dependent on the ability and willingness of subscribers to pay amounts due under the alarm monitoring contracts on a monthly basis in a timely manner. Although subscribers are contractually obligated to pay amounts due under an alarm monitoring contract and are generally contractually obligated to pay early cancellation fees if they prematurely cancel the alarm monitoring contract during the initial term of the alarm monitoring contract (typically between two and five years), subscribers’ payment obligations are unsecured, which could impair our ability to collect any unpaid amounts from our subscribers. To the extent payment defaults by subscribers under the alarm monitoring contracts are greater than anticipated, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We have introduced and will continue to explore different commercial terms for our products and services, such as increasing or otherwise changing the amount of up-front payments, providing different financing options, such as retail installment contracts for the amount of up-front payments associated with our transactions, or offering longer or shorter contract term options. These options could increase the credit risks associated with our subscribers, and the introduction of, or transition to, different options could result in quarterly revenue and expense fluctuations that are significantly greater than our historic patterns. While we intend to manage such credit risk by evaluating the credit quality of customers eligible for our financing options and non-standard term lengths, our efforts to mitigate risk may not be sufficient to prevent an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Some of these customer financing options may be supported by financing arrangements with third parties. During March 2020, we entered into an uncommitted receivables securitization financing agreement (the “Receivables Facility”). Under the terms of the Receivables Facility, we may receive up to $200 million of financing secured by retail installment contract receivables. Third-party financing arrangements such as the Receivables Facility may impose or result in limitations on the products and services we offer customers that are financed under such arrangements, may adversely affect our relationships with customers, and may subject us to risk with respect to our ability to generate current levels of cash flow should, for example, the Receivables Facility be terminated, any of which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Offering more commercial term and financing options, and transitions between such options, may introduce operational complexity, require the devotion of resources that could otherwise be deployed elsewhere, and may increase market valuation risks due to differences in the financial treatment of different offerings. Such increased offerings or transitions between different offerings or equipment ownership models could also result in customer confusion or dissatisfaction, limit or remove our ability to offer “free device” promotions or other customer satisfaction programs, and may provide competitors with the opportunity to target our existing and potential clients by offering such “free device” or other promotions that we may be unable to offer under our own programs. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Under the standard alarm monitoring contract acquisition agreements that we enter into with our dealers, if a subscriber terminates his or her service with us during the first thirteen months after we have acquired the alarm monitoring contract, the dealer is typically required to substitute with a compatible alarm monitoring contract or compensate us in an amount based on the original acquisition cost of the terminating alarm monitoring contract. We are subject to the risk that dealers will breach these obligations. Although we generally withhold specified amounts from the acquisition cost paid to dealers for alarm monitoring contracts (“holdback”), which may be used to satisfy or offset these and other applicable dealer obligations under the alarm monitoring contract acquisition agreements, there can be no guarantee that these amounts will be sufficient to satisfy or offset the full extent of the default by a dealer of its obligations under its agreement. If the holdback proves insufficient to cover dealer obligations, we are also subject to the credit risk that the dealers may not have sufficient funds to compensate us or
that any such dealer will otherwise breach its obligation to compensate us for a terminating alarm monitoring contract. To the extent defaults by dealers of the obligations under their agreements are greater than anticipated, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets represent a significant portion of our total assets, and we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets.
As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $11 billion of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. We review such assets for impairment at least annually. Impairment may result from, among other things, deterioration in performance; adverse market conditions; adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, including changes that restrict the activities of or affect the products and services we offer; challenges to the validity of certain registered intellectual property; reduced sales of certain products or services incorporating registered intellectual property; increased attrition; and a variety of other factors. Depending on future circumstances, it is possible that we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets. Any future determination of impairment of goodwill or other identifiable intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We have significant deferred tax assets, and any impairments of or valuation allowances against these deferred tax assets in the future could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in Canada up to the time of sale of ADT Canada and for back years as per the sale agreement with respect to the sale of ADT Canada, and in various state, territorial, provincial, and local jurisdictions. The amount of income taxes we pay is subject to our interpretation and application of tax laws in jurisdictions in which we file. Changes in current or future laws or regulations, the imposition of new or changed tax laws or regulations, or new related interpretations by taxing authorities in the jurisdictions in which we file could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our future consolidated federal and state income tax liability may be significantly reduced by tax credits and tax net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards available to us under the applicable tax codes. Certain of the entities we have acquired had material NOL carryforwards prior to our acquisition. Our ability to fully utilize these deferred tax assets, however, may be limited for various reasons, including whether projected future taxable income becomes insufficient to recognize the full benefit of our NOL carryforwards prior to their expirations. If a corporation experiences an “ownership change,” Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) provide annual limitations with respect to the ability of a corporation to utilize its NOL (as well as certain built-in losses) and tax credit carryforwards against future U.S. taxable income. In general, an ownership change may result from transactions increasing the ownership of certain stockholders in the stock of the corporation by more than 50 percentage points over a three-year testing period.
The Formation Transactions and the ADT Acquisition resulted in an ownership change of each of the entities involved. Our ability to fully utilize the NOL carryforwards of those entities is subject to the limitations under Section 382 of the IRC. It is also possible that future changes in the direct or indirect ownership in our equity might result in additional ownership changes that may trigger the imposition of additional limitations under Section 382 of the IRC with respect to these tax attributes.
In addition, audits by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) as well as state, territorial, provincial, and local tax authorities could reduce our tax attributes and/or subject us to tax liabilities if tax authorities make adverse determinations with respect to our NOL or tax credits carryforwards. Any future disallowance of some or all of our tax credits or NOL carryforwards as a result of legislative change could materially adversely affect our tax obligations. Any increase in taxation or limitation of benefits could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
In connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Reform”), a new limitation under IRC Section 163(j) was imposed on the amount of interest expense allowed as a deduction in our tax returns each year. The amounts disallowed each year can be carried forward indefinitely and used in subsequent years if an excess limitation exists. We have begun to accumulate a significant deferred tax asset related to this disallowed interest carryforward. However, there is a risk that we will not recognize the benefit of this deferred tax asset in the foreseeable future due to our annual interest expense exceeding the imposed limitation. We may need to record a valuation allowance against this deferred tax asset in the future as the deferred tax asset grows, which may have adverse effects on our future financial condition and results of operations. We expect to have NOLs available for another three to five years, after which there is a risk that the interest disallowance will have an adverse impact on our financial condition and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
Our substantial indebtedness, which we can significantly increase, could materially adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, and prevent us from making debt service payments.
As of December 31, 2020, we had $9.7 billion face value of outstanding indebtedness, excluding finance leases.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, our cash flow used for debt service, excluding finance leases and including interest rate swap contracts, totaled $575 million, which included scheduled quarterly principal payments on our debt of $23 million, payments on our Receivables Facility of $7 million, interest payments on our debt of $507 million, and $38 million related to payments on interest rate swap contracts that included an other-than-insignificant financing element at inception.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, our cash flows from operating activities totaled $1.4 billion, which included interest paid on our debt of $507 million. As such, our cash flows from operating activities before giving effect to the payment of interest amounted to $1.9 billion. Cash payments used to service our debt represented approximately 31% of our net cash flows from operating activities before giving effect to the payment of interest.
In addition, our cash flows included net repayments on our long-term borrowings of $387 million, payments on our finance leases of $28 million (excluding $3 million of interest payments on our finance leases), and payments on interest rate swap contracts that included an other-than-insignificant financing element at inception of $38 million, partially offset by net proceeds under the Receivables Facility of $76 million,
Our substantial indebtedness and the restrictive covenants under the agreements governing such indebtedness could:
•limit our ability to borrow money for our working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, strategic initiatives, or other purposes;
•make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness, and any failure to comply with the obligations of any of our debt instruments, including restrictive covenants and borrowing conditions, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness;
•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to the repayment of our indebtedness, thereby reducing funds available to us for other purposes;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our operations or business;
•make us more highly leveraged than some of our competitors, which may place us at a competitive disadvantage;
•make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business or the economy;
•restrict us from making strategic acquisitions, engaging in development activities, introducing new technologies, or exploiting business opportunities;
•cause us to make non-strategic divestitures;
•limit, along with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our indebtedness, among other things, our ability to borrow additional funds or dispose of assets;
•expose us to the risk of increased interest rates, as certain of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest; or
•expose us to risk of refinancing periodically at increased interest rates for both fixed rates and variable rate borrowings.
We and our subsidiaries also may be able to incur substantially more indebtedness in the future. Although the terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness contain certain restrictions on our and our subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of important qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also will not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness. Additionally, the covenants under any future debt instruments could allow us to incur a significant amount of additional indebtedness. The more leveraged we become, the more we, and in turn our security holders, will be exposed to certain risks described above.
In addition, the agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our indebtedness.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and to fund our working capital and capital expenditures, and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness that may not be successful.
Our ability to satisfy our debt obligations (including any payments of principal upon the maturity of such obligations) depends upon, among other things:
•our future financial and operating performance (including the realization of any cost savings described herein), which will be affected by prevailing economic, industry, and competitive conditions and financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control;
•our future ability to refinance or restructure our existing debt obligations, which depends on, among other things, the condition of the capital markets, our financial condition, and the terms of existing or future debt agreements; and
•our future ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility, the availability of which depends on, among other things, our complying with the covenants in the credit agreement governing such facility.
We can provide no assurance that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that we will be able to draw under our revolving credit facility or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to fund our liquidity needs.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to service our indebtedness, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions for fair market value or at all. Furthermore, any proceeds that we could realize from any such dispositions may not be adequate to meet our debt service obligations then due. Our shareholders, including our Sponsor and its affiliates, and Google, have no continuing obligation to provide us with debt or equity financing. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could negatively impact our ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.
If we cannot make scheduled payments on our indebtedness, we will be in default and lenders of our indebtedness could (a) declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, (b) terminate commitments to loan money under our revolving credit facility, (c) foreclose against the assets securing our indebtedness, and (d) force us into bankruptcy or liquidation.
If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may need to repay or refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness before maturity. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient funds to enable us to repay or refinance our debt obligations on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Our debt agreements contain restrictions that limit our flexibility.
Our debt agreements contain, and any future indebtedness of ours would likely contain, a number of covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:
•incur additional debt, guarantee indebtedness, or issue certain preferred equity interests;
•pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, our capital stock, or make other restricted payments;
•prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt;
•make loans or certain investments;
•sell certain assets;
•create liens on certain assets;
•consolidate, merge, sell, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets;
•enter into certain transactions with our affiliates;
•alter the businesses we conduct;
•enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; and
•designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries.
As a result of these covenants, we will continue to be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs.
We have pledged a significant portion of our assets as collateral under our debt agreements. If any of the holders of our indebtedness accelerate the repayment of such indebtedness upon an event of default, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient assets to repay our indebtedness.
A failure to comply with the covenants under our debt agreements or any future indebtedness could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In the event of any such default, the lenders thereunder:
•will not be required to lend any additional amounts to us;
•could elect to declare all borrowings outstanding, together with accrued and unpaid interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable; or
•could require us to apply all of our available cash to repay these borrowings.
Such actions by the lenders could cause cross-defaults under our other indebtedness. If we are unable to repay those amounts, our secured lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness.
If any of our outstanding indebtedness were to be accelerated, there can be no assurance that our assets would be sufficient to repay such indebtedness in full.
Our variable-rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Certain of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on certain of our variable-rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. In addition, in July 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced that it intends to no longer compel or persuade participating banks to submit London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) quotations and would phase out LIBOR as a benchmark by the end of 2021. More recently, in November 2020, the ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) announced a consultation on the extension of most tenors of USD LIBOR until June 30, 2023. The proposed extension would not apply to the rate’s other denominations - euro, sterling, Swiss franc and Japanese yen. The final announcement regarding the dates for cessation of all USD LIBOR tenors is not expected until early 2021, when IBA’s consultation period ends. However, U.S. banking regulators have made clear that USD LIBOR originations should end by no later than December 30, 2021, and that new LIBOR originations prior to that date must provide for an alternative reference rate or a hardwired fallback. In accordance with recommendations from the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”), USD LIBOR is expected to be replaced with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), a new index calculated on a daily basis by reference to short-term repurchase agreements for U.S. Treasury securities. Although there have been a few issuances utilizing SOFR or the Sterling Over Night Index Average, an alternative reference rate that is based on transactions, it is unknown whether SOFR or any of the other alternative reference rates will attain market acceptance as replacements for LIBOR. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. recently announced fallback language for LIBOR-referencing derivatives contracts that provides for SOFR as the primary replacement rate in the event of a LIBOR cessation. There is currently no definitive successor reference rate to LIBOR and various industry organizations are still working to develop workable transition mechanisms. Such changes, reforms or replacements relating to LIBOR could have an adverse impact on the market for or value of any LIBOR-linked securities,
loans, derivatives or other financial instruments or extensions of credit held by us. As such, LIBOR-related changes could affect our overall results of operations and financial condition.
We have interest rate swap contracts to hedge our interest rate exposure on our variable-rate debt. However, certain of our variable-rate debt instruments are subject to a 1.00% floor on interest payments while our interest rate swap contracts do not include a floor. If current LIBOR increases above 1.00%, the increase in our debt service obligations on most of our variable-rate indebtedness will be neutralized as we have entered into interest rate swaps that hedge any increase in current LIBOR above 1.00%. If current LIBOR is below 1.00%, even though the amount borrowed remains the same, our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will decrease by the impact of the difference between 1.00% and current LIBOR because certain of our variable-rate debt has an interest floor of 1.00% while the corresponding interest rate swap contracts do not have a LIBOR floor. Additionally, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable-rate indebtedness, and any such swaps may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk, may prove disadvantageous, or may create additional risks. As of December 31, 2020, any 0.125% decrease in LIBOR below 1.0% would result in an increase of approximately $4 million in annualized interest expense on our variable-rate debt, including the impact of our interest rate swaps. In January 2021, we amended our variable-rate debt and reduced the floor from 1.00% to 0.75%.
Until a successor rate is more firmly determined, we cannot implement the transition away from LIBOR for our variable-rate indebtedness and interest rate swaps. As such, we are unable to predict the effect of any changes to LIBOR, the establishment and success of any alternative reference rates, or any other reforms to LIBOR or any replacement of LIBOR that may be enacted in the United States or elsewhere.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our stock price may fluctuate significantly.
The market price of our common stock could vary significantly as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In the event of a drop in the market price of our common stock, you could lose a substantial part or all of your investment in our common stock. Among others, the following factors could affect our stock price:
•sales of our common stock by us or by our stockholders, including our controlling stockholder or Google, or the perception that such sales may occur;
•our operating and financial performance and prospects, including the success of our partnership with Google;
•quarterly variations in the rate of growth (if any) of our financial indicators, such as net income per share, net income and revenues;
•the public reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
•strategic actions by our competitors;
•changes in operating performance and the stock market valuations of other companies;
•announcements related to litigation;
•our failure to meet revenue or earnings estimates made by research analysts or other investors;
•changes in revenue or earnings estimates, or changes in recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage, by equity research analysts;
•speculation in the press or investment community;
•changes in accounting principles, policies, guidance, interpretations, or standards;
•additions or departures of key management personnel;
•actions by our stockholders;
•general market conditions;
•domestic and international economic, legal, and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance;
•material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting; and
•the realization of any risks described under this “Risk Factors” section, or other risks that may materialize in the future.
