Henry Schein 2013 Annual Report Download - page 18

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9
Seasonality and Other Factors Affecting Our Business and Quarterly Results
We experience fluctuations in quarterly earnings. As a result, we may fail to meet or exceed the expectations
of securities analysts and investors, which could cause our stock price to decline.
Our business is subject to seasonal and other quarterly fluctuations. Net sales and operating profits generally
have been higher in the third and fourth quarters due to the timing of sales of seasonal products (including influenza
vaccine, equipment and software products), purchasing patterns of office-based health care practitioners and year-
end promotions. Net sales and operating profits generally have been lower in the first quarter, primarily due to
increased sales in the prior two quarters. We expect our historical seasonality of sales to continue in the foreseeable
future. Quarterly results also may be adversely affected by a variety of other factors, including:
• timing and amount of sales and marketing expenditures;
• timing of pricing changes offered by our vendors;
• timing of the introduction of new products and services by our vendors;
• timing of the release of upgrades and enhancements to our technology-related products and services;
• changes in or availability of vendor contracts or rebate programs;
• vendor rebates based upon attaining certain growth goals;
• changes in the way vendors introduce or deliver products to market;
• costs of developing new applications and services;
• our ability to correctly identify customer needs and preferences and predict future needs and
p
references;
• exclusivity requirements with certain vendors may prohibit us from distributing competitive products
manufactured by other vendors;
• loss of sales representatives;
• costs related to acquisitions and/or integrations of technologies or businesses;
• costs associated with our self-insured medical and dental insurance programs;
• general market and economic conditions, as well as those specific to the health care industry and
related industries;
• our success in establishing or maintaining business relationships;
• unexpected difficulties in developing and manufacturing products;
•
p
roduct demand and availability or recalls by manufacturers;
• exposure to product liability and other claims in the event that the use of the products we sell results in
injury;
• increases in the cost of shipping or service issues with our third-party shippers;
• restructuring costs; and
• changes in accounting principles.
Any change in one or more of these or other factors could cause our annual or quarterly operating results to
fluctuate. If our operating results do not meet market expectations, our stock price may decline.