Henry Schein 2013 Annual Report Download - page 30

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The market price for our common stock may be highly volatile.
The market price for our common stock may be highly volatile. A variety of factors may have a significant
impact on the market price of our common stock, including:
• the publication of earnings estimates or other research reports and speculation in the press or
investment community;
• changes in our industry and competitors;
• our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and prospects;
• stock repurchases;
• any future issuances of our common stock, which may include primary offerings for cash, stock
splits, issuances in connection with business acquisitions, restricted stock/units and the grant or
exercise of stock options from time to time;
• general market and economic conditions; and
• any outbreak or escalation of hostilities in areas where we do business.
In addition, the NASDAQ Stock Market can experience extreme price and volume fluctuations that can be
unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the companies listed on NASDAQ. Broad market and
industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of actual operating
performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’ s securities, securities
class action litigation has often been instituted against companies. This type of litigation, if instituted, could result
in substantial costs and a diversion of management’ s attention and resources, which would have an adverse effect
on our business.
The health care industry is experiencing changes that could adversely affect our business.
The health care industry is highly regulated and subject to changing political, economic and regulatory
influences. In recent years, the health care industry has undergone significant change driven by various efforts to
reduce costs, including: trends toward managed care; consolidation of health care distribution companies;
consolidation of health care manufacturers; collective purchasing arrangements and consolidation among office-
based health care practitioners; and changes in reimbursements to customers, as well as growing enforcement
activities (and related monetary recoveries) by governmental officials. Both our own profit margins and the profit
margins of our customers may be adversely affected by laws and regulations reducing reimbursement rates for
pharmaceuticals and/or medical treatments or services or changing the methodology by which reimbursement levels
are determined. If we are unable to react effectively to these and other changes in the health care industry, our
operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, the enactment of significant health care reforms could
have a material adverse effect on our businesses.
The implementation of the Health Care Reform Law could adversely affect our business. 
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation
Act, each enacted in March 2010, generally known as the Health Care Reform Law, significantly expand health
insurance coverage to uninsured Americans and changes the way health care is financed by both governmental and
private payers. We expect expansion of access to health insurance to increase the demand for our products and
services, but other provisions of the Health Care Reform Law could affect us adversely. Additionally, further
federal and state proposals for health care reform are likely. We cannot predict what further reform proposals, if
any, will be adopted, when they may be adopted, or what impact they may have on us.
The Health Care Reform Law contains many provisions designed to generate the revenues necessary to fund
the coverage expansions and to reduce costs of Medicare and Medicaid, including imposing a 2.3% excise tax on
domestic sales of many medical devices by manufacturers and importers that began in 2013, and a fee on branded
prescription drugs and biologics that was implemented in 2011, both of which may adversely affect sales and cost
of goods sold. For example, (i) where we purchase medical devices from third-party manufacturers, the
manufacturers may increase their prices to cover their payment of the excise tax and our costs to purchase such
medical devices may therefore increase and (ii) where we manufacture medical devices or are the importer of
record, our cost of goods sold have increased because we are subject to paying the excise tax.