The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. Securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a company’s securities. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in very substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources, and harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Future sales of our common stock in the public market, or the perception in the public market that such sales may occur, could reduce our stock price.
The number of outstanding shares of common stock includes shares beneficially owned by Apollo and certain of our employees that are “restricted securities,” as defined under Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) (“Rule 144”), and eligible for sale in the public market subject to the requirements of Rule 144. All of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock beneficially owned by Apollo and certain of our employees prior to the IPO are now eligible for sale, subject to the applicable volume, manner of sale, holding periods, and other limitations of Rule 144. In addition, each of Apollo, Google and certain other equity holders has certain rights to require us to register the sale of common stock they hold, including in connection with underwritten offerings. For example, in September 2020, Apollo and certain employees and other stockholders sold shares in a registered offering pursuant to a demand registration request from Apollo. Sales of significant amounts of stock in the public market or the perception that such sales may occur could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock or make it more difficult for stockholders to sell their shares of common stock at a time and price that they deem appropriate.
We continue to be controlled by Apollo, and Apollo’s interests may conflict with our interests and the interests of other stockholders.
Apollo has the power to elect a majority of our directors. Therefore, individuals affiliated with Apollo will have effective control over the outcome of votes on all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including entering into significant corporate transactions such as mergers, tender offers, and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets and issuance of additional debt or equity. The interests of Apollo and its affiliates, including funds affiliated with Apollo, could conflict with or differ from our interests or the interests of our other stockholders. For example, the concentration of ownership held by funds affiliated with Apollo could delay, defer, or prevent a change in control of our company or impede a merger, takeover, or other business combination which may otherwise be favorable for us. Additionally, Apollo and its affiliates are in the business of making investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in or provide advice to businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us, or are suppliers or customers of ours. Apollo and its affiliates may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. Any such investment may increase the potential for the conflicts of interest discussed in this risk factor. So long as funds affiliated with Apollo continue to directly or indirectly own a significant amount of our equity, even if such amount is less than 50%, Apollo and its affiliates will continue to be able to substantially influence or effectively control our ability to enter into corporate transactions. In addition, we have an executive committee that serves at the discretion of our board of directors and is composed of two Apollo designees and our CEO, who are authorized to exercise all of the powers of our board of directors (subject to certain exceptions) when the board of directors is not in session that the executive committee reasonably determines are appropriate.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, qualify for and intend to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Apollo controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock, and as a result, we are a controlled company within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by another person or group of persons acting together is a controlled company and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
•a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors;
•the nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;
•the compensation committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
•there be an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees.
We intend to utilize these exemptions as long as we remain a controlled company. Accordingly, stockholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
If we fail to establish and achieve an ESG program that is consistent with investor expectations, investors may not view us as an attractive investment which could have a negative effect on our stock price.
Investors are placing a greater emphasis on non-financial factors including ESG, when evaluating investment opportunities. If we are unable to provide sufficient disclosure about ESG practices, or if we fail to establish and achieve an ESG program that is consistent with investor expectations, investors may not view us as an attractive investment which could have a negative effect on our stock price. In addition, any failure to achieve metrics which we publicly disclose could materially adversely impact our stock price.
Our organizational documents may impede or discourage a takeover, which could deprive our investors of the opportunity to receive a premium on their shares.
Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may make it more difficult for, or prevent a third-party from, acquiring control of us without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions include:
•providing that our board of directors will be divided into three classes, with each class of directors serving staggered three-year terms;
•providing for the removal of directors only for cause and only upon the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, if less than 50.1% of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by funds affiliated with Apollo;
•empowering only the board to fill any vacancy on our board of directors (other than in respect of a director designated by the Sponsor), whether such vacancy occurs as a result of an increase in the number of directors or otherwise;
•authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock without any need for action by stockholders;
•prohibiting stockholders from acting by written consent if less than 50.1% of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by funds affiliated with Apollo;
•to the extent permitted by law, prohibiting stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders if less than 50.1% of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by funds affiliated with Apollo; and
•establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
Additionally, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. An interested stockholder includes a person, individually or together with any other interested stockholder, who within the last three years has owned 15% of our voting stock. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes a provision that restricts us from engaging in any business combination with an interested stockholder for three years following the date that person becomes an interested stockholder. Such restrictions shall not apply to any business combination between our Sponsor and any affiliate thereof or their direct and indirect transferees, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our issuance of shares of preferred stock could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company. Our board of directors has the authority to cause us to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, in one or more series, to designate the number of shares constituting any series, and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption, redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of such series. The issuance of shares of our preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control without further action by the stockholders, even where stockholders are offered a premium for their shares.
In addition, as long as funds affiliated with or managed by our Sponsor beneficially own a majority of our outstanding common stock, our Sponsor will be able to control all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation, and certain corporate transactions. Together, these charter, bylaw and statutory provisions could make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve
payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions, as well as the significant common stock beneficially owned by funds affiliated with our Sponsor and its right to nominate a specified number of directors in certain circumstances, could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquisitions of the Company, thereby reducing the likelihood that holders of our common stock could receive a premium for their common stock in an acquisition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for exclusive forum provisions which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware is, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, or stockholders; (c) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or (d) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors or officers governed by the internal affairs doctrine. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The exclusive forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to have consented to the provisions described in this paragraph. However, the enforceability of similar forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions unenforceable. Although we believe exclusive forum provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of applicable law, our exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Further, in the event a court finds the exclusive forum provision contained in the amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be unenforceable or inapplicable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.
In connection with the ADT Acquisition, funds affiliated with or managed by Apollo and certain other investors in our indirect parent entities (“Co-Investors”) received certain rights, including the right to designate one person to serve as a director (such director, the “Co-Investor Designee”) as long as such Co-Investor’s ownership exceeds a specified threshold. As of the date of this Annual Report, one Co-Investor has the right to designate a Co-Investor Designee. Under the Stockholders Agreement, Ultimate Parent has the right, but not the obligation, to nominate the Co-Investor Designee to serve as members of our board of directors. Ultimate Parent’s right to nominate the Co-Investor Designee is in addition to Ultimate Parent’s right to nominate a specified percentage of the directors (“Apollo Designees”) based on the percentage of our outstanding common stock beneficially owned by the Sponsor.
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, none of Apollo, the one Co-Investor that maintains a right to appoint a director, or any of their respective portfolio companies, funds, or other affiliates, or any of their officers, directors, agents, stockholders, members, or partners have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities, similar business activities, or lines of business in which we operate. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no officer or director of ours who is also an officer, director, employee, managing director, or other affiliate of Apollo or the Co-Investor will be liable to us or our stockholders for breach of any fiduciary duty by reason of the fact that any such individual directs a corporate opportunity to Apollo or the Co-Investor, as applicable, instead of us, or does not communicate information regarding a corporate opportunity to us that the officer, director, employee, managing director, or other affiliate has directed to Apollo or the Co-Investor, as applicable. For instance, a director of our company who also serves as a director, officer, or employee of Apollo, the Co-Investor, or any of their respective portfolio companies, funds, or other affiliates may pursue certain acquisitions or other opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, such acquisition or other opportunities may not be available to us. As of the date of this Annual Report, this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relates only to the Apollo Designees and the Co-Investor Designee. There are currently eleven directors of our Company, six of whom are Apollo Designees and one of whom is a Co-Investor Designee. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect
on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or prospects if attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by Apollo or the Co-Investor to itself or their respective portfolio companies, funds, or other affiliates instead of to us.
We are a holding company and rely on dividends, distributions, and other payments, advances, and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.
We are a holding company that does not conduct any business operations of our own. As a result, we are largely dependent upon cash dividends and distributions and other transfers, including for payments in respect of our indebtedness, from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations. The agreements governing the indebtedness of our subsidiaries impose restrictions on our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us. Each of our subsidiaries is a distinct legal entity, and under certain circumstances legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from them and we may be limited in our ability to cause any future joint ventures to distribute their earnings to us. The deterioration of the earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries for any reason could also limit or impair their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us.
Your investment in our common stock may be diluted by the future issuance of additional common stock or convertible securities in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions or otherwise, which could adversely affect our stock price.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue shares of common stock and options, rights, warrants, and appreciation rights relating to common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our board of directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. Any common stock that we issue, including under our equity incentive plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, as well as under outstanding options, restricted stock units, or other equity awards would dilute the percentage ownership held by holders of our common stock. From time to time in the future, we may also issue additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into common stock pursuant to a variety of transactions, including acquisitions. Our issuance of additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock would dilute the percentage ownership of the Company held by holders of our common stock and the sale of a significant amount of such shares in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.
We may issue preferred securities, the terms of which could adversely affect the voting power or value of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred securities having such designations, preferences, limitations, and relative rights, including preferences over our common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred securities could adversely impact the voting power or value of our common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred securities the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might assign to holders of preferred securities could affect the residual value of the common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
As of December 31, 2020, we operated through a network of over 300 sales and service offices and three regional distribution centers, as well as 18 multi-use sales and customer and field support locations that house our nine U.L-listed monitoring centers and four national sales centers.
The majority of the properties described above are leased. We lease approximately 3 million square feet of space in the U.S., including approximately 140 thousand square feet of office space for our corporate headquarters located in Boca Raton, Florida. We lease these properties primarily under long-term operating leases with third parties. We also own approximately 500 thousand square feet of space in the U.S.
We continue to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the suitability, adequacy, productive capacity, and utilization of our existing principal physical properties. During 2020, we implemented a temporary work from home strategy as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The success of this initiative may provide us with an opportunity to transition some of our workforce to a more permanent work from home environment, including a portion of our monitoring and customer service employees in our call centers, which may result in changes to our physical property needs. Although a portion of our employees continue to
work from home under our current temporary arrangement, we believe our properties are adequate and suitable for our business as presently conducted and are adequately maintained.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
We are subject to various claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of business, which include contractual disputes; worker’s compensation; employment matters; product, general, and auto liability claims; claims that we infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; claims related to alleged security system failures; and consumer and employment class actions. We are also subject to regulatory and governmental examinations, information requests and subpoenas, inquiries, investigations, and threatened legal actions and proceedings. In connection with such formal and informal inquiries, we receive numerous requests, subpoenas, and orders for documents, testimony, and information in connection with various aspects of our activities. We record accruals for losses that are probable and reasonably estimable. Additional information in response to this Item is included in Note 14 “Commitments and Contingencies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and is incorporated by reference into Part I of this Annual Report. Our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are filed as part of this Annual Report under “Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules” and are set forth beginning on page immediately following the signature pages of this Annual Report.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not Applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information for our Common Stock
We have two classes of common stock outstanding, Common Stock and Class B Common Stock.
In January 2018, we completed an IPO of 105,000,000 shares of Common Stock at an initial public offering price of $14.00 per share pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-222233), which was declared effective by the SEC on January 18, 2018. Shares of Common Stock are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “ADT.” Prior to that time, there was no public market for shares of Common Stock.
In September 2020, we sold and issued 54,744,525 shares of Class B Common Stock at a price of $8.22 per share to Google in a private transaction pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. There is no established public trading market for shares of Class B Common Stock. Shares of Class B Common Stock are convertible on a share-for-share basis into shares of Common Stock at the option of the holder, subject to certain conditions.
Stockholders of Record
As of February 16, 2021, the number of stockholders of record of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock was 71 and one, respectively. This does not include the number of stockholders who hold our Common Stock through banks, brokers, and other financial institutions.
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph and table provide a comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return on our Common Stock from January 19, 2018 (first day of trading following the effective date of our IPO) through December 31, 2020 to the returns of the Standard & Poor's (“S&P”) 500 Index and the S&P North America Commercial & Professional Services Index, a peer group. The graph and table assume that $100 was invested on January 19, 2018 in each of our Common Stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P North America Commercial & Professional Services Index and that any dividends were reinvested. The graph is not, and is not intended to be, indicative of future performance of our Common Stock.
Comparison of Cumulative Total Return for ADT Inc.,
the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P North America Commercial & Professional Services Index
1/19/2018 6/30/2018 12/31/2018 6/30/2019 12/31/2019 6/30/2020 12/31/2020
ADT Inc. $100.00 $70.40 $49.35 $50.82 $72.00 $ 73.42 $72.80
S&P 500 Index $100.00 $97.58 $90.89 $107.74 $119.50 $ 115.81 $141.47
S&P North America Commercial & Professional Services Index $100.00 $100.73 $94.87 $123.49 $131.83 $ 131.84 $162.69
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The following table provides information as of December 31, 2020 with respect to shares of Common Stock issuable under our equity compensation plans. There are no shares of Class B Common Stock issuable under our equity compensation plans. All numbers in the following table are presented after giving effect to the 1.681-for-1 stock split of Common Stock that was effected on January 4, 2018. In addition, the exercise prices of outstanding stock options that were granted prior to December 23, 2019 were reduced by $0.70 in accordance with the provisions of both compensation plans as a result of the payment of a special dividend on December 23, 2019.
Equity Compensation Plans
Plan Category Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants, and rights
(a) Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants, and rights
(b) Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders:
2016 Equity Incentive Plan(1)
3,299,036 $ 6.08 1,504,101
2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan(2)
52,880,752 $ 6.01 32,348,162
Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders - -
Total 56,179,788 33,852,263
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(1)The 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”) provides for the award of stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), and other equity and equity-based awards to our board of directors, officers, and non-officer employees. Amount shown in the column denoted by (a) includes 1,613,608 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the exercise of service-based stock options and 1,685,428 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the exercise of performance-based stock options. We do not expect to issue additional share-based compensation awards under the 2016 Plan.
(2)The 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”) provides for the award of stock options, RSUs, RSAs, and other equity and equity-based awards to our board of directors, officers, and non-officer employees. Amount shown in the column denoted by (a) includes 26,969,889 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the exercise of service-based stock options, 9,119,573 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the exercise of performance-based stock options, 15,872,971 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the vesting of service-based RSUs, 890,303 of shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon the vesting of performance-based RSUs, and 28,016 of shares of Common Stock that may become freely transferable upon the vesting of service-based RSAs. The weighted-average exercise price in column (b) is inclusive of the outstanding RSUs and RSAs, both of which can result in the issuance of shares for no consideration. Excluding the RSUs and RSAs, the weighted-average exercise price is equal to $8.81.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Equity Securities
As part of the consideration associated with the acquisition of Cell Bounce on November 24, 2020, we issued warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2 million shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $7.77 per share and subject to vesting over a three year period upon the achievement of certain mutually agreed milestones. The warrants were issued in a private transaction to individuals and entities previously holding an ownership interest in an entity that we acquired in a private
transaction in reliance on the exemption provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. If the warrants are fully exercised, we will receive aggregate proceeds of approximately $16 million.
