AbbVie 2013 Annual Report Download - page 26

breakdown. Although AbbVie has invested in the protection of its data and information technology and
also monitors its systems on an ongoing basis, there can be no assurance that these efforts will prevent
breakdowns or breaches in AbbVie’s information technology systems that could adversely affect
AbbVie’s business.
Other factors can have a material adverse effect on AbbVie’s profitability and financial condition.
Many other factors can affect AbbVie’s profitability and financial condition, including:
• changes in or interpretations of laws and regulations, including changes in accounting standards,
taxation requirements, product marketing application standards, and environmental laws;
• differences between the fair value measurement of assets and liabilities and their actual value,
particularly for pensions, retiree health care, stock compensation, intangibles, and goodwill; and
for contingent liabilities such as litigation, the absence of a recorded amount, or an amount
recorded at the minimum, compared to the actual amount;
• changes in the rate of inflation (including the cost of raw materials, commodities, and supplies),
interest rates, market value of AbbVie’s equity investments, and the performance of investments
held by it or its employee benefit trusts;
• changes in the commercial and credit environment that may adversely affect AbbVie’s ability to
finance its business operations;
• changes in the creditworthiness of counterparties that transact business with or provide services
to AbbVie or its employee benefit trusts; and
• changes in business, economic, and political conditions, including: war, political instability,
terrorist attacks, the threat of future terrorist activity and related military action; natural
disasters; the cost and availability of insurance due to any of the foregoing events; labor
disputes, strikes, slow-downs, or other forms of labor or union activity; and pressure from third-
party interest groups.
Risks Related to AbbVie’s Separation from Abbott
AbbVie’s historical financial information is not necessarily representative of the results that it would have
achieved as a separate, publicly traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of its future results.
AbbVie’s separation from Abbott was completed on January 1, 2013. Therefore, the historical
information about AbbVie in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2012 and for the periods ending prior to December 31, 2012 refers to AbbVie’s business as operated by
and integrated with Abbott. AbbVie’s historical financial information for these periods is derived from
the consolidated financial statements and accounting records of Abbott. Accordingly, the financial
information for these periods does not necessarily reflect the financial condition, results of operations
or cash flows that AbbVie would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company during the
periods presented or those that AbbVie will achieve in the future primarily as a result of the factors
described below:
• Prior to the separation, which occurred on January 1, 2013, AbbVie’s business was operated by
Abbott as part of its broader corporate organization, rather than as an independent company.
Abbott or one of its affiliates performed various corporate functions for AbbVie, such as
accounting, information technology, and finance. Abbott currently provides some of these
functions to AbbVie. AbbVie’s historical financial results reflect allocations of corporate
expenses from Abbott for such functions and are likely to be less than the expenses AbbVie
would have incurred had it operated as a separate publicly traded company. Following the
separation and the date on which AbbVie ceases to receive services from Abbott pursuant to
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