There were no other sales of unregistered equity securities during the three months ended December 31, 2020.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Equity Securities
We did not receive any proceeds from sales of registered equity securities during the three months ended December 31, 2020.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On February 27, 2019, we approved a share repurchase program (the “Share Repurchase Program”), which authorized us to repurchase up to $150 million of our shares of Common Stock through February 27, 2021. We announced the Share Repurchase Program on March 11, 2019. On March 23, 2020, we approved an increase to $75 million, inclusive of the amount then remaining under the Share Repurchase Program, in the authorized repurchase amount and an extension of the Share Repurchase Program through March 23, 2021.
We may effect these repurchases pursuant to one or more trading plans to be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (each, a “10b5-1 plan”) under the Exchange Act, in privately negotiated transactions, in open market transactions, or pursuant to an
accelerated share repurchase program. We intend to conduct the Share Repurchase Program in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. We are not obligated to repurchase any of our shares of Common Stock and the timing and amount of any repurchases will depend on legal requirements, market conditions, stock price, alternative uses of capital, and other factors.
During the three months ended December 31, 2020, there were no repurchases of any shares of our Common Stock under the Share Repurchase Program. As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $75 million remaining under the Share Repurchase Program.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
The selected financial data presented in the table below should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the accompanying consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The selected Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the related selected Consolidated Statement of Operations data for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The selected Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, and the related selected Consolidated Statement of Operations data for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report.
Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands, except per share data) 2020(a)(b)(c)
2019(d)(e)(f)
2018(g)(h)(i)
2017(j)(k)
2016(l)
Statement of operations data:
Total revenue $ 5,314,787 $ 5,125,657 $ 4,581,673 $ 4,315,502 $ 2,949,766
Operating income (loss) $ 40,640 $ 196,444 $ 277,840 $ 282,439 $ (229,315)
Net (loss) income $ (632,193) $ (424,150) $ (609,155) $ 342,627 $ (536,587)
Net (loss) income per share - basic:
Common stock $ (0.82) $ (0.57) $ (0.81) $ 0.53 $ (0.84)
Class B common stock $ (0.72) $ - $ - $ - $ -
Weighted-average shares outstanding - basic:
Common stock(m)
760,483 747,238 747,710 641,074 640,725
Class B common stock 15,855 - - - -
Net (loss) income per share - diluted:
Common stock $ (0.82) $ (0.57) $ (0.81) $ 0.53 $ (0.84)
Class B common stock $ (0.74) $ - $ - $ - $ -
Weighted-average shares outstanding - diluted:
Common stock(m)
760,483 747,238 747,710 641,074 640,725
Class B common stock 17,944 - - - -
Dividends declared per share
Common stock $ 0.14 $ 0.84 $ 0.14 $ 1.17 $ -
Class B common stock $ 0.07 $ - $ - $ - $ -
Balance sheet data (at period end):
Cash and cash equivalents $ 204,998 $ 48,736 $ 363,177 $ 122,899 $ 75,891
Total assets $ 16,116,936 $ 16,083,652 $ 17,208,608 $ 17,014,820 $ 17,176,481
Total debt $ 9,492,544 $ 9,692,275 $ 10,002,296 $ 10,169,186 $ 9,509,970
Mandatorily redeemable preferred securities(n)
$ - $ - $ - $ 682,449 $ 633,691
Total liabilities $ 13,077,600 $ 12,899,283 $ 12,983,803 $ 13,581,708 $ 13,371,505
Total stockholders' equity $ 3,039,336 $ 3,184,369 $ 4,224,805 $ 3,433,112 $ 3,804,976
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(a)During January 2020, we completed the Defenders Acquisition.
(b)During September 2020, we sold and issued 55 million shares of Class B Common Stock to Google for $450 million.
(c)During 2020, net loss included loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $120 million due to various financing transactions throughout the year.
(d)During 2019, net loss included loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $104 million due to various financing transactions throughout the year.
(e)During 2019, operating income and net loss included a loss on sale of business of $62 million and a goodwill impairment loss of $45 million related to the sale of ADT Canada during November 2019.
(f)During 2019, we paid a special dividend of $0.70 per share to common stockholders.
(g)During January 2018, we completed an IPO in which we received net proceeds of $1.4 billion, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and offering expenses. The proceeds received from the IPO were used to reduce our debt and redeem the mandatorily redeemable preferred securities in full, which resulted in an aggregate loss on extinguishment of debt of $275 million. In addition, we modified certain share-based compensation awards as well as granted one-time awards in connection with the IPO, which represented approximately $116 million of share-based compensation expense during 2018.
(h)During 2018, operating income and net loss included a goodwill impairment loss of $88 million related to the Canada reporting unit.
(i)During December 2018, we completed the Red Hawk Acquisition.
(j)During 2017, net income included a beneficial impact associated with Tax Reform.
(k)During 2017, we paid a special dividend of $750 million to common stockholders.
(l)During May 2016, we completed the ADT Acquisition.
(m)The weighted-average share numbers are presented after giving effect to the 1.681-for-1 stock split of our common stock that was effected during January 2018, and have been adjusted retroactively for prior periods presented.
(n)During May 2016, we issued mandatorily redeemable preferred securities in connection with the ADT Acquisition. During July 2018, we redeemed the mandatorily redeemable preferred securities in full using the proceeds from our IPO and cash on hand.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
INTRODUCTION
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report to enhance the understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition, and results of operations. The following discussion and analysis represents year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019. Discussion and analysis of year-to-year comparisons between 2019 and 2018 are omitted from this Annual Report and are located in Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC on March 10, 2020.
The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements about our business, operations, and financial performance based on current plans and estimates that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the sections of this Annual Report titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
OVERVIEW
We are a leading provider of security, automation, and smart home solutions serving consumer and business customers in the U.S. We offer many ways to help protect and connect customers by providing 24/7 professional monitoring services as well as delivering lifestyle-driven solutions through professionally installed DIFM, DIY, mobile, and digital-based offerings for residential, small business, and larger commercial customers.
Our baseline security and automation offerings involve the sale, installation, and monitoring of security and premises automation systems designed to detect intrusion; control access; sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal emergencies such as injuries, medical emergencies, or incapacitation. Upon the occurrence of certain initiating events, monitored security systems send event-specific signals to our monitoring centers. Our monitoring center personnel respond to alarms by relaying appropriate information to first responders, such as local police, fire departments, or medical emergency response centers; the customer; or others on the customer’s emergency contact list according to the type of service contract and customer preference. We continue to invest and innovate in our alarm verification technologies as well as partner with industry associations and various first responder agencies to help prioritize response events and enhance response policies. The breadth of our solutions allows us to meet a wide variety of customer needs.
The vast majority of our new customers enroll in our interactive and smart home solutions, which allow our customers to remotely monitor and manage their residential and commercial environments. Depending on the service plan and type of product installation, customers are able to remotely access information regarding the security of their residential or commercial environment, arm and disarm their security systems, adjust lighting or thermostat levels, monitor and react to defined events, or view real-time video from cameras covering different areas of their premises from web-enabled devices (such as smart phones, laptops, and tablet computers) and a customized web portal. Additionally, our interactive and smart home solutions enable customers to create customized and automated schedules for managing lights, thermostats, appliances, garage doors, cameras, and other connected devices. These systems can also be programmed to perform additional functions such as recording and viewing live video and sending text messages or other alerts based on triggering events or conditions.
As part of our innovative and dynamic emerging markets, we are extending the concept of security from the physical home or business to personal on-the-go security and safety with SoSecure, our mobile safety application, and other offerings. Customers’ increasingly mobile and active lifestyles have created new opportunities for us in the fast-growing market for self-monitored DIY products and mobile technology. Our technology also allows us to integrate with various third-party connected and wearable devices so that we can serve our customers whether they are at home or on-the-go. Additionally, we offer personal emergency response system products and services, which are supported by our monitoring centers and utilize our security monitoring infrastructure to provide customers with solutions helping to sustain independent living and encourage better self-care activities.
We have been successful in improving certain of our operating key performance indicators in recent years, such as customer acquisition efficiency and customer retention. We believe these improvements in our fundamentals have positioned us well to achieve long-term capital efficient growth. During 2020, we commenced certain ongoing strategic initiatives that we believe will be transformative to our business. We have seen an increase in interest in smart home offerings and other mobile technology applications that we believe is attributable to a variety of factors, including advancements in technology, younger
generations of consumers, and shifts to de-urbanization. Our strategic initiatives are intended to help us satisfy consumer and commercial demands in light of these macro-level dynamics and to position us for sustainable growth for years to come.
As of December 31, 2020, we served approximately 6.5 million recurring customers. We are one of the largest full-service security companies with a national footprint and we deliver an integrated customer experience by maintaining the industry’s largest sales, installation, and service field force, as well as a 24/7 professional monitoring network.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
All financial information presented in this section has been prepared in U.S. dollars in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and includes the accounts of ADT Inc. and its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated. We report financial and operating information in one segment. However, we expect the manner in which the CODM evaluates results to change during the first quarter of 2021, and as a result, we anticipate a change in our operating and reportable segment structure.
FACTORS AFFECTING OPERATING RESULTS
Our subscriber-based business requires significant upfront investment to generate new customers, which in turn provides predictable recurring revenue generated from our monitoring and other services. In order to optimize returns on customer acquisitions and cash flow generation, we focus on the following key drivers of our business: disciplined, high-quality customer additions; efficient customer acquisition; best-in-class customer service; customer retention; and costs incurred to provide ongoing services to customers.
Our ability to add new subscribers depends on the overall demand for our products and services, which is driven by a number of external factors. The overall economic condition in the geographies in which we operate can impact our ability to attract new customers and grow our business in all customer channels. Growth in our residential customer base can be influenced by the overall state of the housing market. Growth in our commercial customer base can be influenced by the rate at which new businesses begin operations or existing businesses grow. The demand for our products and services is also impacted by the perceived threat of crime, as well as the price and quality of the service of our competitors.
The monthly fees that we generate from any individual customer vary based on the level of service provided and customer tenure. We offer a wide range of services at various price points from basic burglar alarm monitoring to our full suite of interactive services. Our ability to increase monthly fees at the individual customer level depends on a number of factors, including our ability to effectively introduce and market additional features and services that increase the value of our offerings to customers, which we believe drives customers to purchase higher levels of service and supports our ability to make periodic adjustments to pricing.
A portion of our customer base can be expected to cancel its service every year. Customers may choose not to renew or may terminate their contracts for a variety of reasons, including relocation, cost, loss to competition, or service issues. Attrition has a direct impact on our financial results, including revenue, operating income, and cash flows.
COVID-19 Pandemic
During March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus as a pandemic (the “COVID-19 Pandemic”), which has become increasingly widespread in the U.S. Containment efforts and responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic have varied by individuals, businesses, and state and local municipalities, and in certain areas of the U.S, initial and precautionary measures helped mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. However, subsequent easing of such measures resulted in the re-emergence of the coronavirus. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a notable adverse impact on general economic conditions, including the temporary closures of many businesses, increased governmental regulations, and reduced consumer spending due to significant unemployment and other effects attributable to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In order to continue to both protect our employees and serve our customers, we have adjusted and are continuously evolving certain aspects of our operations, which includes (i) detailed protocols for infectious disease safety for employees, (ii) daily wellness checks for employees, and (iii) certain work from home actions, including for the majority of our call center professionals.
While the COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted our commercial channel to a greater extent than our residential channel, we believe our overall recurring revenue and highly variable subscriber acquisition cost model provides a solid financial foundation for strong cash flow generation. Accordingly, we anticipate having sufficient liquidity and capital resources to continue (i) providing essential services, (ii) satisfying our debt requirements, and (iii) having the ability to return capital to our stockholders in the form of a regular quarterly dividend during the current challenging macroeconomic environment and the slowdown brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We have not sought or requested government assistance as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but we did benefit from favorable cash flows and other benefits associated with certain income tax and
payroll tax provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). While we have incurred additional costs associated with personal protective equipment for our employees and work from home actions, we also instituted various temporary cost control measures. Furthermore, we believe the economic downturn, the recent civil unrest, and continued economic and COVID-19 Pandemic uncertainties increase awareness of the need for security, which together with a lower volume of customer relocations and the utilization of temporary pricing and retention initiatives for existing customers, may help counterbalance any increase in gross customer revenue attrition that we may experience as a result of reduced consumer or business spending caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Finally, we may see opportunities for additional acquisitions, continued investment in potential new revenue streams or capabilities, and low cost bulk account purchases.
We considered the emergence and pervasive economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in our assessment of our financial position, results of operations, cash flows, and certain accounting estimates as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020. Due to the evolving and uncertain nature of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is possible that the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic could materially impact our estimates and consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods.
Radio Conversion Costs
The providers of 3G and CDMA cellular networks have notified us that they will be retiring their 3G and CDMA networks during 2022. Accordingly, during 2019, we commenced a program to replace the 3G and CDMA cellular equipment used in many of our security systems. We continue to estimate the range of net costs for this replacement program at $225 million to $300 million through 2022, of which we have incurred $77 million through December 31, 2020. We expect to incur approximately $145 million to $220 million of net costs during 2021. These amounts and ranges are net of any revenue we collect from customers associated with these radio replacements and cellular network conversions.
We seek to minimize these costs by converting customers during routine service visits whenever possible. During November 2020, we acquired Cell Bounce, a technology company with proprietary radio conversion technology in the form of a user-installable device, which is expected to allow for the transition of customers on 3G networks in a cost efficient and timely manner. The replacement program and pace of replacement are subject to change and may be influenced by our ability to access customer sites due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, cost-sharing opportunities with suppliers, carriers, and customers, as well as new and innovative technologies.
Commercial Agreement
In addition to the issuance and sale of Class B Common Stock to Google, we entered into the Commercial Agreement, pursuant to which Google has agreed to supply us with certain Google devices as well as certain Google video and analytics services (“Google Services”), for sale to our customers. Subject to customary termination rights related to breach and change of control, the Commercial Agreement has an initial term of seven years from the date that the Google Service is successfully integrated into our end-user security and automation platform, which is targeted for no later than June 30, 2022. If the integrated service is not launched by June 30, 2022 then we will be required to offer Google Services without integration for professional installations except for existing customers who already have ADT Pulse or ADT Control interactive services until such integration has been made. Further, subject to certain carve-outs, we have agreed to exclusively sell Google end-user video and sensing analytics services and smart-home, security and safety devices to our customers. The exclusivity restriction does not apply to, among others, sales of Blue by ADT DIY products and services, providing services to customers on certain of our legacy platforms, sales to large commercial customers, and sales of certain devices that Google does not supply to us.
The Commercial Agreement also contains customary termination rights for both parties. In addition, Google has rights to terminate the Commercial Agreement if (i) we divest any part of our direct to consumer business and the acquiring entity does not agree to assume all obligations under the Commercial Agreement, or (ii) we breach certain provisions of the Commercial Agreement and do not cure such breaches. In the event that we breach the Commercial Agreement in a manner reasonably likely to result in a material adverse effect on Google’s business or brand, or we breach certain data security and privacy obligations under the Commercial Agreement, we must suspend the sale of Google Services and certain devices during the applicable cure period. Upon termination of the Commercial Agreement, we will no longer have rights to sell the Google Service or devices to new customers, subject to an applicable transition period. In addition, the Google Services may not be accessible by our customers through our integrated end-user application during any cure period for our breach of certain data security and privacy provisions of the Commercial Agreement or upon termination of the agreement for a breach of such provisions.
The Commercial Agreement specifies that each party will contribute $150 million towards the joint marketing of devices and services, customer acquisition, training of our employees for the sales, installation, customer service, and maintenance for the product and service offerings, and technology updates for products included in such offerings. Each party is required to contribute such funds in three equal tranches, subject to the attainment of certain milestones.
Next Generation Platform
In November 2020, we announced the ongoing development of our ADT-owned next-generation professional security and automation technology platform, which is currently being developed in coordination with Google. Our comprehensive interactive platform is expected to provide customers with a seamless experience across security, life safety, automation, and analytics through a common application. Additionally, our platform is expected to integrate the user experience, customer service experience, and back-end support.
We expect to incur approximately $50 million during 2021 associated with the development of our next generation platform. These initiatives are in the early stages, and it is possible that we could experience a material increase in the costs associated with these initiatives.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
The comparability of our results of operations has been impacted by the following:
Initial Public Offering
During January 2018, we completed our IPO in which we issued and sold 105,000,000 shares of common stock at an initial public offering price of $14.00 per share. Net proceeds from the IPO were $1.4 billion, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and offering expenses. The proceeds received from the IPO were used to reduce our debt and redeem the mandatorily redeemable preferred securities in full, which resulted in an aggregate loss on extinguishment of debt of $275 million. In addition, we modified certain share-based compensation awards as well as granted one-time awards in connection with the IPO, which represented approximately $116 million of share-based compensation expense during 2018.
As a result of our IPO, we incur additional legal, accounting, board compensation, and other expenses that we did not previously incur prior to becoming a public company, including costs associated with SEC reporting and corporate governance requirements. These requirements include compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, as well as other rules implemented by the SEC and the national securities exchanges. Our consolidated financial statements following our IPO reflect the impact of these expenses.
Red Hawk Acquisition
During December 2018, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Red Hawk, a leader in commercial fire, life safety, and security services, for total consideration of approximately $316 million and cash paid of $299 million, net of cash acquired. We funded the Red Hawk Acquisition from a combination of debt financing and cash on hand. This acquisition accelerated our growth in the commercial security market and expanded our product portfolio with the introduction of commercial fire safety related solutions.
Disposition of Canadian Operations
During November 2019, we sold ADT Canada to TELUS for a selling price of $514 million (CAD $676 million). In connection with the sale of ADT Canada, we entered into a transition services agreement with TELUS whereby we provide certain post-closing services to TELUS related to the business of ADT Canada. Additionally, we entered into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement with TELUS pursuant to which we will not have any operations in Canada, subject to limited exceptions for cross-border commercial customers and mobile safety applications, for a period of seven years. Finally, we entered into a patent and trademark license agreement with TELUS granting (i) the use of our patents in Canada for a period of seven years and (ii) exclusive use of our trademarks in Canada for a period of five years and non-exclusive use for an additional two years thereafter.
The sale of ADT Canada did not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our operations and financial results, and therefore, did not meet the criteria to be reported as discontinued operations.
Defenders Acquisition
During January 2020, we acquired our largest independent dealer, Defender Holdings, Inc. (“Defenders”) (the “Defenders Acquisition”), for total consideration of approximately $290 million, which consisted of cash paid of $173 million, net of cash acquired, and the issuance of approximately 16 million shares of our Common Stock with a fair value of $114 million. In connection with the Defenders Acquisition, we recorded a loss from the settlement of a pre-existing relationship with Defenders in the amount of $81 million in merger, restructuring, integration, and other in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Equipment Ownership Model Change
During February 2020, we launched a new revenue model initiative for certain residential customers which (i) revised the amount and nature of fees due at installation, (ii) introduced a 60 month monitoring contract option, and (iii) introduced a new retail installment contract which allows qualifying residential customers to repay the fees due at installation over the course of a 24, 36, or 60 month interest-free period. Due to the requirements of our initial third-party consumer financing program, we also transitioned our security system ownership model from a predominately Company-owned model to a predominately customer-owned model (the “Equipment Ownership Model Change”).
During March 2020, we entered into the Receivables Facility. Under the terms of the Receivables Facility, we may receive up to $200 million of financing secured by retail installment contract receivables from transactions involving security systems that were sold under a customer-owned model. During April 2020, we amended the Receivables Facility to also permit financing secured by retail installment contract receivables from transactions occurring under the Company-owned model. During May 2020, we started to transition our security system ownership model back to a predominately Company-owned model.
In connection with the above, and with respect to transactions arising through Defenders, which has historically used a customer-owned ownership model, subsequent to the Defenders Acquisition, our residential transactions during 2020 included an increase in transactions based on a customer-owned model. We expect our transition to a Company-owned model to negatively impact revenue during 2021 due to different revenue recognition policies applicable to each ownership model. We are in the early stages of our revenue model initiative and we cannot be certain that this initiative or our transition back to a predominately Company-owned model, which is anticipated to include transactions arising through Defenders for a portion of 2021, will achieve the desired outcomes. Accordingly, the results of the new revenue model initiative and impact of our transition back to a predominately Company-owned model could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and key performance indicators.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
In evaluating our results, we utilize key performance indicators which include non-GAAP measures as well as certain other operating metrics such as recurring monthly revenue and gross customer revenue attrition. Our computations of key performance indicators may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Additionally, our operating metric key performance indicators are approximated as there may be variations to reported results in each period due to certain adjustments we might make in connection with the integration over several periods of acquired companies that calculated these metrics differently, or otherwise, including periodic reassessments and refinements in the ordinary course of business. These refinements, for example, may include changes due to systems conversions or historical methodology differences in legacy systems.
Recurring Monthly Revenue (“RMR”)
RMR is generated by contractual recurring fees for monitoring and other recurring services provided to our customers. We believe the presentation of RMR is useful because it measures the volume of revenue under contract at a given point in time.
Gross Customer Revenue Attrition
A portion of our customer base can be expected to cancel its service every year. Customers may choose not to renew or may terminate their contracts for a variety of reasons, including relocation, cost, loss to competition, or service issues. Gross customer revenue attrition has a direct impact on our financial results, including revenue, operating income, and cash flows.
Gross customer revenue attrition is defined as RMR lost as a result of customer attrition, net of dealer charge-backs and reinstated customers, excluding contracts monitored but not owned and DIY customers. Customer sites are considered canceled when all services are terminated. Dealer charge-backs represent customer cancellations charged back to the dealers because the customer canceled service during the charge-back period, which is generally thirteen months.
Gross customer revenue attrition is calculated on a trailing twelve-month basis, the numerator of which is the RMR lost during the period due to attrition, net of dealer charge-backs and reinstated customers, excluding contracts monitored but not owned and DIY customers, and the denominator of which is total annualized RMR based on an average of RMR under contract at the beginning of each month during the period.
As of January 1, 2019, in conjunction with the acquisition of LifeShield LLC, we began presenting gross customer revenue attrition excluding existing and new DIY customers. As a result, trailing twelve-month gross customer revenue attrition excludes DIY customers for all periods presented in this Annual Report. For all prior reports covering periods prior to January 1, 2019, trailing twelve-month gross customer revenue attrition included DIY customers. Including DIY customers as of December 31, 2018 rounds to the same percentage as presented in this Annual Report.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that we believe is useful to investors to measure the operational strength and performance of our business. Our definition of Adjusted EBITDA, a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) (the most comparable GAAP measure), and additional information, including a description of the limitations relating to the use of Adjusted EBITDA, are provided under “-Non-GAAP Measures.”
Free Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure that our management employs to measure cash that is available to repay debt, make other investments, and pay dividends. Our definition of Free Cash Flow, a reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to cash flows from operating activities (the most comparable GAAP measure), and additional information, including a description of the limitations relating to the use of Free Cash Flow, are provided under “-Non-GAAP Measures.”
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth our consolidated results of operations, summary cash flow data, and key performance indicators for the periods presented.
(in thousands, except as otherwise indicated)
Years Ended December 31, $ Change
Results of Operations:
2020 2019 2018 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018
Monitoring and related services $ 4,186,987 $ 4,307,582 $ 4,109,939 $ (120,595) $ 197,643
Installation and other 1,127,800 818,075 471,734 309,725 346,341
Total revenue 5,314,787 5,125,657 4,581,673 189,130 543,984
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below) 1,516,528 1,390,284 1,041,336 126,244 348,948
Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,722,906 1,406,532 1,246,950 316,374 159,582
Depreciation and intangible asset amortization 1,913,767 1,989,082 1,930,929 (75,315) 58,153
Merger, restructuring, integration, and other 120,208 35,882 (3,344) 84,326 39,226
Goodwill impairment - 45,482 87,962 (45,482) (42,480)
Loss on sale of business 738 61,951 - (61,213) 61,951
Operating income 40,640 196,444 277,840 (155,804) (81,396)
Interest expense, net (708,189) (619,573) (663,204) (88,616) 43,631
Loss on extinguishment of debt (119,663) (104,075) (274,836) (15,588) 170,761
Other income 8,293 5,012 27,582 3,281 (22,570)
Loss before income taxes (778,919) (522,192) (632,618) (256,727) 110,426
Income tax benefit 146,726 98,042 23,463 48,684 74,579
Net loss $ (632,193) $ (424,150) $ (609,155) $ (208,043) $ 185,005
Summary Cash Flow Data:
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,366,749 $ 1,873,117 $ 1,787,607 $ (506,368) $ 85,510
Net cash used in investing activities $ (1,137,477) $ (978,177) $ (1,738,210) $ (159,300) $ 760,033
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities $ (70,261) $ (1,214,204) $ 193,001 $ 1,143,943 $ (1,407,205)
Key Performance Indicators: (1)
RMR $ 343,243 $ 336,128 $ 346,751 $ 7,115 $ (10,623)
Gross customer revenue attrition (percentage) (2)
13.1 % 13.4 % 13.3 % (30) bps (10) bps
Adjusted EBITDA (3)
$ 2,199,237 $ 2,483,210 $ 2,453,497 $ (283,973) $ 29,713
Free Cash Flow (3)
$ 410,487 $ 502,283 $ 390,993 $ (91,796) $ 111,290
_______________________
(1)Refer to the “-Key Performance Indicators” section for the definitions of these key performance indicators.
(2)Trailing twelve-month gross customer revenue attrition excludes DIY customers for all periods presented in this Annual Report. For all prior reports covering periods prior to January 1, 2019, trailing twelve-month gross customer revenue attrition included DIY customers. Including DIY customers as of December 31, 2018 rounds to the same percentage as presented in this Annual Report. Refer to the “-Key Performance Indicators” section for further details.
(3)Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are non-GAAP measures. Refer to the “-Non-GAAP Measures” section for the definitions of these terms and reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures.
2020 Compared to 2019
Monitoring and Related Services Revenue
The decrease in monitoring and related services revenue was driven by a decrease in recurring revenue primarily due to the sale of ADT Canada. This decrease was offset by an increase in recurring revenue in the U.S. largely due to improvements in average pricing as new and existing residential customers selected higher priced interactive services as well as temporary price escalations on our existing customer base. Average customer count remained relatively flat due to recent improvements in attrition and customer additions.
The increase in RMR to $343 million as of December 31, 2020 from $336 million as of December 31, 2019 was primarily due to improvements in average pricing and net customer additions. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, gross customer revenue attrition was 13.1% and 13.4%, respectively. The improvement in attrition was primarily due to fewer customer relocations and the benefit of customer retention initiatives.
Installation and Other Revenue
The increase in installation and other revenue was primarily due to a higher volume of revenue from equipment sold outright to residential customers as a result of the Defenders Acquisition and the Equipment Ownership Model Change. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in the volume of revenue from equipment sold outright to commercial customers as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the sale of ADT Canada.
We expect our transition to a Company-owned model for our residential transactions to negatively impact revenue during 2021 due to different revenue recognition policies applicable to each ownership model.
Cost of Revenue
The increase in cost of revenue was primarily due to an increase in installation costs associated with a higher volume of transactions in which equipment was sold outright to residential customers as a result of the Defenders Acquisition and the Equipment Ownership Model Change. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in installation costs associated with a lower volume of transactions in which equipment was sold outright to commercial customers as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the sale of ADT Canada.
We expect our transition to a Company-owned model for our residential transactions to favorably impact cost of revenue during 2021 due to different accounting policies applicable to each ownership model.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to (i) an increase in expenses, excluding provision for credit losses, of $282 million associated with the Defenders Acquisition; (ii) a greater provision for credit losses of $58 million due to the estimated impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a higher volume of longer duration receivables, and from recent acquisitions; (iii) an increase in radio conversion costs of $59 million; and (iv) an increase in selling costs, which includes amortization of deferred subscriber acquisition costs. These increases were partially offset by (i) a decrease in advertising expenses, exclusive of incremental advertising expenses from recent acquisitions; (ii) a decrease of $43 million as a result of the sale of ADT Canada, (iii) a decrease of $20 million as a result of recoveries on notes receivable from a former strategic investment, and (iv) a decrease of $18 million from financing and consent associated with financing transactions.
Depreciation and Intangible Asset Amortization
The decrease in depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense was primarily due to a decrease of $70 million associated with the sale of ADT Canada as well as a decrease in the depreciation of subscriber system assets. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of the amortization of customer contracts acquired under the ADT Authorized Dealer Program.
Merger, Restructuring, Integration, and Other
The increase in merger, restructuring, integration, and other was primarily due to a loss of $81 million associated with the settlement of a pre-existing relationship in connection with the Defenders Acquisition. This increase was partially offset by $12 million of losses on a strategic investment, substantially all of which was recognized in 2019.
Goodwill Impairment
During 2019, we recorded a goodwill impairment loss of $45 million in connection with the sale of ADT Canada. We did not record a goodwill impairment loss during 2020.
Loss on Sale of Business
During 2019, we recorded a loss on sale of business of $62 million in connection with the sale of ADT Canada. The impact in connection with the sale of ADT Canada was not material during 2020.
Interest Expense, net
The increase in interest expense, net, was primarily due to (i) an increase of $52 million related to the reclassification of accumulated unrealized losses associated with interest rate swap contracts that have been de-designated as cash flow hedges, (ii) an increase of $52 million related to unrealized losses on interest rate swap contracts as a result of cash flow hedges no longer being highly effective, and (iii) an increase of $27 million related to an increase in outstanding principal on our fixed-rate first lien notes due to our financing transactions during 2020 and 2019. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in interest expense of $53 million related to our second lien notes due to partial redemptions during 2019 and a reduced interest rate as a result of refinancing during January 2020.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
During 2020, loss on extinguishment of debt totaled $120 million and included (i) $66 million associated with the call premium and write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs in connection with the $1.2 billion redemption of second lien notes in February 2020, (ii) $49 million associated with the call premium and write-off of unamortized fair value adjustments in connection with the $1 billion redemption of first lien notes in September 2020, and (iii) $5 million associated with the partial write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs and discount in connection with the $300 million repayment on a first lien term loan in December 2020.
During 2019, loss on extinguishment of debt totaled $104 million and included (i) $22 million associated with the call premium and partial write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs in connection with the $300 million partial redemption of the second lien notes in February 2019, (ii) $61 million associated with the call premium and partial write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs in connection with the $1 billion partial redemption of second lien notes in April 2019, (iii) $6 million associated with the partial write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs and discount in connection with the $500 million repayment of a first lien term loan in April 2019, and (iv) $13 million associated with the partial write-off of unamortized deferred financing costs and discount in connection with the amendment and restatement to our first lien credit agreement in September 2019.
Income Tax Benefit
Income tax benefit for 2020 was $147 million, resulting in an effective tax rate for the period of 18.8%. The effective tax rate primarily represents the federal income tax rate of 21.0%, a state statutory tax rate, net of federal benefits, of 2.9%, a 3.1% unfavorable impact from non-deductible charges primarily due to the Defenders Acquisition, and a 1.5% unfavorable impact from an increase in valuation allowances primarily due to tax credits and state net operating losses not expected to be utilized prior to expiration.
Income tax benefit for 2019 was $98 million, resulting in an effective tax rate for the period of 18.8%. The effective tax rate primarily represents the federal income tax rate of 21.0%, a state statutory tax rate, net of federal benefits, of 1.4%, a 6.8% favorable impact from net capital losses generated in the U.S. and Canada related to the sale of ADT Canada, a 1.9% favorable impact from amendments to prior year tax returns, a 9.4% unfavorable impact from valuation allowances established on the net capital losses generated in the U.S. and Canada related to the sale of ADT Canada, and a 2.3% unfavorable impact from non-deductible goodwill impairment loss.
NON-GAAP MEASURES
To provide investors with additional information in connection with our results as determined in accordance with GAAP, we disclose Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow as non-GAAP measures. These measures are not financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flows, or any other measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Adjusted EBITDA
We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is appropriate to provide additional information to investors about our operating profitability adjusted for certain non-cash items, non-routine items that we do not expect to continue at the same level in the future, as well as other items that are not core to our operations. Further, we believe Adjusted EBITDA provides a meaningful measure of operating profitability because we use it for evaluating our business performance, making budgeting decisions, and comparing our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss adjusted for (i) interest, (ii) taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, including depreciation of subscriber system assets and other fixed assets and amortization of dealer and other intangible assets, (iv) amortization of deferred costs and deferred revenue associated with subscriber acquisitions, (v) share-based compensation expense, (vi) merger, restructuring, integration, and other, (vii) losses on extinguishment of debt, (viii) radio conversion costs, (ix) financing and consent fees, (x) foreign currency gains/losses, (xi) acquisition related adjustments, and (xii) other charges and non-cash items.
There are material limitations to using Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA does not take into account certain significant items, including depreciation and amortization, interest, taxes, and other adjustments which directly affect our net income or loss. These limitations are best addressed by considering the economic effects of the excluded items independently, and by considering Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with net income or loss as calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Free Cash Flow
We believe that the presentation of Free Cash Flow is appropriate to provide additional information to investors about our ability to repay debt, make other investments, and pay dividends.
We define Free Cash Flow as cash flows from operating activities less cash outlays related to capital expenditures. We define capital expenditures to include accounts purchased through our network of authorized dealers or third parties outside of our authorized dealer network; subscriber system asset expenditures; and purchases of property and equipment. These items are subtracted from cash flows from operating activities because they represent long-term investments that are required for normal business activities.
Free Cash Flow adjusts for cash items that are ultimately within management’s discretion to direct, and therefore, may imply that there is less or more cash that is available than the most comparable GAAP measure. Free Cash Flow is not intended to represent residual cash flow for discretionary expenditures since debt repayment requirements and other non-discretionary expenditures are not deducted. These limitations are best addressed by using Free Cash Flow in combination with the cash flows as calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA
The table below reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the periods presented:
Years Ended December 31, $ Change
(in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018
Net loss $ (632,193) $ (424,150) $ (609,155) $ (208,043) $ 185,005
Interest expense, net 708,189 619,573 663,204 88,616 (43,631)
Income tax benefit (146,726) (98,042) (23,463) (48,684) (74,579)
Depreciation and intangible asset amortization 1,913,767 1,989,082 1,930,929 (75,315) 58,153
Amortization of deferred subscriber acquisition costs 96,823 80,128 59,928 16,695 20,200
Amortization of deferred subscriber acquisition revenue (124,804) (107,284) (79,136) (17,520) (28,148)
Share-based compensation expense 96,013 85,626 135,012 10,387 (49,386)
Merger, restructuring, integration, and other 120,208 35,882 (3,344) 84,326 39,226
Goodwill impairment - 45,482 87,962 (45,482) (42,480)
Loss on sale of business 738 61,951 - (61,213) 61,951
Loss on extinguishment of debt 119,663 104,075 274,836 15,588 (170,761)
Radio conversion costs, net(1)
51,889 24,983 5,099 26,906 19,884
Financing and consent fees(2)
5,263 23,250 8,857 (17,987) 14,393
Foreign currency (gains)/losses(3)
- (1,250) 3,228 1,250 (4,478)
Acquisition related adjustments(4)
438 22,285 16,178 (21,847) 6,107
Licensing fees(5)
- - (21,533) - 21,533
Other(6)
(10,031) 21,619 4,895 (31,650) 16,724
Adjusted EBITDA $ 2,199,237 $ 2,483,210 $ 2,453,497 $ (283,973) $ 29,713
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(1)Represents costs, net of any incremental revenue earned, associated with replacing cellular technology used in many of our security systems pursuant to a replacement program.
(2)Represents fees expensed associated with financing transactions.
(3)Represents the conversion of intercompany loans that are denominated in Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars.
(4)Represents amortization of purchase accounting adjustments and compensation arrangements related to acquisitions.
(5)Represents other income related to $22 million of one-time licensing fees.
(6)Represents other charges and non-cash items. During 2020, included recoveries of $10 million associated with notes receivable from a former strategic investment. During 2019, included losses of $10 million associated with notes receivable from a former strategic investment and $6 million associated with an estimated legal settlement, net of insurance. During 2018, included a gain of $7.5 million from the sale of equity in a third-party that we received as part of a settlement.
2020 Compared to 2019
The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to (i) an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, excluding items outside of our definition of Adjusted EBITDA, largely due to the Defenders Acquisition and the provision for credit losses and (ii) the sale of ADT Canada. The decrease was partially offset by an increase from transactions in which equipment is sold outright to customers, net of the associated costs.
We expect our transition to a Company-owned model for our residential transactions to negatively impact Adjusted EBITDA during 2021 due to different accounting policies applicable to each ownership model.
Refer to the discussions above under “-Results of Operations” for further details.
Free Cash Flow
The table below reconciles Free Cash Flow to cash flows from operating activities for the periods presented:
Years Ended December 31, $ Change
(in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,366,749 $ 1,873,117 $ 1,787,607 $ (506,368) $ 85,510
Dealer generated customer accounts and bulk account purchases (380,716) (669,683) (693,525) 288,967 23,842
Subscriber system asset expenditures (418,355) (542,305) (576,290) 123,950 33,985
Purchases of property and equipment (157,191) (158,846) (126,799) 1,655 (32,047)
Free Cash Flow $ 410,487 $ 502,283 $ 390,993 $ (91,796) $ 111,290
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Refer to the discussion below under “-Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further details regarding cash flows from operating activities.
Cash Outlays Related to Capital Expenditures
Dealer generated customer accounts and bulk account purchases, subscriber system asset expenditures, and purchases of property and equipment are included in cash flows from investing activities. Refer to the discussion below under “-Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further details regarding cash flows from investing activities.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity
Our principal liquidity requirements are to finance current operations, invest in acquiring and retaining customers, purchase property and equipment, service our debt, and finance potential mergers and acquisitions. Our liquidity requirements are primarily funded by our cash flows from operations, which include cash received from monthly recurring revenue and upfront fees received from customers, less cash costs to provide services to our customers, including general and administrative costs, certain costs associated with acquiring new customers, and interest payments.
We expect our ongoing sources of liquidity to include cash generated from operations, borrowings under our revolving credit facility and Receivables Facility, and the issuance of equity and/or debt securities as appropriate given market conditions. Our future cash needs are expected to include cash for operating activities, working capital, capital expenditures, strategic investments, periodic principal and interest payments on our debt, and potential dividend payments to our stockholders. We may, from time to time, seek to repay, redeem, repurchase, or refinance our indebtedness, or seek to retire or purchase our outstanding securities through cash purchases in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions or through a 10b5-1 repurchase plan or otherwise, and any such transactions may involve material amounts. We believe our cash position, borrowing capacity available under our revolving credit facility and Receivables Facility, and cash provided by operating activities are, and will continue to be, adequate to meet our operational and business needs in the next twelve months as well as our long-term liquidity needs.
Our ability to meet our debt service obligations and other capital requirements, including capital expenditures, as well as finance acquisitions, will depend on our future operating performance, which is subject to future general economic, financial, business, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other conditions, many of which are beyond our control. Changes in our operating plans, material changes in anticipated sales, increased expenses, acquisitions, or other events may cause us to seek equity and/or debt financing in future periods. There can be no guarantee that financing will be available on acceptable terms or at all. Debt financing, if available, could impose additional cash payment obligations and subject us to additional covenants and operating restrictions.
We are a highly leveraged company with significant debt service requirements. As of December 31, 2020, we had $205 million in cash and cash equivalents and $400 million available under our revolving credit facility. In addition, we had an uncommitted available borrowing capacity of $124 million under our Receivables Facility, which is dependent on the volume of eligible retail installment contract receivables that can be sold under our Receivables Facility. The carrying amount of total debt outstanding was approximately $9.5 billion as of December 31, 2020.
Long-Term Debt
As of December 31, 2020, we had the following outstanding debt balances (excluding finance leases, deferred financing costs, discount, premium, and fair value adjustments):
(in thousands)
Debt Description Issued Maturity Interest Rate Interest Payable Principal
First Lien Term Loan due 2026 9/23/2019 9/23/2026 Adj. LIBOR +3.25% Quarterly $ 2,778,900
Second Lien Notes due 2028 1/28/2020 1/15/2028 6.250% 1/15 and 7/15 1,300,000
First Lien Notes due 2024 4/4/2019 4/15/2024 5.250% 2/15 and 8/15 750,000
First Lien Notes due 2026 4/4/2019 4/15/2026 5.750% 3/15 and 9/15 1,350,000
First Lien Notes due 2027 8/20/2020 8/31/2027 3.375% 6/15 and 12/15 1,000,000
ADT Notes due 2022 7/5/2012 7/15/2022 3.500% 1/15 and 7/15 1,000,000
ADT Notes due 2023 1/14/2013 6/15/2023 4.125% 6/15 and 12/15 700,000
ADT Notes due 2032 5/2/2016 7/15/2032 4.875% 1/15 and 7/15 728,016
ADT Notes due 2042 7/5/2012 7/15/2042 4.875% 1/15 and 7/15 21,896
Receivables Facility 3/5/2020 11/20/2025 LIBOR + 1.00% Monthly 75,775
Total $ 9,704,587
First Lien Credit Agreement
Concurrently with the consummation of the Formation Transactions, we entered into a first lien credit agreement dated as of July 1, 2015 (together with subsequent amendments and restatements, the “First Lien Credit Agreement”), which has since been amended and restated on May 2, 2016, June 23, 2016, December 28, 2016, February 13, 2017, June 29, 2017, March 16, 2018, December 3, 2018, March 15, 2019 (effective April 4, 2019), and September 23, 2019.
As of December 31, 2020, the First Lien Credit Agreement consisted of the following:
•A term loan facility (“The First Lien Term Loan due 2026”) with an outstanding aggregate principal balance of $2.8 billion. Below is a summary of key events related to the First Lien Term Loan due 2026 during 2020 and 2019:
◦September 2019 - In connection with the amendment and restatement dated as of September 23, 2019 and with a $300 million repayment, we refinanced and replaced the $3.4 billion aggregate principal amount of the first lien term loan due in May 2022 (the “First Lien Term B-1 Loan”) with $3.1 billion aggregate principal amount of the First Lien Term Loan due 2026; and
◦December 2020 - We made a $300 million prepayment, which was applied to the remaining required principal payments of $8 million per quarter.
The First Lien Term Loan due 2026 is payable at maturity and we may make voluntary prepayments on the First Lien Term Loan due 2026 at any time prior to maturity at par. In addition, we are required to make annual prepayments on the outstanding First Lien Term Loan due 2026 with a percentage of our excess cash flow, as defined in the First Lien Credit Agreement, if our excess cash flow exceeds a certain specified threshold. We were not required to make any annual prepayments based on our excess cash flow as of December 31, 2020.
The First Lien Term Loan due 2026 had an interest rate calculated as, at our option, either (a) LIBOR determined by reference to the costs of funds for Eurodollar deposits for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, adjusted for certain additional costs (“Adjusted LIBOR”) with a floor of 1.00%, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% per annum, (ii) the prime rate published by the Wall Street Journal, and (iii) one-month Adjusted LIBOR plus 1.00% per annum (“Base Rate”), in each case, plus the applicable margin of 3.25% for Adjusted LIBOR loans and 2.25% for Base Rate loans and is payable at least quarterly.
In January 2021, we amended the First Lien Credit Agreement to refinance the First Lien Term Loan due 2026, which reduced the applicable margin for Adjusted LIBOR loans from 3.25% to 2.750% and reduced the floor from 1.00% to 0.75%. Additionally, the amendment requires us to make quarterly payments equal to 0.250% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the First Lien Term Loan due 2026, or approximately $7 million per quarter. We may make voluntary prepayments on the First Lien Term Loan due 2026 at any time prior to maturity at par, subject to a 1.00% prepayment premium in the event of certain specified events at any time during the six months after the closing date of the amendment.
•The first lien revolving credit facility with an aggregate available commitment of up to $400 million through March 16, 2023 (the “First Lien Revolving Credit Facility”). As of December 31, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility.
Borrowings under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest at a rate equal to, at our option, either (a) Adjusted LIBOR, or (b) the Base Rate, plus the applicable margin of 2.75% for Adjusted LIBOR loans and 1.75% for Base Rate loans. Additionally, we are required to pay a commitment fee between 0.375% and 0.50% (determined based on a net first lien leverage ratio) with respect to the unused commitments under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility.
Second Lien Notes due 2028
As of December 31, 2020, the 6.250% second-priority senior secured notes due 2028 (the “Second Lien Notes due 2028”) had an outstanding balance of $1.3 billion. The Second Lien Notes due 2028 were issued in January 2020 to refinance and redeem the then outstanding $1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of our 9.250% second-priority senior secured notes due 2023 (the “Prime Notes”).
The Second Lien Notes due 2028 will mature on January 15, 2028 with semi-annual interest payment dates of January 15 and July 15, and may be redeemed at our option as follows:
•Prior to January 15, 2023, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, (a) at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Second Lien Notes due 2028 redeemed, plus a make-whole premium and accrued and unpaid interest as of, but excluding, the redemption date or (b) for up to 40% of the original aggregate principal amount of the Second Lien Notes due 2028 and in an aggregate amount equal to the net cash proceeds of any equity offerings, at a redemption price equal to 106.250%, plus accrued and unpaid interest, so long as at least 50% of the original aggregate principal amount of the Second Lien Notes due 2028 shall remain outstanding after each such redemption.
•On or after January 15, 2023, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at a redemption price equal to 103.125% of the principal amount of the Second Lien Notes due 2028 redeemed and accrued and unpaid interest as of, but excluding, the redemption date. The redemption price decreases to 101.563% on or after January 15, 2024 and decreases to 100% on or after January 15, 2025.
Additionally, upon the occurrence of specified change of control events, we must offer to repurchase the Second Lien Notes due 2028 at 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the purchase date. The indenture governing the Second Lien Notes due 2028 also provides for customary events of default.
First Lien Notes due 2024 and First Lien Notes due 2026
As of December 31, 2020, the 5.250% first-priority senior secured notes due 2024 (the “First Lien Notes due 2024”) had an outstanding balance of $750 million and the 5.750% first-priority senior secured notes due 2026 (the “First Lien Notes due 2026”) had an outstanding balance of $1.4 billion. Below is a summary of key events related to the First Lien Notes due 2024 and First Lien Notes due 2026 during 2020 and 2019:
•April 2019 - We issued $750 million of First Lien Notes due 2024 and $750 million First Lien Notes due 2026, the proceeds of which were used to repurchase and cancel $1 billion of the Prime Notes and repay $500 million of the First Lien Term B-1 Loan (prior to refinancing as discussed above); and
•September 2019 - We issued an additional $600 million of the First Lien Notes due 2026, the proceeds of which were used to repay approximately $300 million of the First Lien Term B-1 Loan and repurchase and cancel $300 million of the 5.250% notes due 2020 issued by The ADT Corporation (our notes originally issued by The ADT Corporation, collectively, the “ADT Notes”).
Both the First Lien Notes due 2024 and the First Lien Notes due 2026 are due at maturity, and may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at any time at a make-whole premium plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date. Additionally, upon the occurrence of specified change of control events, we must offer to repurchase the notes at 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the purchase date.
First Lien Notes due 2027
As of December 31, 2020, the 3.375% first-priority senior secured notes due 2027 (the “First Lien Notes due 2027”) had an outstanding balance of $1 billion. The First Lien Notes due 2027 were issued in August 2020 to refinance and redeem the then outstanding $1 billion aggregate principal amount of the 6.250% ADT Notes due 2021 (the “ADT Notes due 2021”).
The First Lien Notes due 2027 will mature on August 31, 2027 with semi-annual interest payment dates of June 15 and December 15, and may be redeemed at our option as follows:
•Prior to August 31, 2026, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at a make-whole premium plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon to the redemption date.
•On or after August 31, 2026, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the First Lien Notes due 2027 redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon to the redemption date.
Additionally, upon the occurrence of specified change of control events, we must offer to repurchase the First Lien Notes due 2027 at 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the purchase date. The indenture governing the First Lien Notes due 2027 also provides for customary events of default.
ADT Notes
As of December 31, 2020, the ADT Notes had an outstanding balance of $2.4 billion. Below is a summary of key events related to the ADT Notes during 2020 and 2019:
•September 2019 - We repurchased and cancelled $147 million aggregate principal amount of the ADT Notes due 2020 at a price of $149 million;
•October 2019 - We redeemed the remaining $153 million aggregate principal amount of the ADT Notes due 2020 at a price of $155 million; and
•September 2020 - We redeemed the outstanding $1 billion aggregate principal amount of the ADT Notes due 2021 at a price of $1.1 billion.
The ADT Notes are due at maturity, and may be redeemed, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at a redemption price equal to the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus a make-whole premium, plus accrued and unpaid interest as of, but excluding, the redemption date. Additionally, upon the occurrence of specified change of control events, we must offer to repurchase the ADT Notes at 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the purchase date.
Receivables Facility
During March 2020, we entered into the Receivables Facility. Under the terms of the Receivables Facility, we may receive up to $200 million of financing secured by retail installment contract receivables from transactions involving security systems that were sold under a customer-owned model. During April 2020, we amended the Receivables Facility to also permit financing secured by retail installment contract receivables from transactions occurring under our Company-owned model. The Receivables Facility has a one year revolving period until March 5, 2021, which may be extended, and bears interest at a variable rate. If the revolving period is not extended, we are required to repay the Receivables Facility in a manner consistent with the contractual collections of the underlying retail installment contract receivables. We may make voluntary prepayments on the Receivables Facility at any time prior to maturity at par.
We obtain financing by selling or contributing certain retail installment contract receivables to our wholly-owned consolidated bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity (the “SPE”), which, pursuant to the Receivables Facility, borrows funds secured by the transferred retail installment contract receivables. The SPE is a separate legal entity with its own creditors who will be entitled, prior to and upon the liquidation of the SPE, to be satisfied out of the SPE’s assets prior to any assets in the SPE becoming available to us (other than the SPE). Accordingly, the assets of the SPE are not available to pay our creditors (other than the SPE), although collections from the transferred retail installment contract receivables in excess of amounts required to repay the SPE’s creditors may be remitted to us during and after the term of the Receivables Facility. The SPE’s creditors have legal recourse to the transferred retail installment contract receivables owned by the SPE, but do not have any recourse to us (other than the SPE) for the payment of principal and interest on the SPE’s financing.
We service the transferred retail installment contract receivables and are responsible for ensuring that amounts collected from the transferred retail installment contract receivables are remitted to the SPE. We are required to deposit payments received from the transferred retail installment contract receivables into a segregated account subject to the control of the creditors under the Receivables Facility. On a monthly basis, the segregated account is utilized to make required principal, interest, and other payments due under the Receivables Facility.
During 2020, we received proceeds of $83 million under the Receivables Facility and repaid $7 million. As of December 31, 2020, we had an outstanding balance of $76 million and an uncommitted available borrowing capacity of $124 million under the Receivables Facility.
Debt Covenants
The First Lien Credit Agreement and indentures associated with the borrowings above contain certain covenants and restrictions that limit our ability to, among other things, incur additional debt or issue certain preferred equity interests; create liens on certain assets; make certain loans or investments (including acquisitions); pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of the capital stock or make other restricted payments; consolidate, merge, sell, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets; sell assets; enter into certain transactions with affiliates; enter into sale-leaseback transactions; restrict dividends from our subsidiaries or restrict liens; change our fiscal year; and modify the terms of certain debt or organizational agreements.
We are also subject to a springing financial maintenance covenant under the First Lien Credit Agreement, which requires us to not exceed a specified first lien leverage ratio at the end of each fiscal quarter if the testing conditions are satisfied. The covenant is tested if the outstanding loans under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility, subject to certain exceptions, exceed 30% of the total commitments under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility at the testing date (i.e., the last day of any fiscal quarter).
As of December 31, 2020, we were in compliance with all financial covenant and other maintenance tests for all our debt obligations, and we do not believe there is a material risk of future noncompliance with our financial covenant and other maintenance tests as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Dividends
During February 2019, we approved a dividend reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”), which allows stockholders to designate all or a portion of the cash dividends on their shares of common stock for reinvestment in additional shares of our common stock. The number of shares issued is determined based on the volume weighted average closing price per share of our common stock for the five trading days preceding the dividend payment and adjusted for any discounts, as applicable. The DRIP will terminate in accordance with its terms on February 27, 2021.
We declared the following dividends on common stock during 2020, 2019, and 2018:
Declared Date Record Date Payment Date Common Stock Dividend per Share Class B Common Stock Dividend per Share
March 15, 2018 March 26, 2018 April 5, 2018 $0.035 $-
May 9, 2018 June 25, 2018 July 10, 2018 $0.035 $-
August 8, 2018 September 18, 2018 October 2, 2018 $0.035 $-
November 7, 2018 December 14, 2018 January 4, 2019 $0.035 $-
March 11, 2019 April 2, 2019 April 12, 2019 $0.035 $-
May 7, 2019 June 11, 2019 July 2, 2019 $0.035 $-
August 6, 2019 September 11, 2019 October 2, 2019 $0.035 $-
November 12, 2019 December 13, 2019 December 23, 2019 $0.700 $-
November 12, 2019 December 13, 2019 January 3, 2020 $0.035 $-
March 5, 2020 March 19, 2020 April 2, 2020 $0.035 $-
May 7, 2020 June 18, 2020 July 2, 2020 $0.035 $-
August 5, 2020 September 18, 2020 October 2, 2020 $0.035 $0.035
November 5, 2020 December 21, 2020 January 4, 2021 $0.035 $0.035
Apollo elected to discontinue participation in the DRIP with respect to dividends on our Common Stock subsequent to the October 2, 2019 dividend payment.
On February 25, 2021, we announced a dividend of $0.035 per share to holders of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock of record on March 18, 2021, which will be distributed on April 1, 2021.
During 2020, we declared aggregate dividends of $0.14 per share on Common Stock ($108 million) and $0.07 per share on Class B Common Stock ($4 million). The amount of dividends settled in shares of Common Stock was not material.
During 2019, we declared aggregate dividends of $0.84 per share on Common Stock ($633 million), which included a special dividend of $0.70 per share on Common Stock. The amount of dividends settled in shares of Common Stock was approximately $68 million, which resulted in the issuance of 11 million shares of Common Stock.
Share Repurchase Program
On February 27, 2019, we approved the Share Repurchase Program, which authorized us to repurchase up to $150 million of our shares of Common Stock through February 27, 2021. On March 23, 2020, we approved an increase to $75 million, inclusive of the amount then remaining under the Share Repurchase Program, in the authorized repurchase amount and an extension of the Share Repurchase Program through March 23, 2021.
We may effect these repurchases pursuant to one or more trading plans to be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (each, a “10b5-1 plan”) under the Exchange Act, in privately negotiated transactions, in open market transactions, or pursuant to an accelerated share repurchase program. We intend to conduct the Share Repurchase Program in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. We are not obligated to repurchase any of our shares of Common Stock and the timing and amount of any repurchases will depend on legal requirements, market conditions, stock price, alternative uses of capital, and other factors.
During 2020, there were no material repurchases of shares of our Common Stock under the Share Repurchase Program. As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $75 million remaining under the Share Repurchase Program.
During 2019, we repurchased 24 million shares of Common Stock for approximately $150 million under the Share Repurchase Program.
Cash Flow Analysis
The following table is a summary of our cash flow activity for the periods presented:
Years Ended December 31, $ Change
(in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,366,749 $ 1,873,117 $ 1,787,607 $ (506,368) $ 85,510
Net cash used in investing activities $ (1,137,477) $ (978,177) $ (1,738,210) $ (159,300) $ 760,033
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities $ (70,261) $ (1,214,204) $ 193,001 $ 1,143,943 $ (1,407,205)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
The decrease in net cash flows provided by operating activities during 2020 was primarily due to (i) an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses largely due to the Defenders Acquisition, (ii) an increase in the volume of transactions in which equipment was sold outright to residential customers, (iii) the sale of ADT Canada, (iv) $81 million related to the settlement of a pre-existing relationship in connection with the Defenders Acquisition, and (v) the acceleration of a portion of our 2020 incentive compensation payments into 2020. These decreases were partially offset by the favorable cash flow benefit associated with the deferral of payroll tax payments provided by the CARES Act and a decrease in interest payments of $35 million due to changes to the timing and amount of interest payments as a result of our recent financing transactions. The remainder of the activity in cash flows provided by operating activities related to changes in assets and liabilities due to the volume and timing of other operating cash receipts and payments with respect to when the transactions are reflected in earnings.
We expect our transition to a Company-owned model for our residential transactions to favorably impact net cash provided by operating activities during 2021 due to different accounting policies applicable to each ownership model.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
The increase in net cash used in investing activities during 2020 was primarily due to the non-recurrence of $496 million of proceeds received as a result of the sale of ADT Canada during 2019 and an increase in cash used for business acquisitions, net of cash acquired, of $116 million primarily due to the Defenders Acquisition during 2020. These increases were partially offset by (i) a decrease in the volume of dealer and bulk account purchases primarily due to the Defenders Acquisition, (ii) a decrease in the volume of subscriber system asset expenditures as a result of the Equipment Ownership Model Change and the sale of ADT Canada, and (iii) a decrease as a result of proceeds received associated with the sale of a strategic investment during 2020.
We expect our transition to a Company-owned model for our residential transactions to negatively impact net cash used in investing activities during 2021 due to different accounting policies applicable to each ownership model.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
During 2020, net cash used in financing activities primarily consisted of (i) $415 million related to the net repayments of long-term borrowings, including call premiums, (ii) $109 million related to dividend payments on common stock, (iii) $38 million related to payments on interest rate swap contracts that included an other-than-insignificant financing element at inception, and (iv) $29 million related to the payment of deferred financing fees. These cash outflows were partially offset by (i) $448 million of proceeds, net of expenses, associated with the issuance of Class B Common Stock and (ii) $76 million of net proceeds under the Receivables Facility.
During 2019, net cash used in financing activities primarily consisted of (i) $565 million related to dividend payments on common stock, (ii) $442 million related to the net repayment of long-term borrowings, including call premiums, (iii) $150 million related to repurchases of common stock, and (iv) $54 million related to the payment of deferred financing fees.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
The following table provides a summary of our commitments and contractual obligations for debt, leases, and other purchase obligations as of December 31, 2020:
(in thousands) 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Thereafter Total
Debt principal(1)
$ 17,809 $ 1,018,507 $ 717,248 $ 764,035 $ 8,176 $ 7,178,812 $ 9,704,587
Interest payments(2)
522,340 514,148 457,458 423,147 388,103 694,663 2,999,859
Operating leases(3)
36,440 38,981 33,160 21,541 14,884 21,518 166,524
Finance leases(4)
29,174 23,218 10,056 2,229 12 - 64,689
Contractual obligations(5)
177,024 58,714 48,245 17,201 12,324 19,578 333,086
Total $ 782,787 $ 1,653,568 $ 1,266,167 $ 1,228,153 $ 423,499 $ 7,914,571 $ 13,268,745
______________________
(1)Represents the contractual principal payments of our debt obligations as of December 31, 2020. Finance lease obligations, discounts, deferred financing costs, and purchase accounting fair value adjustments are excluded.
(2)Represents the estimated interest payments on our debt obligations as of December 31, 2020. Interest payments on our fixed-rate debt are calculated based on the contractual terms. Interest payments on our variable-rate debt, including the effects of our interest rate swaps, are calculated based on a forward LIBOR curve (or floor, whichever is higher) plus the applicable margin in effect as of December 31, 2020.
(3)Represents lease payments on our operating lease obligations as of December 31, 2020.
(4)Represents the principal and interest payments on our finance lease obligations as of December 31, 2020.
(5)Represents contractual obligations for purchases of goods or services, including purchase orders, related to agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms of the transaction as of December 31, 2020. Excludes contractual obligations related to the Commercial Agreement with Google, which requires us and Google to each contribute $150 million towards certain joint commercial efforts. Each party is required to contribute such funds in three equal tranches, subject to the attainment of certain milestones. Refer to Note 9 “Equity” for further details.
We have not included in the contractual obligations table approximately $66 million of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, related to various tax positions we have taken. These liabilities may increase or decrease over time primarily as a result of tax examinations, and given the status of the examinations, we cannot reliably estimate the period of any cash settlement with the respective taxing authorities. In addition, we have not included the minimum required contributions to our defined benefit pension plans as the aggregate contributions are not material. Finally, we have not included our off-balance sheet guarantees of $83 million, which primarily relate to standby letters of credit on our insurance programs.
During the first quarter of 2021, we entered into commitments of approximately $54 million to purchase certain parts used in the program to replace 3G and CDMA cellular equipment used in our security systems.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
As of December 31, 2020, our guarantees totaled $83 million and primarily related to standby letters of credit on our insurance programs. We do not have any other material off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of SEC Regulation S-K.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
The accompanying consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to select accounting policies and make estimates that affect amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Management’s estimates are based on the relevant information available at the end of each period. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or market conditions. The following accounting policies are based on, among other things, estimates and judgments made by management that include inherent risks and uncertainties.
Revenue Recognition
We generate revenue primarily through contractual monthly recurring fees received for monitoring and related services provided to customers. In transactions in which we provide monitoring and related services but retain ownership of the security system, our performance obligations primarily include monitoring, related services (such as maintenance agreements), and a material right associated with the one-time non-refundable fees received in connection with the initiation of a monitoring contract that the customer will not be required to pay again upon a renewal of the contract, which is referred to as deferred subscriber acquisition revenue. The portion of the transaction price associated with monitoring and related services revenue is recognized when the services are provided to the customer and is reflected in monitoring and related services revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Deferred subscriber acquisition revenue is deferred and recorded as deferred subscriber acquisition revenue in the Consolidated Balance Sheets upon initiation of a monitoring contract. Deferred subscriber acquisition revenue is amortized on a pooled basis into installation and other revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations over the estimated life of the customer relationship using an accelerated method consistent with the amortization of subscriber system assets and deferred subscriber acquisition costs associated with the transaction.
In transactions involving a security system that is sold outright to the customer, our performance obligations generally include monitoring, related services, and the sale and installation of the security system. For such arrangements, we allocate a portion of the transaction price to each performance obligation based on relative standalone selling price, which is determined using observable internal or external pricing and profitability metrics. Revenue associated with the sale and installation of a security system is recognized either at a point in time or over time based upon the nature of the transaction and contractual terms and is reflected in installation and other revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. For revenue recognized over time, progress toward complete satisfaction of the performance obligation is primarily measured using a cost-to-cost measure of progress method. The cost input is based primarily on contract cost incurred to date compared to total estimated contract cost. This measure of progress method includes forecasts based on the best information available and reflects our judgment to faithfully depict the value of the services transferred to the customer. The portion of the transaction price associated with monitoring and related services revenue is recognized when the services are provided to the customer and is reflected in monitoring and related services revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Subscriber System Assets, net and Deferred Subscriber Acquisition Costs, net
We capitalize certain costs associated with transactions in which we retain ownership of the security system as well as incremental selling expenses related to acquiring customers. These costs include equipment, installation costs, and other incremental costs and are recorded in subscriber system assets, net and deferred subscriber acquisition costs, net in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These assets embody a probable future economic benefit as they contribute to the generation of future monitoring and related services revenue for us.
Subscriber system assets represent capitalized equipment and installation costs incurred in connection with transactions in which we retain ownership of the security system. Upon customer termination, we may retrieve such assets. Deferred subscriber acquisition costs represent incremental selling expenses (primarily commissions) related to acquiring customers.
Subscriber system assets and any related deferred subscriber acquisition costs resulting from customer acquisitions are accounted for on a pooled basis based on the month and year of acquisition. We depreciate and amortize our pooled subscriber system assets and related deferred subscriber acquisition costs using an accelerated method over the estimated life of the customer relationship, which is 15 years. We periodically perform lifing studies to estimate the expected life of the customer relationship and the attrition pattern of our customers. The lifing studies are based on historical customer terminations and are used to establish the amortization rates of our customer account pools in order to reflect the pattern of future benefit. The results of the lifing studies indicate that we can expect attrition to be the greatest in the initial years of asset life; therefore, an accelerated method best matches the future amortization cost with the estimated revenue stream from these customer pools. In order to align the depreciation and amortization of subscriber system assets and related deferred costs to the pattern in which their economic benefits are consumed, the accelerated method utilizes an average declining balance rate of approximately 250%
and converts to straight-line methodology when the resulting charge is greater than that from the accelerated method, resulting in an average charge of approximately 55% of the pool within the first five years, 25% within the second five years, and 20% within the final five years.
Definite-Lived Intangible Assets
Definite-lived intangible assets relate to customer relationships, dealer relationships, and other definite-lived intangible assets that originated from business acquisitions as well as contracts with customers purchased under the ADT Authorized Dealer Program or from other third parties.
Customer relationships, which primarily originated from the Formation Transactions and the ADT Acquisition, are amortized over a period of up to 20 years based on management estimates about the amounts and timing of estimated future revenue from customer accounts and average customer account life that existed at the time of the related business acquisition. Dealer relationships originated from the Formation Transactions and the ADT Acquisition and are primarily amortized over 19 years based on management estimates about the longevity of the underlying dealer network and the attrition of those respective dealers that existed at the time of the related business acquisition. Other definite-lived intangible assets are amortized over a period of up to 10 years on a straight-line basis.
We maintain a network of agreements with third-party independent alarm dealers who sell alarm equipment and ADT Authorized Dealer-branded monitoring and interactive services to end users. The dealers in this program generate new end-user contracts with customers which we have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase from the dealer. Purchases of contracts with customers under the ADT Authorized Dealer Program, or from other third parties, are considered asset acquisitions and are recorded at their contractually determined purchase price. We may charge back the purchase price of any end-user contract if the contract is canceled during the charge-back period, which is generally thirteen months from the date of purchase. We record the amount of the charge back as a reduction to the purchase price.
Purchases of contracts with customers under the ADT Authorized Dealer Program, or from other third parties, are accounted for on a pooled basis based on the month and year of acquisition. We amortize our pooled contracts with customers using an accelerated method over the estimated life of the customer relationship, which is 15 years. The accelerated method for amortizing these contracts utilizes an average declining balance rate of approximately 300% and converts to straight-line methodology when the resulting amortization charge is greater than that from the accelerated method, resulting in an average amortization of approximately 65% of the pool within the first five years, 25% within the second five years, and 10% within the final five years.
Long-Lived Asset Impairments
We review long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be fully recoverable. We group assets at the lowest level for which cash flows are separately identified. Recoverability is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the asset group to its expected future undiscounted cash flows. If the expected future undiscounted cash flows of the asset group are less than its carrying amount, an impairment loss is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value less costs to sell. The calculation of the fair value less costs to sell of an asset group is based on assumptions concerning the amount and timing of estimated future cash flows and assumed discount rates, reflecting varying degrees of perceived risk.
Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Impairment
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized and are tested for impairment at least annually as of the first day of the fourth quarter of each year and more often if an event occurs or circumstances change which indicate it is more-likely-than-not that fair value is less than carrying amount. The annual impairment tests of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets may be completed through qualitative assessments. We may elect to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed directly to a quantitative impairment test for any reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset in any period. We may resume the qualitative assessment for any reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset in any subsequent period.
Goodwill
Under a qualitative approach, the impairment test for goodwill consists of an assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. If we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment for any reporting unit, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more-likely-than-not that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, we proceed to a quantitative approach.
Under a quantitative approach, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit and compare it to its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. We estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using the income approach, which discounts projected cash flows using market participant assumptions. The income approach includes significant assumptions including, but not limited to, forecasted revenue, operating profit margins, operating expenses, cash flows, perpetual growth rates, and discount rates. The estimated fair value of a reporting unit calculated using the income approach is sensitive to changes in the underlying assumptions. In developing these assumptions, we rely on various factors including operating results, business plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows, and other market data. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying judgments and factors and ultimately impact the estimated fair value determinations may include such items as a prolonged downturn in the business environment, changes in economic conditions that significantly differ from our assumptions in timing or degree, volatility in equity and debt markets resulting in higher discount rates, and unexpected regulatory changes. As a result, there are inherent uncertainties related to these judgments and factors in applying them to the goodwill impairment tests. During the fourth quarter 2020, and in connection with a reporting unit change, we qualitatively tested our former reporting units immediately prior to the change and quantitatively tested our new reporting units immediately following the change. Based on the results of these tests, the fair values of both reporting units exceeded their carrying amounts.
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Under a qualitative approach, the impairment test for an indefinite-lived intangible asset consists of an assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that an asset’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. If we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment for any indefinite-lived intangible asset, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more-likely-than-not that the estimated carrying amount of such asset exceeds its fair value, we proceed to a quantitative approach.
Under a quantitative approach, we estimate the fair value of an asset and compare it to its carrying amount. If the carrying amount exceeds fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is determined based on the nature of the underlying asset. Our only indefinite-lived intangible asset is the ADT trade name. The fair value of the ADT trade name is determined under a relief from royalty method, which is an income approach that estimates the cost savings that accrue to us that we would otherwise have to pay in the form of royalties or license fees on revenue earned through the use of the asset. The utilization of the relief from royalty method requires us to make significant assumptions including revenue growth rates, the implied royalty rate, and the discount rate.
Business Combinations
We account for business acquisitions under the acquisition method of accounting. The assets acquired and liabilities assumed in connection with business acquisitions are recorded at the date of acquisition at their estimated fair values, with any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired recorded as goodwill. Significant judgment is required in estimating the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed and in assigning useful lives to certain definite-lived intangible and tangible assets. Accordingly, we may engage third-party valuation specialists to assist in these determinations. The fair value estimates are based on available information as of the acquisition date and assumptions deemed reasonable by management but are inherently uncertain.
Loss Contingencies
We record accruals for losses that are probable and reasonably estimable. These accruals are based on a variety of factors such as judgment, probability of loss, opinions of internal and external legal counsel, and actuarially determined estimates of claims incurred but not yet reported based upon historical claims experience. Legal costs in connection with claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of business are expensed as incurred. Additionally, we record insurance recovery receivables from third-party insurers when recovery has been determined to be probable.
Income Taxes
We file a consolidated federal return for our U.S. entities and separate returns for each Canadian entity.
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the temporary differences between the recognition of revenue and expenses for income tax and financial reporting purposes and between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements. We record the effect of a tax rate or law change on our deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period of enactment. Future tax rate or law changes could have a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows.
In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including our past operating results, the existence of cumulative losses in the most recent years, and our forecast of future taxable income. In estimating future taxable income, we develop assumptions related to the amount of future pre-tax operating income, the reversal of temporary differences, and the implementation of feasible and prudent tax planning strategies. These assumptions require significant judgment about the forecasts of future taxable income and are consistent with the plans and estimates we are using to manage our underlying businesses.
We recognize positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return in the consolidated financial statements when it is more-likely-than-not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50%) that the position would be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. A recognized tax position is then measured at the largest amount of benefit with greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We record liabilities for positions that have been taken but do not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold. We adjust the liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits in light of changing facts and circumstances; however, due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a change to the estimated liabilities.
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
Refer to Note 1 “Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 for further discussion about recent accounting pronouncements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Our operations expose us to a variety of market risks, including the effects of changes in interest rates. We monitor and manage these financial exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program. Our policies allow for the use of specified financial instruments for hedging purposes only. Use of derivatives for speculation purposes is prohibited.
Interest Rate Risk
We have both fixed-rate and variable-rate debt, and, as a result, we are exposed to fluctuations in interest rates on our debt. We have interest rate swap contracts to hedge our interest rate exposure on our variable-rate debt. However, certain of our variable-rate debt instruments are subject to a 1.00% floor on interest payments while our interest rate swap contracts do not include a floor. If current LIBOR increases above 1.00%, the increase in our debt service obligations on most of our variable-rate indebtedness will be neutralized as we have entered into interest rate swaps that hedge any increase in current LIBOR above 1.00%. If current LIBOR is below 1.00%, even though the amount borrowed remains the same, our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will decrease by the impact of the difference between 1.00% and current LIBOR because certain of our variable-rate debt has an interest floor of 1.00% while the corresponding interest rate swap contracts do not have a LIBOR floor. In January 2021, we amended our variable-rate debt and reduced the floor from 1.00% to 0.75%.
As a result of recent changes in the interest rate environment, our interest rate swap contracts designated as cash flow hedges with an aggregate notional amount of $3 billion were no longer highly effective beginning in March 2020. Accordingly, we de-designated the cash flow hedges and the unrealized gains and losses for the period in which these cash flow hedges were no longer highly effective were recognized in interest expense. Unrealized losses recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (“AOCI”) prior to de-designation will be reclassified into interest expense in the same period in which the related interest on variable-rate debt affects earnings through the maturity dates of the interest rate swap contracts as the forecasted cash flows are probable or reasonably possible of occurring.
The unrealized losses on interest rate swap contracts recognized in interest expense, net, in the Consolidated Statements of Operations were $60 million and $9 million during 2020 and 2019, respectively. Additionally, we reclassified $54 million of accumulated unrealized losses in AOCI related to interest rate swap contracts that have been de-designated as cash flow hedges to interest expense, net, during 2020. There were no material reclassification adjustments associated with cash flow hedges during 2019.
As of December 31, 2020, the carrying amount of our debt, excluding finance leases, was $9.4 billion with a fair value of $10.1 billion. In addition, we had interest rate swap contracts with aggregate notional amounts of $3.2 billion with a fair value of $276 million as a net liability. As of December 31, 2020, a hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would change the fair value of our debt by approximately $191 million based on the implied yield from broker-quoted market prices on our debt, while a similar change in interest rates would change the fair value of our interest rate swap contracts by approximately $2 million based on a discounted cash flow analysis. Additionally, any 0.125% decrease in LIBOR below 1.0% would result in an increase of approximately $4 million in annualized interest expense on our variable-rate debt, including the impact of our interest rate swaps.
As of December 31, 2019, the carrying amount of our debt, excluding finance leases, was $9.6 billion with a fair value of $10.2 billion. In addition, we had interest rate swap contracts with aggregate notional amounts of $3.2 billion with a fair value of $84 million as a net liability. As of December 31, 2019, a hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would change the fair value of our debt by approximately $214 million based on the implied yield from broker-quoted market prices on our debt, while a similar change in interest rates would change the fair value of our interest rate swap contracts by approximately $34 million based on a discounted cash flow analysis. Additionally, any 0.125% decrease in LIBOR below 1.0% would result in an increase of approximately $4 million in annualized interest expense on our variable-rate debt, including the impact of our interest rate swaps.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, our consolidated financial statements, and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements that are filed as part of this Annual Report are listed under “Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules” and are set forth beginning on page immediately following the signature pages of this Annual Report.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report. Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in recording, processing, summarizing, and reporting, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act, and that such information was accumulated and communicated to the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on our assessment and those criteria, our management determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
Our independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, has issued an audit report on our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 as set forth in its Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm included in Part IV of this Annual Report.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in our management’s evaluation pursuant to Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act during the three months ended December 31, 2020 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
The information required by this Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after our fiscal year end of December 31, 2020 (the “Proxy Statement”).

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The information required by this Item 11. “Executive Compensation” is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The information required by this Item 12. “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters,” other than the information regarding an Apollo margin loan agreement set forth below required by Item 403(c) of Regulation S-K, is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement. Also, incorporated herein by reference is information concerning compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance which is found in Item 5. “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” of this Annual Report under the caption "Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans."
Apollo Margin Loan Agreement
As of October 3, 2019, certain investment funds directly or indirectly managed by Apollo (the “Apollo Funds”), the Company’s controlling stockholder, informed the Company that they have pledged all of their shares of the Company’s Common Stock, which as of the date of this Annual Report amounted to 608,927,822 shares, pursuant to a margin loan agreement and related documentation on a non-recourse basis. Apollo has informed the Company that the loan to value ratio of the margin loan on February 16, 2021 was equal to approximately 13.86%. Apollo has also informed the Company that the margin loan agreement contains customary default provisions and that in the event of a default under the margin loan agreement the secured parties may foreclose upon any and all shares of the Company’s Common Stock pledged to them.
Certain members of the Company’s executive team and certain employees of the Company were entitled to receive their share of the margin loan proceeds (based on their share ownership of the Apollo Funds). Such persons had the option to either (a) receive such proceeds as distributed or (b) to defer receipt of such proceeds until their attributable share of the obligations under the margin loan have been satisfied in full. In the case of elections to receive such proceeds as distributed, such proceeds remain subject to recall until such time as all obligations under the margin loan agreement and related documentation are satisfied in full.
The Company has not independently verified the foregoing disclosure. When the margin loan agreement was entered into, the Company delivered customary letter agreements to the secured parties in which it has, among other things, agreed, subject to applicable law and stock exchange rules, not to take any actions that are intended to hinder or delay the exercise of any remedies by the secured parties under the margin loan agreement and related documentation. Except for the foregoing, the Company is not a party to the margin loan agreement and related documentation and does not have, and will not have, any obligations thereunder.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
The information required by this Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence” is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The information required by this Item 14. “Principal Accounting Fees and Services” is incorporated herein by reference from our Proxy Statement.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
1. Financial Statements
See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing on page.
2. Financial Statement Schedules
All financial statement schedules called for under Regulation S-X are omitted because either they are not required under the related instructions, are included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or are not material.
3. Exhibits
The exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this report.
Exhibits Index
The information required by this Item is set forth on the exhibit index.
Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
2.1^
Share Purchase Agreement, dated September 30, 2019, among ADT Security Holdings Canada Ltd., ADT Inc., and TELUS Communications Inc.
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of ADT Inc.
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws of ADT Inc.
4.1
Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2012, by and between The ADT Corporation and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.2
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2012, by and among The ADT Corporation, Tyco International Ltd. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.3
Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2012, by and among The ADT Corporation, Tyco International Ltd. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.4
Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2012, by and among The ADT Corporation, Tyco International Ltd. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.5
Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 14, 2013, by and between The ADT Corporation and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.6
Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 1, 2013, by and between The ADT Corporation and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.7
Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 8, 2016, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.8
Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 22, 2016, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.9
Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 2, 2016, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among Prime Finance, Inc., The ADT Corporation and the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.10
Ninth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 15, 2017, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, DataShield, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.11
Tenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 18, 2018, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.12
Eleventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 17, 2018, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, MSA Systems Integration, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.13
Twelfth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 7, 2019, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.14
Thirteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 30, 2019, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Corporation, Advanced Cabling Systems, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.15
Fourteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 12, 2019, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Corporation, LifeShield, LLC, LifeShield Security LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.16
Fifteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2019, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, I-View Now LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.17
Sixteenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 31, 2020, under 2012 Base Indenture, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, Defender Security Canada, Inc., ADT MS2 LLC, DPL Two LLC, Defenders LLC, Home Defender, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.18
Indenture, dated as of May 2, 2016, by and between Prime Security One MS, Inc. and the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.19
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 2, 2016, by and among The ADT Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.20
Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 9, 2016, by and between The ADT Corporation, the Notes Guarantors and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.21
Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 15, 2017, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, DataShield, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.22
Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 18, 2018, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.23
Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 17, 2018, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, MSA Systems Integration, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.24
Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 7, 2019, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.25
Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 30, 2019 by and among the ADT Security Corporation, Advanced Cabling Systems, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.26
Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 12, 2019 by and among the ADT Corporation, LifeShield, LLC, LifeShield Security LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.27
Ninth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2019, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, I-View Now LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.28
Tenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 31, 2020, by and among The ADT Security Corporation, Defender Security Canada, Inc., ADT MS2 LLC, DPL Two LLC, Defenders LLC, Home Defender, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.29
Second Lien Notes Indenture, dated as of May 2, 2016, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., Prime Guarantors and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.30
Second Lien Notes Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 2, 2016, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., Prime Guarantors and ADT Guarantors
4.31
Second Lien Notes Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 15, 2017, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., DataShield, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.32
Second Lien Notes Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 18, 2018, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.33
Second Lien Notes Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 17, 2018, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., MSA Systems Integration, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.34
Second Lien Notes Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 7, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.35
Second Lien Notes Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 30, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., Advanced Cabling Systems, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.36
Second Lien Notes Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 12, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., LifeShield, LLC, LifeShield Security LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.37
Second Lien Notes Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., I-View Now LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.38
Indenture, dated as of April 4, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto from time to time, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to the $750 million aggregate principal amount of 5.250% first-priority senior secured notes due 2024.
4.39
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., I-View Now LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.40
Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 31, 2020, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc. , Defender Security Canada, Inc., ADT MS2 LLC, DPL Two LLC, Defenders LLC, Home Defender, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.41
Indenture, dated as of April 4, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto from time to time, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to the $750 million aggregate principal amount of 5.750% first-priority senior secured notes due 2026.
4.42
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of September 23, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to the $600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.750% first-priority senior secured notes due 2026
4.43
Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., I-View Now LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.44
Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 31, 2020, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc. , Defender Security Canada, Inc., ADT MS2 LLC, DPL Two LLC, Defenders LLC, Home Defender, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.45
Indenture, dated as of January 28, 2020, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party thereto from time to time and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to the $1,300 6.250% Second-Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2028
4.46
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 31, 2020, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance, Inc., Defender Security Canada, Inc., ADT MS2 LLC, DPL Two LLC, Defenders LLC, Home Defender, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
4.47
Indenture, dated as of August 20, 2020, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Finance Inc., the guarantors party hereto from time to time, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee, relating to $1,000 million aggregate principle amount of 3.375% first-priority senior secured notes due 2027
4.48*
Description of Securities
10.1
Fifth Amended and Restated First Lien Credit Agreement, dated July 1, 2015, as amended and restated as of May 2, 2016, as further amended and restated as of June 23, 2016, December 28, 2016, February 13, 2017 and June 29, 2017, among Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, as Holdings, Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, as Borrower, the Lenders Party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Administrative Agent
10.2
Incremental Assumption and Amendment Agreement No. 6, dated as of March 16, 2018, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, the lenders party thereto, Barclays Bank PLC and the other parties party thereto
10.3
Incremental Assumption and Amendment Agreement No. 7, dated as of December 3, 2018, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, certain of Prime Security Services Borrower’s subsidiaries, the lenders party thereto, Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent and the other parties party thereto.
10.4
Incremental Assumption and Amendment Agreement No. 8, dated as of March 15, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, certain of Prime Security Services Borrower’s subsidiaries, the lenders party thereto, Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent and the other parties party thereto.
10.5
Incremental Assumption and Amendment Agreement No. 9, dated as of September 23, 2019, by and among Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, the lenders party thereto, Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent and the other parties party thereto.
10.6
Incremental Assumption and Amendment Agreement No. 10, dated as of January 27, 2021, by and among Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, the lenders party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent.
10.7
Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien), dated July 1, 2015, among the Subsidiaries of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC named therein and Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral Agent
10.8
Supplement No. 1, dated as of May 2, 2016, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Securities Services Borrower, LLC and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.9
Supplement No. 2, dated as of October 31, 2017, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.10
Supplement No. 3, dated as of January 22, 2018, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.11
Supplement No. 4, dated as of February 28, 2018, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.12
Supplement No. 5, dated as of August 17, 2018, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.13
Supplement No. 6, dated as of January 7, 2019, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.14
Supplement No. 7, dated as of January 30, 2019, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.15
Supplement No. 8, dated as of March 11, 2019, to the Subsidiary Guarantee Agreement (First Lien) dated as of July 1, 2015, by each subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC party thereto and Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent
10.16
Holdings Guarantee and Pledge Agreement (First Lien), dated and effective as of July 1, 2015, between Prime Security Services Holdings, LLC, as Holdings, and Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral Agent
10.17
Collateral Agreement (First Lien), dated as of July 1, 2015 among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, each Subsidiary of Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC from time to time identified therein as a party and Barclays Bank PLC, as collateral agent
10.18
Collateral Agreement (Second Lien), dated as of May 2, 2016, among Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC, as Issuer, Prime Finance Inc., as Co-Issuer, each Subsidiary Guarantor party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Collateral Agent
10.19
Collateral Agreement (Second Lien), dated as of January 28, 2020, among Prime Security Services Borrower LLC, as Issuer, Prime Finance, Inc., as Co-Issuer, each Subsidiary Guarantor party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Collateral Agent
10.20
First Lien/First Lien Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of May 2, 2016 among Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent, Barclays Bank PLC, as Authorized Representative under the Credit Agreement, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as the Initial Other Authorized Representative, and each additional Authorized Representative from time to time party hereto relating to Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC
10.21
First Lien/Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of July 1, 2015, between Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as First Lien Facility Agent and Applicable First Lien Agent, and Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Second Lien Facility Agent and Applicable Second Lien Agent relating to Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC
10.22
Receivables Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 5, 2020, among ADT LLC, individually and as servicer, ADT Finance LLC, as seller, various purchasers and purchaser agents from time to time party thereto, and Mizuho Bank, LTD., as Administrative Agent, Arranger, Collateral Agent and Structuring Agent
10.23
Agreement of Amendment to Receivables Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 17, 2020, among ADT LLC, individually and as servicer, ADT Finance LLC, as seller, various purchasers and purchaser agents from time to time party thereto, and Mizuho Bank, LTD., as Administrative Agent, Arranger, Collateral Agent and Structuring Agent
10.24
Second Agreement of Amendment to Receivables Purchase Agreement, dated September 17, 2020, among ADT LLC, individually and as servicer, ADT Finance LLC, as seller, various purchasers and purchaser agents from time to time party thereto, and Mizuho Bank, LTD., as Administrative Agent, Arranger, Collateral Agent and Structuring Agent
10.25*
Third Agreement of Amendment to Receivables Purchase Agreement, dated January 29, 2021, among ADT LLC, individually and as servicer, ADT Finance LLC, as seller, various purchasers and purchaser agents from time to time party thereto, and Mizuho Bank, LTD., as Administrative Agent, Arranger, Collateral Agent and Structuring Agent
10.26
Receivables Sale and Contribution Agreement, dated as of April 17, 2020, between ADT LLC, as Originator and Servicer and ADT Finance Inc., as Buyer
10.27
Trademark Agreement, dated as of September 25, 2012, by and among ADT Services GmbH, ADT US Holdings, Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and The ADT Corporation
10.28
Patent Agreement, dated as of September 26, 2012, by and between Tyco International Ltd. and The ADT Corporation
10.29
Separation and Distribution Agreement, dated September 26, 2012 by and among Tyco International Ltd., Tyco International Finance S.A., The ADT Corporation and ADT LLC
10.30
ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of April 1, 2017
10.31*
Amendment to the ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of December 18, 2017
10.32*
Amendment to the ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of December 24, 2018
10.33*
Amendment to the ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of December 31, 2018
10.34*
Amendment to the ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of February 8, 2019
10.35*
Amendment to the ADT LLC Supplemental Savings and Retirement Plan, effective as of July 29, 2019
10.36
Stockholders Agreement by and between the ADT Inc. and Prime Securities Services TopCo, LP
10.37
Registration Rights Agreement by and between the ADT Inc. and Prime Securities Services TopCo, LP
10.38
Amendment to the Registration Rights Agreement between ADT Inc. and Prime Security Services TopCo Parent, L.P.
10.39
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of July 31, 2020, by and between ADT Inc. and Google LLC
10.40
Investor Rights Agreement, dated as of September 17, 2020 by and between ADT Inc. and Google LLC
10.41
Form of Indemnification Agreement by and between the Company and each of its Directors and Executive Officers
10.42+
Amendment to Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated May 3, 2019, between The ADT Security Corporation (together with any of its subsidiaries and Affiliates) and Donald Young
10.43+
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated December 19, 2017, between The ADT Security Corporation (together with any of its subsidiaries and Affiliates) and Jamie Haenggi
10.44+
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated December 19, 2017, between The ADT Security Corporation (together with any of its subsidiaries and Affiliates) and Daniel M. Bresingham
10.45+
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated December 19, 2017, between ADT LLC, (together with any of its subsidiaries and Affiliates) and James D. DeVries
10.46+
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated December 19, 2017, between ADT LLC, (together with any of its subsidiaries and Affiliates) and Jeffrey Likosar
10.47+
ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.48+
First Amendment to ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan dated April 25, 2019
10.49+
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.50+
Form of Non-Qualified Option Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.51+
Form of Non-Qualified Option Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (Class B Unit Redemption)
10.52+
Form of Amendment to Non-Qualified Award Agreement for use under ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (Class B Unit Redemption)
10.53+
Form of Common Stock Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.54+
ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan Restricted Stock Unit Non-Employee Director Award Agreement
10.55+
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Special Equity Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.56+
Form of Non-Qualified Option Special Equity Award Agreement for use under the ADT Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan
10.57+
Second Amended & Restated Employment Agreement with James D. DeVries
10.58+
Amendment to Second Amended & Restated Employment Agreement of James D. DeVries
21*
Subsidiaries of ADT Inc.
23*
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
31.1*
Certification of CEO, pursuant to SEC Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a)
31.2*
Certification of CFO, pursuant to SEC Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a)
32.1*
Certification by the CEO, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2*
Certification by the CFO, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101 XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document
_________________________
^ Confidential treatment requested. Confidential portions of this Exhibit 2.1 have been omitted.
* Filed herewith.
+ Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.